I have been searching for awhile now for my first IP. At least a couple hours a day on the computer, doing research, calculations, etc. I have had a few close calls (1. i didnt want to meet the seller's price 2. almost made an offer on a unit that had buildig maintence issues that would have cost more than the purchse price 3. few properties already under offer by the time i find them or ready to move). All properties are starting to look the same…at bit of a blur!! I was thinking of using a buyers agent through a company that i have attended some investing seminars with. what has stopped me so far it the cost. I believe it is 1% of the purchase price. But im getting think they would hopefully find me a property that either surpassed their fee in short term growth, or negotiated a lower price on a property (with the discount being more than that fee).
Who has used a buyers agent? Have you found them worthwhile? Are there alternatives?BA's can be a good option – I cross paths with them quite a bit due to having mutual clients and some of the deals they can source look pretty good.
Choose carefully though – like any profession, the quality will vary.
You also need to make sure that they're truely independent and not spruiking off the plan stock in over priced high rise developments in QLD (a generalisation but I think you'll get the point).
Where are you looking to buy?
Cheers
Jamie
Jamie Moore | Pass Go Home Loans Pty Ltd
http://www.passgo.com.au
Email Me | Phone MeMortgage Broker assisting clients Australia wide Email: [email protected]
In Perth. The company I am looking at only does WA. They also have inhouse mortage broker, investment planning etc. They say they do not sell property for anyone.
I havent even looked at other BAsHave a look around before committing yourself. There might be some people on this forum who can provide some suggestions.
Cheers
Jamie
Jamie Moore | Pass Go Home Loans Pty Ltd
http://www.passgo.com.au
Email Me | Phone MeMortgage Broker assisting clients Australia wide Email: [email protected]
Picking good rental return properties is easy. I have a big excel sheet i created to do that. Plus i think its common sense when picking a location other people are likely to want to live. Its the capital growth that is a big mystery to me. Almost like buying a lotto ticket!
If they’re starting to look the same, backtrack to your checklist and selection criteria and be more thorough, and perhaps widen the search a tad to allow some variety through the screening process.
Obviously if your process is producing the ones you don’t want, then you need to change it.
Cheers
thecrestthecrest | Tony Neale - Statewide Motel Brokers
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True. I guess my first problem is I have 2 sets of criteria based on 2 sets of advice! First is buy with in 10K of city (my budget means 1 or 2 bed aprtment under 60sqm). The other is to own land land land (house), meaning further out. I have been mainly focusing on the first one as my mindsest is that as the population grows, the 10k radius of the city will be in higher demand…Or not. I dont know. It sounds like a buyers agent may be my best bet!
renel wrote:I was thinking of using a buyers agent through a company that i have attended some investing seminars with. what has stopped me so far it the cost. I believe it is 1% of the purchase price.1% of the purchase price seems reasonable to me.
A buyers agent here in Perth quoted me a fee of about 3% of the purchase price.
If possible could you PM me the name of your buyers agent.Sounds like a good idea to me if you haven’t had any luck so far, at least for the first property. I agree with S, that percentage is reasonable.
Renel,
As the crest has suggested, I would go back and look at your criteria for purchasing. You need to commit to the type of property you are looking for and narrow your search for that type of property. If your criteria is too wide you will always find a reason not to purchase. This is common for people especially buying their first property.
Review your goals, what is your budget? Is the location right for your goals, are you buying for return or capitol growth, then take action.
Offer on multiple properties at once.Brian Pobje wrote:…..
Offer on multiple properties at once.Hi Brian,
I was told by a real estate agent in Perth that this is at least frowned upon, and perhaps illegal?
lol I have been a real estate agent in Newcastle NSW for over 16 years and am now focusing in the Investment property industry.
As a real estate agent it is very annoying when a potential buyer offers on more than one property, The agent goes to the vendor and basically suggests that they take the offer, the vendors accepts the offer and then the buyer says I am not proceeding, I am buying something else……very annoying and frustrating. But not illegal.
Now looking at the same transaction through the eyes of an investor. The investor wants to buy the property as cheaply as possible to increase their return and hopefully buy below current market value. If an investor puts all his or her energy into just one transaction, it is both time consuming and frustrating to keep missing out on deals.
By researching and offering on multiple properties at once the investor will speed up the process of finding the right property to suit their portfolio goals.
So it depends on which side of the fence you sit as to offering on multiple properties is a good or bad thing.
But in NO WAY is it illegal (in nsw anyway)
It is not illegal in any state.
You might wish to buy more than 1 property at a time and decide to put out a few offers.
In regards to a BA fee then what you need to be careful with is that the organisation doesnt have in house Mortgage Brokers, so called Investment Advisers etc and as a group they end up earning a substantial commission which makes the 1% fee they charged you look like chicken feed.
Cheers
Yours in Finance
Richard Taylor | Australia's leading private lender
If you had 3-5 offers placed awaiting outcomes on properties which you were willing to buy if your terms were met, then you are a genuine buyer, they are genuine offers, and you are entitled to make those offers. The strike rate might only be around 20% anyway, depending on market conditions, vendor whims, and your terms.
REAs would ideally like you to be desperately dependent on the outcome of only one offer, but who wants to be in that position.?Nevermind whining agents, they don’t mind playing 5 bidders on one property, they just don’t like the shoe on the other foot because it favours the astute buyer – so go for it.
Just don’t make an offer you’re not prepared to back up.
Good luck.
Cheers
thecrestthecrest | Tony Neale - Statewide Motel Brokers
http://www.statewidemotelbrokers.com.au
Email Me | Phone Meselling motels in NSW
Actually yes Richard they do have in house finance……that is what i was primarily using them for…..hmmm
Renel / Jasonlheath / S
I'm also a new investor in Perth. I think it would be a great opportunity that we can all get together and share our knowledge and experience with each other as we go forward.
Please let me know if you are interested.
As for the offer:
Robert Kiyosaki in his book "rich dad, poor dad" brought this example that he and his friends gone to see 6 properties and non of them where good. He told his friend to put an offer for half the price on every one of them SUBJECT TO APPROVAL WITH SOMEONE.On the other hand Michael Yardney in his book "what every property investor…" said : I earned more money from saying "no" than saying "yes".
Maybe what you've seen so far is not match with your strategy!renel wrote:True. I guess my first problem is I have 2 sets of criteria based on 2 sets of advice! First is buy with in 10K of city (my budget means 1 or 2 bed aprtment under 60sqm). The other is to own land land land (house), meaning further out. I have been mainly focusing on the first one as my mindsest is that as the population grows, the 10k radius of the city will be in higher demand…Or not. I dont know. It sounds like a buyers agent may be my best bet!I have been doing exactly what you have done. and I have been given the same piece of advice to stay withing 10k range from the city. I am looking for something in Adelaide as I am located in SA. But its same story, can either get really old house (1960.s or so) which may need maintenance or which has been renovated but still I find it risky. The other option is to go far from city and get a property with descent land area and which is not too old.
I have started going with suburbs now. To check the potential performance of the suburb based on the surrounding area and location but I know it is not the best way to select.
I have made a list of places with combination of both, some far from city and some in 10k range. I am going to inspect both type of house and than decide on which I feel to go. But I still think it is better to buy a good house (New and More land area with rental return) than old house in 10K zone, but still struggling to convince my self. Let me know if you get a solution on how to crack this.
Renel as Brian says – you perhaps need to check your criteria. If you are doing all that research and finding something wrong with them- then you need to check how you are looking at the properties. I would kill to have all that research at my fingertips! I am not so good with spread sheets. I said in another post- one of my lecturers said when evaluating a project- if you do the numbers and they dont stack up to what you believe there is something wrong with your assumptions- go back and do the math again. He is now a professor- not of property though.
Yes, you can make as many offers as you like. You might buy them all. A contract is a 2 sided equation- you both must agree.
There is a property investing group out there who suggest you make MANY offers on property and make them low- one will come home for you. They also say you must make I think something like 10 offers before you get one you will like – kind of like practice. They also say be clear about your goals and do lots of research. You are doing all the right things.
A BA can be a good thing- just be sure they are working for you. They can cost you 1% but save waaay more in what they are able to negotiate for you. I think it is also claimable – but check this out with an accountant.As a former real estate agent – no one ever put multiple offers on properties but I worked in a family orientated suburb. Hey as an investor myself I would have been happy to see people make many offers. The more offers you can take to the vendor the better you look so I dont get that agents are getting annoyed. What I do know is that they sometimes (often) do not understand the laws under which they work. And often – they dont come across investors. Real Estate Agents mostly work in peoples “homes” … not investment. They dont get that. They just get that they have a house sell it- have a house sell it- have a house sell it.
There are companies who specialise in property investing. It is a whole different ball game to real estate agents though.What can a BA do that I can't?
Obviously I can find whatever informaton google has. I look at median rental and purchase prices on REWIA, i have have foudn a site that shows older listings (from domain only) to give an indiaction of time on the market and previous list prices, I also have an extensive excel sheet….
…what am I missing…?I am not sure what you are missing Renel but you are saying you are not purchasing.
Weren’t you asking about a Buyers Agent?
What you ARE missing is that B A’s have a lot of contacts, experience in the market and negotiation skills that you cannot get from excel spreadsheets or google searching everything. Like it or not – you do have to get out from behind the computer and look at properties.
Again I say as a former agent, you get so much from looking at something. Many times when something seemed like a red hot deal- to get to the property and it was not such a great deal- there were power lines or the fire station was opposite.
You really need to ask yourself why you have not bought- not what a Buyers Advocate can do for you.
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