Hi! I am looking at buying a property with an existing house, subdividing and adding units. I have someone who is selling the property as well as going to oversee all aspects of the development – where do I go to check on him? I don't want to hand over my money blindly!
Hi Tracy,
Get lists of previous projects he/she has managed & see if you can contact the owners of those projects for references.
Do a google search.
I forgot to add the property is Melbourne, apparently he is a registered Real Estate agent – but what other licenses should I know about for the development side of things? I believe it is a great investment but I can't find much on this person can anyone help me of where to look?
Hi Derek
Thanks for that! How can I check the validity of these references?
Hi Tracy,
You will need to ask them questions. Key thing is to know a little yourself so you know which questions to ask and what is a reasonable answer. This is where your ability to detect misspeak will come into it's own and you will need to dig a little deeper than maybe would otherwise be the case.
I would be wary if the list of references is short or there are projects from long ago. Recency is a good thing – particularly if the project was in the local area you are looking at,
Some planning departments are 'interesting' .
Remember "If it sounds too good to be true it probably is".
If the agent selling the property to you is also going to manage your subdivision and development I would tread carefully.
Agents get a commission for selling a property and thus have a vested interest if the sales goes through. They could then back out on the development side of things.
If you are serious about developing I would get some quotes from other companies who could also manage the development for you. You can then compare their fees to the agents fees and see if there is anything fishy going on.
Ryan McLean
http://CashFlowInvestor.com.au
Helping You Invest In Positive Cash Flow Property
Ryan McLean | On Property
http://onproperty.com.au
Email Me
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
