Unless we are experienced property investors accustomed to the vagaries of buying and selling real estate, purchasing our first property either as our residence or to start a property portfolio is both thrilling and frightening at the same time. Never before have we committed so much money into one possession, so we need to be sure that all bases are covered before we reach the point of no return. First time buyers will be bombarded on all sides with buying property tips. Parents, relatives, friends and work colleagues will all have a real estate story to tell, and although well-meaning, this much information will just confuse the issue.
There is no harm in buyers looking around at property, but the best place to start is actually not the property, but finding the right agent in Liverpool who understands what the buyer wants, is on the same wavelength, and is driven by a need to find the perfect property to suit a particular buyer. Agents who take this amount of care will ask lots of questions, and will have a range of properties already in their listings that match or at least come close, without having to rely on involving other agents. If they don’t, they will take the initiative to find the property without the buyer having to lift a finger.
The industry standard for the number of inspections the typical buyer undertakes before making a decision is around 12. To inspect this number of properties is time consuming and after the sixth or seventh, they all seem to blend into each other, and the finer details are lost in the amount of information going around in the buyer’s mind. Clever agents design systems to allow their buying clients to “comparison shop”, noting down the important features and scoring each property against their ideal overall. This reduces the number of properties inspected to 3 or 4, as the buyers are able to focus their efforts more effectively.
If a property comes very close to the ideal, the buyer should look at what they don’t like, and identify what can and can’t be changed. If the changes that can be done are relatively minor, like new floor coverings or some quick paintwork, and the buyer can dismiss the rest, the real estate agent can then negotiate with the seller to either have the work done, or adjust the price downward accordingly. If the seller won’t budge, the search will continue but with a much better focus on what is required.
Once the ideal property has been found in Narellan, the role of the agent is to make the offer and negotiate with the seller to reach a conclusion. Buyers should be guided by their agent in this process, as they have the experience and the industry knowledge to get the best result.
