9 TIPS FOR BUYING AND SELLING PROPERTY

5. JOINT OWNERSHIP 6. VALUATIONS 7. BRIDGING LOANS 8. THE REAL ESTATE AGENT 9. AUCTIONS

SPRING IS traditionally the time for buying and selling property. This year we’ve experienced rocketing real estate prices with a scarcity of available properties but perhaps with the arrival of spring, change is in the air.

Successfully buying and selling property entails becoming familiar with aspects of the process you might not have considered before. We asked around the office and came up with nine buying and selling tips you most need to know more about. Here’s one example: is it better to hold property as tenants in common or as joint tenants?

And buyers agents – the popular UK TV show Location, Location, Location for aspiring home buyers has brought these industry experts into the limelight, but who can most benefit from their knowledge and what are the costs involved?

There are also costs involved in entering the property market that you might not have considered, yet they could very well tip the scales to making a property unaffordable. This is where a comprehensive budget comes in. We also look at lenders mortgage insurance, and what it means for you.

If you’re selling a property, there are other factors to consider: choosing a real estate agent, valuing your property, and – a big one – should you go to auction?

Good luck to those who are about to enter the property market, whether you’re buying or selling. The valuable tips in our cover story and this spring property issue as a whole are designed to make the process easier to navigate for a successful outcome.

1 BUYING THE BUYERS AGENT

Call in a specialist to do the groundwork

A buyers agent, sometimes known as a buyers advocate, represents the best interests of the buyer in the purchase transaction. Sellers on the other hand rely on advice from real estate agents, see page 40.

Typically, buyers agents have industry connections to source off-market properties that the average buyer would not be able to find on their own, says Emily Wallace, a buyers advocate based in Melbourne.

Buyers agents have been around for more than two decades but they’ve become more common in the past three to five years in the big capital cities. Often they come from a finance background or are real estate agents who have moved across to the buying side.

According to Wallace, there is a misconception that buyers agents are used only by wealthy purchasers.

“Our typical clients are first and family home buyers who are getting priced out of the market and need a competitive edge,” she says.

A buyers agent is paid a percentage (often about 2%) of the eventual purchase price (with a retainer paid upfront and then subtracted from the final percentage) or a fixed fee, which in Wallace’s business is around $12,000 for a full service. The cost includes sourcing the property, carrying out inspections and handling negotiations with the seller.

“We go out on the client’s behalf, do the first-round inspections, video and qualify the properties to save them time. Out of 10 properties we might only find five that meet the brief after inspection, and three where the client may go back with the agent to inspect,” says Wallace.

“This is a repetitive process until the buyers identify a suitable property they want to buy. You’ll find variance in how long buyers agents will