Brokers are always looking to get their clients the best possible deal on their new home – but it can be hard, especially in a climate where house prices are only going up and up.
Getting a great deal on a mortgage is one thing, but before there is a home loan, there has to be a home. As Australia’s property market becomes more and more difficult to navigate, Australian Broker sat down with Lloyd Edge, a buying agent and founder of Aus Property Professionals.
“One of thing things that people need to look at firstly is getting good contact with real estate agents and finding property that is off market,” said Edge. “With a lot of properties, once they hit the market then many, many people are interested in them, but it is possible to be the first one to see a property, which makes it important to have good contacts in your local area.”
“The other thing that works well is getting distressed properties. If you buy from a distressed seller, they might allow you to negotiate below market value. They might have lost their jobs, perhaps because of the pandemic, and while that isn’t a good thing, it might be an opportunity to buy a property cheaper because they need to get rid of it. If they can’t afford the mortgage then they can make a quick sale, or they may be a developer who has costs to pay and needs to sell to pay off outstanding debts. You just need to find out from the real estate agent why people are selling.”
Once you’ve got the property, it’s vital to make the paperwork work for you.
“Negotiating the terms of the contract can also work well,” said Edge. “Some vendors will allow stronger negotiation on the property if they’ve already purchased their next home elsewhere and have a settlement timeframe to get into their new property. You might be able to offer good settlement terms, which is attractive to the vendor. If you can be flexible on the settlement terms that might put your head above other buyers.”
Mortgage brokers have a vital role to play in all of this, not least in setting their clients up to succeed.
“Brokers need to educate their clients and make sure they are getting their preapprovals through,” said Edge. “Sometimes people are buying property without their preapproval, so it’s important that the broker tells their client not to go shopping before that is in place. That’s also help with debtor negotiations and you don’t want to go signing a contract or negotiating on a property if you finance isn’t quite ready.”
“Brokers need to manage their client’s expectations as well. Most brokers aren’t property advisers too, but they should still tell their clients to be realistic about what property prices are. Quite often in the current market, properties are selling for a lot more than what people think they’re going to go for, so people need to be more realistic with their money.”
