There are generally 6 WAYS TO BUY real estate in Australia when you live overseas.
METHOD #1. TRAVEL, TAKE A TRIP, MEET SELLING AGENTS, AND LOOK AT PROPERTIES YOURSELF
But how long do you have to look? Two weeks? Finding a home this way can take MONTHS.
"I will go down during Christmas/Easter/CNY/Summer holiday and have a look".
The chances of finding something in a couple of weeks is very slight. And then, you have to wait until your NEXT trip!
I have seen this happen literally dozens of times.
This also happened to me buying my OWN home.
#2. ASK FRIENDS, DIRECT FAMILY OR RELATIVES TO LOOK FOR YOU.
You can't ask your friends or relatives to be running around looking at properties for you - they probably don't have the time or the skill or even the knowledge of what you would like, or the right contacts in the real estate industry. Do they know which properties are SOON to come to the market? Do they have access to Off Market properties?
And it is a huge responsibility for them. Even if they are willing to do it, they would only be effectively doing what you would do in number 3 below.
#3. SEARCH REAL ESTATE WEBSITES YOURSELF
This is very difficult. Hundreds of results come up!
All offered by real estate agents, whose only job is to work for the seller (the vendor) so therefore every property is “beautiful, in good condition, superb, and well priced and will sell quickly!”
This is probably the WORST way to try to buy. The agent gets commission from the seller, not from you the buyer, so this motivates them to sell at the highest possible price as this gives them a higher commission.
They have ZERO interest in getting a good deal for YOU.
Worse, in a strong market, once they know you live overseas, many simply cannot be bothered to deal with you, as they have other local buyers waiting on the doorstep.
#4. USE A COMBINATION OF NUMBER 2 AND 3 ABOVE - LOOKING ON WEBSITES AND GETTING YOUR RELATIVES TO INSPECT FOR YOU.
This way has been tried before. The problems outlined still remain, with the additional problem being if you can’t or won't make a decision, your relatives will run out of energy, patience and enthusiasm to keep doing this for you.
And worse, they do not know if the value is fair AND are not able or experienced enough to negotiate maybe a million dollar property.
It's not even all about the price.
What about bank valuations, getting a review of the contract, organising pest inspections, getting a building report, getting independent valuations, assessing what repairs are needed, working out the taxes and fees that have to be paid and so on?
Can your relatives do all this?
AGAIN, if they ARE willing to help, and you are willing to put the time in, PLUS if you have an expert on your side, right behind you, this can be an effective way to buy.
Exclusive Buyers Service for Overseas Buyers
#5. ATTEND A PROPERTY SHOW OR SEMINAR IN YOUR COUNTRY.
This IS NOT the worst way to do it.
But it is probably the second worst.
And (like # 3 above) they are employed by the developer to try and sell at the highest price.
They are NOT on your side.
Have they even bought properties in Australia themselves? Or lived there?
#6. EMPLOY YOUR OWN “BUYERS AGENT” IN AUSTRALIA
In Australia this is a NEW concept. In the USA, people have always employed their own buyers agents to represent and help them when buying. For some reason In Australia, real estate agents have only ever represented the SELLER.
Employing your own realtor to represent and help YOU only is a GREAT WAY to even the odds. To have homes pre-selected, pre-inspected for you, short listed by experts, without you having to do all the work.
This is where we come in for all these ways of buying.
"We definitely would recommend anyone in a similar position to consider using Michael’s services.”
CONCLUSION
What you need is somebody on YOUR side working WITH you - not for you and not against you - but working closely WITH you.
Someone who has a team of experts to assist.
Somebody who has the knowledge, skills, experience and contacts to provide added benefits to you. Someone you will work with TOGETHER, using a combination of methods to secure your dream home in Australia, at the best possible price.
Someone who has done it hundreds of times successfully.
Someone NOT working for the seller, LIKE 99% OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS.
That’s why I set up a new service to help prospective buyers from overseas.
My buyer's agency service offers exactly the solution and is proving a revolution in how apartments and houses are bought in Australia by overseas-based investors and home buyers.
