Late one Thursday afternoon, I visited a house in a very tightly-held neighbourhood where my client wanted to live. When the owner came to the door, he listened to my short introduction, then said “You’d better come in.“

As it turned out, this couple were building a new home in another area, which was almost finished. In the past couple of weeks they’d had several agents around to choose one to list their property for sale – and they were now totally confused… What should the price be (wide range from different agents)? Should they auction or not? How should they select an agent from among those they had met? Or might there be other agents they’d perhaps feel better about?

I explained that I was working for a buyer who was paying my fee, and willing to pay a fair price if the house was right. There’d be only one inspection, no signboard, no marketing, and no fee for the owner to pay.

We arranged for my client to inspect the property that weekend. He then instructed me to arrange to buy the property. So I drafted a contract and took it to the owners. After some thought, the owners asked for an additional $5,000, to which my client agreed.

By the following Monday (4 days after I first met the owners) the property was sold, at a price they were happy with, and within the range the various agents had provided.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this true story is what the owners told me after the contract was signed.

They said if I’d knocked on their door a week earlier, they’d have told me they weren’t ready to sell, and if I’d arrived a week later, they would probably have already listed the property with an agent, incurred marketing costs, likely time delays, and an agent’s commission. They were very happy that providentially I’d arrived at the perfect time for them!

My client was also very happy to be able to move into this tightly-held neighbourhood with no other properties for sale at the time.

I’ve been blessed to have been able to deliver similar results for clients and property owners too many times to say ‘it’s just a fluke.”

Everyone can look online and see properties listed for sale.

We’ve learned that there are many more properties for sale in the sense that their for various reasons, their owners no longer want them.

But the ‘don’t-want’ isn’t yet strong enough for them to contact agents about selling them.

For an example, see Case Study 8 tomorrow…

They had with some very specific criteria in terms of the building itself, its location, airport access, and a unique combination of other requirements.

They’d had little success in dealing with commercial agents and were almost at the point of buying a property which they knew was at best a compromise.

Based on their specification, we conducted research and narrowed the search parameters to one of two localities.
We were able to shortlist some properties, which weren’t quite ‘right.’ This enabled us to fine-tune the search criteria and score a bulls-eye.

A brand new building was nearing completion in one of our search areas. We negotiated a contract to settle upon completion, and the company moved in in due course.

Their business’s new home was acquired well within their budget, and has been adapted to their very specific requirements.

Through all this, the company principal continued to focus on running the business, secure in the knowledge that we were ‘on the case.’ He received frequent updates etc., as the process moved forward.

A major benefit to the company principal was removal of the stress of finding a property, and the process of acquisition. It was all done for him, while he remained fully informed and fully in control.

A great result for all concerned!

Look for the 8th Reason to Choose RealTeam early next week!

Traditional agents work only for the property seller, and NOT for buyers. Their job it to sell the property for the highest possible price.

We go to some lengths to ensure that we fully understand our buyer-client’s needs, wants and motivations, as well as any challenges they may need to deal with in moving forward.

With this knowledge and understanding we can search, screen and shortlist only the most suitable properties for our clients, saving them time and stress, and enabling them to relax in the knowledge that we’re looking after their interests alone.

See case study number 7 tomorrow, for an example.

Several months later, one of the owners phoned me and asked if my client might still be interested.
I asked why he wanted to know, to which he replied that he was now ready to sell, but wanted to avoid the high profile that listing the property with an agent would create.

My client was about to leave Adelaide for a time, so we quickly arranged a meeting, and drafted a contract for a lower price than my client’s maximum budget. I took it to the property owner.
He rejected this (sub-one million) offer, but said he would accept just over one million.
I made the price-change, and asked him to initial it. Then I had him sign the contract, knowing this new figure was within my client’s budget.

I took the contract to my client for him to initial the price change, then confirmed to the owner that his property was now sold, subject to Cooling-Off provisions etc.

Results -
My client was very happy to acquire this property, and ‘save’ over 30% off the original asking price;
The owner was very happy – because of some very significant changes in his world – to get rid of his property.

Look for the 7th reason to choose RealTeam early next week.

Sometimes, this presents a real challenge, especially in the current ‘soft’ or even declining market.

With property, it’s never just about the money. Everyone has plans and expectations that go far beyond the property or the money.

The ability to look beneath the obvious, and discern some of the other motivations often delivers a superior and more satisfying result for all concerned – our client, the property owner and their agent as well.

See Case Study 6 tomorrow, for an example.

by Brendan Wong: The couple had signed a contract to buy a double-fronted Paddington terrace  for $6.35 million in October 2011, before backing out on the day it was to be sold. The vendors eventually sold their property for $5.5 million but took Ms. Collette and her husband to court for the loss, as well as interest and land tax.

The Supreme Court ruled in favour of the vendors ordering the buyer to pay to the vendor $814,000, plus deposit and legal costs.

Mr. Tim McKibbin, from the REI of NSW told Real Estate Business that buyers who entered into an agreement were committing to the terms of their contract.

“You acquire some rights under the agreement but you also have some obligations to perform. Obviously the larger the transaction, the more care and consideration you should take before entering a contract. Invariably, dealing with real estate is a serious decision because it has serious implications.”

Mr McKibbin said it was the responsibility of the buyer to ensure they could completely satisfy the terms of a contract before signing it.

RealTeam’s Comment:

Had they engaged a buyer’s agent, this couple would have gained the advantage of professional advice and assistance in selecting the house, & negotiating the price & terms of the contract to buy it.

Their agent would have built safeguards into the contract to protect them as far as possible against the consequences of a possible change of heart during the process toward settlement.

Of course, nothing and no-one can protect a buyer against a last-minute change of plans occurring on the very day of settlement, which may have occurred in this case. But a skilled, experienced buyers agent would have canvassed all the known possibilities beforehand, and discussed exit strategies and contingency responses, by the time the contract was entered into.

We’re often asked about the viability of a property for subdivision and redevelopment.

It’s very satisfying to help owners and developers work toward the best outcomes for any given property situation.

It was very encouraging to learn that 80% of our clients were either referred by previous clients, or were themselves previous clients coming back to buy another property. The other 20% of RealTeam’s business came from the internet, or from our personal network of friends and colleagues.

It’s certainly very encouraging that so many of our clients think enough of us to refer their friends and associates, and we’re hugely grateful for that. But by the same token, we’d also like to develop a broader client base, so that we can help more people by providing an efficient and high-quality real estate experience.

Any suggestions for how we might achieve this will be warmly welcomed!