John McGrath, Chief Executive Officer of McGrath Estate Agents, shares the best tips and techniques he has seen buyers use to find a home they love and for the right price.
As the Spring season gets underway, I thought I’d outline some of the best tips and techniques I’ve seen buyers use to find a home they love, sooner rather than later, and for the right price.
From my experience, the people who find and buy the best properties in the shortest time frame are the ones who really immerse themselves in the search.
It’s not uncommon for motivated buyers to inspect 10 or 15 properties a day. Depending on your mindset, this can be fun and exciting or a chore.
Either way, taking in that much information in just one day is going to be mentally exhausting. You’ll get home after several hours scouring the marketplace and find it difficult to remember which one had the great backyard and which one had the rising damp.
At most inspections, agents will hand you a brochure to take away with you. These are very handy for jogging your memory later. But they only provide a general overview, so it’s important to take a notebook and assess each property with your own checklist.
Every property is different but they all have common elements for you to compare, such as aspect and land size. Here are the 10 essential questions to ask yourself at an open home.
10 essential questions to ask yourself at open homes
Identifying defects
Before you exchange contracts, I strongly recommend you get a professional building and pest inspection done. However, during inspections, you should look out for any signs of obvious defects. If you identify any major problems, it may be best to give that property a miss. At the very least, you’ll save yourself the cost of a building report.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. The agent is there to help you. It’s better to feel silly asking lots of questions than be saddled with a home with a whole lot of problems.
Also, keep an ear out for what other buyers are saying about the property at the inspection. They may have seen something you’ve missed.
Good luck out there this Spring season.
The views expressed in this article are an opinion only and readers should rely on their independent advice in relation to such matters.
For more information including articles, checklists, guides and more visit McGrath’s Insights Centre.
Similar to this:
John McGrath – How to choose an agent this Spring
John McGrath – Two benefits of using a mortgage broker that you don’t know about