Search Results

Investing in properties through a Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) can be a complex but potentially rewarding endeavor. Here are some important considerations to keep in mind when investing in properties with an SMSF: 1. Sole Purpose Test: The primary purpose of an SMSF is to provide retirement benefits to its members. Any investment, including property, must be made with the sole purpose of benefiting the fund's members in their retirement. This means that you cannot use the property for personal purposes or provide benefits to related parties outside the scope of the fund's purpose. Legal and Regulatory Compliance: SMSFs are subject to strict legal and regulatory requirements. Ensure that your property investment complies with all relevant laws and regulations, including restrictions on certain types of property (such as residential properties acquired from related parties) and borrowing limits for property investments. Investment Strategy: Develop a well-defined investment strategy that aligns with the fund's objectives and risk tolerance. Consider factors such as rental income, potential capital growth, and the property's contribution to the fund's overall diversification. Property Selection: Choose properties that are likely to generate rental income and have potential for capital appreciation. These days, a property with both yield and growth from Day One is very rare, so, you will usually need to choose one. Research the location, rental demand, vacancy rates, and property market trends before making a decision. Borrowing Considerations: SMSFs can borrow money to purchase property through limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs). Understand the rules and restrictions associated with borrowing, including repayment terms, interest rates, and potential impact on cash flow. There are also a lot less lenders who are willing to lend to a SMSF, as there is almost zero chance they can repossess the property if you default on the loan. This reduced competition, plus the higher risk (to the lenders), means the available lenders tend to charge a higher interest rates, plus reduce the loan to value ratio (LVR). Investment Structure: Property investments can be held directly by the SMSF or through a separate entity known as a special purpose vehicle (SPV). Consult with a experienced and qualified professionals / accountant to determine the most suitable structure for your specific circumstances. Financing and Cash Flow: Assess the fund's ability to meet mortgage repayments and other property-related expenses. Adequate cash flow is essential to avoid financial strain on the SMSF. Property Management: Property management is crucial for rental properties. Decide whether the SMSF will manage the property itself or engage a property management company. Consider the associated costs and responsibilities. It is always attractive to manage the property rental yourself, to save costs, but with the ever changing rental property rules and SMSF requirements, you need to be well-versed with the responsibilities and regulations around both. Property Expenses: Factor in ongoing expenses such as property maintenance, insurance, council rates, and property management fees when evaluating the potential return on investment. Valuation: Property held by an SMSF must be valued at market value. Regular valuations are necessary to ensure accurate reporting and compliance. Thus you need to factor the effort and cost involved in organising the valuations. Diversification: While property can be a valuable addition to an investment portfolio, diversification is important to manage risk. Avoid over-concentration in one asset class or location. Exit Strategy: Have a clear exit strategy in place for the property investment. Consider how and when the property will be sold, especially as you approach retirement and need to access the fund's benefits. Unlike traditional investment funds, selling your property can take between 2 to 6 months or more. Professional Advice: Seek advice from professionals experienced in SMSFs, property investment, accounting, and legal matters. This can help ensure compliance, effective decision-making, and the avoidance of costly mistakes. Costs and Fees: Property investments can incur various costs, including property purchase costs, property management fees, legal fees, and SMSF operational costs. Factor these costs into your investment calculations. Long-Term Horizon: Property investments are typically best suited for the long term. Consider whether the investment aligns with the fund's long-term retirement objectives. Remember that property investment within an SMSF is a complex process, and the rules and regulations governing SMSFs can change over time. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) is very strict with SMSF compliance, and the investor should be ready for any audits. It's crucial to stay informed, seek professional advice, and regularly review your investment strategy to ensure that it remains aligned with your retirement goals and complies with all legal requirements. Not Financial Advice Disclaimer General Advice Warning: This general information is meant for general educational purposes only. It is not professional financial advice from Concierge Buyers Advocates and does not take into account your personal needs and situation. You should not take this as your personalised and tailored financial advice. Concierge Buyers Advocates not liable for any loss caused, whether due to negligence or otherwise arising from the use of, or reliance on, the information provided directly or indirectly, by use of this article. Always seek appropriate financial advice. We have a panel of advisor partners who will tailor their advice based on your personal situations.

A Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) is a private superannuation fund that you manage yourself, rather than relying on a managed fund or retail superannuation fund. Advanced investors and investors with significant funds in their superannuation funds have been turning to using SMSF as an structure to hold and manage their investment properties as their retirement portfolio . We've covered the benefits of property investing through your SMSF , but what are the risks? 12 Risks of Property Investment through SMSF While Self-Managed Superannuation Funds (SMSFs) offer potential benefits, they also come with various risks and challenges that individuals need to be aware of before deciding to establish and manage one. Some of the key risks associated with SMSFs include:

A Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) is a private superannuation fund that you manage yourself, rather than relying on a managed fund or retail superannuation fund. We've covered the benefits of property investing through your SMSF , and risks of poorly managed SMSF , but are there any asset protection benefits? Property Investment Asset Protection with SMSF SMSF wasn't designed with the traditional purpose of asset protection in mind. But it may provide some good asset protection for certain situations. Here's why:

You would have heard of Glen Waverley Secondary College and how entry to its school is so competitive that property prices within the school zone is worth about 30% more than similar houses outside the school zone. In fact, you probably landed here while searching for Glen Waverley Secondary College properties. But, did you know, Glen Waverley Secondary College is not the only good public school in City of Monash? There are another 2 good secondary schools within Glen Waverley, and Brentwood Secondary College is one of the 2. Brentwood Secondary is probably the quiet achiever in the area. It is producing top students consistently every year, but it does this in a different way. Compared to Glen Waverley Secondary College, the teaching staff and students at Brentwood Secondary College embraces diversity a lot more. And by diversity, we mean students of ALL background. Different ethnic background, cultural background, education background, study needs, etc. It has a strong emphasis on student wellbeing and magically mixes study with fun and care, a lot better than Glen Waverley Secondary College. As buyers agents based in Glen Waverley, home buyers have been consistently asking us to help them break into the ultra competitive property market in Glen Waverley. We've been honoured to have helped many families buy their homes in the Brentwood Secondary College School Zone, enabling their children's enrolment into the Brentwood Secondary College, one of the top government secondary colleges in Victoria. For more information about Brentwood Secondary College the school zone and Glen Waverley, follow our link Glen Waverley Brentwood Secondary College Properties Buyer's Advocate . We are local to Brentwood Secondary College and we have been helping home buyers and investors find and buy properties in the Brentwood Secondary College School Zone. Get the facts right. Get it from a Buyers Advocate in the area. If your kids' and your circumstances fits the school enrolment criteria, we'll ensure you get the right property to qualify for enrolment into the Brentwood Secondary College. No other buyer agents can be so confident to get this right. Brentwood Secondary College vs Glen Waverley Secondary College So, how does Brentwood Secondary College compared with Glen Waverley Secondary College? Here is a brief of Brentwood Secondary College vs Glen Waverley Secondary College, compiled through student interviews and other public domain information. Where is the Brentwood Secondary College School Zone? The Brentwood Secondary College school zone (BSC/BSZ) is a tiny area of about 1 km by 2km around the school. Compared to other Secondary Schools of similar size in the Eastern Melbourne suburbs, Brentwood Secondary College has a smallish catchment area. This is primarily due to the fact that the secondary college is flanked by a few other secondary colleges in the area, and around Glen Waverley. The main secondary colleges flanking Brentwood Secondary College includes Glen Waverley Secondary College (GWSC), Mount Waverley Secondary School (MWSC), Wheelers Hill Secondary College, South Oakleigh Secondary College, Westall Secondary College and Wellington Secondary College. Why is Brentwood Secondary College so popular? Brentwood Secondary College has been consistently and quietly producing student with outstanding VCE results. It is one of the more competitive secondary schools in the Eastern Melbourne area, due to the quality of students it attract, and the academic curriculum and emphasis on student wellbeing. As the Brentwood Secondary College catchment area is relatively small and student capacity is limited, the school has to enforce its enrolment criteria strictly. Students have to meet strict residency criteria, before being considered for enrolment. These criteria includes where the student is residing in, if the student has any other siblings in the college, etc. The enforcement of these criteria are tweaked annually according to the expected student intake. Criterias are known to be added, modified or relaxed. Why is it important to get the right property in Glen Waverley? Because of strong enrolment competition into secondary colleges such as Brentwood Secondary College in Glen Waverley, prices of properties in its catchment areas in Glen Waverley and Wheelers Hill can vary a lot. The right properties in the Brentwood secondary school catchment area can be worth a premium above similar properties outside the school zone, and this gap is slowly widening, as the profile of the school rises and becomes more popular. What this means for buyers is, you need to choose the right properties, so you do not overpay or missed getting into the school zone. What happens if you are living just outside the school zone? Well, I'll say tough luck. Chances are, you will likely end up in your local school. Brentwood Secondary College is popular, and demand from students within its catchment usually outstrips the student capacity. As a public school, it follows standard Victoria Secondary School enrolment guidelines. It has no obligations to accept students, if they do not reside in the school zone. So, when it comes to enrolment, and selecting your secondary school, it will help if you simply apply for your local school. How to find the right property in the Brentwood Secondary School Zone? To find the right property for Brentwood Secondary College, you will need to know where the catchment is. You need to be exact. Brentwood Secondary College has been known to enforce its enrolment criteria quite strictly. Demand from students within its school catchment area outstrips the student capacity. And, as with standard Victoria Secondary School enrolment criteria, it has no obligations to accept students not residing in the school zone. Students had been rejected even if they are just 1 house on the wrong side of the school zone. You will also need to know the prevailing enrolment criteria, etc. If you need help to find the right property for the school, get in touch with us. We have been helping home buyers find the right property for the school since we started our buyers advocacy business. 100% of our clients buying their homes for the school, have been able to buy one that qualifies. Give our buyers advocates a call, to discuss how we can help you buy your home in the Brentwood Secondary School zone. Head over to Heraldsun to check how Victorian schools had been performing over the last 5 years. How every victorian school performed in naplan over five years.

Historically the Brisbane property market has always been a step or two behind the major Sydney and Melbourne property markets. Brisbane has always been seen as the more affordable city, as compared to Sydney and Melbourne. Investors tend to invest in Brisbane only when they are outpriced in Melbourne and Sydney. Lately, there have been a lot of interest in the Brisbane property market recently but is this a hype? Or is this going to be a long term, sustainable trend? Why are Investors Investing in Brisbane Properties? Let's take a step back and look at Brisbane. Investor have always been looking for a reason to buy into Brisbane. Traditionally, investors invest in Brisbane only when they are outpriced in the Melbourne and Sydney market and they do not see value in both Melbourne and Sydney. For now, property buyers are buying into the Brisbane market for 2 main reasons: People trying to get away from pandemic-hit states; and The 2032 Olympic. Affordability used to be cited as a reason, but this "affordability" is always relative, and this is always in comparison with the Sydney and Melbourne markets. What's going to happen in the coming years? 2021 COVID-19 Pandemic Since 2020, property investors have been buying into Brisbane to get away from the frequently-locked-down Melbourne and Sydney. As Victoria and Sydney opens up in coming weeks, Brisbane will have no choice but to open up eventually. It cannot be locked up forever. Let's give Brisbane 3 to 6 months. Most employers ar using the ability to work remotely to live in more affordable places while still getting Sydney and Melbourne salary rates. When Sydney and Melbourne opens up and businesses and offices starts to reopen, can people still "work from home"? Remember, many employees are currently "working from home", and many have used this opportunity to move further out into lower cost regional areas and Brisbane. Will workers start flying in and out of Brisbane, and back into Sydney and Melbourne daily? Maybe, but highly unlikely. People will want to start moving back to where their jobs are, or leave their current jobs and start looking for work locally in Brisbane. Is the Brisbane economy big enough to accommodate them? Probably. Probably not. And what's going to happen to the properties? Many will want to convert them into investment properties, and move back into Melbourne or Sydney. Vacancy rates in Brisbane will increase. Yield goes down, and when yield goes down, property prices will be affected. So, just by looking at the pandemic influenced trend, Brisbane property prices will start to slow in 6 to 9 months, assuming no other factors. 2032 Brisbane Olympics A second reason for Brisbane is, buyers buying and investing in the Brisbane property market in anticipation of the Olympics influenced property boom. Yes, there will be more demand for properties leading up to the Olympics, and there is going to be more infrastructure investments in Brisbane, in preparation for the Olympics. This demand is going to be temporary, in the few months leading up to the Olympics for the Olympics officials, visitors, and athletes and their family and friends. What's going to happen after the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, is anybody's guess. However, if we look at the Sydney Olympics and everywhere else in the world, property prices actually fell, AFTER the Olympics. This is primarily due to the fact that new accommodations for the Olympics visitors will instantly flood the market. There is going to be an instant oversupply of properties in the Brisbane property market after the event, as visitors and temporary workers leave. Sadly, it is typical for property prices to fall an oversupply situation. What does this mean for Brisbane in the next 10 years? Assuming no other factors, and if we overlay these 2 factors together, we'll see property prices continue to grow, up to mid 2022. It is likely to slow or fall, for a year or 2 before interests picks up again. But this interest will only be limited to the Olympic development areas though. More home and investment property buying news and tips here.

Amidst the doom and gloom of multiple interest rates hikes, savvy buyers are snapping good deals. Good deals are still selling fast, and a fantastic deal will still sell within 3 days. And this is one such property. It was bought within 3 days of listing. Here is our story of one of our recent buys. In the Melbourne real estate market, people say you must be crazy to sell your house over the Christmas period. Many buyers (and agents) are away on holidays, and it is pointless selling when no-one is buying. This is one-such property. It was listed the week before Christmas. How Do Buyers Advocates Select The Properties We Buy? We're always monitoring the market for good deals, and this caught our attention. Due diligence showed this property is within 5 minutes of major universities (yes, 2 universities), major shopping mall, and hospital. A second set of shopping malls and hospital is a short 15 minutes away. The bonus is, it is on a large 900sqm block of land, with an outstanding potential for further manufactured growth. Research data also showed the location has already experienced 40-50% growth in 3 years, and it has another 20%+ more growth potential in the near future. It is what our client was looking for, and it ticked all boxes. We presented this property to our client and we were given the go ahead to acquire it. We are expecting strong buying competition for this regional Victorian property, but we are not expecting the competition to be THIS strong. The inspection was organised on day 3 of the listing. 8 other groups of buyers were at the inspection. These are very healthy numbers given we just had 7 interest rates hikes in 7 months, and it is right before Christmas. We have to be diligent with our due diligence when buying in regional Victoria. Our due diligence shows this is a is A-grade investment property, and it will sell fast. Very fast. Two (2) offers vrey received before the inspection ends. How Do Buyers Advocates Made Offers For the Properties? When our Buyers Advocates inspects a property, we include a preliminary assessment of its condition. We are trained builders and our buyers advocates have the right experience to assess the condition of the building. This one passed our walk-thru inspection, and with our green-light from a subsequent formal inspection, our client had given us the go-ahead to purchase it. We know this is grade A investment property, and we were expecting a few other offers. So we had to be different. While our Principal Buyers Advocate, Rayson, was driving back to Melbourne, he was mentally putting together an offer strategy. It has to be creative, and something different. That evening, we discussed a few offer strategies with the clients. This strategy was so specific to this client and property that we are unable to disclose the details. Some parts of the offer strategies were also untested, but following discussions with our network of finance, legal and real estate professionals, we are pretty certain that it can be done. Our offer price was going to be fair. We are always after the best deal for our clients, and we do not want to overpay. Thus, price is not going to be our strong selling point in this offer. The next day, we presented our offer. The agent confirmed there are 7 other offers, and our offer price wasn't the best. There were other higher offers. But our offer was " the most attractive ". Outcome of Our Offer Just two days before Christmas, the agent called. Our offer was accepted at $430k! For our investor client, it was the perfect Christmas gift, timed to perfection. The selling agent expressed relief that the offer came from a professional Buyers Advocate, acknowledging that "BAs like us aren't sitting around." They understood that when we present an offer, it's backed by thorough buyer qualification and market knowledge. We know the true value of the property, and we ensure our clients are fully prepared and financially capable before the offer is even made. This level of professionalism reassures the sales agents that they won’t be wasting time with unqualified or unprepared buyers. With our clients, the only hurdle was potentially the price. It wasn't the most attractive price, but the professionalism by being represented by a professional buyers advocates and the preparation of the offer package and deal make our offer the easy choice. The property was successfully settled in February 2023. We then handpicked one of the top property managers in the area to oversee the rental, and it was leased within a week—thanks to the prime location and low vacancy rate. Prices are Growing for Good Properties In just two short months, by March 2023, similar properties in the same neighborhood were selling for $480k to $500k—a remarkable 10% growth in value in 2 months . But our client isn’t selling just yet. They have bigger plans, and we’re working closely with them to unlock the full potential of this property and maximize their investment. Fast forward to September 2024, and the property is now valued at nearly $600k, marking an impressive 40% increase in just 18 months . Even more remarkable is that this growth occurred during a period of rising and high interest rates, proving that with the right strategy and expert guidance, significant gains are possible, even in challenging market conditions. Help for Home Buyers and Investment Property Buyers This is just one of the examples of how we turn property dreams into reality, combining expertise, timing, and a commitment to our clients’ success. If you are after a similar good deal, get in touch. While we cannot guarantee every property will be as good or similar, you can be certain that we will get the property for the best price for you. Get in touch now if you want the confidence to grab your prime property in this hot market. More home and investment property buying news and tips here .

Investing in properties can be a rewarding venture, but it's not without its challenges. In the current climate of high interest rates, one significant hurdle that property investors may face is mortgage stress. What is Mortgage Stress? Frist, let's look at Mortgage Stress. What is mortgage stress? Mortgage stress occurs when property owners find it difficult and impossible to meet their mortgage repayments commitments. This is often when there is a continued significant reduction in their income or increase in their expenses. In the current economic and property market environment in 2023, it is the latter that caused mortgage stress. What caused the excessive inflation in 2022? In layman's terms.. We'll try to explain what happened over the past 10-15 years, in layman's terms. The decade-long post GFC historic low interest rates have led property owners to be over-confident with taking out mortgages which they would have otherwise not be able to afford. They have over-committed themselves over the past 10-12 years, due to the historic low interest rates, buying property after property using "equities" (borrowed) in their assets to fund the new purchases. In essence, they are digging themselves a larger debt hole with the ever-growing equity spade. All of a sudden, COVID-19 hit, leading to economic worldwide shutdown. Governments attempted to stop the world from collapsing into deflation, and started flooding the economy with billions of lockdown support "incentives" dollars to help consumers fund their expenses. Post pandemic lockdowns, the billions of extra equities in the economy led to massive price increase. Instead of having $1 to buy 1 dollar worth of stuff pre-pandemic, consumers now have $1.30 to pay for the same exact thing. This, of course, caused a massive price increase, or massive devaluation of cash. Your pre-pandemic $1 can now only buy the something that cost 60-70 cents, pre-pandemic. Resulting in economies around the world being hit with massive inflation. Now, in economics schools, leaders are taught to use interest rates to manage inflation in the capitalist economy. And that is exactly what our politicians do. 13 rounds of rate increases by RBA, caused mortgage rates to rise from a low 2% to over 8-9% now. This massive increase in mortgage rates caused mortgage repayments to rise. Putting that into perspective, for a typical mortgage of $800,000, interest only repayments jumped 400% from $1333 (@ 2%) to $5333 (@ 8%). How can you avoid Mortgage Stress? It is also important to remember, while mortgage stress is not ideal, it is also not insurmountable. It is stressful, but do not let this stress consume you. With the right help, it can be overcome and solved. Our investment buyers advocates can help you review your situation, asset performance and recommend solutions to help you restructure your portfolio, improve your income and/or reduce your mortgage burden. You can also seek help from other investment buyers advocates for the same review, if they provide one. It is critical to seek advice from an independent property investment advisor, instead of sales agents (they are only interested in your property listing). What can you do to avoid Mortgage Stress? In this article, we will explore the steps property investors can use to overcome mortgage stress and regain control of their financial situation: 1. Review and Assess your Financial Position: The first step in reviewing your mortgage stress situation is to take stock. Do a stocktake of your current financial situation, including your mortgage commitments. Analyze your income, expenses, and existing debts. Start by creating a comprehensive budget to gain a clear understanding of your cash flow. Take a spreadsheet, list down your monthly income on 1 column, and your monthly expenses on the other column, including your mortgage repayments. Have a separate section for EACH property you have, listing all income and expenses for each of them. Next, review each of these expenses and identify the "nice-to-have" and "must-have" expenses. For "nice-to-have" expenses, these are what you can stop spending on, and for those "must-have" expenses, search for lower cost alternatives, where possible. This evaluation will help you identify areas where you are currently spending your money and help you identify where you can cut back on expenses and potentially increase your income. 2. Seek Portfolio Review from a Property Investment Advocate: Independent real estate buyers advocates can help review your existing property portfolio, appraise your property values and advice which properties you can consider selling to minimise your debts and improve your asset holdings. However, selecting which property to downsize is a challenge to many investors, as there are too many factors to consider, and they usually have no clues which and how to identify them. Being in the stressful mortgage stress also created a mental block in the property investors, stopping them from reviewing each of these properties systematically and logically. It is critical that you find an independent advocate for this review, to ensure you receive an impartial, no-hidden-agenda review outcome. You may need to pay a small fee (typically under $1000) for such a review, but, hey, what is a small fee, if you can receive clarify of how each property is performing, and what you need to do to prevent your mortgage stress? The independent property buyers advocate can help identify the properties which have further growth potential in the current and immediate future market conditions, and which are the ones you that will give you constant pain, with little gain. Although it is often emotionally challenging, selling or downsizing your property portfolio is the most effective way to reduce your mortgage commitment and thus, reduce your mortgage stress, give a life line and let you to start anew, when times are better. We will cover this topic in part 2 of this series to help mortgage stress. So, subscribe and follow our blogs and updates. To maximise the effectiveness of this step, you need to have your portfolio reviewed BEFORE you fall behind in mortgage repayments. 3. Seek Financial Advice and Mortgage Review: Following the review above, you will have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve and which properties to retain, refinance or sell. You are now ready to seek financial advice from mortgage brokers. With a clear idea of how each property in your portfolio should be managed, you are now ready to give the mortgage broker something to work on. Remember, most mortgage brokers are NOT investment property savvy. Their job and expertise is to process a loan or refinance application for your property. 99% of them do not have the real estate licence and experience to advice if a property is a liability or an asset and keeper. Many are also in cohorts with sales agents who just want your listings, thus, you will need to be careful who to trust. Always take their property recommendations with a bucket of salt. They are not experienced and licenced to provide property advice, and many are in partnerships with real estate agents to encourage you to sell. 4. Communicate with your Lender: If you do not have a mortgage broker, we can recommend some of our trusted ones. Or you can alternatively communicate directly and openly with your lender. Contact them as soon as you anticipate or experience difficulty in meeting your mortgage repayments. Contrary to popular belief, banks have the obligation to review and help you manage your mortgage repayments. And it is, in fact, in the lenders interest to help you manage your repayments. Remember, they are in the financial industry and not the real estate industry. They would rather collect your money than engage someone to sell your house. Lenders may offer various support options such as repayment holidays, interest rate renegotiation, or loan restructuring. It's in their interest to help you find a solution, as foreclosure is typically a last resort for them. 5. Explore Income Producing Strategies: If your property is generating rental income, explore ways to maximize its potential. A property buyers advocate can help assess the current rental market and advise how and when the current rental rates should be adjusted to be competitive. Alternatively, you could also investigate the feasibility of converting your own home or spare rooms in your home into short-term rentals through platforms like Airbnb. In the right location and with the right pricing, these strategies can help increase your cash flow and alleviate mortgage stress. Conclusion Mortgage stress can be difficult and overwhelming for property investors, but with a proactive approach and careful consideration of available options, it can be overcome. Remember to assess your financial situation, seek professional advice, communicate with your lender, and explore strategies such as refinancing, renting, or downsizing. By taking these steps, property investors can often regain control of their mortgage before their banks take possession of the property, and work towards a more secure financial future. Get in touch with our property advocate to help review your portfolio. More home and investment property buying news and tips here.

$2 billion dollars. That's how much Australians had lost to scams in 2021 alone. And 35% (or $700million) of this is investment related scams. Sadly, this number is increasing exponentially annually. With more transactions being moved online and being made electronically, cashless and completed remotely, identifying a scam and scammers is getting harder by the day. Scammers are learning, evolving and becoming more sophisticated as more of their activities are being exposed and modus operandi published. How can you stay alert and avoid a real estate scam? Our Buyers Advocates Agency Director, Rayson, taps into his experience as a Certified Ethical Hacker, CISSP Information Security Advisor, to explain some of the most common real estate scams and how they work. We will also show how you can identify these scams and protect yourself from these scammers. It is not meant to be comprehensive bible of scams, as each scam is a topic on its own, if we were to completely dissect each scam. It is meant to provide sufficient information for you to be aware of what these scams look like and how not to be scammed. What are the types of real estate scams? Real estate scams are usually related to or originate from a non-real estate scams. As scammers starts to be more familiar with the real estate industry and the property selling and buying processes, they start to exploit loopholes and weaknesses in the processes to their advantage. Scammers and exploiters are usually after 2 things: Money; and Identity. Money is what they want ultimately, and in order not to get caught and/or get access to more sources of data for scamming, they need to hide their real identities behind someone else's identity. In the case of real estate related scams, scammers usually combine real estate specific scams with other common security exploits or process loopholes to maximise their impact. Real estate scams take on many shapes and forms. Here are some of the more common ones; and one of them is so common, not many people can immediately identify: Real Estate Rental listing scams Real Estate Sales listing scams Payment redirection scams Man-in-the-middle hack Identity thefts Phishing scams Property Investment Scams 1. Real Estate Rental Listing Scams In a tight rental market like Melbourne, scammers are actively taking advantage of the low rental vacancies and scamming desperate renters. How does a Rental Listing Scam work? Rental listing scams start with having a fake rental listing or a fake rental advertisement. The property address is highly likely to exist, as it is too easy to verify an address. But it may or may not actually be ready for rent. What is certain is, the advertiser is a scammer, hiding behind a fake identity. We see a lot of such scam ads in free listing sites like Facebook groups, Facebook forums, Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, Whirlpool, etc. Essentially, most scammers exploits the free advertisements platforms to their advantage. How do you identify a Rental Listing Scam? Some characteristics of a Rental Listing Scam includes: people looking for housemates refusing to allow in-person inspection of property/room lower than usual rentals asking for renters details prior to inspection, even if you are not keen asking for inspection deposit prior to inspection offering you to move-in ASAP, in exchange for a fee/early deposit Insisting on a few months rental payments before accepting your interest. In Melbourne (and many other states in Australia), it is illegal to accept more then 1 month's rent. Legitimate agents knew this. Scammers don't. How to protect yourself from a Rental Listing Scam? Always check to ensure the person listing the ad is a real person. Call to speak to the person. Check the person's real estate licence, if he/she is a licenced real estate agent. Check against your state's real estate agent register. Check the address. Google the address. See if the property is actually exist. Check if the property specs tallies with what's describe in the ad. Check if the property is actually bring listed by someone else, somewhere else, etc. Redflag, if it is. Avoid making any payments before you inspect. Licenced agents do not collect payments for inspections. If you have to make any payments, ensure it goes into the real estate agencies' Trust Account. NOT to any other bank accounts or even the person's personal account. 2. Sales Listing Scams How does a sales listing scam work? Sales listing scams are similar to a rental listing scam. It starts with having a fake sales advertisement. Just like the rental listing scam, the property is likely to exist, but it may or may not actually be ready for sale. The advertiser is also likely going to be hiding behind a fake identity. We usually see a lot of such fake listings in free listing sites like Facebook groups, Facebook forums, Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, Whirlpool, etc. How to identify a Sales Listing Scam? Some typical characteristics of a Sales Listing Scam includes: people looking for quick sale refusing to allow or tries to delay in-person inspection of property lower than usual asking price asking for buyers details prior to inspection asking for a payment / deposit prior to inspection How to protect yourself from a Sales Listing Scam? Always check to ensure the person listing the ad is a real person. Call to speak to the person. Check the person's real estate licence, if they are selling a property that's not theirs. They must be a real estate agent if they are selling on behalf of someone else. Check against your state's real estate agent register. Check the address. Simply Google the address. See if the property is actually exist. Check if the property specs tallies with what's describe in the ad. Check if the property is actually bring listed by someone else, somewhere else, etc. Redflag, if it is. Avoid making any payments before you inspect. Licenced agents don't usually collect any payments for inspections. Do not make any offers or payments until you receive the contract of sales and vendor declarations (Section 32 in Victoria) for the property. If you have to make any payments, ensure it goes into the real estate agencies' Trust Account. NOT to any other bank accounts or the agent's personal account. 3. Payment Redirection Scams How does a payment redirection scam work? This is very similar to the payment redirection scam in the non-real estate world. It usually involves the victim receiving a notice for payment / invoice, usually from legitimate source. A source which they are expecting. However, the legitimate notification has been compromised and banking details replaced with the scammer's banking details. Someone has gained access to the company / agency / agent's billing system or email system. The payment notice / invoice is real, and the victim is expecting the payment notices / invoices, but, the hacker / scammer has compromised the notices / invoices, replaced the legitimate bank details with the hackers' bank details. When the victim makes a payment, the payment goes to the hacker, hacker sends the victim a 'receipt', to fool them into thinking the payment had been received, while an email could be sent to the real agent, asking for a longer payment timeline or similar reasons for delay. This buys the hacker time to transfer the fund to a different (usually offshore) account, and give the hacker time to shut down the scam. How to identify a Payment Redirection Scam? There isn't a lot of telltale signs for this, unfortunately. But we can try our luck to identify poor english, spelling mistakes, etc. In some cases, these "mistakes" are intentional, so the hackers / scammers can identify who or where the money should be sent to. How to protect yourself from a payment redirection scam? The best way is to look up the agent / agency's contact number from the agency website, and call the agent / agency, to verbally confirm the payment details. Note: DO NOT USE the phone number provided in the invoice / payment instruction. If it is a deposit for a house, marketing expense, rent, also ensure the payment is sent to the agency's trust account, not anyone else's personal bank account. 4. Man-in-the-Middle Hack How does a man-in-the-middle hack work? This is essentially similar to the payment redirection scam above. The hacker intercepts the email / message / webpage, and replace the legitimate information, eg bank account numbers, with the hacker's information. How to identify a Man-in-the-Middle Hack? No usual telltale signs. But as per the payment redirection scam, watch for bad english, spelling mistakes. Again, as per the above, some of these bad spellings or bad english is intentional. How to protect yourself from a man-in-the-middle hack? As with the payment redirection scam above, the best way is to call the agent / agency, to verbally confirm the payment details. If it is a deposit for a house, marketing expense, rent, ensure the payment is sent to the agency's trust account, not anyone else's personal bank account. 5. Identity Theft When the scammers are scamming their victims, they would definitely not reveal who they really are. They need legitimate identities, in order to scam their next victims, and thus they have to either illegally access secured IT systems to download their customer base, or get their innocent victims to provide their real identity. How does Identity Theft work? This can happen in any way, shape or form. You could come across some free lottery for some attractive prices. These are popular channel for data sellers to collect real information. Everyone wants to win, and they are more than happy to submit their real name and contact details for the lucky draw. You could come across an interesting invite to decrypt your horoscope or foretell your fortune / future, usually in social media sites. You could also have lost your bank statement or utility bills in your mail. Someone has stolen these statements and bills from your letterbox. Sometimes, you may not even realise your identity has been hacked until it is too late. Like the major Optus and Medibank hacks in 2022 m. How to identify an identity theft? As above, they can happen anywhere. Be vigilant. Always trust this: Nothing is free. If it is free, you are the product being sold. In the real estate context, some of these could come in the form of asking renters / buyers for excessive information, claiming these are needed for verification or needed for your application. If you need to provide anything more than your name, email address, contact number to register for an inspection, be careful. How to protect yourself from identity theft? Be vigilant, do not be too liberal with your identity and data. Be wary when someone were to ask for your identity. Disclose your personal data only on a need to know basis. 6. Phishing Phishing is another scammer tool to steal your identity. It usually involves an email or webpage that looks like a legitimate email / webpage. The victim will then be prompted to provide their personal data or login in user ID and password to access their account. How does Phishing work? The phishing starts with the attacker sending out an email, creating a sense of urgency for the victim to take action. This victim will then be sent to a website that looks like a legitimate website, but is fake. Recall the so-called emails from your banks NAB, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ claiming your account or credit card has been frozen or blocked, asking you to click a link or call a number to verify your details? Or your Amazon, Netflix subscriptions being renewed for some obscene subscription fees? That is the hackers call-to-action for you to access their fake webpage or fake contact centre where they will ask you for your personal details and credit card numbers, so they can "verify" your details and billing records. How to identify a Phishing Scam? Identify these phishing scams are usually easy. These days, they usually come via emails. Emails are free. Phishing scams are so rampant, it is very common and very easy to set up. When you receive an unexpected email, it probably is fake. Other tell tale signs includes spelling mistakes, poor grammar, a sense of untidiness, etc. Some of these mistakes / errors, might seem like an oversight, but some are intentional so the hackers / scammers / attackers know who originated these, and where the victims were supposed to be directed to. Phishing websites are designed to look very similar to a legitimate website. So similar that even the URL for the website is similar. eg, instead of commonwealthbank.com.au, it could be c0mm0nwealthbank.com.au. Or instead of raywhite.com.au, it could be raywh1te.com.au or raywhile.com.au How to protect yourself from Phishing Scam? As mentioned above, phishing scams are so rampant and common these days, that when you receive an unexpected email / call, it is likely a scam. Delete the email. Hang up the call. If you believe the email is legitimate and want to verify it, do not click on the link provided in the email. Manually type in the website on your web browser. EG, if you want to verify your amazon subscription, or NAB account, type amazon.com.au or nab.com.au on your browser. Do not use the link provided in the emails. If the emails are part of a phishing attack, the links provided in the email will be fake. Clicking on these fake links will bring you to their fake log-in pages where your log-in user ID, passwords, personal data and billing records will be collected and misused / sold. That's usually how your bank or subscription accounts get compromised. And what is the most common scam in real estate? 7. Property Investment Scams This is, by far, the most common scam. In fact, this is so common that no-one actually thought they would be scams. Most investors will not even realise it is a scam, if you are not in the industry. These scams (or misinformation, as some prefer to call it) masquerade themselves as investment planning advice, selling you a dream. But these dreams are no more than marketing bluffs. Look for the disclaimers. it is usual that these investment plans or sales talks are hidden behind 3-4 pages of disclaimers, in fine prints. One such organisation has a disclaimer (in fine prints) that is 5-8 times longer than the email!! How does a property investment scam work? Promises of financial freedom through property investing. Investors were promised outstanding investment properties, extremely high yield, zero-dollar deposit, guaranteed rental returns for x number of years. But these spruikers / scammers are no more than a property sales person, (most are not even appropriately licenced, or they might claimed that licensing is not necessary as they are "operating under someone else's licence"). They are doing nothing but selling properties which the developers have problem selling. These are usually sub standard properties in over supplied locations. How to identify a Property Investment Scam? These scams are usually more elaborate than other scammers. 1. Be wary of free seminars / webinars or "training sessions". Spruikers / scammers usually organise free seminars and webinars, to provide "updates on property markets", "free property investment course" or teach you how to retire early. Some tried to create a sense of exclusivity, by claiming their sessions are "by invitation only", while some openly advertise them on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, etc. All you need to do, is sign up with your name, email, and phone numbers, and you will receive an invitation to attend. Attending these seminars and webinars is the start of their "education" campaign. Some call this a brain washing campaign though. You'll be promised how, with a very low deposit, you can replace your income, be financially free and retire in as little as 3 years. Simply ask for their financial planning licence, if they claim they can build a plan for you. if they cannot show it, they are just sales persons or scammer, selling properties. 2. Watch out for these common telltale sales pitch: they said they had just bought one, a few houses away. they said the customer, seated 2 tables away had just bought 1 a nearby property was sold for x times more. there're only 2 houses left, and you have to buy one soon, if you do not want to miss out disclaimers that are over a page in length, and in fine prints. These disclaimers are sometimes 3-4 pages or more in length. How to protect yourself from a property investment scam? Verify Real Estate Licences: check to ensure these sellers are licenced real estate agent. Anyone selling real estate must be licenced and insured. And this include the person you are dealing with. That's right, he / she needs his / her own licence, not his boss's, his friend's, his uncle's licence. Verify Financial Planning License: check to ensure they have the appropriate financial planning licence. Anyone claiming to build your personal investment plan must be a licenced financial planner. It it vital that the person you are interacting with must be licenced, not using his / her boss's, aunty's / uncle's / friend's licence. Conduct Independent Due Diligence: Take charge of your investment decisions by conducting thorough due diligence. Verify the information provided to you and separate facts from fiction. These spruikers are experts in mixing facts with fiction. While some facts might appear to be true, you will often find that they are not applicable to the property they are selling to you. We had come across a group which used the good Melbourne property market average annual growth rate of 7% while promoting a rural Queensland property (!!). Or they may use the 7% growth rate for a typical Melbourne house, for the apartment they are marketing. Apartments in Melbourne (and in most areas throughout Australia) are money losing purchases. Beware of Catchy Business Names: They have catchy business names promising freedom through property investment, claiming to be able to help propell your investment plans, or selling you a next property to help iron-clad your goldfish properties. Scrutinize their claims, conduct research, and rely on reputable sources before making any investment decisions. This scam is so common and widespread and has claimed so many victims that the Australian Consumer Watchdog, ACCC, has issued this scam advisory. Conclusion - how to prevent being scammed. Scammers are forever trying to stay one step ahead of any detection technology and education. In order to prevent ourself from being scammed, we will need to: stay alert, keep yourself updated of scam activities, never click on emails or links which you are not expecting. check the real estate agent's personal licence, not their bosses', uncle's, partner's. check the investment advisor's personal licence, not their bosses', uncle's, partner's. If you are buying your property and want to be safe and avoid being scammed, you can also engage a licenced pro-buyer real estate buyer advocates to help with your purchase. Our licenced buyers advocates have over 20 years of real estate investing and buying experience, and we are more than willing to assist to help you buy your home or investment properties. Our agency director, Rayson is a certified ethical hacker and cyber security advisor. He has seen these and newer scams and would be able to help our clients verify and avoid them.

The $1.1million Glen Waverley Secondary College School Zone Property (GWSC/GWSZ) A 3 bedroom house in the Glen Waverley Secondary College school zone (GWSC/GWSZ) for under $1.1million? Yes, it is possible. Listed with price guide of above $1.3million, we were asked to provide an independent appraisal for the property. We said $1.1million to $1.2million (if the vendor is lucky), vendor said no, and our appraisal was rubbish and our offer of $1.11million was turned down. It is OK. Everyone is entitled to have their own opinion of how much their property is worth. With our independent appraisal, we can only provide an opinion of what buyers in the property market will pay at that point in time. Being local experts in the Glen Waverley, Mount Waverley and surrounding areas, our appraisals have been quite spot-on. Vendors can definite disagree with out valuation, but our opinion will not be determined by vendor's disagreement. We can agree to disagree, and disagree we did. We walked away and waited. What happened after our offer for the property was rejected? 3 months after rejecting our offer, the vendor brought their listing to a different agent, who recommended an auction campaign. Auction day come, and the property was passed in, with the vendor insisting on a reserve of $1.3million. A further 3 months went, before it was sold for $1.05million. 6 interest rates rises after our initial offer was rejected, the property was finally sold for $1.05million. It is quite clear the vendor had lost a significant capital by holding out, hoping for better offers. With an average interest at 6%, the 6 months delay cost the vendor around $30,000 in extra interest repayments. How much was the vendor worse off, when our reasonable offer was rejected? lost in sold price: $60,000 loss in 6 mths interest repayments: $30,000 new sales campaign under new agent: $5,000 Total: $95,000 (approx) If the vendor had the right expectations, and accepted our independent assessment, they wouldn't have suffered a further $95k loss. A quick check into the history of this property shows a darker story. We're very sorry for this vendor and we can understand why he was insisting $1.3million. However, the property is worth what it is. We're not prepared to overpay for the property, if it is not worth $1.3million. History of the property The vendor bought this property back in 2021, at the height of the property buying frenzy post-pandemic, for $1.1million, with the intention to quickly renovate and flip. Considering the buying cost, stamp duties and interest rates over the 2 years ownership, and renovation costs, it probably cost the vendor a total of $1,350,000 in total. Considering the sold price of $1,050,000, and less agent commission of 2%, he made a loss of close to $300,000. Lesson on Due Diligence In a Fear of Missing Out situation, in a buying frenzy, it is easy to be caught up by market pressure, fear of missing out, greed, and more critically, wrong expectations or misinformation, and naive assumptions. Many new property investors were caught out. If you are 100% sure of what you are doing, you'll be good. If you believed you know, chances are, you don't. Always get qualified help and advice. You have a choice to choose who you believe in. Help from social media is only as good as the information you provide, the responder's interpretation and assumptions, knowledge, opinions, and etc. Would you rather believe a faceless person behind a FB profile, or would you trust someone whom you can call, visit the site, consult with you and always there to help and guide you? The role of independent Buyers Advocates As independent buyer's advocates, our job is to educate both buyers and sellers on the value of a property. We've no agenda to drive, we've nothing to sell. So, we're not your usual pushy sales agents. Sales will promise you the sky, to get your listing (that is their KPI). But we know a good deal when we see one and will drive hard for a good deal when there is one. Unrealistic expectations often results in more unnecessary pain, with little gains, or massive loss in this worse case situations. There is only one group of happy buyer for each property. Make yourself that happy buyer, at the right price. Our principal Buyers Advocate Rayson, personally see over each deal being made with our buying services.

What is an established house? Should you buy an established house? A residential established house is the most purchased type of property in Melbourne and Victoria. What is an established house? What do you need to know when buying this type of property? What are the pros and cons? How does an established house compared to other types of residential properties in Melbourne? First off, what is an established house? It is a house that has already been built and pre-owned. Someone has already lived in it and are moving on from there. Some might call it a second-hand house or a resale house. Benefits - Advantages of an Established House One of the biggest benefit of buying an established house is its simplicity. The house is already available for you to view, touch, see, and you can imaging yourself owning and living in it. What you see is essentially what you get. If you are happy with it, you make an offer, and if it is accepted, you organise the financing, and wait for the keys. It is that simple. There are many established houses in the Melbourne property market to choose from. With price ranging from under $400k to well over $20million. Most of these are in matured suburbs and in high demand locations. The location has been built up and established for ages, and more often than not, it will be near major amenities, such as shopping centres, supermarkets, schools, good public transport infrastructure, etc. Downsides - Disadvantages of an Established House The biggest benefit can also be one of the biggest considerations. Remember, what you see is what you get. The floorplan, layout of the rooms, kitchen. bathrooms, that you see, will be what you are getting. Tough luck if you do not like it. Investing on renovations will be the only way to change it, if you like the location, but not the color or layout. Some of these houses can be rather old, so we need to understand the condition of the property, before you commit to buying it. In Victoria, one out of every 3 properties is affected by termites and pests. To have a peace of mind, you should also consider investing in a building and pest inspection prior to confirming the purchase. This will identify any major pest and termites infections, and structural issues with the building. With building and pest inspections, it is critical to have it done by a good inspector you trust. Once the purchase goes unconditional, you are pretty much on your own. If you do not know who to contact, should you rely on the recommendations of a sales agent for such inspections? No. We will discuss why, in another blog. Look out for that in coming weeks. If you are still looking for a building and pest inspector, do feel free to reach out to us. We have a few trusted partners whom, we are more than happy to recommend. Other Things You Need to know when buying an Established House Some considerations you need to be wary of are: a. Stamp duty First home buyers in Victoria will enjoy First Home Owners Grant (FHOG) stamp duties exemptions for properties up to $600k and some stamp duty concessions for properties costing between $600,001 to $750,000 in Melbourne. You might also be eligible for the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS), whereby you'll only need a 5% deposit. b. Conveyancing You will need to budget around $1000-$1500 for conveyancing costs. There might be cheaper conveyancing services charging as low as $600 for a property. We've tried and tested some of them, and there's none whom we will recommend. c. Council and water rates The council and water rates are determined by the valuation of the property, and it varies from council to council. For a typical established home in Melbourne with a median price of $800k - $1.2 million, expect to pay around $1500 - $2000 annually in council and water rates. d. Body corporate/Owners corporate Stand alone houses usually do not have any body corporate or owners corporate fees. This fees is a common pool of money which property owners have to contribute into, to pay for the maintenance, and insurance and other fees and expenses in maintaining the common areas of the property, such as common drive way, walkways, etc. This does not usually apply for stand alone houses, but you should always confirm this with the sales agent. This information is also available in the Section 32 of the Contract of Sales for any property in Victoria. How do you choose the right established house? Refer to our getting started guide. This guide should show you what you should do to get into the property market. Conclusion As you can see, buying an established house is probably the quickest and easiest way of buying a residential property. You can move into an established house in 4 weeks or under. What else do you have to consider? Feel free to have a chat with us, if you need further guidance.