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Buyers Agents are your Personal Property Advisor | Your Expert Guidance Here is a property investment secret. It is a very well kept secret... until now. And it is also one of the most frequently asked question. "What is a buyer's agent? What does a buyer's agent do?" Let's look at this from another perspective. If you have $100,000 in cash and you are looking to invest, will you engage the services of a financial planner or a fund manager? OR are you confident enough to do it yourself? Now, when you are intending to buy a $1million property, will you seek professional advice? OR will you buy and hope for the best? Successful property investors like Donald Trump and Warren Buffett do not buy their own properties. They engage the services of buyer advocates or buyer agents. ​ Professional property investors know that buying properties is a very time consuming process which many successful investors do not have. It requires a lot of due diligence, research, planning, feasibility studies / modelling, growth considerations, searching, shortlisting properties, and doing on-site inspections, etc. ​​ Through our 25+ years of experience in working with buyers, we have found that many buyers: ❌ do not have a plan ❌ do not have enough time to source for the property ❌ fear overpaying for the property ❌ do not fully understand what is involved in due diligence ❌ do not like to deal with real estate agents ​❌ do not realise selling real estate agents are bound by law to look after the interest of the seller. ​​ The secret to property buying? Professional property investors invest in buyer agents and they take advantage of: ✅ reduced inaction cost ✅ simplified purchasing process ✅ faster purchasing process ✅ deeper insights into the area ✅ leveling the playing field against selling agents ✅ confidence, comfort, knowing they finally have an agent working for them. ​ They know the quality and savings from the services of a buyers agent more than make up for the cost of the service. In Melbourne, using the services of a buyer agent can potentially save you over $100,000! Find out why. ​ Did you also know? 50%-75% of the properties sold and bought are not listed. Buyer Agents also have access to off-market properties, and advanced notice from selling agents about upcoming listings. These are valuable lists of properties which are not available to the public, and this means the chances of securing a good off-market property is higher. ​​ More reading How do you find the right buyer agent? ​ If you have a question about buying in the Melbourne market, feel have a chat with us.

TIPS FOR THE KEEN PROPERTY INVESTOR IN AUSTRALIA OR ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD These are collections of tips based on true experiences. Property investment "gurus" are everywhere. Many claimed to have built multi-million portfolios in as little as 5 years, and claimed to be experts at doing that. Are they spruikers? Or are they the real deal? Here are some tips and pointers to help you understand what's going on. When you started with your investment journey, investing in anything is interesting and you probably wanted to explore everything. Shares, Options, Rights, Crypto-currencies, Properties, etc. Here in Australia, property is probably the most consistent and stable performer. In Melbourne, property prices have, on average, grew 7% every year. IE, prices doubles every 10 years, and triples every 16 years. In an average adult's useful working life of 30 years, prices would have grown 7.6 times. That means, that cheapie $100,000 property which you bought when you first started work, would be worth $760,000 when you start to retire. Now, name an investment vehicle that gives you this sort of returns. Exclude the speculative roller coaster Crypto-currency. More adventurous property investors would be also be exploring development, joint-ventures, renovations, etc, in addition to the regular set-and-forget buy-to-rent strategy. Contrary to the hundreds of narratives out there, anything more then your buy-to-rent property investment would be considered "advanced" investment strategies and they are not for the faint hearted. These are high-risk, and potentially high returns property investment projects. People have lost millions in the failed development projects. If you are into these advanced projects, here are some tips which all property investors have to know. First Tip: Trust No-One Be cautious with whoever you are dealing with. No one is going to look out for you. NO ONE. You need to look after yourself and your hard earned cash. Second Tip: Use Tools Use tools that are easily accessible to help with your research, don't rush into anything, take your time, deals will always be there. It may not be the one you're researching about, but what you have learnt along the way will help with your next deal. More advanced smart tools can help with your research, but these are usually subscription based, and would typically cost between $200-300 per month, in subscription. Because of the costs, these are usually not for the individual, and are usually meant for professionals and businesses such as buyers advocates, buyers agents and professional property developers. Do google searches and check online reviews on everything, the people you are going to do business with, the companies they represent, google is usually your best friend, use it. But do understand that everyone can post ANYTHING, good or bad, about something. Learn to differentiate truth from fake. Third Tip: Check Licences Because scammers are everywhere, there is a need for the government to protect individual investors. Thus the almost everyone dealing in property, real estate, and building, development, have to be registered, licenced and properly insured. Licencing and registration helps to ensure these people are properly trained, regulated, and end-consumers like yourself are protected. Learn to know the differences between mandatory licensing and optional memberships. When you are dealing with your real estate sales agent, property manager, owners corporation manager, buyers agent and buyers advocates, they have to be licenced. However, being membership of REIV and REBAA are optional. These are often more about branding and marketing that protecting consumers. Different business choose whether to be members of REIV/REBAA depending on their marketing priorities. It is optional. But as long as the agent you are dealing with is selling, buying, managing your property, they have to be licenced and insured. Make sure you check their licenses. Check if they have the license to do what they are doing. Be it your real estate agent, the sales person who tries to sell you a property, your tradespersons. Check with the local authorities that the licenses are up-to-date, etc. Anyone will try to sell you something for a quick buck. Only the properly licenced ones can give you the right protection you need. Fourth Tip: Do some background checks If you can, do background checks on the persons you will be dealing with, especially if you are going to invest your hard earned cash with this person or company. There are so many online websites for a few dollars that can run these checks for you. Fifth Tip: Ask for References Either online references, or clients who have done business with them, ask for references, and if you can, ask to speak to them. This is so important as it gives you an idea of who you are about to do business with. Ask in forums, ask your friends, and search online. Also, do understand that some businesses, such as buyers agents, could be sensitive and their clientele might not always welcome the idea of providing references. Always respect the clients privacy needs. If respecting the client's privacy does not gives you the comfort to deal with the business, walk away. Sixth Tip: Legal Stuffs Legal paperwork, before you sign your life away, pay the money and get a second opinion on what you are signing, I wish I had done that once and I wouldn't now be in such a situation! Always get a second opinion from a lawyer that you have found, not someone recommended by the seller. Seventh Tip: Trust Your Instincts If something presented to you sounds good true to be true, it usually is. Trust your gut, if something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't right. In general, be wary of people who are very good sweet talkers. On the flip side, "Instincts" and "gut Feel" is more often than not, based on EXPERIENCE. While some good things could be too good to be true, there are indeed some good deals. Experience plays a part. Knowing the area and what you are getting into, also help our buyers agents to confidently tell you if we've found a good property worth buying. Some deals can be very obscure, very specific, and can be snapped up very quickly. Thus, when our buyers advocates say "it is a good deal and you need to action quickly", it usually is. We might not have the time to do a complete due diligence, might not have the luxury of time to explain everything to you, or extrapolate the profit down to the last cent, but, hey... didn't you engage our buyers agency services so we can help you find a good deal confidently and quickly? Eighth Tip: Two Side to a Coin With everything, there is always a good and the bad. Make sure you know all the PROS and CONS of anything you are going into. Know the risks involved, and have a plan to deal with it or an exit strategy. Ninth Tip: FOMO Please do not give in to the hype of "HURRY NOW OR YOU WILL LOSE THIS DEAL" from a sales person. In fact, be very skeptical. Always remember, if you are not paying the licenced real estate agent, he/she is getting paid from the seller/vendor. And, under the regulations, they have to look after the interest of the SELLER. We've explained this here. Take your time, do your homework. Remember, if you are buying and you didn't pay your agents for his/her services, the agent is working against you. However, if that comes from your independent buyers advocate, it is 99% true. Your Buyers Agent has to protect your buying interest explained here). And when they say "FAST", it means fast. We've been buying for over 20+ years and we've seen properties sold within hours. It is listed in the morning, and sold in the afternoon. So, when our buyers agents tell you to be FAST, we mean FAST. Our agents would have done their research in the area, and has sufficient information to be confident with our recommendations. Tenth Tip: When Your Salesperson Also Bought One You'll probably have heard this too often. Isn't it interesting that your agent have "just bought one" too. Yes, the free property agent who's helping you to build your portfolio, have also bought this. This is a very common marketing line. We know, as we use that line if we've really bought one. It is so effective, and we often have buyers asking "why are you buying". We wished we have a bottomless pocket. We wished we can buy every good deal that we recommend. But, we don't. We have limited budget and even if we have unlimited budget, we will not buy everything. It wouldn't be fair to our clients. Our clients come first, if they've engaged our paid search services. They will have the first dip and the right right to refuse if we are acting for them and have found a good deal on their instructions. That's our commitment to our clients. No games, just being fair. LAST BUT NOT LEAST... If you've noticed, marketing emails almost always comes with lengthy disclaimers and advice warnings. They were written for a reason, read that fine print. We sincerely hope for each of you that you never have to experience what it is to be scammed and to lose a whole lot of money. But sometimes, we are just too trusting. There are people out there who do not really care about you or your situation. So, before you say you have money or lots of equity, be wary of the vultures you could be attracting. Understand the real estate industry. There is no free lunch. If you are not paying for the services, the agents are not working for you. You are the target.

A booming property market is a sellers' market where properties are being snapped up quickly. Sometimes, within hours of listing. It is a market where the sellers have the upper hand when there are more buyers than properties available for sale. With buyers missing out on some good properties, many are getting frustrated and desperate. While most buyers start to panic and start cutting corners and start snapping up the next available property blindly, savvy home buyers have turned to the help of buyer's agents (also known as buyers advocates) to help them buy their properties faster. Who are Buyer's Agents? Licenced buyers agents are licenced real estate agents whose role is purely to protect the buyers and their interests, and to help them outsmart the property market and avoid overpaying for the home. They are real estate agents who specialises in helping buyer's buy confidently and quickly. How can Buyers Agents help in a seller's market? In a seller's market where there are more buyers than available properties, buyers agents have been performing outstandingly. How do they do that? Buyers agents understand the property market well. They understand the buyers and property dynamics, the demand, the buyer demographics, and the property itself. They know a good property or a good deal when they see one, and this helps them react to good property deals quickly and confidently. This is why they are able to react fast when new listings are available and recommend quality properties to buyers confidently. Buyers agents also have good access to off-market listings. Good selling agents usually gives buyers agents the first dip in good property, before they list it. They know good buyers agents and good buyers advocates pre-qualify their clients, ensure their clients are suitably prepared to buy the right property quickly, when it's available. They also realise, because of the buyers agents understanding of the property market and the client's needs, they can sell their properties up to 3 times faster. Ie, it is easier to match their properties to clients represented by buyers agents as the offers are realistic. How can Off-market Listings Help Property Buyers? Off market properties are properties which are not openly advertised in the market. With less exposure, there will be less buying competition with these properties, and your chances of securing the property is a lot better. How Important is Understanding the Property Market? In a sellers' market, having a good understanding of the property market is very critical. It helps you identify a good property deal quickly, so, you can make the offer when you find a good property, before anyone else does. We've seen properties being sold within hours of listing. Thus, speed of response will help ensure you do not miss the opportunity. Can Buyers Agents Negotiate in a Sellers Market? Yes, while negotiating is almost impossible in a sellers market, buyers agents can help ensure you know what you should be offering for the property. Buyers Agents can help you appraise the property, provide a realistic value for the property and stop you from overpaying. Can Buyers Agents Guarantee Discounts on Property Prices? Definitely, it is a yes. But you have to be careful. We know some buyers agents will guarantee x% discounts. But with a catch... Get in touch to find out. How can a Buyers Agent help? Briefly, buyers agents can help: you save time and reduce stress you buy your property up to 3 times* faster. *Canstar report. save on your rent, if you're renting, by simply buying your property faster earn more, by buying your investment property faster and thus collecting the rents earlier save over 16%, compared to when you are buying on your own outsmart the property market avoid inflated pricing buy confidently and quickly How can I get in touch with a Melbourne buyers agent? Give us a call or submit call back request here.

Building a New House can be exciting. But what do you need to know before building? Building a new house can be an exciting journey to home ownership. It is one of the more popular options to home ownership with first home buyers in recent times. But is this the right for you? What do you need to know when building your new house? What are the pros and cons? How does building a new house compare to buying an established house or any other types of residential properties in Melbourne? First off, what is an new house? It is a house that either has not been built yet, or is in the process of being built. It can also be called a new house and land, where you either: 1. buy a piece of land and engage builders to build your dream home; or 2. buy a new House and a Land (House and Land) as a package, from a developer. It is a 2 part contract, where you purchase the land and house building contract separately. It is brand new when it is completed. You are the first owner and you get that "new-house-smell". Benefits - Advantages of a New House and Land One of the biggest benefit of building your new house is: Stamp duty savings. You pay stamp duty only on the value of the land. If the property is being built when you purchase it, then you will need to pay stamp duty on value of the completed part. Depending on your state, you might be eligible for additional First Home Owner Grants (FHOG) from your state. You might be eligible for the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) where you only need 5% deposit. Eligible for the Federal Government's $25,000 Home Builders Grant (available till end Dec 2020), if the contract is signed before 31 Dec 2020. You can custom design a floor plan and have it built in a location of your choice. You can truly call this YOUR house. The house will come with a 7 year builder's warranty. Everything in the house is brand new, and comes with their respective warranty. If you are an investor, planning to build and lease it out when it is completed, you might be able to claim depreciation on the new house and most things in it. Have a chat with your accountant to determine your eligibility for a depreciation schedule. Downsides - Disadvantages of a new House and Land There is always a downside to every choice you make. The biggest risk would be uncertainties. It is a much more complex and intense process than buying an established property. You must be prepared to be flexible, accept that there will be delays and be prepared to resolve any unforeseen issues. It is also a much longer process to buy and build, taking anywhere from 6 to well over 12 months, before you can move in. As mentioned in the earlier, building a new house build can be split into 2 purchases: Purchase 1. Finding and Purchasing the Right Land Finding a suitable land to build on, is easier said than done. Not all land can be built on. Not all parts of the land can be built on. In Melbourne, land can usually be found either in established residential estates, (in-fill areas), or new residential areas, in the various growth corridors. These are usually a lot further from the CBD. In Victoria and Melbourne, these are South East Growth Corridor eg - Clyde, Pakenham, Cranbourne Western Growth Corridor eg - Tarneit, Rockbank, Wyndham Vale, Melton Sunbury and Northern Growth Corridor eg - Donnybrook, Sunbury, Cragieburn, Wallan Your budget will determine where you can buy. Blocks of land in in-fill areas are generally smaller and more expensive, while land in new residential growth areas are cheaper. The council planning zone characteristics and attributes of the land and surrounding area, will determine what you can build, how large the house can be, what shape and design the house should be and the cost. You will also need to understand the council's design and planning requirements. It is a very technical process, and you should seek expert advice or you may end up with a land that does not meet your needs. A good buyer's agent who is familiar with the area and have the new-build experience will be able to give you the right advice, and make your selection a lot easier. Not all buyer's agents know what is required though, so, you have to be careful with whom you go with. At Concierge Buyer's Advocates, we have development experience and have been buying land and helping to select and engage quality builders for many of our clients. We are very particular with whom we recommend, and we only recommend builders whom we trust. Purchase 2. Building the right house The applications and planning process and time-frame to build a new house varies from state to state and even from council to council. Building on a new land (land that has never been built on before), is also different from building on a land that had previously been built on. In Victoria, the high-level process and time-frame typically looks like this: - Purchase of land: 1-2 months - Design, prepare and submit applications for permits and plans: 1-2 months - Council review and negotiations for building permit: 2-6 months - Building the house: 4-6 months for a single storey house, a double storey house could take 1-2 months longer for a typical sized house. The time-frame give above serves as a guide. Obviously the workload of the people involved, delays in reviews and responses, and even the weather will determine how fast or how slow the build is completed. The entire build process has been known to take well over 1 year. Other downsides include: - What you planned may not be what you get. A good, reputable, honest builder is critical here. And it does not necessarily mean the bigger the brand, the better the builder will be. - Cost blow out. Always buffer at least 10-20% as emergency fund for the build. It is very common that the build process encounter unexpected hurdles. Quality and styles of the materials used will also affect the cost of the build. - Valuation is not guaranteed. Despite what some marketeers and sales agents want you to believe, the valuation of the house is not guaranteed. The value of the land changes, and the look, feel and quality of the finished house will help determine the valuation. - Permits and fees. The savings from the various stamp duties are off-set by the additional costs in the various planning and building permits and fees. In Victoria, the can range between $20,000 to $40,000. Cost will vary between states and councils. - Devil is in the details. Some build contracts do not include finer details such as site cost, landscaping and driveways, heating ventilation air conditioning systems in the build contract, to keep the build price low. The un-suspecting buyer usually ends up with a semi-complete property. A good, honest builder will include these costs into the contract. This often makes the build contract a lot more expensive, so, price is NOT the only thing you should consider when you're choosing your builder. Other Things You Need to Know When Building a New House Some other considerations that you need to be aware of are: a. Mortgage Unlike the purchase of an established house, buying a land and building on it, is often considered a 2 part mortgage. You need a mortgage to buy the land, and a separate construction loan for the build. Have a chat with a good mortgage broker, and have this discussion with them. Your serviceability can be different from buying an established house, as lenders usually have different lending criteria. b. Your Surrounding Amenities Buying a land in a new residential estate is always gamble. There are no certainties on where the amenities will be. You have no idea who your neighbours could be. Plans do change, and plans can get delayed. c. What Was On The Land If you are buying in a new residential estate in a growth corridor, always enquire what was on or near it. While most residential estates in the growth areas were former farm land, it is not uncommon for an old, decommissioned landfill to be re-zoned and sold as residential land. d. Stamp Duty, Home Builder Grant, FHOG, FHLDS 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. From now till 31 Dec 2020, you will also be eligible for the Home Builders Grant, saving a further $25,000. e. Conveyancing You will need to budget around $1000-$1500 for conveyancing costs. f. 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. g. Body Corporate/Owners Corporate Stand alone houses usually do not have any body corporate or owners corporate fees. However, a body corporate fee may apply in certain situation. This information is also available in the Section 32 of the Contract of Sales for properties in Victoria. What else do you need to know before you get started on building a new house? Refer to our get started guide. This guide should show you what you should do to get into the property market. Buying a land and building a house is a long and often intense process. But the rewards are often worth the pain. Conclusion With the above information now, would you still consider a building new house? What else should you consider? IF you need further guidance, feel free to have a chat with us.

First Home Buyers almost always miss out on their properties. And not only that, those who managed to buy one, almost always end up buying properties passed over or rejected by Buyer's Agents. Why is this so? How can a First Home Buyer buy the right property for themselves? ​ First, let's look at the shocking statistics. Consumer Research has shown: over 80% of the First Home Buyers do not know what they want, what to look for, where to search for, and more importantly, they have no idea where to start and have no time to do the actual house hunting. over 80% of the remaining 20% thought they knew what to look for, but ended up buying the wrong property; over 80% of first home buyers ended up buying in the wrong types of properties in the wrong places; over 90% of first home buyers are not successful in their purchase; and 80% of those who successfully bought their property, ended up overpaying for it, putting them in a bad position for up to 10 years or more; not all properties that are marketed to first home buyers are suitable for first home owners. ​ Sounds complicated and confusing? Unfortunately, it is. Marketing experts have made every property look like a gem. And without understanding how the real estate industry works and the experience of being in the real estate game, it is very difficult for inexperienced property buyers to see through the marketing fluff to understand what a property is really worth. Thus, they ended up buying the wrong property. Well, it is not their fault. They were made by the advertisements to think the property is right for them. ​ Savvy first home buyers have discovered that our First Home Buyers Service can help: improve your property success rate to over 98%. understand the basics of property buying understand which property is suitable for first home buyers understand what the property is really worth confidently understand what price you should be paying for the property. ​Buy your first home confidently with our first home buying service. We work with you to outsmart the property market and avoid overpaying for the property. Our First Home buyers agents help first home buyers buy their homes confidently and quickly. Get in touch today to find out more.

20% returns in 6 months Feb 2018: Client came to us wanting to do a reno-sell flipping project. We bought this 2 bedroom flipper at $412,000. $7,000 below asking price. Something which is unheard of in that part of sought-after Melbourne suburb. ​ As we were aiming for the mid-top end of the market, quality fittings were used in the bath, kitchen and interior were updated and modernised with the money saved. ​ Aug 2018: Renovation was completed and it was re-valued at $495,000. An increase of 20% in 6 months! The equity was extracted, property leased out, and the client went on to buy a second investment property. Great "chunk deal" success. The client was in constant touch with our property consultants from Concierge Buyers Advocates, who provided valuable insights into the types of properties buyers are looking for, in the area.

Buying your property in Melbourne is tedious and, very often, a discouraging process which can take 12 months or more. Buyers spend their evenings and weekends reading up how to buy properties, researching what properties to buy, where the good suburbs are, and attending disappointing property inspections. Because of how long the buying process can take, buyers often end up frustrated, and buy the next one they come across. Most ended up overpaying as the stress, frustration and anxiety took over, causing them to stop thinking logically and they ended up overpaying. But it does not have to be this way. Our Buyers Agents (or Buyers Advocates) are specialists who help buyers navigate the complex world of property buying, protects the buyers interests and help them outsmart the property market and avoid paying inflated pricing. ​ Who are Buyers Agents? Firstly, who are buyer's agents? Licenced buyers agents are also licenced real estate agents. However, unlike the typical real estate agents you see selling houses, buyers agents specialise in helping property buyers find and buy the right properties. They are real estate agents, engaged by the buyers to help them navigate and level the playing field, in the complex world of property buying. Advantages of engaging a Buyers Agent service? Unless you are in the real estate industry, there are many advantages of buying your property with a buyers agent. Buyers Agents: help make it easy to buy the right property at the right price FAST are professional buyer focused real estate agents who specialise in ensuring buyers do not end up buying a lemon give you access to some of the best off-market properties, which are not openly listed give you a fair-go at buying properties let you buy your property faster, and reduce your stress and anxiety? ​ Who are Concierge Buyers Advocates?​ Melbourne-based Concierge Buyers Advocates believes in giving everyone a fair go at property buying, by protecting the interests of property buyers. Our 3-step property buying process helps buyers outsmart the property market, avoid inflated pricing and make buying decisions fast and confidently. ​ Our buyers agent services look after the interests of property buyers like yourself. We are fully independent buyers focused real estate agents, and we help prevent property buyers from overpaying, ensuring the purchase process is fair to the buyers and the buyers are looked after. ​ As Melbourne's licensed real estate buyers agent (buyers advocates), we are bound by the same code of conduct and legislation as the regular seller agent, but we are different. We help buyers. ​ We are on your side. Our Buyers Agents at Concierge Buyers Advocates look after you throughout your property buying process, providing you with honest, frank and independent property buying advice and advising on the best possible price to secure the property. ​ Our property buying plans , are designed to help you buy the right property fast. This exclusive, one-stop service gives you access to the hidden off-market properties. We manage the whole property buying process for you. We look at the who, what, when, where, why, hows of buying properties: What properties to buy When is the right time to buy Where should we buy Why is the property the right property How to buy the property We do the search, research, purchase, inspections, legal conveyancing, through to keys collection on your behalf. We are your personal property concierge, always on your side, looking after you throughout the whole property buying journey. ​ Buying a house in the Melbourne property market has never been easier with our property buying service. Our property buying service areas covers all major property hot-spots in Victoria. Our home buying clients have bought in some of Melbourne's best suburbs, premium suburbs to live in. While our property investor clients, have bought in high yield, high growth properties in areas such as the Mornington Peninsula, Traralgon, Gippsland, Ballarat, Bendigo in Victoria, Central Coast in New South Wales. As one of Melbourne's most trusted buyer agents, if there is a good deal worth getting, we'll get it for you. ​ Get in touch, if you want to: find and buy the right property stop wasting your time and buy your property fast enjoy the property capital growth faster avoid overpaying and save an average of 5-20% improve your property investment yield get independent property advice and independent property appraisal ​ Book your free no-obligations consultation today! Book now . ​ Not ready to buy? Refer a friend and get rewarded, with our referral program .

The ever rising house prices have pushed house prices beyond where buyers can afford. Most buyers have no choice but to settle for lesser properties or move further away from where they wanted to live in. But, did you know? Buying the worst property on the street might be a cheaper and smarter way to get into the suburb you've always wanted? Increasingly property buyers are turning to Knock-Down-and-Rebuilds (or some agents might call this a "Restart" property) to buy into the suburb they wanted. About 1 in every 5 of our clients are looking at such properties, in the East and South Eastern Melbourne suburbs. In this article, we will consider the pros and cons of a Knock Down and Rebuild. What is a Knock Down and Rebuild property? A knock down and rebuild is simply a property where you buy, demolish the old property and build a new one. What are the pros of a Knock Down and Rebuild? Obviously there must be some reasons why buyers are considering a knock down and rebuild. Here are some advantages: If you are rebuilding your current home, you can stay in an area that you are already familiar with. You also save on real estate agent fees, stamp duties, and related legal expenses, as you are not buying or selling any properties. If you are buying a property from the market, you can usually buy a property at a lower price. Obviously, this depends on the condition of the property. If it is a brand new property that you are going to rebuild, you probably would be paying a premium for that. Assuming, it is a run-down property, or a "restart" property or one needing some serious TLCs, you may or may not necessarily mean you can buy it at below market price. The price depends on demand and supply. But, generally, an old house meant for rebuilding will be cheaper than a typical new or liveable property in the area. You can custom design your own floor plan. This is typically the reason why a rebuild appeals to buyers. They have the opportunity to restart and have their custom floor plan built. No need to accept compromises with an established property. You can custom build the property with the quality you want. Yearning for that gold toilet, gold bath? You can now have them installed in the location you want in the house. You can have a bedroom in the bathroom. No more compromises. You enjoy the latest and most modern features and energy savings from a modern home. What are the cons of a Knock Down and Rebuild? Some of these downsides might be obvious, but some are issues which buyers might not have considered. Long timeline. Many buyers are not aware of the long time line required for a typical knock down and rebuild. On average, the whole process from getting the keys to moving in can take up to 2 years or more. Here is a breakdown of the timeframes: Selecting and engaging a builder/architect: 3 months Custom design the house: 3 to 6 months Council permits and approvals: 6 to 9 months Build: up to 12 or 15 months depending on size of the house, availability or materials and tradesmen. If you are rebuilding your current home, you will need to consider temporary accommodations, while your home is being rebuilt. You might need to consider the process of moving out and moving in. As you will be doing that TWICE. Once to move out of your current home, and move into your temporary home. And a second time to move out from your temporary home and move in to your newly built home. You'll need to factor in moving costs, temporary accommodation rental costs, mortgage cost for the house you're rebuilding, and cost of servicing the loan for the build. Unexpected cost blowouts. While domestic building contracts are fixed priced, cost blow outs aren't unheard of. You might have forgotten to include a feature you have always wanted. The council might need you to make some changes to your plans before they can approve it or grant you a occupancy permit and letter of compliance. A fixture that you've wanted isn't available and you have to consider other alternatives. Unexpected, significant increases in building material costs. Unexpected fluctuations in exchange rates, if the material or fixtures are coming from overseas. Unexpected delays in the build. Delays can happen for all reasons. Builder might have another project which overran. Unexpected delays in shipment of materials, especially if they are coming from overseas. Changes in regulations. While it is unlikely, urgent/critical changes in building codes do happen, especially if they are Health and Safety related. Unexpected economic shut-downs. Shut-downs do happen due to strikes, weather events, pandemics, etc. Build quality may not be up to expectations. It is always exciting to build your own home. But most buyers unfortunately make the worst mistake when they build... Builders are often selected based on price alone, and they went with the cheapest builder who can do the job. And to provide the lowest quote for the project, builders are known to cut corners use cheap materials and cheap labour or work with thin margins. This is risky as the build quality is not likely going to be durable and the builder do not have enough buffers to absorb price fluctuations or delays. Builders may end up going bankrupt. Here at Concierge Buyers Advocates, our team of builders are carefully selected to ensure they meet our quality standards. Have a chat with us, if you are considering knock downs and rebuilding. Our director and principal Buyer Advocate Rayson is a trained builder and he will be able to give you an idea of what's involved. How do you find a property to knock down and rebuild? If you need help to find a property where you can knockdown and rebuild, have a chat with us. We've been helping clients outsmart the property market and find suitable properties to knock down and rebuild. Get in touch.

How do you buy your first home in Melbourne Australia? Buying your first home is an exciting phase in your life. After decades of staying with parents and renting, you can finally look forward to staying in a place called "My Home". It is exciting, but it can also be very daunting, especially if it is going to be your first home. Buying a property used to be as simple as looking through the listings, attending the open for inspections, and making an offer for the property. It was simple. But thanks to modern day marketing, it is unfortunately full of complexities now. Given that it is possibly the single largest commitment you make in your life, do it wrong, and it will become your biggest liability in life. As Melbourne based Buyers Advocates (Buyers Agents), our buyers agents have been buying properties for over 20 years. Our experience working with our home buying clients shows that many home buyers are not properly prepared to prevent themselves from buying a lemon or a dud property. While it is usually not the home buyers fault for being ill prepared, some buyers had unfortunately believed Dr Google and Prof Facebook are fantastic sources of information. Many believed they had instantly become property experts simply by googling for answers and crowd sourcing advice from online communities. You would not believe the hard time we have, trying to correct some of our client's misinformation. Every home buyer should know, the whole real estate buying process is stacked against the typical buyer. A typical property seller has a trained selling agent protecting and working for them, while a typical property buyer are usually left to their own devices. Buyers are usually left to deal with an experienced professional who had been trained to extract every cent from them. In this article, we have compiled a step by step guide to owning your own home. We will also give you some facts which you must know, and some buying advice on how you can avoid problems later. As most people do not buy more than 3 properties in their lifetime, these mistakes are applicable to both first home buyers and home buyers as well. 5 Top Tips for the First Home Buyer As buyers agents, our First Home Buying service has helped many first home buyers buy their first homes fast and confidently. We've seen their pain points, we've seen what they struggle with, and we've compiled 5 top tips to help first home buyers avoid the challenges home buyers go through. ​​ Still not sure? Have a chat with us. Our home buying service have been helping first home buyers get into the property market, and we might be able to help you buy for home. Let's discuss if we are able to help you. Book in your free consultation.

A picture says a thousand words. This is the sunset from an infinity pool. When it comes to buying properties, we are all too familiar with viewing photographs of a property on realestate.com.au and domain.com.au advertisements. Many times, if we're overseas or interstates, we've no other options but to rely on photographs in the real estate advertisements to determine the condition of the property and make our buying decisions. How reliable are the photos in the ads? These photos are largely reliable. After all, there must be something for the photographer to shoot, in order to produce the photographs. A good photographer can make the property look fantastic with smart camera placements, camera angles, choice of lens and filters. No photoshop techniques or skills are required. All it takes is to place the camera at the right location, under the right lighting, to produce the desired effect. Still, nothing beats the on site inspection of a buyer's agent service. A truly independent buyers advocacy service inspects the property and provides you with a truly unbiased, independent inspection and review of the property. Our affordable property inspection service do not rely on the published photographs. Our principal buyer's agent and Director, Rayson, is a trained builder and experienced renovator. Within a few minutes of inspecting a property, he can confidently tell if the property is worth pursuing. We visit the property, take our own photographs, inspect the property as you would and tell you all you want to know. The good, the bad and everything in between. Short of inspecting the property yourself, our on-site property inspection is the next best thing to getting an unbiased view of the property. For an affordable fee, we save you the trouble of having to make the journey for the inspection, that's easily a few hundred dollars in fuel, time, air fare and accommodation costs saved. Plus, for a limited time, we're throwing in a free property valuation report for the inspected property, worth $330. That said, back to this photograph. What if I say there isn't any infinity pool involved in this photograph? This sunset photography was taken with the roof of a car in the foreground. No filters, no photoshop involved. Just a stock standard mobile phone camera. Surprised? Get the real view. Get the facts. Don't be surprised. Concierge Buyers Advocates. Get in touch now to find out more.