CURTIS:
Something we’re always asked is, “What deals have you done recently for clients?” We obviously talk
through those with clients directly, but it’s also useful to share some of those wins and explain how
we got there.
A big part of what we do is assess the client brief, understand their goals, work out how we’re going
to implement the strategy, source the right property and negotiate a good deal.
Because of my background as a valuer, I’m particularly focused on making sure clients are getting
good value from day one. As part of our internal process, we also arrange an independent third-party
bank valuation while we’re still under contract. It gives the client another view from someone who
has no skin in the transaction and helps quantify the value we’ve been able to secure.
We’re always confident in our own numbers, but it’s nice to be able to say to a client, “Here’s what
an independent valuer believes the property is worth.”
We’re going to get into the habit of sharing some of these recent purchases, so Trent, take us
through the first one.
Case Study One – Redcliffe Peninsula
TRENT:
This client was an investor based in Sydney with a maximum budget of $900,000. They were buying
purely as an investment and had no intention of living in the property.
The brief starts fairly broadly: budget, expected rental return and what they’re trying to achieve. One
of the first things I always clarify is whether the budget includes stamp duty and the other
acquisition costs. We need to know the actual purchase-price ceiling before we start looking.
We also drill into land size, property type and rental return. A lot of investors naturally ask for 500
square metres or more because they want value in the land, but lot size is one of those things that
can be adjusted depending on the suburb and what the rest of the brief requires.
The client wanted a low-maintenance investment. If we were looking at an older home, ideally it
needed to have been renovated recently. Most of our investor clients also tend to prefer established
areas rather than newly developed estates.
CURTIS:
Lot size is very area-dependent as well. In some suburbs, 600 square metres is normal. In others, 300
square metres is normal. You need to understand the local property profile rather than apply one
rule everywhere.
TRENT:
Exactly. In this case, we were looking on the Redcliffe Peninsula. Historically, some 600-square-metre
corner lots could be split into two 300-square-metre lots. But planning controls and average lot-size
requirements mean you can’t simply assume a larger block can be subdivided.
The property we eventually bought was around 360 square metres and on a corner. Because of the
way it presented, it felt like a larger block.
There was another advantage. Many of the surrounding properties sit on larger lots with larger
homes, so the average sale price in the street is supported by properties worth considerably more.
Our client’s budget was $900,000, while some homes in the same street were worth more than $1.5
million. That broader street profile can help support future growth.
The brief was essentially a solid, established house with a good rental return, preferably four
bedrooms and two bathrooms.
At the time, the market below $1 million was moving very quickly. After the 5% deposit scheme
came in, properties in that price range were jumping rapidly.
CURTIS:
That was happening right across the market. Anything under $1 million was moving fast.
TRENT:
And in that market, hesitation could cost you. If you waited two weeks, the same type of property
could be $20,000 to $40,000 more expensive. You’re paying more and your rental yield is being
squeezed at the same time.
I was looking across a number of areas and came across a property in a very good Redcliffe Peninsula
location: close to the golf course, less than a kilometre from the waterfront and with good access off
the peninsula towards Brisbane.
Even though the client’s ceiling was $900,000, I generally search above the budget as well because
there may be an opportunity to negotiate a property back into range.
This one was advertised at offers over $930,000. Looking at the online photos, there was quite a bit
of clutter inside, but it met most of the brief. It was already tenanted at a reasonable rent and the
house appeared to be in good condition.
Our pre-inspection appraisal put the value at roughly $930,000 to $970,000, so the asking price was
reasonable and comparable sales supported that range. It was worth inspecting, even though I had
very little expectation that we’d be able to secure it within the client’s budget.
We physically inspect the properties we buy for clients, so I went to the first open home.
It was a 1950s cottage with concrete stucco construction, raised on brick piers. The tiled roof had
clearly been repointed and recoated relatively recently. It had a good double carport with a remote
door, secure fencing and strong street appeal. Being on a corner also gave it more visual space.
At that first open home I stayed for the full 30 minutes. There would have been more than 30 people
through.
CURTIS:
That’s an important point. A lot of buyers are rushing between inspections, so they’re in and out in a
few minutes. Staying for the full inspection gives you a chance to understand who your competition
is and how they’re responding to the property.
TRENT:
Exactly. You can listen to the conversations. I might stand in the lounge room for five or eight
minutes while several buyer groups come through. You hear what the agent is telling them, what
they’re telling the agent and what buyers are saying to each other.
You do have to recognise that some buyers deliberately talk a property down because they know
other people are listening, but you still learn a lot about the competition.
I’m also looking closely at the property itself: movement, tapware, water pressure, how recently it
has been renovated and whether there are obvious maintenance issues.
This property had been refurbished within the previous 12 to 18 months, which matched what the
agent was telling us. There was effectively no immediate money to spend.
One thing working against it at the inspection was that it wasn’t an especially large house. Put 30
people inside it, plus a tenant’s furniture and belongings, and it feels much smaller than it really is.
A lot of first-home buyers also struggle to see past clutter. They expect every property to present like
a display home.
I’m not there to judge how the tenant lives. I’m there to assess what the property offers and the
integrity of the building.
We don’t want a client spending $600 to $800 on a building and pest inspection only to discover a
long list of obvious problems that we should have identified ourselves. There can always be hidden
issues in footings or roof cavities, but we should be able to recognise the visible warning signs.
CURTIS:
Sometimes you can see a potential deal-breaker immediately. Other times you can identify an issue,
estimate what it might cost and decide whether it’s worth investigating further if the price is right.
TRENT:
This house was raised about 80 centimetres to a metre off the ground and enclosed underneath, but
there was access. I was the only person at the open home who opened the gate and went
underneath.
Because the ground sloped, I could get underneath the bathroom and ensuite areas and check for
signs of water damage or active moisture. If there had been an issue, I could have told the client that
a bathroom renovation might be required and factored that into the decision.
CURTIS:
Another thing I like in an investment property is seeing genuine owner-occupier interest.
If you’re inspecting as an investor and the other people walking through are clearly owner-occupiers,
that’s a good sign. Eventually, when you sell, owner-occupiers make up the majority of the market.
You want an asset that appeals to them.
If I go through a property and everyone appears to be an investor, I start asking whether the
property has enough owner-occupier appeal.
TRENT:
That was definitely present here. There were plenty of first-home buyers. It wasn’t necessarily a
forever home, but it ticked a lot of boxes for someone making their first purchase: some yard, good
presentation and no major renovation required.
So we liked the area, the amenity, infrastructure and employment access. We liked the property. The
question became how to get the price right.
Given the number of people who went through quickly and left, my experience told me the property
might sit longer than the three to five days that many homes were selling within at the time.
So we waited.
About 10 days later I contacted the agent and asked whether it had sold. It hadn’t. The agent invited
me back to the next open home, but I held off.
The following week, the agent called me: “Trent, that one’s still on the market. How’s your client
going?”
I told him the client was interested, but we didn’t agree with the pricing. Then I left the conversation
there.
CURTIS:
Those repeated calls from an agent are little tells. Particularly in a market where properties had been
moving quickly, an agent coming back to you multiple times tells you something.
TRENT:
Exactly. Before the next open home, the asking price was reduced. That showed some urgency from
the seller.
At that point I spoke to the client and said I thought this could be the one. We were still assessing
other properties at the same time—you never stop the search—but there was enough here to see an
opportunity to buy well and potentially create immediate equity.
I went back again. The property was essentially unchanged from three weeks earlier, and we decided
to make an offer.
The negotiation took five or six days because my buyer didn’t want to move and the seller didn’t
want to move. Eventually we agreed at $880,000.
The independent third-party valuation then came in at around $950,000.
CURTIS:
So roughly $70,000 above the purchase price.
TRENT:
Exactly. The building and pest inspection also came back without any material issues. For a house
around 65 to 70 years old, there was nothing identified that was going to create a significant cost for
the client.
Finance went through and the client was very happy.
CURTIS:
Starting with around $70,000 in value is a pretty good outcome.
TRENT:
It was. They were happy enough that a few weeks later we bought another property for them
through their self-managed super fund.
Sometimes experience as a sales agent helps you recognise the little issues that can create a buying
opportunity. In this case, presentation, buyer behaviour and the way the campaign unfolded gave us
the opportunity to secure a very good property at a strong price.
Case Study Two – Greenslopes
CURTIS:
I had a client win this week that’s been one of the nicer client stories I’ve had in six or seven years
doing this.
From our very first call, you could tell how much it meant to her. She had tried repeatedly to buy and
kept missing out. It was the first introductory call I’ve had where there were tears. You could hear
the frustration and how much she wanted to finally get this done.
TRENT:
You made her cry. Good on you.
CURTIS:
Not quite! They don’t all start like that.
But you could tell there had been a lot of near misses over a long period and she’d reached the point
where she felt she needed help.
She got her finance ready, engaged us and we managed to find a property for her this week. There
were a few more tears along the way.
We’re under contract, so it isn’t done until it’s settled, but it’s a really good result. It means more
when you know how much the outcome means to the client.
She’s an investor, although there’s an owner-occupier element to the strategy as well.
She’s a little later in life, has missed opportunities to buy over the years and realised that entering
the local market now might need to happen initially through an investment property, with a view to
potentially moving into it in retirement in five to 10 years.
So while we were assessing it as an investment, we also had one eye on the future: could she
genuinely see herself living there?
That can be a fine line. We’re advising on areas that we believe have strong investment
fundamentals, but the location also has to make sense for her lifestyle and community if she
eventually wants to call it home.
TRENT:
And the best investment location and the best owner-occupier location for a particular person don’t
always align.
CURTIS:
Exactly.
We narrowed the search to Brisbane’s inner south: Greenslopes, Annerley, Stones Corner, Moorooka
and Yeronga.
Her budget meant we were looking primarily at units and townhouses.
The brief was for a low-hassle investment that was tenant-ready and could be leased quickly. Cash
flow was important because, at this stage in life, the timeframe to pay the property down is shorter.
She had a strong equity position and would be sitting at around a 50% loan-to-value ratio, but she
still didn’t want to be contributing heavily week to week. Her work is also contract-based, so we
needed to consider periods between contracts.
We inspected a number of properties. Some had elements that worked and others didn’t.
Then we found a two-bedroom unit in Greenslopes.
It’s in a small complex of eight, with no lifts and relatively low body corporate costs, which was
important for cash flow.
The really interesting part was the comparable sale.
A unit directly above it, with the same internal floor plan, had sold around two months earlier for
$890,000. That unit only had a small balcony and hadn’t been renovated.
The unit we secured is below it, has the same basic internal floor plan, but has a renovated kitchen
and bathroom.
It also has something very unusual for a unit: a courtyard of roughly 75 square metres, compared
with about 95 square metres internally.
TRENT:
That outdoor area is worth a lot.
CURTIS:
It is. For a unit, that amount of private outdoor space is significant. It’s almost like having another
unit outside.
It also backs onto a park, so there’s no neighbour directly behind. The courtyard flows into open
space, with a gate and fence providing separation and privacy.
Greenslopes was probably her preferred area, so the location was right as well.
The comparable upstairs sold for $890,000. We secured this one for $20,000 less, despite the
renovation and significantly better outdoor area.
TRENT:
No wonder she was crying in celebration.
CURTIS:
She was thrilled. It was a lovely result.
And then the independent bank valuation came back $38,000 above our purchase price.
For someone at that point in life, that value matters enormously because the runway is shorter. To
secure a property at that value, in an area she can genuinely see herself living in, while also knowing
it should do what she needs it to do as an investment over the next five, 10 or 15 years, is a great
outcome.
TRENT:
And it’s a very strong investment location with the hospitals and everything around it.
CURTIS:
Exactly. Greenslopes has the hospital, the busway, train access nearby, good parklands and amenity.
You can walk into Stones Corner with its retail precinct, cafés and pubs.
We managed to hit a lot of the brief in the space of about 10 days.
It was a great client story and a really good result.
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