Buying new and off the plan
As a professional buyers agent, I regularly receive offers from local property developers and real estate agents for recently released new or off the plan properties.
I recently received this offer via email and it provides a good example of the types of inducements that are used to encourage unsuspecting property buyers into a property purchase:
“OFFER INCLUSIONS:
- Holland blinds free of charge
- Depreciation Schedule – valued at $700
- Free landlord protection – insurance for the first year, valued at $350
- 6 week first tenant guarantee at 4.5% of purchase price
- First 3 months of property management fees free of charge
- Letting fees on initial – lease waivered”
This is a fairly modest offer in comparison to many that we have seen at Buyer Solutions.
If you are thinking about buying an investment property, please don’t be tempted by these sorts of offers. They should not make any difference at all to your buying decision.
Please consider asking yourself why do they need to make these offers to sell the property?
It is also a good idea to find out who gets paid for selling the property and how much they will be paid.
Sales commissions can be as high as 5 or 6% split between advisers and sales people and unless you specifically ask the question, you may never know how much ‘extra’ you are paying for the property.
On one occasion, we asked a developer to reduce their commission to 2% and reduce the asking price by 4%. Their response was, “No way. If your client won’t buy it, another buyer will.”
In my professional experience, I have seen many investors and home buyers make expensive mistakes when buying a property, particularly when their decision making process is challenged by inducements.
I therefore encourage you to source independent, reliable, objective advice from Buyer Solutions before you commit to any property purchase. I stress this even more if you would like to buy off the plan or a new property.
I don’t believe any buyer, be they first time, seasoned investor or home buyer can afford to waste money by not negotiating the best possible outcome for every property purchase. Buyer Solutions can ensure this happens and look after your interests in the transaction if you are buying property in Victoria. If you would like to buy property interstate, we have a strong national network of trusted service providers we can refer you to.
For independent advice on buying or selling real estate, contact Janet Spencer at Buyer Solutions +61 3 9816 8555 or email jspencer@buyersolutions.com.au
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+61 39816 8555