Is the new Statement of Information helpful to property buyers?

By Janet Spencer

Is the new Statement of Information helpful for property buyers in Victoria?   Here is the link to Consumer Affairs Victoria where you can find the format for the Statement of Information necessary for selling real estate. Whether you’re buying or selling property, you should familiarise yourself with what it looks like.

All online residential property advertisements must have a Statement of Information after 1st of June ,2017.  You should either look in the images and find it there or there will be a link to the Statement of Information somewhere on the advertising page.  All the portals are different in how they are tackling this.  So domain.com.au may be different to realestateview.com.au for example.

Can buyers rely on the property selling for the single price quoted or within the range on the Statement of Information?  Well, no frankly.

I am reviewing a potential purchase for a property at the moment and the reserve is published at $505,000.  However, my research is telling me that as it has almost 100 or even 130 square metres more land than some of the comparable sales used in the Statement of Information.  This makes me question how comparable the properties used to benchmark the price by the selling agent really are.  If two properties have huge variations in land size, are they really comparable.  So, buyers still need to check all the facts surrounding the property they wish to buy and those used as comparable properties by the selling agent.

As thorough and professional Buyers Agent, we do this for all our clients and every property purchase is thoroughly checked out.  We call this due diligence.  Its why our Assisted Buying Service, where we evaluate and negotiate the property for our buying client is in demand.

Even though the under quoting laws have recently changed in Melbourne, I would argue you still need an REIV member, fully REBAA accredited Buyers Agent to evaluate and advise on price and many other factors before committing to a property purchase.  You get one opportunity to inform yourself and buy well.

Remember, at Buyer Solutions, we don’t just buy property, we buy property well.  Our aim is always to save clients money on the overall transaction and ensure the secure a great property for less.

Whether you are investing or home buying, large sums of money, big mortgages are involved and you need to do your due diligence or research to avoid costly pitfalls.

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

First home buyers, Home buying, Real Estate News & Opinion, Victorian Regulation

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