Blog - Page 2 of 6 - Buyers Agent Guide

How to bid at auction: What happens if the auction is passed in?

Are you interested in knowing how to bid at auction? This series will help you better understand how to equip yourself to secure the best outcome at a property auction.

This is the second post in a two part series. See our previous piece here – How to bid at auction: Be prepared. (more…)

by David Tomlins no comments

How to bid at auction: Be prepared.

Are you interested in knowing how to bid at auction? This series will help you better understand how to equip yourself to secure the best outcome at a property auction.

This is the first post in a two part series.

Bidding at auction isn’t a walk in the park. Having a well-planned strategy is essential to securing the right property at the right price. Experience plays a huge role in bidders’ chances of success at auctions, so it is essential that you not only arm yourself with relevant information for the auction itself, but also plan your approach should the property be passed in and you need to start negotiating on the fly.

(more…)

by David Tomlins no comments

Buyer’s agent of the year awards

Are you a prospective client looking for an awarded buyer’s agent? Or perhaps you are an agency wanting to demonstrate your value above and beyond client reviews and testimonials? This post highlights some of the current industry awards up for grabs and lists recent winners.

Annually Real Estate Institutes across Australia conduct an Awards for Excellence event that celebrates the achievements of real estate professionals within their region. (more…)

by David Tomlins no comments

Housing market sentiment lifts in Q1 2014

The quarterly Australian residential property survey by National Australia Bank indicated housing market sentiment lifted slightly in Q1 2014 as sentiment improved in SA/NT and NSW, but softened in Victoria and WA. The outlook for house prices strengthened in all states except Victoria, with Queensland showing the biggest gains in the next 1-2 years. A big pick up in foreign buying activity was noted in the market for new property (especially in Queensland) and for established housing (especially in NSW). In terms of total demand, foreign buyers now account for just over 1 in 7 new properties and around 1 in 10 established homes.
(more…)

by David Tomlins no comments

Property investing using Airbnb

Have you considered branching out and exploring other avenues of revenue income from your property portfolio?

The benefits and pitfalls of owning or investing in a holiday house have been well covered by the property investment community. Typically, investors are lured by the promise of high rental yields, not to mention the novelty of owning a little piece of paradise. With all that excitement it can be easy to overlook the risks of seasonal variances in occupancy, high maintenance costs and changes to property management contracts. However, there are ways to mitigate these risks.

In this post we examine an emerging trend that offers an attractive opportunity to investors and property owners. It also highlights a growing sector that rental owners and property managers should be aware of. (more…)

by David Tomlins no comments

Why use MailChimp?

This post continues our series on online tools that make buyer’s agents lives easier and help to minimise time spent managing their business.

I am constantly surprised by the poor quality of email communications that I receive from buyer’s agents (and real estate agents too). Unsatisfying newsletters are typically sent by sole traders or boutique agencies who do not have either time or skills to develop a professional newsletter. People in this situation often believe that email marketing tools are out of their price range.

This doesn’t have to be the case. Several email marketing tools (MailChimp, AWeber, Constant Contact) are very affordable and user friendly, and well suited for use in a buyer’s agency. (more…)

by David Tomlins no comments

Are buyer’s agents fees tax deductible?

With the ATO paying more attention to property investors we thought it prudent to cover one of the most common questions posed to us here at BAG, are buyer’s agents fees tax deductible? In short it depends on the services rendered that compose the buyer’s agent fees.

The most common service that clients wish to know whether or not the buyer’s agent fees are tax deductible for, is when they have engaged and paid an entity or person to find them a suitable property to purchase. (more…)

by Kristin O'Connell no comments

Election 2013: REIA gets behind first home buyers

Election 2013: Real Estate Institute of Australia policy announcement

This week the REIA announced their 2013 election policies. The report’s title, Housing for all Australians, gets straight to the heart of its theme.

The opening statement from REIA’s President, Peter Bushby, lays a strong foundation for the argument that follows: housing affordability is an issue. And the trends are not in the right direction. (more…)

by Kristin O'Connell no comments

Freebie: property portfolio health check

Here’s a nifty resource for property investors. HSBC and Property Observer have partnered up to produce a free ebook to ring in the new financial year.

We all understand the need to keep a close eye on the performance of our investments year-round. Despite this, it’s easy for the regular check-up to fall off the top of the to-do list. (more…)

by BAG no comments

Top 4 reasons a home loan may not be approved

So you finally found the property you like to buy, you have applied for your home loan and ticked all the boxes but for some reason it got rejected. Why?

The property needs repair

Any problems potentially leading to the buyer vacating the property before the loan contract is fulfilled may lead to an application being denied. So if after the pre-approval process you find the property requires major repairs involving the foundation or structure or major problems around the liveable space, your application may be turned down by the lender. (more…)