Everyone wants to be treated seriously, unfortunately with the way the property market is and the general view that real estate agents have about property buyers it’s almost impossible to be in the running without knowing what to do. Follow these 3 steps to increase your chances of being the winner!
Do your due diligence
Make sure that you do your research on what the property is worth, have your solicitor review the Contract of Sale and organise a pest building and/or strata report. These are the 3 key ways of the many steps to doing your due diligence.
Be ready to jump – Don’t fool around
Speak to your broker or lender. Make sure that you are in a position to sign an unconditional contract. If you are not you will likely be left behind. Sometimes an owner will accept a cooling-off period, however, if there is another buyer who will do it unconditional you are likely to be out of luck.
The Contract
After your solicitor has reviewed the contract and given you the green light it’s time to put it on a contract. Ask your Solicitor for a 66w Certificate. Email the contract to the agent and ask them for their trust account details so that you can deposit the agreed deposit into their account. When paying funds into a trust account make sure that you add the words trust account after the agent’s name. Email a copy of the receipt to the agent. If there is another buyer at least you are in the game. The seller only needs one unconditional contract. Then all is left is to agree on the final price.
Don’t play games with the agent you need to have him or her onside. Remember that when you put your offer forward you can always increase it, it is much harder to retract a higher offer. Having the agent onside could be the deciding factor of whether you are the winning buyer…Good luck!
Paul Mulligan is the Principal Buyers Agent at MULLIGAN Buyers Agents, Sydney. As one of only two buyer’s agents in Australia to complete Negotiation Mastery at Harvard Business School, Paul combines advanced negotiation strategies with years of market experience to secure the best outcomes for property buyers.
Passionate about helping clients avoid costly mistakes, Paul offers expert guidance throughout the buying process from search to settlement.
