3 Ways To Beat Other Buyers To. Hot New Listings

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1 3 Ways To Beat Other Buyers To Hot New Listings

2 Our promise to you Since 1988 we have strived to provide the very best real estate service in Sydney to the many property buyers, sellers, investors and tenants who call on us for help and advice each week. This booklet and the advice it contains is part of that promise. We hope you enjoy the content and profit from the experience. Remember, our offices are open 7 days a week to help you with any real estate matter so be sure to call us if you think we can help. You ll find contact details for your nearest Prudential Real Estate office on the back page of this booklet.

3 3 Ways To Beat Other Buyers To Hot New Listings Buying a home can be very exiting. Most young couples attack the purchase of their first home with a great deal of enthusiasm. Every night they await the new listing alerts to arrive in their inbox from realestate.com.au or from domain.com.au. And every week they collect the local paper and the various property magazines and pore over every real estate advertisement looking for their perfect home. On weekends they can be seen in real estate offices and at open homes all over Australia. Most genuinely enjoy going from home to home assessing the relative merits of each property as they narrow down their search. Eventually they find a property that lights their fire - all their hopes and dreams are about to come true. They feel confident that "this is the one". And then disaster strikes! Another buyer beats them to the purchase. All their excitement washes down the drain. They invariably feel devastated. Now they will have to start the whole process again. Has this ever happened to you? If you are yet to experience the disappointment of missing out on your "perfect home" you should count your lucky stars for it happens every week in suburbs and towns just like yours. On the other hand, if you're in the marketplace to buy a property you'll want to know all the best tips to ensure you are not disappointed. The last thing you should do is to rely on property advertisements. Property advertisements are often prepared and placed by a real estate agent 10 days or more before the advertisement is published. Worse still is the fact that every other buyer in the marketplace is waiting for these advertisements to be published. This is doubly so when considering internet advertisements. So, if you want to beat other buyers to properties, you need to have a different strategy - one that doesn't involve waiting for the property of your dreams to be advertised. This SPECIAL REPORT details just 3 simple ideas that will help you beat other buyers to the best listings in town. They are not difficult, they are not complex and, in fact, anyone can follow these 3 simple tips. Read on and see if you agree.

4 01 Beat the agent at his own game! Have you ever wondered how agents get listings? It's easy - they tell property owners they are looking for people who are interested in selling their home. They tell property owners they have a number of buyers on their books looking to purchase a home. Eventually property owners hear or see this message and then trot along to the nearest agent to list their home for sale. What stops you from doing the same thing? Most people would say "But I'm not a real estate agent". That's true. But you may well be a buyer - and many property owners will be happy to sell directly to you if only you let them know. But how? Well, this is how many real estate agents do it - you can do the same. First, isolate the neighbourhood where you would like to buy. Next, map out the streets in this neighbourhood. And finally... start walking. Knock on every door of every home you think might be suitable for you and your family. When the owner comes to the door simply say, "Hi, my name is (your name) and I'm hoping to buy a property in this neighbourhood - are you thinking of selling your home? This is how the process works for real estate agents and the same process can work for you. Sure, there's a bit of hard work but one thing is certain, you won't be in competition with other buyers. In fact, they'll never know of the properties you find. Most agents will tell you that doorknocking for listings can be timeconsuming. In most cases, you'll find less than one property owner in 100 willing to sell. Still, for all that hard work, the rewards can be enormous. No competition from other buyers, no interference from agents and a sale that can move along at its own pace. NOTE: If you come across a property with an agents FOR SALE sign in the front yard save time and trouble by calling the agent rather than knocking on the front door. In most cases the owner of such a property is locked into a contract with the agent and cannot sell their property without the involvement of their agent.

5 02 Get the agents to tell you first At their core, real estate agents are simply salespeople. And what do salespeople like to do more than anything else? They like to make a sale! As a keen property buyer you are only one half of the required ingredients that make up a sale - the other half is a willing property seller. So here's what you do. Make yourself known to the largest agents in the town where you'd like to buy. Provide each one with a detailed description of the property you'd like to buy and ask each one to call you if they locate a property that might be suitable. Sounds too simple, doesn't it? And it probably is. In reality you'll probably have to call each of these agents on a regular basis, reminding them of your requirements. Ask each agent to call you first, before any other buyer, when they list a suitable property. Tell them you will be prepared to make an instant decision on any property you view - so long as they call you before anyone else. By assuring each agent that you are prepared to act immediately you are providing a benefit for both you and the agent - you'll get called first and the agent can be certain you will make an instant decision (hopefully to buy the home he or she has found for you). At Prudential Real Estate we are conscious of the changing needs of the community we serve and, because of numerous requests, we have started a PROPERTY ALERT service for any buyer wishing to purchase in the our area. Here's how it works. You call and speak with one of our sales staff, tell them precisely what you would like to buy and when we list a property that closely matches your description, we'll you immediately before we list it on an internet site for everyone else to see. In this way, you'll be able to have the very first inspection of the property - and hopefully the first opportunity to buy. To take advantage of our PROPERTY ALERT service simply call our office 7-days a week on

6 03 Be prepared when you come face-to-face with your perfect home Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the worldwide scouting movement for boys adopted a very simple formula for his organisation - "Be Prepared" When you are on the hunt for a property, you would be wise to adopt the same strategy. The first step is to get pre-approved for a mortgage. This is a simple process that only takes a few days to arrange and ensures you can act immediately and confidently when the right home presents itself. How do you get pre-approved? Most banks and lending institutions will arrange mortgage pre-approval. If, on the other hand, you want to choose from more than 30 banks in the comfort of your own lounge room you can contact a mortgage broker. Mortgage brokers act as sub-agents for all the banks and their service is FREE to property buyers (they receive a small fee from the bank you select for your home loan) If you would like to speak with a mortgage broker please call Craig Corbett of Choice Home Loans on he'll be happy to answer any questions you might have about arranging mortgage pre-approval. The second step is to understand the process of buying a home. Once you have found the home you would like to buy it is important to secure the property so that no one else can come along and "gazump" you. The only way to confidently secure a property in NSW is by exchanging contracts with the property owner. Although this may sound a little daunting, current legislation protects buyers from substantial loss. There are two ways to exchange contracts. The first is to allow the agent to arrange the exchange of contracts and the second is to allow the respective solicitors (yours and the owner's) to arrange the exchange of contracts. The major difference between the two is that exchanging contracts through the agent is quick (often the whole thing can be complete in 60 minutes). Better still, legislation in NSW provides every buyer with a 5-day cooling off period when they exchange through an agent. This cooling off period provides an opportunity for a buyer to withdraw from the purchase without having to lose their 10% deposit *. An exchange of contracts arranged by solicitors invariably takes longer - often up to days - and generally, there is no cooling off period. Such a delay often provides an opportunity for another buyer to make an offer on the property you are hoping to buy. So, you too can beat other buyers to hot new listings by simply being better prepared than the rest. Be certain to arrange mortgage pre-approval and be prepared to exchange contracts immediately to secure the property in your name. * NOTE - A buyer withdrawing from a property purchase during a 5-day cooling off period stands to lose 0.25% of the agreed purchase price of the property to the owner as compensation to them for having their property off the market in the exclusive name of the purchaser for a period of time up to 5 days. For example 0.25% of $300,000 is $

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8 CAMPBELLTOWN Serving the local community since Queen Street, Campbelltown Phone INGLEBURN Serving the local community since Oxford Road, Ingleburn Phone LIVERPOOL Serving the local community since /52-58 Memorial Avenue, Liverpool Phone MACQUARIE FIELDS Serving the local community since 1994 Cnr Saywell & Fields Roads, Macquarie Fields Phone prudential.com.au PLEASE NOTE : 1. Recipients of this report are reminded that, although due care has been taken in the preparation of the within contained material, prospective property buyers, sellers and investors are always best served by making their own independent inquiries before entering into any real estate transaction. 2. This report has been prepared for the sole and exclusive use of Prudential Real Estate clients and customers. The whole of the contents and design are protected by copyright. COPYRIGHT Michael O Sullivan