Hi ,
A Word from Wendy
Right now in the media, everywhere there seems to be mention of FOMO – “Fear Of Missing Out”.
When I see FOMO, I see “Follow Others, Miss Opportunities”
There are always opportunities in real estate, no matter which way the market is going – up, down, sideways.
Your average buyer is scouring realestate.com.au and domain.com.au, hoping for that unicorn among the herd of online listings. FOMO.
But the unicorns are not always running with the herd. They’re the opportunities missed by those unfamiliar with markets and without established relationships.
If you follow others, you will miss opportunities.
What do I mean by that?
Ever heard the saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know?”
In real estate, you need a decent dose of “what you know” because there are a lot of moving parts in buying and selling a property. Far more than people realise.
But more than that, the “who you know” is what is overlooked, it’s the secret sauce if you will.
So you need to combine knowing what you’re doing with knowing who to ask.
Sadly, many home buyers fail dismally at one and completely overlook the other.
The unicorns are everywhere
I see them every day. I round them up and bring them to my clients. It is part of the fun of what I do.
Maybe I should change my title to Chief Unicorn Wrangler? 😆
One question that I am constantly asked by prospective clients is, “Why should I use a buyer’s advocate?”. Basically, they’re wanting me to justify the investment they make with me, versus the return they will get.
Just the other week, a wannabe buyer that had been looking for many months, who had missed out on some 10+ properties asked me just that. They came to me, wanting me to prove to them that I could find them an off-market property – a unicorn.
Let me share with you my past two weeks:
• We’re on the hunt again for another renovation project. So I put my feelers out. In my preferred hunting ground, I walked through 4 off market candidates in 2 days. Off market. Not advertised. Limited competition.
• Client 1 - Last Thursday, my interstate clients drove down to meet me for a spot of property inspecting. I had lined up for them 5 homes to see. 3 were on the market, advertised. 2 were off market, not advertised. Plus there was another off market that I told them about before their drive to Melbourne that they’d decided wasn’t going to work for them.
In the midst of our day of property viewings, there was another home we spotted that had already been put under offer (i.e. someone else had already snapped it up – it was effectively sold).
So which one did we buy? The home under offer by someone else. We viewed the home and had it totally buttoned up and bought the same day. How? Secret Sauce 😉
• Client 2 – We’re heading to auction this Saturday to buy a home my clients love. However, auctions mean competition. So, irrespective, I always like to keep my finger on the pulse. Tuesday I was chatting to another agent in that area who told me about a home, off market (not advertised) that also fit the bill for my clients. Yesterday, she rang me back. She has a second off market home she thinks
would work. Today... you guessed it. She rang with another off market home. My clients are viewing these homes privately tomorrow. Off market. No competition.
• Client 3 – This week, when speaking with an agent I know she told me about a home that didn’t sell on the weekend. The home is a great buy, the agent and vendor just stuffed up their asking price. They pitched it too high, they missed the mark and the buyers punished them for it. It happens, we all make mistakes. Mistakes equal opportunities. My client viewed that
home privately yesterday. He loved it, so last night we got the deal done. No competition.
These are but a handful of examples. I could go on, but I am sure you get the gist.
Combine my 25 years of knowledge in buying and selling real estate with my established relationships with real estate agents and the question as to why you’d employ me to go to bat for you as your advocate becomes a moot point.
A better question is, “Why on earth would you try to go it alone?”
Would you like to hunt Unicorns with me too?
It is a lot of fun, I have to say.
Hit reply if you’d like to join me.
