Welcome to our ‘Hot Property Watch’. Here we give you an insight into the hottest property deals in Perth as well as providing articles & advice about investing in property in Perth, Western Australia.

Case Study 1 – Dentist:

You wouldn’t consider doing your own dentistry or legal representation – you outsource to a professional. When it comes to very important property decisions this time poor Perth professional recognized the value in engaging a property buyer to assist them.

James who is busy running a private dental practice, recently appointed us to assist him with his property search after months of frustration. He works very long hours and any spare time he has is precious. The little leisure time he has on weekends was being spent hunting for a property. “When I discovered that the Herron Todd White Property Advisors could take this off my hands I was delighted. I did not know such a service even existed until one of my colleagues informed me. My mind was at ease knowing that whilst I was at work focusing on what I do best I had a professional team dedicated to searching down a property that matched in with my brief. I was only allocating a few hours a week trying to find my property and getting frustrated with the time I spent taking calls from agents regarding a property that sounded like a match only to be disappointed .The HTW Property Advisor team search 7 days a week for the right opportunity and only interrupted me when the right opportunity presented– as a result I was able to achieve a great result without the frustrations I was experiencing”

When the right match was found they supported me through the negotiation stage and right through to settlement. Apart from an initial planning meeting they took care of everything on my behalf. This professional representation gave me confidence when I could not give the time needed. I did not want to make a costly mistake out of frustration so having a buyer’s agent was like having your own personal property body guard.

Case Study 2 – Renae, Recently divorced!

When I was married, my former husband generally looked after the finances in our family. Big decisions were always made together. However when we recently separated I was faced with the daunting task of re-entering the property market. I had many friends who were prepared to use their property expertise to assist me with my decision making – lots of my friends were property experts it appeared! Who do we get the right advice from?

One of my friends introduced me to Rob and Daren at Herron Todd White Property Advisors. I sat down with them for an hour to talk through my fears and property thoughts moving forward. They really challenged my thinking and the plan that I had gone into the meeting with was somewhat different when I left their office.

It was not long before they had been able to execute the plan that we had developed. It was great to see the team in action. I would have been hopeless trying to negotiate with the agent. Apart from them educating me in selecting the right property they were able to negotiate a lot lower price than I would have imagined.

It was a huge relief for me knowing that I had found an independent property professional that could give me the confidence and leadership that I needed at the time. Making a bad decision would have really set me back.

Case Study 3 -  Check and Acquire

Some of us love hunting around for our next dream property, searching on the net or doing a tour of the home opens on a Saturday.  However, when you do find that property that you like there are many questions on your mind.  What is the current market worth of the property?  Have I done all of my homework?  What conditions should I put into the contract to protect myself?  Is this the right decision to make?  Is there a better opportunity?  I am sure we have all experience the sleepless night following the submission of an offer to purchase- commonly known a buyer’s remorse.   Well what if there was an independent property expert that could take this pressure off you!  Brad and Janine were so glad they used the service and in fact the service well and truly paid for itself.

As we were looking for our new family home we had some particular styles that we liked and we were happy to allocate some time to finding the right property for us.  We were nervous of making a mistake so we used HTW Property Advisors to assist and we are so glad we did.  Once we found our dream home they came over to the house to inspect – a bit like getting an RAC check on that car you bought.  They did a full due diligence on the property and then wrote up the offer with some carefully worded conditions.  They  negotiated on our behalf – it is so advantageous having someone doing this that buys property every week as opposed to every 7 years!  .  We would have never thought to put these types of conditions in when buying a property but in the end it actually saved us over $25,000.  They uncovered that the back wall to the garage was not council approved and the seller had rebuild the wall.  Imagine if we were unaware and when we came to sell we ended up having to wear this cost!

What the experience taught me was that you don’t know what you don’t know.  There are so many aspects to buying that can be covered by a carefully worded contract in order to protect you.  It is crazy that we tend not to seek professional advise when making one of the most expensive purchases of our lifetime!

There are several types of properties that foreign investors can invest in Australia; vacant land which is available to a foreign investor constructing within a period of 24 months after obtaining FIRB (Foreign Investment Review Board) approval. Second hand dwelling, this is where the foreign investor is prevented from purchasing an existing property that is currently being dwelt for investment reasons. New dwellings, this is where foreign investors can purchase newly built dwellings. However the approval needs to be received for each purchase of the property and there’s no limit on the number of property purchased. Commercial, any property that’s vacant and developed property will be categorized as commercial. Apart from property that it’s being used for dwelling purposes but it excludes rural land. Obtaining a FIRB approval for commercial property is much easier as long as it does not conflict with the country’s interest. However there are certain commercial investment properties that do not need any declaration irrespective of the status of citizen. These are as follows; a developed commercial property which has a value of less than $50 million or $953 million  for US investors and or $5 million for heritage properties where the purchaser is not an US Investor. If a person acquires a commercial property that is to be used for immediate purposes and is not of a residential property instead an industrial nature is permitted.

The FIRB approval is generally given to foreign investors meeting the following criteria; if a foreign company wishes to buy properties for senior level management. If a foreigner is currently living in Australia for more than 12 month time period and intends to buy a property for his/her own use. The FIRB approval is also granted to a foreign national who is currently living with a spouse who’s an Australian.

There have been changes to the FIRB rules as of the March 2009. New dwellings are now defined as renting the property for not more than 12 months which makes the foreign investors to purchase easily. Second hand dwellings, temporary residents are no longer requested to inform FIRB of any property purchase and foreign companies are allowed to purchase or sell them if the property is vacant for more than a six months time period. Vacant residential land, foreign investors who acquire a single block of residential land that is vacant must construct a dwelling within a timeframe of 24 months. Accommodation facilities for example hotels are now to be treated as commercial properties instead of accommodation facilities. Prior notification is requested if the value of property exceeds beyond $50 million.

If you have reached the age of retirement and would like to invest your hard earned savings in a property deal, you obviously would want to make a wise decision. Retirement should bring you peacefulness and must help you feel relaxed. After all, you would have been working for over a good 20 or 30 years. If you were to buy property without the help of a buyers’ agent, chances are that you’d lose this peacefulness. Running around and searching for the best property deal is not an easy task and is not something you actually need to do when a buyers’ agent can be easily hired.

If you are close to retirement age, stress is something you shouldn’t have. Choose a buyers’ agent and save stress. We all can get easily frustrated when we are unable to find a good property deal within a short period of time. There are so many selling agents who disregard what many individual buyers’ say. This wouldn’t’ happen if you had a buyers’ agent at your side. They are professionals in the industry and hence provide a variety of services such as finding mortgage brokers, quantity surveyors, insurance agents, etc.

Majority of the reputed buyers’ agents who have been carrying out their business for years have a loyal client base, simply because they do not acquire any sort of commission from the selling agents. Many such agents are independent buyers and thus your deal is known to be a secure and genuine one.

A buyers’ agent that has been there for a long period of time will know from which areas the highest return could be obtained. Properties that have a high potential for capital growth is what everyone looks for and this is something that buyers’ agents will identify even before it becomes widely known. This of course comes with experience and this is why it becomes necessary that you choose a buyers’ agent who has been in the industry for several years.

Many buyers’ agents have links to property deals even before it becomes publicly known. This is what sets them apart from all the other individual buyers who have no knowledge about such deals. An individual buyer would usually wait for the newspaper or magazines that will have new listings on property. A buyers’ agent will have all this information prior to it being published on such medias.

A buyers’ agent saves you time and money. A buyers’ agent will always provide you with advice that is unbiased. Since they are always aware of the price fluctuations and market trends, they will definitely know if the property you intend on buying is worthy or not. Time is money and having a buyers’ agent means you save on both. Imagine yourself having to spend hours each weekend leafing through newspapers to search for the best property deal. Leave this job to the buyers’ agent who will complete it in no time.

What a buyer’s agent does, is essentially the inverse of what a selling agent would do. A buyer’s agent looks after the buyer’s interest in a property deal, and facilitates the process for him or her.

The five biggest advantages of going to a competent buyer’s agent are:

1.    Experience – A good buyer’s agent can make suggestions on which part of Australia you would gain the most from investing in based on past trends. This can help you invest in the right properties to ensure that you get the returns you want from your investment. In addition, they could bring property to your attention that you may not have had access to without their assistance. An organisation with proven results, for example, Herron Todd White Property Advisors WA, would be able to combine their contacts and knowledge to find the most appropriate suggestions for your short-list.

2.    Impartiality – The best buyer’s agents are not biased towards the seller. This means that they would provide you with information that the sellers may not necessarily consider to their advantage. You could also get information on the history of the property and developments in that area from a buyer’s agent. While there is great interest in property in the Australian market, a skilful buyer’s agent will keep you from getting caught up in the hype and investing in the wrong property. They don’t sell to you, they buy for you; which makes all the difference, putting them on your side of the line instead of at the opposite end.

3.    Negotiation – Buyer’s agents have made this their career. As fun as a little haggling may seem to an amateur, a professional is more likely to come to a satisfactory agreement faster and more easily.

4.    Timesaving – You get to use your time in the best possible way, while people who have experience and contacts search through available properties and provide you with a list of those that suit your requirements the best. Thanks to the number of deals they handle and the systems they have in place, you can rest assured that a buyer’s agent will be able to acquire the property for you that much faster.

5.    No Tension – Since the agent would handle most of the hard work, it leaves you stress-free and able to put more of your energy into the decision-making process, rather than wasting it on running around trying to put the information together.

You may feel that it would be wiser to save the agent’s fee and put it into the property itself. It might help, however, to consider the payment you make to the agent as part of the investment, and one that will help you make much better choices. With the time you free up, you could look at other options, or create more capital to invest with. You also benefit from the guidance of professionals who have been in the industry for a while.

When selecting an agent, remember to choose one suited to you, not only where the fee is concerned but also work ethic, for the beginning of a beautiful business relationship.

Sometimes acting on your own is not the best advice. This is why buyer’s agents who have decades of experience in buying properties would be the ideal resource for you. They will make sure your interests are served well. With a wide network of links they will be able to tell you what type of property you should invest in. They will take care of the bulk of the paperwork and give you a list of reviews on various properties. Furthermore, they would also provide you with advice when it comes to selling your property so you can get a good ROI.

To really understand the concept of property investment in Australia, the best resource to tap into would be a credible buyer’s agent. Besides the fact that they are the pulse of the property market, they can offer you a list of properties as per your financial means in which you can invest. They will do all the monotonous hard work and help you discern which property to actually buy. And they don’t stop there. They will suggest when to sell and at what price. What you are assured of is a generous ROI!

One of the major advantages when using a buyer agency to purchase your home is that your interests are always at heart. Agents are not representatives of the seller and will always do their best to find a home suited for you. Buyer agencies deal with property on a daily basis. Therefore, they have detailed knowledge about prices in different neighborhoods and properties that are available on the market.

Agents who work for a buyer agency are good negotiators and will always obtain the lowest price possible on your behalf. An agent is able to analyze multiple properties at the same time. This saves time and will shorten the time it takes for you to find your perfect home. Agents will also handle all the paperwork and prepare contracts on your behalf should you decide to purchase a property. So this makes life even easier for you! Therefore, this makes a buyer agency ideal when looking for your home!