WHERE to buy vs WHAT to buy
Firstly, let us clarify that we are not debating the ‘location, location, location’ catch cry. Our philosophy is to buy the worst house in the best street you can afford. However, that is exactly where a lot of people become unstuck.
When we first sit down with clients, they’re usually wanting to buy a big house in their dream suburb. Unfortunately, more often than not they simply cannot afford both.
Working out your property search criteria (aka ‘must haves’)
When a client feels priced out of their market, we often need to find out whether there is room for flexibility in their list of must-haves. We help them work through exactly what it is within their search criteria that they are willing to compromise on to get them into their ‘dream’ home sooner. Would they prefer the perfect house in a not-so-perfect suburb? Or is the perfect location key for them and they are perhaps prepared to buy a not-so-perfect house?
To help our clients work out where they may be most willing to compromise, we ask a few of the following questions:
Do they need to be in a specific school zone, and therefore location is paramount?
Are they willing to do major or minor works on the property? If they are open to renovations, this will allow us to buy a lesser house with a view to add a bedroom or bathroom in the near future to achieve both their house and location goals.
What is their holding timeline? Are they planning to stay in the home for a few years in which case we may be able to plan to upsize into the next home. Or are they planning to stay longer like 5 – 10 years? If so we need to be careful they won’t outgrow the property before they’re ready to move on.
What does the landscape of your work life look like over the next 5 or so years? If they may be transferred for work or perhaps going on some form of leave then we need to take this into account.
What does the landscape of your current/future family look like? Will you be adding any children/in-laws or wayward nieces into the home at any stage we need to account for?
Our property deal-breakers
Having flexibility in the search is important. However, we stress to our clients that we don’t compromise on a few key aspects as we are always keeping in mind your future buyer and growth potential.
No main roads / no bus routes / no train lines
Natural light / property orientation
Overlooking / surrounding property and planning applications
No high growth zoning, which may adversely affect the property
If you decide to look at new suburb options, make sure you are still ticking key location boxes such as proximity to amenities, public transport, schools, hospitals, freeway access and open spaces.
Whilst a lot of people who are choosing a family home will pick based on lifestyle preferences, it’s important to remember that wealth creation should also be an important consideration.. and that’s exactly where we step in! We make sure people get the right balance and make the right purchasing decisions.
Tabitha