The client

A busy working professional with a demanding job and a couple of children. She was currently renting a townhouse in a particular complex and got word from a neighbour that another property in the complex was coming up for sale in the next few months.

Keen to limit the disruption to her children’s lives and their lifestyle, she gave me a call and asked if I would be able to assist her in the purchase. It was important to keep her identity as a neighbour confidential for two reasons:

• As a tenant you do not want to risk your leasing agent finding out that you might be considering moving and they raise the rent and/or issue a notice to vacate; and

• To ensure in the negotiation on price and terms that my client was not disadvantaged because the owner knew who she was

What was most important to the client

• To buy only in this particular set of townhouses in Randwick!

The search

You might think “the search” was easy because we knew the property we wanted to buy. The issue was, we had no idea which agent the owner had engaged to handle the sale.

I spoke to agents who leased in the building, the building manager, and about 60 different eastern suburbs real estate agents before I found out exactly who it was that had signed up the listing. This is where the fun started!!

The owner had zero intention or appetite to sell pre - market. They were currently doing cosmetic renovations and would be styling it with furniture for a full blown marketing campaign. This was absolutely not what we wanted. We wanted to buy pre market and secure the property.

The property

A no expense spared three level, four bedroom townhouse with private off street entry. The property has a fantastic floorplan for a family home with spacious living, large ceilings and multiple outdoor areas. Plus double lock up garage.

In total, it is just short of 300 sqm which is very decent for a townhouse.

It is as close to being a house without being a house as you could get.

The outcome

The agent and I had an existing relationship. He knew that I was not a time waster and that my client was ready to buy. Ultimately he works for the vendor though.

We managed to inspect the property on the day the professional photos were being taken, and thus, before any other buyer knew the property was about to become available. We also had our contract review and strata due diligence completed. We had done our pricing research - although townhouses are always challenging to price as comparable sales are few and far between.

We put in our first offer but the owners were adamant no amount of money could stop the first Saturday open for inspection. This was scheduled on the Saturday of a long weekend, and positioned as a ‘database only’ open. This means it wasn’t on the real estate portals but does go out to hot buyers the real estate agent knows are currently in the market looking.

The public holiday Monday then worked in our favour. Even though other parties had seen it on the Saturday, most buyers don’t have a conveyancer / lawyer who would be reviewing a contract on a public holiday. Whereas, we had everything lined up and we were in a position to offer unconditionally.

While the owner was still keen to move ahead; and the online launch was scheduled for Tuesday morning; we struck a deal late on the Monday evening and exchange unconditional contracts. BOOM!

And the icing on the cake… just five months later another (identical) townhouse in the block was up for sale. It sold on market for $200,000 more than what my client paid!!

Learnings

Sometimes buyers do not completely understand the value of purchasing pre - market. Everyone wants to buy at the lowest possible price, but when you come across a property that ticks all the boxes for a lot of buyers, you know it will be hotly contested on market. Paying a price to snap it up pre-market can actually save you thousands (and in this case $200,000!)!