I regularly use a lot of the information in this Newsletter in my day-to-day work in the real estate industry. I hope this Newsletter assists you if you're a buyer, or if you're just keeping in touch with real estate.

Buying property would be one of the most significant purchases an individual or couple makes in their lifetime. That's why the process is not straightforward or simple, if it was, then Harvey Norman would be selling real estate like they sell TV's.

The areas I regularly get enquiries about are:

• Market Trends
• Council Matters
• Legal Aspects
• Building & Pest
• Finance

When it comes to buying property, there is a lot of information available on the Internet. I have provided some good references. See my Searching Tips.  

You can use these sources to start the process, which will help you create your own property Wishlist.  Once completed, just send it to me and I may be able to either locate a property or help refine it further.

My very simple buying property tip is, if you find a property that ticks 6 or 7 out of 10 - make an offer! If you find a property that ticks 8 out of 10 - make a great offer!! That's because getting 10 out of 10 is a rarity! 

Every property has it's own personality and feel.  If you do not connect with a property, you may as well walk out straight away.

In this profession I work with a lot of great people. I have referred to several of them below.  I hope they can help you.

If there is anything in real estate I can assist with, just call or email.

Warm regards

John

This might be blantantly obvious, but the search for your ideal property does not begin by attending Open Homes!  

All worthwhile endeavours do take some research and preparation. Especially in real estate, where you can waste a lot of petrol money driving to the wrong property, weekend after weekend....  

Here is a selection of tips I have provided to other buyers;

Tips for First Home Buyers 

Barefoot Investor - Snare Your Dream Property

Five Things I Wish I Had Known Before I Bought A House

Finding the right property

7 First Time Buyer Mistakes

First Home Buyer FAQ's

After completing some property research, the next step I would suggest is to test your WISHLIST.

Can I really find my ideal property, in my favourite suburbs and in my budget? Or am I being overly ambitious?

One way is to send me your wishlist and I can provide some feedback.

Everyone loves a Freebie, right! Here's one for your collection.

As the title indicates, this ebook has plenty of advice on Selling, plus many good tips for Buying & Finance.

(Thank You to Ray Wood for making the content available.)

The number 1 question every property owner and buyer wants to know - What is a property worth!

With advances in database technology, there are now many ways to obtain a free valuation;

Price Lookup (Real Estate.com)

Home Price Guide (Domain)

Property Value

Onthehouse

Go ahead enter the address.  Do you agree with the estimate?

RPDATA is Australia's #1 Property Information Provider.

The latest information is now available;

Video Report 

Charts

To stay in touch with your local market, I can provide a recent Sales Report.  Each quarter I produce Reports for almost 40 Inner Northern Brisbane suburbs.

Take a look at the example provided.  If you would to recieve your Suburb Report, just send me an email.

This detailed document contains many tested techniques that result in a greater profit for sellers.  If you wanted to discuss any of the material in more detail just call or email.

If you feel that a chat would be a better option, I'm more than happy to meet over a cuppa. My Shout!

One of the best local Coffee Shops is Shutter & Brew.

Just email me or sms to arrange a convenient time.

Keeping up to date with market trends can be time consuming!

Here are a few reliable sources;

RPData

Matusik

Property Observer

Residex

Depending upon the property, there can be several matters influencing it's suitability.  Two of the major one's include;

1. Flooding - review this links for areas of flooding and specific Floodwise Reports for the property

Floodwise Property Report

Understand Your Flood Risk

2. Chararcter Considerations - some houses are classified Heritage, but many have Chararcter Considerations that will influence if you can or cannot remove the house. The BCC City Plan has an interactive map that contains a plethora of information;

Brisbane City Plan

The Legal matters for buying property (conveyancing) cannot be simply over looked. The key, as always is having someone that is efficient, communicates well and provides sound legal advice.

Some contacts that offer very good service include;

ANDREW WHELDON SOLICITORS

JUST US LAWYERS

RITT LAW

KRG

Once you have found the right home and negotiated your price, you want to be sure that the property is sound.

That's why a Building & Pest Inspection is an important aspect of every purchase. Don't be surprised if a few flaws are found, this happens in brand new homes too.

Where possible, attend the Inspection and speak with the Inspector. This is one of the most important events in the whole process!!! 

Here are some contacts that provide a quality service;

BPI BUILDING & PEST

COMPASS

PRO-CHECK

ACCURATE HOME INSPECTIONS

A major step for a buyer is having your Finance Pre-Approved.  In essence this makes you a better class of buyer.  It is solid proof that you have got your things together and the offer you make has substance.  

Ask your lender - can you arrange 7 days finance approval?  It's a great condition, when many buyers have 14 or 21 days finance.

To assist you reach this point, I have listed several contacts I have used in the past

John Andrew is a great communicator and an excellent real estate agent. He always kept us informed throughout the marketing and selling of our unit. I would certainly recommend his services to family and friends.

John assisted us in achieving the best possible price and made the process smooth and quick. I highly recommend his services for North-Side Brisbane

John was a pleasure to deal with - he communicated every step of the way, good and bad! Very friendly and a great deal of local knowledge. I would recommend his services and anticipate dealing with John in the future.