June 21, 2023 • 19 mins
Welcome to another Property Diary! Today's fabulous diarist has one incredible story - and she's sharing her journey so you can learn from her experience. After finding what she thought was a great unit in her price range and desired location, some last-minute pressure had her signing the paperwork. But three days later, she pulled out of the contract due to some unforeseen red flags. The lesson? Trust your gut! Listen in with Jessica Ricci for all the juicy details…and to hear the happy ending.
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The advice shared on The Property Playbook is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. The property Playbook exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs. Victoria Devine and The Property Playbook are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN - 321649 27708, AFSL - 451289.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Property Playbook would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians
of the lands of where this podcast is recorded. There
were wonder people of the cooler nations acknowledging the culture,
the history, and the connection to the lands of what
we call home.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Let's get into it.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Hello, and welcome back to The Property Playbook, the podcast
where we take you from A to V of all
things property. My name is Jessica Ricky, and today I'm
flying solo because Victoria Devine is outsick, the poor thing.
But we've got a fabulous property diarist for you regardless.
And I'm not really alone because you're here listening. So
let me tell you all about our diarist, they said,
(00:49):
high Property Playbook Team. I'm writing to share my story
on our first property purchase. We almost bought a doozy,
including being roped into signing a contract on a Monday
night at ten pm.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
We ended up.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Pulling out of the purchase three days later because someone
had built an illegal room on top of the unit
we were planning on purchasing. But our story does have
a happy ending. We found a great unit at a
bargain price, which we have since renovated. I wanted to
share my story so other listeners can learn from our experience.
Oh my goodness, Property Diarist, it does sound like you've
had a bit of a ride, haven't you.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Yeah, looking back, it's quite a whirlwind and to think
that we went through that, but we survived and really
love where we live now. So as my in laws
like to say, they called it school fees, and so
we definitely teach our school fees in that lesson.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Oh my gosh, that's actually a hilarious term. I'm one
hundred percent stealing it and I'm very interested to learn
a little bit more about what that experience was like
for you. But first things first, let's get into our
structured questions. Can you tell me when and where did
you purchase?
Speaker 2 (01:51):
So we purchased in November twenty twenty, so towards the
end after their first lockdown. It's in Sydney, so around
ten to twelve k's just in the beginning of the
southwest of Sydney.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Oh beautiful with Sydney, so lovely, but so expensive, isn't it.
Can you tell me how much at the time did
you earn and what were you doing for work?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah, so I'm a solicitor at that time, I was
only around sixty eight thousand dollars per annum and we
had just gotten back into full time work. So we're
in this phase because we're doing part time work due
to COVID. Yeah, so I just bounced back into it.
I think that may influence the mortgage decision. Yeah, working process.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Yeah, it's so hard, isn't it to think back to
that time period when people were working you know, part time,
or people were being you know, put on furlough and
things like that. It's so strange. It seems like it
was so long ago. But also literally just yesterday. Did
you make your purchase with anybody else?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yeah? I purchased togare of my husband.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
And what was he doing for work at the time,
and how much was he earning?
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Roughly gosh, she was working as a con sultan at
that time, and he would have been earning I think
around one hundred and twenty two hundred and thirty amazing.
So yeah, and he managed to keep his work full time.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Oh COVID lucky him. Consultancy is so funny because people say, oh,
I'm a consultant, and I go, I don't really know
what that means.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
So actually, my husband is a mathematician. Oh that's fat. Yeah,
but he specializes in a segment of mathematics where you
get to apply maths to real life problems. So, for example,
something like how to give our credit to someone without
asking them specific things? What how can they use maths
to determine whether someone should be receiving a credit card?
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Oh, that's so interesting. That's very relevant to our community.
I feel like, very course and much more interesting than
theoretical maths. To me, I like when something is you
can go, oh, I see how that works and how
that applies to me as a person. That's very fun.
What were the non negotiables that you guys had on
your list?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Okay, I had a very long list. I like to
be specific, and because we want to if we're going
to buy a place, it's somewhere we're going to be
living for a couple of years. And I still have
it on my phone and it seems like there's a
whole essay and I wrote down, but just in summary
what we really wanted, so walking distance within a train
station that was really important to us. Had to have
a balcony to hang clothes on the washing line.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
I thought you were going to say, had to have
a balcony to hang over the side of and I
was like, oh, that feels.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
A romantic No, no, we'll put practical than that. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Love.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
It had to have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, space to
have guests since you have family living overseas to come
stay over. And no carpets and no mold. And also
we put a distance marker on it because we're quite
involved in our local church and we want to be
close enough to the city. Yep, so we'd drawn a
little circle around that.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
And that's a really great idea to have your radius
of you know, the central locations that you want to
be and literally draw it out on a map to
decide where you're looking. That is such a good idea,
very very clever. It's actually funny. You're also one of
the only people, well I've ever spoken to who have
the same rule as me, which is no carpet. I
hate carpet. I can't stand it.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Yeah, I'm allergit to us. So if the carpet comes in,
we're going to have problems.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Yeah, it makes your life so much harder. Now, how
much did you guys end up spending on your unit?
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Yes, so we spent six hundred and eighty eight thousand dollars.
And I'll dive into a bit more this species why
that specific amount later on?
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Incredible? And how much did you have in your deposit
for that purchase?
Speaker 2 (05:28):
So my husband's more of the financial savvy person in
their relationship, so he wanted to go as low as possible.
So we chopped around to see what we could get,
and the bank that we got our mortgage worth was
able to offer ten percent deposit because I held a
practicing certificate.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
All that's awesome. Those little extra it's not really a
grand or a scheme, I suppose, but those little extra
allowances they have for certain industries. I know that they
exist for nursing as well. I'm pretty sure. It's really
great to see that people can take advantage of those
to get into their first properties. And that is such
a tidy segue from me into my next question, which
(06:06):
was did you use any government grants or schemes?
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Yes, we just made use of New South Wales first
home buyer scheme.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
And is that ten thousand dollars? I think that's what
it is here?
Speaker 2 (06:16):
And vic okay, so in New South Wales it's no
stamp duty up until six hundred and fifty dollars brilliant. Nice.
I think that's changed now.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Of course it's been a little while. And then one
last question that I have for your Property direst before
we head to a break is looking back, would you
change anything about your journey?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Well, we got to the place that we wanted to,
but no, but definitely the biggest lesson learners to trust
your gut. There were some red flags for us and
we should have just stepped back when at that point,
and which was hard to accept.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Yeah, but it led you to where you were. So
I feel like positive outcome overall. Already, let's stuck to
a quick break because when we come back, I want
to hear about the red flags. Don't go anywhere. Welcome
back everybody. Today we're chatting with a beautiful property diarist,
and I have to ask the red flags in your
process when you were looking to buy that initial unit
(07:12):
that you guys signed a contract for and everything. What
was the process? You said in your letter to us
that you felt a little bit pressured. You signed at
ten pm one Monday night, which is a little bit
ridiculous to me. How did that even come about?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Yeah? So going back to said what happened. We had
found the place that we thought, oh, this was good enough,
it's nice enough, but it was quite close to train line,
which wasn't It was just facing the train line, and
it was quite a lot of noise, so that should
have already been a red flag for us. And we've
got a friend who was a bias agent who was
(07:47):
very calm, and my husband had noticed a bit of
leaking in the main bedroom, and so you were thinking, Okay,
what's going on here, But since we liked it enough,
my husband's like, oh, let's just sign anyway. Let's just
see in the cud period what the big problem would be.
So we thought about it over the weekend, We're like, okay,
we'll start negotiating. Then come Monday we had we started
(08:10):
the negotiation process and then the real estate agent pulled
up the oh, there's another buyer, and so we were
just going back and forth and pushing. We finally a
greeting the amount that we were both comfortable with, and
the vendor was happy to go ahead, but they were
very insistent that we had to sign that day, and
that's we ended up outside of real estate agent at
Monday night, at ten pm.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
They didn't even come to you. You had to go
to them.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
No, we had to go to them.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Oh that's ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
And at that stage I was already feeling quite uncomfortable
because I hate being pushed into a corner, and so
I really felt like something's not righteous. But oh well,
let's just go ahead and see. So my husband called
a friend who happens to be a builder, and they
decided to go look at the place together just to
see what the cause of the leaking could be. Basically,
what had happened was there was a balcony on top
(09:00):
of this main bedroom which had the leaking, and they
took a walk outside and the friend said, look, the
problem is obvious. They've built a room on this balcony
and essentially it was compressing all the water into a
smaller area, which is causing the leaking into the bedroom.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
That seems like a huge problem.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Yes, it was a huge problem. And also there was
no records on strata about any approvals or seeking permission,
which may led us to suspect that it may have
been done illegally. I mean, who knows, But yes, it
was a big problem. And so thousand end of that
were like, we should pull outs because I have mold sensitivity,
(09:46):
so old is really a big deal for me. And
so at the end of the day, we lost a
very small portion of money. It could have been much worse.
But I think what was frustrating about the whole process
was that, yeah knows, maybe the vendor didn't know about
this room, but I remember when we walked past, I
wanted to see the first all I had in my
(10:06):
mind was, oh, my gosh, there's an electricity in this room. Yeah,
full On made their own study or whatever room it was. Yeah,
So the money loss was around two thousand dollars, which
is better than nothing. I mean better than six hundred
or however much it was. Yes, but yes, we knew
at that stage that we had to pull out.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
What was the process, like, We've never spoken to someone
who got as far as signing a contract and then
pulling out. How was that experience. Did you find that
the real estate agent tried to go back and forth
with you? Did you find it. I'm someone who doesn't
love confrontation, so I feel like I would be quite
nervous in that situation. What was it like having to say, hey, like,
(10:48):
we've taken a look at things and it's not really
what we thought it was. We want to pull the pin, yees.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
So thankfully our BIA's agent friend was helping us out
with this per so he did most of the work.
But it was actually quite calm. I thought there'd been
more conflict in the situation, but at the end of
the day we just obstructed the bias agent to say, sorry,
we're not going ahead these issues, and they just accepted it.
And I think the ir or the ending of the story,
(11:16):
which is even more shocking, is that the place actually
sold for twenty thousand dollars more than what we offered
really later, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
Was it on the market for that time?
Speaker 2 (11:26):
This is what we don't know, only because they'd like
to take it off and then put it back on.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Yeah, for sure. So it doesn't look like it's been
sitting around phages.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
That is actually a.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
Bit of a wild ride, isn't it. Did you find that?
Obviously being a solicitor, you've got a bit of a
background in law. Were you looking over all of your contracts?
Were you the one looking into the permits and stuff,
or did you have a third party do that for you?
Speaker 2 (11:52):
We had a third party only because I don't practice
in real estaid law, so if you don't know, it's
rather better to go to someone who does. So we
didn't gain solicitor who helped us to I knew very
basic elements, stuff that we had learned in university. But essentially, yeah,
i'd recommend if you're really not sure, just rather engage
a professional who's able to help you through that.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
You don't want to miss something because you think that
you can do it, even if it's not your area
of expertise. Would you say that that was your opinion
on your experience using a buyers agent as well? Obviously
it was your friends, so I'm sure it was a
little bit easier for you guys than just finding somebody
and sourcing a buyers agent. But what was your experience
like using someone like that as well to help with
your purchase.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Yeah, I thought it was a great experience. Ultimately, when
we bought our property in the end, we didn't use
a bias agent, but I think we're comfortable enough in
the process. But during that first that first incident, it
really helped us because the buias agent was able to
point out certain for example, red flat flags. I remember
he'd say, oh, there's a lot of gang banger cars in.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
The area, that's something you should think of us, so
helpful tips like that then, and he would also work
through strategy to be like, this is how you should
go about negotiating.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Obviously he did most of the work for us, but
it really helps if you really don't know much and
you would prefer someone else to do it for you,
that's a value that they can bring. But I think
we've learned a lot and at the end we're comfortable
enough to go through it on our own.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Yeah, when the time came, all right, tell me about
how you got from point A to point B. So
point aiming you'd put this off on the house, you've
pulled the plug, you've gone, oh my gosh, this can't work,
not for us, And then point B you've ended up
with a unit that you love. You said it was
a great price. How long between signing that initial contract
and finding you're now home?
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Yeah, so it's actually a couple of weeks. I think once,
or in our experience, once you've been through many units,
you've seen what you've seen, you know what you don't like,
you know what you like. It's quite easy to make
a decision once you find something you like. Now, we
were a bit hesitant. I was looking through the I
would go on every day and I saw this place
come up. I thought, okay, I'm just going to go
(14:04):
have a look. It was before a long weekend. I
just called and said, we want to come see. Came
to the place. What was great about is that the
vendor did not put much effort to make it look pretty.
So we saw it in the shape it was, and
it was well kept but just needed a bit of
tidying up. Yeah, and afterwards we did feel a bit
nervous because we had been jaded by the first experience.
(14:26):
But my God was telling me, no, just go and
make it offer. And so I told my husband, I'm
making offer this this weekend. Whether you like it or not.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Put your foot down.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Yeah, and we did. We went straight back. The vendor
had asked for a very specific price, which is hence
the six hundred and eighty eight thousand dollars, not a
cent more, not a cent less. So we just said, okay,
let's just go with that, take a risk. And now
that within a couple of days it was all done
and sorted. Wow, it turned out to be a good risk,
and we really love where we live. We live right
(14:56):
near the parks. We can walk out straight onto Yeah,
some walkways, huge balcony. Yeah, it's just.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Really sounds like a little slice of paradise. Yeah, how
is your experience renovating? Had either of you ever renovated before?
Speaker 2 (15:11):
So my husband comes from a family who's extremely good
at DIY, which is very helpful. So we workshopped through
different options. He wanted to try dy on his own,
but essentially we came down to let's just use a
renovator to do everything from demolishing to yeah, putting it up.
So we decided we wanted to redo the bathrooms because
they need to be redone and we actually converted the
(15:34):
laundry into a study look as well, so in that
we were able to get extra space in a unit.
And then since then, unfortunately, renovations just see more things
to do. So I've gotten downlights done, insulation, I got
my husband to paint our kitchen green and pink.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Oh my god, coots.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Yeah, so just those little things.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Yeah, amazing. Out of curiosity, where did you put you?
Obviously you've converted the laundry into the study You've had
to move your wash dry space. Where'd you decide to
put it?
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Yeah, so we put it into the main bathroom. Our
main bathroom is really big for an apartment space, and
so we were able to turn the bathtub into a
tub shower and then the washing machine and dry it
was able to need to fit into the corner.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Oh my god, I love that. I love a good
use of storage space. So that stuff just really gets
me going amazing. Well, it sounds like you had quite
the journey before we wrap it up. Is there anything
that you would take from your experience that if there
was someone like myself who is looking like you were
at domain and real estate every day and trying to
(16:36):
find the one, what advice would you give them?
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Yeah, So summarize thy points or fore little lessons. First
one is to trust your gut. It was very clear
to us that this first property purchase was just it
wasn't going to have a happy ending. And I think
especially in Sydney, when you think everything's going so expensive,
you just want to secure your little plot of land
or unit. You just want to go for it. But
ultimately you just sometimes have to accept that if it's
(17:02):
not going to happen, just to walk away, so good.
Lesson is good to choose a good team. So unfortunate
to be married to someone who's extremely good at DIY.
But if you're not well versus at DIY, you don't
know much about property, just go find people, I mean,
listen to property playbook, podcasts, read books, whatever medium. Ask
a friend, ask a friend to ask another friend. It's
(17:23):
good to have a good team. Yes, and then they look.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
At a plug by the way, listen to the problem playbook.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Yeah. And then last, but not least, is ask questions.
So don't be afraid to ask questions. If you're really
not sure, it's okay to go around and ask the answer. Yes,
you may annoy the real estate agent, but it's just
better to get things cleared up and then going in
and then realizing, oh.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
That's not what I thought it was going to be
one hundred percent, And it's their job really to answer questions.
You're so right, I think, especially for new people like me,
like you guys were when you were making that first purchase,
you feel kind of bad or you feel silly for
not knowing things, and you're totally right. If you don't
know something, it just means that you haven't learned it yet,
and how are you ever going to learn it if
(18:08):
you don't ask somebody to help you. And a lot
of the time those professionals, that's what they're there for,
Like they are there to answer your questions. They are
there to help you out, and so it's silly not
to make use of that resource. I could not agree
with you more, but I feel like that is an
absolutely perfect place to wrap it up. Thank you so
much for sharing your story, And I would really encourage
anyone who isn't already to join our Facebook group. If
(18:31):
you're not there where Property Playbook Aus, you can find
us and there are people sharing tips and tricks and
asking questions every single day. So if you do find
yourself in a spot where you are i'm not sure
if something's the right choice, or you just need to
sense check it with somebody, it's a great place to
do it. Everyone is so lovely and supportive. We're also
on Instagram if you want to join us there at
Property Playbook Aus. And if you enjoyed this episode, I'd
(18:54):
love a little review. I'm working hard. I hope you
guys are liking it, and I read every single one
and if they're nice, I get really happy. And if
they're sad, sometimes I have a little cry. But that's okay.
Let's quickly wrap the boring but important stuff. The advice
shared on the Property Playbook is generally in nature and
does not consider your individual circumstances. The Property Playbook exists
purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon
(19:16):
to make an investment or a financial decision. Thank you
guys for tuning in, and I'll see you next week. Bye.
The Property Playbook would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians
of the lands of where this podcast is recorded. There
were wonder people of the cooler nations acknowledging the culture,
the history, and the connection to the lands of what
we call home.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Let's get into it.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Hello, and welcome back to The Property Playbook, the podcast
where we take you from A to V of all
things property. My name is Jessica Ricky, and today I'm
flying solo because Victoria Devine is outsick, the poor thing.
But we've got a fabulous property diarist for you regardless.
And I'm not really alone because you're here listening. So
let me tell you all about our diarist, they said,
(00:49):
high Property Playbook Team. I'm writing to share my story
on our first property purchase. We almost bought a doozy,
including being roped into signing a contract on a Monday
night at ten pm.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
We ended up.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Pulling out of the purchase three days later because someone
had built an illegal room on top of the unit
we were planning on purchasing. But our story does have
a happy ending. We found a great unit at a
bargain price, which we have since renovated. I wanted to
share my story so other listeners can learn from our experience.
Oh my goodness, Property Diarist, it does sound like you've
had a bit of a ride, haven't you.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Yeah, looking back, it's quite a whirlwind and to think
that we went through that, but we survived and really
love where we live now. So as my in laws
like to say, they called it school fees, and so
we definitely teach our school fees in that lesson.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Oh my gosh, that's actually a hilarious term. I'm one
hundred percent stealing it and I'm very interested to learn
a little bit more about what that experience was like
for you. But first things first, let's get into our
structured questions. Can you tell me when and where did
you purchase?
Speaker 2 (01:51):
So we purchased in November twenty twenty, so towards the
end after their first lockdown. It's in Sydney, so around
ten to twelve k's just in the beginning of the
southwest of Sydney.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Oh beautiful with Sydney, so lovely, but so expensive, isn't it.
Can you tell me how much at the time did
you earn and what were you doing for work?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah, so I'm a solicitor at that time, I was
only around sixty eight thousand dollars per annum and we
had just gotten back into full time work. So we're
in this phase because we're doing part time work due
to COVID. Yeah, so I just bounced back into it.
I think that may influence the mortgage decision. Yeah, working process.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Yeah, it's so hard, isn't it to think back to
that time period when people were working you know, part time,
or people were being you know, put on furlough and
things like that. It's so strange. It seems like it
was so long ago. But also literally just yesterday. Did
you make your purchase with anybody else?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yeah? I purchased togare of my husband.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
And what was he doing for work at the time,
and how much was he earning?
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Roughly gosh, she was working as a con sultan at
that time, and he would have been earning I think
around one hundred and twenty two hundred and thirty amazing.
So yeah, and he managed to keep his work full time.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Oh COVID lucky him. Consultancy is so funny because people say, oh,
I'm a consultant, and I go, I don't really know
what that means.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
So actually, my husband is a mathematician. Oh that's fat. Yeah,
but he specializes in a segment of mathematics where you
get to apply maths to real life problems. So, for example,
something like how to give our credit to someone without
asking them specific things? What how can they use maths
to determine whether someone should be receiving a credit card?
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Oh, that's so interesting. That's very relevant to our community.
I feel like, very course and much more interesting than
theoretical maths. To me, I like when something is you
can go, oh, I see how that works and how
that applies to me as a person. That's very fun.
What were the non negotiables that you guys had on
your list?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Okay, I had a very long list. I like to
be specific, and because we want to if we're going
to buy a place, it's somewhere we're going to be
living for a couple of years. And I still have
it on my phone and it seems like there's a
whole essay and I wrote down, but just in summary
what we really wanted, so walking distance within a train
station that was really important to us. Had to have
a balcony to hang clothes on the washing line.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
I thought you were going to say, had to have
a balcony to hang over the side of and I
was like, oh, that feels.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
A romantic No, no, we'll put practical than that. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Love.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
It had to have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, space to
have guests since you have family living overseas to come
stay over. And no carpets and no mold. And also
we put a distance marker on it because we're quite
involved in our local church and we want to be
close enough to the city. Yep, so we'd drawn a
little circle around that.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
And that's a really great idea to have your radius
of you know, the central locations that you want to
be and literally draw it out on a map to
decide where you're looking. That is such a good idea,
very very clever. It's actually funny. You're also one of
the only people, well I've ever spoken to who have
the same rule as me, which is no carpet. I
hate carpet. I can't stand it.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Yeah, I'm allergit to us. So if the carpet comes in,
we're going to have problems.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Yeah, it makes your life so much harder. Now, how
much did you guys end up spending on your unit?
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Yes, so we spent six hundred and eighty eight thousand dollars.
And I'll dive into a bit more this species why
that specific amount later on?
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Incredible? And how much did you have in your deposit
for that purchase?
Speaker 2 (05:28):
So my husband's more of the financial savvy person in
their relationship, so he wanted to go as low as possible.
So we chopped around to see what we could get,
and the bank that we got our mortgage worth was
able to offer ten percent deposit because I held a
practicing certificate.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
All that's awesome. Those little extra it's not really a
grand or a scheme, I suppose, but those little extra
allowances they have for certain industries. I know that they
exist for nursing as well. I'm pretty sure. It's really
great to see that people can take advantage of those
to get into their first properties. And that is such
a tidy segue from me into my next question, which
(06:06):
was did you use any government grants or schemes?
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Yes, we just made use of New South Wales first
home buyer scheme.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
And is that ten thousand dollars? I think that's what
it is here?
Speaker 2 (06:16):
And vic okay, so in New South Wales it's no
stamp duty up until six hundred and fifty dollars brilliant. Nice.
I think that's changed now.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Of course it's been a little while. And then one
last question that I have for your Property direst before
we head to a break is looking back, would you
change anything about your journey?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Well, we got to the place that we wanted to,
but no, but definitely the biggest lesson learners to trust
your gut. There were some red flags for us and
we should have just stepped back when at that point,
and which was hard to accept.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Yeah, but it led you to where you were. So
I feel like positive outcome overall. Already, let's stuck to
a quick break because when we come back, I want
to hear about the red flags. Don't go anywhere. Welcome
back everybody. Today we're chatting with a beautiful property diarist,
and I have to ask the red flags in your
process when you were looking to buy that initial unit
(07:12):
that you guys signed a contract for and everything. What
was the process? You said in your letter to us
that you felt a little bit pressured. You signed at
ten pm one Monday night, which is a little bit
ridiculous to me. How did that even come about?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Yeah? So going back to said what happened. We had
found the place that we thought, oh, this was good enough,
it's nice enough, but it was quite close to train line,
which wasn't It was just facing the train line, and
it was quite a lot of noise, so that should
have already been a red flag for us. And we've
got a friend who was a bias agent who was
(07:47):
very calm, and my husband had noticed a bit of
leaking in the main bedroom, and so you were thinking, Okay,
what's going on here, But since we liked it enough,
my husband's like, oh, let's just sign anyway. Let's just
see in the cud period what the big problem would be.
So we thought about it over the weekend, We're like, okay,
we'll start negotiating. Then come Monday we had we started
(08:10):
the negotiation process and then the real estate agent pulled
up the oh, there's another buyer, and so we were
just going back and forth and pushing. We finally a
greeting the amount that we were both comfortable with, and
the vendor was happy to go ahead, but they were
very insistent that we had to sign that day, and
that's we ended up outside of real estate agent at
Monday night, at ten pm.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
They didn't even come to you. You had to go
to them.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
No, we had to go to them.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Oh that's ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
And at that stage I was already feeling quite uncomfortable
because I hate being pushed into a corner, and so
I really felt like something's not righteous. But oh well,
let's just go ahead and see. So my husband called
a friend who happens to be a builder, and they
decided to go look at the place together just to
see what the cause of the leaking could be. Basically,
what had happened was there was a balcony on top
(09:00):
of this main bedroom which had the leaking, and they
took a walk outside and the friend said, look, the
problem is obvious. They've built a room on this balcony
and essentially it was compressing all the water into a
smaller area, which is causing the leaking into the bedroom.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
That seems like a huge problem.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Yes, it was a huge problem. And also there was
no records on strata about any approvals or seeking permission,
which may led us to suspect that it may have
been done illegally. I mean, who knows, But yes, it
was a big problem. And so thousand end of that
were like, we should pull outs because I have mold sensitivity,
(09:46):
so old is really a big deal for me. And
so at the end of the day, we lost a
very small portion of money. It could have been much worse.
But I think what was frustrating about the whole process
was that, yeah knows, maybe the vendor didn't know about
this room, but I remember when we walked past, I
wanted to see the first all I had in my
(10:06):
mind was, oh, my gosh, there's an electricity in this room. Yeah,
full On made their own study or whatever room it was. Yeah,
So the money loss was around two thousand dollars, which
is better than nothing. I mean better than six hundred
or however much it was. Yes, but yes, we knew
at that stage that we had to pull out.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
What was the process, like, We've never spoken to someone
who got as far as signing a contract and then
pulling out. How was that experience. Did you find that
the real estate agent tried to go back and forth
with you? Did you find it. I'm someone who doesn't
love confrontation, so I feel like I would be quite
nervous in that situation. What was it like having to say, hey, like,
(10:48):
we've taken a look at things and it's not really
what we thought it was. We want to pull the pin, yees.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
So thankfully our BIA's agent friend was helping us out
with this per so he did most of the work.
But it was actually quite calm. I thought there'd been
more conflict in the situation, but at the end of
the day we just obstructed the bias agent to say, sorry,
we're not going ahead these issues, and they just accepted it.
And I think the ir or the ending of the story,
(11:16):
which is even more shocking, is that the place actually
sold for twenty thousand dollars more than what we offered
really later, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
Was it on the market for that time?
Speaker 2 (11:26):
This is what we don't know, only because they'd like
to take it off and then put it back on.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Yeah, for sure. So it doesn't look like it's been
sitting around phages.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
That is actually a.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
Bit of a wild ride, isn't it. Did you find that?
Obviously being a solicitor, you've got a bit of a
background in law. Were you looking over all of your contracts?
Were you the one looking into the permits and stuff,
or did you have a third party do that for you?
Speaker 2 (11:52):
We had a third party only because I don't practice
in real estaid law, so if you don't know, it's
rather better to go to someone who does. So we
didn't gain solicitor who helped us to I knew very
basic elements, stuff that we had learned in university. But essentially, yeah,
i'd recommend if you're really not sure, just rather engage
a professional who's able to help you through that.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
You don't want to miss something because you think that
you can do it, even if it's not your area
of expertise. Would you say that that was your opinion
on your experience using a buyers agent as well? Obviously
it was your friends, so I'm sure it was a
little bit easier for you guys than just finding somebody
and sourcing a buyers agent. But what was your experience
like using someone like that as well to help with
your purchase.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Yeah, I thought it was a great experience. Ultimately, when
we bought our property in the end, we didn't use
a bias agent, but I think we're comfortable enough in
the process. But during that first that first incident, it
really helped us because the buias agent was able to
point out certain for example, red flat flags. I remember
he'd say, oh, there's a lot of gang banger cars in.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
The area, that's something you should think of us, so
helpful tips like that then, and he would also work
through strategy to be like, this is how you should
go about negotiating.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Obviously he did most of the work for us, but
it really helps if you really don't know much and
you would prefer someone else to do it for you,
that's a value that they can bring. But I think
we've learned a lot and at the end we're comfortable
enough to go through it on our own.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Yeah, when the time came, all right, tell me about
how you got from point A to point B. So
point aiming you'd put this off on the house, you've
pulled the plug, you've gone, oh my gosh, this can't work,
not for us, And then point B you've ended up
with a unit that you love. You said it was
a great price. How long between signing that initial contract
and finding you're now home?
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Yeah, so it's actually a couple of weeks. I think once,
or in our experience, once you've been through many units,
you've seen what you've seen, you know what you don't like,
you know what you like. It's quite easy to make
a decision once you find something you like. Now, we
were a bit hesitant. I was looking through the I
would go on every day and I saw this place
come up. I thought, okay, I'm just going to go
(14:04):
have a look. It was before a long weekend. I
just called and said, we want to come see. Came
to the place. What was great about is that the
vendor did not put much effort to make it look pretty.
So we saw it in the shape it was, and
it was well kept but just needed a bit of
tidying up. Yeah, and afterwards we did feel a bit
nervous because we had been jaded by the first experience.
(14:26):
But my God was telling me, no, just go and
make it offer. And so I told my husband, I'm
making offer this this weekend. Whether you like it or not.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Put your foot down.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Yeah, and we did. We went straight back. The vendor
had asked for a very specific price, which is hence
the six hundred and eighty eight thousand dollars, not a
cent more, not a cent less. So we just said, okay,
let's just go with that, take a risk. And now
that within a couple of days it was all done
and sorted. Wow, it turned out to be a good risk,
and we really love where we live. We live right
(14:56):
near the parks. We can walk out straight onto Yeah,
some walkways, huge balcony. Yeah, it's just.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Really sounds like a little slice of paradise. Yeah, how
is your experience renovating? Had either of you ever renovated before?
Speaker 2 (15:11):
So my husband comes from a family who's extremely good
at DIY, which is very helpful. So we workshopped through
different options. He wanted to try dy on his own,
but essentially we came down to let's just use a
renovator to do everything from demolishing to yeah, putting it up.
So we decided we wanted to redo the bathrooms because
they need to be redone and we actually converted the
(15:34):
laundry into a study look as well, so in that
we were able to get extra space in a unit.
And then since then, unfortunately, renovations just see more things
to do. So I've gotten downlights done, insulation, I got
my husband to paint our kitchen green and pink.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Oh my god, coots.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Yeah, so just those little things.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Yeah, amazing. Out of curiosity, where did you put you?
Obviously you've converted the laundry into the study You've had
to move your wash dry space. Where'd you decide to
put it?
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Yeah, so we put it into the main bathroom. Our
main bathroom is really big for an apartment space, and
so we were able to turn the bathtub into a
tub shower and then the washing machine and dry it
was able to need to fit into the corner.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Oh my god, I love that. I love a good
use of storage space. So that stuff just really gets
me going amazing. Well, it sounds like you had quite
the journey before we wrap it up. Is there anything
that you would take from your experience that if there
was someone like myself who is looking like you were
at domain and real estate every day and trying to
(16:36):
find the one, what advice would you give them?
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Yeah, So summarize thy points or fore little lessons. First
one is to trust your gut. It was very clear
to us that this first property purchase was just it
wasn't going to have a happy ending. And I think
especially in Sydney, when you think everything's going so expensive,
you just want to secure your little plot of land
or unit. You just want to go for it. But
ultimately you just sometimes have to accept that if it's
(17:02):
not going to happen, just to walk away, so good.
Lesson is good to choose a good team. So unfortunate
to be married to someone who's extremely good at DIY.
But if you're not well versus at DIY, you don't
know much about property, just go find people, I mean,
listen to property playbook, podcasts, read books, whatever medium. Ask
a friend, ask a friend to ask another friend. It's
(17:23):
good to have a good team. Yes, and then they look.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
At a plug by the way, listen to the problem playbook.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Yeah. And then last, but not least, is ask questions.
So don't be afraid to ask questions. If you're really
not sure, it's okay to go around and ask the answer. Yes,
you may annoy the real estate agent, but it's just
better to get things cleared up and then going in
and then realizing, oh.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
That's not what I thought it was going to be
one hundred percent, And it's their job really to answer questions.
You're so right, I think, especially for new people like me,
like you guys were when you were making that first purchase,
you feel kind of bad or you feel silly for
not knowing things, and you're totally right. If you don't
know something, it just means that you haven't learned it yet,
and how are you ever going to learn it if
(18:08):
you don't ask somebody to help you. And a lot
of the time those professionals, that's what they're there for,
Like they are there to answer your questions. They are
there to help you out, and so it's silly not
to make use of that resource. I could not agree
with you more, but I feel like that is an
absolutely perfect place to wrap it up. Thank you so
much for sharing your story, And I would really encourage
anyone who isn't already to join our Facebook group. If
(18:31):
you're not there where Property Playbook Aus, you can find
us and there are people sharing tips and tricks and
asking questions every single day. So if you do find
yourself in a spot where you are i'm not sure
if something's the right choice, or you just need to
sense check it with somebody, it's a great place to
do it. Everyone is so lovely and supportive. We're also
on Instagram if you want to join us there at
Property Playbook Aus. And if you enjoyed this episode, I'd
(18:54):
love a little review. I'm working hard. I hope you
guys are liking it, and I read every single one
and if they're nice, I get really happy. And if
they're sad, sometimes I have a little cry. But that's okay.
Let's quickly wrap the boring but important stuff. The advice
shared on the Property Playbook is generally in nature and
does not consider your individual circumstances. The Property Playbook exists
purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon
(19:16):
to make an investment or a financial decision. Thank you
guys for tuning in, and I'll see you next week. Bye.
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