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Regular readers will know I bang on about research quite a lot. It’s because I see too many buyers rushing into decisions without enough facts and I feel bad for them.
However, it’s high time I gave you some tips on how to make your research faster and more valuable instead of just suggesting you do it.
Before you start looking for a house (or right now if you have already started) you need to prepare a checklist or spreadsheet. It needs to have just the important factors you are looking for listed so you can make a reasoned comparison between the various properties you look at.
Obviously everybody’s checklist will be different (that’s why I can’t just post one here for you) but it doesn’t need to be complicated. An investor might use factors such as probable sale price (and this might be a range), rental income per annum, expenses per annum, number of bedrooms, overall house size, extra features, potential for improvement and a location rating which you can devise based on transport links, schools and facilities.
As you check out a house you just add in the address and note the various answers. You could go all out and give a weighting to each one to make comparison really logical but it isn’t necessary if it seems like too much work.
There are 2 other lists which will save you a lot of time when you are seriously checking out properties to view. One is a list of sales in the area you are interested in and the other is a directory of the best, average and worst streets.
Creating your sales list is done by scrolling down on Trade Me listings in the area and checking out the sales prices of other similar properties. Make a quick note of the address and price. Add to your list when a house you have viewed on line or in person sells. You can just ring the salesperson and ask. You can also ask for any other comparable sales when you visit an open home and add these to your list. It doesn’t take long to become an expert in recent prices in your target area and it will help you to decide on a probable selling price or price range.
The streets directory will save you heaps of time when you are looking at listings because you can concentrate on the streets which you know fit your budget and plans and ignore those that don’t. As soon as a new listing appears you can decide if it is worth your time to view it and you can also get an idea of possible price.
Spending a few hours now getting a spreadsheet and a couple of lists done will not only save you time later but by making research easy it means you are more likely to do it and that is the way to save you real money when it comes to buying the best property in your price bracket.
Robyn Forryan
0800 800455
021470612
Advising Auckland property buyers
auckland property news 