Propertybuyer: 7 Steps For A Successful Property Purchase Journey

Propertybuyer is Australia’s most awarded Buyer’s Agent, with over 42 awards for excellence. Founded by CEO Rich Harvey in 2001, Propertybuyer has been advocating for international buyers ever since. They aim to ensure that the unique buying circumstances of expats are given the care and due diligence they deserve.

The expertise that Propertybuyer brings to the property purchase journey starts with understanding the lending circumstances of our clients and working with the best expat specialist mortgage brokers to secure the best loan.

Once the preapproval has been gained, a dedicated buyer’s advocate at Propertybuyer will take a 7-step process to ensure a successful outcome, buying the right property at the right price. There is no one size fits all, and the first step is always to help design a property strategy that is just right for the client’s situation, whether that be a home, investment, development site or commercial acquisition for business or purely investment.

Each of the following case studies demonstrates its own unique journey through the 7-step process and illustrates the issues being faced by the clients and how Propertybuyer’s expertise and resources have ensured a highly successful outcome.

Propertybuyer’s 7 step process:

Your Strategy
Research
Search & Shortlist
Select & Evaluate
Due Diligence
Negotiate & Secure
Settlement & Management

Case Study 1 – Expat Home Buyer – Upper North Shore

Buyer’s Brief:

4 bedroom house in Sydney’s Upper North Shore
The clients felt it was a daunting situation to buy a property while living overseas.
Highly collaborative agency relationships, lowest possible price achieved

What the clients said:

“Matt Corbett – what a star! My husband and I recently worked with Matt on the purchase of a property in East Lindfield. We were impressed with Matt’s knowledge, communication skills and the quality and depth of research that went into potential properties. Matt was able to leverage his relationships with the Real Estate Agent to get us a great price on a house we would have considered well outside of our budget. It’s a daunting proposition to buy a property while living overseas, but Matt made the buying process very easy and ensured we were informed every step of the way. To top it off, Matt’s a genuinely nice guy. It was an absolute pleasure to work with him. We will certainly be recommending propertybuyer to our friends and family.”

Case Study 2 – Expat Investor for Sydney

Buyer’s Brief:

Looking for a Sydney apartment in good condition with good yield
These clients had been searching from Singapore for a year for the right property
Expert market knowledge, negotiation skills and a clear strategy

What the clients said:

“We live in Singapore and had wanted to buy an investment property in Sydney for about a year, however with work we just never had the time to invest in looking properly for the right unit. We were starting to get concerned that we would never get the time to get this done. When propertybuyer were recommended to me I contacted Matt and we had a preliminary discussion about what to expect and how the process worked. From our first conversation Matt was friendly, down to earth and totally professional, however the attribute I appreciated most was his direct approach and honesty. He had expert market knowledge great attention in all areas of our engagement. He was clear on his advice on the properties we viewed and when we got to the final stages on the preferred option he had a clear strategy for negotiating the best deal. We would definitely contact Matt for our next property purchase and would recommend his services to anyone looking to purchase a property”

Case Study 3 – Expat Investor

Buyer’s Brief:

Looking for an investment property in Sydney’s Inner West
They are a professional couple working overseas and have been out of the Sydney market for a long time, therefore were not fully aware of what they could purchase within their budget.

What the clients said:

“Nick at Propertybuyer was fantastic. His knowledgeable and professional approach saved us time and stress and allowed us to confidently move forward with buying our first house. We are overseas Australian citizens, so he certainly made the entire process seamless. He even managed to negotiate the property below the list price, which we wouldn’t have known was possible. 100% would recommend Propertybuyer and will use them / Nick again if we are fortunate enough to be in the position to buy another property in the future.”

Buyers Advocate’s Comments:

“Jonathan & Rhiannon Wenzel engaged Propertybuyer to purchase them an investment property in the Inner West. Working from their Brief, that was for a 3 bedroom non-strata property, I managed to find them 60 Ferris Street, Annandale. This three bed free-standing property with parking was a good buy. I managed to purchase the property at a reduced price point as the property had been over priced previously. It also rented out very quickly for $1,000 pw through Morton property management. Working with Jonathan & Rhiannon was a pleasure and a great experience- they were excellent communicators (despite the time difference) and I was able to present them with videos of any shortlisted property candidates and expedite the successful purchase of the property.”

Case Study 4 – Expat Investor

Buyer’s Brief:

Looking for an investment property in Sydney’s Inner West
This client was based in Geneva, and we managed to secure this property prior to auction due to exceptional sales agents’ relationships that escalated the negotiation ahead of other buyers

What the clients said:

“I worked with Nick Taylor-Fick to find a property in Sydney while based overseas. Responsive properties on brief and settled before the auction! Highly recommend. Thanks, Nick & the team at Propertybuyer.”

Buyers Advocate’s Comments:

“With a limited budget to purchase a ‘top notch’ 2 bedroom apartment in the Inner West was always going to be a stretch, however using my local network and sales agent Domenic Bucciarelli, I was able to purchase this apartment for $775,000 before my competitors could blink! My investor client, Bronwyn, was based overseas and was thrilled with the outcome. It was also rented out by Morton property management for a higher rental than expected.”

Case Study 5 – Expat Luxury Home Buyer – Eastern Suburbs

Buyer’s Brief:

To secure a family home for an expat family who had lived in the USA for the last 15 years
We created a detailed property brief to determine what was essential and non-negotiable and what was nice to have in terms of their requirement. Munro reached out to almost 100 local agents that would have access to suitable off-market opportunities, and within 11 days, we purchased a charming character home premarket in North Randwick for $8.5m, well below their budget (of $15m), which allowed them to budget $2m toward extending and renovating this fine property.

What the clients said:

“Once Munro is on it, he goes for it, and within a few weeks, he found our dream home at the bottom end of our budget. We got what we wanted at a great price, and that’s a great experience to have…”

Buyer’s Agents Comments:

“To secure a family home for an Ex-Pat family who had lived in the USA for the last 15 years and had recently returned and to reacquaint them with the changing landscape of the Sydney property market and to advise on what areas to consider taking their budget and brief into consideration. With a budget of up to $15m we looked at carefully selected properties from Watsons Bay to Little Bay. The purchaser of this property had spent almost 1 year searching prior to appointing Munro and within less than 2 weeks we secured this premium eastern suburb home for them.