Be ready to act

What a wonderful engagement to be part of, family helping family. 

Our client who we had previously helped buy their home asked us to assist them again. They wanted to buy a property their daughter and son-in-law, who is in a wheelchair, could live in and rent off them.  

Their daughter and family were renting nearby and had to vacate as the owner was planning on selling. The plan was to buy a home nearby that was wheelchair friendly and if modifications were required to improve access it would be easier to complete with the parents as owners. 

Their original plan was to buy close to the parent’s home in Torrens Park. However, Torrens Park at 6kms from the CBD and nestled in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills has a median house price of $1.276 million. We knew it was going to be a tough ask with a budget of around $800k to find something appropriate.  

If we were to cast our net a little wider, they would get a much higher quality home that would provide a more comfortable lifestyle for their entire family considering the accessibility constraints.  

Very early in our search a 4-bedroom home in O’Halloran, about 13 kilometres, a 16-minute drive from Torrens Park, came up. It was on a beautiful flat block of 722m2 with open living and no steps inside the property and minimum outside.  It was a short distance to local shops, cafes, restaurants, public transport and close to good public and private schools. It was perfect for the family’s needs.  

After our initial inspections and conversations with the agent, we knew that even though the property had been on the market a short time it had drummed up significant interest. One of our recommended conveyancers reviewed the contracts and we questioned the agent, who we knew, extensively on the vendor’s preferred terms and current interest in the property.

We submitted a full cash offer of $846k with the vendor’s preferred settlement date. Our offer was accepted, and we conducted the building and pest inspection in the 3-day cooling off period.  

You really must be ready to act in this market. There is low supply and high demand for well-located, well-presented family homes. This property was only listed for 12 days when our clients were signing the dotted line.