Knock it down to build it up again

Scenario: Our clients being locals, knew exactly what they wanted and where they wanted it. They were looking for a knockdown/rebuild property on a decent block. Myrtle Bank was their preferred suburbs due to involvement with the school and local sporting clubs. They engaged us for our premium service – search, assess and negotiate as they have be looking for 12 months with no luck.

Property: We found them the perfect property that ticked all their boxes. It was an original two bedroom home on 700sqm block. The wide street f rontage of almost 20m would cater for a double garage, which was also a non-negotiable criteria. The block was relatively level and located in their beloved, Myrtle Bank. The council regulations allowed for the home to be demolished and their plans to be built.

Purchase: Given that length of time our clients had been looking before they engaged us we knew it was imperative to be on the f ront foot if we were going to secure this property. Within half an hour f rom the home being advertised, we were in touch with the agent discussing price point, the possibility of placing an offer prior to his advertised open inspection and the market in general. We conducted our due diligence and like the majority of interested parties in this property we would be looking at land value. We knew there would be a good amount of interest as allotments such as this don’t become available often.

Negotiations began with a fair and reasonable offer, which was slightly under the advertised price point. Our clients, while purchasing for their forever home, still had a budget they needed to stay within and we needed to ensure we listened to the brain as much as the heart and not overspend.

The offer was soon responded to and advised that they would need to align with the asking price for it to gain the vendors’ attention. We also had a subject to finance clause within the offer, which after speaking with the broker involved was assured finance was no issue, but we weren’t going to advise to remove this to make the offer more appealing as suggested by the agent. We never want to see any of our clients in a situation that they are not 100% comfortable with.

After reassessing, our offer was aligned to a best and final and just over the advertised price. It was imperative that we stayed strong on this offer and showing we were genuine, not just an enquiry. While we knew that there would be lots of enquiry, we also knew that the block wasn’t quite large enough for most developers to split and build on, therefore putting us in a position where we were hopeful we could secure the property fairly and fast.

There were lots of behind the scenes talk, strategy and negotiations, including the finance broker speaking to the agent to settle any nerves surrounding a conditional offer. The result was the vendor accepting the offer, a huge relief to our clients. Within 48 hours of the property hitting the market, the contract was signed!