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Penny Wood Lane

Boutique Real Estate Agency - Cairns, Far North Queensland & Mackay Region

Penny Wood Lane

2 days ago

‘Persian Shield’ is one of my favourite plants when it’s looking good like this amazing specimen. It likes well drained and moist water. Will grow in part shade and doesn’t mind a bit of sun but nothing too hot otherwise the leaves will die off. What do you think? ... See MoreSee Less

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Penny Wood Lane

2 days ago

Non-approved StructuresStructures that are not council approved can be deal breakers and will unsettle buyers if they are not disclosed up front and in advance. We recommend the following process for anyone selling a property to avoid unnecessary reactions, last minute price adjustments and contracts falling over.* Building records search - A building & plumbing records search from council will help you understand the information available for your property that the buyers will have access to. I believe it's beneficial to be transparent with these documents and provide them to the buyers up front. It helps build trust and allows everyone to enter a negotiation with a clear understanding of what is available from a council records perspective. Different councils will have varying costs but generally anywhere up to $500 and can take 10-14 days.* Final building certificates - there was no requirement for a final building certificate prior to 1975 and in 1998 it became mandatory so every building (Class 1A & Class 10) should have this available post 1998. This certificate is very important for new buildings and can delay a settlement if it isn't available. It's my recommendation to have all of your final certificates available to buyers or a clear reason why they are not eg. some council records have been lost or simply don't exist. Most buyers are very understanding if the reasons are legitimate but less so if they discover this information is hidden from them or if they perceive this to be the case.* Non-approved structures - If there are no certificates available or you know that a structure is not council approved it is important to have this reflected on the contract and to disclose in writing. Buyers will make up their own minds to take the risk or not so you don't want these decisions being made in a reactive situation, doing the contract stage when things can get emotional. TAKE HOME POINT - Be honest about anything that isn't council approved that should be!* Title insurance - Title insurance is a specific type of insurance that allows a buyer to insure specific non-approved structures (along with other things) at the point of purchase. These policies are one off payments/premiums that last the duration of the ownership. So you pay once and receive cover for as long as you own the property. There are so many properties that have non-approved structures and Insurers know that most of them will never be an issue but they will cover to rectify the ones that are. I recently heard of a property owner with an illegal shed that was built too close to the boundary. It was like that when he purchased the property so he took out title insurance. He then had a dispute with a neighbour and things got messy. The council made him rip down the shed to cut a long story short. The insurance company paid for the total re-build cost in entirety, including all of the approvals. So he got a brand new, council approved shed out of it and the insurance premium was only around $1500. TAKE HOME POINT - You can protect yourself from any risk with non-approved structures or illegal building work at a very affordable rate and the solicitor handles it for you at point of purchaseIn summary, the best practice when selling a property is to complete a building and plumbing records search and to obtain all of the final certificates that are available for the existing structures. In the event you discover a potential issue, you can then derive a plan on how to move forward. Either by having the issues remedied or disclosing the issues in the legally appropriate fashion to protect yourself. This process will build trust with buyers and this results in a smoother selling process. Buyers that trust sellers and their agents pay more and are more flexible.If you or anyone you know is considering selling a property in Cairns or Mackay please contact us to start a conversation about our 'FAST TRUST' process and why trust is the key to selling for a premium.Paul BryanBusiness Owner0432 244 156 ... See MoreSee Less

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Penny Wood Lane

4 days ago

The Value of TrustIf you are selling a property and want to attract a premium price it's important to work with an agent that understands how to build trust with your buyers. Buyers that trust the seller, their agent and the process will pay more and apply greater flexibility to their terms and conditions.Here are some tips for building trust when selling your home or investment property;* Motivation - Be honest and up front with why you are selling the property because buyers want this information. You don't have to give out all of your personal information but have a clear, genuine story for them about why you are selling* Transparency - Be transparent with the process. Don't try and hide anything because today's buyer has a high real estate IQ and if they find you are hiding something it's not going to help your negotiations.* Building reports - Invest in having a building and pest inspection report completed prior to advertising your property and have this available to your buyers. This allows your agent to negotiate from a foundation of knowledge when it comes to the condition of the property and any defects, major or minor. It also enables you to rectify anything identified in the report or at least have the items quoted so everything is on the table for people to make an informed decision.* Advertise a price - 70% of buyers on realestate.com.au skim past properties that do not offer a price or a price guide. We always use 'Attraction Pricing' in our process and then the market will determine the price. What's attraction pricing? We use competition listings and past sales data as points of reference to arrive at a baseline that shows value and the idea is to attract as many high-intent buyers as possible so that they can see there is competition for the property. High-intent buyers don't want to miss out and will always put their best foot forward with the guidance of a good agent to secure the property.* Provide the information - Clearly advertise all of the information that buyers require to make a decision such as the annual rates costs, body corporate information, easements etc. Withholding this information makes no sense at all and when buyers have easy access to everything they arrive with a mindset that is more progressed towards making an offer when they inspect the property. They will also start negotiating from a higher price point in my experience because they want to secure the property and hold all the information they require to arrive at a final price.Set a deadline - Deadlines are really important as it sets out your process very clearly and leaves no doubts in anyones minds around the offer timelines. The deadline needs to be realistic so that the buyers have enough time to do their due diligence, arrange finance and sleep on their decision. We find the sweet spot for deadline is in the 12-14 day mark. By this time all of the active buyers will have found the property and had enough time to make their enquiries. If you find that your buyers require a little bit more time then that can be allowed as long as the communication is clear.Clear communication - As a seller you want to work with an agent who communicates efficiently and effectively with the market. Fast response times, lots of touch points and question based communication is the way to go. This started with the first enquiries right through to settlement. It's amazing how many buyers tell us that they cant get through to the agents or they never got a call back so they moved on to our property.Clean the property - A clean property is very noticeable and they stand out. Having your property professionally cleaned prior to the viewings and regularly throughout the process really builds trust with buyers because the last thing they want is to clean the house when they are moving in.* Prepare your property - Fix any outstanding maintenance items and improve areas of your property prior to advertising because a well prepared property builds trust with buyers. The buyers can see that the seller is serious and this is reflected in their own behaviour. Difficult sellers that want to hand over their problems to the buyers don't build trust and won't attract a premium.Invest in quality marketing - Serious sellers attract serious buyers and the sellers that invest in quality marketing stand out. High quality marketing creates a higher perceived value of the property and buyers will trust your price more if the property is marketed well.* Stay away from virtual staging - Virtual staging in my opinion looks cheap, nasty and it straight away makes me feel that the photos are highly edited. This does not build trust at all and in fact creates doubt in my view. If you are restricted with budget and are unable to afford staging or real furniture then I say leave it vacant so the buyers can see it for what it is. We provide in-house staging packages and 'Pay Later' options that allow sellers to pay the costs out of settlement.* Realistic photos - When your property is clean and well prepared you don't have to highly edit the photos. So when the photos look really fake it sets the tone that there is something not right with the house. I hear buyers telling me all the time that they see the photos of a house and then when they go to the property it looks nothing like it did in the advertising. That just wastes peoples time and isn't good for your selling process.Thinking of selling your place?Call me to discuss our 'Fast Trust' process and the science of selling for a premium price.Paul BryanBusiness Owner0432 244 156 ... See MoreSee Less

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Penny Wood Lane

1 week ago

Penny Wood Lane sales statistics last 12 months;54 Sales100% Sell rate (We sell everything we list)+ 4.65% List to sell price ratio (The average % difference from advertised price to contract price across all sales)11 Days on market (median)13 Street sales recordsIf you or someone you know is considering selling a property now or in the future in Cairns or Mackay please contact us to see if we are the right fit for you.Success is where preparation meets opportunity and the sellers that sell for street records are the ones that are most prepared.Paul BryanBusiness Owner0432 244 156 ... See MoreSee Less

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Penny Wood Lane

1 week ago

What constitutes an offer?In our business we only accept written offers on REIQ approved documents that are in accordance with QLD Law Society best practice procedures. Once these documents are signed by the buyers the written offer is presented to the seller. This is considered an offer to purchase a property.Verbal offers are nothing and anyone considering verbal offers needs to take precaution because they are non-committal and the goal posts can move around very quickly. The first step in our process involves an email to the buyer's requesting the information for a proposed contract. The information required is personal/contact information, full name/s of the purchasing entity, the defined terms/conditions of the offer , price and deposit specifics.When this email is sent we notice a lot of buyers simply disappear because this is when things start to get serious. So it is a way of determining the authenticity of a buyer.Once this information is received we then assist the buyers in presenting their proposed offer in the best terms possible. For example, in today's market there is stiff competition so offering lengthy finance terms and low deposit amounts isn't favourable and can result in your offer being dismissed. So we want to clean this up straight away the best we can.At this point we also guide buyers on where they need to be positioned on price based on what they have put forward. We don't lead people on and try to assist the buyers to do what is required for them to secure the property because they don't want to miss out.Once the proposed offer is in its best form we send the buyers a draft proposed contract. This is their opportunity to have a solicitor review the documents and make any final changes prior to the seller being presented with the offer.Once the proposed contract is signed and returned we then present the offer and and negotiate the deal.This is a general explanation and doesn't take into consideration multiple offer situations and specific negotiating conversations which is another topic we can discuss.So in summary an offer is only considered serious in our world when it's in the form of a document that can be signed and finalised by the sellers straight away. We never negotiate verbally and then send the contracts because this is a recipe for disaster.When you are purchasing property it's in your best interest to sign a formal offer because then the sellers know you are serious and it carries more weight. Anything verbal is just hear say and is very easily dismissed so make sure you set your intentions out and make your offer appealing to the sellers and their agent.If you have any questions about the process of making an offer please feel free you contact me anytime.Paul BryanBusiness owner0432 244 156 ... See MoreSee Less

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