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Buying property is not shopping!

Whether you want to build a real estate portfolio or buy a home, acquiring a property is an important step to take - it is a long-term decision.

Defining your long term objectives and keeping up-to-date with the Sydney real estate market and its elements, are as equally important as choosing the location, establishing a budget and arranging your finance.

So how do you avoid the traps and make sure you get what you really want within your budget?

First and foremost you need to do your research over and over and over. You need to become a well-informed buyer of residential or commercial property.

The more information you gather, the better your chances are of making a shrewd purchasing decision. It pays to be really clear about what you are looking for.

One of the three methods is to inspect between 20 to 30 properties for every 1 “suitable” property to be included in your short-list. The right decision should be based on a short-list of 5 “suitable” properties - any one of them good enough to buy.

Another method is to research the sale history of comparable Sydney real estate, properties withdrawn from the market, ones that were passed in at auction and of course properties that are selling privately.

Once you have decided that buying in your chosen suburb is within your price range, you need to know what your exact needs are and which properties match them.

When you have decided where you want to buy, it’s time to get really serious about finding the specific property you want. Drawing up a wish-list in order of priority is a must. Writing down your “must haves” and “wants” is the discipline you need to start thinking about their importance in relation to your budget.

As you develop the list you realise what you may be prepared to compromise on and this will help prevent you from getting too emotional about a property at inspection time. It will help you realise what features may be dispensable in a property and, more importantly what features are not.

Perhaps the hardest thing most buyers realise is that they will probably have to water down their dream … that perfect property at that perfect price isn’t always easy to find. Having said that, do not give up on your most important priorities.

Do not look too much at the presentation of the property rather than the property itself. Being seduced by the smell of freshly brewed coffee or the sound of music… is emotional. Instead consider what you cannot change in a property as opposed to not liking a certain aspect of it.

Buying property is not shopping. You need to be disciplined. You need to be persistent. You need to be consistent and above all, you need to have the constitution to walk away from a property and start all over again.

Copyright © 2008 Caraka Nayaka Husada |

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