Ep 59. Buyer stories you need to hear
In this episode, Michelle talks about poignant lessons from her client interactions over the years.
Here’s what you’ll learn from today’s episode:
The importance of researching areas you may not have thought of buying in.
The restriction around pets in apartments.
Why you must read the strata report before buying an apartment.
What makes me say no to a potential client.
Speakers in today’s episode:
Michelle May - Michelle May Buyers Agents
Follow Us:
Enjoy the show?
Don’t miss an episode, follow via iTunes. If you like it, please leave a review!
Or, find us on the podcast app of your choice, such as Spotify.
This podcast has been produced and edited by Snappystreet Creative
Please note that any views or opinions presented in this podcast are solely those of the speakers, and do not necessarily represent those of any business. These views and opinions are general in nature, and do not take account of your personal objectives, financial situation and needs. Please consider whether it applies in your circumstances and seek professional advice wherever appropriate.
Listen to the Episode Now
VIEW TRANSCRIPT
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Buy Your Side podcast, the property podcast to help you make smarter property buying decisions. My name is Michelle May and I am the principal of Michelle Michelle May Buyers Agents here in Sydney and my team and I help all kinds of property buyers, home buyers, investors purchase their property in this Sydney area.
So I started this podcast because I wanted to help particularly those unfamiliar with buying property, particularly first home buyers, to make smarter property buying decisions to give you the knowledge that you potentially didn't know you were missing and potentially ask those questions that you didn't know needed to be asked. And because I've been doing this a long time, I have a few stories that I think might be helpful and a few lessons from those stories potentially that you can put to good use in your property search. So I've got four stories for you today. Some are pretty funny, I think, but hopefully they will help you.
So to start off, the first one. I met a young couple who were coming to us for a Focus Session and a Focus Session is particularly aimed at people who don't really know what what money can buy them where, potentially they're new to Sydney, potentially they're first home buyers and what we do in that session is really break down their brief and their budget and see whether those things are actually even aligned or not and then arm them with solutions, so potentially give them data on actually how much do you have to spend in the area that you want to be in to get what it is you want. Potentially you should consider different areas, potentially you should compromise on certain things.
But in this case, this young couple, and this is going back, gosh, at least 10 years now I'd say, they're in their early 30s and one of the things that came up was really they had a beer budget and they had champagne ideas, so there was going to have to be a compromise somewhere which is not uncommon it happens with a lot of people that we talk to. So we suggested that they look into a particular area in the Inner West and I shan't name the suburb. The suburb shall remain anonymous and when I mentioned that particular suburb to the gentleman he was like “oh oh no oh no I can't ever move there because when I was a kid when we were driving through that suburb our parents would always tell us to wind up the windows because it was allegedly a dangerous area and they were getting and drugs and all sorts of things. So my parents will never come and visit if we move there”. And then without missing a beat, his wife said, “well, that wouldn't be such a bad thing now would it?” Which I couldn't help but laugh at.
Anyway they went home armed with all this knowledge knowing where they could actually afford to buy the house that they wanted to purchase the size of it and everything and and low and behold they did end up buying in that particular suburb. Now I don't know if his parents ever did but why I'm telling you this is because particularly around big cities well around Australia really generally I would say that a lot can change in a relatively short amount of time and so what you think a particular suburb might be like might not actually be the reality today you may have been brought up with the idea that a certain suburb is daggy or dangerous or but now that you're in your 20s 30s 40s that might be the hot, hot place to be. And just to name a few suburbs around Sydney, look at the transformation of Balmain, look at Marrickville, look at Ashfield, just to name a few, and there's many more I could mention, and really the transformation has been in a relatively short amount of time.
Now, if you are looking to purchase a property, how do you go about finding out whether that's the case or not? I would say that that's not a one-size-fits-all answer, because there can be many reasons why a suburb all of a sudden goes from 0 to 100. It could be as simple as, having a new principal at the local school who all of a sudden transforms the school and I mean, mighty duck wise. It can change, it can get a better reputation and therefore people will want to move into that area to be in that catchment. It could be an upgrade of a train line, it could be a local hipster with a beard opening up a local cafe and all of a sudden, a little very dead quiet street can all of a sudden be an attraction for people to move to that pocket. So do your research I would say, don't be afraid to revisit old haunting grounds, and see whether it's potential where you want to be. You never know. But yes, the markets and suburbs and the nation, the country, is always forever changing. So you might find yourself going to a suburb that you knew from way back when and finding it completely transformed. But check with your parents if they'll come and visit you first.
The second story I have, and this is one that I'll never forget, because I should never take for granted what my clients know or may not know. I can never overestimate the knowledge that they have. And so it's important to basically prepare myself for all eventualities because sometimes clients will come out with something that I never expected to happen. So in this instance, this was a lovely client of mine who was looking to buy an apartment. And she was a single mom. She had a young daughter and she also had an enormous dog. One of those big big poodles, the ones that are the size of a decent human being. And so I told her about the fact that, you know, in a strata building, apartments in particular, they can actually stipulate the size of the animal that you have and the type of animal that you have. You know, you can't just assume that because of your love of alpacas you can just put one on your balcony you know even with dogs they may actually stipulate that you have to carry them in the common area, so that's one tip for you already.
You can't just assume that your animal you know will be accepted. Yes, there must be reasonable grounds and they must accept most of those requests but they can actually stipulate what kind of animals and the size of them. But after I explained to her that that would be something that we would have to take case by case, we actually found a brilliant apartment and the brilliance about this apartment was that it was a really great size but the outdoor space was humongous. It was like a whole roof terrace that would have been at least 25 to 30 square metres which is a lot for a roof terrace, right? And so we were making steps through our due diligence and making sure that the strata report was OK and looking at development applications and infrastructure projects and talking to the agents about what they were expecting price-wise, et cetera, et cetera.
When my client, the second time when we went to have a look, she said, “oh, yeah, so what I'm thinking is is that I'm going to create an extra room here so that when people come and visit they I have a third bedroom”, and what she meant was is that she was going to just be building an extra bedroom attached to the apartment on the roof terrace and I was like “well let me just run you through that because it would be highly unlikely that would ever be allowed and you have to check that with the strata first”, because you only own a share of the building anything that is changed really you need permission for. So even if you want to change your kitchen or bathroom, for example, you need to get permission from strata to do it right.
There may be stipulations around what kind of flooring you have, the waterproofing, the level of insulation, the tradies that you use, they may want warranties, etc, etc. So if you are then planning a whole room, you may need to think about this very carefully because the likelihood of that being allowed and certainly purchasing something thinking that that's going to happen would be a very risky thing to do. Because that would be very unlikely. So the story there is that for me, it was don't assume that your clients know as much obviously, as much as I do, but, but still even the the the more rudimentary things about living in strata can be a complete surprise to some people so make sure you do your research when it comes to buying into strata or body corporate as they say in Queensland and there may even be other terminologies around the rest of the country, but make sure that if you have some things that may seem to you to be very logical and very normal, make sure that you actually understand the rules and regulations around them.For example, if you like to hang out your washing in the fresh breeze on your balcony, did you know that most stratas will have a rule that says you can't have any washing showing on the balcony? Because that has to do with the overall uniform appearance of the lot and of the complex and therefore you would not be allowed to hang your washing outside. So things like that. So read through the strata report, read through the bylaws. If you are thinking of getting an alpaca, I think twice.
Now, story number three is I think one that most of you might be able to relate to already if you have been going on inspections. Because this was with regards to a sales agent that my client had been dealing with. So I signed on these new clients and again, this is a while ago, about 10 years ago. But again a story I'll never forget and I tell it to new clients a lot because it gives us an idea of where we should focus our energies. So just signed on these new clients and they had been looking by themselves for quite a while and so I found this property that had already been on the market prior to them coming on board and so when I suggested the property to them, because in my eyes it it met every requirement that they were looking for and I was a little bit surprised that they hadn't seen, it so I said to them, “listen I think we should go and have a look at this one” and so the client said, “well absolutely not. We have seen this property but if I ever see that agent again I'm going to punch him in the face”. And you can imagine my reaction I was like oh okay and to be honest with you I whilst violence is never the answer let me put that out there but I can understand why my client did have a strong dislike to this particular agent because I had been dealing with them many times over the years and they were, let's just say, a little bit special.
And so I said to my client, “listen, I think that this might be a great option for you. So what we need to do is organise an inspection. I will come with you and I will deal with the agent. You never ever have to talk to that agent again, it is about the property. But unfortunately, we have to deal with the agent or I will have to deal with the agent in order to get a shot at this. So just promise me don't look at him don't say anything just look at the house and see whether it's for you or not”, and we did we went through my client trusted me I kept the agent busy talking about price expectations etc the property property was for sale as opposed to going to auction and so the client saw it for a second time, which always is a good idea by the way, the second time the rose tinted glasses come off and you can see a property for what it is in its true light. So that's tip number one for that story but also they realised yes, this really was the one for them and as long as I dealt with the actual negotiations they would be prepared to make an offer.
And that's what we did. I dealt with the agent. We got a great price and my clients were extremely happy and moved in. And so they were, I think they're still there actually now. And then it was a great house, but my clients were willing to forego it because of the person who was representing that sale.
And unfortunately, with undercoding and stress and the rush and potentials and not understanding the rules of the game and every agent talking differently there's a lot of frustration out there with you buyers and i get that look listen i have days where i'm just tearing my hair out myself and i do this for a living but i get it so but what you need to realise is that it's about the property And once you find the one you want and you work out your strategy, you have to work with that agent to get it across the line. But after that, you never ever have to see them again. And when it comes to selling, don't use them as your selling agent. Rule number one.
So don't lose focus and do not miss out on properties because they're represented by someone you can't stand. I know it sounds like a really silly thing for me to say, and I don't want to talk to you like you're a small child, but sometimes people lose that focus because it becomes a personal journey. And of course, buying property is a very personal journey. Don't get me wrong. I 100% understand that, but it's about your personal journey. Who cares who you buy it from? It's about the property and what it will mean to you in your life moving forward to own it and live there. And if you think you can't do it, give me a call. I'll be the bad guy on your behalf. I'm good at that.
My last story is the story of the client I wouldn't accept as a client. This was a funny story because before we take on clients, we always have extensive conversations with them. It's not just about you guys completing a brief and then just going, yes, we'll take you on. And this is how much it's going to cost you. And let's just take you on this wild goose chase. No, we only take on clients that we can help. And I've always been very honest about that upfront. And sometimes that means that business walks out the door. But I'd rather have that happen than, you know, believe people of garden paths because really then that makes me not a very good buyer's agent, you know, ethically and morally quite bankrupt. So this story is about a young couple who I met at their house that they were renting and I had received both their briefs and I wanted to meet them in person to see whether I could work with them because when I received their written briefs it became quite clear that they were miles apart. Now, when I say miles apart, I mean, one was in Northern Europe and the other one was in South Africa. So I wanted to meet them and see whether there was some form of commonality there. And as I was sitting there, and we were having chats, he wanted a fixer-upper and land. He wanted the full immersive experience. Whereas she, knowing that they had children and jobs, said, no, I just want to move into my own house, but move on with my life. So I would rather be closer to amenities and transport and schooling, and live in a townhouse if we can't afford a house, but I want something with a decent kitchen, I want something with a bathroom, I want something that's easy to clean, I want my kids to have bedrooms and that's what I want. There was absolutely no coming together of them in any sense of the the word and often our roles as Buyers Agents is almost like you know marriage counsellors slash psychologist in a way just to help you understand why it is that you want what you want and whether that's a you know feasible and workable with what your partner wants.. That's what we're good at. but that's based on facts and data. We can help you work that out in most instances.
I’ve always I've also even been called the third person in the marriage, a little bit like Diana, but in a more positive i should add Yeah, just to help you work out, you know, between the two of you, what what should be seen as a nice to have and a must have and whether your triple lock-up garage with a man cave is really all that necessary versus an indoor bathroom, you know, as an example. So yes, so at the end of the meeting, I said, look, listen guys, I'm going to have a think about this because I was really direct with them. I said, I'm not sure that you guys are on the same page and I think you need to think about how far apart you are and what kind of compromise you can make because it's not my job to fix that part for you. Once you tell me what it is you want, yeah, sure we can come without the box outside the box thinking but wanting an inner city townhouse and a little house on the prairie that you're gonna be fixing up for the next 10 years are not compatible. So I left them with that and I thought okay, I'll follow up in a few days and see what happens. Within hours I had the husband on the phone who called me and said, “Listen Michelle, how much is it going to cost me to help you convince my wife that we need to buy the fixer upper that I want?” I burst out laughing like I do now because I still couldn't believe that that's what he said. And I said, “I actually am not that person. I am not that person for you. I am not to be used as your little tool to get you what you want. That is not my job. I said, in fact, I'm not going to quote you at all because I don't think I can help you at all.
and in my mind i was thinking you'd be better off paying for that marriage counselling in some form as opposed to trying to fix it with buying a property or having another baby, God forbid. But yes, he then called me a number of times after that saying can you please help me i need to do i want these my wife's i said no i know so that was money walking out the door but that was money i wasn't prepared to touch because that was asking for trouble So the story from that, I guess, is if you are buying with your partner or a sibling or a friend or colleague or whatever the case may be, or your parents, and I think I've done an episode on that before, the bank of mum and dad, let's be honest, let's talk about this, and don't don't keep things hidden up your sleeve because the property journey is treacherous enough as it is. It's not an easy journey. It's stressful. It's riddled with anxiety for a lot of people not knowing the questions to ask the things to do. So make sure that whoever you're buying with, you are actually on the same page with. And I know that sounds like a really obvious, straightforward thing but both write a list each individually because we always ask for individual breaks as well because that's where you know the differences come out as well as the similarities of course but for us for example we always find it really funny when one partner has you know 200k extra on their budget or requires certain things that the other partner doesn't even mention. We've also had it where we ask, are you having or are you thinking of having children? And one says yes and the other one says no. Okay.
That's a tricky one, and not one that we get into really, but it's for us a red flag, right? So for yourself, when you are thinking of buying a property, let's have those conversations up front, guys, to avoid any tears down the track.
So I hope these four conversations, or these four memories as such, these experiences of mine have helped you a little bit in your property journey and have made you laugh as well. As always, please, please ask me any questions you may have at hello@buyyourside.com.au, on Instagram or TikTok. I'd love to hear from you. Please follow and like and share. It helps the podcast get noticed and I would love to help more of you make better property decisions.
Thank you for sitting through this nearly 25 minute episode. It's longer than usual, but I hope it was worth your time. Thanks for listening and until next time.