Independent Property Advice Services?

• 

  [Deactivated] on 08/02/2017 - 12:36

  Sell as is at auction or private sale
  Spend money on paint, carpet, garden then sell.

  Best bet is real-estate agent to answer these questions.

  Hold for another ~12 months then sell.

  This question has 2 considerations: CGT/Tax/land tax implications of holding (see financial advisor/accountant). Property prices going up/down - impossible to get a reliable answer from anyone on this. You probably need to go with your gut. A real estate agent will always push you to sell sooner, as there's no money to be made in telling you to hold. You should probably check for external factors like new transport links or re-zoning which could possibly push prices up, inspite of other factors.

  Sell to entitled will recipients who then hold a share each and rent out (sounds messy to me).

  Why is this messy? As long as you've cashed out at a reasonable price, what ever the other will recipients do isn't a concern to you. Of course, figuring out the right market value will be difficult.

  • 

    Skramit on 08/02/2017 - 15:15

    You probably need to go with your gut

    I don't wanna go with my gut though, I want an expert opinion :D

    Why is this messy?

    Only because none of the concerned parties are currently landlords, so this would be a new thing for them. And because of the parties involved and the associated baggage…. :P

    Potential for issues ……..to be avoided at all costs :)

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 08/02/2017 - 16:06

      I don't wanna go with my gut though, I want an expert opinion :D

      Just read a newspaper on any given day of the week, you'll find 3 expert opinions on why property prices are set to crash and 3 expert opinions to the contrary.

      When I say expert, I mean be a well renowned economist/investment manager/other relevant guru.

      If you try to find an independent expert, it'll be a local financial adviser giving you an opinion based on whatever they've been reading.

      By all means, get as many opinions as you're comfortable with, but you're going to finish up with conflicting opinions and you're going to have to go with your gut.

      Maybe you'll get lucky and there's a the advice you get about CGT/tax/etc makes the decision a no-brainier, so you don't have to worry about the direction of the property market.

      Only because none of the concerned parties are currently landlords, so this would be a new thing for them. And because of the parties involved and the associated baggage

      Not sure I follow the whole situation, selling out the other will recipients is probably the easiest option.

• 

  JimB on 08/02/2017 - 14:38

  Any potential subdivision/development for the block?

  • 

    Skramit on 08/02/2017 - 15:12

    Yes, in my best guess judging by the size of the block and the fact that developers seem to cram 4 units on to any sized block these days. But this is the precise question we want solid advice on as well.

    • 

      JimB on 08/02/2017 - 15:50

      If that is the case, and houses around your neighbourhood have been developed I think selling with a development planning permit is the best course of action to maximise the sales price.

      It takes months to years to get it approved, so get onto it straight away, noting you have a 2 year window where the beneficiaries of the estate can sell it tax free.

      It will cost between say $15k to $50k to get the approved planning permit. Cost me about $15-20k to get a 2 townhouse planning permit approved.

      You can rent it out in the meantime but don't bother spending a cent to improve the property if you're going to sell with a planning permit.

      Consult a draftman/architect and they will do all the work for you. Minimal effort on your part.

      You can call the council and ask them if the block is zoned for no development potential, some development potential or highly likely development potential.

      PM me if you want more details, I have no services to offer you, just my opinion. You also on OCAU?

      • 

        Euphemistic on 08/02/2017 - 21:15

        On,y catch with that plan is that other beneficiaries of the will also need to agree to hold onto it for that period of time which, in my experience, can be very difficult to agree on. Particularly if other parties are not real estate savvy, or landlords they might just want to cash out immediately, or suddenly need money if the car blows up half way through the process.

      • 

        JimB on 08/02/2017 - 23:43

        @Euphemistic:

        You may be right, some people can't see past the next pay packet to invest in something that may yield them a big profit.

        They only have a small outlay which may be funded from the estate.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 08/02/2017 - 15:04

  +3

  Typically when our clients are evaluating options to do with their property portfolio or need expert input for a family settlement or legal will they would commonly utilise a certified valuer.

  Some examples of certified valuers and what they do in these kind of circumstances are listed here, here and here.

  NB: Real estate agents should be masters in negotiation tactics and sales psychology not in forecasting, modelling scenarios or providing accurate valuations. Legal and finance people don't turn to agents when we want to know a property's value, future price movements or potential. We turn to certified valuers. However, one may turn to a real estate agent (or agency group) for input on marketing plans for large or specialised properties or property developments that may be hard to sell.

  Naturally YMMV depending on the value of the property and the complexity of the task at hand. If the property is much under $1mil you may get limited mileage out of paying experts vs. taking the time to do the research yourself using sources such Propertyvalue.com.au (to compare estimates on renovated vs unrenovated properties), SQM Research (they produce forecasting data), Realestate.com.au (to monitor listings), etc.

  Hope this helps.

  • 

    Skramit on 08/02/2017 - 15:11

    Great advice thanks. Didn't think of using a valuer for this sort of advice. Thanks for the links.

    The property will be over the $1M mark so will be worth while to get good advice.

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 08/02/2017 - 16:09

      Didn't think of using a valuer for this sort of advice.

      Valuers are good for assessing the current market value against certain fundamentals. They wont necessarily give you an accurate market value

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 08/02/2017 - 17:08

        Valuers can most definitely give an accurate market value. All one has to do is ensure that you are requesting a 'pre sale' or 'market valuation' as compared to some other type of valuation, such as a 'for purposes of credit' valuation.

        Each carry different assumptions, methodologies and approaches.

        PS It is imperative that a certified valuer is selected that has specialist knowledge to do with the local area. So if one is deciding to go with a major national group, it is worth familiarising yourself with who you are allocated to and ensuring their CV stacks up with your expectations.

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 08/02/2017 - 20:47

        @naritas:

        Valuers can most definitely give an accurate market value. All one has to do is ensure that you are requesting a 'pre sale' or 'market valuation' as compared to some other type of valuation, such as a 'for purposes of credit' valuation.

        I would bet money that a local real-estate agent will get a more accurate pre-sale valuation than a certified valuer.

        Each carry different assumptions, methodologies and approaches.

        Valuing residential real-estate isn't rocket science. A 'certified' valuer probably doesn't have any more skill or qualifications than a real-estate agent.

        Anyhow, we're probably arguing about nothing, since the OP was looking for alternates to real-estate agents and certified valuer is a good alternative.

• 

  Euphemistic on 08/02/2017 - 15:06

  +1

  Research online sales history in the area, see what else is currently for sale. Compare what you can with what you have…. Then talk to RE agent/s and get their opinion on whether you should sell as is, or invest in paint etc. A good agent will be able to answer these questions. At the end of the day the RE agents best interest is to get your property to sell as quickly as possible for the highest price, which just happens to be your best interest. The agent will help you decide whether auction or standard sale is the best option. Auction would be sensible for a high demand property only. Also ask the agent what it might rent out for.

  No one can really tell what will happen if you hang on for 12 months, you need to research and make your own decision.

  Don't pay anyone to 'tell you what to do and why'. Work it out for yourself in conjunction with the other beneficiaries.

  We sold an investment property last year. Our agent (used for previous sale) advised that we could do the place up, but the expected price would probably not exceed the costs of renovations. Only thing we did was mow the lawns and clean out the shed. It sold fairly quickly, at a better than expected price (but the market is hot).

  We also purchased from family, and my parents have done similar. Hanging onto a share of a house can be a difficult thing. Different parties wanting out at different times made the process tricky. The hardest part was getting a fair valuation, because in reality the only way you can get the true value of a property is by selling it. Different RE agents and valuers will come up with a number they THINK is correct, but the market actually decides what it will pay.

  My father slowly bought out his 4 siblings over 20 years and I can remember at least two ripper fights amongst them about the valuation, let alone all the stress with it. A complicating factor was that my parents were living in the house, it wasn't just an investment.

  When we bought the share of the house from 1/3 to 1/2 it was only about 18months later we needed to buy out the remaining half. No disputes, just the headache of all the paperwork when the other party decided they needed the money from the house for their own house deposit.

  Better to either sell outright, or one party to buy out the others for 100% ownership.

  • 

    Skramit on 08/02/2017 - 15:20

    Thanks for the input!

    RE agents best interest is to get your property to sell as quickly as possible for the highest price, which just happens to be your best interest.

    Agreed, but I also want to check with somebody with the right knowledge if simply selling straight away is the best option. To validate the inevitable RE spin….

    Work it out for yourself in conjunction with the other beneficiaries.

    In an ideal world yes, but the other beneficiaries are not real estate savvy. None have IPs, and one is a permanent renter. Real estate knowledge is thin, that's all I'm saying.

    Hanging onto a share of a house can be a difficult thing. Different parties wanting out at different times made the process tricky.

    Yeah I think this is nearly a no-go from the get-go. Do not want any messiness in 3 years times when peoples lives/plans change.

• 

  JetLi on 08/02/2017 - 15:27

  Just speak to a few agents to get a gauge what's spin and what's reasonable.

  • 

    Euphemistic on 08/02/2017 - 21:09

    As I said before, this combined with your own research. The only real spin you can get then is about the future and you could ask 5 different people about that and get 10 different opinions.

• 

  Candour on 09/02/2017 - 14:48

  Sell as is at auction or private sale

  I did a tafe dip in property services from NSW.
  agents have conflicts of interest.
  auctions never reach max price but only the price the agent primes you to accept on the day.
  private sale may be better.

  2 use an agent but interview all you can
  suss them out.
  you need to know what to ask.
  in tafe I found out some of the tricks
  am coming to melb on 27/2/17 to retire from Sydney via Malaysia.
  get in touch by Pm if you like.
  need a place to stay initially.
  may be we may be able to help each other out.
  I sold a place for my former flatmate in punchbowl after interviewing a dozen agents over 2-3 years vefore I decided one had integrity.
  he then told me a few tricks his peers would have used on me.
  he got a very good price and gave good advice but he knwe I had a dip in RE and had quoted to sell over 3 years 3 times.

  you need to understand comparables and then make sure the agents give you real sale prices. hard to assess except in real time.
  the REA {Vic} tends to be biased towards their agents and may spin figures even when they are bad.
  read a few reviews on an independant economic e letter which pointed out what mainstream media will not. [they need the ads].

  ======================
  Spend money on paint, carpet, garden then sell.

  my wife and I did some minor touch up jobs to get the place up to scratch.
  [sold for a former flatmate]
  I did not take any fee as I am not registered.
  anyway she was my friend and we came back from Malaysia to do this and paid her the usual rent I paid her for years.

  we worked with the agent.
  we trusted him.
  he did not betray our trust.
  he got the best price.
  agent selection is important as you will never know of any backdoor deals with the buyer.

  you must know how to stick to your guns when you wish to cave in.

  Hold for another ~12 months then sell.

  you need to know market direction
  need to read economic forecasts which are all over the place depending who writes it.

  agents are not valuers.

  Sell to entitled will recipients who then hold a share each and rent out (sounds messy to me).

  relevant if it saves tax [am not a tax expert though i used to be a CPA.
  retired now.
  and benificiaries may not want this.
  may be messier if they do not want this place and want cash.

  hard to time any market, especially real estate which responds even to global factors.
  It took me 3 years before I decided flatmate should sell.
  and it was mainly because she wanted out of the ghetto the suburb had become.
  and my wife was handy enough to help her as a favour to me

  you also need to decide your toal portfolio goals and risk return diversification plans.
  again am not a planner but have met a few dodgy ones and need to do the course for self preservation.

  but we can discuss this if you wish to PM me.