Client Stories

Destiny was ready for her first home. She wanted a townhouse in an area likely to grow in value over time.

Before we looked at a single listing, I walked Destiny through the data. We compared suburbs on supply and demand, because that balance is one of the clearest signals of where prices are likely to head. Casey came out as the right fit for her budget and goals.

We found a townhouse she liked and our offer was accepted. Then, going through the strata report, I noticed the minutes from recent owners corporation meetings were missing. I asked for them.

The minutes showed structural issues with the building, and the owners were facing big costs to fix them. Destiny would have inherited a share of that bill. I recommended we pull out, and she agreed.

We kept looking and found 13/68 Dalkin Crescent. It's a newly renovated 2 bed, 2 bath townhouse right in the Casey town centre, and it ticked every box on her brief. I also reviewed the building and pest report before we committed, and connected her with my recommended conveyancer to handle the legal side.

Andre and Graeme were moving to Canberra from Port Stephens. A friend came across me on Instagram just as they started searching. After a few of my suburb reports, they found a house they loved in Kambah and asked me to bid for them at auction.

It was their first Canberra auction, and buying from interstate made it even harder to judge value. Before auction day, we sat down for a strategy session. I assessed the property against recent comparable sales, and together we set two numbers: an ideal price and a firm maximum. I also talked them through exactly how I'd bid on the day.

There were several bidders on the day. Andre and Graeme stayed home and listened in over the phone while I bid. I stuck to the plan, kept the pace on my terms, and didn't let the room push the price past what the property was worth.

We won the auction, and well below the maximum they'd been willing to pay. I also reviewed the building and pest report so they could bid knowing exactly what they were buying.

Jo first came to me about a house she liked in Curtin. She wasn't sure what it was worth, and dealing with the selling agent was getting frustrating. She wanted me to step in and negotiate.

I inspected the house and compared it with recent sales nearby. My view was that the vendor was asking well above market value. Paying that price wasn't in Jo's interest, so I told her. Jo then engaged me for my full service to find her the right home.

We found another house in Curtin that ticked a lot of boxes. During due diligence, though, I found several unapproved structures. There was a bathroom built into the garage, and a granny flat had been walled off so the home would appear to meet the floor space limits. There were other issues too. Problems like these can mean costly fixes, insurance headaches and trouble when you sell. We decided it wasn't worth the risk.

Then we found 19 Parkin Street in Torrens. It's a relatively new, very large home with a pool and plenty of outdoor space for sport, which was exactly what Jo wanted. We went to auction and were the highest bidder when it passed in. We then negotiated with the vendor and secured the home at a price Jo was happy with.

As with every purchase, I reviewed the building and pest report and connected Jo with my recommended conveyancer to see it through to settlement.

Gloria, Rickard and Cathy needed a home with room for a family of five. They also had to sell their own place to buy, which made timing the hardest part of the job.

We inspected a lot of properties together. We came close on a home in Banks, but their sale wasn't moving fast enough and we had to let it go. It was frustrating, but it was the right call. Committing before your own sale is locked in can leave you badly exposed.

When 50 Grampian Street came up, I checked the details closely. The block was advertised at 2,023m², but it was actually 1,889m². For this property, the smaller block raised concerns about the subdivision potential. That changed my assessment of what the property was really worth, and I built our offer around it.

By then, my clients had also dropped the price on their own home to sell faster. Their budget had shrunk, so the price had to be right.

We secured the home for almost $50,000 under the asking price, with the fridge included. I reviewed the building and pest report, connected them with my recommended conveyancer, and contracts exchanged unconditionally.