A Singapore-based client came to Gault & Co as he looked to repatriate his family back to Sydney.
“I get good advice and assistance in many other aspects of my life,” he said in our first meeting. “So, I wanted to ensure I could buy a home in Sydney for a price I was comfortable with.”
Given that our client was overseas, we took extra time to provide market commentary and data to reacquaint him with the Sydney market. Our team sourced a range of off-market and listed properties and coordinated inspections to fit in with our client’s short visit to Sydney.
Once we found the perfect match, full due-diligence was conducted in preparation for auction.
Given the vendor’s ambitious price expectations, buying at auction was our best option. We also discovered that a critical Sydney Water document, relating to recent building works, was missing from the final contract.
We felt this would have further thinned the buyer pool out and we used our due-diligence to our advantage at auction, manoeuvring to have the auction passed in, and then negotiating a below market price for our client.
Our client, based offshore, was looking to buy a property that could serve as an immediate home for his daughter, who was at Sydney Uni and become an ongoing investment.
Dual briefs are never easy, and we knew we had our work cut out for us! Not only were we finding an investment-grade asset, but we were finding a safe and secure home for his daughter.
We avoided high rise, central CBD (too congested), ground floor (safety), main roads, etc. We looked for modern design, well built, well-presented and secure properties within reasonable reach of USYD.
The timing was right as it was pre-Christmas and we find that many sellers get nervous about their properties remaining unsold over the holiday period.
Through an agency contact, we identified an off-market property that had missed the Spring selling season, and the vendor didn’t want to wait until February to start a campaign, which was great intel.
We submitted an offer, which was well below expectation, but the offer terms were attractive, and so they accepted. An excellent result for our client!
We had some bad news from the tenants of one of our managed properties, who reported that mould in the garage had caused damage to their personal effects.
Our client, the landlord, was potentially on the line for $15,800 to repair the damage, replace the items and remediate the source of the water ingress to prevent future issues.
We contacted the building’s Strata Manager, who tried to push responsibility back to our client. Most traditional property managers would have accepted that, but we investigated the situation with the help of a mould specialist and a builder, determined to find a solution that was fair to our landlord and the tenants.
Through our investigation, we discovered the issue was, in fact, the responsibility of the Owners Corporation and the problem has since been fixed through a strata insurance claim.
Our client did not have to pay a single dollar, and we were delighted to offer a solution that kept the tenants happy and preserved the tenancy relationship.
Our Sydney-based client was tasked with overseeing the sale of 54-hectares of land in the Byron Bay Hinterland on behalf of her siblings, both of whom were offshore and not familiar with the local market.
There were further complications with possible changes to local planning provisions that may have impacted end value. It was critical that we obtain preliminary planning advice to understand the impact on end value and how to approach the sale.
As part of our approach to guiding our clients through the selling process, we assess the market value of the property and its selling prospects. We engaged with reputable local town planning authorities, the result of which was a clear understanding of end value as well as clarity around permissible usage.
We conducted a merit-based tender process with local agents, identified the one who was the best fit for both the property and our client and negotiated fees on their behalf.
We provided support and guidance to the client in preparation for sale, throughout the campaign and, crucially, were there to help them navigate the drawn-out negotiations that ensued. The property was successfully sold prior to auction for a strong price with favourable terms that suited our client.
