Season 3 Episode 7: Interview with Property Expert Mark Brown
IN THIS EPISODE
In this engaging episode, we sit down with seasoned real estate expert and community coach Mark Brown to explore the human side of buying and selling property. With over 25 years in the industry, Mark shares valuable insights on how to choose the right agent, what makes a great negotiator, and why trust and communication are everything in real estate. From money stories to goal setting, Mark also reflects on the personal philosophies that have shaped his career and life. We dive into the emotional journey of selling a home, the power of clear goals, and why openness is key when negotiating. Plus, Mark brings his trademark warmth and generosity as he shares powerful lessons from both sport and small business. Whether you're buying, selling, or just love a good story this episode is full of practical wisdom and heart.
OUR GUEST
Mark Brown
Director, Licensed Estate Agent and Auctioneer
O’Brien Real Estate Ringwood
Mobile: 0407 685 880
Email: mark.brown@obrienrealestate.com.au
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Welcome to The Money Collective podcast. We're here to uplift your financial wellbeing. Your hosts are me, Mel Pearce and Darlene Neu. We are the co-founders of The Money Collective and together we have over 50 years of finance and banking experience. We provide the tools, information and guidance to better understand your money and feel confident making money decisions.
0:22
Hi everyone.
0:23
We're lucky to have with us today.
0:25
Mark Brown.
0:26
Mark Brown owns O'Brien's real estate in Ringwood and he also, which fascinates me, he coaches a ladies soccer team in Moral Bark.
0:39
I've known Mark for a really long time through the work that we do and the work he does.
0:46
Our paths crossed, I don't know, maybe eight years ago.
0:49
And I, I think Mark is very holistic person.
0:56
He cares a lot about people.
0:59
And I yeah, just the thinking that you, you have wanting to give back and support other people and acknowledge that everyone's different.
1:11
So, yeah.
1:12
So thanks, Mark, for joining us today.
1:13
Pleasure.
1:14
Thanks for having me.
1:16
Great.
1:16
And what we're going to talk about is, you know, insights of a real estate agent.
1:21
Everybody you know needs a roof over their head to survive and whether it's renting or whether it's having a a home of their own, it's then cars need to cross with a real estate agent at some point.
1:35
So it'd be really good to get inside your brain a bit today to audience some tips on yeah, how to work with an agent.
1:43
So yeah.
1:44
So first of all, I'd love to hear your journey and if you want to tell us a bit about you, that'd be great.
1:49
Yeah, Good.
1:50
Thank you.
1:50
Look, I've the, I've been in real estate now probably coming up to 25 years and I, I, I enjoy it and love it more now than actually when I started.
2:00
Because as you go through this journey, you understand that it is, it's a lot deeper than just selling and listing houses.
2:08
It's a lot more than that.
2:09
And what you, what I understand and what I embrace and very humbled about is that somebody who you meet is going to give you the, the opportunity to, to, to sell their biggest financial efficit, their asset, their family home full of memories for the journey in their life.
2:28
And they're asking you to represent them so they can move on to the next phase of their real estate journey.
2:33
And whether that's an upsize or a downsize or retirement or, you know, there's other, there's other, other aspects that come into that as well as unfortunately families fall apart and properties need to be sold.
2:45
But it is, it is very humbling that somebody meets you and allows you to, to represent their home and, and, and they're relying on you to help them move on to the next phase of, of the journey.
2:55
So it's, it's real estate agents can be seen as, Oh yeah, we're just after the list and sell and make the money and move on.
3:04
Many of them are like that in the industry.
3:05
It's, it's not how we see it.
3:08
Never have.
3:09
As I say, it's very humbling that somebody gives you the opportunity to sell their home and help them move on.
3:14
So that's why I get, I enjoy it more now because I've got a deeper understanding of what it means to people when you know, when they employ you to, to sell their home.
3:24
So that's been part of my journey.
3:25
Prior to that, I was in banking for for seven or eight years.
3:30
So yeah.
3:31
And then and believe it or not, the funny people laugh at this, but I, my, the history of my family in the background of my family in back from the UK and even over here was we actually got, we're butchers by by trade and by heritage.
3:45
We, we run and we run butcher shops and I was, I was trying to get out of the family trade by getting into banking and moving on.
3:53
But there was something about it and we just got seconded back into the family business.
3:58
And I, I ran the, I ran our, our, our shop for, I know, 12 or 13 years.
4:03
My dad's a butcher, my granddad in the back in the UK were butchers.
4:07
So it's, it's running in the veins.
4:09
And I must admit, even today, I still have a passion about that trade.
4:14
But having run a bit like having run a small business, having had some background in, in, in banking, I think it all ties up to being how to how to work with people and how to understand people's needs.
4:27
You know, the lady we used to walk in the butcher shop and go, Mark, I'm going to do a roast for Sunday lunch.
4:32
You know, what would you recommend?
4:33
Well, yeah, you don't sell them a bit of Chuck steak to roast.
4:37
You know, you've got to say, well, you know, you've got the roast and you've got this.
4:40
So having done that and having been in a small business, you're very reliant on repeat, repeat clients.
4:47
So you've got to really, really focus on understanding what the needs are.
4:50
So they come back next week and go, Mark, that was great.
4:53
The advice you gave me and what you sold me was great and the same thing, those same principles have carried on through through to where I am today, running, running my own real estate office.
5:03
Outside of business, the my biggest passion has been my sport and my sports being football, real football, soccer in abbreviate abbreviated commerce.
5:13
I played professionally over here for all my life and I got into coaching, but over the last few years I've got into coaching women's football, women's soccer.
5:24
It is fun, it's exciting.
5:27
Women's sport, not just football, but you've got cricket and the the AFL or WAFL.
5:33
You know, women's sport is getting bigger and bigger and bigger in this country and it's great to be able to be part my skills and my knowledge of coaching onto onto the ladies because they are, they're like sponges when you coach and they just want to know.
5:51
They want to know the insurance and outs and I must admit, love doing it.
5:55
One of the frustrations is though, you ask them to go and do something and then they ask you why you know, and it's very easy to sit back and go because I've told you to.
6:06
But that just doesn't work.
6:07
You've got to really hone into understanding and getting them to understand the why of it.
6:13
But it's, it's, it's great to acknowledge that because they just want to learn.
6:17
They want to know.
6:18
And you know, we, the girls last year had a fabulous year.
6:23
The other thing I enjoy about coaching women is, you know, age barriers don't exist.
6:27
I've got, I've got a young girl in my side this year who is 15 years old and she is a superstar.
6:33
And at the other end of the scale, I've got a lady who is probably the fittest girl in the team and she's 41.
6:38
It's just amazing.
6:39
Yeah, it, it is.
6:41
And I, I look, I could talk all day about it.
6:43
It's an absolute passion of mine.
6:45
Outside of loving what I do for a career, football's a passion of mine.
6:49
I've played it, I've coached it.
6:52
It's it's great fun and very, very rewarding when you, I guess it's like in business too.
6:57
When you coach somebody in business and you can see they're, they're getting some success out of what you've helped work work with them, you get a buzz out of it.
7:05
You get a real buzz out of it.
7:06
You know, it's got nothing to do with financial rewards.
7:09
It's just, it's just great to see it.
7:12
You know, we're big on giving back.
7:15
I mean, once a month on a Thursday, I go to the, the local church in Ringwood and I, I cook up a big batch of soup.
7:25
I go to Costco and buy a couple of plates of sandwiches and a big mud cake.
7:29
And we serve the homeless, you know, and there's absolutely not, you know, the it's, it's great to see their appreciation.
7:37
It's great to see their face light up when they come in and go, oh, can I have those sandwiches, all these soups, nice, whatever it might be, you know, it's just great to be giving, giving back in in some way, shape or form.
7:50
So, yeah, it's not about money real estate for me, it's not about money.
7:54
Yes, you want to be successful and, and yes, you, you know, having, having some money to be able to, to be, to do the things you want is great.
8:02
But you know, it's about fulfilling yourself and, and walking away at the end of the day going, you know, I've put a good day in today and I've helped them, I've helped them, I've done this.
8:10
And yet down the track, you get financially rewarded for doing all that.
8:13
So that's a bit about me, but I could, I don't want to talk forever, darling.
8:19
We can get into some nuts and bolts.
8:21
But before we do, I mean what I heard there, I mean, it's very aligned.
8:26
You know, you're talking about, you know, the ladies wanting to ask why, you know, and that's what we're encouraging and empowering with the financial well being work that we do, because what we want is people to be critical thinkers and, you know, make decisions for themselves.
8:43
I think historically, some of the generations, what's happened is we just outsource it to someone and we trust what they say without actually questioning that.
8:50
So I love that the girls are asking why.
8:54
That is fantastic.
8:54
I, I think one of the things, one of the things I promote and whether I'm coaching one of the, you know, one of my team or whether I'm coaching the girls is to have the confidence to speak up and have the, have, be confident that you know, what you're thinking is important to you.
9:13
Therefore it's important to you.
9:15
Then be prepared to stand up and go, look, I need to know this and don't feel awkward, Don't feel embarrassed.
9:20
Don't feel like you're asking a question that the, the person thinks that's a silly question, because the only silly question is the one is the one that you don't ask.
9:29
And it's, it's, it's super important, you know, having, having, having the ability to let the girls express themselves.
9:38
And again, whether it's work or on the football field, I think it's great for development.
9:44
And there's so many things you can, sorry, no, you can't.
9:47
I'd say there's so many things that you can learn about life and when you're, when you're a coachable person and I stay coachable, some people aren't coachable.
9:59
They just don't, you know, they just know everything.
10:01
But if you're a coachable person, you can take the lessons out of learning to develop as a footballer, and you can take that into life because I think there's a strong alignment between playing sport and your journey in life.
10:15
Yeah.
10:16
So it would be a missive.
10:18
Me, Mark.
10:19
We talk a lot on our podcast about money stories and money stories shape us throughout our lives.
10:27
And they're normally things that we've learned.
10:28
We're very young in our childhood that, you know, on the surface level, it might be, you know, the family sayings, you know, like doesn't grow on trees or, you know, or it could have been the opposite.
10:41
Spend it there.
10:42
You can't take it with you.
10:43
You know, all those things that that shape our beliefs around money.
10:48
And it's really, truly not really that much about money.
10:51
It's about life lessons I get and what happens because we learn that really on they become our beliefs and they're not really real.
10:59
And some might serve as well and some might not serve as well.
11:02
But I'd be interested if you could share your money story.
11:06
And we heard a bit about obviously butchers being really important to you, but what was a bit about your growing up and your money story that served you well and maybe not served you so well?
11:15
And yeah, things have changed along the way.
11:18
Oh, jeez, I can remember getting my first pay packet when I worked for the bank.
11:24
You know, that was a long, long time ago when my first pay packet from the bank was $198, and that was for a fortnight.
11:32
And I thought I was rich.
11:35
I guess I was always brought up to be very conscious of your funds, be conscious of money.
11:43
Always put something away for a rainy day, was what my dad used to tell some.
11:47
Put just put a bit for a rainy day, just for that rainy day, you know, put a bit away, put a bit away.
11:52
You just never know what's going to happen.
11:55
We were fortunate enough, I bought my first home when I was 20.
12:02
So, and you know, back then, I mean, the house, the house cost $32,000, but you still have to save 10% and saving 3 1/2 grand was a lot of money.
12:12
But you know, we, we, we had a focus and the focus was, that's what we wanted with, with my wife and my, that was our focus.
12:21
And I think one of the biggest things I've learned in in life and about funds is have something to aim for irrespective of what it is.
12:30
You know, if it is saving for your first house, if it's saving for your investment property, if it's saving for a car or, or have a goal in mind that you want to achieve and you will get there because you have a goal.
12:44
So work out what your goal is, work out to when you want it.
12:49
And then it's really simply being disciplined to to follow the path to get there.
12:55
And it doesn't to me, it doesn't matter what it is like if, if you want to have a hole, I can remember I was saving to go on a cruise with with Chris and I had to come up with certain amount of money in six months.
13:07
So I wrote a calendar.
13:09
I had a calendar on my wall at work.
13:11
I had what the deposit was when I needed it.
13:14
And I worked out over that six months I needed to put away, hypothetically, let's say $500 a month, and it was there.
13:22
So I think the lesson I I've learned is work out what you want and then work out the path on how to get there.
13:29
Because if you don't know what you want, then you will just waste your money because there's nothing there for you to aim towards.
13:34
Oh gosh, Mark, have you read our course?
13:37
No, I haven't, That is exactly right.
13:41
And do you know what the studies show?
13:43
You'll be very pleased to know you're in love.
13:45
The studies actually show the same.
13:47
If people don't have goals, two things happened.
13:50
One is we become we compare socially to others.
13:54
And the other one is that we're materialistic because we just, you know, fluff it away because absolutely not have something that's important enough and compelling enough to do something with our money.
14:04
So that is a key to financial being so, but that's, that's financial.
14:10
I mean that works in the financial side of things, but that also works in life in general.
14:14
You know, I've always believed I've got to, I've got to get up in the morning, I've got to have a reason why I go and do something.
14:22
And you know, the reason isn't necessarily all about money.
14:27
It's about I want it like I want to lose weight, I want to lose 10K and that's where I'm at the moment.
14:32
So I want to lose 10 kilos by the 1st of December.
14:36
Now I started over a month ago and I've lost 5 kilos so far and I have put little reminders on my on my laptop here and everywhere that that my goal is a certain weight.
14:46
So if I've got the goal and I can look at it, I get there and I, I say the same to, to my team.
14:54
You know, my, my team is, I asked them what for the next, in the next 12 months, What do you hope to achieve in the next 12 months?
15:01
And they say I want to make XYZ dollars.
15:03
And I'm not interested in what you want to earn.
15:06
I'm interested in what you personally want to achieve.
15:09
Is it a holiday?
15:10
Is it your deposit?
15:12
I don't know.
15:12
Is it a, is it a Prada purse?
15:14
It doesn't matter.
15:15
No, it doesn't matter.
15:17
Have the goal and you will get there.
15:19
And as a, as a, as a coach or a mentor or as a trainer, my job isn't to isn't to hit them over the nails and say, you know, you're not doing enough.
15:30
I it's a case of I have a monthly meeting with someone.
15:34
Go how close are you to getting that Prada purse?
15:37
Oh, I'm on target.
15:38
I got fantastic and she goes, oh, now I'm a little bit behind.
15:41
What can I do to help you get there?
15:44
And it's about making accountability comes into it as well, you know, and then my role I see is accountability to, to, to help you achieve what you want.
15:52
You told me what you want.
15:53
It doesn't affect me if you get there or not, but I really want to help you get there.
15:58
And I'm prepared to do this to work with you.
16:00
That's sort of my philosophy on coaching, mentoring, but also, you know, have a goal in life, have a goal and your goals, once you reach one, set another one.
16:10
And you can have, you don't have to have one goal.
16:13
You can have as many goals as you as you want to set for the next, for the next period of time in your life.
16:18
And you know, if you've got them set and you've got a plan, stick to the plan and you'll get there.
16:23
That's it.
16:24
And it feels so good when you get there too, right.
16:27
And it's a sense, it's sense of achievement.
16:30
That's great.
16:31
No, it's a massive sense of achievement when you reach it.
16:33
It's oh, this is awesome.
16:35
And it just spurs you on.
16:36
It just gives you more and more confidence that you can do anything you want if you set your mind to it.
16:41
And you, you have a path to follow.
16:42
Yeah.
16:43
No.
16:44
So true and so aligned.
16:45
Like you said, you know, we talk about financial well being, but it is really life stuff.
16:49
So.
16:50
Yeah.
16:52
All right.
16:53
Well, yeah, maybe we can get into a bit of nuts and bolts about real estate and maybe just a really quickly high level.
17:01
What is the role of a real estate agent?
17:04
OK, so I, I, I see the, I see the role of a real estate agent is bringing two parties together.
17:11
Yes, you have a, you have someone who's got a, a need to sell and you've got to have a person on the other side who's got a need to buy.
17:19
And, and our, our role is to bring those those people together.
17:23
And our role is to, is to, is to find someone who wants to purchase the property of the vendor and to negotiate a price that allows them to move on with, with the next phase in their life.
17:37
So it's it our role realistically has been that negotiator.
17:42
The role, the genuine role of a real estate agent is a negotiator.
17:46
I mean, all real estate agents are going to put your property on realestate.com.
17:50
They're all going to print off pretty brochures.
17:52
They're all going to, you know, put a board up that's, that's, that's standard 101 real estate.
17:58
But when it comes down to the nuts and bolts of it, the, the, our role is to negotiate the, the coming together of two people.
18:07
So you buy, your vendor walks away happy that they've got a great result and they can move on.
18:13
And the purchase is happy that we have helped them secure the home that they really like and they want to live in for the next 1015 years, whatever the case may be.
18:21
So it's it's, it's it's having, it's having good strong negotiation skills is the real role of a real estate agent.
18:29
Yeah.
18:30
That's where I, that's where I see it.
18:32
Yeah.
18:32
So it comes to the thinking of, you know, people are trying to choose a real estate agent.
18:36
And I've been in this myself, like before I knew you, you know, what sort of things would you look for?
18:44
You know, like what should, if you're, you know, interviewing all, I guess, real estate agents, you know what, what are the things that you would, you know, how would you assess who to choose?
18:54
I think, I think yeah, it again, it comes down to trust, trust, trust in the person that you're talking to, a comfort that you have with them.
19:11
Do they fit your, do they fit your criteria of, of you can work with them and it's coming down to again, do you, are you confident in them?
19:21
Have they demonstrated to you that they have the ability to negotiate?
19:28
Because quite frankly, outside of all of that, it's fluff.
19:32
It is, oh, look, I've got pretty brochures and I've got this and you know, I've heard of a million times agents go, oh, look, I've, I've sold this, I've sold that, I sold the other.
19:42
At the end of the day, it's not relevant to you what you've sold.
19:47
I wanna know what you're gonna do for me.
19:49
Yeah, Yeah, I think, yeah.
19:52
So from that perspective too, is it different in different markets?
19:59
Obviously, the market over the last year or so has tightened up a bit to what it was before that.
20:04
Do you think it's different or it always comes down to those fundamentals?
20:07
And that's what I don't irrespective what the market is doing, I think the fundamentals remain the same.
20:13
You know, you've got to, you've got to be a good communicator.
20:16
There's again in a in a tough market, you know, you really need a strong negotiator because you might not have as many people coming through.
20:25
The markets changed a bit.
20:27
Prices have come back.
20:28
So you really do need, when the market's tough, that's when the real skills start to come out.
20:35
When the market's rocking along, well, you know, you've got five people want to buy it.
20:39
Well, it's easy, you know, But it's when it's when the market's a little bit tougher, as it is now, that's where your negotiation skills.
20:47
And that's where your real trust and belief in the person you've got representing you is far more important.
20:54
Yeah, you know, and you've got, you've got to be, you've got to be a good communicator because honestly, there are times when you've got to have conversations with an owner and go, things have changed, things have changed.
21:08
You're not going to get your 1.5, it might be 1.45.
21:11
Can you move on if you can't take it off the market and try again in 12 months.
21:17
And that's where a fair bit of honesty and integrity comes into play as well.
21:21
I mean, if the if the how, if the vendors can't move on because they have to get a certain price in the market is not recognising that price.
21:28
Be honest and go mate, let's try getting 12 months.
21:31
Can you stay, can you afford to stay 12 months and move on?
21:35
If not, then we may have to reassess what you're, what you wanting to move to.
21:40
Yeah, these, these are important discussions.
21:43
And I think, you know, trust, integrity, good negotiation skills, super important when it comes to to having those conversations.
21:53
I think it's not just good advice.
21:55
I think it's particularly for the seller, you know, building a relationship, like someone you can connect to relationship.
22:03
So then you can have them build that trust.
22:05
Yeah.
22:06
And someone.
22:07
Yeah.
22:07
That I, I, I think of times that you've served some of my clients, that's where it shone through, was the experience and the knowledge and the, you know, relationship.
22:19
And if, I guess if you're comfortable, if you get a real estate agents comfortable in their own skin, they're going to be, you know, a better communicator, right?
22:25
You know, so they're going to.
22:26
Yeah, you say it how it is.
22:29
Yeah.
22:30
In in an empathetic way.
22:32
So, yeah, no good advice.
22:35
So forget all the other pieces, you know, look for someone that's, that's right, you know, somewhat, Yeah.
22:43
And look, you know, people are people are not.
22:47
People are not silly.
22:48
People can.
22:48
People can see through people.
22:50
You know, if someone's trying to pull the wool over your eyes, most of us can see through that, you know?
22:55
So look for someone who's genuine.
22:58
Simple as that.
22:58
Someone who's genuine, you don't, they don't have to talk to all about the all the fluff and wonderful.
23:04
You just think, you know, you're genuine.
23:06
You're straight down the line.
23:08
Yeah, I hear what you're saying.
23:09
That's what I'm after.
23:10
And I think that's that's what you look for when you select in an agent.
23:14
Yeah.
23:15
Again, I think really good life advice, you know, surrounding people a little like that.
23:19
All right, you know.
23:20
Yep.
23:20
Absolutely, absolutely.
23:22
OK, what about if you're a purchaser, you know, don't really get to choose the agent depends on my house.
23:31
And look, look, you know, this is this is the whole thing advice I've got for purchases.
23:38
OK, you walk up to the front door of a house, the real estate agents there, he's going to ask for your name and all that sort of stuff.
23:46
Build a rapport with your agent.
23:48
Be nice.
23:49
Don't stand thing.
23:50
Oh, you're a real estate agent.
23:52
Oh, geez, another real estate agent.
23:54
Gosh, you know, we're here to help understand this.
23:57
The real estate agent is here to help.
24:00
If you like the house, tell the agent.
24:03
You know, I heard so many stories.
24:05
You know, don't tell the agent you like the house.
24:08
Don't tell the agent you like the house.
24:10
Again, work with the agent.
24:12
We we're here to help if you want to buy.
24:14
If you like the house, we are here to help you buy it.
24:17
So be open with us.
24:19
Don't play cold chest and go I've got to go and think about it or I've got to do this and you walk like I really like the house.
24:26
Tell the agent yes, I like the house and then we will help you buy it.
24:32
But you know, people or people want to play this ducks and drakes game with real estate agents.
24:37
They walk in stone faced or can't speak to the agent.
24:40
Don't tell the agent to like it.
24:42
Why not?
24:44
We're not going to force you to buy a house you don't want to buy.
24:47
We are here to help two parties to come together for a successful outcome for everybody.
24:53
So be open with the agent.
24:56
Walk out and we'll go.
24:57
Look, I like the house.
24:58
What do I need to do to buy it?
25:00
Don't.
25:01
Don't go.
25:01
Well, I don't know why.
25:02
It's too expensive.
25:03
That's it.
25:04
Work with the agent.
25:05
Tell the agent what you can spend.
25:08
If it's in the range, then he'll help you negotiate by the house.
25:11
And that's it's it's it's you know, we're we're we're cast in the same mould as car sales people.
25:19
Yeah.
25:19
You walk into a car yard and all of a sudden a car salesman walks you and what do you do?
25:23
You look the other way and pretend you don't want to talk to him.
25:25
You're there to buy a car.
25:27
He's there to help you buy a car.
25:29
We are there to help you secure a house.
25:31
If you don't like the house, that's cool.
25:33
Tell us.
25:34
Yeah, It's not for us, mate.
25:35
Yeah.
25:36
What is for you so we can help you find something?
25:38
Yeah.
25:38
Communication is really, really important.
25:41
But so many times, you know, we're brought up with, again, working with agent.
25:45
Don't tell the agent like the house, you know, why not tell us?
25:50
Yes, I like the house.
25:51
Great.
25:51
Let me help you buy it.
25:52
What do we need to do to buy it?
25:54
This, this, this.
25:55
Right.
25:56
Let's work together.
25:58
Yeah.
25:59
That's, that is the biggest bit of information I can say to to a purchaser.
26:04
Get on realestate.com.
26:05
Go and look at the house.
26:07
Engage in a conversation with the agent when you've come out of the house.
26:12
Tell them it meets our needs.
26:14
How do we go about buying it?
26:15
And the agent will help you.
26:17
Yeah.
26:17
It's such a it's such an important one, isn't it?
26:20
Because it's really all about relationships.
26:21
Again, it is, you know, I, I over the years, you know, of all the people that you know, helped with loans, you know, people get into houses.
26:29
You know, sometimes you know, first time buyers will ask me, you know, how do we negotiate with an agent?
26:34
And I said, I look, I know this agent and he always given the same advice.
26:39
Just be open and honest.
26:40
Be yourself, you know, and build a connection and say what you can and can't do.
26:45
Don't play games.
26:46
You know what's what are you prepared to do and what you aren't prepared to do.
26:49
But don't change your mind.
26:51
Just go in with honesty and you know, yeah, don't try.
26:56
And because people feel like they've got to leave buffers in case the negotiation goes backwards and forwards.
27:03
So, and I said just stick to your buttons.
27:05
There's more houses out there just open and honest.
27:08
And you know, if the house is meant to be, it'll be meant to be.
27:11
And if not, they'll be nervous.
27:13
And look, you know, one thing is as the agent, just, you must, buyers must remember you're not negotiating with the agent, you're negotiating with the vendor through the agent.
27:27
Do you understand?
27:27
There's, so you know, you're not saying I'm like, I'll, I'll pay this out.
27:31
And the other, it's not me who's selling the house.
27:33
So you need to be as open as you can with me so I can then sit with the owner and discuss your proposal with the owner.
27:40
Because we are that we're, that we're the conduit that brings everything together.
27:44
So to be open and frank with us and go, look, we've got $1,000,000 to spend.
27:49
And the question I will always ask is, OK, $1,000,000 to spend, is that what you feel comfortable spending or is that what the bank has told you you can spend?
27:57
Because there's two different things here.
27:59
So they turn and go, Mark, the banker said to us, I can buy a house at $1,000,000, but I can't buy a house for $1,000,001.00.
28:05
And I'll go, fantastic, fantastic.
28:10
And then, and then they're honest and we go, OK, well, the vendor wants 1,000,050.
28:14
Well, I can't get there.
28:15
So cool.
28:15
I'll let the owner know that you can't get that far.
28:19
If there, if there's no compromise, then I'll try and find you something else.
28:22
But it's, again, it's, it's being honest and transparent.
28:26
I've had so many times in my career where I've had the conversation with someone and go and look, there is another proposal on the table.
28:33
Someone else likes the home as much as you do.
28:35
They've put a proposal forward.
28:36
You may not get a second opportunity to negotiate with the owner.
28:41
When there's multiple bias situation.
28:44
Often you don't get the negotiation opportunity because someone else is going to put a slam dunk offer in because they want it.
28:50
So I may not be coming back to you for a second dip.
28:54
So please understand I need you to provide me with what your walk away price is.
29:00
And if someone pays $1000 more than what your best offer is, you're cool with that.
29:04
And so many times I've rung backing on guys we've missed out by 10 grand.
29:08
I'm sorry.
29:08
They go, I would have paid it.
29:10
I've gone.
29:11
Well, we had this conversation, guys.
29:13
Oh, yeah.
29:14
But I've got my, you know, so again, you know, be, be transparent with the guy that's trying to help you, you know, don't play the, you know, don't go down the path.
29:24
Oh no, the agent will come back.
29:25
Just hold 1020 grand back.
29:27
See if you can buy.
29:28
No, it doesn't work like that.
29:30
It isn't the funny.
29:31
It's such a myth.
29:32
And you know, The thing is, I also say to people, like, at the end of the day, if you've paid, I don't know, say that extra 10,000 for that house, you're not going to think about that in five years time, 10 years time.
29:45
You forget about it after it's done.
29:46
And as long as you're in your, you know, your, what you can afford, you know, do you know, the, the minute it's funny you say, I totally agree.
29:54
And I, I, I explained to people that real estate's not about the here and now.
29:58
Real estate is about the journey in five or ten years.
30:02
So if you pay 10, fifteen, $20,000, you feel you've paid 10, fifteen, $20,000 over and above, then it's not something you need to worry about because the minute you settle, you've forgotten all about it.
30:16
You're moving into that beautiful home that you've wanted.
30:19
And as you say 5 or 10 years time, when you've let's say you've paid $1,000,000 for it, you think you've paid 50 too much.
30:26
And then in five years time, you know, 10 years time you sell it for $1.6 million.
30:29
You're not going to remember the $50,000 too much you pay, you felt then you paid for, you know, because real estate is it is the long game.
30:38
You don't make money out of real estate in 12, you know over a 12 month period by buying and selling.
30:43
But it is, you know, it is great growth over over the journey over the journey.
30:50
Yeah, yeah, no, I definitely agree.
30:53
I mean, I guess off the back of that with the is at the moment, you know, it's been a bit slower because a lot of people can't, you know, it's really hard to decide to buy before I sell or sell before I buy and then risks in that obviously.
31:11
So what would you advise somebody that just isn't in a position and about conditions and things like that and what how to do that?
31:21
OK.
31:21
So look, buy before you sell or sell before you buy that because that, that comes down to your personal financial position.
31:28
There's risks involved.
31:30
There's risks involved on both sides.
31:31
If you buy before you sell.
31:35
The upside to that is, well, you've bought, you found a house you like and you bought a house that you really, really, really, really like, right?
31:41
The downside is you put yourself in a, in a pressure cooker position where you need to have your, well, I'll rephrase that.
31:47
Unless you've got a lot of money and you can afford to pay for the next house cash without having to sell yours.
31:54
Perfect position.
31:55
However, most people I come across aren't in that position and they do need the proceeds of the of their current home to secure the next one.
32:05
So you you do put yourself in a pressure cooker position.
32:08
If you you know you got to sell yours and sell yours in a space of time.
32:11
Allow settlement and try and tie up the settlements.
32:14
If you are going to do that then my advice is you always buy on a long settlement.
32:20
Always buy on 120 day settlement.
32:25
That does give you the chance to get yours on the market, allow a good a good marketing time and still allow settlement.
32:32
So if it took you 60 days to sell yours, you can still then you got a 60 day settlement to work with which is quite which is quite good for for potential purchases anyway.
32:42
So that is the only way I would do it, but there is more risk.
32:48
The other way of doing of course is you sell before you buy.
32:51
Well, great, you know how much money you've got to go and spend, which is awesome.
32:55
The downside to that is though, you may not find the house you really like.
33:00
So and then you go, well, what do I do?
33:02
So you know, you either buy something you have to compromise on or you rent for a period of time until the right property comes up.
33:09
So there are pros and cons in either way.
33:13
The most conservative way that I've come across is that you sell before you buy, OK, and you sell again, you sell your home and you sell your home on 120 days settlement, which allows you ample time to look in the market.
33:27
And if you find a property that you like, then you can always bring the settlement if you, or you can always ask the purchaser if they'd like to move in earlier than what the agreed settlement was so that you, you know, you can tie up the settlements.
33:44
Personally, I would sell.
33:46
I would sell before I buy.
33:47
Ah, there you go.
33:49
I would sell before I buy.
33:50
I was going to say, what if you really found the place?
33:52
And I suppose you, you could put it on the table is if you said subject to the sale of your home.
33:58
Yeah, look, there are look that there.
34:00
That is a condition subject to the sale of your home.
34:03
And subject to the sale of your home is a condition that is quite commonly used in rural areas.
34:12
In metropolitan, not so much.
34:14
And the reason behind that is most people say look, subject to the sale of my place, give me 30 days to sell my place.
34:23
Now that effectively then takes your home off the market for a month and you are relying on them selling their house.
34:32
So that's a big, big risk.
34:35
I as an agent, it is not a condition that I would recommend that a vendor would accept because again, it's, you're relying on another agent selling their home in a month.
34:48
But also, you know, if you, you're more likely to find another buyer in that month without those conditions.
34:59
So I, it's as it's not that it many, many, many, many years ago, it was something that was that that was acceptable.
35:05
Yeah, I'd take 30 days to sell the house.
35:07
People didn't mind, but with the way things are now and look, you know, if people want the house sold, they want, they want the certainty that it's sold.
35:16
I mean, the subject to sell for 30 days.
35:19
I mean, you're always, you're always asking that have they sold their place?
35:21
Have they sold place Then after 25 days it hasn't sold you also, as the seller, you do lose your momentum of your sale because what a good agent should do is even though you have a a, a potential sale, a conditional sale, you always leave the house on the Internet trying to gain some sort of some more enquiries in case something goes wrong.
35:45
But if if after 30 days it hasn't sold you then got to what do you do?
35:50
You, you, you still doing opens, you've lost the momentum for a purchase that have their home on the market.
35:57
The most effective time of the campaign is the first three to four weeks.
36:01
If you've accepted a subject to the sale, then you've lost that momentum.
36:05
So it's not an ideal condition to have other conditions which are workable, subject to finance, no problems whatsoever.
36:14
I think it's also very pertinent for a buyer to make a sale subject to a, a building and pest inspection.
36:24
And that is some even even as an agent, you know, my, my conscience always says to me, buy the house, you know, would you, why don't you make a subject to build and pest inspection?
36:35
You know, we often have build and pest inspections done on the property prior to it going on the market.
36:43
And, and so for a vendor, it's great because they get a report done.
36:47
If there's a couple of little issues, they get a chance to sort them out and fix them before it goes on the market.
36:51
And it just reduces, reduces the risk for a purchaser.
36:54
So again, if you're, if you, if you have a building pest inspection done on your home and you offer it and we not we normally do is purchase it and then offer it a offer that report at a discounted price to the potential purchaser.
37:07
You've been pretty transparent about it.
37:08
You've been very open about your home and you're going, Hey, here's a build inspection.
37:12
Go for gold, you know, so it also gives a buyer a lot more confidence that they're, they're buying something that, you know, is the perch is very confident in.
37:22
So, but I'd always I, I, I say to people, I, I, I look, I treat purchases like I treat my own family.
37:29
I'm not going to tell you what to buy or how to buy it, but I'm going to say to you, I suggest you get a build and pest inspection just so you know, you're buying something that's got good bones and solid.
37:38
Usually not a new home.
37:39
So I said there's going to be maintenance issues.
37:42
Building report gives you a bit of a programme on what you can expect to do over the next three to five years.
37:48
Yeah, I actually think the vendors getting that pest and building inspection up front and I've certainly seen that, you know, working with purchases on the other side when they go there.
37:57
So I so often say, well, just ask whether there's one done.
38:01
But it does it actually lifts the impression of the house even no matter what's on it, because it it goes towards that trust and transparency, isn't it?
38:12
You know, So it's likely to, you know, engage in that 100%.
38:17
So yeah, definitely, definitely.
38:20
All right.
38:21
Well, there's some great tips and hints for people.
38:24
So thank you very much.
38:25
And, you know, I don't know, have you got any funny or great stories that have happened in real estate that you'd like to share for entertainment?
38:33
Oh, great story.
38:34
Well, and then that now you've now you've really now you've really put me on the put me on the spot, you know, great.
38:40
I said, look, every, this may sound a bit corny, but every, every time you present somebody with a proposal and you know, you've, you've, you've reached or exceeded their expectations, that's a great story.
38:54
You know that every, every, every, every, every time you do that, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a great story, big stories.
39:03
I look, you know, off the top of my head, I'd have to say I can't, I can't think of something straight away, but just it's it I, I get, I, I get enjoyment out of seeing people when you've helped them make that transition.
39:19
That's what that's a story I get, you know, and the, and the buyers go, I've bought the house, they fall in love with the house.
39:24
It is awesome.
39:26
I, I guess I'd say 111 story that comes to mind.
39:29
And it's a house we sold not that long ago in Coldstream.
39:34
OK, first home buyers, they have been, they've been looking for a home for 3456 months.
39:42
And when we put the proposal forward and when I, when I told them they'd secured the home, my God, I've never, I don't think I've ever seen.
39:51
And serious happiness, joy, excitement, relief in faces.
39:56
And I saw on that young couple, you know, they bought me a nice gift because I, and I don't expect that, but they bought me a lovely gift because, you know, I've been, so I was so helpful and I helped them get their dream, their dream home, because everybody's home's their dream home.
40:10
And they would, I just, I, and I think I said to the owner, I have never seen a young couple so excited, so happy that they've, they've got this house.
40:20
And yeah, that sends shivers up his spine.
40:22
It puts a big smile on my face.
40:24
And.
40:24
Yeah, making people happy is is a is a great thing to be able to do.
40:30
So that's that's probably.
40:31
And that was a recent one.
40:32
So that was yeah, that that that that does stick in my mind.
40:35
They're just beautiful couple.
40:38
So ecstatic.
40:39
Yeah, they just jumping out.
40:41
They just could not wait Yeah.
40:43
Settlement couldn't come quick enough for them.
40:45
Yeah, it was brilliant.
40:46
Really, really, really brilliant.
40:48
But I like, yeah, So what I take out of all of that and if I can, you know, sum up and bring it all together, coming back to choosing an agent because, you know, just that passion you showed just then, you know, it is actually what, you know, gets you up and working with people and, you know, like helping their dreams come true.
41:09
So, you know, I think one of the key things I've heard today is look for an agent, whether you're selling or even purchases and how you can connect with agents that someone that cares has some empathy, you know, honesty, trust, that you can relate to otherwise, you know, Yeah, you know, that is the key message, I think out of today.
41:32
So, yeah, thank you.
41:35
Thank you so much for today and all your wisdom.
41:38
That was really, I hope for the audience you've got something out of that way if you're thinking about, you know, you know, heading down that path of buying or selling.
41:49
All right.
41:49
Well, thank you so much for today and all your insights.
41:53
And yeah, I look forward to it going to end.
41:58
At The Money Collective we provide financial wellbeing, premium coaching, mortgage broking and workplace financial wellbeing programs, which we couldn't do without the seamless support of our fabulous team. If you'd like to find out more, head to themoneycollective.com.au or our socials to take action and engage our services. In our Facebook group, join the conversation and help us break down the taboo around money. All content in this podcast is for educational purposes only and is general in nature. For tailored personal advice please seek out a professional.
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Podcast by:
MEL PEARCE & DARLENE NEU
Co-Founders, Financial Wellbeing Coaches and Mortgage Brokers
The Money Collective
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