Newcastle Living Magazine
Edition 8
Reader Q&A
I am considering getting into real estate sales, but I have no experience in the real estate industry. Where do I start?
Nathan Walsh
Licensed Real Estate Agent
A sales role in real estate is quite the journey. Rather than it being your average job, it is more of a career path and lifestyle where the sky’s the limit. There is a lot to learn about not only property, but building relationships with people as well. A great way to get your foot in the door today is applying for entry level positions that can be advertised or possibly non-advertised. Many agencies even accept and respect walk-in resumes these days.
Today’s educational requirements when joining the industry also involve starting your study towards a Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice that has an average duration of about 18 months. This can also be looked at as a bonus if you are already enrolled into the course when applying for positions. If you are given the opportunity for a role at an agency, this is where you start watching, learning and absorbing your surroundings of successful agents and their day to day activities. Eventually you will have the skills and knowledge for a lead role in a sales team.
I want to sell my property. Is there any difference between agents, don’t they all really do the same thing?
Kosta Apostolidis
Licensed Real Estate Agent and Auctioneer
It’s true that all we do is sell property. But there is a big difference between a sale and a premium result – and this can certainly be influenced by you and what you do with a property to prepare for sale. An experienced agent can change the result dramatically, they specialise in an area that will give you better access to the buyers. They will have a direct line of communication with these buyers based on previous behaviours.
Additionally, the track record of an agent that knows a suburb or region really well makes a massive difference. There are benefits and attributes that prove advantageous, as opposed to what we call an out of area agent that still will promote the property well but simply doesn’t have that local knowledge. At the end of the day a real estate transaction is one of the largest transactions you will ever make and having a specialist on your side is going to be a huge advantage.
I have just bought a property I’m going to rent out as an investment. It’s not a perfect property but I know it’s going to go up in value over the years. Do I need to do any improvements to it before I put a tenant in there?
Amy Fish
Residential Property Manager
Improvements are probably not required, however the property must be fit and habitable and meet all minimum requirements and legislation. For example, decks, stairs and railings all must comply with industry standards. If you do decide to make improvements, be sure to consider depreciation for assets such as paintings and carpet.
I’ve noticed the market has changed. How will this impact price?
Shaun Elms
Licensed Real Estate Agent
The market changes constantly and it’s never completely a seller’s or a buyer’s market. What we find is that in a seller’s market there are fewer properties and the buyers have to work harder to secure the home they want and have to move quite quickly.
Adversely, as owners start making the decision to sell and stock levels increase buyers have more choices, this is reflected at open homes more than anything else. In a hot market, you will often see queues of buyers waiting to view a property. But all markets change at times, Newcastle in general is a very stable market and we rarely see negative growth. However we did have a huge year so expect a much cooler marketplace.
We have always wanted to develop a property but don’t really have a great deal of experience. Where should we start?
Teresa Heighington
Licensed Real Estate Agent and Development Specialist
Developments are a great way to at times really make some considerable returns in real estate but it’s not just something you can just dive into without thinking. Developers do it for a living, having specialist teams around them to make sure that they buy the right property.
But this comes at quite a high price and it’s not practical for somebody to employ all these people when starting out. A recommendation would be make some time to meet with an experienced development real estate agent who can listen to what your goals and objectives are, give you some initial advice, and then – if the relationship looks like something that could work – look at what you are giving consideration to.
It’s considered etiquette that if someone is to help you with advice on a project that they would have an opportunity to be involved in the sales when the time comes. This way the relationship is not just a meeting, it’s a long-term relationship where all parties work together to achieve a common goal.