bought a vacant one?

So here’s a true story about a guy, who flew into Melbourne, bought a property and flew back.

That guy was me, six and a half years ago. I searched online sitting in the comfort of my Epsom home back in Auckland, New Zealand and sitting next to me on my desk, was a scruffy sheet of paper that looked as if it has been stretched beyond its life expectancy. On this piece of paper, there were 14 addresses and next to them, were land size, location, advantages, disadvantages and their asking price. Sounds all too familiar?

I made several calls, and to my surprise, it was not only difficult to connect to an agent, it was near impossible to get any form of response. I managed to find one who responded (whose agency consequently became my first employer in Victoria) and asked for several appointments.

The above story, is not my point, my point is, I secured a property within three days, and I flew back home. The plan was to fly back into Victoria again on settlement, then fly home again after that before preparing for our big move. Settlement quickly came and before I could react, I was the owner of an honest piece of dirt (with a house) in Victoria. I did not plan on renting the property out and was expecting the property to sit vacant before arriving back 6 months later.

Big mistake. Not only was it difficult to find an insurer who would insure the property, it was even harder to find a property manager who would look after a vacant home. The insurance company gave me the usual ‘Welllllllll, if someone was able to inspect the property periodically then I guess we would be alright’. Case in point, if you’re buying a property that’s going to be vacant for less than 12 months, you’re stuck.

2 months ago, a client came to me with the exact same problem. I know how she felt and I know many of you out there would too, so here’s my proposal, send us an email or give us a call, we’ll be more than happy to assist you in managing your vacant home, for as short as a month.

Problem. Solved.