Following is a copy of my submission to Matt Brown MP for the Review of Vendor Disclosure for Residential Property Sales in New South Wales:.

Dear Mr Brown,

As requested in your correspondence of 14 July 2010, please accept this letter as my submission for the Review of Vendor Disclosure for Residential Property Sales in New South Wales.

I have been a real estate buyer’s agent in Sydney for more than 10 years and in that time I have regularly had discussions with potential buyers who are angry at having paid unnecessarily for pest and building inspections during the pre-auction process. In the majority of these cases the buyers were clearly misled by selling agents and vendors into believing the property was in their price range only to find out on auction day that the property had been significantly underquoted thereby leaving them out of the auction bidding and out of pocket several hundred dollars for property inspection report costs...

This week I joined the Channel 10 hit program The 7pm Project to discuss the reasons why some properties sell for less than they’re worth!

In ‘The Money Shot’ segment I spoke with Scott Pape to discuss how properties that stay too long on the market become stale when potential buyers start to question if there’s a problem with the property. Take a look at what we had to say – the housing market story begins 5 minutes and 30 seconds into The 7pm Project video – click here

The new channel 7 program called Under the Hammer provides a couple of great examples as to why buyers need to take the time to better understand the real estate market before parting with several hundred thousand dollars.

This week’s episode highlighted the nerves of buyers attending auctions as well as those who are prepared to bid against themselves during the auction and in the post auction environment – even to the tune of $60,000. I nearly fell off my chair when I watched a buyer bid 60k against himself which was almost 10% of the final purchase price.

The scary thing is with over a thousand auctions a week nationally literally hundreds of people every week spend tens of thousands of dollars more than they need to in order to buy a property. Add to that the extra stamp duty and interest they will pay and you’re talking about a serious amount of money...

When looking at purchasing a property you must remember that the property will almost always be shown in its best light from the attractive online photos through to the manicured gardens. But sometimes this facade goes too far and people are misled about the property they are about to buy.

I recently caught an agent out who had asked the neighbours to keep quiet and stay out of the back yard during inspections to make the property seem more private than it actually was. In the same way, I’ve heard of other agents who have asked neighbours to take their noisy dogs for walks when an inspection is due to create a more calm, quiet environment...

I often see people getting out and about attending open homes and speak to many who tell me they are spending several hours each week searching on real estate websites when they haven’t done the basic preparation. If you’re one of them then here are a couple of tips to point you in the right direction...

Next week on the 1st of July, the new NSW Home Builders Bonus comes into play which is sure to attract plenty of attention. In a move designed to stimulate the building market, vacant land with a price tag of less than $400,000 as well as off the plan property up to a value of $600,000 will be stamp duty exempt. There is also a specific incentive for the seniors market where a new home can be stamp duty exempt with a value of up to $600,000. Of course you will need to read the fine print for all conditions.

But will this approach actually result in more stock coming onto the market than was going to anyway or will it simply create an inflationary bubble in this sector of the market similar to that created by the First Home Buyers Grant and the changes to the FIRB rules. If it follows the path of the FHBG and the FIRB approach then watch the prices rise!...

Why do people purchase properties at their limit and often beyond their means? These properties often come with more bedrooms and bathrooms than they really need. Before you put yourself and your family under extreme financial stress take a step back and evaluate the big picture to determine what’s really important.

If you fall into the materialistic trap or as the old saying goes "trying to keep up with the Jones's" it can be very hard to dig yourself out of the financial hole that’s created. Sure it’s manageable for the first few years but after a while you may start to find yourself struggling to meet the bill payments on a regular basis adding extra and unnecessary pressure to your family and relationships...

Do you know who you’re competing against when buying a home or investment property after the Federal Government announced even more changes to the foreign investment rules on April 24?

What impact has the foreign investment rules had on our real estate market over the past 16 months and what impact will the new changes have going forward? How has it affected supply and prices and what’s likely to happen in the near future...

There’s been plenty of discussion in recent months about the increase of foreign buyers pushing up Australian real estate prices in established areas after the Federal Government relaxed the regulations last year.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that relaxing the FIRB laws was always going to increase demand and apply pressure on prices to rise for the limited stock that is available already. After realising the consequences of its decision the Federal Government has announced more changes – some reverting back to the previous policy position while others are new...