At school, I wasn’t exactly known for my academic brilliance — though I did once win a top academic prize, much to the shock of the entire school (and myself). When it came time for career advice, the teacher in charge gently steered me toward a trade or the military. I told him I was actually planning a gap year, followed by business school. His eyes said it all: good luck with that. Fast forward...
Last month marked a significant milestone for Amanda and me – our 16th wedding anniversary, which also happens to represent 16 years of business partnership. We celebrated with a quick trip to Sydney (don't worry, I was back for Sunday open homes). The preparation for that trip involved plenty of farmers walks – not for fitness, but to build up strength for carrying shopping bags. When I asked about...
One of the most common things we hear from buyers is: "Can you get me a good deal?"The honest answer? No — not from my vendors. Real estate agents work for the seller, even if they aren’t the listing agent. Our legal (fiduciary) obligation is to get the best possible result for them. So, this month, I thought we’d flip the script and look at how buyers can put themselves in the...
I had one of those “Where has the time gone?” moments last month when I realised it’s been five years since we were first locked down. Five years! It somehow feels like both yesterday and a lifetime ago. Since then, we’ve ridden the Wellington property market's wild rollercoaster - soaring peaks, deep troughs, and now, finally, the slow levelling off. One thing I’ve been quietly...
When it’s time to sell your property, it’s natural to reach out to a few agents to get an idea of what it might sell for. Not too long ago—before property data became widely accessible—homeowners had little choice but to rely on agents for this crucial information. Fast forward to today, and we have a wealth of market data at our fingertips. From online valuation tools to recent sales reports,...
My taste in music might be a bit limited, but one band that stands out as my absolute favourite is the Red-Hot Chili Peppers. My love for their music started back in the day at the Riversdale Surf Life Saving Club, where Blood Sugar Sex Magik was played on repeat for weeks during those long summer days. In my humble opinion, their worst album was Rollercoaster. Now, that’s a bit harsh,...
Remember the old saying from childhood: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me"? Fast forward to 2024, and apply it to the real estate landscape, and it appears that ‘words’ really can hurt. When it comes to completing due diligence, especially in a market without the presence of FOMO, it would appear that even the mere suggestion of a 1/100 year weather event...
This job isn’t what most people think it is. As soon as you sell a house, you are unemployed so unless you’re talking to people daily it’s likely you are going to run out of operating capital fast. Across the past ten years, Amanda and I have been involved in BNI which is a very structured, old school networking group. BNI is not filled with large corporates. It's made up of small...
After nearly twenty-five years in this industry I have been through my fair share of booms, and subsequent busts. It’s with some disappointment that I have more recently observed that the good times are short lived while the bad times tend to linger. Last month, after nearly three years of tough times, we received the good news we had all been hoping for, an OCR cut. The Reserve Bank finally accepted...
Last month I was incredibly privileged to travel to Europe with the family. The last time I was there, twenty-eight years ago, I was eighteen years old and travelling with friends on a gap year. At that time, the only thing I proudly returned home with was a Heineken t shirt. This time was a very different experience. I was travelling as a Dad, husband and pack horse. The tourism had changed...