It makes me physically cringe thinking about the first homes I ever sold. If thinking about it isn’t painful enough, I’m going to talk you through everything I wish I knew before I sold my first house and land package.

That’s right, I’m confessing all my embarrassing cringeworthy mistakes because (still to this day) I feel a pit in my stomach every time I think of my old clients wanting to sell their home.

I’m doing this so you don’t make the same crappy misinformed decisions that I did. Alright, let’s rip the band aid off.

I WAS A PUSH OVER

I was a real people pleaser (or more so a push over because I was so terrified of disagreeing with my clients). If they wanted a big cheap block of land, I delivered it on a silver platter. Don’t get me wrong, the homes them self were STUNNING and well considered…. BUT I didn’t question their intentions or challenge what was important to them. I didn’t ask how long they planned on living in that home for and when they planned on selling it. I didn’t ask them if belonging to a community was important. I didn’t push them to think about resale and what the estate looked like after it was completed. I only thought about their home and what they said they wanted then and there.

I AVOIDED THE TOUGH CONVERSATIONS

When looking to build a house and land package, most people people say they want:

1. The biggest but cheapest block
2. Largest home possible
3. In their preferred suburb
4. With all the fancy bells and whistles

It’s so easy to get carried away with the home design that people forget they are taking a big financial risk and I used to avoid the subject like the plague. After all, why would I want to worry my clients? Well. It is the biggest gamble you will make in your life so thinking about resale is very important.

When you’re buying a block, you are literally buying into a dream because the land isn’t developed yet, and you cannot physically see what the estate will look like.

If you don’t think about resale, your home could become a massive money pit.

I BOUGHT INTO THE HYPE

Now marketing agencies are very clever and can sell you the dream, but the reality is that dream could quickly turn into a nightmare because not all developers are the same. Some don’t give a flying hoot what the estate is like once they are swimming in their piles of money.

This is where it’s important to check the developer’s intention and reputation.

Questions to ask are:

1. Are they a mum & dad investor just wanting to subdivide their block & make a bit of money?
2. Are they a big-time developer that will be selling land for many years, so they care about their reputation?

Now I’m all for supporting the little guys and small businesses, but if it’s a mum and dad investor subdividing their block, they are the ones making the money. Not you. They’re not going to waste money on putting in nice parks and community areas. They are going to do the bare minimum to sell their land. They want to make their money quickly and take the family on an epic holiday.

WHAT WOULD YOU RATHER?

1. A big cheap block in an area where no one tells you what the home needs to look like.
2. A smaller more expensive block where the developer has strict rules about what your house looks like.

I TOOK THE EASY ROAD

It is natural for people to choose option 1 and it was easier for me to just roll with it.

Why would you want to be forced to spend more on the house than you need to? Why do you want to waste money on more features? Why would you want to have to choose from a restricted colour scheme?

As a Consultant, these rules are so pesky and annoying. They take time and effort to process and there are so many other things I would rather do than check compliance. Who likes rules, right?

Well, I now do.

I’m ashamed to say I always used to avoid estates with extra rules.  That was until I drove past a home and land package I had sold. Don’t get me wrong, the house itself was beautiful… but all the neighbours had boring boxy houses with mismatched colours and front yards that looks like dumping grounds.

If there are no rules, you are taking a big risk on the future value of your property because you will have absolutely no idea what the estate will look like.

HINDSIGHT IS TWENTY-TWENTY

So nowadays, I always make sure I have these tough conversations with all my clients – even if they don’t want to hear it.

The underlying reason is that personally, Kris and I were stuck in a home that we couldn’t sell once. The house itself was beautiful, but the street left a lot to be desired.

I don’t even know if our neighbour was alive because the weeds were growing on his driveway up to hip height. The guy on the corner was the worst DIY handyman I’ve ever seen, his “decorative” screen walls were all wonky. The one next to that always had broken down cars all over the lawn. Another house further down the street had the most offensive colours and just looked cheap and nasty.

I don’t ever want my clients to have the best house in the worst street because it makes it a lot harder to sell their home in the future.

So, there you have it, my cringeworthy confessions for your reading pleasure xx