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When it comes to real estate in Beenleigh and Eagleby, there’s one name you need to know: Benjamin Waite. As a trusted expert with deep local knowledge, proven results, and a passion for helping clients succeed, Benjamin is the go-to agent for sellers, buyers, and investors in the region. Worth the Waite is more than just a podcast—it’s your insider guide to Beenleigh's property markey, offering valuable insights and strategies designed to position you for success in the property market.
From understanding local trends to maximising your property’s value, each episode equips you with the tools and knowledge you need to make confident Real Estate decisions. With a friendly yet professional approach, Benjamin shares real-world advice, stories, and tips, making complex real estate topics accessible and actionable. Whether you’re planning your next move or simply want to stay informed, tune in weekly and discover why working with Benjamin is always Worth the Waite!
This podcast is brought to you by Pod Pro Australia. It's pretty obvious, but the property appraisal is one of the most important steps when preparing to sell your home. It's your opportunity to understand your home's value, set really realistic expectations, and build a solid foundation for your selling strategy. Today on Worth the Wait, I'll walk you through what to expect during an appraisal in the Beenleigh Eagleby market and how you can prepare to make it most of it. Looking to stay ahead in the Beenleigh and Eagleby property market?
Benjamin Waite:Want to get local insights from someone who knows this community inside and out? Then you've come to the right place. I'm Benjamin Waite, and welcome to Worth the Wait, Beenleigh and Eagleby's Local Property Podcast, where we'll be diving into everything you need to know about real estate right here in our beautiful region. What is an appraisal? Well, an appraisal is essentially what your property is worth.
Benjamin Waite:An agent will give you a comparative market analysis, which is essentially based what your home is worth compared to comparison sales within a three to six month window. Usually, you wanna look at between three and six recent sales that are, you know, very similar to your property. So bedrooms, block size, condition, that kind of stuff. That will then help formulate a range, a price range on what your property will likely fetch in the current market. Typically, that range will be 10%.
Benjamin Waite:Well, legally, it can't be any longer than any greater than 10%. It's gonna be a 10% range. And and then, obviously, your local agent will give you some guidance around why a property might be in a lower end of that range or what, you know, what a property what what properties need to have that might be the higher end of that range. So this is a great place to then start to get expectations around the agent and what their thoughts of your property and its value is, but also some expectations around what you're likely to get. A lot of the time, we're selling for a reason, so we need the money in order to do something.
Benjamin Waite:So this is where you can get a bit of a budget set to plan your next move. And it's really hard. Obviously, there's a 10 guide there for a reason because an agent as great as we are, an agent can't give you an exact figure. We can give you a pretty close figure. But if your property is really unique, that's gonna be a lot harder.
Benjamin Waite:But also, you know, markets change really quickly. Buyers trends, their wants, their desires, they also change. There might be some external factors that might come into play, you know, between the appraisal date and then the launch date or during that campaign that might impact that stuff. So it's a tough it's a tough little one to navigate, but a very good experienced highly hyperlocal agent will be able to have all of that information and be able to give you a pretty good understanding of how the market will view your property and what they're gonna be prepared to pay. So there are a few things that you wanna get from your agent in this appraisal.
Benjamin Waite:You're gonna wanna get market conditions. Who's buying? Who are your buyers? How long will it take for those buyers to enough buyers to see your property to then get your offers and then obviously secure a contract? And then the condition and how you can maximize the condition to maybe get to that top the top of the 10% range rather than the bottom or the middle of that 10% range.
Benjamin Waite:So you've got a, an agent coming in or you might have a couple of agents coming in, and you want to prep the property so that they can have a good and accurate look at the property. What do you what should you do? Well, decluttering, really. Good agents will be able to look past most things, so you don't need to get them right at the end. Actually, to be honest, I prefer to come in at the start when you're thinking about selling because there might be some tips or tricks that I can add that, you know, will help you and get maximize your contract price.
Benjamin Waite:Because a lot of the time, if I come at the end, you may have spent some time or some effort on some stuff that probably buyers won't value. So I can kinda help channel your efforts to maximize your price. So that's that's always a good thing. Through that step, the agents also should give you some guidance on any minor or major repairs. A building and pest inspection is always a really good one for this because a lot of the time, there might be some might be some warts that we don't know about.
Benjamin Waite:Might be behind a wall. There might be, you know, a water leak in your bathroom that you didn't know about. There might be some termite damage in a back fence you haven't realized yet. So all those little things also will impact your value. So building and pest inspections are always a really, really good one because, again, as good as an experienced agent is, they don't have x-ray vision.
Benjamin Waite:We can't see behind walls and so on. So we can look past clutter. We can look through renovations. But as far as the structural integrity of the house goes, you wanna get a professional into just cast their eyes and do a bit of a report for that. I think during the appraisal and then after the appraisal, I think a good thing to mention to your real estate agent or even just to think about when you're preparing for him to come in is based on previous experiences you've had with other real estate agents or other you know, it might be renting, it might be selling, or might be buying, have a bit of think about what was really good and what you liked and what you didn't like.
Benjamin Waite:Because if you can mention that or at least be conscious of that, that can help you analyze and critique the agent and help you decide on which one you wanna go with because you don't want another agent to give you the same experience poor experience that you had before. Maybe some common misconceptions around appraisal. It's not guaranteed. We really don't know what the market's gonna do. It's a guide.
Benjamin Waite:It's a very much an educated guide, and we are professionals in what we do. And that's why you wanna get someone who has sold a lot in that area so they know they're they've got their finger on the pulse, and they know exactly what buyers are looking for, what they're prepared to pay, and so on. But there's nothing ever guaranteed. COVID is a classic example of that. Like, imagine if you appraise a property and then COVID hit, you know, all bets are out the window there.
Benjamin Waite:So it's never a guarantee on price. There is a 10% range there, and it's for a reason. Often, appraisals can be sight unseen and what we call a desktop appraisal. Again, that's a guide, but a lot of the time we'll be going off historic photos. You may have had a renovation.
Benjamin Waite:So it's usually pretty good to try and get an agent out to your property. And I know it's a hassle to try and find a time to maybe get a couple of agents through, but it depends on how far you are in that selling journey. But it's really it's it's a much more accurate appraisal if an agent can come out and view the property. The other myth is we don't need a finished product. As we discussed before, you we can look a good real estate agent can look past renovations.
Benjamin Waite:He can look past clutter, and you can kinda help communicate what the finished product's gonna be. And he's he or she's been through a million properties. They'll be able to visualize that and then build that into their appraisal. Last and final thing, appraisals. They should be free.
Benjamin Waite:I love giving appraisals. I love being able to go out and see properties. As cliche as that is, I'm I'm a bit of a property nerd, so I I love going out meeting people, hearing about their property, hearing what they've done to their property, how long they've been there for. Also giving them tips like quite often, like a lot of the time, I would say 90% of the appraisals that I do, they're not they're not ready to sell. They just wanna know what their property's worth.
Benjamin Waite:They wanna know the market's doing. I'm more than happy to do that with no obligations. I can give you some tips and some tricks on renovations. I've got trades that we can, you know, help put you to in contact with. It's I just just love doing it.
Benjamin Waite:So some really success stories around that appraisal piece. I always try and encourage me to come in earlier in the piece. Quite often, we've come in and they're like, look, we're not ready to sell for another twelve months or so, but we're thinking about doing x y z. We don't wanna over capitalize, but we wanna add value. We also want this to be a nice and and fun homely place while we're here for the next twelve months or so.
Benjamin Waite:What are some of the things that we can do that will add value and not waste money? So there I love coming in at that point because I can give some guidance around what buyers looking for, what trends are happening, what color paints are going on, you know, what kind of formats people are looking for, what built, you know, what layouts. So that's really cool for me to come through. And when they've gone in, they've come back in a year and a half's time. They're like, Look, we're ready to sell.
Benjamin Waite:The markets moved, which is great. So we obviously do an updated appraisal. And then because they've done the stuff that we've kind of spoken about over that journey, they've been able to maximize their price, and this particular client set a record in their in their street. So if you're entertaining, selling, or just wanna know what your home is worth, I'd love to come in and provide you an accurate property appraisal. With my local expertise and understanding of Beenleigh and Eagleby market, I can provide you with the insights that you need to make a confident and informed decision.
Benjamin Waite:You can reach me at l j hooker Beenleigh or online at benjaminwhite.com.au. Thanks for tuning in to Worth the Wait. And remember, when it comes to real estate, it's always worth the wait. Thanks for tuning in to Worth the Wait. If you enjoyed the podcast, please be sure to share it with a friend, and don't forget to hit that subscribe so you won't miss an episode and all my local property tips, updates, and insights.
Benjamin Waite:Until next time, I'm here when you need.