Looking for 'the one'? It's all about compromise

If there were a real estate version of the television dating show Snog, Marry, Avoid? it would involve buyers renting somewhere lovely for a while, then purchasing something with growth potential and all the while avoiding being seduced by styling and snazzy en suites.

It’s easy to see the parallels between the two big moves most adults make — finding a life partner and purchasing the family home — but agents and buyers’ advocates suggest many (at least in the real estate world) are looking for love in all the wrong places, blinded either by those artfully arranged rugs or that up-to-the-minute kitchen so much better than the one they have.

Buyers’ advocate Tricia Cox works with househunters around Melbourne and on both the Mornington and Bellarine peninsulas. And she finds buyers’ romantic fantasies are the same everywhere and in all price ranges: “when people start looking, they think they’re going to find the perfect property for their price”.

Ms Cox says the first thing buyers should do when searching for “the one” is to get real: “Buying a house is all about compromise.”

She says her role is to help buyers identify what they want, what is achievable and where they need to compromise.  

“Ideally buyers should not compromise on position but they may have to compromise on land size or the amount of renovation needed or on the children walking to school. To get the house you want, you may have to drive the children to school,” she says.

Ms Cox gently guides buyers from fantasy to reality, steering them away from bad buys. “I tell them the house won’t look like this when the rented furniture goes.” She also tries to help them understand today’s bigger issues, including planning. “Buyers are very vulnerable nowadays with new height levels on main roads. If they buy a house one or two houses in on a side street, they could end up with a four-five level building next door.”

The idea is to get as close as possible to what buyers need or want. She says it generally takes three purchases, over decades, for buyers to get what they want as it takes time to build equity … and with equity comes choice.

Elsternwick agent Bill Stavrakis, from Biggin and Scott, often deals with buyers at this stage of their lives and, generally, they are not interested in compromise. Most are seeking a large family home on large land or they are downsizers searching for something they can just move into, he says.  

For these “passive” searchers, the hunt for “the one” can go on for a very, very long time. “Some of these buyers look for 18 months, 48 months, 60 months.”

That is up to five years searching for the house that ticks all their boxes? “Yes, and they never get exactly what they’re after,” Mr Stavrakis says quietly.

Downsizers are particularly clear about “the one”. “Generally, they want to be able to walk into a place and not lift a finger. They also want to be able to walk to The Classic and cafes. And they are very clear on the property itself, down to the amount of storage they want, the internal configuration, the number of cars to fit into the garage…”

For industry veteran Greg Hocking, the search should never be about “the one”; it should be about values and value.

But he says, all property buyers needed to recognise the importance of first things first. “You need to get into a position to get on the property ladder.” People who delay buying because they can’t have exactly what they want or they can’t decide what they do want mar their long-term choices and financial wellbeing.

Many buyers, he says, seek a “highly stylised property” – produced courtesy of rented sofas, rugs and vases – but what they should be seeking and falling head over heels with is “the daggy”.

“Savvy people look to what they can improve. Buying daggy means all the grunt work has been done – often 20 years ago – but it’s been rewired, replumbed and often extended so that there is no major building work to be done.”

He says these properties won’t initially stir the heart strings as they often have old carpet, dated light fittings or tired paint work – or all three – but they allow buyers to buy “sensibly” and to add value in an area that they may love.

It’s essentially the difference between being blinded by initial romance and recognising the potential to build a lasting and worthwhile relationship.

Mr Hocking says areas such as Toorak have a surprising number of “daggy” apartments that, with new paint, carpet and light fittings, can immediately lift the mood – and value – and all in an area that never goes out of fashion. What’s not to love?

Cover property