Having had a negative experience with a different buyer’s agent, Sydney investor Yvette Wilkins had reservations about engaging Darren Keen, from Keen on Property. But her leap of faith paid off - massively.
What was the best bit of working with Keen on Property?
“I was absolutely astounded Darren ended up saving me over $100,000 on the purchase price.
“Purely because he knows how to negotiate, he knows the market, he knows the players, he has a really clear understanding of what the two houses down the road sold for, and so he could leverage all of that knowledge in the negotiating process.”
Wow. How else did Keen on Property save you money?
“From the moment you own the house to the time you tenant it, the mortgage is your issue.
“I had budgeted for six to eight weeks of no tenant because of the work that needed to be done.
“There was a whole lot of yard maintenance. There was also some basic repairs and maintenance.
“Darren organised all of that. I’d get sent photos of the repair, so it felt like I still had oversight, but I didn’t have to physically be there.
“Because Darren was able to move that quickly and responsively, we had a tenant in place within four weeks. I’d estimate that saved me between $6,000 and $10,000.
“If Darren hadn’t done that for me, I would have had to get on a plane, go to a place that I didn’t know, and then try and engage with a whole lot of tradies that I don’t know the standard of their work.”
You’ve owned properties before. Why did you need a buyer’s agent?
“I don’t come from Australia and the market here is huge. I had no idea what I was looking for, or even where to start.
“At this point in my life, I needed to make some pretty savvy financial decisions. I didn’t want to make a really costly mistake in a market that felt completely foreign to me.
“Engaging Darren, it felt like I had somebody else on my team and in my corner,
“Estate agents are working to sell a property. Their interest is to close the sale and get paid their commission.
“With Darren that's not the case at all.
“In our initial discussions and teasing out what my goals were, it very quickly became clear that he would be there to help me make the best decision. Where I could make some good capital gain and where I could rent the property quite easily.”
Okay, what was the process of working with Keen on Property like?
“It was so easy it almost felt surreal.
“Darren would only send me links to properties that had some real viability to them. I appreciated that because I'm busy.
“He'd always follow up with a phone call, and then we'd have a discussion about the property.
“Obviously photos tell you one thing, but he's got a lot more intimate knowledge of where the property is.
“I am a good few hours' flight from where I bought this investment property. So Darren would go and physically inspect the property.
“He was always amazing at sending very detailed walk-through videos. I felt like I was there.
“He would show me all of the practical parts, but then also any other thoughts or ideas on what we could do in the future.That was really helpful.
“I found I'd get quite emotional in the process and he'd always be my voice of reason, which I needed.
“Darren knew my budget, and he would then go and do all of the negotiating on my behalf.
“Darren would keep me fully informed throughout, whether it was messages or phone calls, and then I would get the documents.
“Those were sent through to my lawyer, I signed them electronically.
“And then all of the different reports that needed to happen, Darren handled all of that.
“And as a buyer not sitting in the facility of that property, I had no idea who to approach for a builder’s report, who would look at all of the land surveying and flood zones,
“Darren did all of that, and would then send through all of the information to me and my lawyer. It was such a simple process.”
Great to hear your decision to engage Keen on Property has paid off. What impact has this had on your life going forward?
“Darren helped me buy in a very strategic place and the capital growth has continued within that area.
“What that actually means is that hopefully in the very near future, I'll be able to purchase another property, which for me is completely mind-blowing.
“I never thought I’d be able to do that. And it was only through the conversations and the knowledge that Darren has - and his ability to challenge my mindset - that made the difference.
“The fact that he's just a great human and isn't trying to make a quick sale, and that he's in this for the long term, both for himself but more importantly for us as his clients, I think has just been amazing.”
How is Darren different to other buyer’s agents?
“I had been working with another agent, and I was almost on the verge of purchasing a property a little bit closer to where I live.
“Looking back on it now, if I had pursued that option, financially it could have been absolutely devastating.
“The property was off-plan, it seemed all nice and shiny and bright. I didn’t realise - and it was never pointed out to me either - that there were a whole lot of different legal requirements in terms of me making that purchase.
“Thankfully, I didn’t sign the contract, although the contract had actually been presented to my lawyer - that’s how close the deal was.
“When I realised that was not going to be a good decision, I lost a lot of confidence.
“In reaching out to Darren, I felt like I was taking another leap of faith. We had a long discussion about that, and he built up trust.
“The cool thing about Darren is that he doesn’t have to say a lot because his actions align with everything we discussed. And he was under a fair amount of scrutiny because I was so weary from the previous experience.
“He showed up and had my interests at heart throughout the process.
“And I think that’s a key part when I reflect on what Darren does. I don’t want to call it a service because that just makes it sound so simple.
“Darren has a heart for people.
“He understands the technicality and what I call the science of the property market. But he weaves that together to make sure that what you get in the end is actually very personalised for your specific circumstances and for what your goals are.
“And certainly in the previous experience, that was completely different.”
Rightho. What does that actually look like in action?
“Right from the initial conversation, Darren is working very hard to understand me and my goals. That saved us a lot of time in the ultimate process.
“We had a number of conversations where Darren would just ask some really key questions to help me clarify what it is I wanted and then he could bring his expertise to layer over how we might achieve it.
“Getting very clear up front definitely allayed a lot of the stress because he wasn’t running around trying to find or look at different properties that ultimately didn’t meet my needs.
“First of all we defined what the pathway would be and then he made the process to get from where I was to buying an investment property just very clear and easy.
“And so I think from that perspective he understands people first and I genuinely believe is very invested in helping people succeed. I have never ever felt that this is any kind of hard sell.
“In actual fact Darren was really clear that he could show me a range of properties and if I said no to all of them well then you know his service might not be for me.
“So there was never a sense of stress or pressure around it’s a hard sell and this person might not be here for my interests. So he definitely allayed a lot of stress in the process.”
How did Darren’s approach help you avoid making bad decisions?
“Darren really helped me to become crystal clear about what I wanted to do.
“We sat and had some good discussions around what areas and markets were showing good, strong capital growth. And really clear and easy rentability so my return on investment would be really specific.
“His knowledge of the local market was invaluable.
“Prior to engaging Darren, I had done the usual searches on realestate.com. I had no idea where to look. You can only do so much Google searching about where are good areas. Darren knows that intimately.
“And he also brought with him a huge amount of knowledge on what is a really good deal not only now, but where potentially in time you can add further capital gain. Which was an aspect I’d never, ever thought about.
“I didn’t think I’d be able to afford to buy in the area that he directed me towards.
“But he has very, very close connections within the community and professionally.
“So, he often will have understanding and knowledge of properties prior to when they’re coming to open market.
“Without him, I don’t think I would have been able to buy where I bought. ”
Will you use Keen on Property again?
“I’ll definitely be using Darren to help me purchase another property.
“His knowledge, his warmth, his technical expertise - I think they’re unparalleled. And the fact that he is genuinely interested in the outcome for you as a person, as well as in putting together the best deal, places him in such a unique position.
“I've got someone who I see as part of my team long-term. The relationship with Darren is not just a bias agent. He has come alongside me and I know he'll be in this for the long term, which gives me a lot of security that he's not just making the deal and then that'll be the last I see of him.
“I couldn’t recommend him more highly.”
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