Keen on Property made buying easy for this time-poor professional family

First, it was their family home. Now we’re working on their investment

“Darren's become more than just a buyer's agent. He's become part of our extended family,” says Vicky Goebel.

When Tim and Vicky Goebel relocated from New Zealand to the Gold Coast, they weren’t just buying a house - they were starting a whole new life.

New country. New jobs. New schools. New friends. (And plenty of new challenges!)

Between busy work schedules and family commitments, they needed to streamline the house-buying process. 

They needed an advocate who had intimate knowledge of the local market, had the right contacts, and could be trusted to handle it all.

That’s where Darren Keen from Keen on Property came in.

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Step one: Defining goals and expectations

Darren’s relationship with the Goebels began while they were still living in New Zealand. 

Over a Zoom call, he helped them define what they were looking for, adjust their expectations to suit the Gold Coast market, and map out their timeline - so they could hit the ground running when they arrived in Australia.

“We were completely fresh. We didn't know about the areas, didn't have any local knowledge, didn't know any real estate agents, didn't know any mortgage brokers, nothing. But Darren had all the contacts and everything that we needed,” says Tim. “It was great!”

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The value of local insight (and contacts)

Though some clients want to walk straight into their own home, the Goebels decided they’d prefer to rent on the Gold Coast until they found their feet a little.

During this time, Darren helped them curate a shortlist, giving honest feedback on what properties were - and weren’t - worth pursuing.

“We would send through a whole range of properties that we might be interested in, and he would be doing that background research,” says Vicky.

“That saved us a lot of time. It minimised open homes that we had to go to and it saved us looking at houses which weren't really going to be worth our while.” 

Darren gave advice not just on price and condition, but also on the details most overseas buyers would never know to consider - street-by-street differences, pest risks, and how local contracts and inspections work.

“All that local knowledge is really important because you don't know the areas down to the road level,” says Tim.

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Easing the mental load

Both Vicky and Tim have high-pressure jobs that come with lots of responsibility. Add two gorgeous young kids to the mix and it’s not hard to see why time is their most precious (and limited) resource.

Darren could see the pressure they were under. Having done the move from NZ himself with a young family, he knew exactly what that felt like. 

Wanting to ease their load, Darren adapted his service to meet Tim and Vicky’s needs every step of the way.

“My husband does shift work, so a lot of the open homes he wasn't able to come to. We have two little kids so it’s chaotic at the best of times, but especially during open homes,” says Vicky.

“Darren has built a really great relationship with the kids. They love seeing him. So during the open homes, he was really helpful with the kids - which meant I could look around rather than just having to focus on them. That was so, so valuable.

“If it wasn't for Darren joining us at the open homes, we probably wouldn't have been able to take houses in properly and really look at them. And I don't think we would have been able to go see as many. 

“Darren really helped ease the mental load,” continues Vicky.

“He would send us reminders during the week as to what time the open homes were and where they were, which was super helpful.

“He also did a lot of the background research for us, which saved a lot of time and took away the additional thinking we had to do.

“He made the whole process easier for us,

“That meant when we were together as a family, we could focus on just being together. We didn't have all of this additional noise about the house in the background.”

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Avoiding costly mistakes

Not every property on Vicky and Tim’s shortlist was a winner -  including one they initially thought had great potential as a fixer-upper.

However, hiding beneath the surface were problems that would’ve turned it into a six-figure renovation nightmare.

Thankfully, Darren spotted the signs of termite damage that weren’t obvious at first glance.

“There was a house which we were going to look at renovating, but Darren picked up that there were probably termites throughout the whole thing. It was a bit of a disaster,” says Tim.

“Termites are new to us. We don't really have that issue in New Zealand. So what to look for when you’re looking at a house was all new to us.

“Without Darren, we could have gone massively over budget, or be sitting with a much bigger problem down the road, which we didn't anticipate.

“We relied on Darren heavily to make the right call.”

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When the perfect house came up - Darren slammed the brakes on his holiday 

After months of searching, the Goebels spotted a listing they loved. There was only one problem -  Darren was away for the weekend.

Still, he took the call and immediately got to work, managing the negotiation remotely and helping them move fast in a high-demand market.

“We found a place we wanted to go look at. Darren was actually away at the time, but he dropped everything that he was doing to help us close the deal. 

“We told him our limit, and our best and worst case scenarios. And he handled everything from there.

“He took care of everything and it ended up working out really well,” says Tim. “We were stoked that we could end up buying where we did.”

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Negotiating a rip-roaring deal 

Darren not only secured Tim and Vicky’s dream home with no stress - he also negotiated a massive saving in the process.

“He negotiated $30,000 or $40,000 off the price for us,” says Tim.

“To buy a house in a high-demand area, you need to be able to move fast, and Darren's got everything ready to go. 

“The demand here really surprised me. These open homes have at least 20 groups coming through, so you need to have some sort of upper edge to secure the property.

“With Darren, the agent knows we are serious buyers - we’re ready to go. And I think that's really valuable for the seller. 

“Being able to contact Darren, even on his day off, and being able to negotiate and close this deal, that was quite amazing.”

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From dream home to smart investment

Now that they’ve settled in, the Goebels are working with Darren again - this time on their first investment property.

With their trust already earned and their goals understood, Darren is helping them focus on the right metrics: growth, rental yield, and reliability.

“We obviously want to make a good investment choice. So using Darren’s expertise is what we will rely on,” says Tim.

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“He’s part of our extended family” 

What stood out most to Vicky and Tim wasn’t just Darren’s market knowledge or his ability to negotiate. It was his care, consistency, and the way he showed up for their family -  even outside the scope of the job.

When one of their children needed medical attention, Darren was one of the first people they called.

“We had an instance where we had to take our little guy to the hospital, and Darren was actually one of our first points of call, to be like, which hospital is the best one to go to? Where do we go?”

It’s that level of presence - that going-above-and-beyond mindset - that left the deepest impact.

“I think for us, Darren's become more than just a buyer's agent. He's become a little part of our extended family,” says Vicky.

“Without him, we would have been so stretched.”

“Darren just made the whole process really easy,” says Tim.

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The Result?

• A beautiful family home in the right suburb
• $40,000 off the asking price
• Zero overwhelm
• And a buyer’s agent they now trust as family

“The whole process was just really easy,” said Tim.

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Thinking about buying on the Gold Coast from overseas?

You don’t need to guess your way through it.

At Keen on Property, we:

• Guide international buyers step-by-step
  
  
• Filter listings based on your goals
  
  
• Avoid costly mistakes (like termites, overcapitalising, or buying on the wrong street)
  
  
• Negotiate deals that save you $$$
  
  
• And support your whole family through the transition
  
  

No stress. No overwhelm. Just results.

Message Darren today or call 0435 048 988.

Your Gold Coast dream is closer than you think.

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