In this blog, Keen on Property client Nicola Kendall shares how Darren enabled her family to buy their dream home under budget in a highly competitive market.
Nicola says without Darren’s help, her family would not only have missed out on buying their dream home, but they would also have been priced out of the area entirely.
H2: “We had no intention of using a buyer's agent.”
“On relocation forums, we'd seen a lot of negative comments about buyers agents. People felt they had been taken advantage of.
“But Darren was recommended. People were really raving about him.
“I sent Darren a message, and he got back to me really quickly.
“He was easy to get along with, not pushy, which I thought he might be because that's his work.
“He scheduled calls that worked for me and my husband, George, on UK time. We both knew as soon as we spoke to Darren that we wanted to work with him.
“He genuinely wants to help. And I think that was the difference.
“When things got stressful with our move, packing stuff up in our container to ship, Darren was really understanding. He just worked with us on our schedule.”
H2: Moving from overseas is incredibly stressful. How did Keen on Property make the transition easier?
“Darren alleviated our stress in many ways.
“Finding an area that suited us as a family, somewhere for our daughter to go to kindy and for us to enjoy day-to-day life, felt like a big pressure.
“Darren had knowledge of different areas, the market, what it's like to move internationally and the emotional impact that comes with that.
“He knew how things work here. And not just in terms of relocating and buying a property but beyond settling in, finding schools, what to look for.
“Darren talked to us about public transport, where the trains and buses go and how regular they are. He talked about the distance you'd want to be away from a station in terms of keeping safe.
“Me and my husband George were on the websites looking at properties, and we were saying, "What about this house, Darren? And would say to us, It's a lovely house. It's within budget, but in terms of location, the traffic will be rough if you're commuting to Brisbane or somewhere else along the Gold Coast for work.
“He recommended that we drive the route at peak times to see the traffic.
“That house cost the same amount of money as the house we're in now, so the fee would have been the same for Darren. But he thought about our day-to-day life, what that's going to be like for us, the stuff that we probably wouldn't have thought of.
“He has that extra knowledge.
“He said Pacific Pines - where we bought - was central and had easy access to the motorway.
“That was important because I'd not started work yet, so finding a central location that opened up employment opportunities was invaluable.”
H2: Tell us about what happened when you arrived in Australia.
“On the first day we met Darren before we'd signed anything, he drove us around the Gold Coast to introduce us to different areas.
“He really gave his time to us. He made an effort with our daughter and tried to keep her happy by playing the Frozen soundtrack in the car.
“She still remembers it. Now she'll point out and say, Look, that looks like Darren's car.
“We had a really nice day with him, and now we call him Uncle Darren.
“He did all the looking for properties. He shortlisted some and asked us to order them in our preferences. Then he looked around them so we could just get on with our life.
“It felt like we were almost on holiday while Darren did all the work for us. It was great!”
H2: “We trusted Darren so much that when he looked at the property at the top of our list, we asked him to put an offer in without us seeing it.
“That’s a little bit wild. But we never looked back. Finding our dream home, with no stress involved, was priceless!”
H2: What are some unexpected ways in which Darren helped you?
“Although he was always really clear that we didn’t have to use them, Darren has relationships with other professionals who we needed to complete the sale.
“He put us in touch with the mortgage broker, Sandra, and we'd probably not have got the mortgage if it wasn’t for her.
“My husband had a job offer but had not started work yet. I had not even looked for work, but she still managed to secure us a mortgage with just his job offer and our deposit.
“It was with quite an obscure lender that I'd never heard of. They were the only lender willing to lend to us.
“And I feel that because Sandra managed to negotiate that deal, she knows how to access a mortgage if you're relocating from somewhere else.
“She worked with us on whether we'd want variable interest, our budget before getting the house, and what our budget would be in terms of changing interest rates, and she broke stuff down for us.
“I just can't see how we would have struck up a relationship with someone like that had we not met Darren.
“Much like Darren, Sandra still contacts us every now and then. She wished me Happy Birthday four weeks ago.
“Having those contacts with other professionals meant things happened really quickly.
“Darren kept us in the loop, but we knew conversations were going on in the background. So he just took away a lot of stress for us.
“Because all the moving parts worked so efficiently, things progressed quickly, and now we’ve got our dream home.
“That quick turnaround saved us money in Airbnbs. But more importantly, it stopped us from being priced out.
“In the time it took us to move into the property, which was only a few weeks from completion to moving in, we would have been priced out.”
H2: Can you tell us about Darren’s negotiation skills?
“When we found this house, it was at the top of our list, and Darren came to view it for us.
“A buyer was already in place, but it wasn't going as smoothly as the vendor liked.
“Darren knew that he could use that as an opportunity for us to buy the property.
“And the thing about Darren is he knows where to strike the balance because he's got that insight into the industry.
“We negotiated with Darren a price that we were happy to pay.
“He would have secured the sale. And because Darren is paid in terms of percentage, it would have meant he'd have got more commission.
“But, he went in lower because he cared about saving us the money and managed to negotiate around $10,000 under what we were willing to pay.
H2: How did Darren use the building and pest report to negotiate a discount?
“Miguel, who did the buildings and pest inspection, found some mould in the utility. Darren suggested we make a small hole to see how bad it was inside the wall.
“The mould had been treated and sealed, and there would be no further damage. Plus, we were planning to renovate the utility.
“But Darren, based on that bit of mould in there, negotiated a $4,000 discount for us.
“He said that if we asked for a little more off, they might withdraw the sale. Because in the time that we'd been planning to buy the property, the value had already increased.
“So from the vendor's perspective, if they'd have withdrawn the sale, they could have sold it for a higher fee.
“Darren knew how to strike that balance, to keep the sale and secure the discount.
“To be honest, we would have never gone for the discount ourselves because we just really wanted the house. But again, Darren saved us that extra bit of money.
H2: “Had we not met Darren, we would probably still be renting. There is no way we would have been able to buy a property in this area now.
“We’d originally planned to rent. We probably would have rented for six months to a year.
“When we look at how the values in this area have risen, we would have been completely priced out if we’d have done that - not just of this property, but priced out of this area.
“We would have had to live in those areas with more traffic, not giving us the lifestyle we wanted moving to Australia.
“That’s why I keep recommending Darren to everyone.”
H2: In what ways did Darren go above and beyond?
“After we'd signed contracts, there was no further work for Darren, but he continued to help us.
“He found us a cheaper Airbnb and negotiated the moving date.
“On another occasion, I managed to lock myself in our new house with the remote for the gate.
“I rang Darren, and he was camping. But he came and helped me even though he was an hour away.
“I felt like I could call him if I were stuck—because we were new here, we didn't have those contacts.
“My husband still makes fun of me; what did you ring Darren for? But I just knew Darren would help.
“Another time, we bought a car, and there were some faults with it. I felt like it wasn't being dealt with appropriately. But I wasn't sure how to have that conversation. Darren, word for word, told me what to say.
“He even said if we couldn’t get a loan car, he had a friend who wasn’t using their car.
“So he's looking for solutions, even when he doesn't need to, and I guess that is the difference.
“He'd remembered that my little girl loves Frozen, and he came around with a little Olaf cushion when we moved in. That lives on her bed now, which is cute.
“She remembers and says, Remember when Darren got me this? Oh, he’s kind Darren, isn't he?
“I genuinely feel like he cared about us, more than just being an agent.”
H2: Wrap up
Moving to the Gold Coast from overseas or interstate can be stressful, frustrating and overwhelming. But as Nicola’s story shows, it doesn't have to be.
Choosing an ethical buyer’s agent is critical.
If you’d like to ask some questions or book an obligation-free call, contact Darren today.
Whether you’re buying, renting, or investing in Queensland, you don’t have to do it alone.
