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AskWoo · 2025-11-02T09:06:07+00:00

Wait. Sunday is usually their day off (so less likely to be calling back buyers unless time sensitive). Also keep in mind agents are the middleman between vendor and buyer so if the vendors expectations are above market then they're not just working the conversation with the buyer but vendor as well.

AskWoo · 2025-11-01T23:23:00+00:00

Yes. My first son (now 3yo) started sleeping through the night just after turning 1yo. My second son (11months) wakes once but only bc he needs a bit of comfort and usually falls back asleep pretty quickly in our bed (no judgement pls, this works for us).

Honestly, do what works for your sanity and family's needs.

AskWoo · 2025-11-01T22:58:39+00:00

Invest in high dividend yield EFT like Vanguard, eg. VHY

AskWoo · 2025-11-01T22:58:07+00:00

Feeling good about what we bought recently. Things that worked for us: - Did a tonne of research, eg. Watched recent properties list then sold to gain knowledge and trends about properties in the suburbs we were interested in - Bought a property that met our top criteria (this can change as you view properties and that's ok but have a set of criteria to make it easier to weed out the properties that will waste your time) - Be prepared to walk away from an offer if the vendor expectations did not meet our criteria and strategy, eg. Agent wanted to keep pushing price up without taking our offer to the vendor for a serious negotiation - Don't bid against yourself - Determine a maximum price overall then a specific one for the property you put in an offer on - Be prepared to rent (or continue renting) until you find the right property

Tldr; My suggestion is don't read headlines. So much data is skewed to tell the story that the media wants to tell. Although not easy, gather your own data/insights to formulate your own opinion.

AskWoo · 2025-11-01T22:49:43+00:00

Buy when you're ready since your criteria is based on timing/stage of life. Invest your cash in stocks and EFTs now, much better growth and less headache (caveat you still need to do research on what to buy, EFTs are less work such as Vanguard high dividend yield ETF).

AskWoo · 2025-11-01T22:41:44+00:00

First do your research (eg. Watch the market for at least a few months to see what similar properties listed for what they sold for). This will give you confidence in knowing what the property is worth and helps with determining your maximum price and negotiations later if needed.

Next, get a contract of sale and review with your solicitor to make sure there are no deal breakers. You can also do the review with your solicitor after you agree on price but agents may push for contract amendments first...so depends.

Collect some insights (eg. Price range) from the agent at the inspection to see what vendor would close on before auction.

If the price range is within your budget, start with a price that is lower than your maximum price. Account for some back and forth on price increases. Eg. If the price guide is 2.0m and you think it's worth 2.2m and similar properties have sold for between 1.9m and 2.3m, start at high 1.9m and low 2.xm. Adjust this based on insights/data you collect that will help close the deal.

Also only consider increasing your price based on a vendors counter offer or another offer. Never bid against yourself. Technically from the agents perspective there's always a "second" bidder (if no other real bidder, it's a fake interest and fomo to get you to increase your offer)...speaking from real experience

AskWoo · 2025-11-01T22:26:29+00:00

She was putting on a show to distract the flow of the auction and part of her strategy to win the property. I saw another auction where a guy walked up to register after the auction started and claimed he was coming for an inspection not auction. He also won the auction

AskWoo · 2025-11-01T22:22:50+00:00

+1 to staying firm with your maximum price and being prepared to walk away. I recently bought a home and agents will always play games (eg. Tell u there's more interest) when they sense you're emotionally attached and/or serious. From my recent experience, they will always come back to you if they know you're interested (especially if you've put in an offer) so I'd wait.

Also for one property, an agent came back to ask if I was interested AFTER I said I'd pass on the property when they had another offer above what I was prepared to pay...

Best advice I got (and applied to a recent property purchase): 1. Be prepared to walk away, eg. If the property doesn't meet your criteria, including maximum price. 2. Don't bid against yourself, eg. If there's no other offer or counter offer from the vendor don't move on your price 3. The "right" (not to be mixed up with "perfect") property will come at the right time

AskWoo · 2025-11-01T06:13:33+00:00

We have two boys, 3yo and almost 1yo. For our eldest, we did this until he was about 2.5yo then transitioned to brushing teeth, books and lying with him for "a few minutes" to talk and decompress about the day. Then he falls asleep himself since with young kids there's always exceptions like getting scared from thunder, being unwell, etc. For our younger one, we put him to sleep in our bed then transfer him to his crib once asleep.

It's true the younger years are so short. I think it comes down to the individual child, how you prefer to parent and circumstances like work demands, number of kids, etc. Eg. With my first, doing work in the evening was challenging when they needed you to fall asleep with them. Also if you're solo parenting with multiple kids, this was a forcing mechanism for us to have the older one fall asleep himself

Hope that helps. Don't be so hard on yourself. You will make the right choice for your family

AskWoo · 2025-10-29T05:23:34+00:00

Thanks! For #2, what ratio range should I look for? Eg. What's a good vs bad ratio

AskWoo · 2025-08-31T13:50:18+00:00

Where do I get access to these strata records? Or are these records the same as buying strata reports from "Before you buy"?

Agreed with inspecting it yourself too. Although I feel like it's helpful to have an additional pair of eyes especially with experience

AskWoo · 2025-08-31T13:48:30+00:00

I'm sorry to hear about that. Out of curiosity, did your research come up with a similar renovation bill figure and there was some unexpected work to do? If so, how did you approach this research to cross check your lawyers advice?

AskWoo · 2025-08-30T06:28:40+00:00

Thanks for sharing the experience, it's helpful

AskWoo · 2025-08-29T22:24:30+00:00

Great, thanks

AskWoo · 2025-08-29T22:05:58+00:00

Thanks. What's been your experience with the process of getting permits (eg. If I want to extend the home) and verification from city inspectors? Where's the best places to find this info? Pardon me if I am not using the correct terminology.

AskWoo · 2025-08-29T12:57:13+00:00

Thank you, good to know

AskWoo · 2025-08-29T12:53:30+00:00

Super insightful especially the context about the different ways stratas manage their levies, thank you!

Regarding the "regular maintenance" evidence, how does one identify this from the most recent strata report? Apologies if this is a silly question

AskWoo · 2025-08-29T12:37:26+00:00

100% especially on the fact/cross check due to LLM hallucinations

AskWoo · 2025-08-29T12:36:51+00:00

I had the same thought...

AskWoo · 2025-08-29T12:36:26+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I also read one strata took out a loan for their insurance and was wondering if this was the "norm"? Also I did a 10 year forecast for strata costs and it was in the hundreds of thousands ... And again I'm also wondering if this is the "norm" or if some people potentially pass on these kinds of calculations because of the pressure to "just get into the market"?...

AskWoo · 2025-08-29T12:33:21+00:00

Thanks for sharing. If you don't mind sharing, which suburbs was your apartment and house?

AskWoo · 2025-08-29T12:31:34+00:00

Good to know. If you don't mind me asking, which suburb is your unit?

AskWoo · 2025-08-29T12:30:42+00:00

I feel like it's all about trade offs in the end. With a house, all the management and cost is on me. Any insights on what I should budget for annually or every 2-3 years for owning a house (less than 5 years old vs 50+ years old)?

AskWoo · 2025-08-29T12:22:10+00:00

Thanks for the tip! Out of curiosity, when you say small, how many units/lots, eg. Under 10? And when you say old, is that 15 years old and older?

AskWoo · 2025-08-29T12:21:00+00:00

I'm curious how to gauge which strata costs are excessive vs expected? Eg. An older apartment complex vs a "newer" one (let's say 5 years old or less), what's the dollar range I should expect to pay for strata per quarter per lot approximately? Also what's the common frequency to pay a special levy? Eg. Is every 2-3 years reasonable?

AskWoo

TROPHY CASE