Moving house is never an easy feat. On top of the hassle of decluttering comes multiple situations, which adds anxiety to the process. Thought processes will include common questions such as:
- When should I start searching for my next home?
- How do I ensure that my next home is ready for me to move in once my current property has been handed over?
- How do I time my sale & purchase to ensure a seamless transition without as much as possible having to rent or shift more than once?
- When will I get my sales proceeds from the sale of my current home to ensure that the funds are ready to complete the purchase transactions?
This brings us back to a recent family where we were able to help them plan out a comfortable timeline for their sale & purchase transaction. Like many families, they had similar concerns and questions. This article will spell out the nitty-gritty details of how we helped them to plan out their timeline to secure both their sale & purchase within the same week and at the same time also achieve their targeted price to cater funds for their new purchase.
Referencing back to an article that we wrote previously on key concerns regarding ABSD and also trapped funds, we were able to plan out a proper timeline for the sellers as we were able to help manage and represent them in both transactions.
The Sale
The seller’s unit was a 3-bedroom 1,001 sqft unit at The Terrace, one of the project’s more common unit types. The project was just hitting its MOP stage when we took on the project and some units were already being marketed before the MOP date.
As with all MOP-ed projects, once the project officially MOP, it is as though the flood-gates were opened at one shot and there was a massive influx of newly-MOPed units being put on the market with the most being the 3-bedroom types.
Challenges
Other than the fact that we will be marketing one of the more common unit types in the project, another key potential obstacle that we foresaw was that our unit was actually on the 2nd floor and that the balcony area overlooks the drop-off point location of the project directly. Buyers might be concerned about the noise coming from the vehicles and also privacy as our unit was at the lowest level for residential dwelling.
On top of that, we also had to deal with the extremely competitive space on the major property portals as this is one of the most basic marketing avenues to gain exposure for the listing.
As the sellers will require the sales proceeds to be used in the purchase of their next home, we also had to juggle between achieving their target price and at the same time still positioning our unit to stand out from the competition despite the inherent obstacles.
Solutions
One of the key considerations for this project was fine-tuning the marketing strategy so that we were able to market the unit to its fullest potential.
In order to fully overcome and address the key obstacles upfront, we made use of our Signature Home Tour video to showcase the main objection up front which was the unit being located on the 2nd floor and right above the drop-off point of the development.
From the video, potential buyers would already get a first viewing experience of the balcony area and what the views would be like, which helped to maximise the viewing quality of buyers that eventually came for the physical viewing.
This contributed to how we were able to secure a suitable buyer within one viewing session. The eventual buyer was one who did not see this as a hard obstacle and rather turned their attention to the other benefits that the unit could offer.
The video format allowed us to showcase the unit’s full potential during the interior tour where we were able to point out how the owners have effectively maximised almost every inch of space feasible to put up storage spaces as they had converted the household shelter area into a study/resting room with a customised murphy bed system.
An interesting fact was that they had also catered for an air-conditioning unit to be placed right outside the household shelter, making it fully functional and feasible to convert into a bedroom if required, which was something that the eventual buyer was able to see and appreciate.
There were also many creative renovation aspects that the owners did up such as an expandable dining table set which was able to be demonstrated on video effectively and also storage spaces built into the steps of the loft bed in the common bedroom and platform bed in the master bedroom.
Without the use of our signature home tour video, all these aspects would not have been able to be fully showcased and the listing photos would probably spin off the unit as ‘just another 3-bedroom unit’ that was listed for sale.
The buyer was already fully aware of the potential that the current renovations could offer and it matched their requirements as they were looking for more of a move-in condition unit and the storage spaces were also sufficient to serve their household size.
The eventual buyer was able to confidently offer up a very strong offer right after the first viewing which was very close to our asking price and we were able to work out an amicable offer to seal the deal within 1 week of launching this unit on the market.
The Purchase
As mentioned earlier that the sellers were looking at a back to back transaction, our unique buddy system model also allowed for the team to work efficiently, providing the utmost attention to the clients.
Working in teams allowed for us to have the manpower to conduct viewings of their unit for sale and at the same time accompany the sellers to view prospective projects that they have shortlisted as their next home.
Our detailed consultation session also allowed us to fully understand their requirements right from the get-go and we were able to start bringing the sellers out for viewing during the marketing preparation phase.
This was a key contributing factor to how we were able to secure their purchase shortly after their unit had been optioned. They definitely require to view a variety of projects to have a physical feel of both the development itself and also its surroundings considering that this would be their next home for at least the next 3-5 years.
Understanding their needs and preference of being relocated towards the eastern regions, we ran potential projects through our proprietary MOAT analysis toot to get an initial sensing of the overall scoring of shortlisted developments and did an elimination method from there to narrow down the choices.
The Deal
We eventually narrowed down the purchase to a tenanted unit at The Palette. The sellers really liked the development and also because there was a shuttle-bus service that could ferry their kids to Pasir Ris MRT for them to commute to school. The unit also matched their lifestyle requirements in terms of the number of bedrooms as well as having a yard area in the kitchen.
Before kicking off the negotiations on their purchase, we had to go through a thorough planning process as the offer terms for the sale of their current unit at The Terrace came with a longer option period as the buyer had to wait for their funds to be released from their HDB sale.
From there, we also explored different options with the sellers on whether they were open to renting for a short-term period or had alternative accommodation options to stay if we were going to go ahead and put in an offer for this unit at The Palette.
With their confirmation that they would be able to stay at a temporary accommodation, we managed to negotiate the offer with an extended option period to time their flow of funds correctly. This then ensured that all their proceeds were received in time for the completion of their purchase.
We were able to put in an offer confidently, even though our buyer had not exercised the option, as we were able to plan ahead and had already foreseen such a situation. We were able to negotiate our sale to request for a higher option fee as a contingency in the event that the buyer does not proceed to exercise the OTP, there will still be sufficient funds to cover the option fee that we were going to put up for the purchase side.
Eventually, we were able to conclude their purchase with preferred terms of an extended option period along with the option fee placed which was able to be covered by the option fee we received from our sale which was the best safety net. This was to ensure that the sellers would not sustain any net loss in the event that the sale did not go through. In the worst case scenario, we were prepared to remarket their unit at The Terrace for sale again without monetary loss to the sellers.
Meet the Agents
This Sale & Purchase was conducted by Patricia Kong & Melvin Chan from our PropertyLimBrothers Inside Sales Team.
Patricia is a veteran in the commercial space and is now looking to expand and further grow herself in the residential space. She was able to provide an excellent viewing experience during the viewing session which led to 2 offers being received right after 1 day of viewing.
Melvin Chan comes from a background of sales experience where handling negotiations and multiple stakeholders were no new field to him. With an analytical mindset and marketing background, he was able to provide constructive advice to the sellers on their purchase journey and eventually negotiated a preferred deal on their purchase.
If you are searching for your perfect home, feel free to contact us!
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