In a hot market where many investors “settle” for what they can get and make compromises on their buying criteria that they will regret later, many investors are turning to property finders (AKA buyer’s agents) to help them continue to buy well.

It is easy to see why. Agents stop returning calls, properties quickly go to multi-offer and vendors stop supplying reports and other information. You have to move and move fast and fear of missing out takes over.

Jareth bought a property in Hamilton. Purchase price was in the mid $500’s and Kathryn Hugill saw potential to remodel upstairs to add a bedroom, downstairs to improve the layout and appeal and long term add a second dwelling to the back of the property. The interior modifications would increase the yield to the mid-7% range and after adding a second dwelling it would be over 9%. Outstanding for Hamilton. Interestingly the purchase did go to multi-offer, however on Kathryn’s team is a very available building inspector and we were able to quickly remove conditions and secure the deal. Jareth lives at the other end of the North Island and having this deal put together for him, including arranging all building work, made the difference between securing a good investment and standing still.

Remember when you could buy a property with an 8%+ yield “off the shelf”? Brenda in Hawke’s Bay certainly does, she bought one in March this year through iFindProperty Buyers Agent Lauren Worsely. Purchase price including agency fee of $225,000, a small tidyup and the end result is the client has a property that will sit there and pay for itself and the owner too. Brenda was stoked with her purchase after thinking she had missed the market and is getting ready to buy again soon.

John (not real name) – engaged Kelly Lowe from iFindProperty to help him search in the Hutt Valley. Kelly was able to secure for John an off-market (not listed publicly) property that was in a real state of cosmetic disrepair. The purchase price including agency fee was $321,200 and John spent $35,000 on a cosmetic renovation, including partial new roof. Post renovation the property was rented for a gross yield of 8.1% and the client pocketed an equity gain of $100,000. John had had a bad investing experience in the past and was quite cautious in his approach, so we’re excited that he is now in a position where he can buy again immediately.

Twenty years ago it was hard to invest in New Zealand unless you lived near the property, spent your days trawling newspaper pages and your weekends visiting open homes. Today it is easier to share information than ever and New Zealand investors from all over the country and indeed the world are able to leverage the expertise of local buyers agents to find, analyse and secure great deals that consistently beat the market. There is no longer any need, or reason, to compromise on your property goals.