Buying a home doesn’t always happen the conventional way. If you find your dream property and it’s not for sale, that doesn’t mean that you cannot make it yours.
If you want to buy a house that isn’t for sale, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get in touch and see if the owner is interested in selling.
However, you will need the right strategy and a bit of planning to ensure you go about it the right way. Here’s what you should consider first.
1. Do your research on the property
The first thing to do is find out everything you can about the property and its location. Explore the neighborhood and its demographics. Who lives there? Is it changing?
Check in with the local council, where they can tell you about zoning and if there are applications for developments nearby. Your aim is to ensure there are no surprises.
Found your dream home and it’s not for sale? You should still consider getting in touch with an offer. Picture: Realestate.com.au/buy
2. Find out what the home is worth
Once you’ve done your research to find out as much as you can about the property and the area, now you need to check out the house prices in the area.
Start by checking comparable property sales on realestate.com.au – and ensure the properties you are comparing are as close to possible to the one you want to buy.
You’ll also want to find out the property’s sales history. To do this, type the property’s address into Google which should bring up any online advertisements if the property has sold in the last 10 years.
With a little detective work, you should be able to find the price it was sold for in the past, and by calculating the average appreciation for the area, what it should be worth on the market now.
3. Find out who owns the house?
If you want to get in touch and potentially make an offer, you’ll also want to find out who owns the house.
If your research on the property’s sale history, doesn’t reveal this, other good places to search for the owner include the electoral roll, phone directories or just Googling the address.
If you want to get in touch with a homeowner to find out if they’re interested in selling, make sure you think about your plan before getting in touch. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy
4. Think about what you’re willing to offer
Now comes the tricky part – negotiating to buy a house without paying a ridiculous price.
The reality is, the owners aren’t selling (officially at least), so to motivate them to part with their property, you’ll likely have to pay a little over the market price to get your house. Set a realistic ceiling of what you will offer before you start and budget as you normally would.
If you’re not experienced at negotiating, find someone to act on your behalf such as a buyers advocate, real estate agent or someone who negotiates business deals for a living.
5. Get in touch with the homeowner
A good way to get in touch with the homeowner is by simply posting a note in their letterbox to let them know you’re interested. Include your name and address, which will help build trust, and tell them why you’re interested in their property.
For instance, a note which says: ‘We love the area and your house – it would be the perfect place to start our family’; will get you further than ‘We want to buy your house if the price is right’, which can sound a little cold and invasive.
Your goal is to get the owners as interested in you as they are in the transaction – and inspire them to think about possibilities they might not have thought of.
If you’re negotiating yourself, it is best to assume one of their first questions will be, ‘What are you prepared to pay?’
In the subtlest way, try to defer this question while you find out a little more about the owners themselves.
Have their children moved out of home? Are they are looking to upgrade or retire to the Gold Coast? The more you understand about their motivations, the more you will know what factors may help you strike a deal.
And when it comes time to talk money, try and get them to tell you what price they would be prepared to take first.
6. Find out what they are motivated by (hint: it’s not always just money)
One of the most surprising things you will find trying to close a real estate deal is price may not be the sticking point – often it’s the timing or conditions for the people involved. While price matters, at heart we just want the best for ourselves and our families at any given moment. See if you can get the stars to align.
Ask for a building inspection but other conditions will not do you any favours – make the deal work for the owners. You need a six month settlement – no problem!
And be as nice and personable as you can and with a little luck, you may just buy a house which isn’t for sale.
This article was originally published on
13 Oct 2020 at 9:00am
but has been regularly updated to keep the information current.