Ripehouse advisory

Hi All,

I am looking for a buyers agent for my next purchase and came across Ripehouse advisory a couple of days back. Wanted to check here if someone has used their services to buy an IP.

Ripehouse advisory is an advisory service by Ripehouse which used to be a property research tool earlier. I had heard good things about it in the past but seems they have closed down the tool for normal public and started these advisory services.

I had a call with the team but I am really not clear on how they are different than a Buyer's Agent. I have also some apprehensions as they were not able to clarify my doubts on the initial plan they created. But they claim that they buy undervalued properties and create value by renovation for their clients. This is something I am looking to do which normal Buyers Agent dont help with. Hence I am inclined towards using them.

But then, dont want to get scammed into a spruiker service. I also saw some threads on some payment issues users have faced with them. Hence trying to check if someone has used their services and provide their feedback. Thanks!

 

Start with this site Best Investment Property Buyer's Agents & Advocates Aus | Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Australia (REBAA) Inc. Australia's industry body for exclusive buyers agencies.
Best of luck with your research

 

I have no idea, but I would imagine it's just an outsourced service, so you'd be better off just going direct. I doubt they would have an in-house advisory team.

 

Hi @Jacque , appreciate for sharing the pointers here. I will check that out.

Also wanted to share that I have used Buyer's agents in past, one was with very high reviews in Brisbane and other a large "BRAND" institution with nationwide presence. But both the times, I didnt get great value in terms of buying any off the market opportunity, buying below the market value or buying something which can be renovated to improve and create more equity.
They were simple buys from Realestate.
Being a Buyers Agent, can you please suggest if you are able to find good deals in current market for your clients with above value adds. Thanks for taking time to respond.

 

Thanks @jaybean , main advantage would be there research team which finds the good locations to invest. May be they have outsourced Project Management work for renovation of the property. But then havent seen many Buyers Agent currently finding such deals to develop equity by renovating.

 

I am sure there is a never ending supply of undervalued properties out there but I rarely find them

Renovation is usually a fairly price sensitive operation if you want to achieve a meaning increase in equity through the process and adding in the cost of a project manager is not going to help.

 

Licensed buyers agents or not ? If not, why not ? They cant "refer" you toa licensed REA and disguise as not being a BA.
NSW : Using an agent to buy property is consistent with other states. eg A BA must possess a REA license. A buyer's agent is required to hold a licence or have a Certificate of Registration and work under the direction of a licensed agent. You can do a licence check online or call 13 32 20.

Licensed BA's and members of BA professional bodies will have professional and ethical standards and be licensed according to state law. Others may be cowboy bandits.

 

Really? I've done this with well over 50% of my clients and I'm based in the city I buy in, I don't operate from another city and do remote purchases/renovations.

 

That was my impression when I discussed with them recently.

Cant afford to go wrong in picking the right BA as we buy IPs a few times in life time and if it goes wrong, we go nowhere or go backwards in wealth creation.

I am leaning towards going with Right Property Group to buy IP in Melbourne at the moment.

 

Hi all,
Not wanting to start another thread, I'm wondering if there are more investors who have purchased through Ripehouse and whether you would recommend them?

 

Out of curiosity how much are they charging? Are they recommending new or existing stock?

 

The current fee is $13,200 incl GST which I understand is up from $8800 last year. They recommend existing stock.

 

Existing stock that is not near new (unsold?) units or townhouses?

 

not units I think. townhouses can be considered. @Paul@PAS they are to assign you a local licensed BA. They are not a BA as such. I am choosing between ripehouse and propertyology now.

 

So I'm just curious- why wouldn't you go direct to a BA of your choice rather than have them "select" one for you? What do you see as the advantages here?

 

most BA operate in a particular area even within one state. The greater area you consider the better potential returns can be, Mathematically maximum on a set is no less than a maximum on any of its subsets. So the preference is for those who do their research and statistics/modelling nationwide. Simple as that. If you know the area where you want to buy for any reasons, for example if you want to diversify, then I would agree it makes sense to use a local BA. But as far as I am concerned this is the main question in property investment: where to buy.

 

If I search for WA, there aren't many however in other sites plenty options. Is it something to do with different rules for East Coast vs West Coast?

 

You're talking about where to buy on a macro level, which isn't the main question - it's only a part of the question as even if you get that right, you can get the rest very wrong by buying the wrong property. Where to buy on a smaller scale, once you've decided on a town/city, or even a set of suburbs, is a totally different scenario and not one a BA who operates from a base interstate can do to the same level that a BA who operates in the target areas and knows them intimately.

I've used BAs for all my interstate purchases after making the decision where I wanted to buy myself (based on research) as it's the boots on the ground that makes the difference - there can be huge differences between streets, properties, school zones, "parts" of suburbs (all perceived or otherwise) and that's all before actually inspecting the property and having the BA's local agent relationships. Property acquisition is a funnel-down approach that starts at the top deciding where to buy on a larger scale. Once you get down to the nitty gritty it changes.

Whilst anyone can buy property interstate from afar after the main area/town/city is decided under the 'rising tide lifts all boats' theory, I can tell you as someone who does this every day that the actual property itself makes a huge difference and is not something you want to get wrong either.

- Andrew

 

I used Matt Hughes from Capital Property Advisory for Perth after a lot of research. Got a fantastic result and was very happy. He's a great guy too and very client oriented.

- Andrew

 

1st meting is set for Tuesday!