The Property Diaries

For our fifty-fifth episode, one of the most dynamic and fun contributors in the property world joins Cate in the studio.

Belinda Botzolis is an engaging personality and a qualified property valuer from Herron Todd White, based in Sydney. Belinda's passionate personality and upfront valuations approach is a wonderfully refreshing insight for our listeners. She sheds light on many of the challenges she sees purchasers facing, and she generously shares her insights for our listeners in her charismatic way.

We all hope you enjoy this sun ray of Belinda.. and we plan to get her back in the studio for more insights.

For the fifty-fourth episode, Cate is thrilled to interview one of the nicest (and youngest) gentlemen in the industry; Geelong’s very own Michael Marmora.

Michael shares some superb insights on his local market and sheds light on the rapid transformation of the city he’s called home for 22 years. From heightened buyer demand to grappling with the impact of lockdowns and Melbourne based buyers, Michael and Cate discuss Geelong’s growth trajectory in detail.

Michael gives us an exciting insight into the daily life in a busy Geelong real estate agency office, including the demands that local agents currently face as they are coming to terms with the increased popularity of Victoria’s second largest city.

In his charming, understated and respectful manner, Michael also shares with Cate his own career background; specifically how he originally entered the real estate industry and how someone so young got an exciting break into the world of property. Michael’s story is quite inspirational for those who are dreaming of a career in real estate and he is testament to the importance of having passion and determination to make an challenging role a stunning success.

We hope you enjoy!

Stacey is back with Cate in the virtual studio and as part two of this special episode set and she is asking Cate all about Phase two of her unique “Co-involved Service”.

Outlining how it all unfolds once a client has received their tailored Property Purchase Strategy and very own buying guidebook, Cate details what they will need to look for and what their important role is throughout this partnership. Using a traffic light concept, a client will report into Cate with ratings of each short-listed property.

Cate will mentor with feedback along the inspection journey, and will take the reins to proceed through all due diligence on properties of interest. This process educates a client while they are safely in the hands of one of the most experienced Buyer’s Advocates in the industry.

Cate’s watchful eye and guiding hand ensure every client is both instructed and supported on this significant journey.

Are you keen to have a partner in your search for a quality property asset? Is fear or lack of experience holding you back from succeeding? Have you become discouraged in your search continually missing out?

Listen as Cate answers Stacey’s questions all about how Phase 2 rolls out and how a client can play their part to achieve the best results from this unique service.

Stacey is delighted to host this first episode of a double feature set in which she and Cate discuss one of Cate’s favourite types of property buying assignments.

“The Co-involved Service” is a unique, targeted property buying strategy and search that caters to those keen to learn through a truly hands-on approach. The individual strategy for a co-involved client is underpinned by a weekly search itinerary - a quality selection of professionally screened offerings - and it is an education in selection, due-diligence, pre-purchase strategy, auction bidding, negotiation and many other aspects that make up a guided journey through to a client’s successful purchase of a quality property asset. The support a client receives continues all the way to settlement! And the many benefits of this truly mentored style of education last for many years beyond that.

So, have you been missing out? Is your buying strategy not working? Do you have a strategy?
Are you afraid you’ll make a mistake? Those keen to learn and perhaps wondering if a professional can help them, will love hearing Cate’s answers to everything Stacey knows they want to ask.

This week, we're thrilled to welcome Marty Sadlier into the studio to talk with us about a much-overlooked, but really important issue; *under-insurance*.

"In simple terms, Under-insurance is when the policy holder insures for less than the true value."

Marty runs a business that our listeners are already familiar with; MCG Quantity Surveying. Alongside his business partner and co-owner, Mike Mortlock, Marty is also firmly across all things quantity surveying. In this podcast, Marty talks openly about a highly problematic and systemic issue that many Australians won't even realise they are potentially falling prey to.

So what is the history and extent of under-insurance in Australia? It's a sobering conversation.

Marty and Cate discuss building replacement cost estimation for insurance purposes, the common ways that property owners currently come up with their insurance cover sum and the difference between a QS and Valuer, among other elements.

In his wonderfully passionate manner, Marty shares some real life stories and casts a spotlight on something that every investor should be aware of.

"The MCG Quantity Surveyors Rental Loss Index highlights the top 10 suburbs in Australia, ranked by rental losses due to rental vacancies. The index uses total rental listings greater than 21 days for the suburb, multiplied by the suburbs aggregated median rent to provide a total rental lost index per suburb."

In this interview, Cate interviews MIke about the index, how it was initiated, and what he's learnt along the way since it's launch.

The MCG Rental Loss Index promises to be one another valuable piece of every investor's jigsaw puzzle when it comes to accurate due diligence.

We're very proud to be able to call Mike and Marty friends of Cate Bakos Property, and more so, a knowledgable pair who freely give so much gold to our property industry.

Cate caught a glimpse of a fabulous blog of Pete's on his blogspot page... a sensible reminder to investors to consider a "black swan event". It caught her eye because it's a timely reminder that things *can* go wrong; and we all need to make sure we are prepared.
As Investopedia explains: "What Is a Black Swan?..
A black swan is an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences. Black swan events are characterised by their extreme rarity, severe impact, and the widespread insistence they were obvious in hindsight.
A black swan is an extremely rare event with severe consequences. It cannot be predicted beforehand, though after the fact, many falsely claim it should have been predictable.
Black swan events can cause catastrophic damage to an economy by negatively impacting markets and investments, but even the use of robust modelling cannot prevent a black swan event.
Reliance on standard forecasting tools can both fail to predict and potentially increase vulnerability to black swans by propagating risk and offering false security."

Pete and Cate met back in 2017 and they have shared interviews, articles, webinars and budget nights, to name a few economist/geeky moments.
Their love of the Australian property market, combined wth their affinity for investment principles has helped them become firm friends and industry colleagues. Pete runs a fabulous daily blogspot, in addition to a Brisbane-based buyer's agency business. The pair swap insights and opinions on a regular basis.

Returning to record together in their 8th episode of this series, Cate and Stacey delve into this particular human behaviour and explore the potential cost of falling prey to social proof.

What is “social proof” in the world of property buying and why do buyers need to be prepared for this unexpected element?  Stacey and Cate discuss how the wrong response to this phenomenon can lead to real property buying regrets. Understanding social proof and its role in our pre-purchase analysis can protect and position a buyer for success and confidence no matter what the “market” around them is doing.

Returning to record together in their 7th episode of this series, Cate and Stacey shed light on this important question. While our hot property market continues to face complex forces, we are experiencing a noticeable Buyer/Seller imbalance. The resultant stock shortage continues as fearful vendors sit on their hands and properties are held back from the market.

Buyers become increasingly frustrated in this “Chicken and egg” scenario and sometimes exhibit irrational behaviours such as over-spending or even buying the WRONG property in moments of desperation. Sharing concrete tips for what to weigh up Cate is in the hot seat as Stacey asks questions and drills down to all the information that should be considered in these scenarios. Its’ not all serious though… Stacey reminds Cate to share a favourite account of how she helped one family who were juggling settlements that didn’t line up and what they did about it together. Stacey and Cate hope this episode makes for a valuable resource as buyers and sellers unlock this puzzle.

We hope you enjoy!

In their sixth episode returning to the studio, Stacey and Cate decided to tackle some tips for buyers in this heated market.

Buyers are being currently being challenged by high bidder numbers, tough competition and tight campaign timeframes. The cause of this difficult environment is three-fold; a heady trifecta of heightened consumer confidence, record low interest rates and a stock shortage.

Cate and Stacey talk about the risks involved with 'killer bids', from valuation shortfalls to later regret. They share some of their own client experiences and they talk about some of the subtle tactics they employ in a hot seller's market in an effort to have a successful acquisition journey.

Cate unpacks The Magic Quadrant; a tool she's used to help buyers determine a realistic and feasible strategy since 2011. Breaking down the four main segments of the quadrant helps buyers work through their priority levels and shines a light on the piece that they are least reluctant to change.

"It only requires moving one piece of the puzzle to make this work", she often says to her clients.

Stacey and Cate have known each other for over seven years now, and with their shared passion for property and their deep involvement in client-journeys, they thrive on bringing to life some of the more memorable experiences they've shared.

In her warm and effusive way, Stacey probes Cate with some wonderful questions in an effort to give their listeners some exciting insight into the world of property negotiations. Having based her property career in Melbourne for almost twenty years now, Cate's breadth of negotiation and campaign experience is targeted beautifully by her co-host.

Stacey is an energetic interviewer, a dedicated Buyer's Agent and renovator with a great collection of real-life tales to share. The duo try to keep it as authentic as possible, and with a hint of education and loads of fun.

Cate and Stacey are having a lot of fun prepping more episodes for this special series and they look forward to bringing more investor and buyer's agent stories to light in the coming weeks… stay tuned.

We hope you enjoy!