Your local Property Managers in Canberra
At Red Brick Properties, we offer a broad range of real estate services. These including residential property management, sales, leasing, and auctions. We also specialize in commercial property sales, management, leasing, and appraisals. We would love to help you in your search for the ideal home and the best place to get started is with our property buying tips.
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By the numbers
At Red Brick Properties, the numbers speak for themselves. We pride ourselves on being knowledgeable, Canberra-focused and highly-regarded within the industry.
25 +
years experience
For over 25 years our team has helped people buy, sell and manage property in Canberra.
133
suburbs serviced
We service all suburbs in Canberra and our business offering is entirely ACT-focused. We do not operate in NSW.
285
5 star reviews
We love customer feedback and strive to exceed the expectations of everyone who engages our services.
Meet the team
At Red Brick Properties, our results-driven team of real estate experts are dedicated to delivering unparalleled levels of customer service for every client. Speak with one of our friendly, Canberra-based real estate professionals today to discover how Red Brick Properties can help you achieve your real estate goals.
Principal
Nalin Ratnaike
Leasing Consultant
Bishnu Sedai
Business Development Manager
Jayden Nguyen
Sales Manager
Brian McPherson
Testimonials
Get in touch
Our team are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Best of all, when you contact us, you’ll be put directly in touch with a real estate professional, not a Secretary. Contact us today to experience the RBP difference for yourself.
Property buying tips
1. Decide to buy
Engaging in hard selling is never a priority for us at Red Brick. On the contrary, it is our commitment to educating our clients of a wide range of available options to help them reach a well-informed decision on whether to sell, rent or hold on to their most valuable asset. Even more so, we pride ourselves in recognising current client needs and maintaining relationships with former ones as we aim to increase our client base through high-quality referrals built on trust and honesty.
2. Hire your real estate agent
The typical real estate transaction involves at least one dozen separate individuals – mortgage brokers and underwriters, inspectors, appraisers, loan officers, real estate agent, bankers, land title researchers, and a number of other individuals whose actions and decisions have to be orchestrated in order to perform in harmony and get a home sale closed. It is the responsibility of your Canberra real estate agent to expertly coordinate all the professionals involved in your home purchase and to act as the advocate for you and your interests throughout.
Main roles of your Canberra real estate agent:
- Educates you about your market.
- Analyses your wants and needs.
- Coordinates the work of other needed professionals.
- Negotiates on your behalf.
- Checks and double-checks paperwork and deadlines.
- Solves any problems that may arise.
Eight important questions to ask your Canberra real estate agent. Qualifications are important. However, finding a solid, professional agent means getting beyond the resume, and into what makes an agent effective. Use the following questions as your starting point in hiring a licensed, professional real estate agent:
- Why did you become a real estate agent in Canberra?
- Why should I work with you?
- What do you do better than other Canberra real estate agents?
- What process will you use to help me find the right home for my particular wants and needs?
- What are the most common things that go wrong in a transaction and how would you handle them?
- What are some mistakes that you think people make when buying their first home?
- What other professionals do you suggest we work with and what are their credentials?
- Can you provide me with references or testimonials from past clients?
3. Secure financing
While you may find the thought of home ownership thrilling, the thought of taking on a mortgage may be downright chilling. Many first-time buyers start out confused about the process or nervous about making such a large financial commitment.
Six steps to Financing a Home. From start to finish, you will follow a six-step, easy-to-understand process to securing the financing for your first home.
- Choose a lending institution (or mortgage specialist).
- Make a loan application and get preapproved.
- Determine what you want to pay and select a loan option.
- Submit to the lender an accepted purchase offer contract.
- Get an appraisal.
- Obtain funding at closing.
4. Find your home
You may think that shopping for homes starts with jumping in the car and driving all over town. And it’s true that hopping in the car to go look is probably the most exciting part of the home-buying process. However, driving around is fun for only so long – if weeks go by without finding what you’re looking for, the fun can fade pretty fast.
That’s why we say that looking for your home begins with carefully assessing your values, wants, and needs, both for the short and long terms. Questions to ask yourself:
What do I want my home to be close to?
How much space do I need and why?
Which is more critical: location or size?
Would I be interested in a fixer-upper?
How important is home value appreciation?
Is neighborhood stability and priority?
Would I be interested in a unit?
Would I be interested in new home construction?
What features and amenities do I want? Which do I really need?
5. Make an offer
When searching for your dream home, you were just that – a dreamer. Now that you’re writing an offer, you need to be a businessperson. You need to approach this process with a cool head and a realistic perspective of your market. The three basic components of an offer are price, terms, and conditions.
6. Perform Due Diligence
Unlike most major purchases, once you buy a home, you can’t return it if something breaks or doesn’t quite work like it’s supposed to. That’s why property inspections are so important.
The property inspection exposes the secret issues a home might hide so you know exactly what you’re getting into before you sign your closing papers. Some things to keep in mind:
Your major concern is structural damage.
Don’t sweat the small stuff. Things that are easily fixed can be overlooked.
If you have a big problem show up in your inspection report, you should bring in a specialist. If the worst-case scenario turns out to be true, you might want to walk away from the purchase.
7. Settlement
The final stage of the home buying process is the lender’s confirmation of the home’s value and legal statue, and your continued credit-worthiness. This entails a survey, appraisal, title search, and a final check of your credit and finance. Your Red Brick agent will keep you posted on how each if progressing, but your work is pretty much done. You just have a few pre-closing responsibilities:
Stay in control of your finances.
Return all phone calls and paperwork promptly.
Communicate with your Red Brick real estate agent at least once a week.
Several days before closing, confirm with your agent that all your documentation is in place and in order.
Obtain certified funds for closing.
Conduct a final walk-through.
As long as you have clear expectations and follow directions, closing should be a momentous conclusion to your home-searching process and commencement of your home-owning experience.
8. Protect your Investment
Throughout the course of your home-buying experience, you’ve probably spent a lot of time with your Red Brick agent and you’ve gotten to know each other fairly well. There’s no reason to throw all that trust and rapport out the window just because the deal has closed. In fact, your Red Brick agent wants you to keep in touch. Even after you close on your house, you agent can still help you:
Find contractors to help with home maintenance or remodeling.
Help your friends find homes.
Keep track of your home’s current market value.
Attention to your home’s maintenance needs is essential to protecting the long-term value of your investment. Home maintenance falls into two categories:
Keeping it clean: Perform routine maintenance on your home’s systems, depending on their age and style.
Keeping an eye on it: Watch for signs of leaks, damage, and wear. Fixing small problems early can save you big money later.