Achieving the great Australian dream of property ownership for a number of prospective home buyers is not without challenges. From saving for the best part of a decade to afford enough for a deposit to finding an affordable home - purchasing a property is not as simple as picking an item off a supermarket shelf.
Online buying platform Abodable aims to help both first home buyers and investors break through the barriers of home ownership, giving back to buyers by refunding property sale commission.
How does Abodable work?
With real estate agents traditionally taking a cut of a property sale through commission, Abodable seeks to return that commission amount from the property sale back to the pockets of the new property owner.
Founder of Abodable Jake Baird said the overarching goal of the online buying platform is to make buying homes simple and more affordable.
“In every single property transaction, there’s always that massive clip of commission going back to the real estate agents,” Mr Baird told Savings.com.au.
“So we thought we would flip the script, offering buyers who use Abodable a commission rebate and utilising technology to make the process seamless.”
To receive a commission refund with Abodable, the journey begins by using Abodable’s search engine to find a property that may appeal to your needs.
“Buyers can search for a property, in similar fashion to how a buyer may use platforms such as Domain, and with their search they’ll be able to see how much commission they could potentially be able to keep,” he said.
Once a property catches your eye, Abodable will schedule a property tour alongside connecting you with a local real estate agent.
“Buyers are connected with local real estate agents and then Abodable pays these agents a small fee, while giving them a hot lead with something to sell and close the deal,” he said.
Once the buyer is ready to proceed, the sale moves back to the Abodable support team to finalise terms and conditions. Here the commission refund can be optionally used as part of the deposit for the new home.
Upon reaching settlement, if the commission refund is not elected to be used as part of the property deposit, Abodable will rebate the commission refund amount back to the new property owner.
To date, Abodable has paid out more than $500,000 in commission refunds to aspiring home owners in their journey to achieve the 'Great Australian Dream'.
Abodable Founder Jake Baird and team. Image provided by Abodable.
Who can benefit from Abodable?
Mr Baird notes Abodable is tailored to two prospective buyer markets, first home buyers and investors.
“Abodable’s target market sits in between first home buyers and investors - someone looking to upgrade is not suited to our model,” he said.
“For first home buyers, one of the reasons they are so inclined is because if they choose to use the commission refund as part of their deposit, as well as the First Home Owner Grant, that provides a fair chunk of cash to reduce the amount needed upfront.
“Investors choose to work with Abodable as a means of having cash in their pocket from day one with the commission refund.
Mr Baird said investors can utilise Abodable’s commission refund to purchase a second investment property or offset interest rate rises, rather than dipping into their own pockets.
What types of properties can be purchased with Abodable?
Abodable offers buyers the opportunity to purchase properties solely from new developments including duplexes, apartments, townhouses and house and land packages.
At current, Abodable does not offer the purchase of pre-existing homes.
How much commission can property buyers receive back?
On average, Abodable notes it will return $20,000 in commission to prospective buyers, however this amount varies based on house price movement in the market.
Mr Baird said when times in the property market are tough, the amount of commission available will increase as developers look to offload stock rather than discounting.
“Say you’ve got a block of apartments, with 50% sold at $700,000. Now the second 50% are going to be sold for $600,000, which is a valuation less than initially thought. Therefore when it comes to completion and valuation, all those that purchased at $700,000 will have to cough up an extra $100,000 or risk losing their deposit.
“As a result instead of discounting, developers will tend to just increase the commission, which means more people can receive a greater amount of commission back.”
Mr Baird notes at its lowest, Abodable has returned $10,000 in commission, with the highest amount returned to a buyer being $65,000.
On average, property buyers can expect to receive 65% worth of the commission amount returned, with 35% going to Abodable.
Qualifying for Abodable
Mr Baird notes there are no eligibility requirements for using Abodable, property buyers are instead required to meet lender or bank criteria to obtain financing.
As an example, typical home loan requirements from banks and lenders will include:
- A house deposit (at least 5%).
- A credit history (a good score will improve your chances).
- A stable income (the higher the better).
- A lack of debts.
- Photo ID (driver’s license, passport).
- Bank statements and payslips.
- Council rates for any other properties you own.
- Other documents such as those needed for First Home Owner Grants - check your state’s eligibility details for more information.
For more on Abodable and to see what properties may be available, head to abodable.com.
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Image by Luke Van Zyl via Unsplash
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