For many years we have been entrusted by foreign investors to purchase houses and land in Australia on their behalf.
As a seasoned buyers advocate in Geelong and Melbourne, we clearly understand the Australian Government’s guidelines and limitations. Any property purchase must first be approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and approval is subject to various strict conditions:
If you purchase a vacant block of land you must start building within 12 months of receiving foreign investment approval.
When we finally found the property we wanted, and became quite emotional, Michael became the voice of reason, and successfully negotiated a sale on our behalf without spending a significant amount of money that we had allowed him.
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This was quite possibly the best financial decision we ever made! When we first began our search as first home buyers, we thought we knew it all. It was a long 8 months of searching, attending the wrong auctions, speaking to numerous Real Estate Agents that provided no assistance at all to us. To be perfectly honest we were naïve and needed help with this massive milestone we were wanting to achieve.
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My experience with you has been one to remember, being a first home buyer not really knowing what to look for, how to do research, learning things such as flood zones and all the warning signs that come with buying a house has been fabulous. This experience has taught me a lot and given me great confidence in my now home.
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I would like to thank you enormously for your huge efforts and assistance in making this happen for me. This has been quite an experience for me (and probably for you too) and I am well aware that I would never have succeeded in this if I had not had you in my corner.
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This is the second property that I have successfully purchased with the assistance of The Advocates. Tony, Michael and the team know the market well and are well equipped (and connected) to match properties to buyer requirements. They are prompt and honest in their communications and did not waste my time with properties that did not meet my criteria.
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Your service was very professional and well presented on the day of the auction. The main reason we went down this path was that we had been looking for houses for over six months, auction after auction. After looking at 10 properties and deciding on two we thought why not give ourselves the best chance possible, thus why we contacted you, the professional. We were new to the auction game so figured you would have all the tricks to secure the property for us.
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You predicted what the reserve price would be – and you were right – even though it was more than the advertised price. We were concerned about how the auction would work out. Being such a large investment we wanted to have an expert who had done it before and knew the tricks that could happen and the psychology behind it.
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We are busy running a small business and we had a challenge of being able to focus on property. It was hard in a volatile market to understand values and prices in various suburbs. All the advice we received was concise and accurate about what properties were and were not in our brief. We are thrilled with the outcome and enjoyed working with you guys.
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My wife and I recently purchased our first investment property using the services of The Advocates. Our experience was a completely positive one and I would recommend them to anyone of any age or any budget without reservation.
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I recently purchased a very nice property, found for me by The Advocates. I was extremely impressed by their professional approach and with the service I received. Their knowledge of the property market and their understanding of my exact requirements meant that I never visited a house I didn’t like. The fact that they are such nice guys was great, but their skills meant I saved $88,000 on what I was prepared to spend.
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Further, he kept us fully informed at each step along the way whilst we remained in Queensland, making the whole exercise stress-free; and we got near enough to our asking price in a falling and somewhat uncertain market, an excellent outcome. We have now had Michael work for us as both a buyer’s and seller’s agent, and have no hesitation in recommending him in either capacity. We will certainly use him again should we ever decide to purchase in Melbourne or nearby.
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We would say that in our circumstance, a buyer’s agent was essential. Michael was patient, good-humoured, understanding and knowledgeable. We are greatly indebted to him and his company.
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We are certain that is was your knowledge and industry contacts that enabled us to buy the property before it came on the market – one of the many advantages of using a buyer’s advocate. We would highly recommend your services to any prospective buyer.
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By the time we contacted Michael we had very limited time to find a house and we were starting to become desperate to buy and therefore had began to lower our expectations. It was Michael who reminded us of our criteria and persauded us not to compromise our standards. He talked us out of purchasing an inappropriate house and encouraged us to continue with the search and restored our belief that the type of house we were looking for did exist.
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I have found him to be always diligent, careful, thorough and a shrewd assessor of the property market. His service is reliable, on time and reasonably priced. I have referred him to friends and family members who have also fully appreciated his service and advice.
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The upshot was that Michael engaged an auctioneer / sales company with intimate knowledge of the area, vetted the proposal the agent made re advertising, sales process and all the other things we are not good at, attended the auction for us, negotiated a final price post-auction, recommended a conveyancer as well as someone to sell unwanted furniture and chattels, advised us on presentation, and did it all without costing us any more commission than if we had appointed a sales agent ourselves.
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I could not be happier with the service and advice I received from The Advocates over the last 7 years or so. The whole process really nailed home the worth of using an advocate in the process.
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“Michael Ramsay from The Advocates was brought to my attention from a neighbour in Barwon Heads. She mentioned that Michael was the principal and if I needed any help with searching and or securing a house in Barwon Heads I should make contact with him. Following an initial obligation and fee free meeting we decided…
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After an extended property search, my partner and I found a lovely house in Flemington that ticked all of the boxes. The quoted range was within our budget, but we felt strongly that if it went to auction there was a high chance we would be outbid. Our best chance was to convince the vendor…
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Hi Michael and Lisa…Over the years we’ve bought and sold 4 houses with the help of The Advocates. Michael’s expertise in gauging the property market has been invaluable, giving us confidence that we were neither overpaying nor underquoting on all our properties. He’s negotiated on our behalf in auctions and private sales with positive results. His…
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The Ryan clan are thrilled with the service you have provided to us. It is the bottom line that counts. By that very benchmark, our children are delighted with their townhouse while we are positively beaming over the acquisition of their duplex. The outcomes did not happen accidentally. We are mindful of the great effort…
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It was late in November 2018 and we had decided to relocate to Sale. We place a deposit on the Sale house with the transaction subject to the sale of our Eltham home. The seller also had a condition that we sell our Eltham house by the end of December 2018. Never having been involved…
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Incredibly happy with our experience with The Advocates! We engaged Michael to assist us with buying a property on the Bellarine Peninsula during the Melbourne lockdown so we had the added challenge of being unable to view the property ourselves in person. Michael went above and beyond in giving us full confidence in our purchase; answering all…
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We are two busy young professionals who attempted to buy our first home during a pandemic and the subsequent property boom. We are so glad we had Michael and Tony to help us. They took the time to truly understand our needs and give us clarity around what to look for. Throughout the search, they…
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Being Sydney based and looking to buy a house in Melbourne was never going to be easy at the best of times. In the middle of the Covid restrictions it would have been impossible without the help of Michael. Throughout the process, during a very heated market, Michael’s advice and counsel was thoughtful and balanced.…
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I can highly recommend engaging The Advocates to help purchase your property. I always felt very safe in Michael’s hands, as he communicated so well and provided thorough detail on the houses I was interested in. He really understood what was important for our family and he cared about securing us the right home to…
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Michael had a way to access properties for sale which were not open for inspection or were about to be put on the market. This meant we could see the properties without other buyers around. As I had to travel from the country, he arranged for us to see 4-5 with in a short time, and…
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We have two young children and we are moving down from Melbourne to Geelong for lifestyle reasons. Michael was great – easy to work with and got us what we wanted. Worth his weight in gold when bidding at auction and getting an idea for property value. Would highly recommend him as a buyers agent…
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Michael Ramsay helped me last year to find and buy a holiday house on the Bellarine peninsula. I did not know the local market at all. Michael at all times was courteous and helpful. He listened to what I wanted and located suitable properties, which saved me a good deal of time and work. He…
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