With the property cycle moving on, many savvy investors are coming back into the property market and some are considering property renovations or redevelopment to boost their profits.

But you can't just buy any property and hope it will make a good investment - not all properties make good investments and even fewer properties make good development sites.

That may be one reason for the increasing trend for buyers to enlist the help of a buyer's agent to represent and advise them with their purchase. For a more detailed explanation of how you can benefit by having an agent on your side please read this article.

So how does using a buyer's agent work in real life?

A great example of this occurred in the week before Christmas when I bought a great property for Henry and Maree, who live in regional Victoria, even before it reached the open market.

Henry and Maree had already used the services of Metropole Buyers Agency to research and acquire two established apartments as investment properties, and now wanted to 'manufacture' some extra capital gain by developing a townhouse project.

They engaged Metropole to find them a site suitable for the development of two townhouses. At our strategy meeting we narrowed our search down to a number of south eastern suburbs that had a history of good long term capital growth and were likely to outperform the market in the short term because they were going through transition.

These are suburbs changing in nature as the old houses are being pulled down and new luxury homes or townhouses are being built in their place.

Over the last few months we had investigated a number of properties. We were looking for old houses on suitable blocks of land with development potential. And despite all the houses on the market, it was difficult to find a suitable property.

Some weren't appropriate for development, others were too expensive and the price didn't make a development feasible. As Christmas approached we became resigned to waiting into the New Year to find them a suitable development.

Then a few days before Christmas I received a phone call from a selling agent I knew well - we have purchased quite a number of properties from him for our clients in the past. He told me of a property he had just listed for sale. It was only five days before Xmas.

Interestingly, I was the first person the agent rang - hence I knew about this property before anyone else.

I made a time with the agent and inspected the property within a couple of hours. I instantly knew it fitted Henry and Maree's investment parameters and I recognised that the property was being offered at below market price.

Knowing the area well, I also knew it would make a great development site. In fact, I have bought many similar properties for clients over the last year or so, and I am currently undertaking a development project for myself in the same suburb.

After running some numbers through our feasibility program and having a round table chat in the office confirming the property's strong development potential, I sent all the details to our clients. We put an offer on the property within a couple of hours of being told about it and snared it at a great price.

Now if this all seems a little odd, let me explain why someone would list a property for sale at such a terrible selling time - just before Christmas - and why the whole deal happened so quickly.

The agent told me that the owners were going through a terrible marital breakup and wanted a quick sale. The owners had approached a couple of local estate agents in the Bentleigh area, which is a suburb where properties are usually put to auction.

This is a great suburb where we have been continually looking for properties for our clients over the last few years. Unfortunately, we have been having considerable difficulty buying suitable properties there because they tend to go to auction. Usually owner occupiers get emotionally involved and keep pushing property prices higher than we would like.

So this was a win-win for everybody.

The vendors didn't want to be fussed with a long, drawn out sale, or to wait until after Christmas for an auction. They wanted a quick, clean sale. The agent got his listing by having a buyer in his pocket, and Henry and Maree, our clients, bought a great property at a very fair price and there was no competition.

You may think this is a once-off occasion.

But I can remember seven properties we bought for clients last year in what I would call silent sales; by being on the A list of selling agents. Being a professional buyer in the market puts us in a great position to help our clients.

And now Henry and Maree are going to become property developers - without even getting their hands dirty. At Metropole we help ordinary people become property developers and organise the whole project from concept to completion.

On completion, they will own two townhouses and save heaps of money. They will save the developer's margin, GST, advertising costs, stamp duty, etc, meaning that each completed townhouse would possibly cost them $75-$80,000 below its market value.

Now that's buying 'wholesale!'

Would you like to buy a property like this?

Would you like to buy a property with development potential? Well, I can't guarantee we can repeat these circumstances, but I can guarantee that you will get a great buy; a property with strong development potential if you have an agent from Metropole working for you.

Or do you own a property on a block of land that has development potential? Would you like to unlock its hidden value and gain development approval for a multi-unit development?

If so, please give me a call on 1300 20 30 30 to discuss your options. Maybe we can assist you....after all, that's what we do all day.

We offer a full range of property development services including:-
* Feasibility studies, using our 30 years of property experience 
* Land acquisition management, including pre-purchase feasibility studies and development analysis to ensure that you enter into any transaction with your eyes wide open.
* Finance procurement - our contacts with a major bank and a number of mortgage brokers will ensure that you obtain competitive finance 
* Design management, using an architectural team that is experienced in designing projects with strong market appeal that can be built economically.
* Town planning approval procurement using the resources of our experienced team including senior town planning consultants. 
* Construction project management and administration to ensure your project runs smoothly, on time and on budget. We can safely say this because of a track record of which we are extremely proud.

Give me a call on 1300 20 30 30 and ask for a free report "How to get Started in Property Development."

------------------------------------------------------------------------