Footy star agents reveal key to scoring your dream home
They were Grand Final champions on the field and are now winners off it, these footy stars turned real estate success stories know exactly what it takes to get into your dream home.
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When you’re putting together a game plan, plotting to win your own home Grand Final and get yourself and your family into a new home, you need the best of preparation and the best of advice.
These NRL stars have been there and done that on and off the field when it comes to footy and real estate. This is their advice on how to come out with a big win – and your new home.
DENIS PAGAN
Former VFL player at North Melbourne and South Melbourne (now Sydney Swans) and two time AFL Premiership coach at North Melbourne Denis Pagan is the founder of Pagan Real Estate
These are his top tips.
Do your homework: Do everything you possibly can in terms of checks. Get a termite check and get the plumbing and electricals checked. It’ll help you be more confident when bidding, and avoid any buyer’s remorse after you do. You’d be amazed by how many people don’t.
Stick to your game plan: Winning a Grand Final is about doing the basics over and over again, that’s the most important thing you can do in footy. And it’s the same for buying a home. Every time you inspect a home ask the same questions, get the same details.
Be on the mark: I reckon I have seen a lot of auctions, and the people who are the most confident always seem to do better. If it’s down to two people with the same budget, being quick to respond can sometimes intimidate people.
Be better than the opposition: At the end of the day, if you have you have more money you will come out on top. Doing your due diligence and making sure you know what the home is really worth will help you find a home where you are the person with the most money.
JOSH MANSOUR
When his illustrious NRL career finished at the end of the 2022 season, the former Australia winger bought into the business Clique Built, a residential builder and renovator with a niche for helping people get their homes ready for sale.
Mansour, now a father of three after welcoming a daughter 10 weeks ago, said as is often the case in professional sport, buyers need to be patient.
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“You need to understand the trends in the market, look at comparable prices in the area you want to buy as well as thinking about what you want to spend,” the ex Panthers and Rabbitohs flyer said.
“Set a realistic budget. The worst thing you can do is let emotions take over as that is when rationality goes out the window.”
Mansour said a building inspection was “vital” when buying a new property.
“You 100 per cent need that report, it’s there to protect you almost like an insurance policy,” he said.
“If there are issues, you can either lower your bid or bite the bullet and rectify the issues.”
Over 174 NRL games including the 2020 Grand Final and three State of Origin games for NSW, Mansour made his name as a tacklebusting winger in one of the toughest sports in the world.
Now the 33-year-old’s main expertise is in renovating ahead of sale. He said he encouraged sellers to look at simple yet crucial factors when selling their most lucrative asset such as styling, a fresh coast of paint, high pressure cleaning of the facade as well as landscaping.
CAMERON MOONEY
Ray White rural Victoria agent Cameron Mooney is a former North Melbourne and Geelong premiership footballer. These are his top tips:
Check out the playing field: Do your research and know the value of the area you’re looking in. Don’t look at what’s for sale – just because it’s for sale at a certain price doesn’t mean it’s worth that. You’re better off jumping on realestate.com.au and looking at similar properties that have sold in the past 12, or even six months, as this will give you a good indication of what prices are going for.
Don’t lowball: The worst thing you can do is lowball a vendor. If you come in with an offer at a respectable price, vendors are a lot more willing to accept something that’s reasonable. Even if there’s an auction scheduled, if you do really love the place and have the finances to put in an offer, vendors would prefer to sell it quickly before auction. Unless there’s 100 people they know will bid, they’ll likely be open to reasonable offers.
It’s go time: If you feel confident, I think now is the time to buy. Interest rates have scared people away over the past 12 months but I don't think they’re going to fluctuate or go up this spring. If you’re in the market now, it’s a great time to get back out there and have a look again
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TIM MOLTZEN
Former Wests Tigers player, Tim Moltzen now works as a buyers agent for Cohen Handler.
“It’s tough in Sydney at the moment,” he said.
“There is a lack of stock and a lot of buyers around, with that there can only be one winner, just like grand final weekend,” he said.
“One tip I have – and I am biased but definitely look at using a buyer’s agent,” Moltzen said.
Just like a loss in footy, he said that losing out on your dream home can be very hard for buyers.
“It can be crushing at times and I know a lot of people work really hard to get a home loan,” Moltze, 35, said.
Using a buyer’s agent can help take the emotion and attachment out of a purchase according to Moltzen.
“I wish when I was playing footy that I had someone on my side doing the weekend auctions for me,” he said.
Moltzen, who played 90 NRL games across six seasons before his career was cut short due to injury in 2013, said a buyer’s agent can coach you away from paying an “exuberant” amount over what the property is worth.
Moltzen did have a few “sneaky” tips besides using a buyer’s agent.
“Price guides aren’t the real deal, when a property is given a price guide, get your head around it being around 10 per cent more,” he said.
“The other sneaky thing is to try to speak to agents about off market properties. About
70 per cent of our transactions are off market.
“You’ve got to be willing to maybe drop a few things off your ultimate wish list on the things that don’t 1000 per cent matter. That might be one area or suburb away, one less bathroom, a lot of little things, but if they can be flexible on some things I’ve found that’s been helpful,” he said.
JAMIE CHARMAN
Former Brisbane Lions footballer Jamie Charman is now the director ofCharman Property These are his top tips:
Understand your turf: Spend a few months going to auctions and open homes in your area. It’s important to know the sales in the suburbs you want to buy in so you’re not overpaying.
Get around your finances and know your maximum budget. It’s amazing how many times we secure homes over other buyers because our terms on the contract are better (it’s not always price that wins, it can be your finance terms).
Look up: There are great sites like Develo.com.au that can help you find out where the sewage and utilities are on the block and whether the block floods. Insurance on flooded sites is ridiculously high especially after the incitements of 2022.
Bring in the big guns: Pay a professional to represent you at an auction – you can find a local buyer’s agent or a local trusted agent to represent at auction. A buyer’s agent can also help you with finding a home as they have access to off market homes you won’t see online. They can guide you through the sale or auction process, ensure you’re not overpaying and give you the right advice.
MARK BRYANT
Former premiership winning Manly Sea Eagles’s prop Mark Bryant is now making the hard yards at Cunninghams Realk Estate as a sales agent on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Much like many Panthers fans on the way to their team’s fourth successive Grand Final, Bryant said buyers’ confidence has begun to grow over the past month.
“Depending on which economists you listen to we’re certainly seeing a more stable interest rates environment so that’s great because with so many rate rises it really started to affect buyers,” he said.
His biggest tip for those wanting to win their own home Grand Final was around having a good team on your side.
“Have your finances approved and get a good mortgage broker and solicitor to help you through the process” said Bryant, 42, who played 239 top flight rugby league games across the NRL and the UK Super League.
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“That entry level anywhere from high $1m into the early $2m is really competitive at the moment, so be ready to go because things are going quickly and for good prices”
Bryant said doing your research and talking to agents to see what they’ve got coming up is also helpful.
“Seeing as much property at the moment, talking to the agents to see what they’ve got coming up and get their opinions,” Bryant said.
For those who are selling another property before purchasing their next, Bryant also had a few handy tips.
“First impressions matter,” he said.
“Presentation of the property is key, so consider getting styling because it always makes a difference.”
ANDREW LEONCELLI
Former Melbourne football club player and director Andrew Leoncelli is now APL Developments managing director.
Consider new talent: Off-the-plan homes offer the latest luxuries, usually have limited maintenance and you can lock them up and leave them behind when you want to go on holiday. With high levels of immigration affluent new arrivals are seeking new and relatively new homes close to key amenities and city centres, adding desirable investment attributes.
Make it your own: If you do buy off the plan, pick a project where the developer is open to reasonable levels of customisation and use that to boost storage — especially if you’re downsizing.
Time your run: For those looking to buy their first home, having a future deadline to save towards for settlement can be a powerful motivation to knuckle down — and put a light at the end of the tunnel for the current rental crisis. For downsizers and upsizers, buying off the plan will allow you to lock in a price today in a potentially more challenged market before selling at a better time in the market cycle later on.
Tag key amenities: Look for homes that are near lifestyle features including parks and beaches. Aim for a blue-chip suburb, and ideally one in the private school belts. But think about who might rent your home to or who would buy it from you down the track. Downsizers love being close to restaurants and cafes, while younger demographics appreciate proximity to public transport.
JAMIE GODDARD
Ex Queensland State of Origin hooker Jamie Goddard is now a sales agent McGrath Terrigal.
Goddard, 51, said the most important thing was to have your finance in place and the “best thing” is to get a broker.
“As soon as you know what you can borrow that then helps you in the process in terms of area wise and what you can get,” he said.
Goddard said buyers should be looking at a home or area with a solid and consistent capital growth record with good infrastructure around it.
“The schools around the area and public transport, the infrastructure around it is going to help with that too,” said Goddard, who played 160 NRL games for the Gold Coast, North Sydney and the Northern Eagles from 1992 to 2002.
“If its got little cafes or shops close to it that’s also a benefit.”
Another tip particularly for first home buyers was looking at how you can make the most of your property, whether that’s renting out a room to a friend or looking long term at putting in a granny flat.
“It’s important also to look at the option if you need to rent out a room with the mortgage rates going up, we are also seeing people putting tiny homes on their properties,” said Goddard, who played four State of Origin games for the Maroons.
“For investors, there are apartments that have good capital growth but the land is what will always appreciate, that’s a long term guaranteed capital investment,” he said.
“Duplexes can also be a great investment, allowing you two potential investments on the same property.”
JOHN ROMBOTIS
Former Fitzroy (now Brisbane Lions), Port Adelaide and Richmond footballer John Rombotis is now an OBrien Keysborough auctioneer
Choose the right game time: There’s a lot of buyer demand in February and March, as well as November and December, so those are good times to sell. If you’re buying though, try to avoid these months as that’s when competition is highest.
Avoid main roads: If you’re buying a house or townhouse, they’re always going to hold up in value. But try to avoid buying on a main road as this decreases the value if you try to sell in the future.
Go for the goal: When you bid at an auction, you need to have a strategy in mind and then just go for it. Be bold, be strong and be knowledgeable – get an agent that you know to give you their advice and any strategies prior to the auction, and be confident in your bidding.
Don’t be too picky: If it ticks seven out of 10 of your criteria boxes and you see potential, it’s worth buying. You’ll likely live there for the next 10 years anyway and you can renovate over time
BRODERICK WRIGHT
Former Parramatta Eels and Cronulla Sharks prop Broderick Wright, is now a director and auctioneer at Ray White Parramatta.
“My top tips are always try before you buy,” he said.
“Go to as many open homes as possible,”
Wright, 36, who played 40 NRL games between 2008 and 2011, said to look around the area you’re interested in to discover what’s out there.
“I purposefully have open homes at different times so you can see what the property is like at different times, you can see things like the traffic flow around the area and lighting in the home. It’s important to see it at different times of the day” Wright said.
Wright said home loan pre-approval from a lender should always been the first step for homebuyers.
“Pre-approval is crucial, so you know exactly what you’re working with,” he said.
“If you don’t get pre-approval, I always find that it leads the buyer down the wrong the path,”
Wright said he was seeing a lot of “push back” from potential buyers around auctions, but said there was no reason to fear them
“It’s because people don’t like missing out,” he said.
“But I encourage them to see an auction as the market price on the day and help them to get some confidence around what they’re buying.
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