‘Respect’: 28yo reveals truth about buying first home

A first-time homebuyer has shared the phone call from a real estate agent that left her feeling “upset” and disrespected.

A first-time homebuyer has shared the phone call from a real estate agent that left her feeling upset and disrespected.

Lanah Jones, 28, is in the lucky position of looking to buy her first home in Western Australia alongside her partner Jackson, 25.

The couple have managed to save over $50,000 for a deposit and have a fairly flexible budget. They are looking at properties between $450,000 to $700,000.

Both have good jobs and healthy wages. Lanah is an occupational therapist, and Jackson is a diesel fitter, but trying to buy a home hasn’t been easy.

Even being ideal candidates, they’ve discovered, isn’t enough.

“The market is super tough right now. So if you are in a position to buy you know how hard it is,” she said.

Online she shared the exchange that left her upset. Picture: TikTok/LanahJones

The young couple both work full-time and are eager to buy. Picture: TikTok/LanahJones

Ms Jones shared on social media that she called a real estate agent to ask if they could arrange a private inspection for a property because she couldn’t make the time listed and was stunned by the question she was asked.

“The first thing the real estate agent asked me was if I was a cash buyer or if I had pre-approval,” she said.

Ms Jones said that if she and her partner were interested in the property after viewing it, they’d be upfront with that information, but she felt the question was out of line.

“You shouldn’t just be trying to offer an extra inspection based on whether I have cash or whether I borrow from the bank,” she said.

The young worker said that she understands real estate agents are “busy”, but she and her partner are “serious” buyers who deserve respect.

“We genuinely want to buy so bad. We are now in the position and we might not be in the future,” she said.

Ms Jones said that her and Jackson’s “whole life savings” and everything they’ve worked for will go into whatever property they purchase, and yet, “we don’t even get that much respect,” she said.

She told news.com.au that the conversation left her feeling “not nice” and was just upsetting.

“It wasn’t her asking if we had finance or not, it was her emphasising that if I was a cash buyer, she would have moved her schedule around mine to accommodate an extra inspection,” she explained.

She's shared why the chat left her ‘upset’. Picture: TikTok/LanahJones

The young couple are keen to inspect places. Picture: TikTok/LanahJones

While many first homebuyers scrounge and save to pull together a deposit and mortgagees struggle to afford repayments, one in four Australian homes sold last year were bought with cash.

Data from Property Exchange’s (PEXA) 2023 Cash Purchases Report found more than a quarter of sales across NSW, Victoria and Queensland were funded in cash, in sales totalling $129.6 billion.

Ms Jones said the process of trying to buying a house has been “extremely stressful”. They’ve already put six offers in but have been outbid by higher buyers within about 48 hours.

“It’s fast-paced and you have no time to think and consider all the pros and cons before you put an offer in,” she said.

The young Aussie said getting to inspections is crucial and she’s always eager to be one of the first to see a property.

“If we miss an inspection, it means we will miss out on a property. It is scary how fast things move. And (there is) the threat of interstate or overseas who usually have more cash because their market is higher than here,” she said.

Plus, the young couple are eager to buy now because prices keep surging and surging. The median house sale price has increased by 13.6 per cent since March 2023.

“Lots of things suck; it’s just stressful knowing if we wait another month etc., we will be more and more priced out, I think,” she said.