Experience makes all the difference
The McGowan full search service provides a complete buying solution. Whether you are an investor or an owner occupier, have the comfort of knowing you have a professional full time experienced buyer’s advocate working hard to find and secure the best possible property at the right price and terms for you and your family. When you engage for this service you are guaranteed that you will work directly with Cathy and she will take the time to understand your needs and will work solely for your best interests and desired results.
Establishing The Brief
The vital first step is having a consultation to discuss what is important to you in a home or investment property and to establish a realistic brief for your budget. Years of experience and intuition play a big role here. Sometimes clients don’t know exactly what they need and this is where Cathy can really help.
Cathy will take the time to get to know you and your family, your lifestyle and your work and family’s needs and wants and factor this into your requirements for a family home. Alternatively if you are an investor, we explore what your goals and priorities are taking into account your personal situation and other properties you may already own. Once the brief is finalised and agreed upon the search can begin.
Search and Inspect
Cathy will enquire on and inspect suitable properties and shortlist only those for your inspection and consideration that are quality assets and within your budget. Cathy is very flexible with inspections. Some clients like to attend first inspections and are always welcome, whilst most prefer only to inspect properties Cathy has already inspected and shortlisted. Rest assured Cathy will coordinate the inspection schedule for shortlisted properties and accompany clients on the property inspections.
Some investors, interstate and overseas buyers are happy to just rely on photos, videos and other interactive technology and Cathy is very happy to accommodate clients requests to make the process work best for her clients situation. Cathy will be drawing on her network of agent contacts in the search area to uncover off market and pre-market opportunities. Cathy can also do private canvassing when clients are looking for very specific properties or have a very targeted small search area.
Due diligence
Any shortlisted properties of interest to the client are assessed as to fair market value, based on our objective view of how it compares to other similar recently sold properties and market conditions.
Cathy will organise the contract to be reviewed as well as organise any building, pest or strata inspections required in a timely manner with our trusted and experienced network. She can also organise trade quotes if required for any repairs or renovations needed.
Negotiations or auction bidding
A negotiation or auction strategy is based on many factors including who the agent is, the method of sale, the buyers and vendors situations, and other properties coming to market. There is no set in stone strategy and many factors need to be taken into account if we are to have success.
Contract exchange
Cathy will facilitate and assist clients to exchange in a timely manner after successful negotiations or auction success. It’s imperative that buyers don’t drop the ball once they get an offer and acceptance, securing the property through exchange of contracts is vital to avoid being gazumped by another buyer or the owner changing their mind. Cathy’s experience and expertise in strategising the timing of the offer and execution of the contracts is an invaluable part of the service not to be overlooked.
Settlement
Cathy will conduct the pre-settlement inspection and co-ordinate any additional inspections or trade quotes required post exchange until settlement. Cathy will also assist investor clients with property manager selection before settlement.
Post settlement
Cathy always checks in post-settlement and loves hearing from clients in the weeks, months, and years post-settlement.
Cathy truly considers it a privilege to accompany clients on their property purchasing journey and values the relationships formed in this process. So much so that she is always very excited to hear from clients and only too happy to offer ongoing advice and support. Â
Hi, my name is Cathy McGowan. I am an independent Property buyers agent with a passion to assist home buyers and investors find their ideal home or investment property. I use my many years of professional experience and extensive market network to provide expert assistance to my clients in the whole buying process, from sourcing the best properties to negotiating and securing them for the best price and terms, always with my clients best interests and needs top of mind.
Testimonials
Cathy is amazing at what she does, she helped us find our first home and without her I don’t believe we would been in the apartment we are in now, that we love so much. She also handled all of the pre and post things that need doing I really didn’t have to worry about a thing. Working fulltime I am not sure how I would have handled doing it on my own. I recommend Cathy to anyone who is looking at buying and for our next purchase we will be using Cathy’s expertise again.
Cathy is fantastic. As a first home buyer, it can be daunting purchasing your first home. Cathy puts your mind at ease. Her expertise alongside her willingness to go above and beyond for her clients is so valuable. Her assistance through the entirety of the process was extremely helpful. I am forever grateful. I highly recommend Cathy to any prospective purchaser.
Whilst I have been experienced in the property market, the experience of using McGowan Property Buyers has been invaluable. After telling myself for years that I should be purchasing my next property, I realised that I always had other priorities. It became apparent to me that the way forward was to use a buyer’s agent. It was particularly important due to being time poor that I found an agent that I could trust and could get the job done with minimal disruption to my challenging schedule. Catherine did not disappoint. In fact, she worked so hard on finding me the right property. If I had not used McGowan’s, there is no doubt I would have paid more, and ended up with an inferior property. Her expertise, professionalism, knowledge and relationships are second to none. Our search was detailed, and Catherine remained committed until we had secured the perfect property. Without her experience at auctions, I would have gone in too hard and paid too much- I had to trust her expertise, and sure enough this paid dividends in the end. I have no doubt that by harnessing the experience of McGowans Buyers Agents that I obtained the best property at the best price. Absolutely worth its weight in gold- Catherine followed up and guided me brilliantly every part of the way. Thank you.
Cathy helped us find our perfect property for the second time. Both times, we found that having Cathy on our side gave us a lot of power. She was great at understanding exactly what we needed and she has the amazing insight and knowledge of the market to get it for us. She showed us properties she thought we might like, was super candid about things that were great and things weren’t so great about each one, handled all conversations with agents, negotiated all sorts of things including auction dates(!), went to the auction and won the property for us. We could completely trust her and let her do her magic.
Cathy is a joy to work with, which is why we came back to her for our second property purchase. We wanted to buy in NSW but weren’t sure where we could afford or what type of property. Cathy came up with a solution which we hadn’t considered and it worked out perfectly for us. Cathy’s knowledge of the market is amazing; she shortlists properties and discusses their pros and cons and is realistic about what the market price is. So even if a property was listed with a price which was within our budget, Cathy would let us know what it was likely to go for so we didn’t waste time or energy on properties out of our reach. Cathy has an expert eye for reading a property and can spot potential issues or areas of concern. With Cathy arranging the viewings then we were free to view the properties whilst leaving the estate agents in Cathy’s capable hands. Cathy made the whole buying process go so smoothly and sorted out any problems that arose quickly and with minimum fuss. We can’t recommend Cathy highly enough.
We had the pleasure of working with Cathy in our quest to secure our primary residence, and the entire experience was truly excellent. As time-strapped individuals, delving into the intricacies of the property market seemed like a daunting task, but Cathy’s expertise and guidance made the process seamless and efficient.
Upon our initial meeting, Cathy took the time to thoroughly understand our requirements. Importantly, she assisted us in refining our expectations to align with the realities of our budget. Drawing on her extensive experience, Cathy provided tangible examples of what the market had to offer, allowing us to form a clear and realistic picture of our potential purchase.
The search phase was particularly noteworthy, with Cathy consistently keeping us in the loop regarding properties she had explored. Equally valuable was her transparency in eliminating options and explaining the rationale behind those decisions. This level of communication was invaluable given our hectic schedules.
Remarkably, within just a month, Cathy helped us secure the ideal property. While it slightly deviated from our initial location preferences, it turned out to be the perfect choice for us. Without Cathy’s keen eye and negotiation skills, we would have undoubtedly missed out on this gem.
In reflecting on the entire process, we couldn’t be more satisfied with Cathy’s service. Her dedication, market knowledge, and negotiation prowess were instrumental in making our home-buying journey a success. We wholeheartedly recommend Cathy to anyone looking for a professional, experienced, results driven property buyer’s agent.
I spent some time looking to buy the 4th property that I have owned and was not having much success in finding the right property.
I engaged Cathy to bid at an auction for me. Through this relatively short interaction, I was able to gain an insight into her knowledge of the market conditions; agents and the auction process itself. It gave me the confidence to invest in a full service search with her.
I am very happy that I made the choice to engage Cathy.
She took the time to understand the scope, my requirements, budget and test the boundaries of my property hunt. We were able to secure a property that on my own I would have not considered and Cathy was able to identify the unseen potential of the property. All of which was done in a matter of weeks.
Her full service offering and client advocacy gave me the ease of mind that everything was being taken care of throughout the whole of the acquisition process.
Cathy has excellent communication and negotiation skills and a knowledge base that was invaluable in identifying ways to maximise the value of the purchased property.
I would highly recommend Cathy to anyone purchasing a property in this area.
We engaged Cathy to assist us to purchase a property after many months of searching ourselves.
We certainly appreciated Cathy taking on the challenge of a very specific brief, then researching, inspecting, reporting and negotiating for us to finally achieve the purchase of a property with many of the criteria on our wish list.
It has been indeed a complex journey, through fluctuations in the market, made less stressful and more successful with Cathy’s experience, expertise, assistance and guidance. We are delighted to be able to move on in our journey to our new home and highly recommend Cathy’s service.
It was a great pleasure to work with Cathy during our home-buying journey, and we could not be more satisfied with the experience. From the very beginning, Cathy demonstrated exceptional dedication and professionalism. What truly stood out was her attentive and considerate approach. She took the time to listen to our needs and preferences, ensuring that our concerns were addressed.
The process was challenging at times, as the market was slow, and we had unique requirements. However, Cathy helped us remain both realistic and optimistic. She did not simply present a one-size-fits-all solution; instead, she took the time to understand our specific needs, exploring different options that aligned with them. Given our highly positive experience, I am ready to recommend Cathy without hesitation.
