What Impact Will the Coronavirus Have on Off-the-Plan Settlements?

New and increased settlement risk is being unmasked amid the Covid-19 crisis as a number of projects approach completion.

Settlement risk has already rapidly escalated, with existing purchasers yet to understand the extent of the implications the coronavirus outbreak will have on their finances and ability to settle.

During an unprecedented period of restricted travel and isolation, incoming purchaser enquiry has increased for projects across the board, no matter what stage of development process, presenting an unparalleled level of anxiety.

For projects approaching settlement, an influx of settlement extension requests have seen new and unfamiliar justifications and posed challenges for vendors. Sadly this is only the beginning of a very volatile cycle.

The sudden and drastic change to people's financial circumstances has affected countless industries.

And with increased anxiety around rental vacancy post-settlement for investors, many property managers have temporarily suspended rental inspections.

Interstate owner-occupiers confined by border closures have raised concerns of minor defect warranty periods lapsing prior to occupancy

While many purchasers and selling agents, unable to travel and inspect the property are very reluctant to settle without having a representative inspect the property.

What can we do now to reduce risk and maximise settlement rates?

As many attempt to navigate through the coming weeks and months, prioritising existing purchasers and bringing focus to the following areas has become vital to reducing anxiety and maximising settlement rates.

Cue Property Settlements offers proactive customer communication strategies to reduce anxiety, manage settlement risk and protect the customer experience.

For projects approaching settlement

For many looking to nominate a local representative to conduct pre-settlement inspections on their behalf, there are limited options to support the purchaser and provide a report that compliments and highlights the project's features rather than solely focusing on any flaws.

In this uneasy environment, a defect report will only increase purchaser anxiety instead of providing much needed reassurance that the property meets not only the purchaser’s expectations but industry standards.

With this demand, Cue Property Settlements director Leah Kent is pleased to extend the company's specialised services to new clients, facilitating independent pre-settlement inspections for properties in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast for anyone requiring assistance at settlement.

“It is our pleasure to represent investors and owners buying a new property and provide peace of mind ahead of settlement,” Kent said.

Cue conducts professional pre-settlement inspections and produces a purchaser-friendly report containing photographs of the entire property, a detailed list of inclusions and finishes and identifying any minor defects from a purchaser’s perspective, distinctly different to a building inspector’s defect report.

The option to video-call during the inspection also provides purchasers the ability to view certain aspects of the property.

This service can be introduced by developers and sales agents as an ancillary service at completion to pre-empt and satisfy the requirement for a pre-settlement inspection.

For projects launching or already under construction

“Settlement risk should be a priority from day one of any project however in challenging sales markets, the focus often shifts,” Kent said.

“It is never too late to implement an effective purchaser communication strategy to identify and mitigate settlement risk.”

By establishing a relationship early on, maintaining contact and engagement throughout the process, developers, agents and property managers will have the ability to monitor and resolve risk ahead of completion.

“The key to settlement success as we move into this next wave of sales impacted by a world-wide pandemic will be a hands-on focus on communication with existing customers,” Kent said.

As a trusted consultant, Cue offers specialised services in settlement management, white-labelled and acting on behalf of the developer, selling agent or project manager.

The company's coveted signature service, Cue Concierge, serves as a dedicated single point of contact for purchasers, valuers, agents, financiers, property managers and key stakeholders from as early as project launch through to settlement.

Providing a proactive interface, Cue is able to monitor and reduce settlement risk while ensuring an exceptional customer experience.

Their elite customer concierge team can be introduced as early as project launch to support the development team, managing and reporting on key communication throughout the development process while prompting and preparing the purchaser for settlement.

This allows the project team to focus on development deliverables and the sales team to shift their attention to converting the next sale.

This unique service goes hand-in-hand with Cue’s role at completion, personally scheduling and facilitating professional valuation and pre-settlement inspections to best showcase the project, support the purchaser and achieve successful settlements.

Cue’s services are highly personal in the interest of building and maintaining purchaser and stakeholder relationships on behalf of the client to:

• Reduce settlement risk, settlement delays and ultimately contract defaults

• Encourage repeat purchases

• Promote customer referrals

For more information visit Cue Property Settlements.

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