Perth’s original full-service buyer’s agency, Momentum Wealth, has developed a new shortlisting app that matches clients with prospective investment properties, handling everything from inputting their strategy and first inspection to settlement, all in the palm of their hands.
The mobile platform was developed in-house by the agency and provides each client with a personalised feed of properties that their buyer’s agent has assessed against their brief. Client engagement so far has been positive, with feedback around how the personalised list cuts through the market noise, simplifies the process and keeps momentum going.
Momentum Wealth Property Advisory, Acquisition and Research Manager Robin Ram said it was the first of its kind; the app was designed to take the guesswork out of searching for an investment property while also saving time for clients by having everything delivered to them on the go to lessen communication delays, allowing the team to secure the best deal.
Mr Ram said the idea grew from enhancing Momentum Wealth’s existing approach to service, with the client experience within the app similar to a matchmaking platform, but rather than swiping for people, it’s for properties.
“What we already do for clients is give them a selection of suitable properties we find, both on and off market,” Mr Ram said. “Our job is to eliminate 90-plus per cent of the properties that don’t meet their needs, or present risk factors that affect the short and long-term performance of the property, either as an investment of home.
“By offering them an app on their phone, they can log in and see the properties we’ve selected for them in real time. They simply like them to let us know that we want to progress to inspection or dislike them so we can archive and keep moving.”
“In today’s property market, being ready and able to move fast is a key factor in people finding the best property to fulfill their strategy – we think the development of this app will allow us to be even more agile and it suits the ‘on-the-move’ nature of modern lifestyles.”
Comparison tools within the app cover zoning, land size, and age of construction, while clients can also access walk-through videos.
Photos and all associated documents are also uploaded to the platform, with clients able to communicate with their buyer’s agent and property management consultant around getting their property ready for lease.
Mr Ram said when a client decides to proceed with a purchase, the platform manages the minutiae of the transaction.
Structural, pest and electrical inspection reports are stored and accessible within the app, while compliance requirements under the Residential Tenancies Act are also tracked.
The full purchase journey is covered, including contracts, authorised works, invoices and all correspondence between the client and their buyer’s agent. Clients can also see what they have said no to, which we find is often just as interesting as what they do progress with.
At the close of each transaction, clients can export an approximately 250-page record of their purchase, giving them a permanent audit trail for tax purposes and future reference.
“It streamlines their communication and property selection, and at the end of it, they’ve got a whole summary of everything they’ve purchased,” Mr Ram said.
The key point of difference with the app, Mr Ram said, was its ability to be personalised.
“A buyer’s agent knows the brief of the client and assesses each property against that brief,” he said.
“It’s not an off-the-shelf tool that is fully powered by AI where you just automatically get sent everything; there is still that personal touch with our buyer’s agents where someone needs to go through and confirm the properties suit the clients’ needs before sending through a more curated list to suit their needs; it just provides one place for everything to live and be actioned quickly.”
Mr Ram said Momentum Wealth has recently rolled the app out across its client base, with the platform also opening a path to accelerate the expansion across its range of in-house services plus operations outside of Western Australia.
“We also have the ability to purchase nationally. We can pay someone to do a walk-through video of a property located in any state, which is uploaded straight into our portal,” Mr Ram said.
“It’s something that will work nationally and it makes the whole buying journey more seamless.”