How To Get Your Claws On A Free Property Report And Find A $175,000 Home Like I Did

Imagine that I want to buy an affordable home out of my “comfort zone.” I have $200,000 to spend, but that’s not enough for places I’m familiar with. How can I find out more about other suburbs, other streets and homes I can afford, before I buy?

Residz Team 3 min read


Imagine that I want to buy an affordable home out of my “comfort zone.” I have $200,000 to spend, but that’s not enough for places I’m familiar with. Towns near Gladstone in Queensland are a bit cheaper I hear. So, I look up homes for sale in the area. There’s a house for $175,000 in a town some distance away. The price is great, but the property listing doesn’t tell me about the safety of the area, bushfire risk, or the amenities of the town. How can I find out more before I buy?

Er, I’m too lazy to phone

I confess, I’m a bit lazy on all this. I can ring the real estate agent and ask questions, but I don’t want to waste time or signal too much interest. I can spend time researching all the different statistics but who has time to do this? I just want a few key details about this home and area to narrow down my choice. Surely there’s an easier way? Luckily, I know about the new property research website Residz.com and its time-saving, no-cost Residz.com property report.

Less than 2 minutes

In less than 2 minutes, I have a free 12-page property report for my chosen home downloaded on my laptop. It’s fascinating and will help me decide if this property is right for me. This is all it took. I went to Residz.com. I typed in the address of the home for sale. When the house came up I clicked Free Property Report. It’s quick, easy and free to sign up for Residz.com, and you can download the free report in seconds.

Some fast facts emerge

Here’s what I learned. I wanted an affordable home within 30 km from the coast. This home is 24 km from the coast. Of course these days it must have internet, and this area is serviced by fixed wireless. With climate change in mind, I’d prefer it to be a low potential bushfire risk. The report tells me this home is about 300 metres from flammable vegetation, and this and other factors give it a potential bushfire risk score of 3.6 out of 10. I can live with that.

Crime statistics

I skip a couple of pages past the local schools and get to the crime statistics. I’m pleased to see some crime trends have been dipping down, including assaults, fraud, drugs, and traffic-related offences. The incidences of  unlawful entry and weapons act offences are so low as to be nearly zero. This is good to know.

Demographics and activity

The report tells me the average age of residents is 46, and just under 90% of adults are employed. It suggests this area is attracting younger families, not just the retirees. There are no development applications nearby, but the block sizes are large. I’m encouraged by this information, so I go back to look at the listing on Residz.com.

The big crab

Residz.com lets me see the house in Google Street View and Google maps. It’s also marked out what is within a 5 and 10 minute drive from the house.  I find the nearest pub (Miriam Vale Hotel with a 4.3 out of 5 Google rating - tick) and note the grocery shop is called “The Shop” and rates well with locals. The Big Crab Restaurant is close also; it’s a restaurant with a 2-metre tall red crab on its roof. This rural town has personality, I think to myself.  

Investability index

A brand new feature on Residz.com is the investability index, calculating whether a number of factors converge to make this property a good buy. While this isn’t available on this particular home right at this moment, I’ll check back soon to see if this area made it to the index yet. It’s a highly valuable tool I’ll use when checking out some other places.

Residz helps unearth hidden gems

Right now, I’m playing the fun game of “Let’s pretend.” I don’t have the money to buy something in Queensland, even if it is under $200,000. But perhaps you do? Or you’re house hunting anywhere else in Australia in a different price bracket? From bargain to luxury, Residz.com can help you research the hidden gems. For now, I’ll content myself with downloading a property report on where I currently live to find out more about my own backyard.