About four years ago I got a financial advisor to sort out “my future”.

I was 38 and had barely a cent to my name. I went to him with an aim - to set myself up to retire in five years. I have an auto immune disease that renders my future health very unpredictable beyond my forties. I had to get myself sorted.

I should say at this point, I hate money. I don’t like spending it, I don’t understand the mechanicians of money, I don’t like being in its orbit.
The guy had a tough brief.

He set up a plan and he went about finding a team of people to help me make it happen. I just had to create and build and grow my newly formed business I Quit Sugar. A big part of the plan was to buy property. And for that it made sense to use an buyers agent.

For me the experience was entirely necessary. In part to have someone do the legwork, in part to ensure I was making the smartest and savviest moves (using all insider knowledge and tricks) and in part to ensure I kept the experience objective. I was buying for investment, so an agent can ensure it’s a process like any other sensible business decision. You line up all the rational considerations, you shuffle things about, eliminate a few factors…and then sit on it overnight… and then you shoot. One way or another. Bam! Done!

Without an agent I would not have been able to separate myself from the emotional side of property buying. I think this is a big issue for many people like me who didn’t grow up around such savvy business decision making. We get all flustered and turn it into a palaver, mostly because we feel out of our depth. I’ve bought two properties now with Ramon and he’s walked me through both steadily and with a very attuned sense of my, um, particularities (like working with auspicious numbers and not coping with vertical blinds). He’s also gone beyond the brief and set me up with managing agents, represented me at body corporate meetings when the issues were too much for me.

I don’t do paid endorsements. And I only ever do recommendations where I think it will help others in my predicament (folk with a background lacking in financial acumen or security who need to sort their future). Ramon is one such case.

We went through quite a process to find a place to buy. We kinda did it in bursts, we'd intensely going to auctions and going open for homes and building inspections. We were finding that we were missing out.

We found the property by chance and we told Ramon about it. The next thing we had a few catch ups during the week and then we came to auction day, we were in the garden and it was packed.

Ray came in looking quite sharp, we were really nervous. He has this laptop bag with papers in it and he would put people off by going through the papers then he would come in and slam on a number and made everyone turn around go "oh gosh there's another player". He let the auction play out around him and he came in really aggressively at the end and we got it.

I think finding and securing a property is intimidating and time consuming. I think that none of us are professionals even though sometimes we think we can handle it and I think thats what we realised bringing Ray on that he made the process a lot easier for us. We probably ended up spending a lot less than we had to. Couldn't been more happy with it.

I was referred to Ramon of Cura Properties via my mortage broker. I was looking for an investment property, and Ramon was very helpful in showing me how different states, suburbs, and amenities influenced the rental yields of various properties in my price range, including some factors I wasn't aware of. From there he collated a number of places for my perusal, and when I'd made a decision he spoke with the selling agent and was instrumental in getting me a price I was happy with. He then proceeded to make all the arrangements on my behalf, so there was very little I had to do personally.

I would definitely recommend Ramon and Cura Properties for your next purchase.

Ramon was recommended to my wife and I by our mortgage advisor, as well as numerous other contacts who all spoke extremely highly of his services. We were both extremely busy so our driving factor in contacting Ramon was to help advise on the best location to invest in a rental property and to reduce the amount of time which we would have to personally spend in viewings etc.

From the outset Ramon showed strong market knowledgeable and my wife and I quickly developed a strong rapport with him. Within a very short period of time, Ramon had identified a number of suitable properties which fell within our search criteria. In fact, we become so confident with his judgement that we bought our Bondi rental property without seeing it in person and based our decision purely on his financial returns data and advice. Not only did he save us considerable time and effort, but he negotiated a far better deal than I think we would have achieved without him. We will definitely use his services again and are happy to be contacted as a point of reference.

Like many people originally from the UK there was a lot about the Australian property market that I was unfamiliar with. Why didn’t properties advertise their guide prices? Why did everything go to auction and sell for a lot more than the guide? What’s the deal with strata?

I’d sold my UK property and wanted to invest here but didn’t want to risk making a mistake in a market I wasn’t familiar with. So when two friends said they had had a great experience using Ramon I was very interested. The whole process of buying with Ramon couldn’t have been easier. He took the time to learn my wants, likes, risk profile and preferences and tailored viewings to suit. The places he showed me were always good but I never felt pressured into making a decision.

Friends and colleagues questioned why I would spend money on a buyer’s agent, but when I added up how much it was costing in terms of the total spend it was only a fraction. I felt much more comfortable committing to a big investment knowing I was getting a good deal and benefitting from all of Ramon’s experience. I wouldn’t have known where to start trying to close a property deal before auction.

I ended up with a buy to let I’m very happy with and have made use of the great network of other professionals that Ramon put me in touch with. Would recommend to anyone.

We were introduced to Ramon and Cura property some years ago by our financial adviser. Being a professional couple who is very time poor and new to the Sydney market, Ramon and his team guided us through every step of the way - providing invaluable guidance and advice from finding our new home, strategising on the purchase and ensuring the highest level of due diligence and always with our best interests first and foremost.