Why we say no to 60% of property enquiries

Most property advisors say yes a lot. It’s how they get paid.

We say no to 60% of enquiries.

That number isn’t a marketing line — it’s roughly what comes out of our books quarter after quarter. New buyers hear it and assume it’s bravado. Existing clients hear it and recognise the call they had with us six months earlier when we told them they weren’t ready, and they came back later having actually gotten ready.

This post explains exactly what triggers a “no”, and why we think it’s the most pro-client thing we can do.

How we get paid

To explain the 60%, you need to understand the model.

NextKey doesn’t charge buyer fees. We’re paid by the builder network on completed packages — the same way a mortgage broker is paid by the bank, or a real estate agent is paid by the vendor.

That arrangement only works if the buyers we send through actually settle. A buyer who signs a contract and then defaults at finance is worse for us than a buyer we politely decline at the first call. The default costs us reputation, builder relationships, and time. The decline costs us nothing.

So our incentive is to say no early to anyone whose deal won’t settle. Not to pad the funnel.

That structural alignment is why the 60% no-rate exists. It’s not generosity. It’s just what happens when the comp model rewards completion rather than enquiry volume.

What triggers a “no”

Five real categories cover almost every decline we’ve issued. Each is something we’d rather flag in 30 minutes than have you discover three months in.

1. Borrowing capacity doesn’t match the package

This is the most common decline. The buyer wants a $750K package. The realistic borrowing capacity, after we strip out the broker’s optimistic assumptions, is $600K–$650K.

We could put them in a $650K package — but they’d hate it, because they came here wanting the $750K version, and they’d default on settlement when valuation comes in 5% below expectation and they need an extra $30K they don’t have.

Better answer: tell them their actual borrowing range, suggest they have another conversation with their broker, and revisit in 3-6 months when their position has clarified.

2. SMSF / SDA structure isn’t ready

About a third of our SDA-in-SMSF enquiries fail this filter. The buyer has a great deposit, the right risk appetite, the right time horizon — and an SMSF that hasn’t actually been set up for property. No bare trust. No LRBA approved. No SDA-experienced accountant.

Setting up an SMSF and a bare trust takes 2-4 months. Doing it after you’ve signed a property contract creates ATO problems. Doing it before signing creates time, cost, and option value.

Our “no” here is really “not yet — go talk to a specialist accountant first.” About a third of those buyers come back six months later and we close the deal.

3. Build-time tolerance doesn’t match the asset

A first-home buyer who’s renting at $850/week and has a fixed lease ending in 4 months doesn’t have a 12-month build-time horizon. They need a property they can move into.

A standard turnkey new-build is 9-14 months from contract to handover. SDA is 12-18 months. If the buyer can’t carry double housing costs for that period, they need an established property — which isn’t what we do.

Our “no” here is honest: “we’re not the right service for your timeline. Talk to a buyer’s agent who specialises in established stock.”

4. The price expectation is structurally wrong

Some buyers arrive convinced they’ll pay $400K for a 4-bedroom new-build in a strong growth corridor with full turnkey inclusions. That price doesn’t exist in 2026 in any Australian capital-city corridor. Land cost alone now exceeds that figure in most metro markets.

We tell them so. Some leave. Some adjust their expectation to $580K-$650K and we work with them. The ones who leave usually find out the same lesson elsewhere; we just gave it to them faster.

5. The buyer is being pressured by a third party

This one is rarer but it always shows up the same way: the enquiry includes phrases like “my mortgage broker says I should buy now before rates drop” or “the builder said I need to lock in this month or I lose the price.”

Both of those framings are red flags. The broker isn’t compensated for your portfolio outcome over 10 years. The builder is incentivised to close before quarter-end. Neither pressure should determine your decision.

We say no — politely — when the buyer’s reasoning is being driven by someone else’s deadline rather than their own readiness. Most of those buyers come back later having either sorted out the pressure or replaced the advisor.

What “no” actually looks like in practice

When we decline, we send a written summary covering:

• Why we said no, in one paragraph
• What needs to change for us to say yes
• A realistic timeline for when to revisit
• Specific specialists to talk to first (accountants, brokers, conveyancers) where relevant

No sales sequence. No follow-up. No “limited time” offer. The buyer gets a clean exit and a roadmap, and they decide what to do with it.

About 25–30% of our declined buyers come back within 12 months having addressed what we flagged. Those are some of our best clients — they’ve already done the structural work, and the second-time-around close is usually fast.

Why this matters for you

If you’re considering working with us, you should know up-front that there’s a real chance we’ll tell you it’s not the right time. That’s not a warning. It’s the safety mechanism.

The alternative is what most of the property-advisory market does: say yes to everyone who calls, push them into the package that pays the highest commission, and let the buyer discover the structural problems six months in when they can’t unwind the contract.

We’d rather lose the engagement and be remembered honestly than close the deal and be remembered badly.

If you’d like a frank assessment of whether you’re set up to succeed in property — first-home, investor, or SMSF — book a 30-minute strategy call. No buyer fee. No follow-up sales sequence. If we say no, you’ll know exactly why and what to do about it.

— Sean Lewis · Co-Director, NextKey Property Strategists

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General advice only. NextKey Property Strategists is not a licensed financial planner, tax agent, mortgage broker, real estate agent or solicitor. Property investment carries risk including loss of capital. Past returns are not indicative of future performance. Always seek independent financial, taxation and legal advice before making property decisions.