Shire AIBart de Vries × Shire
How AI property analysis helped a first-time buyer uncover hidden risks and purchase with confidence in Wellington
Bart de Vries × Shire
How AI property analysis helped a first-time buyer uncover hidden risks and purchase with confidence in Wellington
Bart de Vries
First Home Buyer, Wellington
"I think this analysis is a bit of no brainer really. At worst it gives you information that you already know. At best you get new insights and they pick up on things that other people aren't picking up on."
Bart de Vries
First Home Buyer, Wellington
"I think this analysis is a bit of no brainer really. At worst it gives you information that you already know. At best you get new insights and they pick up on things that other people aren't picking up on."
The Challenge
Like many first-time home buyers, Bart and his partner Rachel faced an overwhelming process when entering the Wellington property market.
The Reality of First-Time Buying
- Information overload: Drowning in council documents, legal terms, and technical jargon
- Time-consuming research: Hours spent trying to understand property documentation
- Hidden risks: Critical issues buried in hundreds of pages of documents
- Decision fatigue: Open home burnout leading to compromised decisions
"I found that going through council documents and all of the different documentation that you get sent is an absolute headache and not a user friendly experience at all."
The Solution
Shire's AI Property Analysis transformed complex property documents into clear, actionable insights that Bart could understand at a glance.
How Shire Helped
- Instant clarity: Complex council documents transformed into readable, user-friendly reports
- At-a-glance insights: Key property information presented upfront without diving into documents
- Risk detection: AI uncovered hidden issues that even agents and vendors missed
- Fast filtering: Quickly determine which properties warrant further investigation
"The Shire AI Property Analysis took all of that information, made it readable, and gave me the things I needed to know upfront without me having to dive into the document so I could get a real sense of a property at a glance."
The EQC Discovery
Shire's AI analysis uncovered crucial information that had been "swept under the rug" — an EQC (Earthquake Commission) insurance claim that the agent and vendor hadn't disclosed.
"The Shire AI Analysis pulled out really crucial information on houses. Information that even the agent and the vendor hadn't realised about the house. In one instance it was an EQC report that had been swept under the rug."
This discovery, along with other red flags identified by Shire, allowed Bart to make informed decisions and avoid potentially costly mistakes.
The Outcome
Successfully Purchased
Found and purchased their dream home with complete confidence
Avoided Hidden Risks
Uncovered multiple red flags that could have led to costly mistakes
Saved Time
Quickly filtered properties without spending hours on documents
Better Decisions
Made informed choices based on clear, comprehensive analysis
"We got one for every house we were seriously considering. We are definitely using them in the future again. Super useful tool!"
Bart's Top Tips for First Home Buyers
📍 Be Ruthless Early
"Get ruthless on what you want early so you go to the right open homes. Don't go to too many open homes otherwise you will get exhausted."
🔨 Take Breaks
"Make sure you take breaks when you are in the process, and weekends off from going to open homes so you don't burn out and make a shitty decision on something that you don't actually want."
🏠 Don't Compromise
"It is a house, it is the biggest purchase of your life so far. Buy something that you are going to be happy living in."
🔨 The Rubber Mallet Story
Bart's funniest tip? Bring a rubber mallet to test wooden beams! "Here I was turning up on an open home with a rubber mallet banging on beams around the house, with the real estate agent asking what I was up to."
While creative, Bart found Shire's AI analysis to be a more practical (and less awkward) way to uncover property issues.
Ready to buy with confidence?
Get the same AI-powered property analysis that helped Bart find his dream home.