Buyer's Agent Fees

ngoli1

ngoli1

Hi all,

I am living overseas and after a lot of looking, I have found the property I want to buy. As I am OS, I thought using a Buyer's Agent to negotiate a price might be wise and take away some of the legwork/stress.

As I have already located the property, all the advocate would need to do is negotiate a price. If they are successful, I am quite happy to give them a decent amount of money in return for how much they saved me; however, I don't want to cough up a lot of money and not end up with the house.

I have a couple of questions:

1. How much can I expect to pay a BA on a property purchase of 300 - 350K for negotiation only?
2. Is it possible to negotiate fees with them, or to set it up so that there is no or low engagement fee?
3. Can anyone else share their experiences with BAs with me?
4. Any other tips re: Buyer's Agents?

I have contacted a couple and will choose the one that seems the most reputable and offers the best deal.

Thanks,

Nick
 
Hi Nick,

First off, welcome to the forums.

From experience I think you'll generally pay two to three thousand (give or take a few hundred) for getting a BA to do the negotiation for you. It depends on the BA, but I think most of the good ones charge a flat fee. The bulk of a buyer's agents commission normally is spent actually sourcing and inspecting properties, and since you've found a property that you like already, that's a sizeable saving.
That said, since you are OS I would recommend you still get the BA or someone else to go for a walkthrough of the property in case there's any problems with the property or street that otherwise wouldn't be picked up in a building or pest inspection.

I doubt you'll be able to negotiate fees with them. Ultimately the cost is a small outlay considering what you're preparing to spend. And I would doubt even more that they wouldn't charge if you didn't get the property - how many people do you know would work for free? But I would suggest the cost would be transferred over to the next property you decided to buy if you didn't get the first one.

Without knowing where the property you like is, there are a number of buyer's agents on the forum that have a good reputation that you could look into. Try doing a search on "buyers agent" to find them out. But it sounds like you've already contacted a couple - I would ask these questions of them too.
 
Hi Dave,

Thanks for your reply. Actually, I have stayed at this property a number of times a friend of mine used to live there. I know the area, l'm happy with the location and also the flat itself. So all of that is fine, it's just a question of price.

Yep, I've contacted a couple of BAs, so hopefully we can figure something out. The thing is, I'm quite patient with buying a place - if this one doesn't work out, I can wait a long time - so I'm hesitant to fork out 2-3,000 up front.

Anyway, I'll have a chat to one of them on Monday and see if it's going to be doable.

Thanks again,

Nick
 
ngoli1 said:
Hi Dave,

Thanks for your reply. Actually, I have stayed at this property a number of times a friend of mine used to live there. I know the area, l'm happy with the location and also the flat itself. So all of that is fine, it's just a question of price.

Yep, I've contacted a couple of BAs, so hopefully we can figure something out. The thing is, I'm quite patient with buying a place - if this one doesn't work out, I can wait a long time - so I'm hesitant to fork out 2-3,000 up front.

Anyway, I'll have a chat to one of them on Monday and see if it's going to be doable.

Thanks again,

Nick
Click to expand...

If you are worried about paying $2-3K for a BA to negotiate of your behalf then do it yourself. I understand you are o/seas but most business is conducted using email etc. these days.

If you know what the property is worth etc and you understand what that particular market is doing then it should not be a problem for you to submit an offer. Start low and see where it takes you.

But in the big picture I really would not be worried about spending $2-3K for a BA, this is peanuts, key is finding the right BA who can secure the property at the right price and save you $.

If you provide details on the State where you are considering purchasing then perhaps you will get a better response as there are BA who post on SS that are also experienced investors.

Cheers, MTR
 
Hi MTR. The property is in Victoria. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I should get pre-approval in the next few days so can make an offer after that.
 
Thanks, Big Tone and thanks MTR (I go to work by MTR every day). I would be happy with those conditions. Can you recommend anyone who would do this?

Any Buyer's Agents who would be happy to do this, feel free to email me.

Hoping to go ahead with it this week.

Thanks,

Nick
 
ngoli1 said:
Thanks, Big Tone and thanks MTR (I go to work by MTR every day). I would be happy with those conditions. Can you recommend anyone who would do this?

Any Buyer's Agents who would be happy to do this, feel free to email me.

Hoping to go ahead with it this week.

Thanks,

Nick
Click to expand...


As others said, save your self some money. i know lot of members here buy properties and never actually inspect them. I would order B+P inspection report (so you will know, what you are actually buying) and negotiate via phone or email.

i am no buyers agent but for 1% or more, i can fly from Sydney to Melbourne and negotiate/inspect for you. it is really free money for me :eek:
 
Bigtone said:
on assess and negotiate you should only pay 1% and it should be all or nothing, get the house 1% , miss out nothing,
Click to expand...

I don't think you've considered all the possibilities.

Let's say the BA goes to assess (or evaluate) and after doing his inspection and research, arrives at his estimate of the property's worth at $X. The client only wants to pay $X-Y which isn't reasonable in the current market. Why should the BA walk away with $0 for his efforts?

What if the negotiations are arrived at to everyone's satisfaction but a P&B discovers problems that cause the sale to collapse?

There has to be some part of his fee as a retainer which covers this and then a success part of his fee for a successful negotiation, in my opinion.
 
Propertunity said:
I don't think you've considered all the possibilities.

Let's say the BA goes to assess (or evaluate) and after doing his inspection and research, arrives at his estimate of the property's worth at $X. The client only wants to pay $X-Y which isn't reasonable in the current market. Why should the BA walk away with $0 for his efforts?

What if the negotiations are arrived at to everyone's satisfaction but a P&B discovers problems that cause the sale to collapse?

There has to be some part of his fee as a retainer which covers this and then a success part of his fee for a successful negotiation, in my opinion.
Click to expand...

in melb most will do this, 1% is a nice fee for what could only be a few hours work, its a gamble for them all or nothing and if he does not get this property he is back to square one and might just employ the full service.
 
Hi Nick,

Highly recommend having a chat to Jake Milne from Infolio (he's on this forum too) great guy and from memory charges closer to the $2.5k mark for negotiation.

His number is 0410 527 631 also won Buyer's Agent of the Year (voted by YIP readers) ;)

Cheers,
Sam
 
Last edited:
ngoli1 said:
I have contacted a couple and will choose the one that seems the most reputable and offers the best deal.

Thanks,

Nick
Click to expand...

G'day Nick

These two attributes don't necessarily go hand in hand. It's important to look for someone experienced in your particular patch, who has been around for a while, has a good reputation (this forum and www.rebaa.com.au are good starting points) and is willing to supply references.

I can't help as I'm a Sydney BA but I can tell you that we are a service-based industry, so we do require payment for our time. The difference with some BA's is that they take time to first assess your brief and budget before committing to an engagement for an Option 2 (Evaluate and Negotiate Service) for which they then charge a retainer.

Best of luck with your negotiations.
 
Spades said:
ngoli1 in a nutshell is looking for a BA ie:no win,no fee.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if there are any BA's who operate using this model, but I would be very surprised. After all, buyers agents are very much considered a service-based industry and as such are paid for their time. As much as I love what I do I certainly don't work for free :D
 
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