Buyers Agent? To use or not?

Hi

Interested in others opinion about using a buyers agent. I try to do as much research myself as I can, but not being that experienced it can be a bit hard. Also we frequently look outside our local area (interstate etc). So I'm wondering if it may be worth paying a buyers agent. Do they get paid upfront fees or commission on the property purchased?

Like to hear others thoughts. Thanks
Stacey
 
Buyers agents are a great idea if you are:

time poor, lacking in knowledge, hate the buying process, hate dealing with agents, lazy.

If you are none of the above, save yourself several thousands of dollars and buy your own properties.

Buying interstate would be a good reason to use one for sure.

It's a booming industry, providing a needed/wanted service.
 
Hi Stacey

Naturally I'm biased as I am a BA :) however what I can say is that a good BA can end up saving you money by advising on what not to buy and how much not to pay as well. An effective BA will be an experienced negotiator too, well-versed in the sales process and able to obtain the property you seek at the best possible price and on terms that suit you.

Just as with any service provider, their fees vary and tend to either be fixed fee or commission based. It's a matter of shopping around (go onto www.realestate.com.au and click on Buyers Agents in the state you wish to search in and start reading their sites for further information and fees etc) being comfortable with the individual BA who'll be looking after you, and being financed and ready to go when you do begin. Best of luck :)
 
I don't have time due to work to do any due diligence other than on the internet after work and that is still limited due to wanting to spend time with my 16 month old son.

I purchased my first IPs in November, which I used a BA for. Not only did they negotiate a good price for me, but they found the place I wanted in the area and price range I wanted and I didn't have to do much but answer emails and a few phone calls.

I was so impressed with the service and costs of the BA I used, I used them again and just had an offer accepted on another property through them.

We looked at a few properties on the market, which multiple offers had been put on with no success in a rather hot market for the location I want, so the BA has found me a property that has not gone onto the market yet.

To have access to these properties, you really need to have the time to be in all the agents faces in the area you chose and since I don't even live in this state, this is too hard for me.

Again the negotiated price was better than I expected. When I include the cost of the BA on the purchase price I am still happy with that price.

I use a BA with a fixed price, not on a percentage. For my situation, I will not purchase any other way, as I am extremely time poor.
 
I concur with LA's list however I'd also add 'if you lack skills/experience in purchasing'.

I used a BA in the past for the following reasons:
- I didn't know the market and wanted to get something quick (i.e. not take the 3 months required to 'get a feel for' the market and current values)
- I was inexperienced at auctions
- A bit time poor
- A bit lazy

In the end it took ages (6+ months) and ended up locating something myself. Try a search on my username for the full story.

It wasn't a bad experience (it was a fair experience), although next time I'll do it myself.
 
I concur with LA's list however I'd also add 'if you lack skills/experience in purchasing'.

I used a BA in the past for the following reasons:
- I didn't know the market and wanted to get something quick (i.e. not take the 3 months required to 'get a feel for' the market and current values)
- I was inexperienced at auctions
- A bit time poor
- A bit lazy

In the end it took ages (6+ months) and ended up locating something myself. Try a search on my username for the full story.

It wasn't a bad experience (it was a fair experience), although next time I'll do it myself.

I used 2 different BAs for interstate purchases last year. I wouldn't use one again because I didn't get much value for paying 2% + GST fee. I learned from it and will do all the research myself.
 
Anyone know any good buyers agents in melbourne? Cales405 are you in Melbourne? Have been doing research on the internet/residex etc buy may consider a BA with my first IP.

Cheers
 
Hi,
I have bought 3 IPs (2 x MEL, 1 X BRIS) in the last 9 months all with the help of Metropole.

I am very happy with their services and of course with the outcome; I can highly recommend their services.
 
Thanks for the reply Rolf. What fees are Metropol charging and was there someone in particular that you were dealing with?

Cheers

Thanks for the kind words Rolf and Dumptydum I understand why you ask about fees, but in the scheme of things how important are they really?

Maybe a better question to ask would be how much value can we add at Metropole.

There is an increasing number of professional buyers agents out there and some really good ones, which is pleasing because it improves the image of the industry.

I am partly answering for Rolf, because at Metropole we do much more than just buy properties, we are more than just buyer’s agents and our level of service reflects that, as do our fees.

We are property investment strategists and this is where we add a lot of value to our clients.

We have offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane so we can give unbiased advice about where to invest.

We have a valuer as well as strategists with accounting degrees in each office and more importantly we understand property investment, asset protection, structuring and tax. (Even though we don’t and can’t advise on all these areas.)

And we are investors not theorists – the strategists are also doing it themselves!

So maybe it’s not really fair to compare us on fees – it’s on service and results.

The fact that we are Australia’s largest buyer’s agency – we buy more properties for clients than anyone else - and we have grown our business to take this position despite some great professional competition – has made me very proud.

And we are going to work very hard to retain this position.
 
Michael,

Now that you have an office in Sydney, does that mean all your offerred services are available to Sydney properties including development, reno, pm and buyer's agency services?
 
I think buyers agents are a very good idea if you are unfamiliar with a particular area you want to buy in, and don't want to do all the research yourself.
 
Yes the fee is tax deductible. I can't remember if it is added to the price of the house for CGT when you sell, or if you can write the amount off in the next financial year (or 5)?
 
Michael,

Now that you have an office in Sydney, does that mean all your offerred services are available to Sydney properties including development, reno, pm and buyer's agency services?

Hi. Thanks for asking:D

We opened our offices in Edgecliff this week and currently we only offer property investment strategy and buyer's agency services.

In due course renovation and property management services will be added and eventually projects.
 
Hi Stacey,

It might be a different price-range to what you're after, but we (my partner and I) got the help of Metropole to buy a development site at Ascot in Brisbane.

After doing all our calculations we figured that to be viable, we would have to purchase the property for around $1.35m, which we were totally prepared to do, however James from the Brisbane office got it for us for $1.22m.

All up, the fee for this was around $32k. Well worth it when you consider the $130k saving.

I don't think it's laziness, as I do consider myself a good negotiator, however I'm not out there living it every single day, unlike a buyers agent who gets a hell of a lot of practice.

-Ian

p.s. Almost forgot to mention; I paid around $1000 up-front to get them started on the search, then the finders fee wasn't payable until I had an unconditional contract.
 
Wow, I just got a hamper from Metropole.

So for $32,000 we not only got a great deal on a property, but we also got wine and chocolates :D

Oh sorry yorkiefish, you were after some negative comments. My bad.
 
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