Do I need a buyers agent?

I notice on some buyers agent websites such as jake's above and some others vipportfolio.com.au that they offer selling services, property management as well as renovating and developing services.

Does this apply to the majority of BAs and is it worthwhile using BAs to co-ordinate renos and developments? Has anyone had experience of this?

Looking at vipportfolio.com.au it looks like the BA buys a whole apartment block, renovates it and then manages the leasing. I wonder whether the client actually makes money out of this.
 
I notice on some buyers agent websites such as jake's above and some others vipportfolio.com.au that they offer selling services, property management as well as renovating and developing services.

Does this apply to the majority of BAs and is it worthwhile using BAs to co-ordinate renos and developments? Has anyone had experience of this?

Some BAs offer PM services, whilst others choose to outsource this. A BA who offers selling services cannot be classified as independent, however, as it's obviously a conflict of interest. Very few BAs offer renovation and dvpt services, as these are specialised fields. They can, however, as we do, offer recommendations to make it easier for clients to coordinate themselves, or else hire a project manager/builder to do the work for them.
 
I notice on some buyers agent websites such as jake's above and some others vipportfolio.com.au that they offer selling services...

Just to clarify, I don't sell property; rather, help advise sellers who the best agent and selling strategy for their situation is.

As Jacque said BA's who sell and buy have a conflict of interest.
 
Here's a question, surely BA’s find a few standout properties while researching properties for their clients. If their clients pass up these properties is it then possible to go to a BA and ask “ what properties they have?” let them suggest a good IP in a good investment area?
 
Here's a question, surely BA’s find a few standout properties while researching properties for their clients. If their clients pass up these properties is it then possible to go to a BA and ask “ what properties they have?” let them suggest a good IP in a good investment area?

In a word, "yes". This has happened to us a couple of times over the years. But, as a general rule, truly independent BA's do not bring property to clients, they take a brief from a client and go do a full search to find the property.
 
Here's a question, surely BA’s find a few standout properties while researching properties for their clients. If their clients pass up these properties is it then possible to go to a BA and ask “ what properties they have?” let them suggest a good IP in a good investment area?

Nothing is impossible. Are you suggesting that you want to do the negotiating yourself? You would have to ask individual BA's whether they offer a "find the deal only" service. I suspect they will want a fee and most will prefer to negotiate the whole deal themselves as they (arguably) will get you a better price and better terms which will pay for their fee.

Personally I would happily pay someone to send me info if I was ready to buy in their area and they had access to better deals than I did.

Do any of the BA's on SS do this? Care to share your fees?

I am totally guessing but I would suggest 1-2k might be fair for that kind of thing.
 
Buyers agent?

look at the current market, very little growth.

very few properties worth buying for re-development or renovations, the market is tanked.

why would you use a buyers agent its like paying someone money for nothing, they cant find you property for gains as the market is dead only the honest buyers agents would tell you this, the scamming ones will say full of potentials everywhere!

in short dont bother wasting money on a buyers agent the property market is not hot property at the moment with VERY VERY minimal properties worth it and the ones that are worth it chances are they dont have access too and if they did they would probably get it for themselves.
 
Ted that is the most ridiculous post I've ever read on Somersoft. It's the same as saying do not invest in any share in the world because the market is flat; and don't trust a broker who is licenced to give you advice becuase surely they all just keep the good stocks for themselves.

Fact of the matter is that some stocks go up while others go down. It's similar with property...
I've heard of pessimism but that post just shows how completely unaware you are of how property markets work.
 
Ted that is the most ridiculous post I've ever read on Somersoft. It's the same as saying do not invest in any share in the world because the market is flat; and don't trust a broker who is licenced to give you advice becuase surely they all just keep the good stocks for themselves.

Fact of the matter is that some stocks go up while others go down. It's similar with property...
I've heard of pessimism but that post just shows how completely unaware you are of how property markets work.

let me repeat that again if you are so confident in your services why do you ask for money upfront? why not make an agreement with the client by signing a contract that once a profitable property is found then they should pay you.

waiting for your reply of ''my time is valuable blah blah blah'' yes it may be valuable but if you have the key to many properties that have great potential and a contract in place nobody is really wasting your time.

but hey give us your money we will find you a property! an honest buyers agent will tell you the market is currently in a pop hole and finding property with great potential is minimal simple as that.

think what you like
 
Nothing is impossible. Are you suggesting that you want to do the negotiating yourself? You would have to ask individual BA's whether they offer a "find the deal only" service. I suspect they will want a fee and most will prefer to negotiate the whole deal themselves as they (arguably) will get you a better price and better terms which will pay for their fee.

Personally I would happily pay someone to send me info if I was ready to buy in their area and they had access to better deals than I did.

Do any of the BA's on SS do this? Care to share your fees?

I am totally guessing but I would suggest 1-2k might be fair for that kind of thing.

What I was thinking is that BA's must see plenty of good deals that go unpurchased all the time for different reasons. Instead of these deals going to waste maybe they could send them out to prospective buyers that don't really care about location or type of property they are just looking for a good deal on a good properties . Of course this would be at a reduced rate because most of the work was done for the original client. Yes BA could seal the deal or the new buyer could do it that would depend on the client and the price would correspond to the amount of service received. BA's could have a list of prospective buyers and email out a list of deals from time to time. I'm sure if it all was successful the BA could build good lists of return clientele. ??
 
What I was thinking is that BA's must see plenty of good deals that go unpurchased all the time for different reasons. Instead of these deals going to waste maybe they could send them out to prospective buyers that don't really care about location or type of property they are just looking for a good deal on a good properties . Of course this would be at a reduced rate because most of the work was done for the original client. Yes BA could seal the deal or the new buyer could do it that would depend on the client and the price would correspond to the amount of service received. BA's could have a list of prospective buyers and email out a list of deals from time to time. I'm sure if it all was successful the BA could build good lists of return clientele. ??

they dont do that because there time is to valuable hahah...

its the modern day of scamming people a buyers agent if a buyers agent is so amazing and they have the uber connections in great properties they wouldnt waste there time finding you properties, they would be reaping the rewards!
 
What I was thinking is that BA's must see plenty of good deals that go unpurchased all the time for different reasons. Instead of these deals going to waste maybe they could send them out to prospective buyers that don't really care about location or type of property they are just looking for a good deal on a good properties . Of course this would be at a reduced rate because most of the work was done for the original client. Yes BA could seal the deal or the new buyer could do it that would depend on the client and the price would correspond to the amount of service received. BA's could have a list of prospective buyers and email out a list of deals from time to time. I'm sure if it all was successful the BA could build good lists of return clientele. ??


Contrary to popular opinion (of others posts on this thread) we BAs are mere mortals and not walking banks. If we had the financial capacity to purchase every "hot deal" we came across we probably wouldn't need to be working for others to eke out a living :D

I'd also like to make the point that the overwhelming majority of BAs offer a personalised service for individual clients ie: they work for a set fee (made up of an initial retainer and a success fee) for an individualised brief. Most reputable BAs will take on a limited number of clients at any one time and not two clients with an identical brief.

BAs are predominantly a service-based industry, in that we are paid for our time, just as you would pay any other service provider. I cannot speak for other agencies, but in 7 years of business we have located a property for 98.5% of our clients during our 120 day contract period, so realistic buyers can be assured that we will locate them a property that suits their budget and needs during their time with us. For further information on BAs and how they operate, I'd recommend taking a a look at the recently updated REBAA website- Australia's leading professional body for independent buyers agents http://rebaa.com.au/fact-sheet/

Re: BA services that email "deals" to multiple clients or subscribers. Such companies already exist, such as Nathan Birch's Deal Finder https://www.binvested.com.au/services.html
Sam Saggars Positive Real Estate
http://www.positiverealestate.com.au/
And I'm not sure who runs this one...
http://www.cashflowcapital.com.au/about-cashflow-capital.html
but it looks similar with subscriber-based emails, mentoring programmes etc.

Please note that I am in no way endorsing any of the above companies but simply letting you know of possible alternatives to having your own personal BA working for you. It may be a cheaper way of locating real estate that works for some or those who wish to be on paid mailing lists. Each to their own, and I am the first to admit that a BA isn't suitable for every purchaser, just as hiring a selling agent isn't for every vendor either.

Sadly I think Ted misses the point in referring to BAs as scammers - no BA claims that they possess "uber connections" or otherwise in real estate. We simply work hard at establishing good contacts, maintain those contacts, use our experience and skills and reap the results. Locating, researching, analysing and negotiating property can be a difficult and drawn out process, and certainly not everyone out there enjoys or has the time for doing it themselves. Regardless of the market (up or down) there will always be purchasers and sellers of real estate.

And, Ted, forgive me in advance as it's the ex-teacher in me :D but to improve your spelling I'd like to draw your attention to the following:

THERE: Use there to refer to a physical or abstract place. Usually, if you can replace there with here in the same sentence, and it still makes sense, then you are using it correctly. Eg: We are sitting over there.

THEIR: Use their to show possession, commonly followed by a noun. Usually, if you can replace their with our in the same sentence, and it still makes sense, then you are using it correctly. Eg: Their time is valuable.

THEY'RE: Use they're as a contraction for 'they are'. Usually, if you can replace they're with 'they are' in the same sentence, and it still makes sense, then you are using it correctly. Eg: They're buying a new house.
 
Sorry for the hijacking but are there *that* many properties that's currently for sale but unadvertised/only known to industry insiders? I am looking at the Hills district (WPH in particular) and am almost convinced I'll need a BA just to access some of these silent sale stuff.
 
Under what situations would one enlist a buyers agent?

I have limited time [about a month] to make a decision regarding purchasing a property and still havnt narrowed the search, let alone shortlisting. Can a buyers agent help in this regard?

Why do you have deadline to buy a house ? 1 month you say..sounds rushed to me specially when you are buying such a big ticket item.
 
We bought our PPOR through a buyers agent. He looked at over 40-50 properties for us and narrowed it down to what we asked for. To look at those number of proper ourselves with kids is = nightmare.

Our agent made appointments during the week to look, he found properties that were not yet advertised & properties that were cheaper as the vendor was desperate to sell.
He advised us against properties that were poorly renovated or designed. He scoped the street, area, asked the neighbours what it was like to live in etc etc.

I could not have found the house we have without their services. They do this everyday, they know the areas, they know the agents.
I reckon they have a vital role to play in the whole real estate landscape.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I personally don't use a ba. I'm sure they have a place though.
You're saying the cash rate is set at 3% to prop up the property market?

I have places in towns that are propped up by mining. They made fantastic growth last year. That contradicts two of your above statements.
Thank you, and goodnight...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I just used a BA for a property in Darwin. I live overseas & the cost & hassle factor of travelling 15hrs each way to Australia to view a property that could look good on the web, but not in reality is just not worth it. The property he found us is in a good location, it's what we were after, within budget & was rented before settlement for a great return.

A BA might not be for everyone, but it was certainly easier for us & a service I would use again.
 
Asset selection number one reason to engage help

Some very important points made already about why one would engage a third party to help purchase a property rather than do it yourself.

The most important reason is asset selection. This is especially true for investors. Two ostensibly similar properties can deliver very different outcomes in terms of long-term capital growth, ability to attract and retain tenants and ease of maintenance. It is incredibly easy to pick the wrong property as sadly the top performers are in the minority. We, after 18 years of operations, believe that only around 1 in 20 properties on the market have the characteristics to merit the tag investment property.

That's because the criteria we set are tough: right location in terms of suburb and street, right type of property, good outlook, secure position, logical or conventional floor plan, well maintained, off-street car parking (for apartments).

Other posters may decry the cost of a good advisor; but those fees pale in comparison to the potential lost in wealth (possibly 10 or 20-fold) by buying the wrong property.

Of course, it's crucial an advisor can demonstrate their bona fides and a track record of good judgement and great outcomes for clients.
 
Back
Top