What can a buyer’s agent do for me that I can’t do for myself?
5 min read
When it comes to buying property, most people are able to identify good opportunities. Things like location, layout, land size and orientation are easy to research and understand. The question then, is can you buy a great property? You know the kind. The outlier that doubles in value every ten years. The house that sets the suburb record whenever it transacts.
This is where a good buyer’s advocate comes into play
A buyer’s advocate (also known as a buyer’s agent) looks at hundreds of properties throughout the year, attends and bids at dozens of auctions and negotiates with real estate agents day in and day out.
This experience allows them to see what type of property performs in different areas, not just across different suburbs and council areas but within them too.
When you are looking to buy, chances are you haven’t had anywhere near the same exposure to the property market, the major players in your area or the granular detail pick up on given they are in and out of property all day, every day.
Doing it yourself is possible
Tools such as realestate.com.au and Domain, along with websites like ours that provide lots of free information are a great place to start growing your knowledge and understanding your local market. These tools can be both a blessing and a burden though, as they don’t tell the whole story.
It takes knowledge, experience, and a strong network to identify and then purchase a property that’s going to continue to perform year on year and be the type of property that’s going to be desirable no matter what the broader market is doing.
As mentioned above, it’s easy to buy a good property, but when you’re buying something you plan to live in or hold for a number of years it’s worth investing in a professional to help you get the best outcome. Every property you purchase is an investment, whether you are living in it yourself or renting it out.
Doing it yourself doesn’t mean you’ll get the best result
Just like renovating your house by yourself is possible, it doesn’t mean you’ll get the best outcome. The same applies when buying the house in the first place.
They key things a buyer’s agent will do for you include:
Researching the market – once you’ve outlined the type of property you want, your budget for the purchase and the area you want to buy in they will get to work. The research will cover things like the current state of the market and recent sales, historical performance in the suburb and local sales data. If you are an investor, your buyer’s agent will also provide information on things like occupancy, rental yield, infrastructure and population growth.
Inspections – a buyer’s advocate will save you time by pre-inspecting a swathe of properties you are interested in, then can provide you with a shortlist of the properties which are worth your time looking at. They can also attend the inspection with you, help you understand what’s important and what can be changed to meet your needs.
Off-market opportunities – this particular point is an interesting one in the current market. Lots of buyers want to purchase off-market property, that is, property that’s not listed anywhere. To find off-market property, you need a buyer’s advocate who has a very good relationship with the agents in the area you are looking in. Not all agents and vendors want to sell off-market, so it can take a persuasive buyer’s advocate to get you into the property in the first place.
Evaluation and due diligence – after you’ve found a property you are interested in purchasing, your buyer’s agent will help you to engage a conveyancer or solicitor if you don’t have one. They’ll help you to understand the market value of the property, work with your solicitor to understand whether there are any material facts affecting whether you should make an offer, at what price point and whether any conditions should be included.
Negotiation – this is where a buyer’s agent really comes into their own. Having dealt with agents every day, knowing the history of the property and other market conditions they can go hard during the negotiation process to secure you the best deal possible. They will work with you to build a purchase strategy and with the agent to understand the vendor’s motivations for selling and capitalise on them.
Auction – some buyers engage an advocate for the sole purpose of bidding at auction. It seems like something that should be straight forward, but a level head can mean the difference between missing out altogether or succeeding. They also help ensure you don’t overpay or overstep your budget.
No matter which method of sale, working with a buyer’s advocate means taking the emotion out of the process. They operate as calm professionals and get the best outcome for you, without getting emotionally involved.
Many Entourage clients are able to purchase both pre- and post-auction thanks to the strong negotiation skills of their advocate.
Settlement and beyond – your buyer’s advocate can also help you with pre-settlement inspections, arranging building inspectors, and organising quotes for renovations and property managers if you plan on turning it into a rental.
Learn more about how our buyer’s agents and advocates can help guide you through the entire process of buying property.