A buyer’s agent is a licensed real estate professional who does not sell real estate, but acts exclusively to assist buyers find, evaluate and negotiate the purchase of real estate. In a nutshell, the role of a buyer’s agent is make the process of purchasing real estate simple for the buyer, whilst ensuring they purchase the best property, on or off the market, at the very best price.
Engaging a buyer’s agent is becoming increasingly popular in Australia, particularly in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs and Lower North Shore where it is can be extremely difficult to buy property. In these markets, using a buyer’s agent saves you time, stress and a lot of money.
Here are a few tips on what buyer’s agents do and how to get the most out of your buyer’s agent:
- Listen – a great buyer’s agent will listen to you. They will spend time running through a thorough brief of the home you are looking for and why. It is so important to provide a thorough brief as this will form the basis of their initial search. They will need info such as your preferred suburb(s), style of home, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, parking, schooling, lifestyle, budget and much more
- Insider information – a good buyer’s agent will have a strong knowledge of their area and ongoing relationships with real estate agents and other professionals in that area. Because of these strong relationships, good buyer’s agents will have access to off market or unlisted properties, which are properties that are being sold unadvertised or privately. Access to unlisted properties is a huge advantage when buying as there are very few homes being sold at the moment and with access to unlisted properties you can view a wider range of properties before making a purchase. In the current market, with such low levels of stock making competition extremely fierce and pushing prices up, access to unlisted properties give you the upper hand by providing you with a broader range of options before making a purchase, and allowing you access to properties that most people don’t even know about
- Act quickly and use their contacts – the role of a buyer’s agent is to find you best property, on or off the market, and ensure you purchase it at the very best price. In order to do this, a great buyer’s agent must have a cohesive team and will work closely with a their preferred brokers, solicitors, building and pest inspectors and other industry professionals. They have built a strong team to ensure that once they have found ‘the one’ for you, the necessary due diligence can be completed in lightning speed. Not having your finance properly pre-approved, or not getting a building inspector onsite fast enough can be the difference in you winning the property or missing out! This team work is imperative so ensure your buyer’s agent has a strong team and use them to your advantage
- Don’t delay – time is money in the current market with so few properties being traded, meaning if you let another few months go by without buying you may well price yourself out of the suburbs you want to buy in!
- Be available – most people engage a buyers agent because they don’t have time to run around looking at properties and chasing agents and reports. However when it comes to making an offer, it really is the quick and the dead. To allow your buyers agent to purchase the property and secure it at the very best price for you, make sure you are contactable during this time so that negotiations can be finalised quickly and you come out on top!
- PLEASE NOTE – it is really important to note that most buyer’s agent only charge a small engagement fee to start your search and do not get paid until their fee until they have found the right property, completed the due diligence and finalised the negotiation so they will work tirelessly to find the right property for you. Communicating and providing them with as much feedback as possible throughout the search will ensure you find the right home and buy it sooner.
