There are good reasons why it pays to have a strong working relationship with a Buyers’ Agent. If you’re yet to discover the benefits, it’s worth looking into the role of a Buyers’ Agent and noting the opportunities. Meighan Hetherington gives her opinion.
While Buyers’ Agents have been a part of the Australian Real Estate industry for many years now, it is clear to me that there are still many myths surrounding our profession and how it fits in with Real Estate agencies and the services provided by them.
Buyers’ Agents are licensed by the Office of Fair Trading in their respective states, and must comply with the applicable legislation such as the PAMD Act in Queensland. We provide independent advice to buyers during their property purchasing journey, and then find them the perfect property at the best possible price.
Buyers’ Agents uncover their properties from a range of different sources, and among those through relationships they have developed with local Real Estate Agents. Real Estate Agents find they gain a lot by having a good relationship with a Buyers’ Agent. Often, they find they don’t need to even market their listings because the Buyers’ Agent already has a buyer lined up, waiting for exactly that type of property to become available.
The process, from a Buyers’ Agent’s point of view, is much more involved than simply staying on the look-out for a suitable property for their clients. Many people come to us because they would like to add property to their investment portfolio but don’t know where to begin. They don’t realise that so many factors need to be considered when selecting the ideal investment property, including the investor’s financial situation, their existing investment portfolio, and goals for the future.
Every investor has a unique situation. They all have different goals for investing – majority are seeking capital growth over the long term, some hope to earn a passive income, while others would like an investment property for their children or parents to occupy. There are no two situations or investors that are the same, and there are no two solutions that are alike.
We use a 31 point Investment Property Assessment checklist to determine the best property to add to or begin a property investment portfolio based on the investors’ short and long term goals.
In addition to rental returns, investors need to consider factors that influence a property’s capital growth potential. What is the potential for growth in the area? This may be positive such as new infrastructure that will improve public transport, or negative such as a high density housing complex being built too near the property that may lead to a decrease in the property values.
We also help time-poor professionals searching for that perfect home for their family, as well as Aussie ex-pats and interstate buyers planning to move back to Brisbane.
We engage accountants to look after our finances, mechanics to service our cars and housekeepers to keep the housework from getting on top of us. It is crazy to think that, in this day and age, it is not yet a common part of the property buying process to work with a professional Buyers’ Agent to look after our interests in this field.
And indeed, this is what much of the confusion and myths are centred around. It is a common misconception that Real Estate Agents do, and should, represent the interests of both the buyer and the seller.
The Real Estate Agent has a contract with the seller, and the seller only, to obtain the highest possible price for their property. They do this by attracting a number of possible buyers through marketing the property, and then negotiate with those buyers to obtain the highest price for the seller with the most attractive sale conditions.
Therefore, it is breaching the terms of their contract with the seller, for a Real Estate Agent to work on behalf of a buyer and help negotiate the seller down in price and expectations. A buyer cannot reasonably expect a Real Estate agent to achieve the best possible price for them.
The most ideal situation is for both parties to be professionally represented – the seller by a Real Estate Agent and the buyer by a Buyers’ Agent – and allow the professionals to use their negotiation skills to nut out the best deal on behalf of their respective clients.
This way, neither party is disadvantaged and both the buyer and seller come away from the transaction feeling like they have achieved the best possible result.
