Buyers agent reviews , advice and reccomendations

Hi,
I am looking at a buyers agent for my 2nd IP in Queensland or S Australia.
I have spoken to quite a few and have a few in mind but I wanted to check if anyone has any reviews of the following ..

1, Dean is charging $2999 and I have spoken to him and he did sound knowledgeable.
Berman Buys

2. Ric is charging $4999
Buyers Agent - The Home Buyer Helper Brisbane

This seems way below the market price but both seem to assist with end to end which other BA’s would also do and charge $15k..

Just wanted to know if anyone has had any experience with them as I am really keen to finalise a BA soon.

Thanks in advance.

 

Have you asked why they are so much lesser than the market average?

 

Mainly to increase and gain share in the market ..model is based on getting repeat clients.

 

Sounds too low for the amount of work involved especially in this current market when there is a chance of missing deals.

How one is able to serve clients well with that sort of a fee is beyond me.

Presuming the right thing is being done by the clients and they are not just being flogged just any property.

We have repeat clients with multiple purchases per client but don't charge anywhere that low.

 

How does any buyers agent cover the whole country?

 

Correct!
I did check that they are not promoting house and land packages or town houses. It may sound too good to be true but they tick the boxes. But you will only know once you are go through the process ..
That’s why looking for feedbacks if anyone has used them.

 

Is their fee the deciding factor? Check their results instead

 

How do you check the results .. all websites are filled with 5 star testimonials .. google ratings are also good .
If I don’t look at the fees, How does one decide on which one to pick?

 

Have they shown you their existing deals and how they have performed ? They don't need to share the areas but the deals they have done the pros and why.

 

Paying 15k for BA is insane.

With a little effort you could do it yourself.

As for the BS telling you about house and land. It is BAs protecting their turf.

 

Nope . I didn’t ask and they didn’t share.
That’s a good point .
So these are perhaps the things I need to know . Thanks for the advice.

 

The right BA is well worth the investment. But if their goal is to get as many clients as possible and flog then there is an issue.

 

I think that’s everyone’s goal to scale up . How it’s done is what separates each business . Does it come at a cost of quality, then definitely it’s not going to sustain but if someone can offer quality at a cheaper cost then it might be worth looking at. Just saying that could be the model . I am just giving my 2 cents worth and I have no experience with any BA’s before ..

 

Fast, cheap, quality

Pick two

 

@Adi ,

All I need to see on their website is this to make me say no thank you and run away.

 

Thanks so much Simon. Exactly the kind of advice I was looking for mate ..

 

Haha.. cheers mate!

 

I (as would most good BA's) have happy repeat clients but I charge them a lot more than $3k per transaction.

If they are cheap because they want market share then I would assume one potential reason is they are fairly new (I could be wrong) which may reduce the chance that you will get testimonials on the forum. Everyone has to start somewhere but it seems experience is important to you (as it should be). Hence your question of course.

Otherwise if they are cheap they have to be cutting price somewhere. If you do the maths and want (for example) 100-150 hours of personal service, including regular phone calls, adequate inspection and due diligence on 15-30 properties across 6 months, allow for repeat travel costs interstate on top and I don't know how anyone can offer full service for $3k.

If a business is well established with qualified employed staff in each location that would reduce travel costs, but staff means wage costs and superannuation to support too so the above comments would still hold in most cases I think.

Buyer's agents are not for everyone. Those who want to do things themselves and save the $ should. Those who value assembling a team of experts to work with and saving time for other priorities get it.

I would just encourage you to choose one you think will help you reach your goals and represents quality (based on some combo of evidence & gut), not one that is cheap.

 

Pay peanuts to get peanuts.