Can anyone recommend an Buyers agent\advocate?

Discussion in 'The Buying & Selling Process' started by jstirl, 24th May, 2017.

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  1. jstirl

    jstirl Member

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    Hi All,

    This has probably been asked before but can anyone recommend a good buyers agent? preferably one with national coverage? I'm looking for an IP (house) for $500k, i'm from Wollongong and the market is pretty hot here at the moment so need to think about somewhere else but where? Had a look at metropole who look ok, our neighbour used a company in Brisbane but the property they purchased was the companies own development which doesn't sound too independent to me.

    Thanks for any advice

    Cheers
     
  2. Creamy

    Creamy Well-Known Member

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    EmpowerWealth?
    I've not used them before, but the blokes that run it also run the PropertyCouch podcast, and the advice given there is sound.
     
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  3. Xenia

    Xenia Well-Known Member

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    There are a few buyers agents here. @Tony Fleming has sourced properties in Adelaide for my clients and has been incredibly diligent.

    Not sure if he services your area but maybe worth a chat with him. Highly professional and just a nice guy too.
     
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  4. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

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  5. Xenia

    Xenia Well-Known Member

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    I also enjoy @Jacque 's contribution to this forum and follow her on social media. Have not had an opportunity yet to work with her professionally but do love her attitude on work and life.
     
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  6. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

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    Yep, she's a gem. Also made me over 400k on a place well chosen in the past :)
     
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  7. radson

    radson Well-Known Member

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  8. Propertunity

    Propertunity Well-Known Member

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  9. Rob Honeycombe

    Rob Honeycombe New Member

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    Meighan Hetherington from Brisbane's Property Pursuit is the Chair of REIQ's Buyers Agents Chapter. Very capable lady.
     
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  10. jstirl

    jstirl Member

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    Thanks everyone for the suggestions but I'm pretty sure i'm priced out of the Sydney market.
     
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  11. Jacque

    Jacque Jacque Parker Premium Member

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    Thanks @Leo2413 and @Xenia for the kind words - always appreciated :)

    @jstirl unfortunately for $500K budget for a house you are priced out of most of the Sydney market (though if you're looking further west than where we cover you could find more choice) I would suggest you look further afield eg: central or south coast. There are excellent REBAA members (as per @Propertunity 's post) who work in these areas who may be able to assist, depending on your criteria. Best of luck :)
     
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  12. Liarliar

    Liarliar Well-Known Member

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    How much are these people charging? Hopefully nithing outrageous like a guy on the Central Coast once wanted .
    Maximum i pay as i told him (before the rude geeezer slammed down the phone) is $500 !
     
  13. JacM

    JacM VIC Buyer's Agent - Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat Business Member

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    Good afternoon @Liarliar

    BA fees tend to be a fair whack higher than $500 (normally more than $5000). Some will charge a percentage (of sale price) fee and some will charge a flat rate fee.
     
  14. jstirl

    jstirl Member

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    Hi @Liarliar

    The two I've spoken to are around 2% of the purchase price, similar to what a real estate charges. One was a flat fee and the other was a percentage of the sale price which made me a little wary as the best price for you isn't going to be the best for them. As I will most likely be buying interstate I can see the value in them. Will post on here if I end up using them.

    Cheers
     
  15. Peter_Tersteeg

    Peter_Tersteeg Mortgage Broker Business Member

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    I think you need to take a reality check on what various services costs. Someone in business that makes $100k a year would need to charge about $150 - $200 per hour. $500 barely pays for the time it takes to figure out what sort of property is going to suit you. What ever your hourly rate at work is, your employer expects 3-4 times that value. If not, you may not be worth employing.

    If you think $500 is the most you'd be willing to pay for a BA, I don't blame them for hanging up, you've already wasted too much of their time. The cheapest BA I've heard of charges $5000+GST and they don't really do a proper job of it. Most charge at least $10k, sometimes quite a bit more.


    The value of a BA when purchasing interstate is simple. I planned to purchase in Brisbane, I live in Melbourne. I'd identified various opportunities but have no real ideal about the market at the micro level. For me to travel to Brisbane for a weekend would cost about $1k in flights, car hire, accommodation, eating out. That's before I try to put a value of my own time, simply having weekends not being out of town.

    It would take me at least 4-5 weeks to get a feel for the local market, and even that would be fairly superficial. There's a high probability with that level of research I'd make costly mistakes. It might then take just as long again to find a suitable property and purchase it. Many of my clients are looking for months before they find something they are comfortable purchase. I'd then have to go back 2-4 times more to do settlement inspections and organise property management.

    The BA paid more than for himself by the time I'd signed a contract (he charged $12k). In addition to that he:
    * Was far more effective at negotiating than I am. BAs negotiate every day, most people only do it a handful of times in their life.
    * Gave me insights to the market that would have taken me months to realise. They're in the market every single day, I'm not.
    * They made a better purchasing decision than I would. I was ready to buy the quite a few properties that we looked at, but was told that we could do better. In the end he was right, I'm very happy with the property we purchased.

    At this point, even purchasing locally I'll probably use a BA. They're well worth it.
     
    Last edited: 29th May, 2017
  16. Jacque

    Jacque Jacque Parker Premium Member

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    Tongue in cheek I'm sure @Liarliar :rolleyes: so I won't even validate your comment with a reality check- that's been done already as per above.

    In Sydney, $500 will barely cover tolls, petrol and car running costs on a standard client search...
     
  17. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

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    They obviously expect you to turn up to open homes on a bicycle.
     
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  18. Jacque

    Jacque Jacque Parker Premium Member

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    LOL :D and that's if you make it alive after battling any of our major roads.... wouldn't catch me on any arterials as I value my life!
     
  19. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

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    haha.. Not only do you have to negotiate the deal but now you have to also negotiate the chaos on Sydney roads! :eek:
     
  20. Savy mum

    Savy mum Well-Known Member

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    We are going with Propertyology. They are based in Brisbane but buy property all over Australia.
     
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