What are the advantages/disadvantages of using a buyers agent?

Just trying to understand what the advantages and dust advantages of a buyers agent are?

 

Advantages are the additional confidence and assistance they provide through the process. They can be critical especially if you are buying investment properties interstate.

Disadvantages are the 10-20k fee ofcourse.

 

We just bought our first property through a BA , in Perth .

Know nothing about Perth and haven't been there except as a child in 69 .

We used their knowledge to buy what we think is a good property at a good price in a moving market . Wouldn't have been able to do that without significant research and time .

I think the fee was money well spent.

Cliff

 

I think the biggest myth is that they somehow get all these amazing off market properties. A lot of of the time they just find ones off domain or re and push them to you. If you live in the same state you are buying and not buying commerical I wouldnt waste my time with a buyers agent. Waste of 10k imo.

 

We didn't get any off market properties offered , but they said they do get them ( they quoted 10-20 % of their sales , another quoted higher )

My son used a BA to buy in Brisbane last year and the property they bought was off-market and was a good price in a hot market . He and his partner are busy and have little time available to look for a property so it worked for them

The property we bought in Perth came on market on the Wed , our BA went through with several other buyers on thursday pm and we had our offer accepted on the Friday .

Not everyone has the time to look at the market every day . Every one has different skill sets

We've bought over 50 properties and this is the first time we've used a BA . We had an initial appointment with three to check them out and I was impressed with all of them . Was actually a hard decision which to use .

Cliff

 

Hi Cliff, may I asked which BA did you end up going with?

 

Advantages:

1. Save Time
2. Expert Advice (some BA's are also qualified to give investment advice - but not all)
3. Local Knowledge
4. Ability to Leverage Agent Relationships
5. Pre-Market and Off-Market Opportunities
6. Thorough Due Diligence
7. Skilled Negotiators
8. Ability to Leverage Strategic Partners (ie: mortgage brokers, conveyancers, building and pest inspectors, property managers, quantity surveyors, accountants etc)
9. Education
10. Take the emotion out of the purchase

Disadvantages:

1. Some would say the cost (however paying $15K plus today to secure the right asset and get the right personalised advice could make a significant difference in the performance of the asset and therefore an individual's financial outcomes in the future)
2. There are a lot of Buyer's Agents who are good sales people so consumers can be easily duped - a Buyer's Agent should be a buyers advocate not a sales person
3. Some Property Spruikers disguise themselves as Buyer's Agents or Investment Advisors and for the ill-informed it can be difficult to understand the difference.

I hope this helps

 

We used Ray Chua at momentum

Our Daughter used Matt Hughes

We talked to Peter Galvas .

Would have been happy to use any of them.

Cliff

 

I didn't know that you need a qualification to provide property investment advice

 

Hi @See Change , if you had bought over 50 properties you would have a knack of buying a property, why use a BA this time? Presumably you hadn't used one before? Time shortage? Or...? Just curious.

 

I suspect he stated it in his original post. The same reason I use a BA to purchase in Brisbane. I didn't know the market. I looked at the economics of cost and time associated with getting on the ground and learning the market, vs the cost of a BA. The BA is far cheaper then getting on a plane, spending the weekend there, coming home, doing it all again for the next month or two.

 

First time in perth , lack of time to do own dd .

Cliff

 

Unfortunately that is exactly the problem - you don't! Anyone can technically provide property investment advice.
That said - there is a program that has been developed by PIPA (Property Investment Professionals of Australia) as an industry benchmark of knowledge and skills for individual investors and professionals in industries involved with property investment. The 6 modules can be done individually or as a complete course to deliver education for anyone wishing to develop and expand their personal knowledge on property investment, or look for a career in property investment advising as a Qualified Property Investment Advisor (QPIA®). You can find out more about this training HERE.
This is an assessed qualification - not self paced individual learning. You have to complete exams and assignments to pass.
I hope this explains the difference!

 

Great thing to aspire to. I'm also looking to build portfolio.
Without using a BA, how did you generally find your properties and locations? Data or just good old fashioned google research hours?

 

Yes , but we went up and spent time looking at areas to get a feel for the areas .

Sometimes we’d get a great deal but our main aim was to get reasonable properties at the right time .

for me timing is the most important factor

cliff

 

Further observation .

another reason why we used a BA this time was the market was moving ( imho ) so we didn’t feel we had time.

when the market is dead ( usually when we’re buying ) we have time to look around .

up to now our best buys have occurred when we’ve able to look at multiple properties , get a new really good feel for the market and when we’ve seen a good deal and move quickly .

Reality it is that Ray Chua has got probably the best deal we’ve bought in a hot market . It’s a very nice 4/2/2 in Morley for 645 that’s just rented for 650 . Looking at other places for rent I wasn’t sure we’d get 650 but that was their rental assessment . We were offered 670 by one person but they preferred another applicant.

that’s a pretty good return for a nice property in a market that’s taking off.

cliff