Buyer's Agents

Hi all,

New to this forum and first post here.
Just wanted to know if anyone out there have or are currently using a buyer's agent. I'm looking at Right Property Group and Binvested and would like to hear any feedback from those who have experienced any of these guys personally.
Not sure whether a buyer's agent is necessary or if they're just creating a hole in my pocket from their near $10,000 fee for each property purchase.

Any information would be great!

Thanks
 
Hiya

Welcome aboard.

BA's can be great given the circumstances - but like in every profession, the quality will vary so it's important to do your research.

There are some great ones on this forum who regularly contribute.

There's also the industry body (I can't remember the acronym - rebaa I think) that provides useful info.

Where are you looking to buy?

Cheers

Jamie
 
Hi and welcome to the forum here.

This question has been asked and answered a few times. You can read many posts if you do a google search: site:somersoft.com "Binvested"
 
Personally I think BAs provide great value for money if you're purchasing outside your local area, especially if it's interstate. I've done this myself.

If I'm purchasing locally I can do the due diligence and figure it all out myself. It is fair to say though, that a BA will should have better local knowledge and negotiating skills than I could ever hope to enjoy.
 
I can only speak from my own personal experience and a friends experience.

Use Alan (propertunity) if you're looking for someone who will take the time to understand what you are after, assist you in finding a property and educate you on what to look out for. Then help negotiate or bid at the auction on your behalf.

Use BInvested if you like giving away $10k to be told to buy some random property in some random location because its a "good deal". As for the negotiation part, they say they have spoken to the agent and negotiated a price already, but the agent has no knowledge of this. Good for lazy people who have no desire to learn and are happy throw money around.

http://somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54696
http://somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96880
http://somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99487
 
There're two 'types' of BA for me (just a division in my head, not formal), depending on what you want to achieve:
  1. If you already know the area you want to buy and looking for someone who's experienced locally and will walk you through the learning process, then look for BA like ones in this forum, who will find per your criteria and add their 2 cents to make sure you buy well
  2. If you want someone to present you a deal from several areas (whether or not it matches the criteria you give) and almost building your portfolio for you, then you might be looking for the type of RPG and BInvested. Will PM you with my experience.
 
Hiya


Where are you looking to buy?


Jamie

This is a critical question before you choose a BA. No one can be the best possible buyer for every location on the planet. Some are good at finding deals in a range of locations, others are highly specialised at finding deals in just a few suburbs. As others have said there are a range of BA business models out there and each have pros and cons for different kinds of clients. In this arena as with all property investing, more research usually results in better decisions and more profit.
 
Hiya

Welcome aboard.

BA's can be great given the circumstances - but like in every profession, the quality will vary so it's important to do your research.

There are some great ones on this forum who regularly contribute.

There's also the industry body (I can't remember the acronym - rebaa I think) that provides useful info.

Where are you looking to buy?

Cheers

Jamie

Looking to tap into QLD's market. I have done some research but very little when it comes to interstate. As many have mentioned in this forum, Sydney's market is currently hot and maybe has a few years of good CG whereas QLD is still undervalued with much more room to grow.
This is why I've been eager to invest outside of NSW with the help of a BA as I don't have the luxury time to physically inspect these properties.

Hopefully once i've obtained one or two in QLD from a BA, I would be able to pick up on the selected areas they suggest and start doing my own due diligence from there onwards. But again, I'm finding it hard to fork out $10,000 on a property worth between 200-300k even though their reasoning behind this is that I would be making in excess of $10,000 as it is purchased under market value. I guess I've never had to go down this process when buying locally in Sydney, so now having to pay someone else for something I could potentially do myself if I knew more of the QLD market and had the time/luxury to visit a number of properties... it's quite hard to swallow.
 
Looking to tap into QLD's market. I have done some research but very little when it comes to interstate. As many have mentioned in this forum, Sydney's market is currently hot and maybe has a few years of good CG whereas QLD is still undervalued with much more room to grow.
This is why I've been eager to invest outside of NSW with the help of a BA as I don't have the luxury time to physically inspect these properties.

Hopefully once i've obtained one or two in QLD from a BA, I would be able to pick up on the selected areas they suggest and start doing my own due diligence from there onwards. But again, I'm finding it hard to fork out $10,000 on a property worth between 200-300k even though their reasoning behind this is that I would be making in excess of $10,000 as it is purchased under market value. I guess I've never had to go down this process when buying locally in Sydney, so now having to pay someone else for something I could potentially do myself if I knew more of the QLD market and had the time/luxury to visit a number of properties... it's quite hard to swallow.

QLD is a big place. In terms of BA's up there Andrew Allen gets good reviews in Brisbane and so does Jen in Cairns/Far North.

As for the Sydney boom - my view is that it ripples out across NSW (have watched several cycles) and there are loads of opportunities up and down the coast and in the inland cities. Just need to do your research to understand the market cycle position of each area individually since some have had growth/losses relating to mining activity, others haven't etc etc.
 
Hi there,

This post could'nt have come at a better time.
I am also in the market for a BA in the Brisbane area and in the process of finding the right one.
I live in Sydney and don't know the Brisbane market too well so I believe a good BA would definitely be advantageous in my situation.
Has anyone had any dealings:
Hot Property Specialists
Andrew Allen
Property Searchers
Property Pursuit
Any feedback would be grealty appreciated!
 
I've had numerous clients who have purchased through Andrew Allen and I have purchased property using his services myself. The experiences have been uniformly positive.
 
My purchase (and the clients that come to mind) were in Brisbane. He may service the Gold Coast but I can't verify.

Andrews number is 1300 443 581.
 
Thanks Peter.
Much appreciated.
I went on the REBAA website and seems as though there are only 9 BA's registered in QLD area. With so many BA's out there, it's good to see they make it a pretty stringent criteria to become a registered member of REBAA.
 
@Taku

In answer to your question I have also had dealings with Liz from Hot Property Specialists and found her to be extremely knowledgeable.

Cheers
 
What are minimum services you can expect from engaging a full service BA? There are a lot of assumptions, some mentioned in this thread too.

- Buying under market value
- Having access to properties before they hit RE.com
- Better negotiations
- DD including CG and development potentials
- Advice on street/area to avoid, etc

Which of these are minimum you can expect from a good BA? Anything else?
 
What are minimum services you can expect from engaging a full service BA? There are a lot of assumptions, some mentioned in this thread too.

- Buying under market value
- Having access to properties before they hit RE.com
- Better negotiations
- DD including CG and development potentials
- Advice on street/area to avoid, etc

Which of these are minimum you can expect from a good BA? Anything else?

The minimum you can expect would generally be:
* They're better negotiators (they do it for a living after all).
* They would have some ideas on demand so would be well positioned to talk about CG and possibly developments.
* Local knowledge and street areas.

Realistically in a hot market, it's hard for anyone to buy under market value, or to have access to properties before they're known to the general public. People don't sell their house at a bargain if they can help it.

I've found the biggest benefit is a BA won't get emotionally involved in the transaction and they're less likely to make a mistake as a result.
 
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