Articles

Using the services of a real estate professional such as a Buyers Agent is becoming an increasingly common occurrence in many Capital Cities of Australia, especially our biggest City, Sydney.

In the most hotly sought after areas of Sydney, like the inner City, Eastern Suburbs, Inner West and lower North Shore, the competition for quality properties is strong and constant.

Trying to source and secure the best properties on your own, is increasingly difficult for most buyers.

Firstly, they have to directly compete against the dozens of other eager buyers, who are striving to purchase the property from under their feet.

Secondly, some of those buyers they are competing against are being represented by other Buyers Agents, who are working on the purchase of their clients property full time.

Then they are competing against the biggest challenge of all, the Selling Agent. The Selling Agents job - actually their legal obligation- is to act in the vendors best interests and get the best possible result for the vendor.

This usually means the opposite for the buyer. Competing against a real estate professional in a property transaction, especially when you may not have purchased recently, or many times before, is like stepping into a ring with a professional boxer, with no real training, limited skills or recent practice, and expecting a favourable result. It often ends in tears.

When you consider your about to make one of the largest financial transactions in your life, and your trying to do this while still juggling a busy career or business, looking after family, and generally struggling to fit everything into your day as it is, then trying to do everything that is required to successfully purchase a property on top of all that, the odds are definitely stacked against you. It is no wonder that many buyers make the "fed-up" purchase, which is when buyers just get sick and tired of the whole process, and just buy the next available property, at whatever price, and spend years regretting it.

Having an experienced and knowledgeable licensed Real Estate Buyers Agent on YOUR side, will not only even up the playing field, it will definitely tip the scales back in your favour.

Your Buyers Agent will be able to do all the property searches you can do, but they should also have access to up to date valuable property data, and the knowledge and experience to understand that data and how it reflects on the properties value.

Your Buyers Agent will be able to advise you on what a properties 'logical' value is, and ensure you don't pay an 'emotional' value for your property.

Your Buyers Agent will be dealing with, and speaking to selling agents daily, as part of their business, and will be able to find out about properties before they hit the open market. This can give you a critical advantage.

Your Agent can then advise you on what the logical price level is for the property, after extensive research on comparable recent sales, and how they compare to this particular property.

A good Buyers Agent will also be able to advise on what a properties potential is also, and may even be able to give you a guide on what that work may cost you, and the potential value after that work is complete.

Presenting an offer is where 99% of buyers make the most common errors, and where the most frustration and costly errors are made. Your Buyers Agent should know the best way to present an offer to ensure it gets accepted, and should be able to negotiate on your behalf to secure the property for the best possible price, and on your most preferential terms.

One critical aspect that often gets overlooked is the Buyers Agents 'real life real-estate' experience. It is amazing that a Buyers Agent, who has had very little, or even in some cases, no personal experience in the buying and selling process, giving advice to their clients. Only after making many personal transactions with their own hard earned money, can one truly understand what both the buyer and seller is going through, and the best way forward in this often highly emotional transaction.

Ask your agent how many times they have personally bought and sold property, and what the result was. Would you take advice from a personal trainer, who has never exercised themselves, or is completely out of shape?

Ask your agent if they can supply you with referrals of recent clients, so you can find out what sort of experience it was dealing with them, and what result the Buyers Agent was able to achieve.

A good Buyers Agent should be able to offer much more value, and save you more money than any fee they charge, and will be your most valuable resource when you need to purchase property. But like everything else, you need to choose your Buyers Agent wisely.