A buyer’s agent is a fully licenced real estate professional who represents the buyer in the process of purchase of a property, either at auction or in negotiation on a fixed sale price. The upside of using a buyer’s agent is that we work for You the buyer, not the seller. This means we are negotiating the sale price down for you, whereas a traditional real estate agent is working for the seller trying to push the price up.
As one example of many, I went to an auction for a client who was unable to attend due to being interstate and other commitments. Not only did I save him travel time and expenses but bought a property at auction for him that the vendor wanted $700k for. I managed to secure $575k simply because the buyer had a representative on the ground at the auction and was able to read the room and negotiate with the agent and seller live. If the buyer was not present and had no representation the agent could have pushed the price way up and the buyer would have paid too much. I saved him a fortune all for a fee of $1000. Great value!!
How does a buyer’s agent support me?
The main role of a buyer’s agent or buyer’s advocate is to support the buyer in understanding the process of buying, especially if the buyer is a first-home buyer. The support may come in the form of:
- Helping to understand what home represents good value.
- Where to buy and where not to buy.
- Why you would buy certain types of homes and not others?
- Doing an inspection with or perhaps without you to ascertain its suitability.
- Helping to point out good and bad features and possible repair costs if required.
- Negotiate the deal in your best interest.
- Help with contracts and paperwork including clauses in the contract to protect and be in the best interest of the buyer.
- Help guide the buyer through the due diligence period and answer general questions.
- Basically support the buyer during the entire process of the purchase.
It’s important to have someone on your side who has no emotional investment in the home and can see the deal far more clearly without emotion and offer you the facts as any good Property investment consultant should.
Norm Hudson
