Who is a buyer’s agent, and what do they do?
Ready to house hunt in Brisbane? I’ll tell you for free that it’s a frenzy out there. There’s so many buyers competing for limited stock, auctions, negotiations, paperwork and everything in between. Brace yourself for an epic ride!
The truth is, the process can be quite stressful, unnecessarily long and more expensive for real estate newbies or Brisbane newbies who are still having quite a hard time navigating the market. Having a real estate professional by your side can make the journey significantly easier and shorter.
And no, I’m not talking about having a real estate agent on your side. Usually, they’re not on your side. They’re looking to sell a home at the highest possible price, get their commission and go their way.
That’s where the buyer’s agent comes in. In case you’ve never heard of buyer’s agent, or don’t know what a buyer agent does, here’s the short answer:
As their name implies, they work with and for the buyer to seal a deal at the best possible price and within the shortest possible time.
Read on to find out exactly who buyer’s agents are, what they do, how they can help make home buying seamless and where to find awesome, helpful buyer’s agents without breaking the bank.
What Exactly Does a Buyer’s Agent Do?
Generally, a buyer’s agent taps into their deep market knowledge to help you find and buy a house. They usually handle the entire process from start to finish. Here are the key steps buyer’s agents employ to achieve the goal of home buying.
Develop a Solid Strategy
Developing a strategy or creating a “buyer’s brief” is the first step.
They go about this task by asking you tons of questions to know exactly what you want in a property. For instance, if you’re looking to invest in a residential property in Brisbane, the buyer’s agent will help you identify areas with growth potential and best rates. If you’re looking for a new home for your family, your agent will consider suburbs with good schools, better transport networks and family relaxation spots.
Once you’ve provided an answer to these questions, your agent develops a strategy to find you a house that meets your needs, achieves your goals and suits your desires.
Researching and House Hunting
Next, the agent rolls up their sleeves and gets to searching for a house that aligns with the brief. Of course, their deep market knowledge makes it significantly easier. They already know suburbs and areas to look at. They already have a network of realtors to contact and access off-market stock. All of these cuts down the search time and heightens your chances of getting a home you’d love.
Shortlist Properties
After the search, top properties that match the requirements and fits the available budget are shortlisted for your inspection. If you’re an overseas buyer or just can’t afford the time to go about inspecting properties, the buyer’s agent can give you a digital view and both of you can further streamline the list and/or arrange it in order of preference.
Evaluate, Inspect, Test
Usually, there’s more to a property than meets the eye. Real estate agents would rather put the best foot forward. If you don’t adequately evaluate and test a property, you may pay significantly more than a property is worth, or worse, pay for a property that’s not even worth your money.
In this step, an experienced buyer’s agent will complete an appraisal on the property based on the local market. This is one point where a buyer’s agent can help you save money, because they ensure you don’t pay more than a property is worth. Families can enjoy a beautiful vacation with the saved cash, while investors can channel it into a new project.
Negotiate & Close
This last part is where the del is sealed, and where you truly realize their worth.
After agreeing on the property(ies) you want to make yours, they send in proposals, negotiate the best deals, and take all the stress off your shoulders. They handle everything from conducting a building and pest inspection, to facilitating the exchange of contracts.
In this final step, the buyer’s advocate helps you in two ways:
They save you time and stress. So you don’t have to lift a finger to complete the process. Plus, they save you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra cash you may have emotionally offered to win a bid or secure a property.
In a nutshell, the buyer’s agent makes sure you have your new home keys in your hands with zero stress and money saved.
Benefits of Having a Buyer’s Agent on Your Side
If you carefully read through the job of a buyer’s agent, by now you’re sure they can help in more ways than one.
However, we’ll now talk more about the pros of having an experienced buyer’s agent as your tour guide in the house hunting journey:
Deep market knowledge
A buyer’s agent’s deep market knowledge gives you a better chance of getting the home of your dreams. Once you’ve communicated your needs to them, they can help you find a home that matches your needs. For instance, if you’re an investor, you should be on the lookout for areas that offer the best ROI, with huge future potential. You can hardly find that out with a Google search, but a pro agent that knows the local market will have all the answers.
Save you time
Buyer’s agents know where to look to streamline the search. They also know how to win bids and complete negotiations pretty fast. So if you’re short on time, or would love to get the process over within no time, a buyer’s agent is your best bet.
Save Money
This sounds ironic because, let’s face it; you get to pay the buyer’s agent for their expertise and service.
However, a buyer’s agent helps you save money in more ways than one.
First, they complete accurate appraisals to ascertain the actual worth of a property and ensure you don’t pay a penny more than it’s worth.
Secondly, the buyer’s agent handles the negotiations and usually helps you negotiate a price that’s below market value. Having sat on hundreds of negotiation tables, it’s not so difficult for them to pull this off.
Finally, by fast-tracking the purchase process, they help you save some good money.
How?
Real Estate in Brisbane appreciates by approximately 10% every six months. To put that in context, let’s assume you want to purchase a property worth $500,000. If you spend more than 6 months looking and it appreciates by 10% or $50,000, this means you have to part with an extra $50K to purchase the same property, simply because you weren’t fast enough. Usually, a buyer would help you complete a purchase process in 4-10 weeks, so you don’t have to stand by the sidelines and watch while prices increase.
Avoid stress
Home buying is pretty stressful. Auctions can be both physically and emotionally draining. The sea of paperwork is nothing short of daunting, and the constant struggle of finding a new property that sits you after losing the last bid is super draining.
Would you rather go through all of these or seek professional help?
If you’d rather have a buyer’s agent help you purchase a property in Brisbane, then Invision Properties can help.
We have a track record of helping families and investors purchase a home of their dreams with zero stress while saving them money. Schedule a FREE, no-obligation strategy session with our lead expert.