How Buyer's Agents Find Solutions - March 2024

By Rich Harvey, CEO & Founder, propertybuyer.com.au

It’ll come as no surprise to you that I believe buyer’s agents are worth their weight in gold.

At the very best of times, buying a property is one of the most stressful things most people will ever do in life. It can be fraught with uncertainty, risk and the potential for disappointment. But when conditions are tough, like they are right now, the whole thing can be a downright nightmare.

Buyer’s agents take care of every aspect of the purchasing process, from finding opportunities to negotiating the deal and gently guiding you through all that’s involved, removing the stress and angst.

They’re particularly valuable should a buyer ever run into a sticky situation – which happens more than you’d think.

Tackling tricky problems

During the many years I’ve worked as a buyer’s agent, I’ve seen just about every possible scenario when it comes to purchasing a property.

Whether purchasers first-home buyers, rookie landlords, upgraders and downsizers, or seasoned investors, no amount of experience makes them immune from the odd hiccup. Some problems are entirely out of their control, although a few are self-induced.

I’ve had clients who had an 11th hour change of heart and wanted to back out of a deal to pursue another home they’d instantly fallen in love with. Contract law doesn’t care much about emotion though and you’d stand to lose the 10% deposit.

I’ve had a client whose marriage broke down in the middle of the contract period, throwing a bit and devastating spanner in the works.

There was a buyer once whose bank forgot to schedule their settlement, putting them at risk of a contact collapse and requiring a last-minute scramble to keep the train on the track.

And I’ve even had a buyer’s purchased property burn down right before settlement, causing a lot of disappointment for everyone involved.

A great buyer’s agent who has extensive experience will do everything in their power to avoid any potential mishaps from start to finish, so that the process is as smooth and stress-free as possible.

But things do happen. So, someone experienced and savvy who’s in your corner can help navigate the tricky patches, like negotiating a settlement extension if needed, mitigating any potential hurdles in the finance approval process, and getting your deposit back if there are issues with any of the inspection reports or valuation report if the right special conditions are included in contract terms from the start.

Know when to fold ‘em

One of the biggest benefits of enlisting the help of a buyer’s agent is that it removes your buyer’s emotion from the process. Even hard-nosed purchasers can find it difficult to resist becoming attached to a home they’ve fallen completely in love with. It happens. It’s a very human response, especially when there’s a lot riding on it. But a buyer’s agent is there to help you keep a cool and calm head, seeing things objectively and removing those rose-coloured glasses when needed.

Having negotiated hundreds, potentially thousands of deals in their time, experienced buyer’s agents also get really good at being able to quickly decide if an issue is unimportant – either in the grand scheme of things or in your personal situation – or if it’s a deal-breaker.

In the heat of battle, it can be tough to decide which is which. If you’re a nervous worrier, everything can seem like a disaster. On the other hand, if you’ve set your sights on something, you might run the risk of excusing even the worst faults.

I recently helped a downsizer client purchase an off-market $4m beachside pad and used my experience to keep both the vendor and buyer at the negotiating table when there were signals that each one wanted to walk away due to minor issues.

Cutting through the noise

The property market right now is dynamic and evolving. Yes, prices might be moving one way according to the monthly data, but in some suburbs, it can be an entirely different scenario.

They might be up, they might be down, and down by a lot, or they could be stagnating. There could be a dearth of listings or plenty of stock coming to market. Buyers might be in a frenzy or steering clear.

It all depends on the particular neighbourhood, property type and price point. Conditions can vary wildly across a major population centre, particularly in capital like Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Buyer’s agents are out on the ground day in, day out and get to know specific suburbs – which are micro markets in themselves. They know what buyer interest is like, they know how confident (or otherwise) vendors are feeling, and they’re aware of the mood of agents.

They know the dwelling types that are selling well and the ones that don’t. They know what current residents need and want. They can sniff out any emerging trends that might impact those drivers in the future.

And if there’s gentrification, urban renewal of major development on the horizon, they’ll know about it.

When markets are as noisy as this, they can cut through it all to get a true and highly accurate sense of what’s actually going on.

Working for you, not against you

Real estate agents represent the vendor and their best interests, which usually means extracting as much money from a buyer as possible. They’ll whip up competition, blur the lines of reality, and play interested parties off against each other.

Love it or loathe it, that’s their job, and in frenzied markets, they’re very good at it.

A buyer’s agent works only for you, the buyer. They know what you want and what you need and their sole purpose is to make it happen.

The service is also highly personalised, with a buyer’s agent working towards your goals and objectives with your circumstances in mind. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach.

If you want someone to source opportunities, they can go out and find homes that meet your requirements. They can assess a property’s pros and cons, its current and future potential, and what it’s truly worth. They can tap into their extensive networks to unearth deals you won’t find on your own because they never make it to the open market.

If you’ve got your shortlist and want someone to secure it on your behalf, a buyer’s agent can step in and put their expert negotiation skills to good work. They can deal with the agent on your behalf or, if it goes to auction, bid on your behalf.

Buyers’ agents are your unfair advantage as a purchaser. Someone who has seen it all and knows how to avoid the pitfalls and elevate the advantages.

Engaging a top quality buyers agent means you have lots to gain, and nothing to lose.

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