The concept of using a buyers’ agent to help secure your home is still just outside the mainstream in Australia. While it’s true most people can buy their home without help, it’s also a fact that the result will probably be inferior in terms of the home’s quality and suitability, the price you pay and the type of experience you have.
In my job I see the same people, week after week, open home after open home. Many are exhausted from attending yet another run of inspections, burning up their precious Saturday and feeling no closer to success.
If you’ve been trying to buy, I have five tell tale signs that it’s time to stop and call a professional.
- You’re making offers… then silence.
I can tell you there is only one thing more frustrating than being knocked back on your offer, and that’s silence from the selling agent.
Time and again I have discussions with buyers who have gone to a lot of effort to submit an offer, only to hear absolutely no reply or feedback. It can be confusing and confounding.
There are several reasons this happens.
First and foremost, it will be because there was a far better competing offer on the table. The agent will focus on the most likely buyer to try to reach agreement first… and they deemed that was not you.
It could also be you’re simply well below the real value of the property. Your offer is not seen as serious enough to cause a ripple.
Buyers’ agents know how to get a response from the seller. In addition, because we’ve formed strong connections with agents over multiple deals, we can always get valuable feedback from an agent, which helps the next time you put your hat in the ring.
- You keep seeing interesting listings that are already sold.
How many times have you spotted a home listed as “Sold!” on the internet and thought, “I definitely would have liked to see that one… why didn’t I know it was for sale?”
Well, most people have busy lives between family and career. They need to devote time to those important things. As such, they can easily miss a listing when it hits the internet. If a good one comes up – and the price is right – it won’t stick around for long.
In addition, buyers’ agents hear about off-market deals before anyone else. Selling agents call us directly when the right option comes along and if it looks like a good opportunity, we’ll snap it up on behalf of our client.
The only reason you get to see the listing at all is that the selling agent will want to promote their success in the hopes of securing more listings.
- realestate.com.au is your most visited website.
When you first start looking for a home, using a listing portal is fun – playing with the criteria, scrolling through the pictures, working out what you do and do not want. It’s a terrific time as you imagine securing some real estate.
But your engagement with these websites soon becomes all encompassing. Frustrated with your ability to find a home, you widen your search criteria. Now you are searching through realestate.com.au three to five times a day. You’re obsessed with knowing every transaction all the time. You begin to look at homes you could never afford, or in areas you’d never live in.
If your mornings, lunchbreaks, before bedtime and any spare minute you have is spent on listing portals, it’s time to call us for help.
- You see a listing you like but you don’t know what to offer.
You’re an expert in what you do. You might be a lawyer, doctor, teacher, cleaner, nurse, stay-at-home dad… whatever. You have a special skillset that you utilise to be a productive and engaged member of your household.
Most people are not property professionals with an encyclopaedic knowledge of real estate and how to assess property value.
So, it is unsurprising that when you do find the right home, deciding on an offer price will create anxiety.
In a previous article I discussed the importance of determining the right first offer. Get it wrong and you’ll continue to miss out on the purchase, or (worse still) pay far too much for the home.
- You’re frustrated with the buying process.
There’s no denying that after a while, the process of finding a suitable property, determining its value, making offers, missing out on listings, attending auctions and opens only to be left still wondering becomes totally frustrating and exhausting.
Wouldn’t it be better to offload that frustration onto someone else? Wouldn’t you like to outsource most of the important decisions to a professional who can offer you reasonable advice resulting in logical decisions? Your sanity and general wellbeing are worth it.
There are many good reasons for having a buyers’ agent represent your interest when purchasing property. They will deliver a superior outcome, finding you the right home at a reasonable price. They use their expertise in negotiation, research and due diligence to maximise your results, and keep you insulated from the heartache.