It isn’t unusual for homebuyers in Brisbane to look for ways to reduce their costs. After all, it’s an expensive prospect that not only includes the cost of the property but other fees like stamp duty, conveyancing, and legal fees. Depending on your circumstances, you also need to pay a big deposit upfront. Considering all these costs, do you really want to pay for more out of pocket services? For example, is a Brisbane buyers agent worth the investment?
Doesn’t it make more financial sense to go it alone? Well, the answer isn’t a flat out yes or no. It all depends on your situation. While you might feel a buyers’ agency offers services for tasks you can easily manage on your own, don’t write them off just yet. It’s best to make sure you understand what skills and services they bring to the table before you decide.
What Is a Buyers’ Agent?
Buyer’s agents don’t just find suitable properties. They also represent their clients’ interests during the purchasing process including negotiations and providing valuable advice on how much you should pay for a property. They also work with a circle of real estate professionals and can refer you to the best in the business to make the process easier.
Time Is Money
Highly-paid professionals and people with very demanding schedules don’t have the time to search out, inspect and put in offers for properties. You have to consider how much your time is worth to you. When you are busy whether it is due to a successful career or a busy social or family life, your time becomes far more precious. A buyers’ agency in Brisbane will handle all the time-consuming tasks, so you can focus on more important activities.
Opening Up Hidden Opportunities
If you think you are just as capable of finding your dream home as a buyers’ agent, think again. Buyers’ agents have years, even decades of experience in the real estate industry. The value of this can’t be overlooked. Their experience has forged strong relationships creating a network of sellers’ agents. These agents hold a gold mine of information. They are also eager to make quick sales for their clients. This opens up a whole new market to buyers’ agents’ clients.
They receive insider information about off-market listings sellers don’t intend to advertise. A buyers’ agent is the best way to tap into this hidden market. They also get early notice of pre-market listings before they are advertised. This allows buyers’ agents to get the best pick of the litter before other people even know the homes are for sale. How much is that worth to you?
Knocking Down the Price
While you see the asking price for the seller, what you don’t know is how much lower that seller might be willing to go. You have no idea of how much wiggle room there is, and most home buyers really don’t have a good handle on fair pricing. This puts you at a disadvantage. Go in too low with an offer and sellers will be turned off and walk away. Go in too high and you waste tens or even hundreds of thousands of your hard-earned dollars. On the other hand with a buyers’ agent, you are given solid pricing advice that ensures you go in with a strong price sellers will appreciate, without ever offering too much.
Consider an example. A seller has listed their home above the going price in the neighbourhood. They are asking $1.50 million, in an area where homes sell on average for $1.42 million. That represents an $80,000 difference. If you worked with a buyers’ agent, they would either advise you to pass as the house is overpriced, or they would negotiate using their market knowledge to get the price down. So if you paid the full price on your own, you are already out $80,000. On the other hand, if you went with a buyers’ agent and even paid say $1.45 million, you save $50,000 right off the bat. Even when you deduct the likely service fees of the buyers agent in this hypothetical scenario, you are still significantly ahead. While there’s no knowing how much an agent will save you as every situation is different, the potential still remains.
Neighbourhood Insight
If you are a first, second or third-time buyer, or buying from out side of Brisbane, there are so many little details you might overlook. What if a certain street looks pretty, but there’s a local festival held every year that goes on for days with noise, stray drunk punters wandering local streets, and ongoing irritations that completely ruin your enjoyment of your home? Or worse, the street is known for drug deals despite its peaceful appearance? Maybe it has a high crime rate or the poorest public transit in Brisbane. A buyers’ agent Brisbane buyers depend on knows every negative detail about every street and neighbourhood and will ensure you know about them too.
Taking Care of Details
There is an endless list of potential surprises that can make buying a home a nightmare. Imagine an issue with the building and pest report. You need a specific tradesperson, or builder or consultant to understand the extent of the issues and the cost all within the next 48 hours if you want to keep the contract. Would you have the contacts, time, and know-how to deal with that? Wouldn’t it be easier if a buyers’ agent were ready to handle issues just like this for you? They will come up with a solution in minutes and manage the next steps, so you never have to worry.
Missed Opportunities
What if your dream property becomes available on a Tuesday at a reduced price? You can’t get to see it, leaving a crowd of other buyers to get their first. However, a buyer’s agent can use their relationships to get in to see the property the minute it hits the market, or even better before it is even advertised. They take photos and videos and let you know they’ve found a property that has all the important details you need.
The result? You are ready to put in an offer on Wednesday, with a buyers’ agent there to negotiate for you and purchase the property before anyone even knows the house is for sale. Would be that be of value to you?
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