Buyer’s Agent

I've not purchased using one but I toyed with the idea a while back. I'm sure it varies but the guy I spoke to based the fees on the budget you put forward rather than the actual sale price. It was about $11-12k on a $450k budget I think.

Hi Sparkly

 – Word of mouth, recommendations from others, their contribution to forums like this, the rebaa website….all are good starts.

 – Usually you hone in on an area and then find a BA who operates within the area. You provide them with an outline of what you're after. They then do the search and negotiating. Some offer a variety of services – so this is really just a general response.

 – Some might. 

 – They can cost anywhere between $5k to $10k in my experience.

Cheers

Jamie

Hi Amit

Well if that's the case they are overcharging you.

We charge $4950 + GST irrespective of the purchase price.

Cheers

Yours in Finance

Really Thread another valuable contribution.

Thankfully some of us give back and we are not all in it for the money.

Cheers

Yours in Finance

Regretfully Mark neither a Buyers Agent or indeed a Property Investment Adviser can provide any form of Financial Advice unless they are licensed to do so.

Such advice relates to any form of financial planning including a strategic assessment of their current financial position and where they wish to be in a particular number of years.

At the moment Property advice is not regulated however where it is related to any form of financial advice then it changes things and requires licensing.

Cheers

Yours in Finance

To have the greatest chance at success in property investing, you need to buy the right 1st property. A lack of a Strategic Plan causes 74% of investors to stop at one and 93% of investors to stop at two*.         * according to the ATO

A Buyer's Agent can help you buy the property, and a Property Investment Advisor will create a plan as well.

Start by creating the plan around the four major steps you need carry out before you start building a property portfolio. Note: purchasing a property is the last item on the list!

Step One: Planning

•   Strategic Plan: Where do you want to be financially and when? (Financial Planning)

•   Structure Plan: How are you going to hold your assets? (Financial Planning)

•   Risk Management Plan: What are the risks and how do you plan to manage them? (Estate Law)

•   Finance Plan: How are you going to structure your finance, what levels of debt do plan to carry, and when do you plan to start paying down the debt? (Mortgage Broker)

Step Two: Finance

•   Individual 1, 3, 10, 20-year cash flow analysis for each property you have on your plan

•   Depreciation schedules for each property

•   Portfolio Loan to Value Ratio and Individual Loan to Value Ratio Management

•   Portfolio serviceability management

Step Three: Property Selection

Property research is broken up into 2 categories: statistical and fundamental.

Searching across 15,000 suburbs in Australia, pinpoint the 5 suburbs that have the largest demand/supply imbalance. These will be areas have the best chance of increasing in value well above the national & state averages.

Rate each suburb on a scale 1 to 500, where 250 indicates a suburb is balanced. The higher the rating the higher the probability the increased demand will put upward pressure on prices in the near term.

Statistical Indicators

1. Number of Days on the market – The lower the better, we also watch out for areas that are deceasing
2. % of vendor discounting – The lower the better, less choice and less ability to negotiate.
3. Auction Clearance Rate – The higher the better, indicating higher demand
4. Rental Yield – The higher the better, indicating a higher demand and potential rental growth
5. % of Stock on Market – The lower the better, more demand creates a premium in pricing
6. Online Search Interest – The higher the better
7. Rental Vacancy Rate – The lower the better, this % the better it is for investors
8. Proportion of Renters to Owners – The lower the better, creates better suburb perception

If these metrics combined give us a rating that indicates the demand is exceeding supply (market is imbalanced), then we move onto the fundamental searches to validate the statistical data.

Fundamental Indicators

1. Proximity to Water/Ocean/Beach
2. Views of Water/Mountains/District
3. Transport Infrastructure – Recently announced, in progress or to be shortly started that reduce commute times, increasing demand for a suburb
4. The ripple effect of close suburb neighbours. If suburbs within close proximity have grown substantially recently, the chances are that the subject suburb will grow quickly in order to maintain a pricing balance between the growth suburb and the subject suburb
5. Project Booms – Are there any large projects nearby that will create a spike in demand (Transport links, Business Parks, Urban renewal projects)
6. Ugly Ducklings – Has the suburb been branded rough or ugly in the past and the only problem with the suburb is its reputation? Are private owners updating their properties in the area? Are developers buying up new land and building new apartments? Are businesses and trendy cafes entering the area now?
7. Government Works – Has the government put forward a proposal to improve the appeal of an area (waterfront, parks, malls, entertainment, shopping precincts)
8. Lifestyle Features – Are there any lifestyle amenities nearby like golf courses, large entertainment precincts, tourist attractions

If statistical and fundamental searching reveal the suburb is a potential hotspot, we drill down to find the best streets in the suburb, and then developments within close proximity to give the best chance of the best capital gains & yeilds.

Step Four: Purchase

Now you are ready to buy (Planning), you know exactly what to buy (Product), and you now know where to buy (location). A well documented property investment plan lets you sleep at night knowing you have managed your risks.