I am planning to buy my first investment property. After talking to people around me, some who are already into investing and some not, I am getting an advise that I should not go with a buyers agent ad should look around for property myself and the amount of around 10 – 12k, I would give to buyers agent would actually help me buying a property of higher value. But, I am really confused on this as I think if a buyers agent can get me a property which would appreciate say, 18-20 k more than the property I buy myself in a wrong area, then it would give me more equity to buy my next IP. I would really appreciate some help from all experienced people here in making a decision.
Also, if advise is to go with a buyers agent, then which buyers agent is good, as I don’t have any city or agent confirmed as of now. Just looking for a good deal!!!
Good question – the debate on buyers agent vs going it alone is very much determined by the individual, there’s not right or wrong answer.
Dependent on your knowledge on investing, property and the areas you’re looking at, you may be able to find great deals without the added cost, but likewise if you don’t you may be short changing yourself in DIYing, only to make costly mistakes.
Take a long hard look at your knowledge level, your goals and how you want to get there. Does using a buyers agent look like it would bring you to your goals sooner, or further away?
A good buyers agent is worth their weight in gold. A bad buyers agent can be horrible and cost you a fortune. If you can find a good one then it’s worth it in my opinion. Plus there are agents on here who charge significantly less than you’re talking about.
The other point is they can buy where you don’t live so that can be very useful in finding a good IP elsewhere. In my experience a buyers agent saved me their fee on haggling the purchase price down. Finally, a good buyers agent gets first look at new properties through their relationship with agents. This means you probably only get access to the ones they turn down. The last property I got via a BA had the property purchased before it was advertised to the public…
10-12K is almost double what a decent Buyers Agent will charge (Albeit i might be slightly biased) however it all depends on what your goals and objectives are.
If you are merely looking at buying a 1 off IP located in your own area then you could argue the funds could be better spent on increasing your deposit.
If you are serious in building a long term portfolio then getting professional assistance might be an option.
We have put together a PDF flyer on Turbo Charging your portfolio. Shoot us an email if you would like a copy.
Cheers
Yours in Finance
0-40 Properties in a decade. Ask me how.
Richard Taylor | Australia's leading private lender
@thenewguy: Mate, I totally second your opinion. But while dealing, how would you differentiate between a good buyers agent and bad agent. I have been talking to people in market but not able to fix one to buy property for me.
@richard : Thanks Richard. I am actually targeting long term portfolio growth to create passive income and I am not looking at any particular area at the moment. The buyers agent I have talked to in the market, are all asking the same price. I would appreciate if you could point me towards any GOOD buyers agents.
I can only talk about what I did… I hung around here and read a lot until the point where I felt confident about what I was doing (months). Then I started looking for a BA. A few general rules…
if they are trying to sell you something new / off the plan then I got worried.
If I couldn’t verify their history then I ran. I researched them before committing. Positively verified – had to prove they were good not disprove they were good.
If they didn’t have more money invested in property than I did, I was very worried.