If you’re busy on a project, you don’t have time to be outsourcing the next project, or if you’ve just finished one, how cool is it to be able to go on your holiday and come back and find your buyer’s agent has found your next deal?”  ~ Bernadette Janson

Importance of Engaging To A Buyer’s Agent 

When you’re renovating to sell, you need to have in-depth local knowledge. You need to know where the millionaire’s row is and where the Bronx is. You’ve got to know about everything that’s going on in the area at quite a micro level. If it’s not an area that you operate in normally or if you are time-poor to do research, it makes sense to tap into the intelligence that can be provided by someone who does work in the area.

The other thing that you want to know from someone you’re considering engaging is whether they have a team of contacts such as engineers and builders. If you are working in an area where you haven’t established your network yet, you’ll be relying fairly heavily on your buyer’s agent to point you in the right direction. 

When you’re buying a property, you may need an engineer or a builder to have a look at it and to figure out if walls are load-bearing or not. You need that person to be connected well enough to be able to do that without you having to.

Leveraging A Good Relationship With Agents

A good buyer’s agent will have relationships with all of the local real estate agents and a lot of other professionals. They can tap into resources for you to get your project up and running. 

People keep saying that there’s no such thing as off-market deals but there are absolutely off-market deals. Most of the projects we bought are off-market deals and we got them through buyer’s agents. You can make your own relationships but in reality, it takes a long time to build a relationship with an agent.

Maintaining The Deal Flow

If you’re busy on a project, you don’t have time to be outsourcing the next project, or if you’ve just finished one, you probably want to have a little bit of a holiday before you start the next. How cool is it to be able to go on your holiday and come back and find your buyer’s agent has found your next deal?

Not All Buyer’s Agents Are Equal

I hear a lot about what happens and I can tell you, there are some shockers out there. Some buyer’s agents start out good and then go off, they get worse. They’ve tried to scale in one hour or are a lone ranger working on their own. They initially did a great job for their clients, but once they got busy and started outsourcing people things were not as good as they need to be.

Ways In Identifying The Best Buyer’s Agent

There’s a big difference between buying a renovation project to hold and buying one to flip. I had someone recently, who used a buyer’s agent. Later on, she joined us and found out that she was not the right buyer’s agent for her needs. She was pushing her into buying this property that won’t get enough return. She needs to sell it after it’s renovated and the buyer’s agent said to her, “it just depends how long you hold it”. From that moment, she knew that she was buying to flip and had taken that on as a task. 

If it depends on holding it for a length of time to make your profit, then you’re not making it out of the renovation. Most properties that are early in the gentrification process are great areas for buying to renovate but not good areas to flip because your market is just not there yet.

What Makes A Good Buyer’s Agent?

You need an agent that understands your strategy. Make sure the agent knows what you want and understands the implications. It’s important you have a good idea of what their experience is. Here are some questions you can ask:

• How much renovating have you done yourself?
• Have you ever done a renovation to sell?
• Have you ever done a flip?
• Have you done any education in renovating?

How much you pay does not determine the quality of the buyer’s agent. There are buyer’s agents who are top-notch but don’t charge 3%. You can’t use that rule of thumb to determine whether you’re getting a good one or not. There is an industry body that provides accreditation for buyer’s agents and it’s called REBBA, Australia’s premier industry association for professional real estate buyers. You could check if your buyer’s agent is a member.

Other Things You Should Ask A Potential Buyer’s Agent For Renovation

Here are additional things you should know from them.

• How many deals have they done?

You need to know their investment journey. It’s essential you have an understanding they have a rich experience and how many clients they take on at a time. In this way, you will know if they are overworked and they’re not able to give you their best. 

• How long will it take them to source your property?

This will give you a fair indication. You need to have an understanding that maybe there’s something you’ll need to do and whether you’re comfortable with that or not.

• How do they expect to be paid?

Do they want to be paid as soon as the deal’s done or are they happy to be paid on settlement?

• What other strategies do they tend to source property for and what’s their personal favourite?

Get a sense of what they tend to lean towards.

Common criticism I hear from agents is that they are pushing up prices. And so you want to know that the person you’re engaging is someone who is going to work hard to get you the best price.”  ~ Bernadette Janson

Other Things You Should Ask A Potential Buyer’s Agent For Renovation

Here are additional things you should know.

• How many deals have they done?

You need to know their investment journey. It’s essential you have an understanding they have a rich experience and how many clients they take on at a time. In this way, you will know if a buyer’s agent is overworked and they’re not able to give you their best. 

• How long will it take them to source your property?

This will give you a fair indication. You need to have an understanding that maybe there’s something you’ll need to do and whether you’re comfortable with that or not.

• How does the buyer’s agent expect to be paid?

Do they want to be paid as soon as the deal’s done or are they happy to be paid on settlement?

• What other strategies do they tend to source property for and what’s their personal favourite?

Get a sense of what the buyer’s agent tends to lean towards.

Common criticism I hear from agents is that buyer’s agents are pushing up prices. And so you want to know that the person you’re engaging is someone who is going to work hard to get you the best price.”  ~ Bernadette Janson