Buyer's Agents: Worth It or Waste of Money? (An Honest Look)

Buying an investment property in Australia? Before you decide whether to use a buyer's agent, you need to hear this.

Most property buyers walk into negotiations completely unrepresented, whilst the seller has a professional real estate agent fighting to get the highest price possible.

That imbalance can cost you thousands (or MUCH more).

In this episode of the No BS Property Investing Podcast, we’re breaking down what a buyer’s agent actually does, who should use one, and whether it’s worth it for your situation.

Tune in to discover:

✅The truth about real estate agents (and who they really work for)
✅What a buyer’s agent actually does behind the scenes
✅Why most property buyers are at a disadvantage
✅Do you need a buyer's agent? Who should use one and who shouldn't
✅The biggest mistakes people make when buying property
✅Red flags to watch out for when choosing a buyer’s agent

Because the difference between buying right and buying wrong isn’t luck…
It’s strategy, negotiation, and having the right people in your corner.
And most buyers get this part completely wrong.

Key moments:

00:00:00 Intro
00:01:00 Real estate agents
00:03:40 What buyer's agents actually solve
00:05:40 Day-to-day of a buyer's agent
00:08:00 What happens after the offer
00:11:00 Who should use a buyer's agent
00:14:00 The 1% better principle
00:15:20 Who should NOT use one
00:18:00 What to look for 
00:21:00 Red flags to run from

Whether you're a first home buyer, a seasoned investor, or someone who's been scrolling realestate.com.au after the kids go to bed…

Hit play now and find out if you've been leaving money on the table every time you buy.

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👉Access our “Top-Performing Suburbs” report to see the highest growth suburbs right now:

https://www.ripehouseadvisory.com.au/lp/25/09/pd/top-performing-suburbs-report-2025

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👉Get In Touch With ALIC

https://www.ripehouseadvisory.com.au/lp/24/8/investment-lending-sign-up

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✅About Ripehouse Advisory✅

Through their innovative ‘done for you’ property investment system, Ripehouse Advisory simplifies the investment process - enabling investors to build a property portfolio that generates substantial returns.

With a focus on long-term relationships, personalised strategies, and thorough research, Ripehouse Advisory empowers investors to create a financial legacy that can be passed on to future generations.

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✅Contact Ripehouse Advisory✅

https://www.ripehouseadvisory.com.au/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

One of the biggest misconceptions in property is that the real estate agent you're dealing with is there to help you.

SPEAKER_01 0:06

But in reality, they're not. The real estate agents are really nice and they can fall into the trap of thinking, oh, this person's helping me, they're guiding me, they're giving me information about this property. But the reality of it is they're there to serve one party, and that party's a vendor.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Unfortunately, for a lot of buyers out there, they think it's like a retail purchase. The price is what's on the shelf, where it'd make our job pretty easy if that was the case. But it's typically not.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

This idea of spending a couple of hours each night on realestate.com.au after the kids go to bed and thinking that that is research, I'm really sorry to say that that is not going to allow you to buy well in this environment.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

Who should really consider using a buys agent? One of the biggest misconceptions in property is that the real estate agent you're dealing with is there to help you. But in reality, they're not. Their job is to achieve the highest possible price and the best possible outcome for the seller. And yet most buyers walk into the biggest financial transaction of their life completely unrepresented. So the obvious question becomes: if the seller has a professional representation, should the buyer have it too? So today we're unpacking what buyers' agents actually do, who should use one, and who probably shouldn't. And as always, welcome back to the No BS Property Investing Podcast. And joining me here today is a very special guest, not Mark Davis for a change, but our general manager at Ripehouse Advisory, Ian Dowson. Ian is typically running the day-to-day behind the scenes at Ripehouse. However, he's also a very experienced property investor himself with over two decades in the property space. Darso, welcome to the podcast. Thanks, Julian.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

It's nice to be with you. I don't play golf off scratch, but uh what you say is true about investing in property for quite some time. I do have a very holistic view of what we do at Ripe House Advisory. So hopefully I can add a little bit of insight and um some interesting uh tidbits for the listeners today.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Fantastic. Now, Das, I you don't you don't swing the uh the clubs around, but you do like to have a bit of a paddle and get on the surfboard most mornings.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

I do, I do. For those that do know me, they would know that I live down the coast, um, so uh down the Bass Coast, and I like to try and get out as often as I can. That is absolutely true.

SPEAKER_00 2:37

Just for the listeners, he's not catching the big barrels that you might see on Instagram, but he he gives it a bit of a uh a chase. But um Dowso, as always, we'll jump straight into the questions. I guess let's start with the basics. What actually is a buyer's agent?

SPEAKER_01 2:52

Well, buyer's agent's someone there that's going to represent you. You know, I think um a lot of people uh can fall into the trap of, you know, the real estate agents are really nice, and they can fall into the trap of thinking, oh, this person's helping me, this person's really nice, they're guiding me, they're giving me information about this property. But the reality of it is they're there to serve one party, and that party's a vendor. Uh so you're not in their best interest. What a buyer's agent does will represent your interests as a buyer and and basically take uh a lot of the heat out of the uh transaction that you would experience if you're dealing directly with it with a real estate agent. So a buyer's agent is there purely to represent your interest uh when it comes to the transaction of buying property.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

Now, so on that a little bit more, why do buyers' agents even exist? Like what's the problem, I guess, for the client they're trying to solve?

SPEAKER_01 3:45

Yeah, I I think it's multifaceted. You've got competency and confidence, I think is one thing uh for a lot of uh buyers. It's nerve-wracking as a buyer when you're trying to go and represent yourself against these very slick agents. How do you even talk to these guys? You know, that they've been doing it for a year. It can be quite intimidating for a lot of people to go through that process. So I think that's one thing that that buyers agents provide for a customer is that they take away that anxiety um for the individual. I think the other thing, and um, and this is the biggest reason why I'm such a big advocate for using a buyer's agent, and I've used buyer's agents uh myself in the past as well on my investing journey, is time. If if you're a busy professional running a business or have a family or what have you, and you think that you're gonna be able to plow the time required in to find a suitable even property to live in or even an investment, that's a really challenging task if you think you're gonna do that really well on your own when you've got already a full life that you're trying to manage. So I'd say that's probably the the the the two biggest things that I see and that I feel are really important as to why people would engage a buyer's agent.

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Yeah. And I guess to kind of add to that, I think what a lot of people aren't aware of, or I guess probably don't plan for well is when they're dealing with a real estate agent, they've got a plan. You know, they've got a marketing campaign they're trying to land, they've got a pricing strategy they're gonna go with, they've got negotiation expertise on their side. Where unfortunately for a lot of buyers out there, when I see it a lot with first-home buyers, they think it's like a retail purchase. The price is what's on the shelf, where it'd be it'd make our job pretty easy if that was the case. But um it's it's typically not. Now, I guess so. This is the next question. So, and this is this might open up a bit of a can of worms, especially online, or people might leave some comments. What does a buyer's agent actually do day to day?

SPEAKER_01 5:46

Yeah, so and and there's probably two uh two two parts to that. I think you could be um for forgiven for just thinking that a buyer's agent just talks to the agent on my behalf. You know, they they they speak to the agent, they manage the negotiation, and that is that is definitely a part of the process. But for us, when we're talking about buying investment properties, we've got to wind the clock back a little bit and and talk about our process. And there's there's lots of buyers agents out there today that attempt to do a similar thing to us as well. But it starts off with understanding our clients' requirements, understanding their goals, understanding what they're trying to achieve. Then we're looking at their property brief, we're we're uh trying to understand their budget, where they're comfortable in buying, and so forth. And then we're looking at our data and uh looking at our research team to be able to match up a property to their specific requirement. Then we go on that research journey and find that property. When we find that property, we present that property to a client, and this is what buyers agents will do. They'll they'll speak to their client about that property. And then once there's alignment there on the on a move forward, a buyer's agent and the client will talk together about a potential strategy and how they're going to connect with the agent. Then the buyer's agent will uh speak to the agent to get an understanding of their process, how they're looking to operate, or how how they're going to manage this transaction. And then we want to be working in with the agent on that process. Uh, you know, there's a bit of a misconception out there that we're fighting against the real estate agents and, you know, to a degree we are in competition, but it's also important that we're working respectfully with one another, and that's a really big part of the piece is having those relationships with those agents, whether it's a new or an existing relationship, to be able to establish that connection. So we do that on behalf of the buyer, and then we're working with that agent to submit offers at the right time and the right type of offer with the right type of conditions that is going to be favorable for our buyer and is also going to suit the requirements of the vendor. So we manage that process right up until that point. And then once we're successful, and you would know this, uh Julian, and maybe I can throw back to you for this one, talk to us a little bit about what's happening um even past a successful negotiation because that's not the end.

SPEAKER_00 8:03

Yeah, I'd say that's probably where the real work really starts, because once the offer's accepted, if we kind of I I almost see sometimes buyer's agent is is there to kind of coordinate things and have a plan in place, but then there becomes a part where you're almost like a counselor for for the person buying. Because what happens is once that offer is accepted, human nature comes in and buyers' remorse kick kicks in. So that's probably number one. But from there, you probably, you know, you've got to get conveyances involved, review the contract tracks, you've got to get conveyances involved, review the contracts, dot the I's, cross the T's. You've got to get the finance reviewed, make sure that's in place as well. Book the building and pest inspection. Um, that's another big one as well. And and that's probably something that it's for a buyer's agent, you're looking at dozens of building and pest inspections each and every week. And you know, again, walking clients through. We're buying a used item. Even when we're buying a brand new property, there's going to be defects and things come back. So and and unfortunately, most of the building and pest inspectors are using templated software. So they they tick a certain box and a disclaimer comes up, we'll get this professional. So just walking them through what's normal, what's not normal, what we can push back on, what we can't, all doing that with uh with good legal advice along the way. Getting a property manager involved as well, so you can start doing pre-settlement checks, start screening for tenants to get that process in place. So there's there's a quote that's really kind of where the real work starts. But I mean, going back to your point in terms of relationships with the agent as well, this is something that's probably massively underestimated because people like to think you're going in to have a bit of a joust or a jewel with the agent. But the reality is the agent wants to sell the property. Like they want the easiest path or the least resistance to the deal done. It's not just always about price, it's about terms, it's for them. It's also confidence going back to their vendor and going, well, hey, I've dealt with Ian before, his clients are always finance ready, that these guys follow a real simple structured process. I'd suggest taking this offer over this one over here where we've got an unknown commodity because if it if this falls through or they're an emotional buyer, I've heard from other agents they're a nightmare to deal with, we probably don't want to deal with that. So there's quite a bit of uh, I guess, bit a bit of work involved, even once the offer is accepted. That's where the real work starts. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 10:21

Yeah. And then further to that, I I I think for our clients, um, one of the things that we want to be doing is keeping them updated on how that property is performing. So we will reach out to our clients on an annual basis. Um, as we always say to our clients, if if they're wanting to reach out to us prior, they have something to discuss. We're we're always open to have those discussions and and provide information as required. But um but formally we'll reach out to our clients on an annual basis and give them an update of of how their property is performing and um and then go from there and start the conversation. And and thankfully for us, uh we've had a really strong track record of performance and a lot of the times they're really positive conversations and and often lead to a rebooking uh to come back and buy another property.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Now uh I mean we're touching on that in terms of using the buyer's agent or you know more than once as well. So who should really consider using the buyer's agent? If you're serious about building wealth through property, you don't just need a loan, you need a strategy. And that's exactly what the Australian Lending and Investment Centre delivers. Australia's most awarded brokerage. They're not just looking at what you can borrow, they'll build you a holistic lending plan tailored to your long-term goals. We use them, we trust them, and so do our clients. So to find out more or to book your complimentary lending strategy session, head to the link in the show notes to connect with the team. Thanks for listening. Now back to the video.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

Someone that's wanting to I I think someone that understands, that's clever enough to know that there's a lot that they don't know. So I think that's number one. Someone um that wants to buy well, uh that wants to buy in the right area, but uh is proud enough to acknowledge that that is not their space, even though they might be have an interest in property, that doesn't make you an expert in in property. And uh so any anyone that's wanting to buy well that's can can push the ego to aside and say, okay, I'm I accept here that I'm I'm not an expert. Someone that's potentially looking to diversify, um, buy into state, we have a borderless mindset when it comes to uh um to to buying property. So I think that's a big one. But for me, Jules, the the the biggest one is time poor. If you are a professional person, you're running a business, you're you know, you've got an important role in your life at your workplace, you're working 10 hours a day, you're coming home to a busy house, you're running the kids to sport, you're doing Saturday morning swimming lessons, you're doing all of those normal things that mums and dads do. This idea of, you know, spending a couple of hours each night on realestate.com.au after the kids go to bed and thinking that that is research, I'm really sorry to say that that is not going to allow you to buy well in this in this environment. So anyone that's that's time poor and understands that they are not the expert, I think is the person that should be using a buyer's agent.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

Yeah, and I guess to kind of double or add some things onto that as well, like for full transparency for anybody listening, you know, Ian and I are obviously we work in the industry, but we've actually used buyers agents ourselves in the past. So it's not that we're just trying to promote our services. It's it's stuff that we actually have used and and would, you know, suggested to friends and family that they use. And I guess the reason for that is as well. I think we're both been guilty of the past of being the DIY investor as well. And um, when you're in it every single minute of the day, you can do all the research you want online. And unfortunately, there's the data that's readily available for you to kind of read the temperature right now, but then there's the momentum that's actually happening on the daily basis. It's like you're not at the game of the of AFL and you're just checking the stats, and we're like, oh, well, it must be a pretty close game. But sometimes the stats don't actually tell you how the game's being controlled and being moved. So I think that's probably the biggest one, the massive advantage you have when you're getting a professional to guide you through that, because that like if I've I've talked about how reliable some of the online data is. Yeah, you you really need someone to kind of guide you through. If you want to get it's it's the old uh, I guess the golf principle, half a degree to the left or to the right, you're off the you're you know, you're out in the bushes. Yeah. If you and well, I guess what got me to use a buyer's agent at the beginning was if I I worked it out, if they were just one percent better than me. That's all I think it's it wasn't a uh I had to, I guess, kind of self-assess and go, is it realistic for somebody to who's in it full time to just be one percent better than me per annum in terms of capital growth? And I extracted it out and I was like, well, on a 500k asset, it's about 30k over five years. So I basically made my more doubled my money. It was a pretty simple um, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

And I think, Jules, you know that I've I've been buying some uh residential assets um uh in recent times, but and I'm I'm probably at a different end of my uh investing journey to most, but I I recently did buy a commercial asset as well, and I outsourced that job. I'm not an expert in that area of of commercial buying, so I I outsourced that and used a buyer's agent for that asset uh selection. So yeah, I I think you know we are practicing what we're preaching um from that point of view, and I know Mark always says it as well. Outsource to experts. You know, um regardless of what you're doing in life, get the right people in involved.

SPEAKER_00 15:49

Yeah. Now, on the flip side of that, I guess you might have some shockers as well, but who probably shouldn't use a buyer's agent? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:58

I think the people that shouldn't are the ones that are skeptical and untrusting and anxious and unsure. And you know, we I know you use this analogy a a lot, Jules. You know, you don't go to the five-star restaurant to walk out to the kitchen to tell the chef how to cook the meal. You know? So so I think if you are that type of person where you're gonna and and I think a good level of skepticism is good and a good level of involvement in the process is good. You know, you want to be engaged in the process, but if you're gonna pay an expert to guide you on this journey, then there needs to be an element of trust. And if you're a controlling uh if you have that if you know in yourself that you're a control freak and will not be able to let that go and and allow those people to help you make those decisions about what you should or shouldn't buy, I'd probably say don't use one.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

Yeah. And I I'd probably say, yeah, to double down on that, it it's funny because I'll I'll have clients where they, you know, they might work in legal or accounting or whatever, and their pet gripe is like, oh, the worst is when I get a client who's brought brings in some chat GPT knowledge as well. And I'm like, well, they're typically the clients that actually do the same on the back end to the buyer's agent. And it's talked about that data not being accurate always as well. Um the other one I'd probably say is if you're trying to buy a home to to live in for you to to buy, in terms of there are there are, and I should say there are buyers' agents out there that that are local buyers' agents that specialise in that local market. But I guess it just goes back to your control side of things. If you know you can't relent control, no matter what, that's probably a time you shouldn't be using a buyer's agent. And if you know you're just too emotional, like if you know you're gonna be too emotional and you can't keep those emotions in check because your buyer's agent, this is not always gonna be the case, but we're talking general terms. Your buyer's agent's there to kind of protect you from yourself sometimes. Sometimes you're gonna want to run when you should stay, and sometimes you're gonna want to stay when you should run, and you're just gonna, well, that property looks nice. You know, I've looked online. So I think if you can't follow the expert advice, lent control, control your emotions, they're probably someone who shouldn't use a buyer's agent. And potentially, they maybe shouldn't even get into property because property is a point where realistically you shouldn't be your property manager. You know, you shouldn't be picking your tenants, you shouldn't do all those things. Now there are going to be people that are listening to this and go, well, you know, I do all that stuff. Yeah. Great. For the the one or two people that that can get away with doing that, I promise you if I ran the numbers on the time you've invested and all those kind of things, I'd show you that you're costing yourself money. So I think if you know you're not that person, maybe property is probably not even just a buyer's agent. Maybe property is not the investment vehicle you need to be in as well. Sure. Now, final question for you, Dowso. What should someone actually look for when they're choosing a buyer's agent?

SPEAKER_01 18:52

I think a track record of success uh is important. I feel a level of experience in a team with the people that you're talking to is important. Unfortunately for us, Jules, we fit into that uh category of uh starting to lose a bit of hair or having grey hair. We've uh been around uh for a little time. But I do think that's important to ensure that you're dealing with people that that uh do have experience. I see a lot of fresh faces coming, which is great, but they need to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_00 19:19

Everybody's gotta start from somewhere, but I think uh tobacco they shouldn't be learning on your experience.

SPEAKER_01 19:26

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Um I think that's important. I have always had a funny feeling about buy buyers H and there's still a lot of them out there that charge a percentage fee on the transaction price. Because I'm sort of like, well, you're being in the more I pay, the more you make. You know, so how much incentive is there for you to actually negotiate uh a price in my best interest? Now, you know, I I I don't want to go down a whole uh other can, you know, open up another can of worms here in terms of talking about the discussion around buying under market, because I think that's a a a hugely over exaggerated thing that buyers' agents are actually capable of doing. But I do I I don't think that those two models align. So if someone's charging you a percentage of price, I don't think that's great.

SPEAKER_00 20:15

And I think uh to to interrupt you there, if I can, um you know being someone who deals with it as well, I can assure you negotiating on the $500,000 property versus the two million dollar property, it's not any harder on this. I'd say probably if anything, it's actually far more competitive on the $500,000 property. So I mean, obviously there's more on the line at the higher ticket price, but it doesn't require more work.

SPEAKER_01 20:39

Yeah. Uh transparency around fees, um, so you know, just um I I think that's important. And yeah, some someone that you know I and I know we do this at Ripehouse. Look, ultimately, we would love to have a client come on board with us and have them walk out the door with a property that they're happy with next week. You know, we would love that. But that's also not the reality, and we don't want to put undue pressure on our process to track those people through quickly. I think if you're seeing that with Biosage, that would be a bit of a flag for me about how quickly they're moving through. Because is there an incentive in their model where they're actually trying to drive people through their process faster than what actually probably in reality it should take? So I I think there there are a couple of things to be mindful of.

SPEAKER_00 21:28

Yeah. And I'll probably go the opposite of that. Some of the things that if anybody's listening and they're speaking with different buyers' agents and they're looking for the things maybe to run away from. So some things that I would say and and uh and I hope I upset some people listening here, but because it's more of a cautionary tale in terms of if anybody's making you charge a membership fee, that's normally a good sign that there's something a little bit of skew going on there, whether it's developers or whether they're just trying to cover some costs. So membership fees, that one's uh a bit of no no for me. If they're selling you off the planet apart. Apartments, house and land packages, all those things, I I would be asking the question, yes, their fee might be cheaper, but how are they actually making their money? Because I can almost guarantee, and not almost, I can guarantee you, my LinkedIn inbox can guarantee you that they are offering huge, huge, huge bonuses to the people pushing these products. I'd also be saying if you're dealing with a a buyer's agent who's probably really pushing, even if they're established, units and apartments and they're trying to tell you that, oh, you know, I'm looking at the data right now. Over here, they're below replacement value, so they're about to go to boom. You know, Ian and I have been in property for a long period of time. Ian's actually had some of these type of properties. Like you might get a little bit of a spike every now and then, but if you're looking for holistic medium to long-term returns, they're not the type of assets you want to be parking your capital into. And then the other one is just marketing spin. If if all you're doing is seeing this business just ad after ad after ad, they're running creative videos, like if that's all they're talking about, it's a bit of the king of spin, chain warm. I think like the good businesses are the ones that have been around for a long period of time. Most of their clients are repeat clients, they're referrals from friends and family or business partners. If you're good at what you do, you don't need to be spending $30,000 a day on marketing tactics, right? I think there's a there's a bit of a a model going in there because Ian, you obviously deal with it on the on a daily basis. There's a finite of good properties each and every day or each and every week come through. So if you're you're trying to deal with somebody who chases the volume side of things, it's like McDonald's is great and a late night when you want something to eat or you can't be bothered cooking, but it's not the best burger out there as well. So I think that's the other one to look out for as well. But uh Dow's been great having you in. And I guess if there's one takeaway from today's episode, it's this. Property is the largest financial decision most Australians will ever make. And yet most people approach it with less guidance than they would choosing a superfund or selecting an accountant. A buyer's agent isn't essential for everyone, but for the right person, particularly time-poor professionals or investors buying outside their local market, it can remove an enormous amount of risk from the process. Whether you work with us or someone else, the most important thing is having the right expertise around you. If you want to have a conversation about whether using a buyer's agent actually makes sense for your situation, you can book a call with myself or the team via the link in the show notes. Or alternatively, if you have a question about borrowing, lending strategy, etc., as always, there's a link to the team at ALIC as well. We'll tell you straight whether what you're doing makes sense or whether you're just consuming property content and calling it progress. As always, thanks for listening, and we'll catch you on the next episode. Bye for now.