10 Questions That a Buyer's Advocate Can Answer

For both first-time home buyers and experienced investors with limited time, buyer's advocates can be a very valuable advantage in the property market. Most sell themselves as 'the expert that is on your side', and this is without doubt their most important benefit. If your house hunt is turning up more questions than answers, we look at the ones that a Melbourne or Sydney buyer's advocate can answer.1. What areas should we look in?If you're in an unfamiliar city, Melbourne and Sydney buyer's representative can help you narrow your home search to areas that will best suit your lifestyle needs.2. Is it a seller's or buyer's market in this particular area?Newspapers and industry commentary always offers their two cents on whether we are currently in a sellers' or buyers' market. The truth is that this proportion differs from suburb to suburb and month to month. A Melbourne or Sydney buyer's representative can help you determine how much bargaining power you have at this point in time.3. Is this really all the properties available in a selected area?In Melbourne and Sydney, buyer's advocates often have access to 'silent sales'. They can make 'silent listings' or unadvertised properties available to you.4. Is there really another offer on this property?It's an age-old real estate agent's trick... notice a keen buyer, tell them that there are several other offers on a property, and watch their offers go up. A buyer's advocate can help stop you losing money on estate agent's tricks like this.5. Why do I keep getting outbid at auctions?It can be particularly frustrating to go to auctions that you think (based on a property's asking price) are within your budget, and to be outbid time and time again. Buyer's advocates can help you determine which auctions are actually worth going to... and in many cases will actually attend on your behalf as part of their set fee.6. Is this asking price high or low?For many inexperienced or simply time-poor home buyers, it can be difficult to determine whether an asking price is at the high or low end of market value. Property valuations can provide a definite answer to this question... but with literally hundreds of properties to explore and vet, it simply isn't financially viable. Buyer's representatives are the best solution.7. So, what's the lowest price the owners will take?Buyers advocates need an innate skill in negotiations - a sense for when somebody is at their limit, and when you could get further discounts.8. Can you just do it all for me?!The usual answer to this question from buyer's advocates in Melbourne and Sydney is YES! That's the sole purpose of their existence, and they will be as involved or uninvolved as you want them to be.9. Will my house value go up or down?Of course, nobody can tell you this for certain - but a buyer's representative can give you a rough idea of the areas best placed for capital growth, and how much of a factor this should be in your purchase decision.10. Should I buy this property?Armed with information about your lifestyle, needs, financial situation and plans for the property, a buyer's advocate in Melbourne or Sydney can be a neutral voice of reason in your buying decision.Many Melbourne and Sydney buyer's advocates also have quite flexible service structures. If you just need general guidance on locality selection and some negotiation help, you can often get a reduced fee over complete, start-to-finish buyer's advocacy services.