When you don’t need to engage a buyer’s agent, according to one

Back then, Australians weren’t used to paying professionals to help them find properties. In fact, according to Mr Handler, there are only around 300 agents when they started in the business. Fast forward to today and there are already 65,000 buyer’s agents across the country.

He shared: “[When] we started the business eight years ago, trying to get someone to pay us money for our service was literally like headbutting a wall. It was very difficult because people did not understand.”

“Now, our phone does not stop ringing. The way that technology's moving [has created] all this efficiency in people's lives, but the monotonous process of people going online to search property hasn't changed.

“People are not enjoying that process so we definitely are going to see a huge increase in the need for buyer's agents. We're already feeling it now." 

However, as a company, they don’t engage every investor that comes knocking at their door. A significant part of their process is understanding the objectives of their prospective clients before ultimately offering their services, Mr Handler said.

“If they're time poor, hypothetically, we would solve that issue by giving back their time. They could then effectively have that time back and spend it with their family or wherever is best spent for them.”

At the end of the day, if they can’t add value to the client’s portfolio, they would simply recommend other options.

“[For] the first-time buyer that's a different story. We'd be like, ‘Well, how do you actually expect to go about and deliver on this objective? You've never done it before.’ "

“I think it comes down to, first and foremost, [to how] can we solve the problem that they're facing? If we can't solve it, then, we may not be the right fit for them, [so], we'll tell the client … ‘Maybe you should do this yourself.’ If we can't add value we're not going to engage with you. It's not for everyone, the service,” Mr Handler explained further.

Due diligence

Even if you end up engaging with a buyer’s agent or any property professional, Mr Handler encourages doing due diligence yourself and taking responsibility for your portfolio.

Smart Property Investment's Phil Tarrant agrees, saying you can outsource skills but you should not outsource responsibility .

As an avid investor, Mr Tarrant makes sure that he remains proactive in managing and growing his multi-property portfolio. He gets the best value from his entire financial team not only by utilising their skills but also by learning from them.

According to him: “It's still encumbered on the person buying to be responsible for the purchase.”

“You need to be involved in buying properties—not passive. You need to be very hands-on particularly if you're new to investing. If you choose using a buyer's agent, shadow them and understand and learn from them because there's a lot to learn,” he advised. 

Tune in to Ben Handler’s episode on The Smart Property Investment Show to know more about the cultivation of buyer’s agents today.