Buyers Advocates: Who are they & what do they do?
Have you ever watched The Block and wondered just what a buyer’s advocate actually does? From first impressions, it could seem like all they do is throw a bidding paddle in the air and hope like hell that they’re the last man, or woman, standing… is that the case?
Nope. Absolutely not.
As a buyer’s advocate, bidding is just one of the crucial functions we perform. It’s also probably last on the list of things we do if we’re assembling it in order of importance.
What do buyers advocates actually DO?
First, we’ll run through with you what it is that you want and why it is that you want it. Are you looking to purchase a property for family reasons, lifestyle reasons, wealth creation reasons, or a combination? Understanding your motivation is key in ensuring we can work effectively on your behalf.
Next, we’ll run through a property scope with you. We’ll flesh out the areas of importance, find the negotiables, the non-negotiables, and walk away with a very thorough picture of your position as a potential buyer.
After this, we get working. While you’re keeping up with the demands of your own life, we’re working hard on your behalf. Rather than just refreshing realestate.com.au, we’re speaking to agents to find out what’s coming up on the market – or better yet, what they have in secret sitting off the market.
While you’re cheering your child on at their soccer match, we’re racing from open home to open home, pre-vetting home options to make sure they’re going to fit into your criteria. It’s our job to ensure the photographer hasn’t conveniently left out the looming skyscraper that towers over the backyard, or that the agent hasn’t taken some creative license with the listing and neglected to mention the sinkhole in the backyard.
The properties that survive this part of our scrutiny are properties we’ll then take you through. From there, we keep looking, searching, calling, questioning, and hunting on your behalf until we find just the right property that will send you head-over-heels into love.
However, our job isn’t done yet. Now it’s time for the due diligence phase. This includes comparable sales research, council checks and a fierce reporting system, revealing all the details you need to know about the property and removing the emotion from the final decision. We work to gather the information we need so these informed decisions can happen quickly, which is crucial in successfully walking away with a signed contract.
Next, once the green light has been given, we move into an acquisitions strategy. Do we make a play to buy it before action, go for the bid at action, or is it acquire via a private sale? Are the ducks all lined up? Is the finance approved? Was the contract checked?
It’s an ongoing and often overwhelming process
The process can be overwhelming and can come laden with emotions. This isn’t a simple business transaction, and this is where buyers can suffer if they don’t have a buyer’s advocate – like me – on their team. The agent’s job is to play these emotions. They’re working for the vendor, and probably doing a great job in doing so.
The process doesn’t just finish once we’ve purchased on your behalf and the invoice is paid. We can arrange architects, small renovation quotes – the list continues. We’re there at the final inspection and when the keys are handed over. We want to see you in your new home, safe, sound, and over-the-moon happy with your purchase.
If you want the right player on your team – give us a call!
By Sam Davenport