HOW MUCH WORK DOES A PIA BUYER’S AGENT DO TO FIND THE RIGHT INVESTMENT PROPERTY FOR YOU?
If you think hiring a buyer’s agent is a waste of time and money – think again. A property investment buyer’s agent will not only save you time by doing all of the legwork, they will also save you money by negotiating a below-market value purchase price – not an easy achievement for the average investor. But the benefits don’t stop there. Property investment agents make the entire purchasing process seem like a piece of cake – from researching the market, sourcing and analysing deals and assessing cash-flow to negotiating a favourable contract and streamlining the settlement process – Binvested Property Investment Agents serve up each deal for their clients almost seamlessly. In fact, we make it look so easy, you could be forgiven for thinking that achieving such results on your own would be easy too. But, before you start researching the market, let’s look at just how much work goes into finding the right property for your investment portfolio.
HERE ARE THE THINGS OUR BUYER’S AGENCY DOES FOR PROPERTY INVESTORS
1) RESEARCH THE MARKET
This is one area that most investors feel confident they can do themselves, however, at what cost to their time? The average DIY property investor would be able to commit a few hours here and there to searching for properties, compare prices online and maybe even visit the suburb if it is near to them. As a property investment buyer’s agent we have an advantage, we can commit their entire working week to this. Binvested Property Investment Agents have an entire team of staff who do just this, resulting in research that is far more thorough and time-efficient than the average investor could achieve. We’ve been doing this for years, and it is second nature to us. We can see which markets are good value, vs cheap and no good. We know what to look for in areas set to grow in value.
2) NETWORK WITH AGENTS
Over the past 13 years, Nathan Birch has made quite a name for himself – not only in the media, but also (more importantly) in the world of real estate. He says, when he first started investing, he would spend hours contacting real estate agents in order to hunt down a competitive deal. Nowadays, the estate agents call him, as do bank repossession companies. As with most things, it’s not always what you know, but who you know that counts the most. By hiring a Property Investment Agent, you will be entering into a world of estate agents who want to sell without the hassle of marketing and conducting open house inspections. This means you will have access to properties that haven’t yet hit the open market and get a competitive advantage against all the other property buyers in the market.
3) STRATEGICALLY INDETIFY THE RIGHT PROPERTY FOR YOU
Whereas the average buyer’s agent will go and find you a property that matches what you want, a Binvested Property Investment agent will educate you about the type of property you need. They will identify properties that are in line with your strategy and explain why they are suitable, providing both a buying and mentoring service to empower you along the way.
This provides peace of mind that each property you purchase will deliver against the goals outlined in your investment strategy, such as cash flow, capital growth, loan serviceability and risk appetite. It also helps you to build up your own confidence in identifying good deals.
4) COMPARE PROPERTIES AGAINST MARKET TRENDS AND THIRD PARTY SALES DATA
Our team at Binvested Property Investment Agents apply analysis to every deal we source. Binvested founder Nathan Birch says, this is an essential step in order to “make sure you’re not buying a lemon.” We compare against market trends and third party sales data while thoroughly scrutinising the property’s value as an investment in order to know the best price reduction to aim for when negotiating. We also provide an RP data report for our clients “so they can have an understanding of where the value lies in the property.” This helps you to identify what makes a good deal and why, what similar properties are selling for and helps you avoid paying too much.
5) DRAW UP A CASH FLOW ANALYSIS
On top of this, we will then break down the property’s cash flow for you in order to compare its holding cost against its rental return. This allows you to determine whether it will be positive or negative and by how much. The analysis we do is thorough and meticulous, we are deeply familiar with certain areas, we can present holdings costs which DIY investors would likely not be aware of and give you peace of mind.
6) NEGOTIATE A GOOD BELOW MARKET VALUE PRICE
One of the most obvious advantages of using a Binvested Property Investment Agent is that we consistently negotiate a competitive purchase price that is below market value. It is not easy for the average buyer to do this. Nathan says, “when a real estate agent lists a property, I understand that they just want to get a sale. I try to make the process as seamless as possible for that real estate agent to get their deal done. The only thing that I request of them is that they get me a certain price.” Having Nathan on your side is a bit like having a salesman who can outsell the selling agent. On top of this, he has built a solid reputation within a well-established network; his track record adding gravity to any negotiations he undergoes.
Getting an investment below market value is an essential key to any short term exit strategy and protects the investor from risk. [https://binvested.com.au/plan-property-investment-exit-strategy/] It allows you to have a capital buffer in place from day one and reduces the chance you will lose money if for unforeseen reasons you have to sell suddenly.
Many people choose to purchase properties by themselves in order to avoid paying a buyer’s agent fee, however, they don’t understand the true value of a buyer’s agent. It is better to pay a fee and get a property below market value, than pay top price and avoid paying a fee. This is because getting a property below market value will give you equity and fast track your future property acquisitions, as well as reduce the risk of owning negative equity (paying more than the property is worth with borrowed money). A property purchased correctly will make you money and save you valuable time.
7) NEGOTIATE A FAVOURABLE CONTRACT
Once a deal has been agreed on, the transaction is far from over. Binvested Property Investment Agents help clients through all stages of the purchasing process, including the negotiation of a favourable contract. Sophie Sicurella is the Buyer’s Support Administrator for Binvested Property Investment Agents. She has gone through 1,000’s of sales contracts for clients since she started with the agency. Although we cannot offer any legal advice surrounding the contract, we can use our experience as buyer’s agents to ensure the terms which have been negotiated are drawn up properly. Sophie says, “when it comes to signing the contract of sale, investors often need to be quick, or they will risk losing the deal to another buyer”. Solicitors often take between 24 to 48 hours to review a contract, and many selling agents aren’t willing to wait this long when they have other buyers interested. “At Binvested Property Investment Agents we can turn a contract around in less than one hour” says Sophie.
During this process, says Sophie, a lot of selling agents will try to raise the price by engaging in a bidding war, ie. Mr so and so wants to make this offer, would you like to increase yours? She says, agents know they can easily talk up a deal with an ordinary buyer compared to a buyer’s agent. “We know when to put our foot down, how to put our foot down and how to make the deal happen,” says Sophie. This gives you more security that you won’t be screwed over by the selling agent.
8) STREAMLINE THE SETTLEMENT AND DUE DILIGENCE PROCESS
Once the contract is awaiting settlement, we organize everything that comes next. We help their clients identify all of the necessary action they must take, such as organize a pest and building report, line up a property manager, organize landlord insurance and arrange for a pre-settlement inspection. Once the pest and building report comes back, we can use our own experience as investors to help clients interpret the report and if there are any major issues not previously known about, our experienced investors can help clients to determine whether or not to go through with the deal. We may also be able to negotiate a further price reduction if there is major damage needing repair.
Having access to the combined experience of Nathan, Sophie and the rest of the PIA team means you will save time in having to research every aspect of the pre-settlement process. Just going through the product disclosure statement of every landlord insurance broker can take days. What about finding a property manager? The search could go on for weeks. Binvested Property Investment Agents can make these things happen in just hours.
THE VALUE TO YOU
If you are not sure whether a buyer’s agent is worth the fee then consider what the cost of making a bad purchase or decision could blow out to be. Using a property investment agent can save you time and money, bring you peace of mind and prevent you from making any costly mistakes. We can negotiate with the selling agent to get a competitive price and protect you from getting embroiled in a bidding war. We can educate and mentor you along the way, helping you to identify value and build your confidence as an investor. The best thing is, however, the fee pays for itself through the negotiated price Binvested Property Investment Agents achieve – meaning you get all of these benefits, including an instant capital buffer, for next to nothing.
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