Property Hub - Investment Insights & Inspiration - Realty Talk: How you find a property has changed

Episode Date: January 15, 2024

This week we present the second week of Scott Aggett 4 part series helping to get you buyer-ready.  This time Scott and Bushy discuss the best ways to analyse a property.  Then later in the show Bushy will run through the key questions to ask a buyers agent. NEW – join our Facebook group, The Property Hub Collective: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1857513011165686 Join the Property Hub community on Substack! Sign up to get Australian property news, opinion, and episodes in your inbox: https://propertyhubau.substack.com/ Subscribe to RealtyTalk on the Property Hub channel: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Email Property Hub is a collaboration between Bushy Martin from KnowHow Property, Kevin Turner from Realty, Andrew Montesi from Apiro Marketing and Apiro Media, and Australia’s largest independent podcast network DM Media. Business and partnership enquiries: [e-mail] omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hi, I'm Kevin Turner and welcome to this week's Realty Talk show. This week we present the second week of Scott Agate's four-part series helping you get buyer ready. And this time Scott and Bushy discuss the best ways to analyse a property. And then later in the show, Bushy will run through the key questions to ask a buyer's agent. Hi, if this is your first time with us, welcome. You're going to find us on all podcast players and through the Southern Cross Oz Stereo Network. If you like the show, make sure you hit the subscribe button, please, and help us to continue to bring you the best guests every week. Make sure, too, that you join the conversation anytime on Facebook.

You can do that by going to the Property Hub Collective on Facebook, of course. We'll be back in just a moment as Bushy kicks off this week's show. Property deductions can save you thousands of dollars each year. To make sure you maximise deductions, you need to work with the most experienced quantity surveyor in the country. BMT Tax Depreciation is the leading specialist in the industry. They've completed over 700,000 tax deduction schedules for residential investment and commercial properties Australia-wide. BMT guarantee to find double your fee in the first full financial year deductions. Call BMT on 1300 728 726 today for an obligation free quote.

Realty Talk and your host, Bushy Martin. And when it comes to buying property, how do you know what to analyse in order to ensure you're getting the right property at the right price under the right terms for you? In the first of our special four-part Buy Ready series, we unpacked the keys to finding your next property. And today, expert negotiator Scott Agate from Hello House continues by helping you to learn how to analyse property properly by understanding market conditions and establishing the value to create an informed target price and what it's worth to you, considering your immediate and your longer-term goals. And we're going to cover this and much more.

So welcome back, Scott. Thanks, Bushy. How are you doing? Awesome. Really looking forward to getting into this. We really enjoyed the session on finding in our last segment. So we'll analyse the bit where a lot of people also don't do enough of the right work at the right time. So to kick that area off, what key metrics do buyers need to take into account when analysing a property and its location? Well, mate, there's quite a lot.

So I hope you've got a few minutes here to go through it. Definitely do. Yeah, we definitely dive deep when we're getting into the nuts and bolts of what a property is worth. But I think where we start with always is what's happening in the marketplace. So is in your local area, let's just choose Surrey Hills in Sydney, for example. I want to know in Surry Hills, is there more properties on the market this week than there was last week or this month, first last month? So I want to know what the days on market is.

And are things being snapped up really quickly, Bushy, or are they going to take longer to sell than they did in the months prior to that? I also want to know what the growth rates are. So I have prices going up, stabilizing, decreasing. That's going to give me a better idea. I'm going to look at auction clearance rates as well to get a better idea of what's happening real time on Saturday and during the week and what's transacting and what's being left over.

So are vendors discounting? Are things selling for above reserve prices? So all of that information comes into play when we're looking at the value of it. We'll go back and look at what they bought it for as well. So when did it last transact? What's Surry Hills done for house prices in that time? So if you bought that eight years ago, Bushy, and you were selling today, I'd want to know what you paid for it then, how it's performed within Surry Hills as well, generally speaking. So is it in a pocket of demand or is it in an area that's underperformed for Surry Hills? because that would give us an idea of whether it's going to be the right asset to continue to outperform for capital growth.

I'd want to know what the rental estimate was as well, just to give us a bit of a safety net as to where the yield would be potentially if you ever had to lease it. Is it something that could go close to paying for itself or are you going to be deep in a hole in terms of covering the cost to hold that asset? And this is whether you're looking at buying it for a principal place of residence. Of course, if you're buying it as an investment, you heavily focus on the rental return and the growth projections. and then we really get into the weeds bushy of what the comparable sales data is so we want to look for like-for-like assets so if we're looking at buying a three-bedroom house i want to look at three-bedroom houses that are sold in the last 30 to 90 days and real heavy bias on the last 30 days especially in a move in a moving market and then i want to move to uh competing listings that are

openly on the market now so five million dollars to spend in surrey hills what are my other options How many other properties are on the market now? How difficult is it going to be for me to replicate that asset? So I'm working for what my fear of loss is there to arrive at a price. And then you probably wash that all with consumer settlement. Like what's happening in the market is rates on the rise, rates dropping. Is there a lot of confidence in the market? Is the economy stalling?

Is inflation going? Where's inflation heading? So those things come into play as well because we want to get a better sense of how many buyers we're going to be competing and how carried away they might be so we can price this really accurately so yeah there's a lot goes into it it's it's detailed but i think once you get that understanding and real formula that you can stick to and you're looking in one or two core suburbs most of those answers stay in play for each property you just need to drop the new asset in and then compare apples and apples in terms of your comparable evidence and that should make it

a little bit simpler for you to arrive at the right number well i'd say you've really reinforced that There's a fair bit of detail and a fair bit of time that needs to be spent to really understand the areas that you're wanting to play in and wanting to fish in in that regard. I guess as a segue into my next question, with that information in the back of your mind, you've done all the homework necessary to put yourself in that position, you're better able to understand some of the games

that agents often play in this space. So you had to spell some of those out. What are some of the games that agents play, Scotty? uh well as an agent myself I might give you a few of my my little tricks and I think generally widespread in the industry is agents will hand select a bespoke list of comparable sales that paint a nice story for their property so you know often you'll get a list of sales that they'll send through to you or a CMA that they often send through to buy convince them around price but of course they're going to be stacked with properties that suit their narrative Bushy so

you know if they want to back up a particularly high price which they always do they're going to send you comparable sales that they believe um work at that level it's actually an interesting thing um as a buyer's agent now and as an agent previously and having seen you know sat in both seats there for a long time i can tell you that as a guy that negotiates you know hundreds of deals a year i never use comparable sales evidence it never comes into play at any given time because you'll never agree with the agent or the buyer on the other side you'll choose your list bushy i'll have my list that back up my argument and you can never win so anyone that came to the table trying to negotiate around well 12 smith street smith street just sold on the weekend for

this i'll say well 14 smith street sold six months ago for that so there's always an argument a good agent really knows their their um their local market and stock so yeah that's a that's an interesting one in terms of um comparable sales evidence that agents will use as as and when they need to um the other thing is well actually you lost me i'll have to start that question again was she sorry yeah you know that's all right no let's keep running with it what are some of the other games that agents play in that that space make comparable sales evidence they'll stack that in their favor and if you're trying to compete against them uh in terms of you're bringing some comparable evidence here of a property that you think sold or a few properties they're going to

counter argue that with a list of their own so often they'll do a cma report that's going to be a list of local properties that sold but they'll delete the ones out of those reports that aren't relevant to their narrative and they'll keep forcing that property up so that was one of the big things that affected affected that the other thing is they'll pick and choose the sales when they're talking to you to try and close you so you've got to be really educated around what's happening in your local market because if there's a property that just sold on saturday and you missed it they're going to hang their hat on that property even it sold two hours ago at auction and you weren't there so you've really got to be switched on in terms of it it's not really so

much an agent game it's more a case that they're playing at a higher level than you and there's levels to this game so unless you're prepared to do the hard yards and put yourself in a position where you're highly educated around what's happening in your local hood be sure that a good agent is going to have all those numbers to use against you in a negotiation the other thing that i used to do bushy as an agent was um and this is going back you know 10 plus years um i would record every buyer that came through an open for inspection or a private inspection of mine i'd color code them in a spreadsheet as to the level of interest they had where they had a contract where they had finance approval where they'd made offers on previous properties we

would track you at our competitors auctions on saturday so one of my team would go to all the competitors auctions we'd get a sense of who's who that's bidding on those properties so even if you came to me on a Saturday afternoon and said, Bushy, I'm sorry, Scott, I love this property and you got offers over 900,000. Well, I've only got 950. So I want to make you an offer of 950. I'll be looking back in my spreadsheet and I'll say, you actually went to 972,000 at auction three Saturdays ago. So I'll just push a little bit harder on the negotiation. So be aware that the agents are tracking all of that data. I'm asking you lead questions at Open for Inspection. And so I'm asking you things like, Bushy, did you go through and see 12 Smith Street?

Yeah, yeah, I did. Okay, great. How does this compare to 12 Smith Street? What I'm basically saying to you is, are you going to pay more than that or are you going to pay less? And I'm going to ask different questions like this that I'm going to feed into conversation and be very general about it. But the whole time I'm mentally making notes and their notes are going straight into my spreadsheet straight after they open for inspection. And I'll use that against you later on in a negotiation. So just be very aware that the negotiation typically starts a long time before you think

it does. So now I think it starts at hello, actually, generally, Scott. Now we talk about the detailed analysis that we need to do right from the outset, but what are some of the tools and resources that buyers can access to actually analyze properties? Well, there's definitely a lot of software that you can go and get access to. So there's systems like PageTag or CoreLogic RP Data. There's lots of different things that you can sign on for short-term subscription, like you might get monthly or quarterly access to look. And those tools might come in really handy for people that want to get right into the weeds with data.

And this is probably a learned skill from my perspective rather than being lazy, but I don't use any of those tools. And that's because I've coached myself to be able to look really quickly at a market online and gauge where the value sits. So I can look at things like floor plans, aspects, street view, and get a gauge of how attractive that option might be. I can look at comparable styles that are on the market and things that have sold and work out square metre rates and get a gauge of where things sit in the marketplace. But that's us doing it at a quick level to shortlist properties. When we go into the full due diligence, we'll then right get into the weeds about all those growth rates and those other things. I think if you can look at what property subscription tools or prop tech tools are available like that,

there's a host of different options. Do you use anything in your day-to-day business, Bushu, that you'd recommend? Yeah, well, like you, it's probably become intuitive for some of the work that we now do because I'm old and crusty enough and I've been doing it for so long that you know what to look for and what to avoid in that sense. Specific tools and there's a lot of free stuff on the net

for those who want to do the searching but i wouldn't rely on one source i guess is my suggestion because there's so much opinion-based exercise that can be widely varying and even the data when you're using median data can be quite often dangerous because depending on how many sales have occurred in a certain period of time in that area it can it can throw things out so you know you've mentioned previously the need to get very specific about this are using median data and big data databases that average information can be a very dangerous tool to rely on. It's about getting down and dirty

and combining the actual quantifiable data with the emotional intuitive stuff that you're only going to get a feel for if you're actually spending enough time on the ground, which is... Yeah, I agree. We spoke about that previously, that relying on things to take shortcut,

like desktop algorithms on price, is just going to confuse you and make your, you know, decision-making process really muddied. So you need to do the hard yards. And really, at the end of the day, you know, and we're buying nationally, right, so I can't be physically in all these locations, but we're working with clients that are physically on the ground

doing these inspections. And the same thing rings true for us every single time. We can use all the data, but you really need to gauge where these properties are in the local area, what the lifestyle benefit of those are versus the other side of town, proximity to all the things that you need in your day-to-day existence and then traffic flow and those things and noise which are big issues so you can only do that when you're physically

inspecting which goes back to the point of you really need to look at i think up to 50 properties before you make a value decision which means four to eight weeks of boots on the ground and i always look at properties when i'm buying so if i'm looking at because not everyone's got 50 properties that they can see there might not might not be that deal flow and the turnover in their area especially if they're looking for acreage or things that are in regional areas. But one way of doing it to get a gauge of where value sits that I think has worked really well for me over 30 years

is if I'm looking for a three-bedroom house, for example, in Surrey Hills, I'll go and look at every two to four-bedroom house. So what I'm looking for is where is their value in the market? So two beds are selling at a big discount to the three beds, are the three beds selling very close to the four beds? So maybe the value here is a four bed, right, in terms of making an extra bed,

it's going to really outperform long-term and it's going to give you a better quality of life and not that much extra in a dollar outlay up front. You're looking for those little idiosyncrasies and you're physically inspecting that many properties because then you'll see where the value sits. And you don't want to rely on just looking in the sold section of realestate.com because you've got agents like me

that were very good at marketing properties to hide their faults and to highlight the good points of a home. So you're only seeing what they want you to see. You can't see the telegraph poles out the front or the bathroom window that is staring straight back into the bedroom of the neighbouring house or whatever it might be. So all these things need to be looked at in the flesh.

Totally agree, Ian. And one of the things that I do do on a regular basis when I'm serious about it is I always inspect a property between five and six o'clock in the evening when everyone's back home to make sure that I'm getting a sense of what that neighbourhood's actually about, not seeing it in the beautiful photos in the middle of the day when there's no one about because everyone's at work.

So, yeah, now we've touched on due diligence, and in your course, I mean, I love the buyer's ready course. There's a great section under the analysis area where you talk about due diligence. We've touched on some of those areas. Are there other aspects of the due diligence analysis that we need to take into consideration before making offers, Scott?

Yeah, absolutely. So we're looking for things like any flood or fire affected or any major power lines that might be within 50 metres or 100 metres of the house. We're looking for things like T intersections or roundabouts or bus stops, easements that might affect what your plans are to do in the future. So if you're buying a family home and you want to add a pool in

but it's got a sewerage line running straight across the block, it might not be possible to do it. So we're looking into those types of things as well. But your point there about seeing the property at different times is really clever and that's something that we would always coach our clients to do as well because as an agent, I'm going to take you there when it suits me to do it I'm going to choose the lightest traffic flow, the right natural light, and control that process.

So you want to go and see it, ruffle their feathers a little bit at a time that suits you. And I definitely think you take a friend for a second set of eyes because it's really difficult. The agent will engage you in conversation to ask those questions like I highlighted before. You need to just have like a pen and paper of a friend that's going through to look at a checklist of property items, which I think is really important because they'll spot things that you might miss. And you're looking through a different set of lenses when you're looking at your own home or potentially even for an investment. You're looking at where your furniture might go rather than the rising damp that's in one corner that you might have overlooked or the taps that have got low pressure or the gutters that are damaged, those types of things. So doing that and then seeing it at night, I think, and going back and seeing it at a different time.

Because what happens is, for example, I use Surry Hills again, my old hood, is that during the day, it would be often quite easy to get a car space. you're going to go back at six or seven o'clock at night um most of those terrace houses don't have parking there's nowhere to park you end up streets and streets away and that's going to make a big decision on if you're going to have a family in that house and you can't get your groceries or the kids to the door that's just simple things like that so you've got to check all these things multiple times beautifully said uh well thanks again for these very informative insights on analyzing the property scott and we suggest that anyone who's looking for further guidance and assistance on their next property, reach out to you and your team at hellohouse.co. That's H-E-L-L-O-H-A-U-S,

the German form of house, .co, hellohouse.co, by clicking the link in the show notes. And that brings us to a close on analysing property. In the next upcoming third segment, we're going to be unpacking the refined art of how to negotiate on a property. So I'll see you again then, Scott. Thanks, Lushy. Successful property investment is a game of finance. Do you have the right team and the right game plan realty talk is brought to you by know how property more than mortgage brokers bushy martin and his team of investment architects set you up with a sustainable strategy structured to lower your costs tax risk and stress while increasing your capacity for growth know how has helped over 1900 homeowners and investors secure more than 800 million dollars

in property wealth. So get set to live more, work less and live your legacy. Want to know how to invest in your freedom? Visit knowhowproperty.com.au. This is Realty Talk powered by realty.com.au. Greetings and welcome. Now, sometime we've been espousing the merits of engaging a bias agent to assist you in levelling the playing field to secure a superior performing property on better terms. But like everything, I'm not just suggesting you engage any old buyers agent, because like any relatively new and growing profession, there's a massive chasm between the average buyers agent and a really good one. Because unfortunately, there's been a swag of inexperienced and ill-prepared opportunists that have moved into the industry, as there's very low

barriers to entry. And they're giving the industry a bad name and making it harder for the few select and proven buyer's agents to demonstrate their value. And don't be fooled by high-profile buyer's agents companies who spend a poultice on advertising and marketing that promise the earth in terms of access to so-called off-market properties at under-market prices. Because, unfortunately, once you've signed up and handed over your cash, behind the smoke and mirrors,

they over-promise, under-deliver, and often pressure you to buy a property that doesn't actually optimise your opportunity or satisfy your strategy. because they just need to get paid in our experience we're finding that the majority of buyers agents tend to operate at either end of a spectrum from totally remote desk desktop research and no boots on the ground with no local knowledge at one end or the opposite where they know the ins and outs of their local area but have very little quantified leading

indicator macro micro and micro research to support their findings the reality is that you you need to engage a buyer's agent that can deliver on both and is committed to finding the best property to suit your needs, not just whatever's available. So how can you separate the sheep from the goats when it comes to buyer's agents? By asking the right questions and then knowing what the answers mean.

But what are the right questions to ask? Well, this is how I'm going to help you today with a host of questions that will give you the good oil so you're engaging a buyer's agent that's not only going to source, negotiate and secure a great property that ticks all the boxes of your strategy, but they're also aligned with your values. The questions are the ones that we quiz prospective buyer's agents on before we go any further with them. So let's run through them. Firstly, tell us about your background and how this has helped you as a buyer's agent.

Now here you're looking for evidence of their understanding and experience along with their passion and performance? Secondly, how long have you been a buyer's agent? And who are your buyer's agent's mentors? Now, this question is about their level of experience and expertise, along with their understanding of how a good buyer's agent operates. If they've only been operating for a short period of time without much expert guidance, then you need to question their ability to do a good job. Thirdly, what are your personal values and how do you demonstrate them? This is about understanding what's truly important to them and whether this aligns with what's important to you to ensure that fundamentally you're on the same page and operate and respond in a similar way.

Number four, do you own any property, either home and or investment yourself? And can you share an outline of your personal property investment strategy and your property portfolio. This question is about understanding if they actually walk their talk. Past personal property investment experience is an essential undertaking for those buyer's agents that are fulfilling investment briefs. If they don't have skin in the game and haven't done what they're looking for you to do, then you need to question whether they're a good fit. If it's a matter of do what I say, not his ID, then run. Question number five, what qualifications have you undertaken to become a buyer's agent? Here you're looking for a reputable qualification, not a 10 second course from a

coupon in the cornflakes packet. If they own their buyer's agency, they're going to need to have a full real estate agent's license, both for themselves, plus an agency license for the company they operate under. So ask to see copies of this. A ground-up training system partnering experienced buyers agents with assistant buyers agents in training or apprenticeship style pathways are actually preferred. Ideally apprenticeships with REBA accredited buyers agents and advocates who have mentored them in the early years is much recommended. Now state-based real estate institutes and TAFE or private institutions also run training courses but many of the short courses teach enough to be dangerous so be aware of online non-accredited courses if you're unsure

contact reba which is the real estate buyers agents association of australia question number six are you a fully licensed buyers agent and if they are ask for a copy if they're not get nervous number seven are you a member of reba which is the real estate buyers agents association of and or PIPA, which is the Property Investment Professionals Australia, and if you are, do you uphold their standards of contact? If the buyer's agent's not a member of either, then I'd question their validity. Question eight, are you licensed as an exclusive buyer's agent or does your current license permit property sales as well? Now, if the buyer's agent's or buyer's agent company also sells property, then this is a very clear conflict of interest and will likely compromise the quality

of services provided and the outcome that you're likely to achieve. So you need to be engaging dedicated independent buyer's agents who only buy property and aren't affiliated with selling agents or others in the industry. Number nine, do you hold professional indemnity insurance? Now this is critical if something goes wrong and the buyer's agent fails in their duty of care because without professional indemnity insurance, you're going to be left high and dry and out of pocket. So make sure you get to see their PI insurance policy certificate of currency. Number 10, do you have conflict of interest policies? And how will I know you're going to act in my best interest? Now, everyone's obviously going to say they do, but get them to show you

their actual policies as evidence of their commitment. Number 11, what differentiates a great buyer's agent from just an average one. Now, a great buyer's agent relies on in-depth, quantifiable research to identify locations. They have an extensive network and good relationships with sales agents to source off-market, pre-market and non-market properties. They're able to negotiate favourable terms

and they have access to a team of independent building inspectors, property managers, quality surveyors and conveyances to guide and manage the entire process through to settlement and beyond. Question 12, what areas and or property types do you specialise in? Now, here you're looking for evidence that they have good experience securing the type of property you're looking for. This is a buyer's agent who says they do everything because there's a big difference

in the approach required between types of properties and locations. Question 13, how will you add value to our property purchase? Now, listen here for how they're going to do this and then keep them accountable for delivering on this if you actually engage them. It needs to go beyond the platitudes of just saving your time, money and headaches. You're looking for superior networks of contacts, sourcing and negotiating skills and the ability to guide and coordinate the entire property process. Question 14, what's your approach to searching, sourcing, selecting and negotiating a property? Get them to walk you through their typical process from end to end with real examples of what they've

done recently? Question 15, what growth drivers and leading indicators do you use to identify high potential growth properties? Now here you're looking for forward-looking data, not rear-view mirror history. Think infrastructure, industry employment, and income demographics. Question 16, where do you source properties? Here you're looking for evidence and examples of a strong network of contacts in your preferred area across selling agents, property managers, and others were able to identify good off-market, pre-market and on-market property opportunities. Question 17, what process do you go through prior

to recommending a property to a client? Now, this is a subtle way to identify the level of due diligence and the checks and balances against your strategy and your preferences that are instituted from the macro right down to the micro level, which then flows into the next couple of questions, which is, Aideen, how do you combine desktop data with local knowledge to identify the best property opportunities. Now, this is about finding a balance of quantifiable data

combined with intimate local knowledge to better form property solutions. For example, an area and a property can look great on your laptop and on paper, but local knowledge may identify that the area has a bad stigma or reputation and locals avoid it like the plague. Next, we go straight for the jugular by asking, what's your due diligence process? Do you have one? Is it in-house or outsourced?

What's included? And who pays? The answers here are critical to ensuring that the property that has been assessed against all the key criteria at the macro, micro and micro levels with quantifiable leading indicator data, not just historic data, combined with local independent professional insights

on the area and the property. As a minimum, a good buyer's agent will be providing you with a full report that addresses all of the good, bad, and ugly aspects of the area and the property to allow you to make fully informed decisions. For example, for growth properties, at the very least, you're looking for evidence of new committed infrastructure, new and strong industry and employment diversification, and strong growing income demographics under what I like to call the three I's of growth, infrastructure, industry, and incomes. Question 20, what negotiation approach do you adopt to achieve the best property outcome for your clients? Now this is also critical as

it's what and under what terms that you buy a property that actually establishes your success. So you're looking for detailed examples of how they've successfully negotiated property purchases to ensure your offer stands out from others without paying a premium for it, particularly in hotly contested situations. You also need to understand how they negotiate favourable terms for off-market properties where there may not be any other competition? And do they include due diligence clauses? And what else do they look at other than price to successfully secure a property on your behalf? Question 21, how do you make a recommendation on price? Now here you're looking at how they establish a reasonable market value for the property. Do they just use CoreLogic data,

comparable sales? Because they need to be able to demonstrate what's the right price to pay for the property and remember you're not just looking for an average property at a bargain price but a great property at the right price because it's always about quality and value at the end of the day. Question 22, how often do you recommend your clients not buy a property? Now make sure they give you actual examples of when they've done this because you're looking for confidence that they're finding you the best property not just the best available property. Question 23, how many off-market silent listings have you secured in the last two years? Now this is not a deal breaker as you're not just engaging a buyer's agent to find properties that you can't

and there's a fair bit of smoke and mirrors around this but knowing that they have a network of contacts that make them aware of off-market opportunities may identify good properties ahead of the pack but you need to ensure that they're going to still negotiate a fair price on them. Question 24, if I find a property myself, how do you treat this? Now a good buyer's agent will still get you to pay their fees for the property as they still need to put the property through their full detailed due diligence process and then negotiate the purchase under favourable terms. Question 25, how long is your process taken from initiation to purchase for your last five clients? Now this will vary depending on location, property type and the prevailing market

conditions, but it's not unusual for the process to take anywhere between three to four months or more from commencement through to sealing the deal. Question 26, what sets you apart from other buyer's agents and what do you do differently? And why would we engage you instead of another buyer's agent? Here you're looking for evidence and examples of superior and customised approaches to researching, selecting, negotiating and securing the property through the combination of leading indicator data combined with strong networks of relationships with independent professionals with intimate local knowledge. Twenty-seven, what previous purchases have you made and what experience do you have in our preferred location and or price range? Here,

the advice agent needs to provide concrete and recent examples of successful property purchases in your location with your property type and your price. Twenty-eight, how extensive is your network of related property contacts. Now successful property is a game of relationships so you're looking for evidence of a strong network of local selling agents, property managers, building inspectors, conveyances and finance brokers. 29. What's your track record of securing high growth properties? Now make sure they can actually evidence actual properties with buy prices and dates against their current values and then get details on annual growth rates and the rental yields. Question 30, can you share examples of testimonials of properties that you've sourced

and secured that have performed above the average? That's fairly self-evident. Question 31, can we talk to some of your previous clients, preferably with a similar brief? If they can't, run. If they can, make sure you talk to three or more of them to make sure that you're looking at the good, bad and ugly on the buyer's agent performance? Thirty-two, can we talk to some of your current clients? This will confirm their actual current performance. Thirty-three, are there any industry professionals who will vouch for your credibility? We're talking here about property managers, mortgage brokers, and conveyances, and some selling agents, because these are going to be useful to talk to in order to get second opinions on their prowess. Thirty-four, what's your policy

for handling competing or overlapping client briefs. Now, this is also important because if they have two clients looking for the same type of property in the same area, which client's going to get preference? Is it first in best rest or how else do they manage this? And question number 35, finally, we get around to their fees and costs because it's more about their values alignment and their value added than price that's important.

so you need to ask how do you get paid and do you receive or pay any financial rewards to or from selling agents property managers accountants mortgage brokers or other allied property professionals a true independent buyers agent doesn't take commissions from anyone and doesn't take kickbacks or fees in brown paper bags question 36 how's your pricing structured Is it a percentage, a fixed fee, or other? Now, I suggest you try and agree a fixed fee regardless of property value because a percentage of the purchase price, normally around 1.5% to 3%, subconsciously means that the buyer's agent has no incentive

to negotiate hard on the purchase price because the higher you pay, the more they get paid. Now, most reputable buyer's agents will get you to pay an initial commitment deposit of around $3,000 with a remainder paid on successful settlement of the property so that they're actually paid on performance. 37, what happens if you can't source or secure an above average property

to satisfy my brief that we're happy with in a reasonable timeframe? Now, if the buyer's agent is unable to successfully identify and secure a property over three to four months or more, will they refund your deposit monies paid? And finally, question 38, what happens if our expectations are unreasonable?

Here you're looking for a buyer's agent that is happy to have the tough conversations in the sense that if a property brief is unachievable or your expectations around timing, quality and cost are unreasonable, will they push back to qualify expectations to ensure that everyone's on the same page from the get-go? And there you have it. If you have the fortitude and confidence to ask these questions and then really listen to the answers in terms of what's said and what's not said, then you're in a much better position to make a truly informed decision on engaging a great independent buyers agent

professional that you respect and enjoy working with to achieve superior property performance results. And remember that the only dumb question is the question that you don't ask. So don't be afraid to ask anything and keep asking if you don't understand the answer and you're not clear on the response. And if you'd like a copy of all of these questions, just email me on bushy at knowhowproperty.com.au and we'll reply email with a copy of our template. That's more food for thought. Stay with us for more here on Realty Talk. Hi, just before we go back to the show, I want to spend a few seconds and tell you about a book that was sent to me that's now become my go-to reference when I'm looking for inspiration about

property investment. You know, sometimes it's not about knowing all the answers. It's certainly more important to know what questions to ask. This book by Rasti is called The Property Wealth Blueprint. And it's one that you don't read just once and then put it away. It stays out as a reference. It's a book that you go back to time and time again, as I do, because it's packed with personal experience and with great examples of how to get property investment right. It's very frank. It's to the point. And as you can see here, I've needed to bookmark several points and I can tell you that it's a constant companion on my desk here. The remarkable thing is that it's absolutely free on Rasty's website, getrare.com.au. Get Rare. It's a gateway to a richer life. The

website there for you again, getrare.com.au. So get this book, get it for yourself. Realty Talk exclusive to The Property Hub. And that brings us to the end of this week's show. A big thanks to Scott Agate for more tips to help get you buyer ready. Scott rejoins Bushy again next week for part three. Make sure that you don't miss a single episode of Realty Talk or Bushy's Get Invested podcast delivered to you each and every week. You can do that by subscribing to the Property Hub now on your favourite podcast player or wherever you are listening to or watching this show. Also join the conversation anytime on Facebook at the Property Hub Collective. I want to say thanks to our supporters and content partners Realty, BMT Tax Depreciation,

Know How Property Finance, Get Rare Property and Apiro Marketing. I'm Kevin Turner and on behalf for Bushy and the Property Hub team. We look forward to seeing you again next week.