frequently asked questions
Questions Answered
Below you will find answers to the questions we get asked the most. However, if you still need help feel free to Contact Us for more information.
A buyer’s agent is a licensed real estate professional who exclusively represents the buyer in real estate acquisitions and expertly manages all aspects of the real estate purchasing process for their client, i.e. the buyer. A buyer’s agent ensures you purchase the ideal property at the best possible price.
When you enlist the services of Sterling Property Buyers, whether you are searching for your dream home or a high quality investment property to help you build wealth, we do all the work. We give you confidence throughout the buying process and also give you back your weekends and evenings!
In a nutshell, we make buying property easy and lead you through our seven step purchasing plan.
We assist you through the entire process from establishing your purchase brief, ensuring you are ready to act when the right property comes along, completing the property search and purchase negotiations and managing the due diligence process through to exchange and settlement.
We make the purchasing experience very easy and stress free. For more information view our 7 Step Process.
Absolutely! We draw on our expert knowledge of the property market to appraise the value of the property to ensure you don’t overpay. We also ensure all appropriate due diligence is performed to ensure the property you are purchasing is a quality asset and that you do not make any costly mistakes that could cost you tens of thousands of dollars if not more.
There are 3 main things Sterling Property Buyers do to ensure you get the best possible chance of growing wealth through your property purchase.
- We complete extensive market analysis and target areas with strong capital growth potential.
- We target properties that have a strong rental yield meaning your investment will have positive cashflow from day one. We do not like to see our clients negatively geared into property, a loss is a loss whichever way you look at it!
- We target well-located properties that have value add potential such as the possibility to subdivide, add a granny flat or complete a cosmetic renovation.
We complete comprehensive data analysis considering over 20 metrics to determine the best locations to purchase property. This data includes sales volumes, vacancy rates, rental yields, rental growth, vendor discounting, days on market, auction clearance rates, demand verses supply ratios and many more.
We also have access to detailed monthly and quarterly market analysis reports for every Australian property market including all capital cities and regional areas in every state and territory.
This gives us extremely valuable, up to date information about the local economy, demographics, population trends, infrastructure spending, employment prospects, transport networks, medical facilities, education hubs, livability and future growth prospects for all real estate markets across the country.
Accessing this data is quite expensive and costs many thousands of dollars each year to buy, as such it is not usually something the general public have access to.
Our buyers benefit because this data enables us to choose locations that are well placed to have strong future capital growth with strong rental demand and rental returns, which is what you want as an investor.
There is no difference; buyer’s agent and buyer’s advocate mean the same thing. A buyer’s agent / advocate exclusively represents the purchaser in a real estate acquisition process.
Lots of reasons:
- Save time and money.
- Take the stress and emotion out of the buying process.
- Gain access to off-market and pre-market properties.
- Leverage off the buyer’s agent’s network to purchase quickly and easily.
- In Australia most real estate agents are selling agents, they exclusively represent the vendor NOT the buyer, legally an agent cannot represent both vendor and buyer. This leaves most buyers very vulnerable in the property acquisition process.
- Most buyers are novices not experts in the real estate game. They make the biggest purchase of their lives with very little experience, dealing with professional real estate sales people who do not have the buyer’s best interests at heart.
- Engaging Sterling Property Buyers means you have an expert real estate professional acting on your behalf at every point in the purchasing process. We help you decide where and what to buy, find the right property, deal with the selling agents, appraise the property value, negotiate price, and manage the due diligence process for you.
Off-market properties are not listed publicly for sale on real estate websites. Many sellers do not want a public marketing campaign for a variety of reasons. Buyer’s agents will often have access to off-market properties first due to the relationships they have established with local selling agents. Buying off-market means you are not competing with lots of other buyers and can have a greater chance of securing the property quickly.
This can vary depending on the type of property a client is looking for and the time required to complete the search and due diligence process. However, we never take on two clients with the same property brief at the same time, e.g. same suburb choices, price range and style of property. You are our number one priority.
At Sterling Property Buyers we will take on up to 3 clients at any one time provided they have different property briefs. This enables us to deliver outstanding service to our clients, and ensures we are able to give the necessary focus and attention to the property search for each client.
A good buyer’s agent can save you thousands of dollars and help ensure your investment makes you money. The fee is quite a small outlay when you weigh up the money you stand to save by ensuring you don’t pay too much for a property, purchase the wrong property in the wrong location, or miss a critical piece of due diligence. Buyer’s agents represent extremely good value for money. If the property we purchase for you is an investment then our fee is totally tax deductible as well!
Most buyer’s agent fees are charged as a percentage of the purchase price. The percentage charged can range from 1% to 3.5% of the purchase price depending on the level of service required. We can also negotiate a fixed service fee if our clients prefer. The fee is usually broken into two parts; the engagement fee and the success fee.
The engagement fee is an upfront fee payable at the time of signing our service agreement. The success fee is paid once a property has been purchased and contracts have been exchanged. For example, suppose you and your buyer’s agent agreed to a fixed fee of $8,500. You would pay an engagement fee of say $2,000 on signing the service agreement. Once you have exchanged contracts on the property your agent has secured for you, you would pay the balance of $6,500. This is the success fee. The engagement fee plus the success fee equals the total agent fee.
Book a free initial consultation to find out more about our services and fees.
It is always worth checking with your accountant, but basically if the property you are purchasing is an investment property then our fees should be tax deductible. If we are purchasing a home for you to live in then the buyer’s agent fees are not tax deductible.
No. At Sterling Property Buyers we exclusively represent buyers to purchase the best possible property at the best possible price. We do not represent vendors or sell real estate. This means there is never any conflict of interest in any of our transactions. We are for buyers and buyers only.
This is an upfront fee paid to a buyer’s agent to enlist their services and commence the property search and buying process. The engagement fee is paid at the time of signing the service agreement. Once the fee is paid we start sending you properties to consider.
The success fee is paid once you have unconditionally exchanged contracts on your new property, meaning the property is yours and the sale cannot fall through.
Whether you are searching for your own home, a residential or commercial investment property, we can source and secure the ideal property to meet your needs.
