Two things to do before engaging a buyer’s agent

According to him, throughout his wealth-creation journey, they have helped “temper our decisions, and guide our decisions, and steer our hands”. However, he said that there were instances where he bought properties without an agent’s help that have done beautifully as well.

The investor said: “There's no right or wrong [decision]. I mean, I've bought properties without buyer's agents and they've doubled in value and I've done very, very well.”

“[At the same time], I haven't bought a bad property with a buyer's agent. Some have performed better than others, but so far ... we haven't had a dud in there,” he added.

Ultimately, engaging a buyer’s agent is not a strict requirement for property investment. But if you are able to pick the best agents, they can definitely help you get ahead of the game, Mr Whitlock highlighted.

In order to ensure that an agent’s help will be worth the extra dollars you shell out, Mr Whitlock suggested going through this simple two-step process below.

1. Do your own research

Despite the value that they could add to your portfolio, buyer’s agents are not infallible. 

In fact, according to Mr Whitlock, there are plenty of people who have made poor purchases even as they were working with these professionals. 

At the end of the day, like everyone else, they cannot guarantee where the market is going. They can only supplement your research with their own knowledge, acquired through years of education and training.

If the main reason that you’re engaging a buyer’s agent is to free yourself from responsibilities, you may have to reassess your intent.

“You've got to think about how responsible you want to be for yourself—you've got to be responsible for ... your own decisions, even if you're using a buyer's agent,” Mr Whitlock highlighted.

2. Evaluate the buyer’s agent’s skills

After you have done your research, you are now armed with the knowledge necessary to assess the skills and services that a buyer’s agent can offer.

According to Mr Whitlock, a good buyer’s agent does not simply encourage purchasing assets in markets that are going up. Instead, they study the performance of the market, its growth drivers, the possible movements it could make in the future and the ways they could impact your portfolio, as well as how all of this information will fit the strategy you choose to implement.

Most importantly, they device plans with a long-term approach.

Mr Whitlock said: “They get a sense of demand in certain areas and they ... should have done their homework about infrastructure. [It’s] not just [about] making good growth in the next twelve months, but over the next two, three, four, five years.”

“A good buyer's agent should really work out [how] you're going to be ahead of the game,” he concluded.

Tune in to Alex Whitlock and Michael Johnson's episode on The Smart Property Investment Show to know more about the most common mistakes investors make and how you can avoid them.