Expert insight: Making money by picking properties

“A buyer’s agent is there to independently and exclusively represent the buyer, and whether it’s for purchasing a family home, or whether it’s for an investment or even helping a developer find a site, the buyer’s agent is there to represent the best interests of the buyer and also is remunerated by the buyer,” Mr Handler said.

What skills do I need to have?

The key skill for a buyer’s agent, Mr Handler said, is “being very, very good with people” to the point where they become similar to a psychologist as they need to manage emotions.

“Even for people who are buying for investment purposes, there’s this bit of illusion that you’re not using emotion when you’re buying for investment,” Mr Handler said.

“However, you’re trying to reach a financial goal for investment, you might want to retire early or reach some sort of financial freedom, so you’re dealing a lot with emotion, so I think trying to manage people, their expectations and coach them and nurture them and look after them is a really important skillset of the role.”

Past this, a good buyer’s agent also needs to have integrity, he said.

“You’re playing with a lot of money for people, so just making sure that you’re always being diligent and putting the client first to make sure that you’re operating with just high integrity.”

A passion for property is also needed, but there is no underlying vocation that a potential buyer’s agent needs to be trained in before they can start learning to become a buyer’s agent.

“A lot of people love investing and property, so a lot of those people, they may be an engineer or they could be in healthcare or transportation, but if they understand property, they’ve got the passion, they can monetise that and turn buying property into a career,” Mr Handler said.

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