“There has to be a better way to buy a home…” Sound familiar, Canberra?

The property market never seemed to be a fair game, when sellers have sales agents representing them and doing all the talking, while buyers – particularly first home buyers – have … who exactly?

Who is representing the young families or individuals searching for their first home, bidding for them at daunting auctions, scoping out the suburbs while they are working nine-to-five, fielding calls from strangers met at open houses?

It turns out Sydney has had the answer for over four years – and now Canberra.

Where property sellers have sales agents, Canberra buyers now have Brady Marcs.

Director & Buyers Advisor, Brady Yoshia, her Associate Buyers Advisor, Alicia Buck, and Canberra Buyers Advisor, George Popadalis, have expanded Brady Marcs Buyers Advisory to the ACT.

Canberrans now have power in their corner when buying a home, whether they are a first-time buyer, upsizing, downsizing, or building a property portfolio.

What is a buyers agent or buyers advisor?

“A buyers agent is a trusted partner who works with you throughout the whole purchasing process,” explains Brady. “From figuring out what it is you have in mind, right up until settlement of your property.

“We source, locate, and negotiate properties on behalf of our clients, negotiate for properties that they identified themselves, bid for them at auctions, and, when they decide it’s time to move on and sell their property, we provide vendor advocacy.”

“Especially for first home buyers, at the beginning they simply don’t know what they don’t know,” adds Alicia. “They’re forced to fumble their way through the process. That’s quite unfair because sellers always have someone representing them.”

“Buyers can go through that process for weeks and months on end,” says Brady. “Unfortunately, they’ll miss out on multiple opportunities and still be exhausted by the end of it.

“Buyer fatigue is a very expensive mistake.”

“Quite often, they will end up wanting to settle for anything – but you shouldn’t have to settle for a property because you’re exhausted.

“When you’re not looking at a property through eagle eyes and find yourself thinking ‘I can live with this’, you’re at an emotional disadvantage,” says Brady.

“Whereas, if you have a buyers advisor on your side, you have an expert looking at the property from a completely different perspective, focused on making sure that, firstly, the property fits your brief, and secondly, it’s future-proof.”

Is your dream home future-proof?

“Particularly if you have a young family, you will want to make sure that you can grow into the property,” says Brady.

“For most people, their family home is the biggest investment that they will make in life, and making a financial mistake can be huge,” adds Alicia.

“A common misconception about our field is that buyers agents are only on American TV, and they are only for someone buying a multi-million dollar property. It’s really not the case.

“First home buyers tend to be even more focused on avoiding those mistakes and would benefit from using a buyers agent more than someone who is experienced in buying multiple properties,” says Brady.
 
“Future-proofing your property also means understanding what is happening in the area. As buyers advisors, we always check pending development applications (DAs) early on.

“What could happen if you don’t check pending DAs is that all-too-familiar fear coming true, of buying a property, then a massive apartment block is built right next door, blocking your view, your natural light, and potentially leading to a lack of privacy,” says Brady.

“Which also affects resell value down the track,” says Alicia.

Buyers agents versus real estate agents

The difference to note between a buyers agent and a real estate agent (also known as a selling agent) is simple: one is trying to get the best deal for you, while the other is trying to get the best deal for the seller.

“The selling agent is working for the vendor, so their job is to get the highest possible price for their client,” says Alicia.

“Our job as buyers agents is also much more holistic. We help clients put together a brief based on their lifestyle, then we negotiate for them, and connect them with the right professionals, such as a mortgage broker or solicitor if they’re in need of one.”

“Quite often a client will come to us with a specific image in mind, but the reality of what they are looking for is different to what they think they want,” Brady adds.

“We start there, with that brief, and then we begin presenting them properties, including some in other areas that we feel might suit their needs better.

“Nine times out of ten, they are completely, pleasantly surprised that what we have presented is actually the right fit, better than what they had imagined.”

7 reasons to work with a Buyers Agent

1. Access to all the properties available, especially properties that are off-market or pre-market.
2. A dedicated property professional on your side to make sure that you don’t make a bad buying decision.
3. Stronger negotiating power and confidence that you will not overpay.
4. Avoiding the stress and discomfort of bidding at auction, clients can just stay on the phone as your agent bids on your behalf.
5. A valuable resource for people who are time poor. Brady Marcs can arrange bespoke appointments for clients to view properties at a time that suits you.
6. A discreet buying option for people who want privacy. Clients can register Brady Marcs’ details at open homes, rather than handing out their personal contact information.
7. Removes geographical challenges and provides local knowledge and expertise. Brady Marcs is equipped for mobility, able to meet at client homes, places of work, or your local coffee shop. It’s all about what works best for you.

Brady Marcs’ local representative, George Popadalis, notes that with the amount of come-and-go that occurs within the Capital’s public servant population, a buyers agent could be the ultimate tool in any Canberran’s arsenal.

“The home you’re looking for may seem totally elusive in Canberra’s market. You could be spending all day, every day refreshing the sites and waiting for the right home to come up, only for someone else to have already known about it beforehand through an off-market opportunity and snatched it up.

“A professional whose fulltime job it is to find those opportunities, and who gets invited to pre-market opportunities, can be extraordinarily helpful,” George says.

“We are there to help every buyer,” Brady says. “Whether it’s a small budget, or a multimillion-dollar budget, no job is too big or too small.”

To find out how Brady Marcs Buyers Advisory can assist you, call the Canberra office on 1800 28 77 77 or email [email protected]

For more information on sponsored partnerships, click here.