How to choose a buyers agent in Brisbane

Most Brisbane buyers agents have near-perfect Google ratings, so stars won’t tell you much. What separates them is who pays them, how they charge, what they’ve bought recently and whether the person you meet is the person who’ll do the work. This guide covers the checks to run before your first call, the questions to ask on it, and the red flags that should end the conversation.

If you’d rather start from a shortlist, the Brisbane ranking scores every firm we can find on the same public checks.

Before you call: five checks you can do yourself

1. Look up the licence

In Queensland, buying property for someone else for a fee needs a real estate agent licence. A buyers agent without their own licence must be a registered real estate salesperson employed by a licensed agent (Property Occupations Act 2014, sections 26, 97, 115 and 151). Every firm we rank has passed this check, and its profile shows the date we checked.

You can check any agent yourself on the Office of Fair Trading’s free licensing register. Choose Real Estate as the industry sector, then search by licence number, personal name or company name. A result shows the licence number, the holder’s name and the type of licence. If nothing comes up, the licence may have expired or been cancelled, or the name may be entered differently. Ask the agent for their licence number and search again. The check a property licence page explains the register and how to order an official extract.

2. Find out whether they only work for buyers

Some firms that call themselves buyers agents also sell property, run a property management book, or take commissions from developers for selling their stock. That doesn’t make them dishonest, but it does mean someone other than you may be paying them. Look for a plain statement on their website that they act only for buyers and take no payments from sellers, agents or developers. Our profiles show what each firm publishes on this.

3. Check that their fees are published

A firm that publishes its fees is easier to compare and less likely to surprise you. Fees are usually a fixed amount, a percentage of the purchase price, or an up-front engagement fee plus a success fee. See what Brisbane buyers agents charge for every firm’s published fee, with a calculator.

4. Read the reviews properly

Count matters more than stars, and recent reviews matter more than old ones. Read the one- and two-star reviews and how the firm replied. Look for reviews that mention a suburb, an auction or the agent by name. Our Brisbane reviews table puts every firm’s numbers side by side.

5. Look for recent purchases in your area

Good firms show what they’ve bought: the suburb, the month, sometimes the price. A firm that has bought three homes in your target suburbs this year knows the selling agents there and has seen what comparable homes went for.

Questions to ask on the first call

1. Who will actually find, inspect and negotiate my purchase? The person who sells you the service isn’t always the one who does the work.
2. How many clients is that person working for right now?
3. What have you bought in my suburbs in the last 12 months, and for how much against the asking price?
4. Exactly what is your fee, when is it payable, and is any of it refundable? Ask for it in writing, plus GST.
5. Do you receive any payment from sellers, selling agents, developers or anyone else? The answer should be a plain “no”.
6. What happens if we don’t find a property, or I change my mind? Check the length of the appointment and how to end it.
7. Do you bid at auction for me, and is that included?
8. Which building and pest inspectors, conveyancers and brokers do you use, and do they pay you referral fees?

Red flags

• They won’t put the fee, or who else pays them, in writing.
• They push off-the-plan or new-build stock from a short list of projects.
• They promise a discount or a “below market” price before seeing your brief.
• You can’t find their licence on the Fair Trading register.
• Pressure to sign the appointment on the first call.

When to sign

Sign only when you’ve seen the fee, the term of the appointment and how to end it in writing.

In Queensland a buyers agent can’t act for you until you’ve appointed them in writing (Property Occupations Act 2014, section 102). The appointment must be on the approved form, which for residential property is Form 6. It must set out each service, the fees and any commission, when they’re payable, the expenses the agent can charge, and any rebate or benefit the agent may receive on those expenses. It must also tell you to get independent legal advice before you sign (section 104). You and the agent both sign and date it, and the agent must give you a copy (section 109).

The agent can’t recover more than the fee written in the appointment, or any fee at all if they weren’t properly appointed (sections 89 and 90). The appointment must say that either of you can end it with at least 30 days’ written notice, or sooner if you both agree in writing (section 106). If you sign with a second agent before the first appointment ends, you may have to pay both, or pay damages to the first. The Queensland Government’s guide to appointing a buyers agent covers the same ground.

Next steps

Shortlist two or three firms from the Brisbane ranking, run the checks above, and interview each. To see what each one charges at your price, use the fee calculator.