This is why you need to engage a good property agent:

For the past few weeks, you have been diligently searching for the ideal property online on places like PropertyGuru or 99.co. It suddenly occurs to you how easy property agents’ jobs must be. After all, they seem to collect thousands of dollars in commission by simply putting up a few listings online and occasionally conducting a few viewings here and there. It does not make sense to you to pay thousands of dollars for someone to do those things that you can easily do on your own. To that end, I will say that you are both wrong and correct.

The law requires agents to always protect you

For starters, let me first explain why you would be wrong. Firstly, one of the most sacred duties of your property agent would be to do due diligence on your behalf. This is a huge category of duty that can be as simple as detecting defects in a home inspection, to making sure that you are not getting ripped off by the other party in the property transaction. This duty of care is enshrined by the Council for Estate Agencies into legislation. This means that your agent is required by law to always act in your best interest. Kind of important to have someone looking out for you especially in a big-ticket item like a house!

Experience and Expertise

Next, an agent brings with him or her experience and expertise. This is necessary to help negotiate the best deal for you. Let me illustrate this point with an interesting story. There was once a rich businessman whose sports car broke down. He could not fix the engine despite calling several mechanics. Finally, an old mechanic came and after inspecting the engine, he used a small hammer to tap on the side of the engine. The engine roared to life. The businessman was invoiced for $1000 the next day. He was furious! He called up the mechanic and complained that a tap of the hammer couldn’t have costed more than $1. The mechanic calmly explained the invoice, “3 taps of the hammer – $1. Knowing where to tap – $999”. In the same way, good property agents deserve to be paid for delivering quality judgement and service to you. We advise you to invest that few thousands of dollars in engaging a good property agent. You could be saving much more money when the agent negotiates a fantastic price for your property transaction!

Invest for quality analysis to avoid pain in the future

Lastly, good property agents bring their money’s worth to the table if they are able to accurately analyse the broader market trends and developments. This is to provide you with the necessary inputs so that you can make the right decisions with regard to your big-ticket purchase such as what to buy, where to buy and how much to buy it for. This can largely minimise your chances of making errors, which you can ill afford for a property purchase that can easily cost over half a million dollars.

Cut out the dead weight!

Now, to the part that you might be correct. If your current property agent is only capable of putting listings and conducting viewings with nothing else to bring to the table, cut him out. You are better off doing the transaction on your own and saving on the agent’s commission. In short, while a good property agent can make all the difference in a property transaction, a lazy property agent is nothing more than dead weight. It’s very important that you be very selective about the property agent you choose to engage. A good property’s agent may potentially save you thousands of dollars- maybe even more than his or her commission! They may even provide valuable insights, such as how to avoid paying ABSD when buying your second property.

I hope you have gained some insights for today, this is Isaac, keeping property real for you.

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