Buying process
Is your buyer’s agent actually independent? The questions that separate advocates from spruikers.
The buyer’s agent industry has a light-touch regulatory framework and a deep set of undisclosed commercial relationships. Here’s how ours is structured, and the questions to ask before you sign anyone.
A buyer’s agent is meant to work for you and only for you. In Australian real estate, the licencing framework doesn’t force that. A licensed real estate agent can act on either side and, in many cases, sits on top of a web of undisclosed referral fees, developer marketing agreements and preferred-supplier kickbacks. The ABC has run investigative pieces on the gap. PropertyChat threads document specific case studies. The industry is beginning to self-regulate. It is not there yet.
A commission from the seller, the developer, the broker, the inspector or the solicitor is not something you can disclose your way out of. You either take it or you don’t.
The three revenue models, honestly
| Model | Who pays | Where the conflict lives | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee-for-service (fixed) | You, up-front and at completion | Minimal, the only party paying is the one being served | |
| Fee-for-service (% of purchase) | You | Mild: incentive to buy more expensively; usually managed via a cap | |
| Developer / off-the-plan marketing | The developer, via built-in marketing spend | Structural: the agent is remunerated for placing you into a specific project. This is a sales role, not a buying role. |
The problem isn’t model 3 existing. The problem is model 3 being described to clients as if it were model 1.
Eight questions to ask any buyer’s agent before you sign
- Do you accept any payment, referral fee or benefit from a vendor, developer, marketing agency or project stock list? (Written answer.)
- Do you accept referral fees or spotter’s fees from the mortgage broker, building inspector or conveyancer you recommend?
- Can you show me the full written agreement, including any “retainer” or “strategy” component and when each fee becomes payable?
- Are you licensed in every state you buy in, or do you sub-contract? Who signs the contract for a Perth purchase if your licence is Queensland?
- How many purchases have you personally completed in the specific suburb you’re proposing? (Not the firm, you.)
- What’s your process if the property inspection comes back with defects? Do you renegotiate, walk, or push through?
- What happens if I don’t like anything you find? Am I refunded, am I locked in for 12 months, or something in between?
- Can you introduce me to two clients whose scenarios were similar to mine, with permission to speak candidly?
How NOVAQ is structured
- Fee-for-service only. We charge you and only you. We do not accept payment from vendors, developers, marketing agencies, brokers, inspectors or solicitors.
- No project stock, no off-the-plan panels. We aren’t on any developer’s list, so we don’t have inventory to place you into.
- Written scope, written fee, written stage gates. Every engagement lists what happens, in what order, and what you pay at each stage.
- Refund on early termination if we haven’t reached scope. If it isn’t a fit after the strategy stage, we don’t hold you.
- CA-founded. Both founders are Chartered Accountants. Our discipline is numbers and structure, not sales.
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Written & reviewed by
The NOVAQ founders
Every NOVAQ article is written or reviewed by our founders, both Chartered Accountants who actively invest in Australian property. Not journalists, not interns.
Shreyas Doshi
Co-Founder · Chartered Accountant
15+ yrs in international tax, compliance, structuring and advisory across Deloitte, PwC and a large multinational mining company. Multi-state personal portfolio under different structures.
Yuvraj Kapadia
Co-Founder · CA, CPA, SMSF Specialist
ASIC-registered SMSF Auditor, Tax Agent, licensed Finance & Mortgage Broker and Buyer's Agent. Multi-state personal portfolio under different structures.
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