Frequently Asked Questions

Real estate agents are employed by the vendor (seller) and represent them in a property transaction. Their job is to work in the best interests of the vendor, in obtaining the highest possible price for them. They are therefore unable to provide you, the buyer, with impartial advice, as it represents a clear conflict of interest. You’ll also find that selling agents simply cannot give you the dedicated time and personalised attention that you need to locate and buy the property that’s ideal for you.

A licensed real estate buyers agent, however, works exclusively and independently for you, the buyer. Here at House Search Australia, we strive to go that step further in understanding your specific needs. Being in the market every day means we instantly recognize good value property and cut through the hype generated by sales agents and give you the bottom line. Our company prides itself on its passion and dedication to our clients. Our goal is to make the purchasing process a pleasure, with us doing all the legwork and negotiation. Whilst the average person can only view a limited amount of properties per week, we can inspect as many as forty properties per week as it’s our fulltime occupation!

Because we specialize in specific suburbs within Sydney, you benefit from our vast local knowledge. This can be highly beneficial, especially when you are not familiar with the area or are moving interstate. With access to the same databases as selling agents, we are able to provide a fair price estimation to ensure you don’t overpay with your purchase.

We save you precious time, undue stress and money. Our negotiating experience and skills means that our fee has the capacity to pay for itself many times over. Why wouldn’t you use an independent Buyers’ Agent?

Yes! We specialise in helping people search for a new home, doing the hard work to evaluate properties against your criteria and negotiate on your behalf.

We cover a large part of Sydney, with a particular focus on the North Shore, Northern, North-West and Western suburbs. See our suburb list for a full list of the suburbs we have a particular expertise in.

Our agency concentrates on the following areas of Sydney: North Shore, Northern, North-West and Western suburbs. However, we are not always specifically limited by these areas so it pays to contact us first to see if we can indeed help you. We can also offer alternative agencies, who come highly respected within the industry.

If we think your initial brief is unachievable, we’ll tell you that before you engage us.

You will also need to ensure that you have finances pre-approved or ready before the search begins.

If your brief is realistic, an average time for a search, from appointment to exchange, is approximately 4 -12 weeks. However, depending on your specific requirements and the market conditions, this can vary.

If you do identify a property yourself after you’ve hired us, it’s imperative that you inform us immediately so that we can get involved immediately. We will then continue our service on inspecting, evaluating and negotiating the property on your behalf.

Our written agency agreement explains in more detail how our full fees are still payable in this situation, so it’s in your best interests to make full use of our services.

After the initial meeting with you (either in person or via phone), where our services are explained and a detailed brief is taken, a retainer fee is paid and we can begin the search almost immediately. When we locate and assess suitable properties that meet your wishlist, we arrange inspections and subsequent negotiations with the seller, should you decide to purchase.

The decision to buy is totally yours and be assured that House Search will not be pressuring you to purchase. As per our agency agreement with you, we will keep searching until we find the property that meets your requirements as 100% client satisfaction is our aim.

Our initial agreement with you has a section that outlines any cancellation fees payable to us, should you wish to discontinue the search. You are able to terminate the agreement at any time but you will be liable for costs. As you can appreciate, we value our time and, as we are not being paid by anyone else except for you, we charge a non refundable retainer should you simply change your mind during the search.

Unlike other buyers’ agents who charge a percentage of the purchase price, here at House Search, we believe that an upfront quoted fee is a fairer system. Depending on the complexity of your brief and your search area, a fixed fee based on your specific criteria is given so that this can be budgeted for in your purchasing expenses. For a fixed quote for your specific property needs, please contact us directly for further details.

Yes! We are real estate investors ourselves, so we understand what makes a good investment property. Our property search services are perfect for busy people who want to find an ideal investment.

Yes! In addition to our full search, evaluation and negotiation service, we offer a specialised Auction Bidding service to take the stress out of purchasing property at auction. We understand auction tactics and can save you money by being impartial and removing the pressure that typically accompanies auctions - avoiding overbidding and paying too much.

For more information refer to our Bidding at Auction service.

Yes! Buyers Advocate is another name for Buyers Agent. We are licensed to act only on behalf of those wanting to purchase residential property in Sydney. We have no conflicts of interest, as we do not sell real estate but act as an advocate for buyers in the purchase process.