#87 - How A Buyer’s Agent from Hobart Can Help In Your Property Investment - David Zerna by Ben Handler

#86 - Pioneering Buyers Advocacy In Australia’s Property Market - Mal James by Ben Handler

Tina Clark had a long career as a trader before becoming a buyer’s agent and co-founder of Morish & Clark Buyer’s Agency.

After returning from Hong Kong in 2012, Tina bought and renovated her own property. She became fascinated by the property market and her friends, knowing this, started asking her for advice. She gave the advice freely until she met a buyer’s agency who told her she could get paid for what she was doing – and employed her. Three years later, she opened her own business.

Tina tells Buyer’s Agent Institute founder Ben Handler that trading is about trust. Your client must trust you to keep their next deal a secret so it doesn’t affect the stock price. And she feels the same relationship of trust must exist between real estate agents and buyer’s agents.

Having lived in Hong Kong and New York, Tina gets a lot of referrals from her international friends. She also gets referrals from mortgage brokers when their clients are unable to buy properties in the current market conditions.

Tina finds people are sometimes hesitant to pay the upfront fees because they misunderstand what a buyer’s agent does. They change their minds once she explains all the benefits.

Tina says it’s hard work ─ not magic ─ that leads to success.

Want to transition into real estate, where you can either work in a great team or potentially become your own boss? Buyer’s Agent Institute can show you how. Go to www.buyersagentinstitute.com.au/enquire to start the journey.

Sam Green, founder of Advantage Buyers Agents, came from a real estate sales background. As a real estate agent he believed buyer’s agents were for rich people or expats because there were few buyer’s agents.

Today Sam sees the value in buyer’s agents for everyone. He tells Buyer’s Agent Institute founder Ben Handler many buyers don’t know they’re being ripped off because they deal with real estate agents only – and real estate agents are working to get the sellers the best deal.

For Sam, the key to being a great buyer’s agent is knowing your area – in his case the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney – exceptionally well. That includes knowing all the properties on sale, their prices, their auction results and even which properties didn’t sell.

Sam’s background in real estate helped him understand the industry and what to look for during inspections. But it also made it harder for Sam to gain the trust of real estate agents, because some still saw him as a competitor even though he no longer was.

Sam’s advice is to help the real estate agents help you – they also need to sell the offer to their clients so walking in unannounced with a good offer isn’t enough. You must build a relationship.

Want to transition into real estate, where you can either work in a great team or potentially become your own boss? Buyer’s Agent Institute can show you how. Go to www.buyersagentinstitute.com.au/enquire to start the journey.

Meet Mark and Barry Goldman, two brothers from South Africa who share a passion for fitness and an entrepreneurial spirit.

Before becoming buyer's agents, Mark worked in the clothing industry before setting up a thriving manufacturing business with his wife in Sydney. Later, Barry joined him in Australia, finding employment in various roles, including selling puzzles door to door and organising training courses, before becoming a successful real estate agent.

Fulfilling their dream of working together, Mark and Barry purchased a Sydney real estate agency, which flourished under their leadership.

As Mark and Barry explain to Buyer’s Agent Institute founder Ben Handler, as they observed the growing buyer's agency market, they recognised the potential to leverage their 25-plus years of experience to offer genuine value to buyers. Their extensive network and strong industry relationships further distinguish them in the field.

The transition has invigorated them, as they derive immense satisfaction from working one-on-one with clients, drawing upon their expertise to add value and solve challenges.

Moreover, they know what it takes to get deals done.

All members of their team are ex-agents, resulting in a collective wealth of knowledge and expertise. By default, they primarily focus on the prestige market, although they work across all price points.

Want to transition into real estate, where you can either work in a great team or potentially become your own boss? Buyer’s Agent Institute can show you how. Go to www.buyersagentinstitute.com.au/enquire to start the journey.

Troyson Bassani, founder of the Life Buyer’s Agency group of companies, has been actively promoting his business on social media – including TikTok and Instagram. He focuses on publishing helpful information that is relevant to his target market.

Troyson tells Buyer’s Agent Institute founder Ben Handler that his ultimate goal is to be a property developer, and this got him started in real estate. He needed to build up an asset base and noticed investors making mistakes, like buying properties in the wrong areas. His desire to help them motivated him to become a buyer’s agent.

He adds the most value by being the person on the ground for out-of-town buyers, says Troyson. He explains that being physically present increases your knowledge of the market and you can have frank in-person discussions with real estate agents.

But instead of focusing on a single geographic area, Troyson has opened three buyer’s agencies: Tropical Life Buyer’s Agency to service North Queensland, Capricorn Life Buyer’s Agency to service Central Queensland and Sunshine Life Buyer’s Agency to service South East Queensland.

Eventually, Troyson hopes the three branches will complement each other. An investor could initially buy a property in one region and later a second property in another.

Want to transition into real estate, where you can either work in a great team or potentially become your own boss? Buyer’s Agent Institute can show you how. Go to www.buyersagentinstitute.com.au/enquire to start the journey.

Emma Maynard is a buyer’s agent and founder at Maynard Property Group, a boutique Buyer’s Agency focused on the idyllic southern Gold Coast of Australia.

From a young age, Emma was always attracted to the idea of owning her own home. Although she initially pursued a career in environmental science and IT, Emma ultimately discovered her true calling as a buyer's agent, assisting others in finding their dream homes.

In this episode, Ben sits down with Emma to discuss how her outlook on finances changed after reading Rich Dad Poor Dad, what are some of her highlights since she launched her agency, and whether she felt like the odd one out buying her first property only at 20 years old.

Want to transition into real estate, where you can either work in a great team or potentially become your own boss? Buyer’s Agent Institute can show you how. Go to www.buyersagentinstitute.com.au/enquire to start the journey...

Being a buyer’s agent makes Anthony Butler, the founder of Anthony James, excited to get out of bed each day and start working.

When starting his career, Anthony chose sales because of the money. He started as a real estate agent and then spent 20 years in various corporate sales roles.

Anthony had always dreamt of running his own business and after 20 years, he quit his job to reconsider his career choices. He was drawn back to real estate and learnt about buyer’s agents for the first time.

Part of the appeal of becoming a buyer’s agent, Anthony tells Buyer’s Agent Institute founder Ben Handler, was the realisation that in his market in the Northern Beaches of Sydney, he’d be one of 500 sales agents but only 30 buyer’s agents.

Anthony first worked for a buyer’s agency to gain experience before starting his own business. He’s happy he did that because the clients he deals with have high expectations and his apprenticeship taught him how to meet those expectations.

Anthony wants to be a specialist, not a generalist. That’s because specialising in one location and one type of asset (high-end properties) makes it easier to build relationships with real estate agents and mortgage brokers, and to keep track of off-market properties.

Want to transition into real estate, where you can either work in a great team or potentially become your own boss? Buyer’s Agent Institute can show you how. Go to www.buyersagentinstitute.com.au/enquire to start the journey.

The cofounders of Chamberlain Brown Property Acquisitions, Matt Chamberlain and Darcy Brown, did not come from a real estate background but they’ve hit the ground running since starting their buyer’s agency in September 2022.

They tell Buyer’s Agent Institute founder Ben Handler they’ve had to learn so much in their first six months – especially how to manage their money – but they’ve more than doubled their targeted expectations.

Matt comes from an accounting and finance background while Darcy worked in the mining industry. They both wanted to give clients a high-quality service, which brought them together. Having supportive wives also helped.

Darcy and Matt implemented CRM software, systems and processes right from the start so their business could scale. Using these systems, they’ve automated all the steps they need to follow to deliver a high-quality service.

Matt and Darcy agree it’s vital to have a good relationship with real estate agents – but in their area, Newcastle, they first had to teach real estate agents about buyer’s agents.

Chamberlain Brown focuses on residential and commercial. They have a few high-end properties ($2 million-plus) in Newcastle. But they're planning on targeting new locations as their business grows so they don’t end up with more than one client wanting the same property.

Want to transition into real estate, where you can either work in a great team or potentially become your own boss? Buyer’s Agent Institute can show you how. Go to www.buyersagentinstitute.com.au/enquire to start the journey.

Former high school dropout Frank Ambesi is now a confident buyer’s agent and co-founder of Fresh Start Advisory.

Frank started as a mechanic working for his uncle. But he was not passionate about it and wanted more.

So Frank turned to books and podcasts, but he first had to teach himself to read – he now reads up to 35 books a year.

A book by David Goggins inspired Frank to start training as a triathlete and to stop seeing himself as a dropout. He was also motivated by Tony Robbins and Grant Cardone’s work.

His work helping children as a disability support worker also helped him gain confidence and make life-long friends.

Frank tells Buyer’s Agent Institute founder Ben Handler he can still remember the exact date and time when a book inspired him to change his life and start investing in property – although he still relied on his skill as a mechanic to pay the bills for a while longer.

A few bad property deals, and a business partner, Adrian Trimboli, motivated Frank to stop being a mechanic and become a buyer’s agent. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing, but they’ve stuck with it and learnt a lot.

Frank is motivated to help buyers avoid the property mistakes he made.

Want to transition into real estate, where you can either work in a great team or potentially become your own boss? Buyer’s Agent Institute can show you how. Go to www.buyersagentinstitute.com.au/enquire to start the journey.