The first meeting will try to become a tour of suburbs, portals and personality. Let it, briefly. Then ask the questions that belong on a file. You are about to appoint a licensed person to spend your money in a market designed to hurry you. NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria and WA Consumer Protection all put the same duties in ordinary language: they must be licensed, they must not act for the seller on the same property, and they must be clear about payment. Your job is to make those duties answerable in writing before you sign a buyer's agency authority.
Take the same list to every candidate. Notes in the same format are how you compare. Chemistry is a bonus. It is not a clause.
Licence, entity and insurance
What is the licence number, the licensed entity, and the state? Then look it up yourself. How to check a buyer's agent is licensed is the mechanical walk-through. Do not accept a logo, a group claim, or "we operate nationally" as a substitute for the register in the state where the property sits.
Who will do the work on my file, and what licence or certificate of registration do they hold? A principal can sell the pitch and send a junior to the inspection. That can be fine if it is disclosed and supervised. It is not fine as a surprise on auction day.
Who holds professional indemnity insurance, and can you confirm it in writing? You want the insured entity to match the name on the authority. A trading name on Instagram is not a legal person.
If the person I meet leaves the firm, who still owes me the campaign? Employees, contractors and franchisees create different holes. You are hiring an entity. Make sure it exists on a bad Tuesday.
If any of those questions produce impatience, you have learned something cheaply. Our checks hub is for the follow-up: registers, conflicts, and the moment you walk away.
Conflicts and the same-property rule
Do you or your office list properties for sellers? If yes, how do you refuse a file when a listing matches my brief? They must not act for seller and buyer on the same property. A speech about Chinese walls is not a refusal mechanism. A written process that names the property and the client is.
Will you act only for me on any property you put in front of me? Listen for a yes that does not need a paragraph.
Do you receive fees, rebates or gifts from selling agents, developers, brokers, inspectors or conveyancers? NSW and Victorian consumer pages tell buyers to ask this before they sign. You want the answer in the authority or in an email that sits next to it. Referral income is not automatically corrupt. Hidden referral income is how advice bends.
Have you ever been paid by a vendor or a developer to introduce buyers? If they have, ask how that desk is separated from the desk you are hiring. If they cannot separate it in a sentence, do not hire the sentence.
Fee including GST
What is the single price, including GST, at my likely purchase price? Australian Consumer Law requires a single price including GST. If they cannot say it on one line, they are not ready to take your money.
Is that a percentage, a fixed fee, or a hybrid with an engagement fee? REBAA commentary on full service is often described as 2–3 per cent of the purchase price plus GST and an engagement fee, or a flat fee. Other public guides mention 1.5–3 per cent or fixed fees. Fees are not set by law. None of those figures is their quote. You are checking that their quote can be compared with a reported band, not with a story.
When is each amount due, and is the engagement fee credited against the success fee? Ask what is refundable if you never buy.
Does the fee still apply if I buy a property you never showed me, or that I found on a portal, or that a relative mentioned? This is the question that prevents a nasty letter after a For Sale board. If the authority's property description is "residential property in Greater Brisbane," a success fee can attach to a life you were already going to live. Narrow it.
What happens if the purchase dies after exchange — finance failure, a building report, a cooling-off termination where the law allows one? You need the fee trigger in plain English. Exchange, settlement, and "introduction" are different events.
Take the numbers to how much a buyer's agent costs and to our fees hub. Do the arithmetic on your ceiling, not on a round number from a slide.
Exclusive versus non-exclusive, and how you get out
Is this an exclusive authority, and for how long? Exclusive means you may be restricted from hiring someone else for the same brief during that period. That can be reasonable for a focused campaign. It is less reasonable as an auto-renewing year over half a state.
How do I terminate, and what do I owe if I terminate before a purchase? Notice periods, fee tails, and clauses that keep charging after you have left are where authorities earn their reputation. Read them. If you do not understand a sentence, your conveyancer will.
Does the authority auto-renew? If yes, you want a reminder in the calendar and a clean opt-out.
Can I pause the search if I need to sell first, wait on finance, or take a month off? Life happens. A firm that can only describe a campaign as a straight line will struggle when yours is not.
Do not sign in the meeting. A serious agent can wait while you read. Pressure is a red flag, not a closing technique.
Track record you can verify
Show me three purchases in the last year in the neighbourhoods on my brief. You want enough detail to find the sale on a public record later: suburb, street type, property type, approximate timing. Testimonials without addresses are advertising.
What did you walk away from? An agent who has never lost a bidding war, never told a client the brief was wrong, and never let a house go is either new or incurious.
Who did the comparable-sales work, and can I see a sample note with the addresses changed if needed? You are hiring a pricing habit, not a vibe.
May I speak to a recent client whose sale I can independently find? A name they select will still be a favourable name. You are listening for how they worked, not for a hymn.
Are you a member of a body such as REBAA? Membership is a signal. It is not a licence. Do not skip the register because a logo is on the email footer.
How they will actually run your campaign
How do you build the brief, and will you tell me if it cannot be bought at my number? The correct answer includes push-back. Organise your own notes so you can see whether they moved the neighbourhood list for a reason, or to keep you on the books.
What is your method for off-market stock? Off-market properties are a channel, not a miracle. If they promise bargains as a service level, they are selling folklore.
Will you attend building and pest inspections, and will you read the report with me? They are not the inspector. They should not talk you out of an independent report because the house "feels solid."
Do you bid at auction, and what written authority do you need to stay inside my limit? In NSW they must not exceed the agreed purchase price without your express written authority. Other states have their own agency rules. You want the limit in writing the day before, not in a shouted phone call.
Which selling agents will you not work with, and why? A professional file includes people they do not trust. A sales file includes everyone.
How do you communicate, and how often? You want a cadence you can live with. Daily noise is not a service. Silence for a fortnight in a fast market is not a service either.
Who else is on the file
Do you require I use your broker, inspector or conveyancer? Introductions are normal. Requirements are a conflict until proven otherwise. Ask whether any rebate flows back, and whether you may bring your own people. You should.
Will you work with my solicitor if they are interstate? Buying from a distance often means a lawyer in the property's state. The agent should be able to live with that.
What do you not do? The honest list includes valuation, pest work, legal advice, tax advice, and promising capital growth. Anyone who offers all of those under one licence is offering too much.
How to run the conversation without being a pest
Send the brief the day before. Bring the list. Tell them you will hire someone in a week, not this afternoon. Ask the licence and fee questions first, while everyone is still polite. Leave the suburb chat until the skeleton is on the table.
If you already have a method for choosing a buyer's agent, these questions are the interview inside that method. If you do not, use this list as the method. Two meetings, two authorities, two register checks. Then pick the person whose answers would still make sense if a sceptical sibling read them on a Sunday night.
You are not being rude. You are matching the seriousness of the cheque. A licensed agent who wants your brief will answer. A licensed agent who wants your signature will hurry you. Hire the first one.
