Buyer’s agents specialise in searching out, locating and negotiating the purchase of property on behalf of the buyer. They are not sellers of real estate.

Buyer’s agents (or advocates) appeared  real estate scene few years ago, but already they have caused a stir. More and more consumers are enlisting the services of buyer’s advocates to help them find and purchase their dream home or investment property.

Buyer’s advocates generally offer two types of services. The full service sees them search out properties meeting their client’s criteria and also negotiate the purchase of the property ultimately chosen, whether by private sale or auction. Buyers may also engage buyer’s agents purely to bid for them at the auction of a house they have found for themselves.

Several buyer’s agents charge an engagement fee before they begin the search for a home. Users of the full service can expect to pay a flat fee or a percentage of the property purchase price. Using a buyer’s agent to bid at auction, meanwhile, carries a much lower fee.

Investors should note that the cost of using a buyer’s advocate is tax-deductible when purchasing an investment property. Unfortunately, for the owner-occupier, no such tax break exists.

Why then are many prospective owner-occupiers willing to hand over this money to a buyer’s advocate? For some it is the time saving on offer. Having the advocate search out ideal home keeps many buyers’ weekends free from scouring through newspapers, meeting with agents and attending inspections.

To many people, however, the main advantage to using a buyer’s advocate is that they are spared the chore of bidding for themselves at auction. Buyer’s advocates understand implicitly the bidding process and bring to auctions the confidence, emotional detachment and tactics necessary for a successful bid.

Buyer’s advocates also claim to be able to save their clients money by netting them a purchase price often below that which they are willing to pay, while saving people precious time and emotional distress. It is little wonder they are becoming increasingly popular.