Is your buyer's agent qualified and licensed?
The challenges of finding a property in WA's highly competitive market have seen more people look to using a buyer's agent and the growing demand for this service has led to a rise in poorly trained and unlicensed operators, often based interstate and overseas, who promote themselves as buyer's agents in WA.
Last month, Real Estate Buyers Agent Association of Australia (REBAA) launched a campaign to warn consumers about the risks of working with underqualified buyer's agents. REBAA President Melinda Jennison said: 'many new buyer's agents enter the industry with only a superficial understanding of its complexities, putting themselves and the clients they are representing at risk of making uneducated and costly decisions.'
REIWA supports these concerns. We are also concerned about the risk to buyers of working with unlicensed buyer's agents and have raised this issue with Consumer Protection.
I have previously written in this column about the importance of using a WA buyer's agent if you are buying in WA. Aside from their knowledge of the local market and local legislation, when you engage a WA buyer's agent, you also have the advantage of dealing with someone who is licensed under the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978. This gives you peace of mind, as well as protections under WA consumer law.
Buyer's agents provide a valuable service. They act solely for the buyer, working to find the right property at the right price, saving time and reducing stress. To reduce risk when engaging a buyer's agent there are some important things to consider:
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