Using a 'buyers agent' to negotiate/bid on property

Has anyone used a 'buyers agent' service to negotiate on property and was it worthwhile?
I'm looking at trading up at present and having had some unsuccessful dealings with estate agents in the past realise I am a bit green in the property negotiating game and want to avoid being 'played like a fiddle' by the selling agent.

My plan would be to identify a property I would like to bid on, view it myself and then use the buyers agent solely for negotiations.

I am aware of two companies (both Dublin based) providing this service - perhaps there are others. My property search is not in Dublin however so maybe a Dublin based service would not have the local knowledge to make this worthwhile? On the other hand perhaps an outsider would be better.

I'm considering using one. Generally speaking it's always a sellers' market and the fact that sellers usually use professionals and buyers rarely use them further tips the scales in the favour of the seller.

Drakon said:

. Generally speaking it's always a sellers' market and the fact that sellers usually use professionals and buyers rarely use them further tips the scales in the favour of the seller.

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No it's not alwas a sellers market, we've just come through years of a buyers market. And I don't think it's yet a sellers market apart from parts of Dublin in general.

You don't need a professional to buy a house, why waste the money when you can do it yourself, and keep yourself in control.

It's very simple, what is your budget, you look at houses to suit that budget, if none exist you decrease your expectations, but you always stick to your budget, and always remember that location is the most important thing.

However, the seller holds the keys (figuratively and in actuality). No matter how much a prospective buyer wants a house and how much money he/she offers, the final decision is with the seller. This applies in both a rising and falling market. Hence, in my opinion, it's always a sellers market.

Your argument that "you don't need a professional to buy a house" may be true, but if it is then the inverse of this is also true, i.e. you don't need a professional to sell a house.


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And the buyer holds the money. You cant be forced to buy a house for more than you want or in an area you don't want to. You hold as much power as the seller it is just harder not to be ruled by your heart.

A reasonable point. However anecdotal evidence suggests that many people bought houses for more than they wanted or in areas they didn't want. I've heard of fewer cases of sellers selling for less than wanted or against their will.
I've been in the market to buy for close to six months. I've dispensed with the terms "buyers' market" and "sellers' market". Where I'm looking to buy there are about 125 on the market, give or take a couple. We've done many "red line drive-bys", viewed three disappointing houses and have seen only two houses that we'd consider living in; one of those only yesterday.
Based on Daft, prices are falling. Based on the PPR, houses are selling for less than their asking prices.
I regard it as a "falling market" but not a "buyers' market".

But we're going off topic here. I still think that if a seller is using a professional to sell a house then it makes sense for a prospective buyer to use a professional.



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Drakon said:

I've been in the market to buy for close to six months. I've dispensed with the terms "buyers' market" and "sellers' market". Where I'm looking to buy there are about 125 on the market, give or take a couple. We've done many "red line drive-bys", viewed three disappointing houses and have seen only two houses that we'd consider living in; one of those only yesterday.

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Do you think that a Buyer's Agent would identify more houses for you? If you have spent 6 months looking for a house and have seen only 2 houses that you would consider living in out of 125, it suggests that you are being unrealistic.

So a Buyer's Agent may be useful to you in that they might make you become realistic.

To clarify: we've seen only two that we'd be happy to live in. Viewed twice that number. Drive-by a few dozen.
Falling asking and selling prices.

I'd considered using a buyer's agent to negotiate the price. I'm currently bidding on one house and expect to put a bid in on the other house next week. The slow progress and state of unknown with the former property is head-wrecking at times.
Hadn't considered a buyers agent for finding a house, though I did ask an EA if he was aware of any off-market houses.
He said this, something that my wife and I had concluded ourselves, "there are a lot of houses out there; the are very few good houses".
For example: we viewed a house last week, around 2,500 sq feet. As I enjoy cooking and am a SAHF, a decent kitchen is essential. This kitchen was a reasonable size, very badly laid out with three single doorways and one double doorway; yet the current owners didn't have the space for a fridge! It was in the next room! 2,500 square feet and there isn't adequate space in the kitchen for a fridge!!!
All that room and so little space.


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Drakon said:

However anecdotal evidence suggests that many people bought houses for more than they wanted or in areas they didn't want.

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Well if people were stupid on two counts what has that got to do with you. An agent will not solve that problem for you as it is you that has to be happy with the house, you that has to live in it, and you that cares about the location and you that has to stick to budget.

If you are not finding houses to your style, maybe switch to a house that needs to be done up, then you can model it the way you want.

I've got two children under the age of 18 months. Turnkey, or close to, is one of our requirements.

Renting further where we are is no longer an option. The landlord took exception to some of our child safety measures.

Also, the reason we're buying is that at the start of the year our planning application came back with a dozen recommendations, some of these contradicting their own guidelines. Some of the suggestions we hadn't expected and cannot easily guesstimate the cost; e.g. we've been asked to remove a bend in the road. How much would that cost? Then, of course, a new build is worth about 20% less than it cost to build. Taking these cost factors into account, and time factors, make us reluctant to go down the self-build/fixer-upper route again, or anything that requires planning permission. Many houses have had the no-planning-permission extensions done already, so further work would need further planning.


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But back to the main point, an EA is experienced in negotiating a sales price for a seller. I believe an EA should also be skilled in negotiating a buying price for a buyer.
I'm yet to be convinced by the above arguments against.


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