About Us & Fees

James Buyer Advocates are Melbourne's experienced buyer advocates.

We help you buy all forms of residential property throughout Melbourne and the Peninsulas. We only work for buyers, not sellers. We can:

• Prepare plans, reports on your needs and value.
• Search on and off market and negotiate, or just negotiate
• Deal at private sales, auctions, expressions of interest and tenders
• Arrange independent legal, pest, building and valuation inspections
• Organize short and long-term leasing for executive relocation

How much do we cost?
Prior to starting we sit down with you, listen to what you want and then clearly set out our fees in writing. They will vary depending on the service you want. Generally speaking, for owner-occupier homes, fees will be between 1% and 2% plus GST of either your estimated budget or sale price. Our fees are agreed to in advance - based either on your estimated budget (so there’s no question of encouraging you to pay a higher price for our own gain) or (as many prefer) on the actual sale price (if you’re not sure exactly what your budget will be).

We also have premium and investor services, plus architectural and agent advisory - please contact us to discuss your situation.

What do our fees cover?

• All communications & meetings with you
• Searching with or without you for a suitable property
• Use of all our databases
• Communications/meetings with agents whilst searching for a property
• Property rating and ranking with our patent pending "Property Ratings System" - our very own objective property qualification tool.
• Preparation of property report(s)
• Liaison communications with your solicitor. 
• Arranging further due diligence checks – pest and building inspections as required (you are required to pay for these separately but we can liaise and organise them for you without financial benefit to us)
• Negotiation tactics and strategy
• Execution of strategies to purchase the property
• Checking final contracts pre signatures
• Pre settlement inspections

 

Why pay money for something you can do yourself?

Buying the right property is an art and a science.

Think of a few houses in similar areas with similar characteristics and ponder what they were worth 10 years ago. What are they worth now? Will they have increased or decreased in value at the same rate? Not necessarily. We can show you inner city properties within a few hundred metres of each other that 10 years ago were each worth $400,000. Today, one is worth over $2,000,000 and the other $600,000. If you had been purchasing either of those properties, which one would you prefer to own now? All properties are not the same – and we know the difference.

 

Strategy is vital to buying the right property.

How to buy, how to minimize cost, what to buy, and where. How do I make an offer? What do I really want and how do I get it? Where do I want to be financially in the next decade? Why do some people own multiple properties without a mortgage and others have one property and are struggling? The answer is strategy. We help you define and execute your action plan to buy the right property.

 

We will save you money – and make you money in a highly competitive market.

This is the number one reason why most people think about advocates in the first instance, and in many, many cases we do just that. We know this is of primary importance in all business negotiations but it’s interesting to note that clients we’ve surveyed after the buying process often rate savings as the Number 3 benefit in using James Buyer Advocates. Buying property well is as much about MAKING money as it is about SAVING money. We’ll be happy to explain this in detail at our first meeting.

 

Understanding the true value of a property is tough.

Working out what a property is worth is a lot more than looking up a few statistics. And we definitely need to talk some more if you think saving money is about finding a cheap place “below valuation”. In many cases if you are not crystal clear about property values, you could well be negotiating at a level that will not buy the dream home you want. It might also leave you with a compromised property in the long run. Another expensive and distressing mistake a buyer can make is to pay way too much. Under these circumstances selling agents are very pleasant and helpful as they laugh all the way to the bank.

 

We help ease the stress and emotion in buying property.

Buying a home is about as bad as it gets. It’s emotional, exhausting and sometimes terribly discouraging. You only need to miss that perfect property, drive for miles to find the picture on the brochure didn’t nearly match your expectations (or what you’d been told), have agents leave you hanging or be gazumped in the negotiation stage. It hurts. Careful planning is paramount. It takes exactly the same time to buy a home well as it does badly. We help you manage the stress level in buying property by evaluating it according to your needs and budget, and looking at what the property represents as a long-term investment. We do it all the time. We love it.

 

Expertise is critical when the stakes are high.

If you were selling a home would you hire an expert? If you had to go to court on an important matter, would you hire a solicitor? Why is that? Because no matter how much research is undertaken or how much involvement an amateur brings to the buying process, an experienced professional who understands your issues and is distanced from your emotions will give a better result, and with less risk, 99 times out of 100.

 

“Hidden” properties do exist – so understand ALL your options.

There are hundreds of places out there you may never find or get to see. Quiet sales, private transactions, sales without boards. There are places you won’t be given the opportunity to inspect because they aren’t advertised. We deal with agents every day. We find “hidden’” houses that will never be listed because agents and vendors approach us quietly all the time. And we are involved in a number of property purchases “off market” without any publicity or fanfare.

 

Agents are not your friend, mentor or guide in the buying process.

We actually like and respect many selling agents, but they act for sellers or vendors, not buyers. Treating agents like a friend or guide is a minefield and gaining experience can cost you dearly. It’s like Little Red Riding Wolf asking the wolf for directions. It’s not the wolf’s fault – the wolf is simply doing what wolves do. There are some pretty average agents out there but also some very good ones. They work exclusively for the vendor. If the agent is excellent and even outstanding, then they are committed to gaining the highest possible price for their vendors – it’s the law. To understand more about how agents work and their games, take a look at our critically acclaimed DVD “How Agents Work”.

 

Your privacy is guaranteed.

Most agents don’t know who you are, and it’s a good idea to keep it that way. That’s because if you don’t buy today, you might buy something else tomorrow. It’s not in your best interests if an agent knows “what you were prepared to look at before”. Our role as a buyers advocate is to keep you ahead of the game without revealing your hand. We help you through the Perhaps you have tried and failed to buy a particular property or maybe your business is really just that – your business. In any event, we represent you in complete confidentiality and until such time as the deal is successful, you can remain anonymous if you wish.

 

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Our Buyer Advocates

Our people have long been recognized for doing whatever it takes to buy you the right property, at the right price. We are educated, experienced and ethical. We love buying property, and we are experts at it.

	Mal James Licensed Buyer Agent No 066340L and Financial Planner Mal is married with 3 children and lives in Brighton. He loves his family, his golf (plays off 4 at The National), life, and his job - buying property. Mal was educated at RMIT and Swinburne. He has a long and successful history in his own personal property purchases and currently owns 3 investment properties (all inner Melbourne. Mal has built two houses and is also a qualified financial planner, however he does not give financial advice in relation to securities/shares. Mal is a property specialist, assessor and negotiator and that is what he sticks to.
	Peter Sinclair Master of Business Peter lives in McKinnon and has two teenage sons. In his spare time, he plays golf at the National Golf Club where he is a member, loves a good weekend walk and enjoys watching his sons play sport.  Peter has come to JBA from a busy real estate office in Bentleigh, and brings with him a good understanding of the complexities of investing in real estate and has bought and sold several properties.
	Adam Woledge BA, B.Arch (Hons), RAIA Adam is a registered architect who spent nearly a decade running his own architecture practice in Port Melbourne before joining JBA. He specialised in residential renovations and also conducted pre-purchase building inspections. Adam has strong design and creative skills and he also has an eye for the potential in homes that is not always apparent at first glance. Adam enjoys working with people and helping clients achieve their dreams. Adam is an MCC member and loves playing golf, running (he has run several Melbourne marathons), watching his beloved Bulldogs, reading and spending time with his wife and son.
	Melissa Ryan CAR (RIEV) Principal Buyer Agent Melissa has seen and sold many homes around Melbourne and conducted 100's of negotiations during her 10 years as an agent with Hocking Stuart. She has renovated her own home and is a vorocious reader of all books and publications to do with home styling and design. A teacher in a past life, Melissa is an MCC member and enjoys exercising and spending time with family and friends.

 

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