The property you don’t buy can save you the most

Buyer’s agent, Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs The property you don’t buy can save you the most.

Independent buyer representation from a principal who has spent more than 35 years on the selling side of the table. I know how property is presented, priced and pushed — which is precisely why I can tell you when one doesn’t stack up.

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35+years in Eastern Suburbs property
1,000+sales handled personally
$2B+career property value
22suburbs, Bondi to Point Piper
The approach

Buying well is not the same as buying quickly.

Buying property is emotional. You inspect a home that presents beautifully, imagine yourself living there, start arranging the furniture in your head — and before long you’re working out how to secure it. That is usually the moment objectivity leaves the room.

Much of the buyer’s agent industry measures success by speed: how quickly the brief was filled, how many properties were shown, how soon a contract was signed. I don’t. Property is often the largest financial decision a person makes, and a rushed one can cost far more than any fee.

Sometimes the right call is to move decisively when genuine value appears. Just as often, it’s to walk away. Both are part of the service. Neither is a failure.

Sometimes the most valuable advice a buyer’s agent can give is simply — don’t buy this one.
Beyond the open home

What a twenty-minute inspection won’t tell you.

Fresh paint, good styling and professional photography are designed to produce a feeling. The issues that matter tend to surface long after that feeling has passed.

What you see
What you’re actually buying
Fresh paint, new furniture, soft light
The position in the street. Aspect, natural light, traffic and aircraft noise, access and parking.
The kitchen, the bathrooms, the balcony
The building. Waterproofing, concrete, lifts, fire compliance — and whether the capital works ahead have actually been funded.
An open outlook, a quiet street
What may be built nearby, and what that would do to the view, the sunlight and the privacy you’re paying a premium for.
A room full of other interested buyers
What comparable properties have genuinely sold for. Competition creates urgency; it doesn’t create value.
A floor plan that works for you today
How easily it will resell — and whether a layout, renovation or overcapitalisation will narrow the next buyer pool.
Apartments

You are also buying the building.

In the Eastern Suburbs, a beautifully renovated apartment in the wrong building can become a very expensive mistake. Buyers naturally focus on what’s inside the front door. The larger financial risk often sits in the common property — and in the minutes of meetings you weren’t at.

NSW law allows a person authorised by an owner to inspect the owners corporation’s records before purchase. Those records include the strata roll, the last financial statements, current insurance policies and the 10-year capital works fund plan, along with any other documents the owners corporation holds.

I make sure those records are properly searched, and I read the findings myself. Repeated special levies, deferred works, defect disputes, a capital works fund that doesn’t match the building’s age — these are the details that separate a sound purchase from a costly one.

How I work

Most of the value happens before the offer.

  1. The brief

    We meet at your home or a local café. What you need, what you’ll compromise on, and — just as important — what you won’t. A clear brief makes it easier to say no to the wrong property.

  2. Search and screen

    I assess what’s on the market and what’s coming, drawing on decades of working alongside the agents who sell in these suburbs. Most properties are ruled out here, quietly, before they cost you a Saturday.

  3. Due diligence

    Comparable sales, position, the building’s records, planning and development context. Building and pest inspections go to independent inspectors; the contract goes to your solicitor or conveyancer. I bring it together into a clear view.

  4. A position, and a limit

    Before any negotiation, we establish what the property is worth in the current market and agree the figure at which we stop. Knowing where to stop is the discipline that protects you.

  5. Negotiate, bid — or walk away

    By private treaty or at auction, I represent you directly. If the property no longer makes sense at the price, I’ll say so. There will be another one.

Worth knowing in NSW

The rules that shape how you should buy.

Four points buyers often learn too late. Each one changes when your due diligence needs to be finished.

At auction, there is no cooling-off.

The same applies if you exchange on the day a property is passed in. Inspections, strata searches and contract review all need to be complete before you raise your hand.

Cooling-off by private treaty has a cost.

Usually five business days after exchange, ending at 5pm. Withdraw and you forfeit 0.25% of the price — $7,500 on a $3 million purchase. It can be waived with a 66W certificate; take legal advice before you do.

Strata records can be inspected before you buy.

A person authorised by the owner can request access in writing, on payment of a prescribed fee. It is one of the most useful and least expensive checks in the whole transaction.

Your buyer’s agent must be licensed.

In NSW, buyer’s agents are regulated as real estate agents. A licensee also can’t act for both the buyer and the seller of the same property at the same time.

General information only, current at time of writing. Your solicitor or conveyancer should advise on your specific contract.

The numbers on your purchase

What’s actually at stake.

Move the price to your range. The fee is rarely the number that matters. The cost of overpaying for the wrong property usually is.

Property type
$2,500,000
$1M$8M
Deposit at exchangeTypically 10% in NSW, sometimes negotiated lower
Cost of withdrawing during cooling-off0.25% of the price — private treaty only, none at auction
Paying 5% more than the property is worthAn illustration, not a forecast — and the risk I’m engaged to avoid
My fixed feeGST inclusive, agreed in writing before we begin
Before any offer

The questions I want answered first.

Considering a property now? Tick off what you can already answer.

0 of 11 answered

Only once those are answered does the conversation turn to how we buy it.

Independence

Prepared to lose the deal.

Every property involves compromise. The skill is knowing a reasonable one from a fundamental problem.

A buyer’s agent should never feel compelled to recommend a property because completing the purchase triggers a fee. If it doesn’t stack up, my advice will be plain: walk away.

I also sell property in these suburbs. That experience is the point — I know exactly how a campaign is run from the other side. It also means a clear rule: I will never advise you on a property I’ve been engaged to sell.

My fees are fixed and agreed in writing before any work begins. They are set by the brief, not the final price, so I gain nothing from you paying more.

Apartments $1M – $1.5M
$5,500
Apartments $1.5M – $3M
$11,000
Apartments, semis and duplexes $3M – $5M
$16,500

All fees include GST. Other briefs are quoted in writing at our first meeting.

Where I buy

Local knowledge, street by street.

Buyer representation across Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, where I’ve spent my entire career.

  • Bondi
  • Bondi Junction
  • Bronte
  • Tamarama
  • Clovelly
  • Coogee
  • Randwick
  • Maroubra
  • Paddington
  • Woollahra
  • Double Bay
  • Bellevue Hill
  • Rose Bay
  • Dover Heights
  • Vaucluse
  • Point Piper
  • Potts Point
Questions

What buyers usually ask.

What does a buyer’s agent actually do?

A buyer’s agent represents you, not the seller. That means assessing properties against your brief, investigating the position, building and price, and negotiating or bidding on your behalf. Just as importantly, it means telling you when a property isn’t right.

How are your fees structured?

Fixed fees, agreed in writing before any work begins, and inclusive of GST. The fee is set by your brief rather than the final purchase price, so there’s no incentive for you to pay more.

Will you bid for me at auction?

Yes. We agree the limit beforehand, and I bid on your behalf. Because NSW auctions have no cooling-off period, the due diligence is completed before auction day, not after.

You also sell property. Isn’t that a conflict?

It would be if the roles overlapped. They don’t. I will never advise you on a property I’ve been engaged to sell, and NSW law prevents a licensee acting for both buyer and seller at the same time. What the selling experience does give you is an adviser who knows exactly how a campaign is designed.

What happens if you tell me not to buy?

We keep looking. Advising against a purchase isn’t a failed engagement — it’s often the most valuable part of it. The aim is the right property, not the fastest transaction.

Do you check the strata records on apartments?

Always. I make sure the owners corporation’s records are properly searched — minutes, financial statements, insurance and the capital works fund plan — and I review the findings with you before any offer.

Begin a conversation

Before you make an offer, talk to me.

Independent advice before you commit can be the most valuable part of the purchase. I meet by appointment, at your home or a local café.

Call 0412 176 074
Alan Weiss

Principal, Weiss Real Estate · Lic. 218396

Independent contractor for eXp Australia

alan@weissrealestate.com.au

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