Why This Decision Goes Wrong
A couple came to see me last year holding the contract for an apartment they'd bought off the plan in a suburb neither of them had ever driven through. The person who found it for them called himself a buyers agent. He hadn't charged them a cent. Two years later they were down roughly eleven per cent on paper and couldn't refinance.
He wasn't working for them. He was being paid by the developer, and nobody had said that out loud.
That's the thing about this industry in Western Australia. The barrier to calling yourself a buyers agent is low, the market is moving fast enough that people don't slow down to check, and the difference between a good one and a bad one doesn't surface for years — by which time you own the mistake.
So before you sign anything, ask questions. These are the ones I would ask if I were sitting on your side of the table.
Start With the Licence
In Western Australia, anyone acting on your behalf to buy property must be licensed or registered under the state's real estate legislation and is regulated by Consumer Protection at DMIRS. This is not optional and it is not a formality.
Ask for the licence or registration number. Ask for the trading name it sits under. If it takes more than one email to get a straight answer, you have learned something useful.
| Credential | What It Tells You | Status |
|---|---|---|
| WA real estate licence or registration | Legally permitted to act for you in a WA transaction | Mandatory |
| Professional indemnity insurance | You have recourse if advice causes loss | Mandatory |
| Written fee agreement | Fee, inclusions and term are fixed before you commit | Mandatory |
| REIWA membership | Bound to an industry code of conduct | Expected |
| REBAA membership | Buyer-side only; no seller commissions permitted | Expected |
| Written declaration of referral fees | Confirms who is actually paying them | Ask for it |
The single most useful thing you can do is ask for the referral fee declaration in writing. Verbal assurances of independence cost nothing to give. A written one does not.
The 12 Questions
Grouped into the four things you're actually trying to establish: who pays them, whether they've done this here, what you're paying for, and what their clients say when they're not in the room.
| # | Question | What You're Testing |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Do you receive commission, referral fees or rebates from anyone other than me? | Independence |
| 02 | Do you ever sell property, or hold an interest in property you recommend? | Conflict of interest |
| 03 | Do you hold professional indemnity insurance, and who is the insurer? | Recourse |
| 04 | How many properties did you buy for clients in the last 12 months, and where? | Activity and range |
| 05 | When did you last physically inspect a property in my target suburb? | Local knowledge |
| 06 | What did you get wrong recently, and what changed because of it? | Honesty |
| 07 | Is your fee fixed or a percentage, and why that structure? | Incentive alignment |
| 08 | What exactly is included, and what costs extra? | Scope |
| 09 | What happens if you don't find me anything? | Downside protection |
| 10 | What is your process from engagement to settlement? | Method |
| 11 | How much of your buying is genuinely off-market, and what does that mean? | Substance behind claims |
| 12 | Can I speak to three recent clients, including one difficult purchase? | Behaviour under pressure |
Independence — who actually pays you?
01. Do you receive any commission, referral fee, rebate or kickback from anyone other than me? Ask this first. Not "are you independent" — they will all say yes. Ask specifically about developers, builders, project marketers, mortgage brokers, conveyancers and selling agents, and ask for the answer in writing.
02. Do you ever sell property, or have an interest in any property you might recommend to me? A buyers agent who also has stock to move is not a buyers agent. They are a salesperson with a better title.
03. Do you hold professional indemnity insurance, and who is the insurer? You are about to let someone advise you on a seven-figure decision. A professional will have the certificate ready.
Track record — have you actually done this here?
04. How many properties did you buy for clients in the last twelve months, and in which suburbs? Volume tells you they are active. Suburbs tell you where their knowledge really is. If every purchase sits in one narrow pocket, ask why.
05. When did you last physically inspect a property in the suburb you're recommending to me? Perth is not one market. Baldivis and Bayswater have almost nothing in common. Someone advising you from Sydney off a spreadsheet will miss the drainage, the flight path, and the road that is about to be widened.
06. What did you get wrong recently, and what changed because of it? Anyone who has bought a few hundred properties has a story here. The ones claiming a perfect record are either new or not being straight with you.
Perth homes have been selling in around a fortnight. Most buyers don't get a second look at the right property — which is exactly when preparation matters.
Book a Discovery Call →Fees and process — what am I paying for?
07. Is your fee fixed or a percentage of the purchase price, and why that structure? Both models exist and both can be fair. But a percentage fee means your agent earns more when you spend more. If it is a percentage, ask what stops that conflict from shaping their advice.
08. What exactly is included, and what costs extra? Get the list — strategy session, suburb research, inspections, building and pest coordination, negotiation, auction bidding, settlement follow-through. Our breakdown of the costs of buying an Australian property covers what else you will be paying on top.
09. What happens if you don't find me anything? Ask about the engagement period, what happens when it lapses, and whether any part of the fee is refundable. It does happen, and it should be planned for.
10. What's your process from the day I engage you to the day I settle? You want stages and timeframes, not "we look after everything." If they cannot describe their own process, there probably isn't one. I have written before about why process matters more than most buyers expect.
11. How much of your buying is genuinely off-market, and what do you mean by that term? Sometimes it means a property that never hits realestate.com.au. Sometimes it means a pre-market listing you would have seen anyway. Sometimes it means a developer's unsold stock. Make them define it — we have explained how genuine off-market access works if you want a benchmark.
References — what do their clients say off the record?
12. Can I speak to three recent clients, including one where the purchase was difficult? Every agency will hand you a happy client. The useful part is the second half of the question. How someone behaves when a building inspection comes back badly, a seller pulls out, or a valuation lands short tells you more than any testimonial.
What a Good Answer Sounds Like
Asking the question is half of it. Knowing what you are listening for is the other half.
The 4 Red Flags
If you see any one of these, slow down. If you see two, walk.
The Service Is Free
If you are not paying, someone else is — and that someone has an interest in which property you buy. There is no version of this where the incentives point your way.
Most common trapThey're in a Hurry and You're Not
Real urgency comes from the property. Manufactured urgency comes from the person selling it to you. Perth is genuinely fast, which is exactly why this one is so easy to hide behind.
Pressure tacticGuaranteed Returns and a Confident Spreadsheet
Nobody can guarantee capital growth. A ten-year projection presented as fact is selling certainty, and certainty is the most expensive thing in property.
Spruiker signatureThe Property Arrives Before They Understand You
A first conversation should be almost entirely about your income, timeline, borrowing position and plans. If someone is showing you stock in meeting one, they had that stock before they had you.
Order of operationsI have written in more detail about the spruiker playbook and how it has adapted since the 2026 budget — flags one and three are the centrepiece of it.
Ask what they'd tell you not to buy. A buyers agent whose job is to protect you will have a long list. Someone whose job is to transact will fumble it.
— Raj Moturu, Enrich Buyers AgencyTake This Into the Meeting
Print this page or screenshot the list below. Work through it in the first conversation, before any property is discussed.
Licence or registration number provided in writing
Written declaration of any commission or referral fee from a third party
Confirmed they never sell property or hold stock they recommend
Professional indemnity insurance and insurer named
Purchases completed in the last 12 months, and the suburbs
Date of their last physical inspection in your target suburb
Something they got wrong recently and what changed
Fee structure — fixed or percentage — and the reasoning
Written list of what is included and what costs extra
What happens if nothing is found within the engagement term
The process stage by stage, with timeframes
Their working definition of "off-market"
Three client references, including one difficult purchase
What they would tell you not to buy
Frequently Asked Questions
Perth buyers agents typically charge either a fixed fee or a percentage of the purchase price, and some offer reduced fees for negotiation-only or auction-bidding services rather than a full search. What matters more than the headline number is what the fee includes, whether the engagement has a defined term, and whether any part is refundable if no property is secured. Always ask for the fee and inclusions in writing before you commit.
Yes. Anyone acting on your behalf to buy property in WA must be licensed or registered under the state's real estate legislation and is regulated by Consumer Protection at DMIRS. Ask for the licence or registration number and the trading name it sits under before you engage anyone. Membership of REIWA or REBAA is voluntary but signals a further code of conduct.
A selling agent is engaged by the seller and is paid to achieve the highest possible price for them. A buyers agent is engaged by you and is paid to achieve the best outcome for you — the right property, on the right terms, at the right price. The two roles are on opposite sides of the same transaction, which is why an agent who does both for the same property is a problem.
If the service costs you nothing, the money is coming from somewhere else — usually a developer, builder or project marketer paying a commission on the property you end up buying. That payment is attached to a specific property, which means the recommendation was never neutral. A fee you pay directly is the mechanism that keeps the advice on your side.
It depends on your budget, your timeline and how much of the process you are able to run yourself. In a market where well-priced homes move quickly, the main value for a first home buyer is usually access, due diligence and negotiation — not simply finding listings. If you are considering it, our guide for first-time home buyers covers where the risk actually sits.
Ask Us All Twelve.
20 minutes. No obligation. No property listings. We would rather be checked properly than chosen quickly — bring your hardest question.
Book a Discovery Call → Limited client spots available at any time