20 questions to ask a buyer’s agent before you sign

Before you sign with any buyer’s agent, ask who pays them, what the whole fee is in dollars including GST, who will inspect and negotiate for you, and what you owe if you find a home yourself. Ask two or three agents the same questions and compare the answers side by side. An agent who can’t answer plainly has told you what you need to know.

These are the 20 questions we would ask if we were hiring a buyer’s agent ourselves. Under each one is why it matters and how we answer it at IPS Buyer’s Agents, so you have something to compare the other answers against.

The 20 questions at a glance

Take this list to every buyer’s agent you talk to.

1. Who do you work for, and do you ever sell property?
2. Who pays you, and do you take commissions or referral fees?
3. What is your fee in dollars, including GST?
4. When do I pay the fee?
5. What will I pay on top of your fee?
6. Are you licensed, and how can I check?
7. How many properties have you bought, and how recently?
8. Who will inspect the homes and negotiate for me?
9. Have you helped buyers in my situation?
10. Can I talk to past clients?
11. How do you find properties, and are off-market ones better?
12. How do you work out what a property is worth?
13. How often will you update me?
14. How many clients do you take on, and what if two want the same home?
15. Do you buy the kind of property I want, where I want it?
16. Can you bid at auction or negotiate on a home I’ve found?
17. How long does the agreement run?
18. What happens if you don’t find the right property?
19. What if I find a home myself?
20. Do you help after settlement?

Who they work for and how they’re paid

1. Who do you work for, and do you ever sell property?

Why ask: The agent on the sign is hired and paid by the seller, and their job is to get the highest price. A buyer’s agent who also lists homes for sale can end up with a seller on their books whose price they are protecting.

Our answer: We work only for buyers. We never list or sell property, so there is never a seller on our books, and from the day you sign our Form 6 we work for you, from the first search to settlement.

2. Who pays you, and do you take commissions or referral fees?

Why ask: An agent who is also paid by a developer, a seller or a selling agent has a reason to steer you towards one property. Ask the question directly, and ask for the answer in writing.

Our answer: Only you. Neither Tim nor Zian takes a commission, referral fee or kickback from a seller, developer or anyone in our professional network. To be upfront: IPS Buyer’s Agents is a division of Moreton Bay Finance Pty Ltd, which also owns Moreton Bay Finance Broker. Using a broker we recommend may take $1,190 off our fee, or $2,190 above $2.2 million, and you never have to use one.

3. What is your fee in dollars, including GST?

Why ask: Buyer’s agents charge in different ways: a percentage of the price, a flat fee, or an upfront fee plus a success fee. Some quote including GST and some plus GST. Compare the total in dollars, including GST, for the same service. A percentage fee also means the agent earns more every time you pay more.

Our answer: A flat fee, including GST, set by the price bracket on your Form 6 and fixed from there. It is $9,990 for a purchase from $400,000 to $1,000,000, rising by bracket to $36,990 above $3.4 million. Our fees page lists every bracket, with a calculator. If we negotiate the price down, we earn the same, and if your budget stretches, we still earn the same.

4. When do I pay the fee?

Why ask: Some agents take a large part of their fee before the search starts. Know what you pay up front, what you pay at the end, and what you get back if the search stops.

Our answer: Nothing is payable until your Form 6 is signed. Then $1,990 is payable at engagement, as the first instalment of the fee, not an addition to it, and the balance is due when your contract goes unconditional. On a $900,000 purchase that is $1,990 to start and $8,000 when the contract goes unconditional, $9,990 in all. The engagement fee can be negotiated.

5. What will I pay on top of your fee?

Why ask: The agent’s fee is not the only cost of buying. Know what else to budget for before you start looking.

Our answer: Building and pest inspections, body corporate searches and conveyancing are your own costs, paid directly to those providers, and so is transfer duty. Our property purchase calculator estimates the duty. We line up the inspections with you and go through every report with you before the contract goes unconditional.

Licence, track record and who does the work

6. Are you licensed, and how can I check?

Why ask: Under the Property Occupations Act 2014, anyone who buys or negotiates property for another person for reward must hold a real estate agent licence, or work for a licensed agency as a registered salesperson. The Office of Fair Trading keeps a free public register of licensed agents, salespeople and corporations, so search the agent’s name or licence number before you sign.

Our answer: Yes. IPS operates through Moreton Bay Finance Pty Ltd (licence 4667875), and Tim Allen is licensed personally (4667876). We are also an REIQ Accredited Agency, which takes a full real estate licence, active work in Queensland and professional indemnity insurance of at least $1 million. Accreditation is voluntary, so it is a check on top of the licence the law requires.

7. How many properties have you bought, and how recently?

Why ask: Years in real estate are not the same as purchases made for buyers. Ask how many properties they have bought for clients, how many in the last year, and where.

Our answer: 128 properties since 2023, about 20 of them in the last 12 months, across South East Queensland. Tim has personally inspected and negotiated every one. Some of them are written up on our client success page.

8. Who will inspect the homes and negotiate for me?

Why ask: The person on the first call is not always the person who walks through the homes or negotiates your price. Ask for names.

Our answer: Tim Allen or Zian Gibbs, by name, from the first call to settlement. You won’t be passed to a call centre. If you can’t make an inspection, we can walk you through the home on a video call. You can read both their stories on our about page.

9. Have you helped buyers in my situation?

Why ask: A first home, an investment, a purchase through a self-managed super fund and a move from overseas all need different checks. Ask about purchases like yours.

Our answer: Most of our clients are everyday buyers: first home buyers, families, downsizers and investors, and 42% of our clients come back to buy again. We also buy through self-managed super funds, trusts and companies, and for buyers moving from New Zealand or living overseas.

10. Can I talk to past clients?

Why ask: Reviews help, and a conversation with someone who has bought with the agent helps more. A good agent will put you in touch.

Our answer: Yes. Several past clients are happy to answer your questions by email about what working with us was like. Ask us and we’ll put you in touch. Our reviews page collects our reviews from Google and buyersagents.com.au.

How the search works

11. How do you find properties, and are off-market ones better?

Why ask: Many agents promise off-market access. Ask how they find homes and how they check an off-market price, because there are no other buyers to test it against.

Our answer: We search both. 28% of our clients have bought through off-market access, but off-market is not always the better buy. As at November 2026 many off-market homes are overpriced, while on the open market, feedback from buyers at open homes is moving prices down. Every property goes through the same price checks against comparable sales.

12. How do you work out what a property is worth?

Why ask: The agent’s view of value decides what you offer. Ask what data they use and how they check it.

Our answer: We use a few different methods and check them against each other: recent comparable sales adjusted for land size, condition and position, the competing homes on the market now, and the value of the land itself. The data comes from Pricefinder, RP Data and other property tools. If the numbers don’t support the asking price, we tell you before you offer, not after.

13. How often will you update me?

Why ask: A quiet agent is stressful, and in a fast market a slow reply can cost you a home. Agree on how often you’ll hear from them, and how.

Our answer: Every day or every second day while the search is on, by email, phone, text or WhatsApp, whichever suits you.

14. How many clients do you take on, and what if two want the same home?

Why ask: An agent with too many clients can’t inspect everything properly. And if two of their clients want the same kind of home, you need to know whose side they are on.

Our answer: Only a small number each month. No buyer’s agent on our team takes on two clients looking for the same thing at the same time. If two clients ever want the same kind of property, Tim looks after one and Zian the other, each working only for their own client, and we tell you both up front.

15. Do you buy the kind of property I want, where I want it?

Why ask: Units, acreage and commercial property are each valued differently, and suburbs change street by street. Make sure the agent buys what you’re after, where you want it.

Our answer: We buy houses, units and townhouses, acreage, holiday homes and commercial property across South East Queensland, and our checks change to suit the property. We don’t buy on the Southern Moreton Bay Islands or North Stradbroke Island.

16. Can you bid at auction or negotiate on a home I’ve found?

Why ask: Not everyone needs a full search. If you have already found the home, ask whether the agent offers a smaller service and what it costs.

Our answer: Yes. We do our own inspection and due diligence first, because we want to make sure you are not buying a dud. Auction bidding starts from $1,650 including GST. For negotiating on a home you have found, we’ll talk pricing on the first call.

The agreement

17. How long does the agreement run?

Why ask: In Queensland you appoint a buyer’s agent on a Form 6, which sets out how long the appointment runs and what you’ll pay. Read it before you sign, and ask what happens when the term ends.

Our answer: Our appointment on the Form 6 runs for 90 days, with a further 90 days at the end, so our terms cover six months in total. If we haven’t found the right home by then, we’re happy to keep working with you until we do.

18. What happens if you don’t find the right property?

Why ask: No buyer’s agent can create stock, so ask what happens if the search runs long, and what you get back if you stop.

Our answer: It hasn’t happened yet, though that is no promise it never will. If it does, you choose: keep working with us until we find the right one, or end the agreement. If you end it, the $1,990 engagement fee, which is the first instalment of our fee, is not refunded. The balance is only due when a contract goes unconditional.

19. What if I find a home myself?

Why ask: Agreements handle this in different ways, so know where you stand before you sign.

Our answer: If you find a home yourself and we do no work on it, you owe us nothing more. If you find it and we then inspect it, do the due diligence, negotiate, get it under contract and work with everyone through to settlement, our full fee applies.

20. Do you help after settlement?

Why ask: After settlement you may need a property manager, a tenant or a tradesperson. An agent with a good network saves you the search.

Our answer: Yes. We don’t disappear at settlement. We can refer you to property managers, trades and other people in our network, and we ask them to either discount you or roll out the red carpet and give you the VIP service.

Warning signs to walk away from

Ask more questions, or keep looking, if a buyer’s agent:

• won’t put the whole fee in writing, in dollars and including GST
• takes commissions, referral fees or rebates from sellers, developers or anyone else, or won’t say whether they do
• pushes you to sign on the first call, or won’t let you read the Form 6 first
• can’t tell you who will inspect the homes and negotiate, or show you purchases they made themselves
• promises a price or a discount, when nobody can promise what a seller will accept
• isn’t on the Office of Fair Trading register.

Ask us all 20

We’re happy to answer every one of these on a free first call. It usually takes 15 to 30 minutes: tell us the suburb, the budget and the deadline, and we’ll tell you honestly whether we can help and what it will cost. More answers about working with us are in our FAQ, and our guide on whether a buyer’s agent is worth it in Brisbane runs the numbers.

Book a time with Tim