Choosing an agent · Ten questions
How to choose a buyers agent in Queensland.
Every buyers agency says it works for you. The way to find out which ones mean it is to ask questions they can't answer with marketing. Here are the ten — with our own answers on the record.
The short version: a buyers agent worth hiring can tell you, in plain English and in writing — who pays them, what licence they hold, whether their fee grows when you spend more, and whether they'll ever tell you not to buy. Any hesitation on those four is your answer.
Take this list to every agency you're considering. Including us. We wrote it, and we'll sit the same exam.
Question 1Who pays you — and does anyone else?
This is the whole game. If anyone other than you pays the agent anything in connection with your purchase — a developer's commission, a seller's incentive, a broker's referral fee — then you are not the client. You're the product. "Free" buyers agency services are usually funded this way.
Our answer: you pay us, and nobody else pays us anything. No commission, kickback or referral fee from sellers, developers, agents, brokers or any other party — in either direction. We don't pay for referrals to us either, so nobody is steering you our way for a cut.
Question 2Are you licensed — and what's the number?
In Queensland, buyers agency work requires a real estate licence issued by the Office of Fair Trading. An agent who is licensed will tell you the number without blinking, because you can verify it yourself on the OFT's public register. An agent who talks around this question is telling you something.
Our answer: QLD Real Estate Agent Licence 4961592, held by Ryan Coppick. It's printed in the footer of every page on this site. We're also enrolled with AUSTRAC as a reporting entity, which is now required of real estate businesses under Australia's anti-money-laundering laws.
Question 3Do you ever act for sellers or developers?
An agency that sells property some days and "represents buyers" on others has divided loyalties by design. Developers in particular pay handsomely for a channel to buyers, and an agency taking that money cannot tell you honestly whether the development is worth buying.
Our answer: never. Buyer-side only, every engagement, no exceptions. We hold no stock, we take no listings, and no developer has any channel to you through us.
Question 4Is your fee flat, or a percentage of what I spend?
A percentage fee means the agent earns more when you pay more for the property. Sit with that for a second: the person negotiating on your behalf benefits from you losing the negotiation. Most of the industry runs this way and hopes you don't do the arithmetic.
Our answer: flat, published, and on the website: a free 15-minute discovery call, a Strategy Session at $899, and Full Buyers Agency at $11,500. The fee is identical whether you buy at $450,000 or $950,000 — so there is no mechanism by which we benefit from you spending more.
Question 5Will you put your fee in writing before any work begins?
Verbal fee arrangements have a way of growing. Queensland agents are required to document their appointment properly — but "required" and "does it before you've committed" are different things. You want the full number, in writing, before anyone starts.
Our answer: yes, always. Fees are agreed in writing before work begins, and they don't change mid-engagement. If we quote it, that's what it costs.
Question 6Will you ever tell me not to buy?
This is the question that separates advisors from salespeople. An agency that has never told a client to walk away is not doing analysis — it's doing fulfilment. Ask for an example of a time they recommended against a purchase, and listen to whether the answer sounds real.
Our answer: yes, and we will. The flat fee exists precisely so nothing pushes us to find a reason to buy — a recommendation to walk away is a legitimate outcome of the work. Sometimes the honest advice after the discovery call is that you don't need a buyers agent at all, and we say that too.
Question 7What data sits behind your recommendations?
"We know the market" is not data. Ask what they actually check: sold prices or list prices? Which sources? How many comparable sales before they'll put a number on a property? If the answer is vibes and confidence, the research is vibes and confidence.
Our answer: sold prices, never list prices; location assessed before any individual property; and a published research framework you can read in full on the method page before paying us anything. We show the workings.
Question 8Who actually does the work?
Some agencies are a familiar face on the website and a rotating cast of juniors or offshore researchers behind it. That's not automatically bad — but you should know who is actually assessing the property you're about to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on.
Our answer: Ryan Coppick — the licence holder, the person on the discovery call, and the person doing the research and negotiation. What you see is who you get.
Question 9What do I actually receive?
"Full service" should mean documents you can hold: suburb analysis, property assessments, comparable-sales evidence for the price you're paying. If the deliverable is "access to our expertise", you'll have nothing to point to when you wonder what you paid for.
Our answer: written deliverables at every tier — suburb reports for candidate areas, a property report for each shortlisted property, and comparable-sales analysis behind any price we recommend. You keep all of it.
Question 10What happens if I want to stop?
Ask to see the cancellation terms and the complaints process before you sign — not because you expect to need them, but because how an agency treats a client on the way out tells you what the promises on the way in were worth.
Our answer: both are published, not hidden in a drawer: our complaints handling procedure is on this site, and cancellation terms are set out in writing in your engagement letter before you sign it.
The checklist. Take it with you.
- Who pays you — and does anyone else pay you anything in connection with my purchase?
- What is your real estate licence number? (Check it on the QLD Office of Fair Trading register.)
- Do you ever act for sellers or developers, in any part of your business?
- Is your fee flat, or a percentage of my purchase price?
- Will you put the full fee in writing before any work begins?
- Tell me about a time you advised a client not to buy.
- What data do you check before recommending a property — sold prices or list prices?
- Who personally does the research and negotiation on my file?
- What written deliverables do I receive and keep?
- Show me your cancellation terms and complaints process, before I sign.
Coppick Property Advisory · coppickpropertyadvisory.com · QLD Real Estate Licence 4961592
Run us through it.
Fifteen minutes, free, and you can ask all ten. If another agency answers them better than we do, hire them — genuinely. The list exists so you end up properly represented either way.