Home buyers · Pricing
Twenty grand. Flat. Same as everyone.
Same fee as an investor, GST included, and on a home that is a lot of money. I'm not going to pretend otherwise. This page is what it buys, when it's paid, and the one test for whether you should pay it at all.
The only test that matters
If the suburb the numbers point at is the one you were buying in anyway, don't pay me.
Go and buy it. You don't need me and I'll tell you that on the call.
If they are different places, that is what the fee gets weighed against. On our own Melbourne data, Langwarrin and Ringwood cost within $1,623 of each other today, and ten years ago the gap in what it took to get in was about $307,681. A $20,000 fee against a $300,000 decision is the whole argument, and the home buyers page shows the workings.
What the $20k covers
Everything from the first strategy session to the day you get the keys. If it's part of buying you a home, it's covered. There's no add-ons menu.
- Strategy session and written brief with Tom (see a real one)
- Your suburb list run against ten years of data, and the shortlist delivered as a written report
- Property search: on market, off market and pre market
- Comparative market analysis on every serious contender, so you know what it's worth before the guide tells you
- Inspections and shortlisting done for you
- Full due diligence coordination, building and pest included
- Negotiation, or auction bidding if it comes to that
- Contract to settlement management, conveyancer and broker kept on their dates
- A written check-in on your home a year on, no pitch in it
What it doesn't
The usual third party costs are yours, same as if you bought without me. Conveyancing, building and pest, stamp duty, lender fees. I'll give you honest estimates up front so nothing ambushes you at settlement.
Grants and concessions aren't in here either
The first home grant, the 5% deposit scheme and stamp duty concessions are your broker's and conveyancer's territory. They are better at it than I am and I stay in my lane. I find and negotiate the property.
The retainer, itemised
Worst case, you still come out ahead.
Valued at $3,300 on its own
The strategy session with Tom
Your own numbers, not a template. What you can carry on a bad month, what the deposit does in each suburb on your list, and what this purchase sets up for the next one. Before you commit to anything.
Valued at $5,500 on its own
The research and shortlist
Your list and ours, written up with the reasoning and the rejects. Our free area report is published in full and shows the depth we work at. Your shortlist goes further, down to the handful of suburbs that suit your brief and your commute.
That's $8,800 of standalone work sitting inside a $5,500 retainer. So if we never deliver you a home, you've paid $5,500, the $14,500 balance never gets billed, and you're holding a strategy and research worth more than you spent. The worst case costs us, not you.
Who this is for
We're not the cheapest. That's deliberate.
If the price is the sticking point rather than the maths, there are cheaper agents out there and one of them will happily take you on. No hard feelings. But saving $5,000 on a cheaper fee means nothing if the wrong suburb costs you $100,000 of growth over the next ten years. Cheap advice is only cheap on the invoice.
If you'd rather the suburb got picked off sold data than a Saturday drive, and you're planning to live there long enough for that to matter, we'll get along fine. We work with 5 clients at a time, maximum, so nothing gets rushed.
The results page shows what that looks like in actual dollars.
The money questions
Asked on nearly every call. Answered here instead.
When do I actually pay?
$5,500 retainer when you sign on. The remaining $14,500 when your purchase goes unconditional. Nothing in between, nothing after.
What if you never find us anything?
Then the $14,500 never gets billed. And because the retainer covers the strategy session (valued at $3,300) and the research and shortlist (valued at $5,500), the worst case leaves you holding $8,800 of work for $5,500.
Is it really the same fee on a $550k first home as on a $900k upgrade?
Really. $20,000 flat, GST included, at every budget. I know that lands differently at $550k, which is why the test above exists. If the suburb you were buying in is the suburb the numbers point at, don’t pay me.
Is the fee tax deductible on a home?
That is a question for your accountant, not me, and the honest general answer is that costs of buying a home you live in are treated very differently to an investment. Ask them before you sign anything.
What about the first home grant, the 5% scheme and stamp duty concessions?
Your broker and conveyancer handle those and they are better at it than I am. They are not part of the fee and I don’t advise on them. We loop your broker in from step one.
Do I need finance sorted before we start?
No. Step one is working out your borrowing capacity and cash position with Tom before we look at a single property. If the numbers say wait, we’ll tell you to wait.
Anything this page didn't answer?
Ask on the call. I'd rather spend ten minutes walking you through it than have you squinting at this page hunting for the catch. There isn't one. I've looked.