How it works

Buying an investment property isn't complicated.

It's just full of ways to get it wrong. Here's how we keep you out of them.

★★★★★

Tried the DIY research route before finding Dan.

Sam Cooper · Google review
★★★★★

Didn't think a buyer's agent was useful. Then came the conversation with this one.

Luke Lehmann · Google review
★★★★★

Works in the mortgage industry and still chose Dan for their own investment purchase.

Alex Robertson · Google review
★★★★★

Skeptical at first, then found Dan went above and beyond to find the right property.

Scott Mccormack · Google review
★★★★★

Was reluctant to use a buyer's agent until recommendations from friends won them over.

Tim Danaskos · Google review
★★★★★

Found Dan helpful and supportive through their first investment purchase.

Elisha Naish · Google review
★★★★★

Found Dan's communication easy, professional and efficient.

Ali Ahmadi · Google review
★★★★★

Says Dan's commitment to clients is second to none.

James Pitt · Google review
★★★★★

Says Dan did an amazing job securing their first investment property.

Angus Robertson · Google review
★★★★★

Refers clients to Dan without hesitation.

Matthew Tully · Google review
★★★★★

Praised Dan's integrity, care and clear strategy.

Tom · Google review
★★★★★

Says Dan supported them through every stage of the purchase.

Dan Gough · Google review
★★★★★

Calls engaging Dan one of their best decisions. Professional throughout.

Daniel · Google review
★★★★★

Recommends the agency to selling agents with off-market properties.

Brian Mishra · Google review
★★★★★

Excellent to deal with, and will use Dan again.

Michael Kotzur · Google review
★★★★★

Thanked Dan and Kate for the help purchasing their investment property.

Kara Davies · Google review
★★★★★

Thanked Dan for helping secure a heritage home in regional Victoria.

Janine Baker · Google review
★★★★★

Genuine, honest and knowledgeable.

Liberty Meehan · Google review
★★★★★

Dan secured their first investment property and handled all the agent comms.

Daniel Taylor · Google review
★★★★★

Tried the DIY research route before finding Dan.

Sam Cooper · Google review
★★★★★

Didn't think a buyer's agent was useful. Then came the conversation with this one.

Luke Lehmann · Google review
★★★★★

Works in the mortgage industry and still chose Dan for their own investment purchase.

Alex Robertson · Google review
★★★★★

Skeptical at first, then found Dan went above and beyond to find the right property.

Scott Mccormack · Google review
★★★★★

Was reluctant to use a buyer's agent until recommendations from friends won them over.

Tim Danaskos · Google review
★★★★★

Found Dan helpful and supportive through their first investment purchase.

Elisha Naish · Google review
★★★★★

Found Dan's communication easy, professional and efficient.

Ali Ahmadi · Google review
★★★★★

Says Dan's commitment to clients is second to none.

James Pitt · Google review
★★★★★

Says Dan did an amazing job securing their first investment property.

Angus Robertson · Google review
★★★★★

Refers clients to Dan without hesitation.

Matthew Tully · Google review
★★★★★

Praised Dan's integrity, care and clear strategy.

Tom · Google review
★★★★★

Says Dan supported them through every stage of the purchase.

Dan Gough · Google review
★★★★★

Calls engaging Dan one of their best decisions. Professional throughout.

Daniel · Google review
★★★★★

Recommends the agency to selling agents with off-market properties.

Brian Mishra · Google review
★★★★★

Excellent to deal with, and will use Dan again.

Michael Kotzur · Google review
★★★★★

Thanked Dan and Kate for the help purchasing their investment property.

Kara Davies · Google review
★★★★★

Thanked Dan for helping secure a heritage home in regional Victoria.

Janine Baker · Google review
★★★★★

Genuine, honest and knowledgeable.

Liberty Meehan · Google review
★★★★★

Dan secured their first investment property and handled all the agent comms.

Daniel Taylor · Google review
  1. We work out what you can actually do

    Before we look at a single property, we look at you. Borrowing capacity, cash position, what the next few years realistically look like, and what you actually want out of this. We model it properly, so you can see what this purchase does to your portfolio, not just what it costs you. What does that produce? Read a real strategy, names withheld, numbers intact.

  2. We find the market before we find the house

    Most people fall in love with a property and then reverse engineer a reason. We go the other way around. Every search starts with all 15,000 suburbs in Australia screened against the economics: jobs, population, supply, incomes, what's being built and what isn't. That narrows to the top 5 for your situation, and you get the shortlist as a written report: the suburbs, the data behind each one, and the ones we rejected and why. Don't take my word for how we write these, read a full area report, published free and in full. If you disagree with the reasoning, good. That's what the call is for.

  3. We go hunting

    This is the unglamorous part. Calls to agents, off-market conversations, driving streets, inspections, ruling things out. Sometimes the second property we bring you is the one. Sometimes we've been through 10. We don't stop until you're happy, and anything that makes the cut comes with a full comparable sales analysis, so you know what it's worth rather than what the ad reckons.

  4. We negotiate like it's our money

    By this point we know what the property is worth, and we've usually worked out what the vendor actually needs, which is rarely just the biggest number. We handle the offer, the terms, the back and forth, and the awkward silences agents hate.

  5. We get it to settlement and tenanted

    Conveyancer, building and pest, finance dates, property manager, tenant. We keep the dates on track and chase the people who need chasing. You end up with keys in hand and rent coming in, not a list of jobs.

Then we do it again when you're ready for the next one.

Tom, Head of Strategy at Buyers First Agency

Head of Strategy

The bloke behind the modelling

Step one is run by Tom, a CPA who cut his teeth as a property strategist at InvestorKit, one of the biggest buyer's agencies in the country. He works independently now and still runs over 1,500 strategy sessions a year, on top of a portfolio of his own across residential and commercial. Father of five, so he models cashflow like it matters. Every client scenario goes through Tom's model before I start hunting. I run my own numbers through him too, which is the only endorsement I can offer that costs me something.

Want to see the tool he drives before booking anything? Open a free Zapiio account and run your own numbers first.

The obvious question

"Couldn't I just do this myself?"

Honestly? Yes. There's no secret licence for buying property. I taught myself, and you could too.

Here's what teaching myself actually looked like though. A few years of weekends. A couple of mistakes that cost real money. A long stretch of learning to tell a genuine growth suburb from a nice brochure. I was single, obsessed and thinking about property all day on the tools. That was my apprenticeship.

If you're running a business or pulling long weeks on site, the question isn't whether you could learn this. It's whether learning a second trade is the best use of your next two years. You've seen what happens when a homeowner watches three YouTube videos and has a crack at their own switchboard. This is that, with more zeroes.

What DIY usually costs

  • Buying in your own suburb because it feels safe. The data rarely agrees with that feeling
  • Paying the emotional premium at auction because you'd already mentally moved the tenant in
  • Missing the off market stock because no agent knows your name
  • Two years of "waiting for the right time" while the market moves without you

One overpay at auction can cost more than my $20k fee. Twice.

Before you ask

The questions that come up on nearly every call.

How long does the whole thing take?

4 weeks on average from signing on to a secured property. Some run longer, because we stop when you’re happy with the buy, not when a clock runs out.

How many clients do you run at once?

5, maximum. Nothing gets rushed and nothing gets handed to a junior, because there isn’t one.

Do I get a say, or do you just pick a house?

You get the suburb shortlist as a written report, with the data behind each pick and the ones we rejected. If you disagree with the reasoning, say so. Nothing gets bought until you’re happy with it.

Who actually does the work?

Two people. Tom, a CPA, runs the strategy modelling. I do the hunting, the negotiating and the phone calls. When you ring, I answer.

Want the process pointed at your situation?

Book the strategy call. Worst case, you leave with a clearer picture of where you stand and it costs you nothing but 15 minutes. Or see what this process has actually bought people first.

★★★★★ 5.0 from 28 Google reviews

Book my free call