Why would I use a buyer's agent if I can find off-market properties myself?

I was chatting to a doctor who is super busy. They run their own practice, they don't have a lot of time outside work. However, they said they wouldn't use a buyer's agent to buy their own home, but would for investment properties. I thought this is a juicy topic to unpack, because there are a lot of to-be buyers who have perceptions about what a typical buyer's agent does, and some people don't really know what a buyer's agent does at all.

I don't want to convince people to use a buyer's agent, because I think most of us want to work with people who want to work with us, rather than feel as though they have to prove their worth at every turn. I am interested in the varying perceptions of buyer's agents, and what it is that people think we do.

Sometimes, people have heard of bad buyer's agent experiences. For example, a person at my gym said they fired their buyer's agent because she went MIA, which is completely fair. And that experience, shared with friends and family, would certainly affect people's perception of the value for money in using a buyer's agent.  

Going back to the doctor, they said they could find off-market properties themselves because they've lived in the area for 20 years and know the agents. With their tenure in the area, they also felt they had more local knowledge than a buyer's agent, or at least we on par, so what's the benefit?

And they're right. They do know the local agents well, and they probably do know the area at least as well as a local buyer's agent. They also probably know what type of property that will and won't work for them better than the buyer's agent would. These points all make sense.

There could also be perceptions of buyer's agents formed through friends and colleagues. Perhaps they've heard about bad experiences, or lazy buyer's agents. Or perhaps they are wired to love the process.

By the way, this person lived outside of my normal area, so I had no reason to try and win them over. I was curious if there was room to challenge some assumptions.

When they say they can find off-market properties, yes, anyone can. However, a buyer's agent works full-time on this, usually while the regular buyer is at work, so we have the advantage of time to source, build relationships, and gather market intel.

We also leverage our experience, process, and systems to get access to off-market properties that weren't off-market until we made them one.

To explain, I've purchased properties where I approached agents about specific streets, and blocks, and because of that, they turned into an exclusive opportunity for us to have first go at purchasing. This type of off-market is almost always the work of a buyer's agent, because an agent isn't going to waste their time, and a prospective vendor's time, on a buyer they haven't dealt with before. We also provide leverage, where the agent says to the vendor, "I have a buyer's agent interested in your property". Imagine if you were a vendor. Would it sound more appealing if an agent approached you with a regular buyer, or with a buyer's agent whose job is to be efficient and commercially minded about property transactions?

And yes, if you live in the area, you will have relationships with agents, but usually from the perspective of being a potential vendor. If you manage to be top of mind with a sales agent as a prospective buyer, that's great, but you're going to be more hard work for them, because you are just one buyer in one suburb. A buyer's agent has coached their client to be realistic and flexible about locations, prices, and compromise, so we're easier to deal with. We've also possibly bought from that agent before, or at the very least built an even footing as a peer, through multiple client briefs, in person meetings at open homes, and so on, so we have a higher standard of relationship with a sales agent.

To expand on the peer-to-peer relationship, agents like dealing with buyer's agents because they feel less burdened working with us then with a regular buyer. This is because the agent doesn't have to hold the buyer's hand through the purchasing process, and the chance of curveballs are reduced. For example, waiting on finance, taking time out of the search to deal with family or go on holidays. If a buyer's agent is involved, we are there to buy. We're less flaky.

The chat with the doctor gave me the inspo to write on this topic. I didn't go into the detail with them, because they're too busy to get into it. Go figure!