BUYER BEWARE - PART 3: The Truth About Your Independent Buyer’s Agent
- Jennifer Smith
- Aug 22
- 6 min read
Updated: Sep 17
Writer: Jennifer Smith
In Australia, the buyer’s agent profession is still in its infancy. Many buyers mistakenly assume that if someone calls themselves an 'independent buyer’s agent', they are on the buyer's side, and operating with integrity. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case.
Some operators market themselves as exclusive, independent buyer’s agents — but behind the branding, they may be chasing numbers, cutting corners, and using smoke-and-mirrors tactics to win business. This isn’t just marketing spin. It’s misrepresentation, and the implications can be serious.
When hiring a buyer’s agent, significant fees are paid, and critical decisions are made regarding properties worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Misplaced trust in the wrong operator can have long-term consequences.
1. Fake Reviews
Reputation matters, which is why some operators may manufacture theirs. Authentic client feedback usually develops gradually and tells a story of support, guidance and outcomes. A sudden wave of glowing five-star reviews that all sound similar is rarely organic.
This creates the illusion of a credible reputation, giving the sense of a long track record of satisfied clients and successful outcomes.
Relying on reviews that may not be independently verified introduces financial and emotional risk, as trust could be placed on misleading signals.
Real reliability is demonstrated through verifiable testimonials, sustained client outcomes, and transparent feedback that develops naturally over time.
2. Inflated Credibility Claims
In the property industry, terms like 'trusted expert' or 'decades of experience' are commonly used. In many cases, numbers may be padded by aggregating unrelated experience or counting multiple careers together.
This behaviour projects authority and trustworthiness, giving the impression of higher capability than is demonstrated in practice.
Relying on inflated claims can carry financial risk, as practical skill may not always match the presented experience.
Credible expertise is demonstrated through transparent track records, proven outcomes, and direct evidence of past work rather than slogans or titles.
3. Black Hat SEO
Some operators use aggressive online tactics to dominate search rankings, creating the impression of authority and popularity. This can involve buying backlinks, stuffing keywords, or spinning duplicate content across multiple sites. At times, entire websites are manufactured solely to funnel leads back to one business.
This behaviour gives the impression of high visibility and credibility, creating the sense that the operator is widely trusted and in constant demand.
Clients may be drawn in by manipulated rankings rather than authentic expertise, exposing them to service that may not match the polished digital façade.
Genuine credibility is built through transparent, organic visibility — consistent expertise, authentic engagement, and content that reflects lived experience rather than manufactured search dominance.
4. Impressions of Mastery
Some operators can sound knowledgeable — throwing around industry jargon, suburb statistics, and 'insider' language — without having the lived experience to back it up. Others lean heavily on data-driven insights, producing slick charts and reports that create an aura of expertise.
This behaviour creates the impression of authority and insider knowledge, giving the sense of dealing with an expert who truly knows the market.
Without practical experience, important aspects such as negotiation, due diligence, and local risks may be misjudged or overlooked, exposing significant financial risks.
True expertise combines data interpretation with long-term, real-world property experience, ensuring recommendations are accurate, actionable, and trustworthy.
5. 'On-the-Ground' Illusions
Some agents market themselves as 'local experts', but they may live interstate, and fly in occasionally. Local knowledge comes from long-term, street-level insights, not just illusion.
This behaviour creates the appearance of intimate local knowledge, giving the sense that market nuances and hidden risks are fully anticipated.
Without actual presence, important factors such as flood zones, or undesirable streets may be overlooked, potentially leading to costly mistakes.
True local expertise is built from decades of direct engagement, personal experience, relationships with local professionals, and first-hand observation.
6. The Phantom Team
Agents may talk about a 'team of specialists' working for them, and give the impression of a full in-house operation. The reality can be more like a house of cards, a patchwork of subcontractors, freelancers, or offshore assistants handling the work.
This creates an illusion of expertise, when the work is actually distributed across multiple or transient contributors.
Clients may be brought on board by a lead agent, only to be passed on to an inexperienced agent. Without consistent hands-on oversight, the quality of service standards can fluctuate.
If something goes wrong, accountability can be unclear, and errors in due diligence, communication, or advice may occur.
Why Misrepresentation Matters
All of the previously described behaviours fall under the category of misleading conduct. They are designed to create trust, induce commitment, and secure payment. When this trust is misplaced, the consequences are financial and emotional.
Financial exposure arises when significant fees are paid to someone whose claims about expertise, team structure, or track record are false or exaggerated.
Decision risk occurs because reliance on misleading signals can result in acquiring the wrong property, in the wrong location, or an outcome that does not meet long-term objectives.
The stakes are enormous. Misrepresentation in this industry does not just erode confidence; it carries the potential to reshape financial futures in ways that can take years, or even decades, to recover from.
Misleading Conduct: Beyond Ethics, Into Law
Some of these practices blur the line between unethical behaviour and unlawful conduct.
Under Australian Consumer Law (ACL, Schedule 2, Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)) and the Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld), businesses are prohibited from engaging in anything misleading or deceptive. This extends well beyond sellers to anyone whose representation influences a buyer’s decision.
making false representations, or inflating credentials and affiliations is explicitly illegal in property sales. Behaviours such as creating fake reviews and exaggerating experience or expertise, equally distort decision-making.
financial and emotional risk emerges when families and investors place their trust into the hands of operators whose promises are built on misleading conduct that induces a financial transaction.
Why Values Matter
Buying a property isn’t just a transaction, and it deserves honesty at every step.
Values aren’t optional. They’re the difference between being guided by smoke and mirrors — or by someone truly committed to doing the work properly.
At NQ Buyers Agent, every aspect of my work is guided by my values: Integrity & Authenticity, Deep Local Knowledge, Expertise, Commitment to Excellence, and Client-Focus:
guided by what is right, not what is convenient
informed by deep, lived, local knowledge in Cairns and Townsville
specialist expertise and the lens of real-world experience
a commitment to excellence, not a volume-driven process
a client-focused approach, with accountability and long-term focus.
CHECKLIST: Know Your Buyer's Agent
In the property industry, trust is too valuable to gamble on appearances alone, and awareness, transparency, and scrutiny are essential.
Use this checklist to do your own due diligence before you appoint a buyer's agent.
1. Integrity & Authenticity
Does the agent act solely in the buyer’s interest, without hidden incentives or conflicts?
Are claims about experience, expertise and track record verifiable and consistent with reality, not marketing spin?
Are affiliations, partnerships, potential conflicts of interest, and who will be handling the search fully disclosed?
Do they make principled decisions even when shortcuts could increase profit?
2. Deep Local Knowledge, Experience & Connection
Is the agent genuinely embedded in the local market, with long-term, first-hand experience and personal knowledge?
Can they demonstrate practical insight into risks and opportunities that only come from lived experience?
Do they have trusted, long-standing local relationships that benefit clients?
3. Expertise, Education & Specialist Focus
Do they demonstrate a high level of mastery — built through years of practical experience, formal training, or both?
Have they undertaken meaningful, recognised education in property, research, or related disciplines that goes beyond the bare minimum licence?
Is their practice concentrated — on buyers, on a defined region, on specific property types — rather than stretched thin across too many markets.
4. Commitment to Excellence
How do they maintain high standards and attention to detail across all stages of the process?
Is their service focused, selective, and client-centric rather than high-volume or generic?
How do they identify risks and opportunities that others might overlook?
Can they provide evidence that their approach delivers quality outcomes for buyers?
5. Client-Focused, Personalised & Trusted
Do they prioritise long-term trust and support over fast, transactional wins?
Do they listen carefully to concerns, fears, and priorities before recommending action?
Do they consistently act in the client’s best interest, challenge practices that could compromise outcomes, and demonstrate a history of long-term client success?
Now, more than ever, it’s vital that buyers are aware of exactly who they are dealing with.
If you are looking for an exclusive Cairns Buyer's Agent or Townsville Buyer's Agent in Queensland, Australia, contact Jennifer at NQ Buyers Agent today.
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