How to read a buyer's agent brief without getting played

You found a buyer's agent. They're good — they present suburbs, comparables, a recommended property. The presentation feels tight. How do you know it actually is?

Four questions, asked early: (1) What's the primary metric you're using to rank these suburbs, and where does the data come from? If the answer is a proprietary score they can't explain the components of, that's a flag. If they can walk you through the components + the primary data behind each, that's the real thing. (2) Pull one of the suburbs they've ranked low. What specifically disqualifies it? If they can't answer this cleanly, they're ranking by intuition, not a ruleset.

(3) What's the last call you got wrong, and why? This filters for operators who grade themselves. Anyone who can't name a recent miss is either new to the job or incapable of reflection. Both are problems. (4) Show me the comparables you used for this property's valuation. Ask to see three settled sales from the same suburb + same bed count in the last six months. If the comparables are from a different suburb or different property type, the valuation is closer to a sticker price than an anchor.

None of these questions are gotchas. A good buyer's agent appreciates them because the questions filter clients who know what they want. An agent who gets defensive about any of the four is telling you something important. Keep looking.