FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. How is a buyer’s agent different from a selling agent?
A selling agent works for the seller. Their job is to get the highest price the market will bear, and they are very good at it. We work for the buyer — we run the screen, we do the due diligence, and we negotiate against that agent rather than alongside them.
2. Why should I use East Point instead of buying on my own?
Most buyers who go it alone have access to the same listings as everyone else. The gap isn't information — it's interpretation. Which suburbs are actually positioned for growth. Whether a price is fair relative to what the data shows. What risks the listing doesn't disclose. East Point adds structure to that gap. We apply the same scoring framework to every suburb, document every recommendation, and stay accountable for every judgment — before and after settlement.
3. What is your process for finding the right property?
We start by mapping your investment criteria, budget tier, and constraints — so the search has a defined profile before it begins. We then apply the East Point Scoring Framework across Greater Brisbane suburbs, scoring each on Growth · Liveability · Land Scarcity · Valuation · Risk. You receive a documented shortlist ranked on your criteria, not our instincts. From there, we field-verify shortlisted properties, evaluate each one against the same framework, and document the buy decision before any offer goes in. You see the case for the property — and the case against it. We handle negotiation and coordinate with your solicitor through to settlement. Twelve months later, we come back to review the outcome.
4. Do you work with investors, SMSF, trusts, companies, and owner-occupiers?
We work with buyers who want a clear property strategy before they buy — interstate investors, SMSF buyers, trust and company purchasers, and owner-occupiers. The screen doesn't change with the buyer. Houses, selected apartments and townhouses, commercial property and new builds all go through the same five factors; the structure changes the compliance questions, not what makes a suburb worth buying into. One boundary worth stating plainly: we evaluate and acquire the property. The structure itself — whether a fund, a trust or a company is the right vehicle — is established by your accountant or SMSF adviser. That's their call, and we don't make it.
5. Do you charge a fixed fee or a percentage of the purchase price?
On established purchases we charge a percentage of the purchase price, agreed in writing before we begin. On new builds the developer pays our fee, and the arrangement is disclosed to you in writing before you commit. Either way, there are no charges that weren't in the engagement agreement you signed.
6. Who pays you?
Not from a selling agent, and not from a vendor — never. On a new-build purchase the developer pays our fee, and you see that in writing before you commit to anything. What doesn't change is the order: the five-factor screen runs before any property reaches your shortlist, whoever is paying at the end of it.
7. How do I know you’re working in my best interest?
Every recommendation we make is documented before it's delivered — the suburbs we considered, the criteria they met, and why the alternatives didn't make the cut. That record belongs to you. You can question it, revisit it, and compare it against what actually happened. Twelve months after settlement we put that original judgment next to the actual result and show you both. Accountability that isn't written down before the fact isn't accountability.
8. Do you check building and pest reports for me?
Yes. We read every building and pest report in full and write the findings into the property evaluation before an offer goes anywhere. We arrange the inspection and the cost sits with you, outside our fee. If something material turns up, it's in writing before you decide — not mentioned on a phone call afterwards.
9. Do you only work in Brisbane?
We score every suburb across South East Queensland's eight councils — Brisbane, Logan, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Redland, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Noosa — every month, client or no client. Most of the buying we do lands in Greater Brisbane, which is where our field verification runs deepest.
10. Do you work with investors based in Sydney or Melbourne?
Yes — most of our clients are interstate, and the process is built for people who can't drive out on a Saturday. Every suburb on your shortlist has been walked, not just scored: road noise, industrial boundaries, street condition, who actually rents there. We've downgraded suburbs that looked fine on the data and didn't survive their own streets. You get the report and the reasoning, so you can push back on it from Sydney.
11. What happens after settlement?
Twelve months after settlement, we come back. We review the original suburb recommendation against actual market outcomes, compare our documented buy decision against how the property has performed, and share the findings — the calls we got right, and the ones we'd assess differently with hindsight. That post-purchase review is part of every East Point engagement. It's also how we make sure the framework keeps improving.
12. What is the East Point Scoring Framework?
Five dimensions, the same order, every time — Growth · Liveability · Land Scarcity · Valuation · Risk. Growth is the upside case: infrastructure committed, population moving. Liveability is the demand floor — schools, employment, amenity. Land Scarcity is the supply constraint. Valuation asks whether the price matches the fundamentals. Risk is the downside: flood, bushfire, planning overlays, volatility. You get the score and the data underneath it, so your accountant or adviser can check the reasoning without us in the room.