Our People

Our people have long been recognized for doing whatever it takes to buy you the right property, at the right price. We are educated, experienced and ethical. We love buying property, and we are experts at it.

Mal James 0408 107 988 mal@james.net.au	Adam Woledge 0413 318 079 adam@james.net.au	Kristen Hatt 0423 778 774 kristen@james.net.au

Ralph Doubell 0407 901 164 ralph@james.net.au	David McMillan 0410 482 553 david@james.net.au	Dr Janet Wright 03 9596 8822 janet@james.net.au

Grant Atkinson grant@james.net.au	Julie Spence julie@james.net.au	Michael Sier michael@james.net.au

Chris Farrell chris@james.net.au	Peter Wilkinson peterw@james.net.au	Simone Clarke simone@james.net.au

Melinda Brown melinda@james.net.au	John Hazen john@james.net.au

About Us & Fees

James Buyer Advocates are Melbourne's experienced buyer advocates.

We help you buy all forms of residential property throughout Melbourne and the Peninsulas. We only work for buyers, not sellers. We can:

Prepare plans, reports on your needs and value.
Search on and off market and negotiate, or just negotiate
Deal at private sales, auctions, expressions of interest and tenders
Arrange independent legal, pest, building and valuation inspections
Organize short and long-term leasing for executive relocation

How much do we cost?
Prior to starting we sit down with you, listen to what you want and then clearly set out our fees in writing. They will vary depending on the service you want. Generally speaking, for owner-occupier homes, fees will be between 1% and 2% plus GST of either your estimated budget or sale price. Our fees are agreed to in advance - based either on your estimated budget (so there’s no question of encouraging you to pay a higher price for our own gain) or (as many prefer) on the actual sale price (if you’re not sure exactly what your budget will be).

We also have premium and investor services, plus architectural and agent advisory - please contact us to discuss your situation.

What do our fees cover?

All communications & meetings with you
Searching with or without you for a suitable property
Use of all our databases
Communications/meetings with agents whilst searching for a property
Property rating and ranking with our patent pending "Property Ratings System" - our very own objective property qualification tool.
Preparation of property report(s)
Liaison communications with your solicitor.
Arranging further due diligence checks – pest and building inspections as required (you are required to pay for these separately but we can liaise and organise them for you without financial benefit to us)
Negotiation tactics and strategy
Execution of strategies to purchase the property
Checking final contracts pre signatures
Pre settlement inspections

Our People | Why use a Buyer's Advocate?

Why pay money for something you can do yourself?

Buying the right property is an art and a science.

Think of a few houses in similar areas with similar characteristics and ponder what they were worth 10 years ago. What are they worth now? Will they have increased or decreased in value at the same rate? Not necessarily. We can show you inner city properties within a few hundred metres of each other that 10 years ago were each worth $400,000. Today, one is worth over $2,000,000 and the other $600,000. If you had been purchasing either of those properties, which one would you prefer to own now? All properties are not the same – and we know the difference.

Strategy is vital to buying the right property.

How to buy, how to minimize cost, what to buy, and where. How do I make an offer? What do I really want and how do I get it? Where do I want to be financially in the next decade? Why do some people own multiple properties without a mortgage and others have one property and are struggling? The answer is strategy. We help you define and execute your action plan to buy the right property.

We will save you money – and make you money in a highly competitive market.

This is the number one reason why most people think about advocates in the first instance, and in many, many cases we do just that. We know this is of primary importance in all business negotiations but it’s interesting to note that clients we’ve surveyed after the buying process often rate savings as the Number 3 benefit in using James Buyer Advocates. Buying property well is as much about MAKING money as it is about SAVING money. We’ll be happy to explain this in detail at our first meeting.

Understanding the true value of a property is tough.

Working out what a property is worth is a lot more than looking up a few statistics. And we definitely need to talk some more if you think saving money is about finding a cheap place “below valuation”. In many cases if you are not crystal clear about property values, you could well be negotiating at a level that will not buy the dream home you want. It might also leave you with a compromised property in the long run. Another expensive and distressing mistake a buyer can make is to pay way too much. Under these circumstances selling agents are very pleasant and helpful as they laugh all the way to the bank.

We help ease the stress and emotion in buying property.

Buying a home is about as bad as it gets. It’s emotional, exhausting and sometimes terribly discouraging. You only need to miss that perfect property, drive for miles to find the picture on the brochure didn’t nearly match your expectations (or what you’d been told), have agents leave you hanging or be gazumped in the negotiation stage. It hurts. Careful planning is paramount. It takes exactly the same time to buy a home well as it does badly. We help you manage the stress level in buying property by evaluating it according to your needs and budget, and looking at what the property represents as a long-term investment. We do it all the time. We love it.

Expertise is critical when the stakes are high.

If you were selling a home would you hire an expert? If you had to go to court on an important matter, would you hire a solicitor? Why is that? Because no matter how much research is undertaken or how much involvement an amateur brings to the buying process, an experienced professional who understands your issues and is distanced from your emotions will give a better result, and with less risk, 99 times out of 100.

“Hidden” properties do exist – so understand ALL your options.

There are hundreds of places out there you may never find or get to see. Quiet sales, private transactions, sales without boards. There are places you won’t be given the opportunity to inspect because they aren’t advertised. We deal with agents every day. We find “hidden’” houses that will never be listed because agents and vendors approach us quietly all the time. And we are involved in a number of property purchases “off market” without any publicity or fanfare.

Agents are not your friend, mentor or guide in the buying process.

We actually like and respect many selling agents, but they act for sellers or vendors, not buyers. Treating agents like a friend or guide is a minefield and gaining experience can cost you dearly. It’s like Little Red Riding Wolf asking the wolf for directions. It’s not the wolf’s fault – the wolf is simply doing what wolves do. There are some pretty average agents out there but also some very good ones. They work exclusively for the vendor. If the agent is excellent and even outstanding, then they are committed to gaining the highest possible price for their vendors – it’s the law. To understand more about how agents work and their games, take a look at our critically acclaimed DVD “How Agents Work”.

Your privacy is guaranteed.

Most agents don’t know who you are, and it’s a good idea to keep it that way. That’s because if you don’t buy today, you might buy something else tomorrow. It’s not in your best interests if an agent knows “what you were prepared to look at before”. Our role as a buyers advocate is to keep you ahead of the game without revealing your hand. We help you through the Perhaps you have tried and failed to buy a particular property or maybe your business is really just that – your business. In any event, we represent you in complete confidentiality and until such time as the deal is successful, you can remain anonymous if you wish.

James Conflict

A conflict occurs when we have two clients (with signed authorities) who have given us instructions to bid on the same property.
We do not knowingly take on new clients on a property where we have an existing client who has given us instructions to bid.
The conflict situation usually arises because of low stock levels or an unusual/rare property that has a lot of interest (usually far more than our clients as well)
To avoid other conflicts - we do not take money from agents or any other parties – ever. If we know the seller we tell our clients. We only act for buyers.

James Conflict Procedure

We are here because of stock levels – shortages and/or this is a very good property.
If you feel uncomfortable with us at anytime we would release you from any agreements at no charge – we operate on a basis of complete trust – we trust you as well.
We will continue to be accessible to both of you however XXXX will not discuss price other than ancillary issues such as cost of renovations with the other party.
I (Mal) will issue all my thoughts on price via email and our reports – they will be identical save my comments on meeting your personal needs – you both have access to the full bid rating – it is exactly the same.
Any communication to the agent will see you all blind copied in.
Any communication on your specific price should no longer be via email as we have shared emails – all written amounts should now be via text.
Yes it is possible for advocates to see other client files – however there is no financial advantage in this instance to do so (See Point 13) and in fact there are now significant financial disadvantages to operate unethically (dismissal).
XXXX and XXXX will no longer talk price to each other on the above property (both XXXX and XXXX know it could be a dismissible offence – it is a separate and specific paragraph in their contracts) – both have roughly equal experience at auctions and boardroom auctions (that is why they have been chosen). If we go to a boardroom auction or auction or any other form of sale XXXX will be given a figure by one of you and XXXX the other. I (Mal) will be the only person that knows both figures – I need to know this in case we get into a difficult bidding/negotiation/pass-in situation. XXXX and XXXX will bid on your behalf until a purchase or a pass-in. You will be able to consult with XXXX in any situation as you normally would. You will be able to witness all negotiations if you so chose and it is appropriate.
It is important that you do not just focus on us – as I believe there will be other interest as well. Information says XXXX potential bidders maybe more.
We recognise this is stressful for you and we will commission a pest and building on both of your behalf’s (if you want one) – at shared costs. However it will be your pest and building not ours.. If you either or both of you don’t wish to share costs or do them then no problems.
You both are using different solicitors.
I/We will not discuss any details with you at any stage about the other party.
Commission: Irrespective of whoever is successful (if any of you are) our commission will be the same should both parties instruct us to bid above the reserve (the selling agent will nominate the reserve). We would charge the lowest. Eg if one of our clients was on a search and negotiate ( say 2%) and one on a negotiate only ( say 1%) then even if the search and negotiate client purchased our fee would be at the lower of 1%. In this special circumstance it is company policy to share all commissions equally should both parties instruct us to bid above the reserve. There are no financial advantages to advocates, but of course one of you still needs to purchase for the advocates to be paid – that is their financial incentive.
If we are to put an offer in from now to start the process you will both be advised to put the same offer in, however the initial and final offer amount and terms will be your choice. At this time and not before, we shall inform the selling agent there is multiple interest from us. If it is best offers we will submit both no matter what.
If we get into a negotiation stage not foreseen here – I will offer $1000 above the lower client’s final instructions on behalf of the higher client.
If something else unforeseen happens I (Mal) will first notify you via email and then talk to you on the phone.
Finally if all else fails we reserve the right to cease to work for any of you if we consider our involvement is not in your best interests.

Please there are some advantages to this

You know your competition is real
You will be told if the other party has dropped out
Shared pest and building costs if you so choose
Our services and experience and relationship with you

There are no industry (REIV) guidelines as such, so I (Mal) have copied this one letter into the REIV legal advisor. If you or he can see anything that requires change I will notify all parties. If you have any concerns about our company’s dealings with you in this matter please contact me and if not satisfied then him Peter Lowenstern at the REIV or the Complaints Dept at CAV.

Please feel free to consult your solicitor and show them this letter.

The REIV legal department, our company solicitor Chris Farrell and an independent solicitor Michael Pharr are aware of this procedure for managing conflict.

You will get a fair shake and our best efforts – absolutely no favouritism or wink and a nudge in this instance. But please you will in all likelihood still have to beat others.

Head Office

9 Hillcrest Ave
Brighton 3186
Ph: 03 9596 8822

James Home Ratings

313 Glenferrie Rd
Malvern 3144
Ph: 03 9804 3133

James Home Ratings

2/242 Lwr H'berg Rd
East Ivanhoe 3079
Ph: 03 9804 3133

James Home Ratings

5 Elizabeth St
Newport 3015
Ph: 03 9804 3133