The Rising Report #10 – Buyers Agent Benefits: Save Time & Maximize Returns with Expert Help

Meet James, a busy Sydney professional with a penchant for doing things himself. On any given weekend, you might find him in the yard pushing a mower, up a ladder cleaning gutters, or scouring real estate websites late into the night hunting for that perfect investment property. It’s part of the Australian way – a bit of DIY, a bit of “she’ll be right.” But recently, James found himself stretched thin. One Saturday, as he juggled mowing the lawn and analysing property data (while missing his kid’s soccer game), he had to ask: Is doing all this myself really worth it?

He’s not alone. We’ve all faced the Delegate-or-DIY dilemma in some form. Maybe you’re wondering if you should deep-clean your house or hire a cleaner, fix the leaking tap or call the plumber, manage your investment property solo or get professional help. It’s a balancing act between saving money and saving time (and sanity).

The calculus isn’t always obvious, many of us default to DIY to avoid spending cash, without realising we might be spending something even more precious: our time and potential earnings.

The Framework That Changed Everything

Let’s walk through a little mental model, a framework James used, that can clarify these decisions. You don’t need an MBA or a calculator on hand, just a bit of honest input. The idea is to weigh what you put into a task (time, effort, risk) against what you’d have to pay someone else to do it. Sounds simple, but seeing it in numbers can be eye-opening.

James started with a straightforward question: “What is my time worth?” He figured out his effective hourly rate, essentially, what an hour of his time yields in value. Between his salary and side gigs, an hour of focused work was worth about $100 to him.

That’s the benchmark.

Next, he listed a few tasks on his plate:

• Mowing the Lawn: Takes 2 hours. A gardening service would charge $120 for it.
• Cleaning the House: Takes 3 hours. A cleaner’s rate: ~$180 for a full clean.
• Researching Investment Properties: He was spending 10+ hours a week on this, on top of his day job. He hadn’t put a dollar figure on it, but it was taking entire weekends. A buyer’s agent he spoke to would charge about $20,000 to handle the heavy lifting of finding a great property, which sounded expensive – until he did the math.

Doing the Maths: The Real Cost of “Free” Work

For each task, James quietly did the calculation: hours it takes × his $100/hr value.

• Mowing: 2 hours × $100/hr = $200 of his time. Versus paying $120. Ouch.
• Cleaning: 3 hours × $100 = $300 of his time. Versus paying $180. Hmm…
• Property research: 10 hours a week × $100 = $1,000 of his time per week. Multiply by 3 months of searching and 2 months to settle, and we’re talking easily $20,000+ worth of time. Versus an agent who could likely do it faster and get a better deal.

This was a lightbulb moment. By putting a dollar value on his own time, James saw the hidden cost of “free” DIY. In two of the cases, he was effectively spending far more than the service fee to do it himself. No wonder he was feeling burnt out! And he hadn’t even factored in another kicker: the risk of not doing it as well as a pro.

For the lawn and cleaning, the “risk” part is trivial – what’s the worst if he missed a spot vacuuming? But for the property investment, the stakes are high. Buying the wrong property or negotiating poorly could cost tens of thousands. James remembered reading a story of an investor who went DIY and overpaid by $200,000 on a house, whereas a buyer’s agent likely would have saved them money. Suddenly that agent’s fee didn’t seem so bad – it could even pay for itself by preventing a mistake.

In fact, a survey showed 30% of DIY home projects end up overshooting budgets due to unforeseen issues. Imagine that kind of statistic applied to a property purchase – that’s a risk James needs to take seriously.

What He Decided (And Why It Made Sense)

Armed with this perspective, James systematically went through the Delegate-or-DIY framework for each decision:

• For the lawn: His time cost ($200) was way above the gardener’s $120. Skill wasn’t an issue – he’s perfectly capable of mowing – but it did take time away from things he’d rather do. Decision? Hire the gardener and enjoy Saturday morning with the kids instead of sweating behind a mower. It was practically a no-brainer once he saw the math.

• For the house cleaning: Time cost ($300) vs cleaner’s cost $180. Again, economically it favored delegating. However, James kind of liked the light workout and puttering around the house with music on while cleaning – it helped him destress. So this one was a closer call. In the end, he decided to delegate the deep cleaning every two weeks, but still do quick tidy-ups himself in between. A hybrid solution that bought him some time back without entirely giving up a routine he found oddly therapeutic.

• For property investing: This was the big one. Time cost was astronomical, and the risk of messing it up even more so. Yes, $20k is a lot of money, but when he considered that he was effectively on track to sink 100+ hours (worth $10k of time) into the search and could still end up with an inferior deal, the equation was clear. By delegating much of the legwork to a buyer’s agent, he wouldn’t stop being involved – he’d still make the decisions – but he’d free up countless hours and gain an expert’s insight. The likely outcome: a better property at a better price, with far less stress. As one property expert put it, using an agent lets you “leverage someone else’s experience” and avoid costly mistakes. In James’s case, that peace of mind and improved outcome were easily worth the fee. Decision: hire the buyer’s agent and focus his own efforts on his job (where his time yields more value) and on his family.

The DIY Decoder: A Mental Model Worth Stealing

After going through this process, James felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He jokingly referred to the framework as his “DIY Decoder.” Anytime he’s unsure, he now runs the numbers and asks:

• What’s my time worth?
• What’s the real cost if I do this myself?
• What am I risking if I don’t get it right?

It has led to some changes: his lawn looks just as neat but he hasn’t touched a mower in months, his weekends have actual downtime, and he’s on track to close on a fantastic investment property that he probably wouldn’t have found on his own.

For us at Rising Returns, this story is very relatable. We often meet clients who, like James, are initially hesitant about delegating aspects of their property investment journey. It’s natural – there’s a sense of control in DIY, and an upfront fee can make anyone pause. But when you take a step back and view it through the lens of time, expertise, and risk, it frequently tilts in favour of getting help, especially for high-value, high-consequence endeavours.

What Savvy Investors Understand

Think of it this way: You delegate not because you can’t do something, but because doing it might not be the best use of your resources. Your most finite resource is time. Would you rather spend that extra 100 hours wading through listings and negotiating contracts, or would you prefer to spend it building your career, enjoying your life, and letting a seasoned professional pave the way to a solid investment?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but there is a guiding principle: do what you do best, and bring in others for the rest. Savvy investors apply this principle all the time – it’s how they scale and succeed.

In day-to-day life, this might mean outsourcing your accounting or cleaning. In property investing, it can mean using experts like buyer’s agents, mortgage brokers, or property managers to enhance your outcomes. Not because you’re not smart enough to DIY, but because it’s smart not to spread yourself too thin.

As James discovered, delegating strategically doesn’t cost you in the long run – more often, it pays you back in saved time, avoided errors, and better results.

So next time you find yourself staring down a project or decision and feeling that familiar DIY or delegate tug-of-war, try James’s DIY Decoder: write down the hours, put a value on your time, factor in the risk, and see what the scales say. You might be surprised. Often, the real luxury isn’t saving a bit of money doing it all yourself – it’s freeing up time and headspace to focus on what truly matters, whether that’s growing your wealth, learning a new skill, or just catching the Sunday footy match without a worry in the world.

After all, working smarter (not just harder) is the name of the game – in property investing and in life.

Happy investing, and remember: you don’t have to do it all alone. 💡

Quick Self-Assessment Checklist

To wrap up, here’s a quick checklist you can use to apply the Delegate-or-DIY framework on the fly. Next time you’re debating whether to take on a task yourself or hand it off, run through these points:

1. 🕒 Calculate Your Time Value: Determine your Effective Hourly Rate (EHR). (If unsure, use income ÷ hours worked, or just ask “what’s an hour of my time worth to me?”)
2. ⏱ Estimate Task Time: Honestly estimate how many hours the task will take you. Include learning, prep, and potential rework time if you’re not experienced.
3. 💰 Compute Time Cost: Multiply hours (Step 2) by your EHR (Step 1). This is the implicit cost of your time to DIY.
4. 📋 Add DIY Expenses: List any out-of-pocket costs for doing it yourself (materials, tools, etc.). Add this to the time cost for a Total DIY Cost.
5. ⚠️ Assess Risk & Stakes: Ask: What could go wrong if I DIY, and how bad would that be? If there’s a meaningful chance of an expensive mistake or poor outcome, factor that in. (In numeric terms: Risk cost = likelihood of screw-up × cost of screw-up.) If it’s low-risk or easily fixable, you can treat this as negligible.
6. 🏷 Get Outsource Cost: Find out the price to hire a professional or delegate the task. (Get a quote or use typical rates.)
7. ⚖️ Compare objectively: Which is higher – Adjusted DIY Cost (Step 3+4+5) or Outsource Cost (Step 6)? Whichever is lower is the pure economic winner.
   • If DIY cost exceeds hire cost ⇒ Lean towards Delegate.
   • If DIY cost is lower than hire cost ⇒ It’s cheaper to DIY (provided you can do it well).
   • If they’re about equal ⇒ Go with personal preference or slight qualitative factors.
8. 🔧 Consider Capability: Reality-check the DIY option – do you have the skills/tools to do a quality job? If not, the risk and time might be higher than you thought (lean delegate). If yes, great – you’re more likely to succeed at DIY.
9. ⏳ Consider Time Value: Could you use the saved time more effectively? If hiring out frees you to earn more money than it costs, or to do something important, that tilts towards delegating. If you’d otherwise be idle or you welcome the activity, DIY is more attractive.
10. 😊 Factor in Enjoyment (if needed): Finally, in close calls, weigh how you feel about the task. If you love it or want the experience, that’s a vote for DIY. If you loathe it, that’s a vote for outsourcing. Just keep this for the end so emotions don’t cloud the core calculation.
11. ✅ Make the Call: Choose Delegate or DIY based on the above. Once decided, embrace it – either schedule the task and maybe set a timer (if DIY) or book the service (if delegating) and enjoy the benefits of a weight off your shoulders.

Using this checklist, you can quickly self-assess any task. It turns an internal debate into a series of answerable questions. The result is a more informed decision you can feel confident about. No more nagging feeling of “Should I have just paid someone?” or vice versa – you’ll know you made the choice that maximizes your time, money, and peace of mind.

Remember, the goal is to allocate your time and energy where they’re most effective, and spend your money where it yields the most return (or joy!).

Whether it’s mowing the lawn, cleaning the house, or investing in property, this framework helps ensure you’re doing the right tasks yourself and smartly delegating the rest. In the long run, that leads to better outcomes and a happier, more productive you.

Next Step: Speak With a Strategic Property Advisor

At Rising Returns we specialise in helping investors navigate market cycles with precision.

Whether you are planning your next portfolio move, assessing property purchases, or reviewing your buyer’s agency agreement, our team can help you make the right decisions in a fast shifting market.

📞 Call us now or book a strategy session online to take advantage of this new policy landscape before competition intensifies.