Buyer Tenant Agency

Let's Talk
Menu
Buyer-side only. We never act for the seller.

Commercial property buyers agent, Perth-based and buying across Australia.

A deal can look great on paper, until you look closer. A commercial buyer’s agent works only for the buyer. We define what the property needs to achieve, search on and off market, test the tenant, lease, building and exit, then negotiate the price and terms with the selling agent. The seller’s agent works for the seller. We work for you.

Book my free 10-minute call
★5 star Google ratingREIWA Registered (RA 81266)Senior team

BTA is a licensed real estate buyer’s agency. We do not provide financial, taxation, SMSF, structuring or borrowing advice.

At a glance

What a commercial buyers agent does for you

Who we act for
Buyers onlyWe never act for the seller, and we take no payments from sellers, their agents or finance brokers.
Licence
REIWA registeredLicensed real estate buyer’s agency, RA 81266.
Based in
Perth, WABuying property here for more than a decade.
Where we buy
Across AustraliaPerth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and beyond.

Updated September 2026

Two pathways

What are you buying commercial property for?

There’s no single definition of the right commercial property. It depends on what you need the property to achieve.

Growing your investment portfolio?

You may already have residential property and be looking at commercial for different income, lease and portfolio characteristics. The opportunity can be attractive, but assessing commercial property requires a completely different approach. We help you understand the property, tenant, lease, location, risks and potential opportunities before you make your decision.

Buying a premises for your business?

Owning your business premises can give you greater control over its location and future, but you’re making an important decision: is it the right property for your business? We can help you make the right decision.

The problem

How commercial property differs from residential

Commercial property isn’t simply residential property with a higher purchase price. Different leases, tenants, lending requirements, vacancy periods, property types and operating costs can completely change whether a deal makes sense.

The yield looks attractive

A strong headline yield can immediately get your attention, but yield is only the starting point. Who is paying the rent, how secure is the lease, what expenses sit with the landlord, what happens when the current lease ends, and what could you need to spend on the property over the years ahead? The headline yield doesn’t tell you the whole story.

You’re trying to understand a commercial lease

Options, reviews, outgoings, make-good obligations, guarantees, incentives, assignments. The lease can have a significant impact on the property you’re buying, but most property buyers don’t spend every day reviewing commercial property and lease structures.

Vacancy becomes a very different risk

If a commercial tenant leaves, finding another tenant isn’t necessarily a matter of advertising the property next weekend. How desirable is the property to another business, how specialised is the fit-out, how long could re-leasing take, and what incentives might a new tenant expect? These are questions worth considering before you become the owner.

Different properties carry different risks

Industrial isn’t medical, medical isn’t retail, and retail isn’t office. A property that makes sense for one buyer, strategy or business may make very little sense for another.

You’re seeing the property through the seller’s sales campaign

Naturally, the campaign focuses on the opportunity: the yield, the tenant, the lease, the location. But before making a substantial commercial property purchase, you also need someone asking what could go wrong.

Covered walkway of a suburban commercial precinct
Residential to commercial

You may be experienced in residential property, but commercial can make you feel like a first-time buyer again.

You may already understand residential property. You’ve bought houses before, you’ve built equity, you understand tenants, property management and the residential market. Then you start investigating commercial property.

Suddenly you’re dealing with tenant covenants, lease options, outgoings, net yields, incentives, make-good clauses, zoning, capital expenditure and potentially much longer vacancy periods. That doesn’t mean commercial property needs to be overwhelming; it means you’re making a different property decision.

A commercial buyer’s agent gives you experienced representation on your side without requiring you to become a commercial property expert before you buy.

Considering whether commercial is your next move? Start with a conversation. We’ll discuss what you’re trying to achieve and whether our commercial property service is suited to what you’re looking for.

Book a free 10-minute call
Representation

Commercial buyer’s agent or commercial real estate agent: what’s the difference?

Every commercial property sale has someone representing the seller. Their job is to market the opportunity, generate buyer interest and achieve a successful result for their client, the vendor.

Their role isn’t to decide whether the property is right for you. It isn’t to question whether another asset might suit you better, and it isn’t to point out every reason you might decide not to buy. That’s why buyer-side representation matters.

We work for you. We help search for opportunities, assess the property, investigate the deal and negotiate the purchase with someone sitting firmly on your side of the transaction.

You don’t need another person telling you why the property is a good opportunity. You need someone working out where it isn’t.

Before you commit

What we check before you buy: tenant, lease, building, exit

The property that looks good today still needs to make sense after settlement. Before progressing with a commercial property, there are questions worth answering.

The tenant

Who is actually responsible for paying the rent, how strong is the underlying business, and how dependent is the property’s performance on that particular tenant?

The lease

How long remains, what options exist, how are rental increases structured, who pays the outgoings, and are there lease conditions that could affect the property later?

The building

What condition is it in, what capital expenditure could be coming, could future repairs, upgrades or compliance work materially affect the investment?

Vacancy

What happens if the current tenant leaves, how easy would the property be to re-lease, how specialised is the building and who is the next likely tenant?

The location

Does the location support the type of business occupying the property, what is changing nearby, could planning, infrastructure, development or market changes affect the property?

Your exit

One day you’ll want to sell. Who is likely to buy the property from you? A commercial property shouldn’t only make sense on the day you purchase it.

The difference

How a buyers agent changes your negotiating position

Buying on your own
With BTA
Finding opportunities
Buying on your own

Monitor commercial property portals, speak with agents and assess opportunities as they appear.

With BTA

Have a team actively working on your brief across on-market and off-market channels, speaking with commercial agents and narrowing the search to opportunities worth considering.

Understanding the opportunity
Buying on your own

Interpret the sales information and determine what matters.

With BTA

Have the property considered against your agreed objectives, including its strengths, weaknesses and relevant commercial fundamentals.

Assessing the tenant and lease
Buying on your own

Try to determine which tenant and lease characteristics could materially affect your purchase.

With BTA

Have those factors examined as part of the wider property assessment, alongside your legal and professional advisers where required.

Understanding value
Buying on your own

Use the asking price, yield and information available to judge whether the numbers stack up.

With BTA

Consider comparable transactions, market conditions, property fundamentals and the lease before entering negotiations.

Identifying risks
Buying on your own

Work through what could potentially go wrong after settlement.

With BTA

Ask the uncomfortable questions before you own the problem.

Negotiating
Buying on your own

Negotiate directly with an experienced commercial selling agent.

With BTA

Have someone representing your position throughout price and contract negotiations.

Our approach

A commercial property should make sense from every angle.

Finding the property is only the beginning. Before you buy, you need to understand the opportunity, the risk and what owning the property could actually look like. That’s why we assess commercial opportunities through three lenses.

01. What’s the upside?

Where could additional value potentially come from: rental growth, future lease changes, additional usable space, repositioning, improvements, a different use over time? We look beyond what the property is today and consider what opportunities may exist in the future.

02. What’s the downside?

What could hurt the property’s performance: tenant vacancy, unexpected capital expenditure, lease structures, building limitations, or changes in the local market. A commercial property shouldn’t only work when everything goes according to plan.

03. What’s the operational reality?

What will this property actually be like to own, how does the building function, how could it be re-leased, what could need improving, and how might a future buyer look at the same property when you eventually sell? We don’t simply ask whether you can buy the property, we ask whether the property makes sense for what you’re trying to achieve.

Property types

The commercial property types we buy

Every property type carries a different set of risks, so the questions change with the asset.

Industrial and warehouse

As an industrial property buyer’s agent, we look at access, clearance height, hardstand and how easily the next tenant could use the space.

Office

Tenant demand in that location, the building’s condition, and what a new tenant would expect by way of fit-out and incentives.

Retail and shopfronts

Foot traffic, the tenant’s trading strength, and how the precinct is changing.

Medical

How specialised the fit-out is, and how many other operators could use the building if the tenant left.

Long-lease national tenants

Childcare centres, fast-food sites and service stations, where the tenant’s strength and the remaining lease term matter as much as the yield.

Premises for your own business

Whether the building works for how you operate today and in five years.

Where we buy

Commercial buyers agent in Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and across Australia

We’re based in Perth, where we’ve bought property for more than a decade, but the right commercial property isn’t limited to one city. We start from what you need the property to achieve, and that decides where we look.

If you live interstate

Many of our clients live in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Adelaide and want to buy commercial property in Perth or regional Western Australia. You don’t need to fly over for every inspection or sit in on every call with the selling agent. We do that work here and keep you in the loop through the group chat.

If you want to buy interstate

Some investors, Perth-based ones included, find the property that suits their objectives in another market. We can search and assess commercial property in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and other markets, using the same questions about the tenant, the lease, the building and the exit. For interstate purchases, we work with a network of people who assist with inspections and local checks.

If your business needs premises in another state

Business owners buying premises can be anywhere too. If your business needs premises in another state, we can search and assess there.

Investors

Looking beyond residential property? Don’t just buy a commercial property, buy with an objective.

For many investors, moving into commercial property is about what they want the next stage of their portfolio to achieve. Perhaps you’re looking for different income characteristics, longer lease structures, a larger asset, an opportunity to add value, or simply a different way to deploy the equity you’ve already built.

Whatever the reason, the starting point shouldn’t be “what commercial property can I buy?” It should be “what do I need this property to achieve?”

Mixed-material commercial mid-rise

From there, we can define the types of properties worth investigating.

Cash flow characteristics

How does the rental income, lease and property structure align with what you’re trying to achieve?

Tenant strength

Who is paying the rent and what could happen if that changes?

Lease structure

How long is the lease, how does the rent change and what conditions could affect you as the owner?

Property fundamentals

Does the building, location and asset type make sense beyond the current tenancy?

Future potential

Is there a genuine opportunity to improve the property, increase usable space, reposition it or strengthen its future appeal?

Exit

When the time eventually comes to sell, who is likely to want the property?

Commercial won’t be appropriate for every investor. If we don’t believe our service or the commercial market is suited to what you’re looking for, we’re prepared to say so.

Commercial office and warehouse unit
Business owners

Buying premises for your business? You’re not simply buying a building.

The right premises needs to work for the business operating inside it. That means looking beyond whether you like the property today.

Does the location work?

For your customers, your employees, transport, suppliers and logistics.

Does the building work?

Can it accommodate the way you operate, what modifications are needed, can you actually use it for what you intend?

Can your business grow there?

The perfect property for today might become a constraint in five years. We help you consider what the business may need next.

What if your circumstances change?

Could the property be leased to somebody else, how specialised is it, would another business want the same premises?

Are you making a property decision or an emotional business decision?

When you’ve been searching for months, it’s easy to convince yourself that a building is “close enough”. Our role is to help keep the property decision objective. The right premises should support the business you’re building, not restrict it.

Your accountant, solicitor and other professional advisers should provide advice on ownership structures, taxation and related matters.

How it works

Our process from first call to settlement

You don’t need to know exactly what property you should buy before speaking with us; that’s part of the process.

01

Tell us what you’re trying to achieve

We start with a conversation about where you’re at. For investors, that may include your existing portfolio, available capital, objectives and timeline. For business owners, it may include your operational requirements, location, budget and future plans. If we’re not the right fit, we’ll tell you.

02

Define what the right property looks like

We turn your objectives into a commercial property brief: asset type, location, budget, property characteristics, investment or business requirements, and the factors that would make us say no to a property.

03

Search the market

We work across on-market and off-market channels and speak with commercial property agents to identify opportunities aligned with your brief. You don’t need to review every commercial property that hits the market, you need to see the ones worth your attention.

04

Investigate the opportunity

Once we’ve identified a property worth considering, we look deeper: the tenant, the lease, the building, the market, potential capital expenditure, opportunities, risks, and what could happen if circumstances change.

05

Negotiate the purchase

If you decide to proceed, we represent you in the negotiation. We negotiate price and relevant commercial terms with the selling agent on your behalf.

06

Settlement and handover

Our involvement doesn’t stop once your offer is accepted. We stay involved through settlement and can help coordinate the relevant parties involved in the handover.

Real buyer stories

Different buyers. Different objectives.

There isn’t one type of commercial property that works for everybody. These examples show how different buyers required very different commercial property strategies.

First commercial purchase

“We were ready to move beyond residential.”

Purchase$650,000
Net yield at purchase5.8%
Lease5 years + 5-year option, CPI + 3% annual increases

The buyer

An experienced residential investor purchasing commercial property for the first time.

The situation

The buyer already owned three residential properties and had approximately $200,000 in available equity. They wanted to investigate commercial property without unnecessarily stretching the rest of their portfolio.

The property secured

The property was selected to fit the buyer’s available capital and stated objectives while giving them their first exposure to commercial property.

Value-add

“We wanted an opportunity where we could actively add value.”

Purchase$1.2 million
Net yield at purchaseapproximately 5.5%
StrategyMezzanine level, approximately 20% extra usable floor area

The buyer

An established investor with capital available beyond the purchase price who wanted more than a passive buy-and-hold property.

The opportunity

The building’s internal height provided an opportunity to potentially add a mezzanine level, increasing usable floor area by approximately 20%.

What we did

Before the purchase progressed, the opportunity was assessed around the additional space, potential rental implications and the effect the proposed works could have on the property.

Long-term income

“We wanted long-term income without constantly managing the asset.”

Net yield at purchaseapproximately 6%
Lease10+ years
TenantNational brand
Rental structureFixed annual increases

The buyer

An investor seeking a longer lease and established national tenant.

Why this deal worked for them

For this buyer, the objective wasn’t simply chasing the highest possible yield. The strength of the tenant, remaining lease term and what could happen at the end of the lease were central to the assessment.

These examples are anonymised BTA transactions. Figures, yields and lease terms reflect the transactions at the time of purchase. Property markets, rents, yields and individual circumstances change. Past results do not guarantee future performance. BTA does not provide financial advice. For more anonymised BTA commercial work see the BTA commercial portfolio →

Part of the Buyer Tenant Agency team
Our team

A commercial purchase needs several skills working at the same time.

Henry Chau

Henry Chau

Agency Principal

Juan Pablo

Juan Pablo

Lead Analyst & Operations

Tony Nguyen

Tony Nguyen

Acquisitions

Riana Venter

Riana Venter

Buyer’s Agent

Commercial property requires different perspectives.

Research, property analysis, market knowledge, negotiation and understanding how the property works all shape the decision. That’s why your purchase is supported by a team rather than relying on one person to do everything.

Together, the team brings valuation and acquisition experience, and structured commercial property analysis, to the same purchase. And there’s one important difference in who we work for: you’re our client. We don’t take kickbacks from selling agents, vendors or finance brokers.

Our senior team, in one conversation with you.

What is it like having someone on your side?

★★★★★
5.0111 reviews
★★★★★
“Henry is one of the best human we came across. He has a brilliant team. Their exceptional market knowledge and outstanding communication skills have helped us…”
JalJey Patel · Google review
★★★★★
“Henry was fantastic throughout our property purchase experience. Henry was incredibly attentive, and was patient in showing us listings that fit our requirements…”
Sahel Haria · Google review
★★★★★
“Working with Henry at Buyer Tenant Agency was an absolute pleasure from start to finish. His deep knowledge of the property market…”
Richard Yaw · Google review
Read all reviews on Google

These reviews are published by our clients on Google and cover our work across the business. Individual circumstances and outcomes differ.

REIWA Member Top Ten Buyers Agents Awards 2024 REIWA Awards for Excellence 2022 Finalist - Buyers Agent of the Year APDI - Applied Property Development Institute

Questions about buying commercial property?

A commercial buyer’s agent represents the buyer during the search for and purchase of commercial property. At BTA, this includes understanding what you’re trying to achieve, defining the property brief, searching for opportunities, assessing shortlisted properties, investigating relevant commercial property factors and negotiating with the selling agent on your behalf. Most importantly, we’re working for you, not the vendor.
A commercial real estate agent is usually engaged by the seller to market the property and get the best result for them. A commercial buyer’s agent is engaged by the buyer. We search, assess and negotiate for you, and we don’t take payments from sellers or their agents.
No. Many commercial buyers already understand property but have less experience with commercial property specifically. Our job is to help you understand the opportunities you’re considering so you can make a more informed decision without needing to become a commercial property specialist yourself.
Yes. Residential investors moving into commercial property are an important part of BTA’s commercial work. The assessment process is different because factors such as tenant quality, lease structures, vacancy, building characteristics and commercial market conditions become particularly important.
Yes. We can help business owners search for and assess commercial premises against their property and operational requirements. You’ll still need appropriate advice from your accountant, solicitor and other professional advisers regarding ownership structures, tax and related matters.
Our search can include both on-market and off-market opportunities. We also maintain relationships with commercial selling agents and actively work the market against your brief rather than simply waiting for suitable listings to appear online.
Every opportunity is different, but our assessment considers the factors relevant to that particular property and your objectives. This can include the tenant, lease, building, location, market, comparable transactions, potential capital expenditure, vacancy considerations, opportunities to add value and potential exit considerations. We look at the upside, downside and operational reality rather than relying on headline yield alone.
No. BTA provides commercial property buyer representation. We do not provide financial, taxation, SMSF, structuring or borrowing advice. Your accountant, financial adviser, solicitor and finance professional should provide advice specific to your circumstances.
Commercial lending requirements vary significantly depending on the property, lender, lease, borrower and transaction. Rather than relying on a generic deposit figure, we recommend discussing your borrowing position with an appropriately qualified commercial finance professional before committing to a purchase. We can then work within the property parameters established with you and your advisers.
Commercial property has different risks. Lease structures, tenant concentration, longer potential vacancy periods, building characteristics and changing business demand can all influence a commercial property differently from residential property. That’s why understanding the downside is just as important as understanding the potential return.
You have someone on your side of the deal who checks the tenant, lease, building and exit before you commit, searches beyond the listings you would find yourself, and negotiates the price and terms with the selling agent. For most buyers the biggest benefit is seeing the risks clearly before they own them.
Yes. We’re based in Perth and buy across Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. We work with interstate clients buying in Perth and Western Australia, and with clients buying in other states, whether that’s an investment property or premises for their business.
It depends on the property type, the budget and how much work the search and assessment need. We go through it on the first call, once we understand what you’re looking for, so the cost reflects what the search and assessment actually need, not a flat rate.
It can be done, but whether it suits you depends on lending, tax and structuring questions that sit outside what we advise on. Speak to your accountant, solicitor and a commercial finance professional first. Once the structure is settled, we find and assess properties that fit it.
Related:Commercial tenant representationCommercial portfolioSMSF property purchasesContact us
Get in touch

You don’t need to know everything about commercial property. You need the right people asking the right questions before you buy.

Whether you’re moving from residential property into commercial investment or searching for premises for your business, start with a conversation.

Tell us what you’re trying to achieve. We’ll discuss what you’re looking for, where you’re at and whether we think BTA can help.

OfficeSuite 3679, 202/37 Barrack St, Perth WA 6000

Buyer Tenant Agency provides buyer’s agent and tenant representation services. We are not financial advisers and do not advise on SMSF setup, structuring, taxation, borrowing capacity or whether commercial property is appropriate for your personal circumstances. Information provided is general in nature and should not be considered financial, legal or taxation advice.

By submitting, KH Group (AU) Pty Ltd (trading as Buyer Tenant Agency, ABN 30 654 336 179) will collect your details to respond to your enquiry and may send you related BTA market updates. We don’t sell or share your details with third-party marketers. You can unsubscribe at any time. See our Privacy Policy. We aim to email you a calendar link inside one business day.

Let's Help You Find Your Ideal Property

Our team are specialists in property purchasing, with years of experience in locating, negotiating, and managing all your property purchasing needs.