If yes, a real estate agent?

If no, then how, how do you stipulate conditions etc?

Thanks.

You don't have to, but it is a good idea to do so as an accepted offer is a binding contract and if you mess it up, can cause a world of grief. Once an offer is accepted, a notary or lawyer do all the legal. Does not cost you for the agent, the seller pays that.

So the agent would be experienced (and trustworthy enough), Aviator?

Also, is it a good idea to use the property's selling agent, or an independent one?

Have a buyers agent, not the sellers agent. YOu need somebody in your corner, without a conflict of interest. The sellers agent wants the highest price for their client, your agent want to get you the best price (lowest).

As for their expertise, they should be, but like anything, there are good and not so good. Get a recommendation. Where are you located?

Vancouver, but we are thinking of looking around Coquitlam/Port Moody because house prices are ridiculous. Do you have a recommendation?

Not in that area, I am further up the valley. Find someone local to you where you are now and get them to help you. Realtors will travel to some degree. I have had some good ones and some useless ones. Some with lots of listings are not necessarily the best ones (they may be, but it is not a given), some seem to me to be listing agents, who are willing to let other agents do the legwork of selling and they pick up their commision for having the listing.

OK. I would have thought that a selling agent would be OK to deal with because they are keen to make the sale and get the full commission.

We use an agent now in North Vancouver but he seems to just want us to buy, not so fussed about prices.

What can one actually expect of a good agent?

I believe All Realtors accross the country has to sit exams. Use your own agent, they will take you to any house you want to see and negotiate on your behalf. The seller pays the agent.

Thanks Piff Poff

They do, but passing an exam does not make them a good realtor. Not unlike passing the bar makes a good lawyer or passing a driving test make you a good driver. All it shows is they know enough to pass an exam.

Personally I would never use the same agent as the seller, no matter what they tell you. How can they work impartially for two bosses? On the one hand the seller want the highest price and the buyer wants the lowest price. If you go into a negotiation with the agent knowing how low the seller will go and how high the buyer will go, it does not make for a good deal for either party, but as you say the realtor does at least make their full commission, so they come out OK.

If you don't like the realtor you are with, try another. I have changed more than once. I will also never sign a 'buyers agreement'. They can act for me or not, their choice, if they won't without an agreement signed, I find someone else who wants the money.

Thanks, Aviator.

we sold some country acreage in the Cariboo last year ............ the buyer decided to go with our agent, but I have to say that we both got a good deal out of it

Mind you, we did have one of the top agents in that area ........... we asked our friends who had property in the same region for their recommendations, and the guy we chose was first on everyone's list.

We met with him, and had an immediate rapport ......... he took time to find out what we wanted, and everything about the property.

It seems he did the same thing for the buyer


so in our case, the buyer using our agent worked out fine

Just for the sake of anyone else reading this thread, for completeness. It is possible to buy a place without using an agent. In our case we were buying the unit that we'd lived in for last 7 years. We did use a real estate lawyer to draw up the contract / offer though

+1.

I've bought & sold without an agent. Also used a buyer's agent (who failed to help me find what I was looking for, not entirely his fault).