dbd33

Because it's dry ?

Because you breed them there for the trade ?

Souvenir

I think you are probably right. The agent we used to both buy and sell in Oakville was clearly a pro and full-time committed to what she does. She even sent us a leaving present, which we were not expecting at all. I've no idea what her reputation is but I'd give her loads of karma. She slaughtered the part-timer who tried to drag the asking price down.

TrishP

Only one realtor in our area, so when it comes to buying, we dont have much of a choice!

dbd33

But then there's only one property for sale in Ear Falls/Red Lake. My, that does look like another world.

jcexit

In both the cases you mentioned, it sounds as if you and your brother bought fixer-uppers with the knowledge that that was what they were and doubtless both of you paid a price commensurate with the condition. Why use these instances to slight Realtors?

[QUOTE=dbd33] That's a part of the job we do. We also guide buyers through the selection and process of finding suitable properties in suitable neighbourhoods. We advise, inform and represent.

... except they don't have to worry about losing a license to practice selling televisions and cars or get sued or fined by a disciplinary committee or, for that matter, have to go through so much education before and after qualifying for a license. I imagine you are in a business similar to them?

Doesn't that go with the purchase of anything?

One of our basic duties even to a buyer customer is 'honesty'. If he mislead you about any details of the house take him to RECO. Had you have used a Realtor to act for you in this transaction I would put money on the fact that he would have seen any obvious faults.

How did you choose the inpector/s? Were you able to see his credentials? I use four and they really know their business ... and he should be very partial - to you the guy who hired him.

jcexit

Because its damp, and, well, yes, I do tend to pass a few along to needy Realtors. Naturally I keep the best for myself - do you have any idea how long it takes to train a spider to swim?

jcexit

Yes. The average Realtor gets about six transactions a year, mostly rentals and lower-priced houses so they're going to get a revenue of $20k-$30k. From that they have to deduct office fees, board fees, insurance costs, motor costs, advertising costs, etc. Violins please!

There are lots of part-timers, some have other full time jobs.

dbd33

Neither the house with no septic nor the one with no fuse box was sold as a fixer-upper. I have the mls listing for the latter here "Double garage. Great family home". It was unsafe as sold and an MG Midget won't fit in the garage but I'm not slighting the real estate agent. The agent's job is to shift houses, everyone knows the prose used is, ahem, creative, so I'd say glossing over an electrical fault or the lack of a working septic system is reasonable enough for the realtor. I am slagging inspectors as they sell the service of spotting the things the agent doesn't mention but in these instances they failed to do so.

I suppose the central disagreement we have here is that I believe estate agents act in their best interests, they want their commission, whereas you maintain that they have a higher calling and a duty of honesty. You are a real estate agent and someone who promotes your neighbourhood to potential emigrants without declaring an interest. I don't think real estate agents are particularly crooks but I do think you're gilding the lily.

iaink

I concur, I would have little faith in a realtor to point out the defects in a house I was interested in buying, as they would be potentially talking themselves out of 50% of the sellers commision, and I would be extremely carefull in selecting any inspector.

Cant really admonish JC for not declaring an interest when he used to have a link to his business on his early posts, and was admonished for touting for business as I recall!

jcexit

I earn my living being a Realtor. That very fact declares an obvious interest. Not only do I have to tell Buyers and Sellers what money I make or will make out of a purchase or sale because RECO demand that I do so, but I also have to declare any other fees I might make (like finders fees). I adhere very strictly to the Codes of Ethics because I don't want to lose my way of earning a living. I can do without paying fines. I promote this area because my company is based in Oakville and I live in Burlington. It would be daft for me to say promote Whitby and Ajax. The travelling would be awful. But more importantly I chose this area in which to live and work because I genuinely like it and it's a reasonable journey time to the airport and to many other places, including the countryside and lots of natural attractions. When involved in earning your living you are acting in your own interests.

Souvenir

Presumably he has been forgiven now that he has moved the link to his profile.

That photo reminds me of someone. "Men Behaving Badly"?

jcexit

[QUOTE=iaink]I concur, I would have little faith in a realtor to point out the defects in a house I was interested in buying, as they would be potentially talking themselves out of 50% of the sellers commission, and I would be extremely carefull in selecting any inspector.
[QUOTE]
If there is an obvious defect you will see it and you have the right to ask the listing Realtor about it. You are, after all, looking to buy the house, and should be looking for them. Once spotted you can always negotiate for them to be fixed by the seller at their expense before closing or have money held back to pay for the repair or replacement. You surely would not buy a car without checking it very closely for defects such as dents. If he is dishonest in his reply take him to RECO. If you ask him about the age of the roof and he tells you 5 years when it is actually 15 years then take him to RECO. Make sure you have someone with you to act as a witness.

Recently an inspector discovered that the electrical service was 60 amp and not 110 amp as advertised in the property details. I negotiated $2,000 to be abated from the agreed price on closing to correct this and some iffy amateur electrics.

What you must remember is that the listing agent has a legal contract with the seller to sell his home for as close to the agreed listing price as possible (or more) and with the best terms as possible - very good reason never to buy a property through the listing Realtor. This problem is the reason Buyer Agencies have become so popular. Buyer agents have a legal contract with the Buyer to find suitable properties; to find out as much information about the property in which the buyer is interested; and to negotiate price and terms as favourable to the Buyer as possible. A good Buyer Agent will spot all the obvious defects before the inspector gets there. There are some items which are difficult to judge and a 'good' inspector will suggest you get qualified specialists to give their opinions. A good example would be a furnace.

Hudman

Please dont slag Home Inspectors off. You hired him/her and didn't do homework!

dbd33

I suppose there's some merit to that argument but what homework should one do ? I used well known firms suggested by colleagues, I don't think one can do better than that. I suppose a cautious person might have two inspections done by different firms but that seems a bother. I suspect that National Home Inspection is a division of Royal LePage but, if it is, I don't know if that says they'd be a better or a worse choice where no LePage agent is involved.

I ran into spiderman last night, btw, he'd taken the Lakers-20, and so was in a grump but the gist of his comments on arachnid supply was that they're not farmed, he just picks them up as he goes house to house.

iaink

See, this is the problem.

I buy a house what, well so far once a lifetime. I am not an expert in what to look for, and obviously cannot talk about all the realtors out there, as I have so far only done this once here.

The buyers agent is getting well paid to show me round a few places and draw up the paperwork, and probably looks at more houses in a month than I will in a lifetime. I am expecting the realtor allegedly on my side to point out the obvious and not so obvious positive and negative features of a house that they will probably take a few thousand out of negotiating for on my behalf. The problem of the system is that the buying agents commision is based on the selling price, so it is obviously not in their interest to point out anything I can use to push the price down.

FWIW when I bought my place I wanted to put in a low offer, knowing the previous buyer had dropped out and the sellers were keen to go. My agent actually said not to go that low! I did anyway and the sellers accepted it.

Relying on the inspector is all very well, but by that point the buyer already has an offer in and a deposit down and its all additional hassle. Plus the inspector gets his money regardless of whether the sale goes ahead, and as has been pointed out by a number of posters here, inspectors are not well regulated and standards vary enormously.