Zap0ne

Realtors do not set the price the Seller does.

Surrey Expat

Realtors research the prices and using their knowledge suggest a price to the seller, it is up to the seller to decide what they ultimately market the property for.

Be cautious of home inspectors. they are unregulated and pretty much are not responsible for their findings if they get it wrong. It is a nightmare if you have to go to litigation with one. Get recommendations from several other people who have used a particular inspector. A building inspector is not the same as a home inspector. Building inspectors work for the city building department, inspecting new construction, they are not involved in home buying or selling.

We have used an agent who also represented the seller. Realtors are regulated, so have codes of conduct to adhere to, or risk losing their license. By using the same agent we managed to negotiate an extra few thousand off the price, which the agent covered. When the same agent is involved they get 100% of the commission, when there are two they split it. We asked for the split bit and got it, or we would have walked away.

Paradisefound

Is this true?

geedee

Is the post above this a bot?


With the impasse I'm going through (seller doesn't appear to want to budge) I'm thinking of getting a Bank Valuation done. There's a huge difference between Municipal valuation and asking. Surely a Bank Valuation will be the final word? If it's significantly lower, it's got to be a good tool?

Ontheboatout

Yes, but based on the information given by the Realtor. We had four valuations from different Realtors and one was $100,000 out because they missed some factors out in their comparison.

I agree about Home Inspectors but we seem to have found a good one who is in the process of discussion with Nova Scotia to form a regulatory body, education and licensing.

Realtors earn their commission as far as I can see as they take great liability and do much of the solicitors work. They seem well regulated in Nova Scotia.

I think the MLS is a great system in Canada - in the US it is deregulated and there are multiple MLS sites to search through.

Surrey Expat

Bank valuation is pretty pointless as a gauge of market price, other than for financing. The banks valuation will only indicate there is sufficient value in the property to cover the financing should you default. You could hire an independent valuer, however if the seller does not want to budge, why waste the money? If the valuer says it is worth less but the seller won't take it, what have you achieved? The bank only have the final word if they are forcing a sale, otherwise the seller has the final word.

City valuation does not often reflect the current market price a property. The only way to gauge it is to view a number of similar properties and make you own mind up. Even then if the seller won't budge, that does not help much either.

One option is to make an offer and walk away if they decline, who knows you may call their bluff. On the other hand they may let it go. Do you want to buy more than they want to sell? This is market forces.

Ontheboatout

Do you know what the charge is for that kind of appraisal?

geedee

Bank valuation is pretty pointless as a gauge of market price, other than for financing. The banks valuation will only indicate there is sufficient value in the property to cover the financing should you default. You could hire an independent valuer, however if the seller does not want to budge, why waste the money? If the valuer says it is worth less but the seller won't take it, what have you achieved? The bank only have the final word if they are forcing a sale, otherwise the seller has the final word.

City valuation does not often reflect the current market price a property. The only way to gauge it is to view a number of similar properties and make you own mind up. Even then if the seller won't budge, that does not help much either.

One option is to make an offer and walk away if they decline, who knows you may call their bluff. On the other hand they may let it go. Do you want to buy more than they want to sell? This is market forces.


Fair comment. Just thought it might help their agent see sense. 19 months and no sale doesn't seem to!

Do you know what the charge is for that kind of appraisal?

I've not looked into it yet, but I would have thought about 500 bucks tops?

Surrey Expat

Unfortunately when dealing with people selling houses, some people just don't see reason. We looked at a property 10 years ago, the price seemed way over the top and it did not sell. It is back on the market, way over the top again. I guess a few sellers hope some mug will come along and pay it.

geedee

That seems about right. It also depends how "motivated" they are. If they can afford to hang on, can't blame them really. We all want the best deal, whether selling or buying!

Zap0ne

A bank valuation normally is only to verify that the loan to value ratio is within the banks risk tolerance. They will contract an Acredited Appraiser. You can employ this person directly as they do not work for the bank and the bank will charge you what it costs anyway.

An Appraiser values property using three methods....you don't want to know....anyway the upshot is that it is normally below the market value of the property because it is not good at assessing the emotional or desire part of the neighbourhood market.

The Municipal valuation is only for the purpose of taxing the property. You want this number to be low. It really has no bearing on the actual market value of the property.

Does this summarise this a little?

geedee

Yes, it does. Thanks.

I was just thinking that if a vendor had been persuaded by his agent that his house was worth "X", and it hadn't sold for a very long time, then a potential purchaser came along and said the Bank thinks it's worth "Y"..... it might help move peoples perceptions to a common ground....

Zap0ne

hi geedee,

Is this the only place for sale?

Sometimes heart wins over the head! Frustrating I know.

Sutherlands

We just bought here in Ontario (GTA), we got 10k off the asking price and then all appliances added on top..

Our realtor even got for us to see, a listing of what the house has sold for and to who since it was built, (12 years old), shows you how much it cost at day one and how much it had gone up over the 12 years, also who had made the most money ect on it..

Zap0ne

Yes, we have access to the ‘other’ side. The mls.ca is a window if you like into the database that we use and contribute to. We have access to the current, the solds and the expired listings for both purchase and lease. This information is invaluable to you as the buyer or the seller when making a decision. Solds are a good indication of market value at the time of a sale and the expired listings are an indication of the price that is considered over market value for the condition or location of the property. Always ask for a CMA report (Competitive Market Analysis) from your realtor before making an offer or selling. We also have access to the land registry that is also a good indicator of the general area statistically and also can give you a sales history on the property.