Re: realtors......would a British estate agent system do well here
 

Our next move should be downsizing so I will see when that happens. I may even sell privately by owner :)

Re: realtors......would a British estate agent system do well here
 

The realtor business is an easy entry business; unlike a dentist, doctor and so on, where 4/5 years of study is required and that's just the ticket to get in!
I think the realtors are paid to much and that their profession is not commensurate with their efforts or perceived education.

Realtors are saleman; that's it and nothing else, nothing wrong in that. The legal part of the sale should be on the shoulders of an appointed lawyer and the survey/inspection side should be undertaken by a qualified surveyor.

I'm proceeding with the purchase of a property on VI. The realtor pulled the title and was talking me through it's contents, it took me 30 seconds to realise he was full of sh*t and had no idea what most of the content actually meant. In fairness I do have some knowledge in this area, and spend half my days trawling through similar documents, however your normal punter would be none the wiser..."Leave it to a lawyer"!

This numpty will get a share of $75,000.00 for his incompetence..nice money if you can get it...

Re: realtors......would a British estate agent system do well here
 

No idea how long it takes to do the realtor exams from a position of knowing nothing. Assume it's 6mos or so, but that's a total guess.

Re: realtors......would a British estate agent system do well here
 

But that doesn't make for easy entry. The months, perhaps years, of not making a living wage is a barrier to entry.

Re: realtors......would a British estate agent system do well here
 

I will next time YCD. We will downsize next too. My neighbour has just sold his for $370,000 ( quite expensive for around here ) and it cost him $750 with Prop Guys. He still has the same legal fees as he would if using a R/E but has saved himself some $30,000.

It sold within 6 weeks.

Re: realtors......would a British estate agent system do well here
 

The fees are certainly huge! More people are computer savvy these days too so advertising online will still attract lots of potential buyers. The Dignans bought there home in a private sale. :)

Re: realtors......would a British estate agent system do well here
 

Agreed

Re: realtors......would a British estate agent system do well here
 

Yep, for the most part, agreed with you. I can't stand the cheesy photos they put on the signs! When i had my house on the market i went with a chap who didn't do all that. Some of the viewer's agents (another concept i struggle with) were a total joke. Clueless!!! Even my realtor couldn't believe it. Turning up for appointments 2 hours late and thinking it's OK not to call.

I've heard some bad things about Re/max .... well Remax quebec anyways. They like to bleed their staff to the bone.

Re: realtors......would a British estate agent system do well here
 

I would be interested too, in my own thoughts on the process and costs if I was paying the bill :sneaky:

I have a generally positive view of the realtor I used when I purchased - he worked hard for me, gave me many, many hours of his time and was still working at 11.30pm on the day of the offer - and assisted with (what I felt to be) good points about houses I viewed, and the one I eventually bought. However, I suspect he picked up about $12k +++ for that work. Not a bad return on his time.

I'm not sure that I would be loyal to use him for selling my home.

The selling realtor gets a bad rap because, after writing up the details of the house - sometimes poorly - and placing the house on Realtor.ca, they are often not really seen to do much else. Is there any positive marketing, local papers, open days, etc, etc? And they likewise pick up the other half of the commission.

BUT the realtors here pay a significant sum to learn their trade, pay significant sums to Real Estate offices to work legally, need insurance, pay fees to Realtor.ca, the usual car and petrol costs, and as a Buyer's Agent, invest in tons and tons of hours of work before finally closing a sale. I've considered it as a job, but I would not be dedicated enough on the hours required to build up the business!

I worked in an estate agents office in the UK for a year. The guys there were salesmen. Not professional nor specifically educated - some were great, skilled, honest and good at their job and worked their butts off. Others were bumbling fools and liars to boot. Seemed a bit hit and miss.

The North American system works here because it has worked here for decades and people will and do pay the fees.

The UK residents would not pay those enormous fees.

The way of the website-based sell-your-own systems will continue to gain ground I suspect.

Re: realtors......would a British estate agent system do well here
 

... as it should be.

It's a pity tesco never did this. Would love to see wal-mart or costco do something similar here - the potential is there for sure as the margins are huge.

Re: realtors......would a British estate agent system do well here
 

Sorry for being so ignorant but has the real estate selling buisness changed in the UK in recent years.

When we sold our house 7 years ago, our estate agent phoned us up and said there is a showing at ...such a time. We would then stay in and show the house to the prospective buyers. After 6 days we had an offer, but it was my husband and the buyer who talked on the phone. There was no deposit and we could not set a date for moving until two weeks before!! hence due to a mess up by someone down the line, we had to book flights and emigrate before the house was sold. The agent for his 1.5% put the ad in the paper for one week, took a few photos and sat back and collected the money, We did not see him on moving out day, no thankyou card or leaving gift.

No flyers were put around the area, it was not advertised on an national site, no open houses, bascially very little.

As for when we brought, we had to look in the paper and find a house that we liked and then phone the agent to make a showing and go our selves to see it and then make an offer on what we thought was best, no evaluation of what houses in the area had sold for.


When we moved here and brought our current house our realtor picked us up and drove us to several houses. She was able to show us any house which was for sale. She was able to find out what local houses had sold for and whether the house we brought was over priced or not. Do they do that in the UK yet or do you still have to contact every agent asking them what they have for you?

From what i remember and it may have changed in recent years, real estate agents did very little for their little money, and a house was never sold until the day you moved out and the money was in the bank.

There is also an awful lot of realtors. Here in Cochrane they say there is about 100 realtors, and if you are not good and doing a good service then there are another 99 realtors who will take your client and sell their house for you.


I am a licensed realtor and it just seems to me that we do earn more per deal, but there is much more competition so we have to do a good job. It also seems that we do a lot more to earn our money.

Re: realtors......would a British estate agent system do well here
 

Well I am completely inexperienced in Canadian Reality Market except for our recent purchase, but our Realtor worked her behind off for us! We met her initially in the UK at an Expo, we kept in contact, and she arranged for free tickets to a Expo this year. We were in constant contact, once we knew received our paperwork, we wrote a list of requirements that we wanted and sent it to her, she checked out the market and location and sent us links to houses that fitted our criteria. We choose some that we wanted to view, she vetted them to make sure the location was appropriate for us. Once we had landed she came and picked us up, drove us to each property, was realistic about neighborhoods, location etc. She arranged a second viewing that day for us, she walked us through the whole process, she sorted out the offer so that we could put it in that day, she drove us back to the property, she explained what was happening with the offer. Offer accepted:D she arranged an inspection for a day later.............Yes I understand we are not paying for her time the seller is, but for us she was a gem and believe me you wouldn't get that service in the UK in my experience.

Re: realtors......would a British estate agent system do well here
 

It never ceases to amaze me how often one hears that people are amazed that realtors drive them to houses, etc.

I have said it before and I will say it again, in 10 years of legal practice in England, I never sued an estate agent on behalf of a client. In Canada I am asked to do so on a monthly basis.

I understand that a Grade 12 education is the only educational requirement for entry. I am sure that, sometimes, they work long hours and that competition is fierce. Whether they are worth the fees they charge is for the payor of those fees to determine.

Re: realtors......would a British estate agent system do well here
 

They get sued here because they are accountable, and are expected to act professionally, so if they don't people sue (In the UK Estate Agents only advertise the property).

They also get sued because they have professioanal liability insurance and the Lawyers know this, so its is nearly always the Home Seller + the Realtor + the Brokerage that get sued. I am sure you know that those with the deepest pockets are always "tacked onto" an action whenever possible.

Re: realtors......would a British estate agent system do well here
 

I've bought/sold a couple of houses here in the UK. IMO I don't think it would be a great idea to adopt the UK system.

I've had transactions which estate agents have assured me are 'very straightforward' and that they should complete within 6 weeks. None of them completed in less than 12 weeks. The process is fraught with the possibility of gazumping (or whatever it is), last minute pull-outs, last minute demands for money "or I'm pulling out"..., solicitors who fail to communicate, the list goes on...

I tried to avoid estate agents to begin with but there is no site in the UK that attracts a decent amount of trade to independently sell your house. All the big sites only let estate agents sell. Booo!

I've yet to experience the Canadian way, but it can't be much worse...can it?