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

Stewart, please tell me, what does a Canadian realtor do that is different than a UK estate agent when they are selling the house other that complete a pro-forma purchase contract (after they receive it from the purchaser's realtor) - something that most people that can read or write can do?

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

The matter of selling one's house privately has been discussed in newspapers/TV/ magazines many times over the years. There have been many companies setup for this purpose and the dearth of such companies today suggests that on the whole it is not a successful method of selling.
The Canadian system works very well with the exception of the too high commission rates. The existence of the MLS and the quasi-professionalism of realtors works in the public's favour. The private selling, if successful works in favour of the vendor. A purchaser is the one who gets all the attention so using a realtor eliminates a good deal of work for them.

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

But that's the system.

Here it's not like that.

I would be reluctant to buy a home direct from an owner, because unlike realtors they have no legal requirement to disclose issues with property and there is no recourse if they turn out to have lied.

And yes, you can use an inspector, but there's a limit to what they can find out i.e. oil tanks on property, etc.

Realtors show the house which the owner doesn't. They set up appointments. They negotiate with the other realtor.

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

I'm as guilty as most.

I can kind of see where a realtor may be useful if you are selling and to be honest I would probably use one myself (not that I'd like it, but that's the system). However it's a lot less clear cut what realtors do when purchasing - I really don't understand what they do for you that you can't do yourself and resent the fact that if you don't use a realtor when purchasing the sellers realtor gets the rest of the commission when it should in fact be discounted.

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

I can see the merits of the Scottish system where solicitors are the focal point and estate agents don't really have a presence and the seller is probably favoured. In England estate agent are only for sales and marketing which again makes sense - all the important legal aspects are dealt with by solicitors and the buyers are probably favoured. Generally both systems work reasonably well and the costs are probably not too unreasonable generally. Selling through an agent makes sense for most.

Obviously the system in Canada has evolved to suit Canadians and their preferred way of doing things. The reality is a pseudo professional body has managed to establish itself in a powerful position to the advantage of its members, while adding minimal value for the public - the buying agent role is an obvious indicator of this. If the buying realtors portion of the commission was refunded to the buyer if they didnt use a buyers realtor then I suspect use of a buyers agent would be a good deal less popular.

Out of the agents I've met in England and Canada I'd say some were decent, straighforward and hard working. Others, the pseudo yuppies, you know will say whatever they think they can get away with to get their commission. Its the same in all walks of life.

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

Brilliant, your post reminded me of a huge roadside poster a realtor took out near the Erin Mills Mall in The GTA. Bloke reminded me of Ashley Cole and for that reason alone I crossed him off our list :D

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

Sam McDadi?

He looks as in need of a beard as Mr. Cole.

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

The purchasing realtor ususally shows the house, most realtors would advise you not to use the vendor's realtor. Negotiation usually revolves around one realtor completing a pro forma purchase contract and sending it to the other. As I said above, I fail to see how someone with a modicum of common sense couldn't do that and, in essence, there is no real difference from the negotiation point of view between realtors and estate agents.

I would hazard a guess that most that extol the virtues of the Canadian system versus the English one, have never sold a home in Canada.

7% commission for the first $100,000, the office cat could achieve that in most Provinces:thumbdown:

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

I fail to see how someone with a modicum of common sense

The problem is there is nothing as uncommon in this world as common sense.

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

dbd mentioned the property guys...thats the main FSBO site around here that I am aware off.
http://www.propertyguys.com/


Like anything else, there are good and bad realtors, and any competing system will take time to build up a critical mass of listings to be able to compete with the mls.

Two thoughts on all this, property values are often lower in canada, but costs to sell / advertise are probably similar, so commisions might be higher in part due to that? 7% on the first 100k sounds high for around here though, I think its more like 5 here....but then I havent sold a property here, and thankfully have no plans too:D The system works great as a first time buyer, that I will say.

The OP posted this contentions view that the UK system might be better, but hasnt been back;)


PS, Did Posidrive ever sell his house?

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

Brilliant Jim, thats him, You're right he looked camp as a picnic basket. !! Back in 06/07, He had a billboard on Winston Churchill opposite a Jiffy
Lube place.

Also what was with the "Mc" in his surname, a poor attempt to gain the Celtic market :D

Is he still there ?

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

He has a billboard in Mississauga, on Erin Mills Parkway I think, there or Trafalger Rd. He also has a house for sale on highway 10 north of Orangeville with a huge billboard of himself. No offer of Jiffy Lubing on either of those.

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

Just took a gander at his website....based on the fact that there are 19 agents on his team, it is unlikely you would ever have to spend time with him. His team don't appear to appeal to the un-hyphenated based on the surnames etc.

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

Which is why I was surprised to see his listing north of Orangeville. It is gay positive in the country, Jill and Does aplenty, but not multicultural, oh no.

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

The problem is the buying agents. Worlds best bit of marketing is that they're free. They are not - thats why the selling commission is so high and it's all baked into the selling price.

I looked into sitting the realtor exams to see if I could get licensed and act as my own buying agent & claw some of the commission back - but in BC you can only get licensed as a realtor if it's your sole profession (in Alberta there are no restrictions), so it really is a protected industry here.

We ended up using a buying agent - as far as I can see he searched on MLS, reworded a contract and did a bit of negotiating. Sure he came with us to a bunch of listing and we made him work for it - but if I had the choice I would have preferred not to use him and to have saved 2% or whatever he got paid.

The system is set up by realtors for realtors. When I come to sell it'll be listed by owner with a flat rate commission offered as carrot for the buying agents, or a discount in price for those with no buying agent....:thumbup: