bats

Unfortunately it was hard to get rid of the first one. He was the brother in law of the friend we were living with when we first arrived. It was difficult to say the least. When we didn't use him the second time he said we were taking the food out of his mouth. But yes you are right explain why and move on if needed.

dbd33

The agent doesn't know you and isn't a friend, the agent isn't likely to see you again. The agent's only interest is in you buying something, anything. The agent's interests are in direct conflict with the buyer's. Sure, the agent may be nice and may be informative but you should be as cautious of "your" agent as you would be of "your" car salesman.

Tootlepootle

We were very fortunate with our guy, he drove us around for 4 days, including a tour of Stanley Park between vieiwngs! He was very honest about properties, including dismissing some before we arrived, grow up etc. We viewed around 30 homes and bought the last one we saw.... He even arranged contractors to come and look to give a quick estimate on what the work we thought might need doing would cost.
He still calls around and goes out for drinks with the OH!

orly

Your website seems to be serving up Cialis adverts btw?

HGerchikov

Really? I just checked it and its working fine for me, is it showing popup adverts or something? It shouldn't be. (Actually given what you say is being advertised perhaps I should rephrase that).

nativenewyorker

I am a realtor in BC and there are definitely good and bad ones! I was a nurse and midwife for many years in England and I always treated patients as I would have wanted my family members to be treated. This continues to be part of my work ethic in the real estate industry. Everything I know about a property I pass on to my clients, I hold nothing back and go above and beyond, even if it is not appreciated by some. It appalls me how some realtors treat their clients to the point of being downright rude, and people just accept it. If you are not happy, check your contract and pick another, there's plenty to choose from after all!

dishwashing

I haven't signed anything

dbd33 - Agree, at least my one shows this despite her best efforts
So what use are they then? Do agents typically at least drive their clients around?

She makes me drive everywhere following her car.

nativenewyorker + others - I am looking around Mapleridge/Pitt Meadows or North/East Vancouver - the latter is probably too expensive but I can hope. Any knowledgeable contacts here would be great.

HGerchikov

On driving people around, yes generally. Depends on the situation, if client has small kids then sometimes I will go in their car because I don't have child seats fitted. Sometimes people prefer to make their own way perhaps they have somewhere to go after and it's easier to go straight from the viewings. Most times though I pick the client up or meet them close to where we will be looking and park their car for the afternoon and then come back for it. It's much better to be in the same car if people are new to the area as you can point out places of interest on the way.

nativenewyorker

I live in Maple Ridge so I can help with that area and Pitt Meadows. As for driving people around, I find I learn a lot about what people want when chatting in the car, but as HGerchikov says some people prefer to drive themselves. I like working with buyers, every day is like Christmas day on MLS lol

sharkus

Taking food out of his mouth? I think someone needs to grow up a little. My guess in they assumed that given the family ties that you were a shoe-in, and wouldn't be shocked if they knew some place they could try and get you to buy and get a nice commission off it.

withabix

There is quite a lot you can find out for yourself.

Google the address and include key works like Permit, Grow-op or Fire. You will get a lot of junk results, but you may reveal some 'nasties'.

For recent sales of a property, put the address in to the BC Assessment website (covers the previous 3 years). It can also give you some idea that there may be issues or over-optimistic sellers if the advertised price is way below or way above (say more than 15%) the 2014 Assessed Value, or if there any significant changes (e.g. if it has fallen considerably since the previous Valuation).

This website will also tell you what value there is in the house and what there is in the land. If the house itself (for a 2500-3000 sq ft SFH) is less than about $125,000, the house is probably nearing the end of its life, particularly if the value of the land is disproportionately high. Newer houses on standard 4000-6000 sq ft plots in Maple Ridge are typically 40/60, 50/50 or 60/40 in terms of Land/House value from what I can see.

If the house has a finished basement and there is no figure on this website for Basement area, then the basement was probably 'finished' without a Permit and you could be in for a Property Tax shock and issues over getting the basement Permitted.

BC Assessment: e-ValueBC

Google Maps and Bing Maps are useful for aerial photos and Streetview and can give you a few clues about a property and the surrounding area before you view.

One 12 year old house we looked at in Maple Ridge looked 'too new' inside and had different windows and a different interior style (from Google photos) to the rest of the street and had cleaner-looking roof tiles (this particular subdivision has 'proper' concrete roof tiles).

It had obviously had a major fire or been a big grow-op (or both) or something in 2008 and we found this out ourselves by doing a bit of searching online. The Bing aerial photographs showed the house in 2008 with the roof off and 100% new trusses installed. Sure enough, a quick Google found that a Building Permit had been taken in 2008 for a $140,000 'Repair'. That value in 2008 pretty much equates to a full internal re-build. I'm guessing it was a grow-op and not a fire as the exterior seems to be the original and as it included vinyl, that would have melted to some extent in a fire.

sharkus

I think when I go hunting again, I'm going to get myself an RE. I've done the DIY approach and it does work, but having someone with local knowledge is handy, even if you are currently living in the same town. I'm sure there are parts of Oakville that I'm not aware of, or think aren't "me", when in fact they could be, and an RE would (one likes to hope) know that.
There's also the personal level of things. If you have someone who has a genuine vested interest in helping you find somewhere, then that does make it a much better experience.

JonboyE

I would bet that in a majority of cases what they actually wanted and could afford is not the same as what they told you they wanted and could afford when you first met.

JonboyE

You are projecting again. The agent's only interest is not just you buying something, anything. The agent's primary interest is in making you happy. So happy that you will recommend them to anyone who asks. You start to make money as a realtor when you stop having to search for customers and they start searching for you.

Fob someone off with a house that doesn't suit them and you might end up with a couple of grand in your jeans. Make someone happy and they could be worth a couple of hundred grand in referrals over your career.

Granted, there will be a few realtors who are too bloody stupid to understand this, but they won't be around for long.

BristolUK

So tell them you intend subsequent purchase(s) and they'll be interested in repeat business