EngCan

Might sound like a stupid question but what does a realtor actually do? Have read where people have said that you should ‘get a realtor before you start looking to buy’ but surely you just use whoever the seller is selling through? This is of course on the assumption it works the same as the UK so any info would be useful.

TIA

Dave

Hurlabrick

Doesn't work like in the UK and you would waste a huge amount of time going from one realtor to another IMHO - I guess you could do this, but why would you?.

Here, there is 3 or 4% of the sale price up for grabs by the Realtors paid by the seller. You as a buyer can engage a single Realtor (buyers realtor) who will find out what you want and liaise with the various seller realtors to arrange viewings. You will be accompanied by your own realtor on all viewings. The Realtors then get together behind the scenes and generally split the commission between each other.

We had our own Realtor and he was excellent. Spent all day just driving us around neighbourhoods and explaning each one. The we set up a load of viewings and he organised all of these and drove us to each. Also a valuable source of information that British buyers would not even be aware to ask (drilled wells, septic fields, aluminium wiring, basement cracks, sump pumps, roof condition etc.).

The realtor also does a lot of work with the formal offer, stuff you would expect a solicitor to do in the UK. Of course the buying process is quite unlike the UK (horay!!!) - more like the Scottish system - none of this 'anyone can back out at any time up to exchange' nonsense!

Some good stuff in the wiki section too:

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Category:Housing-Canada

ann m

Hurlabrick

+1

Think of it as though you had your own Kirstie or Phil from Location, Location, Location acting purely for you - that is what a good Realtor will do.

Sure, they will try to interest you in a house they also have for sale, as they would get all the commission, but they would not push it so hard you gave up on them, they want you to buy through them, whether it is their property or not.

Aviator

The purpose of the sellers realtor is to get the best price for the seller. The buyers realtor, to get the lowest price for the buyer. When one realtor represents both parties, this poses a conflict. However the realtor does well as they get 100% of the commission.

Realtors get 7% of the first $100k then 2% (or less if they are willing to give some up) of the balance. The seller pays the bill, but in the end all parties pay as it is reflected in the selling price.

The realtor writes up the offer and presents it to the seller. Once the offer is accepted and signed, it is a binding contract. It can be very expensive to try and get out of an accepted offer. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...home-deal.html

Aviator

Totally different.

EngCan

Hurlabrick

Oh definitely look at Realtor to get an idea of what is where and how much they are asking.

Also some sellers are now using 'Comfree' (basically like Purple Bricks - seller pays to get the house on Realtor and does the showings etc.) - so it might be there is a house you like there - I am not sure how 'your' realtor would view these as I don't see how he would get commission, but that is just me not knowing!

SanDiegogirl

The realtor who is selling the house is being paid by the seller - from commission earned from the selling price.

The realtor will be working to get the best price for the seller and for him/herself - not for you, the buyer.

dbd33

My experience is in Ontario, I expect, but do not know, that this is true in other locations. Something to consider is that, here, the lawyer will do nothing for you except register the sale. They don't do a title search, check the survey or consider the reasonableness of the contract. If there's something wrong with the deal, such as the seller not owning the property or the fences not being on the lot lines, then the lawyer won't know because he or she doesn't look for that, the buyer's recourse is to the title insurer. The lawyer cannot usefully comment on the terms and conditions of the deal because those are set before the legal formality stage is reached; it's the agent who deals with the contract.

All that being the case, it's plainly an advantage to be represented by an experienced agent even though one should always be aware that the interests of "your" agent are not the same as your interests. Finding an experienced agent and avoiding being tied to a dodgy buyer's agent is another thing. I generally try to avoid those who have aligned businesses; for example, an agent dealing with immigrants may also be a car or furniture salesperson. I know the proprietor of a computer consultancy who acts as an agent for the newly imported employees. I think there are too many conflicts there and would try to find an agent who is able to make a living just at being an agent.

scilly

In BC, it is now illegal for realtors to act as both sellers and buyers agent, except in certain exceptional circumstances (eg, remote areas of the province where there are only a few realtors).

This was brought in last year in an attempt to control the spiralling house prices and suspected "behind-the-scenes" flipping in which a house or condo might be sold from one buyer to another before the contract was finally signed, thus netting the realtor much profit!

Don't ask me how it worked because I didn't understand more than that it really was happening!


dbd33


I can't remember what we did when we bought this house in 1972. I think we had a lawyer!

We used a notary public when we bought our cabin in 1997, and when we sold it in 2014 .......... the notary public for the BUYER did the title search in each case, and both notaries went over the contract with a fine tooth comb

Yes, the contract we had in the beginning and the one that the buyer had with us later were both set up by the agents, but the notaries drew them up and filed with the appropriate authority in Victoria.

I understand that a lawyer specialising in real estate would do exactly the same thing.



EngCan ..................

one other thing you MUST do apart from having a realtor is to insist that one of the conditions on the Offer to Buy is "subject to house inspection", and then hire and pay for a qualified house inspector to go over that house with a fine tooth comb.

It really is not worth risking buying a house, even a new build, without that inspection.

The buyer is supposed to disclose all and any defects to his realtor and then that is supposed to be passed on to the buyer's realtor. But you cannot trust that happening.

There are some horror stories.

dbd33

I accept that it worked differently in BC in 1972 than in Ontario in the 2010s.

Engineer_abroad

scilly

dbd33

I accept that, in the period 1997 to 2014, it worked differently in BC than it does in Ontario today.