CHOOSING A REALTOR®

Maybe you're buying a home for the first time. Or maybe you're selling your old home to move up to something new. Whatever the reason, the buying and selling of a home is a big event. It's an intricate process involving many specialists. One of these specialists is a REALTOR®, whose job it is to make the transfer of property as easy as possible.

But not all licensed or registered brokers or salespeople are REALTORS. The term REALTOR® is a trademark identifying real estate licensees in Canada who are members of The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). REALTORS® adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Business Practice. The code of ethics is a firm set of rules, describing what kind of performance you have a right to expect from a REALTOR®. It's your guarantee of professional conduct and the best in service.

That's why many buyers and sellers turn to a REALTOR®. As a member of their local real estate board, REALTORS® have their finger on the pulse of the housing market and are in daily contact with buyers potentially interested in your home.

You can trust a REALTOR® to protect your interests and to look after details. And all the while, you're an active partner in the process, working with a REALTOR®, every step of the way. So the more you know about buying and selling homes, the better your working relationship with a REALTOR®.

A REALTOR’s commitment to high standards of professional conduct works to the advantage of buyers and sellers alike.

A REALTOR® is knowledgeable about developments and trends in real estate. A REALTOR® will get you the facts: comparable prices, neighborhood trends, housing market conditions and more.

A REALTOR® is committed to ongoing education to increase competence and effectiveness in real estate trading.

Every REALTOR® has been trained and tested. And REALTORS® are bound by a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Business Practice that ensure fairness to all parties in a transaction.

A REALTOR's® pledge is to be honest in disclosing property information and forthright in providing the facts needed to help you make one of the most important decisions of your life.

And remember, only a REALTOR®, a member of The Canadian Real Estate Association, has access to the Multiple Listing Service®, Canada's most powerful real estate marketing system.

Determining which REALTOR® would be best suited to market your property is very often a challenge. On the one hand, the busiest REALTORS® may leave you feeling cold. They seldom handle all the details themselves, and may pass your file off to one of their associates once the contract is signed. The relationship can end up strained and you might end up having to deal with people you don't even know, and have no personal investment in you or your property. They may be too hasty, miss important details, and may not return phone calls as quickly as you'd like. My personal experience with these types of REALTORS® is that they are often adversarial, and have larger than life ego's. Don't be fooled by their flashy presentations.

On the other hand, a REALTOR® without the necessary experience can also be a detriment to your sale or purchase. They may not be adequately prepared to complete the contract effectively, or know how to deal with the many twists and turns that can arise in a complex transaction. They may not be confident enough in their abilities or familiar enough with the regulations to deal with another REALTOR® who comes across in an aggressive manner. Someone might throw them a curve ball and they'll be ill prepared to handle the situation. This can be particularly detrimental when multiple offers are involved. They may not know how to handle these tough situations in a tactful and productive manner, which will be in the best interest of their client. Their lack of experience could end up costing you a bundle.

Agents who sell real estate as a side-line or part time business are seldom knowledgeable enough to handle the task. They usually do not keep abreast of all the latest industry news, rule changes or procedures. They often don't know how to use the technology available to them, have little idea as to the contents of any of the contracts, and often make errors or omissions in the writing of their contracts to the detriment of their client. Dealing with these "back-seat" REALTORS® is always frustrating because the REALTOR® representing the other side often has to hold their hand throughout the entire transaction. They offer little if any follow-up, and the client may wonder if they got much value from their representative.

Your REALTOR® should be technologically advanced, readily available and responsive to your needs. The best REALTORS® are full-time, utilize the latest technologies, and know how to use them for the best results. They should provide you with an in-depth market evaluation in the case of sellers, or have shown you an adequate number of properties for you to make an informed decision.

You should feel comfortable with your REALTOR® as a person, and have a pretty good idea that they are in a good position to handle your transaction. You should never feel like you are being bullied into making a decision. A good REALTORS® primary obligation is to his client. He/She should never put their own interest ahead of your own, and they should provide you with enough information to make an informed decision. Indeed, the best REALTORS® do not attempt to sell you anything! They allow you to explore your options and form your own opinion as to their merits. When they sense that you are approaching that apex, it's their job to guide you through the decision making process, as most people are genuinely afraid of taking that step. Where they really shine is ensuring that you are well represented, and that the contract is well written. Remember, your REALTOR® is working for you. They must always act in your best interest and obey your lawful instructions, unless they so choose not to act on your behalf due to their own ethical or personal beliefs.

The Rights & Wrongs of hiring a REALTOR®

BUYERS

Doing it Right

• Ask to set up an appointment for a Buyers Interview. Choose an exclusive agent as early on in the buying process as possible. You'll want to start building trust as soon as possible and get in on some of the best buys.
• Call during office hours, on a weekday if possible to arrange for an interview. It is very difficult to properly represent a client without having spent the necessary time beforehand to educate them and find out their needs.
• Be patient. Good agents will return calls promptly, as soon as they are able. They will be equally respectful of your time when they are with you. Having said that, if they don't return your calls within three hours, there may be a problem.
• If a receptionist answers, leave a concise message to be paged out to the agent. This creates an electronic diary to which the agent can later refer, and is very helpful in keeping track of leads and enquiries.
• Have your mortgage financing in place before you start to shop. Your agent can help with this if needed.
• Your agent needs to know where you are on your financing. Don't withhold this information from them.
• Request to work under a Buyers Agency Agreement. This guarantees that your agent will never be put in the unenviable and impossible position of weighing his best interests against yours.
• Sit down with your agent to work out the details of your home purchase.
• Make sure your agent is a REALTOR® (member of the Canadian Real Estate Association). This can be checked at www.realtor.ca.
• Be respectful of the agents time. It's probably not a great idea to call several of the best agents around and expect them to "grovel" for your business. There is a great deal of preparation work required, so be fair.
• Be loyal to your agent. He/she can be instrumental in your long term investment success.

Doing it Wrong

• Be sure to call at dinner time or late at night.
• Don't have your mortgage financing in place before you start to shop around.
• Tell the listing agent you are parked outside a listing and ask if they can come right over and show it to them.
• Tell the listing agent you will choose your agent when you find the right place.
• Become defensive - Refuse to answer their qualifying questions
• Arrive late for your appointment and have your cell phone turned off or going to voice mail.
• Wait until after you've been shown the property. Then tell the listing agent you already have a REALTOR® but didn't want to waste their time.
• Call for a showing with no intention on buying anything
• Call for a showing just to see how it compares to your home.
• Ask the agent to pick you up to show you a home, then ask to be dropped off elsewhere
• Have the REALTOR® show you several properties, then drop them for someone recommended to you by a relative or friend.
• Call the listing agent for a showing with no intention of using them to write the offer to purchase
• Call a different agent for every showing
• Accuse the listing agent of not doing their job because they will not agree to meet with anyone who calls, before they know anything about them. Some busy Sellers Agents I know do not work with buyers at all, with the exception of some past clients or referrals. They may not have the time available to be showing properties, and may expect that you will get your own agent to represent you. The Listing Agent's primary duty is to provide maximum exposure and market the property to other agents.
  If you, as a buyer feel that you are not getting the kind of service from a Listing Agent that you're accustomed to, please consider going back and Doing it Right. You'll find that it makes a world of a difference.

SELLERS

Things to consider

• Is your agent a member of the Canadian Real Estate Association who has earned the right to use the REALTOR® designation? If so;

• Invite them over to view your home and for an opportunity to interview them.
• Check out their Marketing Plan.
• Ask about their experience level
• Check their web site.
• Ask about their commission structure.
• Evaluate their marketing materials & experience levels.
• Ask any questions you may have of them.
• If they pass the interview, invite them to do a market evaluation and decide on a list price, or
• Hire an independent Certified Residential Appraiser (CRA) if you would like an impartial objective opinion as to value. Share this with your REALTOR®
• Remember, an appraisal is only as current as the day it was taken.
• A REALTORS® tools may not look like your trade tools, let me assure you are equally expensive, and require constant upgrading and replacement.
• Each job is challenging and time consuming. From his commission he must pay his salary, staff, all of his/her advertising, subcontractors, taxes, Medical, Canada Pension, auto and all his other expenses! He never gets paid one cent until the house is sold, and only then, after the possession date, sometimes several months down the road!

Be careful of the following

• Don't call an agent to do an evaluation on your home for purposes of selling the home yourself, or for estate purposes. That's dishonest, and is robbing them of their time, expertise & tools of the trade. Put yourself in their shoes. Instead, check your tax assessment, talk to the neighbours or hire an appraiser if you just want to know what your home is worth.
• Don't choose the agent based on the market evaluation.
• Fees are usually proportionate to the service offered. In almost all cases that I can remember, price was seldom an indication of good results or satisfaction. In fact, in most cases, the less I paid the less satisfied I was! There is usually good reason that some contractors can do the job for much less then a seasoned professional with years of experience behind them. What might appear to be a potential saving, could end up being very costly. I once had a bathroom installed, and ended up having to redo it entirely 3 years later because the contractor did not seal the toilet properly, and it ended up flushing into the floor! What a mess!
• Take your REALTORS® advise! (Using your best judgment based on the comparable information presented). I once had a seller turn to his carpet cleaner to justify his own opinion of value. Of course he nodded in agreement. In all likelihood friends and acquaintances do not have a clue what the house is worth, are not qualified to form an opinion, and are deathly afraid of hurting your feelings. A buyer will not very often pay for future value, today, nor can selling price be determined from the list price of those homes which couldn't find a buyer, like the one down the street that's been listed for 18 months for $20,000 more.

  Consider this; The agent will spend the most time working listings which have a better chance at selling. He/she will in all likelihood have little interest in working a listing which will be near impossible to sell, near impossible for the banks to appraise hence, finance, and one which the buyers aren't going to be interested in viewing, even if they give it tremendous exposure, at their own expense. Overpricing your home can cost you dearly in terms of inconvenience and decayed value over time. Next time you'd be well advised to take your REALTOR'S® advice instead of listening to all those other agreeable folks who were after all, only trying to be nice.