Comments on: Even More Reasons Not To Trust Your Real Estate Agent http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/ Investing and Personal Finance Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:31:31 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Derek http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/comment-page-1/#comment-29247 Derek Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:53:17 +0000 http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/#comment-29247 Kimberly I am an agent and I have to tell you. You are different than most people. I started reading your article and thought you were crazy for not wanting to use an agent. As I kept reading I realized your motivated. You probably do not have to worry about an agent. There might be somethings an agent would be good on helping you negotiate. Most sellers will not declutter. Most of them say I want x amount out of my property and than say people are going to come in and talk me down so I will add 5% to my asking price. Than they are 5% or more over priced.Most people will not go and have nice signs made up. They stick the ones from lowes with sharpie for the phone number. The number is in a unique way of writing (sellers creativity) and you can not read it. As far as the web sites. The truely best ones are still owned by real estate agents. Craigs list is doing some amazing things. Most will avertise on a 20 a month website and think they are doing it. Infotube.com is a good example of this. Very bad web site to be on in my opinion. Most people are just not like you Kimberly. You are different. This is why I have a job and am very busy. Kimberly
I am an agent and I have to tell you. You are different than most people. I started reading your article and thought you were crazy for not wanting to use an agent. As I kept reading I realized your motivated. You probably do not have to worry about an agent. There might be somethings an agent would be good on helping you negotiate. Most sellers will not declutter. Most of them say I want x amount out of my property and than say people are going to come in and talk me down so I will add 5% to my asking price. Than they are 5% or more over priced.Most people will not go and have nice signs made up. They stick the ones from lowes with sharpie for the phone number. The number is in a unique way of writing (sellers creativity) and you can not read it. As far as the web sites. The truely best ones are still owned by real estate agents. Craigs list is doing some amazing things. Most will avertise on a 20 a month website and think they are doing it. Infotube.com is a good example of this. Very bad web site to be on in my opinion. Most people are just not like you Kimberly. You are different. This is why I have a job and am very busy.

]]> By: Kimberly http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/comment-page-1/#comment-14142 Kimberly Mon, 04 May 2009 13:15:16 +0000 http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/#comment-14142 In 2009, I just do not comprehend why an educated individual would hire an agent to buy or sell. With such easy access to the internet, the amount of free classified sites (ie. kijiji.ca), inexpensive signage available (ie. vistaprint.ca), free maps, etc., anyone using an agent to buy or sell a house is puzzling. I'm pretty sure most people know how to get around their house so unless the agent is going to clean and stage your house for you every time they bring buyers through for a viewing, you've got to be crazy to be paying them $20000+ to give house tours and fill in a few blanks on standard real estate forms (http://privaterealestate.ca/Agree_PAS.pdf). The only time an agent makes sense to me is for POS homes or if I were trying to sell while overseas. Even if I was overseas, I would probably give my house key to my neighbour to show the place for me and reward someone I know and trust if a sale results. We just sold our house via kijiji.ca and the process was simple! So much easier than the usual stress and tension we've experience with agents we've hired in the past. Steps to selling: 1. Watch HGTV. Declutter and make your house spotless as per stager suggestions. 2. Post pictures, details, and A REALISTIC price given the current market conditions on a known free classified site in your community. Kijiji and craigslist are very popular in my community. 3. Order lawn signs via vistaprint.ca and post. 4. Get all of your utility bills and property tax info in order in case the buyer asks for this info. Create a flyer about your property features if you wish. 5. Complete the following form http://privaterealestate.ca/Memorandum.pdf with buyer to be accompanied by a cheque (minimum 1% of purchase price, to be held in trust by your lawyer). 6. Have your lawyer prepare the Agreement and have the purchasers lawyer review the Agreement. 7. Both parties sign off on Agreement. 8. Have house inspection condition waived upon satisfactory inspection by certified house inspector. Voila! You have happy buyers and a firm sale. Our lawyer charged us $1000 for this. An agent would have charged us $20000 and we still would have had to pay our lawyer $1000 anyway. Your home will sell itself. The bottom line is you have got to price your home fairly. We priced our home 5-10% lower than other similar overinflated properties listed on MLS. We got full asking price without having to negotiate at all. The very happy buyers knew the price was fair and it was the best deal in the area. We got the sale while other similar homes in the area continue to sit on the market. There is only one trick in real estate - pricing your house for it's REAL value. You can have your property value assessed for free via mpac.com. Still in this recession, too many sellers/agents are overinflating the price of their homes. These homes are just sitting on the market for days. The value of a home can be easily assessed by confirming the property taxes and recent sales in the neighbourhood. For 20$, your lawyer can tell you how much the owners paid for the property when they bought the house, any mortgages in their possession, and what the municipality assesses the value of the property at. Our most recent favourite agent remarks, amongst all the others in this fabulous series is after asking an agent about a particular feature/defect, their response is almost always: "I'll have to ask the owner about that". As if they hadn't already noticed the defect/feature when they took pictures of the property. Drives us crazy. Wouldn't it be easier to just deal with the owners directly??? Great series! I'd be interested in seeing a series on builders. In 2009, I just do not comprehend why an educated individual would hire an agent to buy or sell. With such easy access to the internet, the amount of free classified sites (ie. kijiji.ca), inexpensive signage available (ie. vistaprint.ca), free maps, etc., anyone using an agent to buy or sell a house is puzzling. I’m pretty sure most people know how to get around their house so unless the agent is going to clean and stage your house for you every time they bring buyers through for a viewing, you’ve got to be crazy to be paying them $20000+ to give house tours and fill in a few blanks on standard real estate forms (http://privaterealestate.ca/Agree_PAS.pdf).

The only time an agent makes sense to me is for POS homes or if I were trying to sell while overseas. Even if I was overseas, I would probably give my house key to my neighbour to show the place for me and reward someone I know and trust if a sale results.

We just sold our house via kijiji.ca and the process was simple! So much easier than the usual stress and tension we’ve experience with agents we’ve hired in the past.

Steps to selling:
1. Watch HGTV. Declutter and make your house spotless as per stager suggestions.
2. Post pictures, details, and A REALISTIC price given the current market conditions on a known free classified site in your community. Kijiji and craigslist are very popular in my community.
3. Order lawn signs via vistaprint.ca and post.
4. Get all of your utility bills and property tax info in order in case the buyer asks for this info. Create a flyer about your property features if you wish.
5. Complete the following form http://privaterealestate.ca/Memorandum.pdf with buyer to be accompanied by a cheque (minimum 1% of purchase price, to be held in trust by your lawyer).
6. Have your lawyer prepare the Agreement and have the purchasers lawyer review the Agreement.
7. Both parties sign off on Agreement.
8. Have house inspection condition waived upon satisfactory inspection by certified house inspector.
Voila! You have happy buyers and a firm sale.

Our lawyer charged us $1000 for this. An agent would have charged us $20000 and we still would have had to pay our lawyer $1000 anyway.

Your home will sell itself. The bottom line is you have got to price your home fairly. We priced our home 5-10% lower than other similar overinflated properties listed on MLS. We got full asking price without having to negotiate at all. The very happy buyers knew the price was fair and it was the best deal in the area. We got the sale while other similar homes in the area continue to sit on the market. There is only one trick in real estate – pricing your house for it’s REAL value. You can have your property value assessed for free via mpac.com.

Still in this recession, too many sellers/agents are overinflating the price of their homes. These homes are just sitting on the market for days. The value of a home can be easily assessed by confirming the property taxes and recent sales in the neighbourhood. For 20$, your lawyer can tell you how much the owners paid for the property when they bought the house, any mortgages in their possession, and what the municipality assesses the value of the property at.

Our most recent favourite agent remarks, amongst all the others in this fabulous series is after asking an agent about a particular feature/defect, their response is almost always: “I’ll have to ask the owner about that”. As if they hadn’t already noticed the defect/feature when they took pictures of the property. Drives us crazy. Wouldn’t it be easier to just deal with the owners directly???

Great series! I’d be interested in seeing a series on builders.

]]> By: Finance Gets Personal » Cici n’est pas un carney. http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/comment-page-1/#comment-10912 Finance Gets Personal » Cici n’est pas un carney. Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:29:28 +0000 http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/#comment-10912 [...] Even More Reasons Why You Can’t Trust Your Real Estate Agent (the follow up to Why You Can’t Trust Real Estate Agents When Buying a House and Why You Can’t Trust Real Estate Agents When Selling a House) from Quest For Four Pillars. Things that make you go hmmm… [...] [...] Even More Reasons Why You Can’t Trust Your Real Estate Agent (the follow up to Why You Can’t Trust Real Estate Agents When Buying a House and Why You Can’t Trust Real Estate Agents When Selling a House) from Quest For Four Pillars. Things that make you go hmmm… [...]

]]> By: Pricing http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/comment-page-1/#comment-7854 Pricing Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:53:26 +0000 http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/#comment-7854 [...] time readers know Mike and I would never say a bad word about real estate agents.  However, a recent case recently came up in Australia where a real estate agent bought a house [...] [...] time readers know Mike and I would never say a bad word about real estate agents.  However, a recent case recently came up in Australia where a real estate agent bought a house [...]

]]> By: Retire Rich from Real Estate http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/comment-page-1/#comment-6478 Retire Rich from Real Estate Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:16:02 +0000 http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/#comment-6478 [...] He has a section on selling, and provides good advice on FSBO vs. using a Realtor: do it yourself if you can, use a Realtor if you live elsewhere or don’t have the time. He advises not to tell your Realtor anything you don’t want the buyer to know. [...] [...] He has a section on selling, and provides good advice on FSBO vs. using a Realtor: do it yourself if you can, use a Realtor if you live elsewhere or don’t have the time. He advises not to tell your Realtor anything you don’t want the buyer to know. [...]

]]> By: Mr. Cheap http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/comment-page-1/#comment-6203 Mr. Cheap Thu, 29 May 2008 03:38:59 +0000 http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/#comment-6203 WTR: Hi Jill, sorry for the tardy reply (just say your comment). As Mike said (and Nolan quoted) "That said I wouldn’t really recommend most people to buy/sell without an agent - just to be aware of the conflicts." We're not necessarily anti-agent. If I was buying another place, I'd definitely use a buyers agent (especially since I just moved to a new town). When I sell, I'll try to do it on my own (and if I have problems, I can always turn it over to an agent at a later date). Our objection is to the compensation structure (and the conflict it creates), not the existence of agents. WTR: Hi Jill, sorry for the tardy reply (just say your comment). As Mike said (and Nolan quoted) “That said I wouldn’t really recommend most people to buy/sell without an agent – just to be aware of the conflicts.”

We’re not necessarily anti-agent. If I was buying another place, I’d definitely use a buyers agent (especially since I just moved to a new town). When I sell, I’ll try to do it on my own (and if I have problems, I can always turn it over to an agent at a later date).

Our objection is to the compensation structure (and the conflict it creates), not the existence of agents.

]]> By: Costly Blunders When Selling A Home | The Wisdom Journal http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/comment-page-1/#comment-5933 Costly Blunders When Selling A Home | The Wisdom Journal Fri, 16 May 2008 13:35:28 +0000 http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/#comment-5933 [...] you have chosen to use a real estate agent, by all means, leave. The buyers may have brought their trusted real estate agent with them so let that agent do her [...] [...] you have chosen to use a real estate agent, by all means, leave. The buyers may have brought their trusted real estate agent with them so let that agent do her [...]

]]> By: West Toronto realtor http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/comment-page-1/#comment-4974 West Toronto realtor Sun, 06 Apr 2008 00:03:38 +0000 http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/#comment-4974 I am in <a href="http://westtorontorealtor.com" rel="nofollow">West Toronto realtor</a> team, so I am not neutral, but I have just one thing in mind. Why do you think realtors emerged in society? I think it's natural for people to search for most convenient ways. So I believe realtors are here because they are wanted, not because somebody ordered "and now, let be realtors all over the world!" I am in West Toronto realtor team, so I am not neutral, but I have just one thing in mind. Why do you think realtors emerged in society? I think it’s natural for people to search for most convenient ways. So I believe realtors are here because they are wanted, not because somebody ordered “and now, let be realtors all over the world!”

]]> By: Cici n’est pas un carney. « Finance Gets Personal http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/comment-page-1/#comment-4944 Cici n’est pas un carney. « Finance Gets Personal Fri, 04 Apr 2008 04:18:47 +0000 http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/#comment-4944 [...] Even More Reasons Why You Can’t Trust Your Real Estate Agent (the follow up to Why You Can’t Trust Real Estate Agents When Buying a House and Why You Can’t Trust Real Estate Agents When Selling a House) from Quest For Four Pillars. Things that make you go hmmm… [...] [...] Even More Reasons Why You Can’t Trust Your Real Estate Agent (the follow up to Why You Can’t Trust Real Estate Agents When Buying a House and Why You Can’t Trust Real Estate Agents When Selling a House) from Quest For Four Pillars. Things that make you go hmmm… [...]

]]> By: MONEY CLIPPED » The 146th Carnival of Personal Finance Is Up http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/comment-page-1/#comment-4917 MONEY CLIPPED » The 146th Carnival of Personal Finance Is Up Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:22:34 +0000 http://www.four-pillars.ca/2008/03/24/do-not-trust-your-real-estate-agent/#comment-4917 [...] Even More Reasons Not To Trust Your Real Estate Agent by Quest For Four Pillars [...] [...] Even More Reasons Not To Trust Your Real Estate Agent by Quest For Four Pillars [...]

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