What makes a good real estate agent a.k.a I doubt my realtor is going a good job.

[mr.dubr]

What makes a good real estate agent a.k.a I doubt my realtor is doing a good job.

Hello everyone,

I am a first time condo buyer, thus I do not really know what to expect from a real estate agent. However, I have this feeling that the one I am working with is not getting the job done.

Here is some background information: Both me and my wife work in the downtown on King street. We also have an almost 2 year old kid. Thus, we are looking for a good size (~1000sq. ft.) 2B unit. My agent suggested the Summit Complex (701, 705, 725 King West) and I seem to like the building, even though the maintenance fees (~ $.70 per sq. ft.) are rather high. BTW: What do you guys think about the Summit Complex in general?

I've looked at a few units and I am ready to start making offers. However, before making them, I wanted to get some information about the financial situation the condo corporation is in. Basically, I just wanted to find out if there any plans for special assessments, major repairs that are needed or were recently performed, or plans to significantly increase the maintenance fees in the nearest future. However, what puzzles me is that my agent keeps telling me that this information will only be available AFTER I make an offer. And it's not her job, but my lawyer's, to review that and let me know. However, I fail to understand how can I make an offer not knowing all this.

Also, she constantly fails to answer a straight forward question like: "What's a fair price for this unit"? To her, all the asking prices are fair. To questions like "What school district this area belongs to?" she would tell me to "google it".

IS THIS NORMAL? Is this how it works?

Thanks a lot for helping a newbie!

 

[cdr108]

hi mr. dubr and welcome to UT.

your agent is correct regarding the financial situation of the condo corp ... your lawyer should be reviewing that info - i believe it's called a 'status certificate'; and it's done AFTER an offer from what i've encountered.

re: fair price
... that's typical of alot of RE agents.
she's working for herself and not really you ... she gets paid when you buy firm.
however, there are some who truly work for your best interest.
there's alot more product on the market and that gives you more time and flexibility to choose so TAKE YOUR TIME.

re: school district
your agent should have that info readily available and tell you directly ... to have you google it is stupid, lazy and/or incompetant

 

[Coltaine79]

Hello everyone,

I am a first time condo buyer, thus I do not really know what to expect from a real estate agent. However, I have this feeling that the one I am working with is not getting the job done.

Here is some background information: Both me and my wife work in the downtown on King street. We also have an almost 2 year old kid. Thus, we are looking for a good size (~1000sq. ft.) 2B unit. My agent suggested the Summit Complex (701, 705, 725 King West) and I seem to like the building, even though the maintenance fees (~ $.70 per sq. ft.) are rather high. BTW: What do you guys think about the Summit Complex in general?

I've looked at a few units and I am ready to start making offers. However, before making them, I wanted to get some information about the financial situation the condo corporation is in. Basically, I just wanted to find out if there any plans for special assessments, major repairs that are needed or were recently performed, or plans to significantly increase the maintenance fees in the nearest future. However, what puzzles me is that my agent keeps telling me that this information will only be available AFTER I make an offer. And it's not her job, but my lawyer's, to review that and let me know. However, I fail to understand how can I make an offer not knowing all this.

Also, she constantly fails to answer a straight forward question like: "What's a fair price for this unit"? To her, all the asking prices are fair. To questions like "What school district this area belongs to?" she would tell me to "google it".

IS THIS NORMAL? Is this how it works?

Thanks a lot for helping a newbie!

It is normal to not be able to get a status certificate unless you make an offer on a place. I don't think the condo corporation will be handing out status certs to any Joe Blow off the street who is "curious", right? I'm currently an owner of a condo, and I certainly hope my CC does the same thing!

To solve your dilemma, simply make a CONDITIONAL offer! You have nothing to lose. Make it conditional upon your lawyer's succesful review of the status certificate AND conditional upon you getting financing to YOUR SOLE satisfaction. You'll have TWO "outs" so that you don't have to buy anything you don't want to. BTW: Your actual lawyer doesn't need to review the status cert. You can "browse" it yourself and if you don't like it, tell your agent your lawyer said it sucks. Your agent cannot talk to your lawyer unless you ask him to. Regardless, your lawyer works for YOU not the agent - even if you DID involve him.

Also, she constantly fails to answer a straight forward question like: "What's a fair price for this unit"? To her, all the asking prices are fair. To questions like "What school district this area belongs to?" she would tell me to "google it".

OK now, this stuff sounds more like a bad agent than your first problem. With respect to fair prices, she should provide you a pricing history of the area, easily obtainable via MLS. My agent takes 30 seconds to produce one of those, even using all sorts of custom variables and filters. With respect to school district questions, my agent would probably research that and let me know. He's never ever told me to google something in all my time with him. Your agent sounds positively horrible. Unless she's working on some sort of fixed rate $500 commission, dump her immediately and find somebody better.

BTW there are a whole bunch of agents in this forum (circling like vultures); I'm sure one of them will take you up on your search and probably provide better service than your current one.

 

[UrbanVigor]

Did you sign a buyers agency agreement with her?

If not, you're scott-free to drop her. You have no obligation to her at all. If you did, that's fine, how many days until it ends? As cdr said, you can take your time. Prices are stablizing and there will be more choice. This is a long term decision you're making so you should take your time. Also learn about questions to ask realtors and find one that works best for you. I would suggest a trial run with any realtor before signing any agreement.

 

[detroitbootybass]

BTW there are a whole bunch of agents in this forum (circling like vultures)

Ha ha!

That's certainly the truth!

 

[mr.dubr]

cdr108, Coltaine79:
Thanks a lot for your advice. It seems that a conditional offer is the way to go. That's what I will be doing.

UrbanVigor,
Yes, I have signed a buyers agency agreement with her. She said that she won't be showing us any properties until we do so. She also insisted that this is a very common practice and all agents do so. I am not worried about this as much, as my contract expires in a couple of weeks. Next time I will be definitely doing a trial run before signing any agreements. Thanks for your advice.

 

[luxome]

Change agent, there are tones out there looking for your business. Best way is to ask around, referrals generally get you services that others (your friend/family) are already satisfied with and should be confident in passing the agent details to you. Ads are always deceiving...i'm working with 2 right now...(i used to have 5), each doing different type of property (i.e. condominium vs. properties in the suburbs)...g'luck!

 

[UrbanVigor]

UrbanVigor,
Yes, I have signed a buyers agency agreement with her. She said that she won't be showing us any properties until we do so. She also insisted that this is a very common practice and all agents do so. I am not worried about this as much, as my contract expires in a couple of weeks. Next time I will be definitely doing a trial run before signing any agreements. Thanks for your advice.

She is correct that it is very common practice to do so and many agents will quote how they've been "screwed" as a result of not having a buyers agency agreement in place. I have a friend who is a realtor, an honest and reputable one at that, who wanted my business and insisted on a buyers agreement. Yet I worked with another realtor who never made reference to a buyers agreement until the eleventh hour when I was on the verge of buying a property.

Bottom line is you need to get yourself a realtor who will work for you. Without an agreement, you can just walk away. Since you have one, you need to read it and ensure that you won't be liable to her should you buy a property using someone else.

 

[Roy G Biv]

My agent pushes TREB propaganda showing house prices increasing by 13% every year, and then when you list with him, he tries to convince you that your house is not worth much. When you quote his own propaganda, he says things like "Those are averages. Show me an average house".

 

[Observer Walt]

Excellent advice from Coltrane, above. However, I would point out that you are entitled to a status certificate, from the condo corporation, upon payment of a fee (probably $100). It's money well spent if it alerts you to a potential problem. While your lawyer should definitely review it before you firm up a deal, there is nothing at all to prevent you from reading it as well. They are reasonably easy for most people to understand. Any condo purchase (unless the building is quite new) should be conditional on your satisfaction with the contents of the status certificate.

Be sure that you carefully understand the terms of the buyer agency agreement. You could find yourself liable to pay a commission to this agent, if you end up buying a unit which was shown to you during the term of the agreement, even if you don't actually agree on a sale until later.

Repetitious, and probably obvious, but I'll say it anyway: the agent should be able to quote you what a fair price would be. You should be insisting on getting the most recent sales in the building, as reported on MLS, and go from there.

 

[Ric]

I was about to provide my opinion, then I saw this....

Excellent advice from Coltrane, above. However, I would point out that you are entitled to a status certificate, from the condo corporation, upon payment of a fee (probably $100). It's money well spent if it alerts you to a potential problem. While your lawyer should definitely review it before you firm up a deal, there is nothing at all to prevent you from reading it as well. They are reasonably easy for most people to understand. Any condo purchase (unless the building is quite new) should be conditional on your satisfaction with the contents of the status certificate.

Be sure that you carefully understand the terms of the buyer agency agreement. You could find yourself liable to pay a commission to this agent, if you end up buying a unit which was shown to you during the term of the agreement, even if you don't actually agree on a sale until later.

Repetitious, and probably obvious, but I'll say it anyway: the agent should be able to quote you what a fair price would be. You should be insisting on getting the most recent sales in the building, as reported on MLS, and go from there.

Well said.

 

[Kenny]

Also, she constantly fails to answer a straight forward question like: "What's a fair price for this unit"? To her, all the asking prices are fair. To questions like "What school district this area belongs to?" she would tell me to "google it".

Dump her like a sack of potatoes.

 

[GraceCondos]

I know there are answers already, but here's my feedback....

Most people do review the Status Certificate after a deal is made. You have a condition, in your favour, put in your offer from the start. This means that if your lawyer reviews it and you have issue, you can walk from the deal. Having said that, when I represent sellers I order status immediately and have it available for buyers to review prior to making an offer. Why? Because I don't want the buyer backing out of the deal with my client (seller) for something insignificant. If the buyer has status reviewed then we negotiate a deal - it's done and my client doesn't have to wait a week or two wondering if it will fall apart.

With pricing, we as Realtors are not allowed to tell a buyer an exact price to pay. What I do, though, is print previous sales, adjust for time and other items like upgrades or floor level and provide my buyer with a tight "value range". I say that if you pay between X & Y, you're paying fair retail. If less, you're getting a deal and if more, you're paying a premium.

And I would never reply to a question from a client with "google it". We're doing a job and being paid for it. So I should be doing all the work, not my client.

If you want to discuss further, message me.

 

[asiancolossus]

Hey there, I just wanted to chime in...I'm relatively new to the buying condo scene and am taking possession in June 2011 (hopefully, its been delayed a few months). In terms of fair value, I learned on HGTV on a show called Property Virgins that common practice should be for buyers to find comparables in the area, ie sales of comparable units that have sold recently in the neighbourhood. I never knew about this term but it sounds like it makes 100% sense. Your real estate agent should be able to do this for you easily, and I personally think that you cannot make an informed decision in this wacky changeable market without this. Good luck!