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Also it’s strange in Europe and Asia; the species is dwindling. Why are they so abundant and important in Canada. Just trying to understand which piece of puzzle am I missing here
No it isn’t. But there are a couple of big moats in terms of 1) ease of transacting (agents are the norm/listing on mls) 2) access to information
You'll definitely need a realtor to do all the running around, paperwork, negotiations, etc. You probably just got unlucky with your agent, there are some really good ones out there (speaking from personal experience). Would highly recommend not going it alone.
Can you detail what are potential complexities which can’t be done without a realtor. Can I hire a lawyer instead ? I don’t really think these people negotiate on ur behalf. I feel I can do it better than them
1. They can understand the “health” of condos building- if you aren’t familiar with reading status certificates
2. Sometimes they have good knowledge on builder quality which can be huge for maintenance fees and thus overall building quality.
3. Sometimes they have gossip on building. Eg is an assessment coming, do the elevator suck all the time, is there a big building being approved next door that will block your view, was there a flood recently (not all data on status certificates)
I’ve heard some realtors will take a cut of their 2.5% but if you’re buying the seller pays. I think when I sold my condo my listing realtor did like 1.7 vs 2.5. I still had to pay the purchasing realtor 2.5
I personally don't see the use of realtor especially considering the amount of commission they would make for a $1M property.
The status certificate, potential or outstanding, etc, this is all done by your lawyer and not the agent.
I don't think anyone knows the future value of the housing market and a realtor like many other's, can only predict and may of may not be correct
Okay - fundamental question
How are you able to get a mortgage over $1m?
Are you looking for B lenders? Did you get the pre-approval from a lender already, what rate are you being offered?
Once you have the pre-approval, next stage
To get a realtor or not?
Honestly, you are a buyer, it doesn’t hurt to get an extra pair of eyes to do the groundwork and paperwork for you. You can go to the seller’s agent, make him your agent and ask for a cashback. I know a lot of agents who are happy to oblige as they are now netting 5%
Also regarding you getting a discount, unlikely. Read the MLS terms, the sellers agent will get 5% and he is legally bound to the give 2.5% to the buyers brokerage.
If you are not represented by a brokerage, will be a challenge to get the 2.5% back.
This is one of the reasons why the realtor mafia cannot be broken.
Where I am struggling at is, I am new to Canada like yourself, both me and my spouse have excellent credit, over 800 FICO score, no missed payment in 11 years and yet no A lender willing to give a finance a house over $1m (350k down).
Chief
Suggest you go through realtor unless you have experience and full knowledge on what/how to do.
all that above aside, the < 3% savings on the agent would be negligible with all the bidding wars these days. sellers are mostly getting more than what they list - you wont have leverage with 3%
Chief
Indeed: good luck
Welcome to ‘Caanda’! 😀
I know some folks who did it with minimal to no realtor involvement, mostly only engaged lawyers for escrow and contractual stuff. Your question about why realtors a thing in this region, well many reason but let’s call it a housing-industrial complex for now.
My realtor did pretty much all the work for me, and was a pretty solid advisor around what will build and hold equity in the short and ling term. Happy to share details / run intros if it helps you.
It is also a seller’s market and many won’t engage with someone who doesn’t have a realtor. They know it’ll be more complicated, their realtor doesn’t want to deal with the headache etc.,
If you are able to find a private sale (one that is not listed on mls) I guess that would work BUT BE VERY CAREFUL. I would suggest asking some close friends if they know anyone who is looking to sell anytime soon.
By doing a private transaction the seller doesn’t have to post the sale on mls. Simply posting it cost like 10/15k or something like that. So you’ll be able to save a bit there and if the seller has an agent and you both want to go through 1 agent ( not recommended bc conflict of interest and agent is incentivized to get the highest selling price at your expense) then you can always negotiate a much lower commission
My advice: just get an agent cos a conflicted agent is going to drag the process on and you’ll likely end up paying over or at market value even though your intention was to buy under market value
Honestly I am still in early stages and yet not started credit approval. I spoke to my relationship manager at my bank and she believed she could get it approved. I guess it depends on total family income. I guess if your annual family income is more than 300k it shdnt be a problem
This is absurd but I guess that’s how it is. So they won’t finance you even if u cover everything above 1 mn ?
Seller pays the fees and usually that’s negotiated with their agent before the property is listed. Your agent should split the fees so it shouldn’t be a problem for you. It would be hard to go around the agent and negotiate a private sale once listed.
When it comes to your turn to sell you can negotiate the fees with the agent. That said, you can find good agents that will use the fees well (staging, advertising, etc… in addition to the paperwork). You should talk to a few or ask others for references and understand the value they are bringing
Go on to the “property guys” website - you’ll find a bunch of listings that don’t have Realtor’s fees.