What Can a
Real Estate Agent
Do For Me?

If You're a Buyer

... a real estate agent will do a lot. Buying a home can be a confusing and frustrating experience without the assistance of a good REALTOR®. And potentially risky without their trustworthy, experienced, knowledgeable guidance.

First of all ...

What is a REALTOR®?

A real estate agent is a person, duly registered and governed by provincial or state statute and regulations, who on behalf of another, for a fee, usually in the form of a percentage commission, offers, or attempts to acquire or dispose of real estate. A REALTOR® is licensed through one of many realty companies, to solicit and market properties for sale, and work with willing buyers. To be a REALTOR®, a real estate agent must be a member of a local real estate board, like TREB. Visit a provincial real estate association like OREA, to learn more about what a real estate agent can do for you. Visit the national association CREA, or in the USA, NAR. They adhere to guidelines and code of ethics of each association.

When you've decided to get into buying real estate, and once you've chosen your real estate agent, and had your first buyer agency meeting, and they've thoroughly qualified you regarding your wants and needs, the work for them really begins.

Before offering you real estate advice, your agent will have asked you to get a mortgage pre-approval from your bank, or from an expert mortgage broker with whom your agent has a trust relationship. Not only will this clarify how much you can afford, and check your credit worthiness, but it'll also strengthen your negotiating position with a seller. Unless you have all cash, any offer to purchase you submit will include a condition upon arranging satisfactory financing. If your buyer agent can assure the seller and their agent that you're pre-approved for the mortgage, and that only the seller's property must be approved, you're negotiating from a much stronger position. To learn more about mortgage financing, visit the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals CAAMP

While You're Getting Your Financing Organized

... your real estate agent begins all the behind-the-scenes research, market analysis and leg work by searching and patiently sifting through numerous existing listings, creating a short list of possible homes that fit as closely as possible the parameters determined at your initial consultation. In some cases, they may even personally preview these properties if you're looking for particular features that they're unable to determine from the listing data. If it's rural or luxury real estate, a preview may also be in order due to the size of the house or property.

For example, you may not want a home where pets or smokers reside due to allergies. Or you may want to be close to a preferred school, or a bus stop. This would entail your real estate agent checking out the bus route. They may also want to check to see if there are any high-tension hydro towers behind the house, or giant cube vans living next door.

Let The Show Begin

Now, your financing is all set, and your real estate agent has a selection of homes for you to view. You've told them you're available Saturday to begin. Prior to hitting the road, your REALTOR® may email a final selection to you for viewing on your personal computer. Usually, you'll see several interior and exterior photos of each home, possibly a virtual tour. The address is also usually available too, in case you'd like to scope out the immediate neighbourhood before personally viewing the interiors. This type of service is available through all realty companies, if they're members of the national and provincial associations.

Your REALTOR® will then get the short list in tour order, usually geographically, to minimize driving time between homes, once again to ...

Save You Time

They'll request appointments on-line or through the listing brokerages, and obtain confirmations and lock box codes if necessary. You'll meet at their office or another convenient location, and away you'll go.

Typically, you'll view not more than half a dozen or so homes on each tour so as not to be too confusing. Too many and they all begin to blur together. I advise choosing a favourite as you proceed through the list, and comparing each new prospect to that favourite. Note taking, in writing or with a digital recorder, also helps. Some industrious buyers actually bring along a digital camera. However, some sellers might object to this as being too invasive of their privacy.

Aunt Ethyl and Uncle Harry

Your real estate agent will be a valuable real estate advice resource for you during viewings since they (hopefully) have tons of experience. They've likely viewed countless properties over the years, and bring along an extra set of senses, and may spot something you might miss. If they're representing your interests as a buyer agent, it's their job to not only point out the positive features and benefits of the home, but also potential deficiencies, as well as patent (clearly visible) defects. Latent defects can't normally be seen by the naked eye, and a home inspector may be able to shed some light on these.

Plus, maybe your real estate agent has had extensive experience in home renovation or construction, or has increased their knowledge by attending countless home inspections, and learned from qualified home inspectors.

Your real estate agent brings ...

Much Needed Objectivity

... to the buying process.

This can be far more valuable to you than, say, the opinion of a friend or relative who has tagged along. Where your agent is objective, the relative often brings their own personal bias to the situation. And in my experience, their real estate advice is usually negative. It's sometimes easier to discourage with negativity than encourage with positive, constructive comments. Plus they often just want to be a hero.

So, buying real estate? Either leave your personal advisers out of the picture, or be prepared to discount their negative opinions (unless, of course, they're valid points).

See the Forest and Not Just the Trees

There's a natural tendency to see the furnishings and decor, and not the actual details of the structure. The condition of the flooring, windows, cabinetry, furnace, plumbing and various other features should be a priority for you. Your real estate agent will guide you to actually see more, hence assist you to make a more educated decision.

Hopefully, the seller will not be present during the viewing, so that you and your REALTOR® can converse freely, hence avoiding the possibility of offending the home owner.

If your real estate agent has done their pre-screening job well, and your needs are not extremely specific, you may actually find your new home on your first outing - maybe not. If the latter, another appointment will be necessary, and the search will continue.

Sometimes ...

Search Parameters May Change

... as you're exposed to listing inventory. One change that often occurs is a buyer will increase their maximum price because they often start low, and are disappointed with the calibre of home or neighbourhood. But the process will continue until you find your new home. A good real estate agent will be professionally persistent and patient.

Let Your Feelings Be Your Guide

Since all of the homes you view will have many of the features on your wants/needs list, your decision will be based almost entirely on how you feel about the home. Are you comfortable? Good question.

What I mean is - do you feel comfortable in the home? Rather than ask my buyers what they think of the home, I ask how they feel about it.

Keep in mind that if you remain in your old comfort zone, financially speaking, you'll not likely buy a home - period. Why move if there's no change? So, get excited. Stretch yourself a little, and you're more likely to enjoy the result. Remember ...

The Biggest Risk in Life is Not Taking One!!

Can you imagine living there and raising your family? Will your existing furniture fit? How much work will be required to personalize it, to make it your home? Does it excite you?

Given the opportunity, it's a great idea to actually sit down in the home to get a feeling for it. Spend some time in the garden, and open your eyes, ears and nose to casually investigate the surroundings. Any noisy trains or trucks close by? Smell any fumes? Are you under a flight path for the local airport? Any high tension lines close by? Think about electromagnetic fields (EMF).

Maybe, you like all the local action, maybe not. Before making the final decision to submit an offer, take a walk around the neighbourhood. Check out the parks, schools or recreation. Sit in your car to watch traffic patterns. Meet the neighbours.

And here's huge advantage for a buyer to work with a REALTOR® - it usually costs you nothing. Free service!! Imagine that.

Now, move on to the next phase ...

Decision Time - Make an Offer

If You're a Seller

... what can a real estate agent do for you?

Well, let's see. How about great real estate advice, starting with ...

Correctly Evaluating Your Home

Very important. You'll not want to be on the market for months, or even years. Not a great experience keeping your home and property in pristine condition for showings week after week after month.

An over-priced property is unlikely to sell - period.

Buyers Are Not Stupid

They do their research. Nowadays, more than 3 out of 4 buyers begin their home search on the internet. And there's a wealth of information available to them offered by countless realty companies. And unlike days of old, they now have direct access to professional real estate advice from their own real estate agent, to council them on market values.

A listing agent can bring you another valuable asset ...

Objectivity

It's practically impossible for a home owner to be totally objective about their own property. After all, it's their castle, furnished and decorated to their exacting tastes. Perfect. But not necessarily to an average buyer. Your opinion is purely subjective.

A home owner simply can't escape their own personal bias and properly evaluate their own home. In my very long career, out of thousands of home owners, I can honestly say that there were only two home owners to date that I had to convince that their properties were worth more than what they thought. All the others believed their homes were worth more than the market would provide them. It's quite normal.

Their dream values were based upon what they'd heard in the neighbourhood about other list prices, and erroneously concluded that their 'magnificent' home was worth a lot more than those. Or from newspaper ads of similar homes for sale, without considering that the high tension power line behind their home, or the old leaky concrete swimming pool in their yard, or that their corner lot had no back yard, or the residue of years of cigarette smoke, or the dump-site in the adjacent home's back yard would adversely affect the value of their property. Surprise!

A real estate agent can objectively assess how your home shows, how a buyer will see it, and offer solid real estate advice on how to stage it effectively before showings commence. If your REALTOR® lacks a staging talent, they may recommend a professional home stager. Or they may just suggest simple things like de-cluttering, a fresh coat of paint, a carpet or window cleaning, garden manicure, or maybe just furniture reorganization or elimination.

Spruce It Up A Little

Your real estate agent may recommend something a little more extensive like a bath tub or sink re-finish, a new toilet or garage door, or a hardwood floor re-finish. Sometimes, little things can make a huge difference in your ultimate sale price or length of time on the market. Plus buyers often invest all their available cash into their down payment, leaving them with insufficient monies to do renovations immediately after closing. So, a prudent seller may wish to seriously consider investing in at least minor work on their property.

Aside from the obvious ...

Sales, Marketing and Negotiating Skills

... that a good real estate agent will offer, an agent is always there to answer your questions, provide available feedback from showings, and to add a sense of security in knowing that you'll not be home alone with strangers. A good real estate agent is there to share in your celebration, or commiserate with you when, after great effort, you accepted a lower price that what you had hoped for. Hey - it happens.

And consider that your real estate agent is working on your behalf, investing their time, effort, experience and dollars, completely with the hope that your place will sell. Of course, if it fails to sell, they do not get paid. And you've lost nothing except maybe hope and patience.

If your home fails to sell, it's for one single reason. Just one.

Your Asking Price Was Too High

Everything is purely a function of price. You could have holes in your roof, a flooded basement, a railway track through your back yard, or orange shag carpet worn to the plywood sub-floor. It doesn't really matter. At the right price, there is a buyer for every property. It all boils down to price. Period.

So, if your property hasn't sold, reduce the list price. Trust your real estate agent. And if you don't, then when your listing expires, you have the right to get a new one. Seek a recommendation from someone you trust. Or contact me.

Whether you're ...

Buying or Selling

... a real estate agent is your trusted guide through the ever increasing technical (and emotional) process of trading in real estate. A REALTOR® can help reduce your stress ... and risk in our growing litigious society.

So, stay awhile on my website, get more of your questions answered, and contact me with any questions, if you'd like real estate agent information in your area, or some experienced real estate advice or service.

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