14 hours Ago By Dennis Faulkner
Article content When making a substantial purchase like a home, having a trusted and skilled guide walk alongside you is extremely valuable. A few think a realtor simply opens doors and helps you prepare the paperwork. Others know they need a skilled and experienced consultant to help them navigate the entire process.
Our clients value and rely on our (my wife and I) expertise and experience to walk with them and be their trusted advisors. Here are eight things realtors do for their clients. DISCOVERY The discovery process or consultation.
Many experienced realtors are highly skilled at this. They will have a well-developed process that goes way beyond simply setting up a search for the type of home, location and price range of the home a client wishes to purchase. To best serve their client, they will need to know not just the features their client wants in the home but why they want them.
A realtor also needs to know their client’s values, how long the client will be in the home, and their future plans and goals. What is very important is how the whole family’s experience will be in the home throughout their entire ownership period. This will include vocation, family, recreation, pets, experience and more.
Values will include everything from how important things are, like natural light, the direction of the backyard, the flexibility and flow of various layouts, construction materials, parking and processes, energy efficiency, level of maintenance, and other costs of ownership — insurance, taxes, and commuting. If the discovery process is done well, then when we find a home our buyers are excited about, we can remind them of these things that they may temporarily overlook in this emotional “honeymoon” period. The biggest reason we became realtors was to do better than our experience and serve our friends and clients like we would want to be served.
We have seen many realtors do this very well. LOGISTICS Realtors set up a search, appointments and access to view potential properties. EVALUATION Provide a market evaluation of the home they wish to purchase.
We never rely on the list price of any home to be an accurate reflection of the value. There are various online software that claim to provide value. These are not to be trusted, as homes cannot be evaluated without an in-person assessment.
The tax assessment cannot be trusted either. I wrote an article several years ago for the Edmonton Journal about tax assessments that you can google if you like. RESEARCH Research, research, research — this is a big one and includes neighbourhood research, zoning, history and unique challenges of the various vintages and property types.
Research is even more important when buying a condo — are there any amounts owing or charges against a unit that do not appear on the title? We have heard about some buyers purchasing a foreclosure condo without checking the Estoppel certificate before removing conditions or on a conditionless purchase and getting stuck with thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in charges against the unit. In a condo purchase, finding a realtor who is skilled and experienced in condominiums can be extremely valuable. It can be valuable to hire an inspector who not only inspects the unit but will conduct a walk around the common property to assess the entire project, as each owner is partially responsible for the entire property.
In many cases, we have discovered significant issues in common property that the management company or the condo board does not know about. We have recommended that our clients reconsider their purchase, as an assessment will likely soon be coming. CONTRACT WRITING Your skilled realtor will know how to write an enforceable contract with the proper terms and conditions to protect your interests.
Every purchase is unique in some way, and a skilled realtor will know when to seek outside advice from their broker and/or a lawyer. NEGOTIATIONS Having a skilled consultant who is not emotionally vested in the transaction is incredibly valuable. Many experienced realtors have taken courses and studied the art of negotiations.
Negotiations go well beyond the purchase price. It will include all the terms and conditions, any exceptions, and everything the seller needs to do or not do and include or not include in the transaction. In our experience, we have found it incredibly valuable to keep “goodwill” in the deal.
That is negotiating with honour and respect. Last year, we had a situation where our buyer could not close for nearly 30 days, and they risked losing their deposit and their dream home. Because we had a great and respectful relationship with the seller’s realtor and indirectly with the seller, they held off fully accepting other offers for nearly a month.
That is almost unheard of and underscored the incredible value of maintaining goodwill and professionalism with all parties throughout the transaction. NEW BUILDS If you are purchasing a home from a builder, it can be wise and valuable to use a realtor to help navigate the process, putting your interests ahead of everyone else. All realtors are required by law to put their client’s interests above all parties, including their own interests.
Many builders are very good and do care about their client’s experience. There, unfortunately, are exceptions, as there are in any industry. Ten years ago, a client of ours had issues, and he said he would have his lawyer deal with the builder.
The builder wouldn’t cooperate even after receiving several communications from his lawyer. He would have to sue, but who wants to go through that? My buyer then gave me permission to deal with it. One phone call to the CEO changed everything.
Realtors collectively have immense negotiating and purchasing power. All I had to do was educate the CEO on that fact. Wrongs got righted straight away.
That builder is no longer in business. Again, there are many great builders who do their best to have satisfied clients. This paragraph is in no way meant to disrespect any builder.
Personally, we have bought two brand new homes and had great experiences with the builders’ representatives, who demonstrated professionalism and honoured our requests after the contract was signed and the home was built. OVERSEE PURCHASE PROCESS It is like being an orchestra conductor where the realtor monitors all the parties involved in the deal. Each deal is unique.
The most common parties are the other realtor, the lawyers, the brokerages involved, the lender, the condo management company and our client, the inspector, the builder, the insurance provider, etc. For the transaction to flow seamlessly through to possession, we must ensure that all parties are doing what they need to do in the time frame they need to do it. This is not a comprehensive list of how realtors help, but it is the fundamentals of a realtor’s service, Most realtors sincerely care for their clients, are extremely diligent in their processes, and love the work they do.
Some love it so much they never retire. Choose your realtor carefully, seek referrals, ask questions of the person who referred them, and interview your realtor before legally engaging them, just as you would when you select a realtor to help you sell your property. I wish you much success in your purchase, and with this year potentially being one with values increasing, I also wish you posthaste.
Dennis Faulkner, B.A. Economics, serves as a realtor at MaxWell Challenge Realty.
He can be contacted to answer your real estate questions at [email protected].
