Posted on April 22, 2009 by remaxultimate
Absolutely!
In the past week, I had a couple of agents approach me with scenarios of potential buyer clients that were contacting individual listing agents to show them the property. Some of the Buyer clients were even questioning the necessity to sign the agency agreements.
Everything we do and say educates our clients and at some point in time we must of given the impression to the public that these forms are not mandatory and by calling the listing agent directly, they possibly would be even saving money by cutting out the Buyer Agent. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In my 20 plus years in real estate experience, I can’t see how a client has saved money by cutting out the Buyer agent and going through the listing agent alone. Whenever an agent meets with a potential seller to list a property for sale, the first order of business is to establish a marketing price and decide on the best terms that the Seller (the client) would accept. Once all this is settled the marketing plan goes into action.
When a buyer comes directly to the listing agent, it’s typically become the expectation of the buyer that the agent will reduce the commission in favour of selling the property and this is where things lose their clarity. First, it’s the duty of the listing agent to get the best price for their client the Seller. Secondly, why wouldn’t any benefit in a reduced commission or fee not be realized by the Seller? Especially when that same listing agent told the Seller at the time of evaluation what the price should be.
When you drive down the street, how many different company For Sale signs on each property do you see?? One. Sellers sign a listing agreement allowing them to market the property for sale. TREB has created for buyers a system called the Buyer Registry System that is in reality similar to an MLS system. Our governing bodies known as RECO and TREB is very clear in their requirements to have Agency explained to the consumer at the earliest opportunity. Buyer representation agreements outlining who represents who and how need to be disclosed on all offers and can only be accomplished by having these important forms signed.
Being represented by your own agent is vital and this is why Buyer Agency was created. Having someone in your corner to educate, guide, negotiate and look out for your best interest is vital when it comes to making arguably the largest investment of your life. Shortcuts or the perception that you will be saving money is not advisable. If an agent doesn’t take the time to sit down with you, explain and ask you to sign these necessary forms, what else are they missing or not telling you?? Is your agent full time and continuously keeping themselves updated on all requirements??
At RE/MAX Ultimate we take great pride in representing our clients the right way
Tim Syrianos
RE/MAX Ultimate Realty Inc., Brokerage
Filed under: Home Buyer tips, Home Seller tips, Personal Stories and Opinions | Tagged: Home Buyer tips, Personal Stories and Opinions, Toronto Market Watch | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 21, 2009 by remaxultimate
For some, Monday mornings may be tough. For me it’s a great day to hear the success stories from the weekend. Monday is also the best day of the week because the results are in and we’re able to see trends and gauge just what the market is doing.
It was another successful weekend with many of our Ultimate agents reporting very busy open houses and agreements of all price ranges either faxed to our admin or dropped off for processing first thing in the morning. Record low interest rates are allowing more and more first time buyers to take advantage of the opportunities that exist. We know things are better when agents are once again setting offer dates and homes selling for over asking price. Withholding offers didn’t exist for several months but once again they’re creeping right back in as common practice. The downtown core is not the only area that has experienced a resurgence. To view a recent CTV interview with Michael Polzler, please click here
I know the market has changed because we’re personally in the market for a home. Our growing family needs a larger home and we can no longer wait until the weekend to view properties. We’ve quickly realized that we need to act quick and have already missed a couple of great opportunities. See, I’m not only sharing my insight as a Broker but through the eyes of a buyer.
Tim Syrianos
RE/MAX Utimate Realty Inc., Brokerage
Filed under: Home Buyer tips, Home Seller tips, Personal Stories and Opinions, Toronto Market Watch | Tagged: Home Buyer tips, Home Seller tips, Toronto Market Watch | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 6, 2009 by remaxultimate
Negotiate is what RE/MAX agents do best. Whether it is getting the best offer and term for a Seller or securing a great deal for a buyer, clients always remember the value a Realtor adds to their transaction. We’re involved in assisting our clients with their homes.
A strength in any negotiation is to know the facts. Knowledge is power and learning as much as you can and being prepared is key to successfully reresenting the best interests of our clients.
Another important lesson that I have learned is “don’t want it more then they do”. Work with the attitude of plenty and abundance and you will always make the right decision.
Playing fair and treating all parties invloved in a professional manner with integrity also goes a long way. Just recently, I received a very nice email from a co-operating agent raving about how “awesome” our agent Laureen Unroth was to work with. It was a message that put a smile on my face and reminds me that when we work with integrity, fairness and co-operate fully, it sets an example in our industry that is definitely contagious. As an agent during my selling career, I quickly realized that treating the co-operating agent like a valued client went a long way to securing many successful sales and building professional relationships. By checking our ego at the door, aren’t we truly working in the best interests of our clients after all??
Tim Syrianos
RE/MAX Ultimate Realty Inc., Brokerage
Filed under: Career Building and Coaching, Careers at REMAX, Toronto Market Watch | Tagged: Career Building and Coaching | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 2, 2009 by remaxultimate
The Spring market is here! The snow has melted and there is a very strong confidence in the market felt. Our agents are reporting much busier Open Houses, more calls from their sign inquiries and it’s evident that Buyers are finally seeing the true value and opportunity that exists presently.
Keeping our fingers on the market’s pulse is what we do regularly. I’ve always enjoyed tracking numbers. Aside from how many home sales are completed, we track how many homes are listed for sale, how many calls and appointments are booked as well as how messages are sent through our paging system to our agents. This further allows us to determine just how busy the phones are. We find this constant research imperative because it assists our agents and clients to make sound decisions.
Our March sales resulted with a 25% increase in home sales over last March. Our volume was only slightly higher and once we investigated deeper, noticed quite a few more higher end rentals being done. Investors will definitely benefit from this type of data and once again proof that real estate is the best investment
Being ahead of TREB data and sales results shows just how strong our RE/MAX agents are and I’m proud of each and every one of our Ultimate agents
Tim Syrianos
RE/MAX Ultimate Realty Inc., Brokerage
Filed under: Home Buyer tips, Toronto Market Watch | Tagged: Toronto Market Watch, Toronto Real Estate Update | Leave a Comment »
Posted on March 19, 2009 by remaxultimate
The weather is not the only thing very Spring like. This past week has been very interesting and exciting. The office has picked up considerably and the home listings, appointments and sales are streaming in at a better rate then last March. However something that we didn’t expect to return for some quite time is multiple offers but for homes that show well and are priced right….they seem to back! Several of our agents are reporting multiple offers in many neighbourhoods. Some have been in central Toronto, others in the east end.
141 Winchester
With the media continuously entertaining us with doom and gloom in the stock market, I’m hoping that they pick up on all the positive events taking place in the real estate industry. A home this week had 13 offers and sold for $216,000 over the asking price.
Not all multiple offers result in an over asking sale scenarios but clients are making a very clear statement that with record low interest rates, affordability has never been better. Buyers have no interest in waiting for rates to rise before purchasing a home. Even retail sales have shown an increase and this shows more consumer confidence.
Real estate is an amazing proven investment and the decision to purchase or sell is not only based on the current stock market results. There are many buyers and sellers that need to buy or sell due to life requirements and or changes and there is only so much time that they can wait. Perception is everything. There is still over 92 % of our population with a job, not everyone has lost in the stock market and thousands are still choosing Toronto as their destination to call home and will need a home.
Tim Syrianos
RE/MAX Ultimate Realty Inc., Brokerage
Filed under: Home Buyer tips, Home Seller tips, Toronto Market Watch | Tagged: Toronto Market Watch, Toronto Real Estate Update | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 12, 2009 by remaxultimate
Sometimes referred to a short sale, it has been a situation that I’ve had to deal with on at least a few occasions in the last few weeks. A property is marketed and sold and just before closing we receive a letter from the Seller’s solicitor or the Co-Operating Broker’s office, that the Seller doesn’t have enough funds to close the transaction. In every instance, the seller’s mortgage amount is more then the sold price of the property. When this happens, it leaves behind a frustrated Buyer, Mortgage Company and at least two Brokerages. Sometimes, it’s even a huge surprise to the Seller.
It is imperative and mandatory under our TREB and RECO rules that the listing agent make sure that every reasonable effort is made to verify all information when it comes to the sale a property. This is not limited to square footage, room measurements and lot size but also how much is outstanding on the mortgage and if the property will be able to close.
In the event that a Seller refuses to allow the Realtor to verify this information, it should be noted and the Seller should sign that this request has been made available and refused. Agents and Brokerages must protect themselves from liability and this is why we include it in every Listing package for our agents. A copy of the Mortgage Verification Form can also be found in Web Forms of Realtorlink or click here for a copy.
Tim Syrianos
RE/MAX Ultimate Realty Inc., Brokerage
Filed under: Home Buyer tips, Home Seller tips, Toronto Market Watch | Tagged: Toronto Market Watch | Leave a Comment »
Posted on March 10, 2009 by remaxultimate
The Toronto Real Estate released the February Numbers and we were not surprised that they weren’t as bad as January. Lets not forget that January beat us up with record levels of snow and frigid temperatures. It was hard enough going to work through the white stuff let alone trying to show homes. The number were as follows:
- The TREB Market Watch reported a total of 4120 sales in 2009 compared to 6015 sales in 2008. A total drop of 32% across the entire MLS;
- New listings of homes coming on the market lowered by 11% to a total of 10,239;
- Active listings increased to 21,440 or 19%;
- The Days on market went from 30 days to 45 days. Even though it may be a 50% increase, it is still a very reasonable amount of time to sell a property;
- The average home price dipped to $361,305 compared to $382,048. That is presently a higher value then prices in 2006. The values in 2006 was $351,941. Its important that we also note that values always dip throughout the winter months and then increase in the Spring Market. It’s also exciting to share that our personal sales results from February outperformed TREB. At RE/MAX Ultimate our overall home unit sales increased by 15% and over last year.
RE/MAX also released a report that explains that first time buyers are also a driving force in the market and with affordability never being better, the outlook of an amazing Spring couldn’t be better. To see a copy of the full RE/MAX report, please click here
What February Blahs?? 
Tim Syrianos
RE/MAX Ultimate Realty Inc., Brokerage
Filed under: Home Buyer tips, Home Seller tips, Toronto Market Watch | Tagged: Home Buyer tips, Toronto Market Watch, Toronto Real Estate Update | Leave a Comment »
Posted on February 22, 2009 by remaxultimate
The time has come to sell, we meet with our clients, we discuss the marketing process and establish a marketing price. After several Open Houses, advertisements and networking calls, another associate prepares and presents an offer. However the offer is lower than you hoped – Much Lower.
This leads to the Seller and listing broker feeling insulted and or angry. The emotions are normal however we need to try to focus on our options and carefully review all the aspects of the offer. So where so we go from here??
With a full understanding of the offer including it’s terms, we now have two choices: Completely reject it or make a counter offer.
If we reject the offer outright and not entertain a sign back, we run the risk of the Buyer not appoaching the negotiating table a second time and no chance to discover that a simple misunderstanding is behind the Buyers offer price. If after review, it’s established that there is absolutely no reason to work with the offer, an “Offer Presentation-Acknowledgement form 109“ from our Realtorlink Web Forms needs to be filled out and presented to the buyer. This form shows the buyer that the offer was presented and rejected.
My opinion? Remind ourselves that if the buyer truly didn’t like the home and weren’t serious, they would never consider making an offer. If we’re truly serious about selling, it’s imperative to get into the reasons of the original low offer and with a level head begin the process of re-educating the buyer or buyers agent on the area values and features. This is what makes us the Number one negotiators and rarely has a counter offer not brought a favorable result.
After all their reasoning behind their offer may very well be based on what they read and or the media tells them.
Tim Syrianos
RE/MAX Ultimate Realty Inc., Brokerage
Filed under: Career Building and Coaching, Home Seller tips | Tagged: Career Building and Coaching, Home Buyer tips, Home Seller tips, Toronto Real Estate Update | Leave a Comment »
Posted on February 14, 2009 by remaxultimate
It was a call that I received with shock and disbelief.
As we know, a trust account is where Real Estate Brokerages and even lawyers place funds that is meant to be applied towards a client’s home purchase. In the case of RE/MAX Executive, with 3 branch locations being in Scarborough, Richmond Hill and Oak Ridges, hundreds of home buyers, sellers and Realtors have been affected when the funds that were to be protected may very well not be there. The Brokers admittance of accounting irregularities immediately led to all the accounts being frozen by the the Real Estate Council of Ontario. Upon investigation, everyone quickly discovered that the Trust account has been breached and the funds were no longer there.
When things finally came to a grinding halt, we immediately went into action to assist the Realtors of that Brokerage in any way possible to keep the doors open. The intent was to assist the Realtors to get answers through this difficult time and applied significant admin staff and effort to arrange for meetings with questions and answer periods. We gave it our best shot but ultimately the line up of creditors, lease issues and collections were just too much to overcome for that location and couldn’t even remain as a branch location for us.
While there, we came across another discovery. The economic model based on compensation packages was completely upside down. We discovered that everyone had some sort of deal and even though there are many rumors of other reasons, this was definitely a large part of the demise. “Free” has serious consequences and you simply can’t run any brokerage and provide service without revenue from agents. Agents that join a Brokerage based solely on “whats in it for me” should always keep in mind that they may need to change their business cards again within a short period of time.
Since the branch location could not remain open, we assisted the Realtors that didn’t stay with us find new Brokerages and get back to what they do best….servicing their clients. We also had many agents stay with us and we welcome them to our Ultimate team. Their professionalism is respected and will be valuable members. In time, the emotions will subside and it’s time to focus back to real estate with the upcoming spring market. We’ll allow the experts at RECO to continue to do the job of closing and paying out deposits and commissions as they come available. Luckily insurance will cover the money missing.
Tim Syrianos
RE/MAX Ultimate Realty Inc
Filed under: Personal Stories and Opinions, Toronto Market Watch | Tagged: Toronto Real Estate Update | Leave a Comment »
Posted on January 29, 2009 by remaxultimate
Its been said many times that Real Estate is the stick that stirs the economy. A healthy real estate market contributes to so many more sectors and keeps everything flowing. It was great to see that there were significant victories for the real estate industry as a whole including buyers and sellers. With the falling interest rates and these type of announcements, there is no doubt it will have many buyers leap off the fence and into the housing market once again. To recap, the benefits are as follows:
- First time buyers using the Home Buyers Plan can now withdrawal $25, 000 from their RRSP instead of the original $20,000;
- First time Buyer 15% tax credit on expenditures up to $5,000. This could result in a savings of up to $750 and created to assist with closing costs such as legal fees and land transfer taxes;
- For property owners, there now exists and incentive to improve their property. If you spend a minimum of $1,000 to a maximum of $10,000, there is a new renovation tax credit that could result in a 15% tax credit to a maximum of $1,350. The only catch is that the renovation has to be on a personal residence dwelling and completed before February 1, 2010.
All great features and benefits for our clients. All levels of government around the world are showing a willingness to make a difference with the exception of our city council and mayor. How long will it take before they finally admit that the new City of Toronto Land Transfer Tax is unfair, poorly planned and introduced at the worst possible time?
Tim Syrianos
RE/MAX Ultimate Realty Inc., Brokerage
Filed under: Home Buyer tips, Home Seller tips, Toronto Market Watch | Tagged: buyer, Home Buyer tips, Home Seller tips, Toronto Market Watch, Toronto Real Estate Update | Leave a Comment »
