Episode 6: Choosing a Buyer Agent

[00:00:01] Speaker A: You are listening to the Realestatepodcast CA, brought to you by JNC Toronto Real Estate Group. All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back, faithful listeners to the Realestatepodcast ca. John, Cheryl and Nicole of the JNC Toronto Real Estate Group coming to you from our office in Leslieville, Toronto, Canada. And Cheryl, if you'll do the honors, it's your turn for our disclaimer. [00:00:32] Speaker B: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities we represent. [00:00:41] Speaker A: Fantastic. [00:00:42] Speaker C: Good reading. [00:00:42] Speaker A: Much better than Nicole. You did great last time. [00:00:47] Speaker C: Vote in the comments. No kidding. [00:00:50] Speaker A: Who does it better? Okay, let's get right to it. Our topic today, after doing a couple of lighter topics, our last couple of podcasts is something that is a little more serious. It's choosing a buyer's agent. We thought we would hone in on this very important part of the real estate transaction and answer three of our listeners questions, especially our first time buyers out there. This podcast is going to be broken up into three parts. To answer these three questions before I pose those questions. You had your hand up, Cheryl. [00:01:19] Speaker B: No, that was the number one first question. [00:01:21] Speaker A: Perfect. [00:01:21] Speaker B: This is my hand up. [00:01:22] Speaker A: Okay, I'll have to pay more attention. Cheryl does tell me I need to pay more attention on a daily basis. [00:01:28] Speaker C: Well, it's your peripherals. You're just looking through your peripherals. [00:01:30] Speaker A: Number one, do I need a buyer agent? [00:01:34] Speaker B: Yes, you do need a buyer agent. Of course you need a buyer agent. [00:01:38] Speaker C: Short answer, no, but there are risks to being self represented. [00:01:43] Speaker A: Very good. Very good indeed. [00:01:45] Speaker C: I'm pretty good at reading too. [00:01:47] Speaker A: So that's going to be the first question and we'll get to that in a moment. Second question, why should I use a buyer agent? And then the third question is, what should I look for in a buyer agent? Because that's what the podcast is all about today, how to choose a buyer agent. So let's talk about number one. Do I need a buyer agent? Cheryl, you said yes, I think, yes. [00:02:11] Speaker B: You do need a buyer agent because it is a very large transaction that you will be going through and you want to use an expert. [00:02:19] Speaker A: When we were talking before, Nicole, you mentioned that this is something similar to akin to your previous profession. [00:02:27] Speaker C: Do you need a buyer agent? Short answer is no. Technically you don't. But there are a lot of risks. Why would you not have one? No matter what you are, if you're buying something and there's someone out there that has a lot of knowledge and day in day out purchases, those things. For example, as we were talking about earlier, I used to purchase horses for people. [00:02:45] Speaker A: Sure. [00:02:45] Speaker C: Even if you know a lot about horses, why would you not have somebody who's an expert, who spends all their time buying and selling them to give you the ins and outs. [00:02:52] Speaker A: Exactly. [00:02:52] Speaker C: Give you some heads up, give you some knowledge. [00:02:54] Speaker A: Yeah. And I think that even people that have bought five or six houses and sold five or six houses, they don't always, if they use a realtor, won't see everything from behind the scenes. Right. All of the major obstacles, all of the potential things that you could be sued over. We're going to touch on a lot of the different reasons why you should use a buyer agent. But the short answer is, technically, you do not now need a buyer agent. In the past, you could work as a customer. There's new legislation coming around on December 1 that we're not going to get into in depth, but they do allow with this new legislation to be a self represented party. And with this, if you choose to be a self represented party, there are forms that need to be filled out that explain, number one, the risks, and there are many risks of being a self represented party. And number two, that you acknowledge all of these risks. It's an acknowledgment form. And you know what? There's a reason why there's forms to be filled out, and there's a reason why these risks have to be outlined to anyone. Let's say we are representing a seller. We have a buyer that comes to us and says, I want to buy your house off your Seller. How do I do it? Well, if you don't have a realtor, you're kind of on your own. You're representing yourself. We can't give you any advice. You are totally on your own. And this form actually recommends that the self represented party seek professional advice from another real estate brokerage or a lawyer. And for good reason. [00:04:30] Speaker C: Yes, Cheryl, I'm confused. [00:04:33] Speaker A: I think many people will be confused. Long story short, the long answer is it's in your best interest to have somebody, an expert, a professional, representing you in the course of a real estate transaction. We're dealing with millions of dollars. We're dealing with a lot of potential pitfalls. So get yourself an agent. Not only get yourself an agent, get yourself a good agent. [00:04:57] Speaker B: Right. So I mentioned that before that how do you, I can't remember what I said, to be honest. [00:05:04] Speaker C: Okay, go ahead. And sort of, just to reiterate, what you're saying is this is a complete overhaul of our industry really coming December 1. Previously, some people, I actually know someone who, and we all know someone who's purchased a house before without a buyer agent, done so just with their lawyer. The one person I had I know did have trouble. So I'm going to say 100% of the people I know that have done this have not had a smooth transaction. However, on December 1, we are changing all of our legislation. I'm sure we will go in depth, we will at a later date, not in this podcast. [00:05:34] Speaker A: Correct. [00:05:34] Speaker C: But it will now be much easier to be a self represented party and have no one's help. [00:05:40] Speaker A: That's correct. [00:05:41] Speaker B: So just to break this down so people understand, because I think if you're not a realtor and you're listening to us right now and you're like, what the heck are these three talking about? I almost said these two because I kind of, right now, you have the option of using a buyer agent, or you can be on a customer service agreement, which basically just means that that buyer agent is paper pushing for you. But there's like all these gray areas and whatnot. The point of our new legislation that is going to be coming into play on December 1 is to stop, basically, realtors from representing both the buyer and the seller, which most of us know can be a bit unethical, a conflict of interest right now. And so now the choices are, you can be our client, which is what we would always recommend anyways, and we owe you certain fiduciary duties, or you can do it yourself, or you can. [00:06:32] Speaker A: Be on your own. [00:06:33] Speaker C: Yeah, do it yourself. [00:06:34] Speaker B: The end. And us as the realtor representing the seller, cannot give you any advice, and yeah, you're on your own. [00:06:40] Speaker A: That's it. [00:06:41] Speaker C: December 1, 2023. I just wanted to say that that is correct. Podcast is going to live in perpetuity forever on the Internet. And 50 years from now, people listen to this. [00:06:49] Speaker A: Well, this is why we're not going in depth, because once it is released, there will be more information. They've been providing us with information and training leading up to it. But come December 1, there will be quite a few changes in our industry. I want to say, if you look at it like this, let's say you're someone that has not taken good self care of themselves throughout their life, and they're looking to try to become healthy. You want to become fit? Can you become fit on your own in a timely manner and get to the best possible condition? Or do you think you would be better served to hire, say, a personal trainer to do that. Would it be quicker if you used a personal trainer? Would you do a better job? Would you have less chance of being injured and becoming even more unhealthy? Less chance. Know those types of think. And we could apply this to so many other professions. As a matter of fact, six years ago last October, we did a video called why use a realtor? I'm going to link to it in the YouTube description as well as on the video itself so you can have a look at that. And basically you wouldn't pull your own tooth after doing some research on YouTube. You can't fly a plane, drive a race car. You get the idea. [00:08:08] Speaker C: This goes to one of my favorite sayings that I'd forgotten until right now. One of my top ten sayings, which is mentors collapse time frames. [00:08:15] Speaker A: I love that. [00:08:16] Speaker C: Right? To put it together, would you do it on yourself? Sure. You can do it by yourself. Have somebody who knows what they're doing help you and collapse the time frame. [00:08:23] Speaker A: Right. [00:08:24] Speaker B: Can I just say that she has the best quotes ever? [00:08:26] Speaker C: I didn't make any of them up. [00:08:27] Speaker B: I know, but you were all, in. [00:08:29] Speaker C: My mind, collected from. [00:08:30] Speaker B: I love them though. [00:08:31] Speaker A: Yeah, they're all good, Nicole, thanks. [00:08:33] Speaker B: Except for that one about babies. [00:08:35] Speaker A: Yeah, that one's not so good. [00:08:35] Speaker C: I made that one up. That's why that's an original. [00:08:38] Speaker A: All right, so let's go to number two. Question number two, why use a buyer agent? And I've got about ten or twelve points here and we can expound on them as we go through them. All right, firstly, it usually doesn't cost anything to use a buyer agent. So most of the time it's paid for by the seller and we can get into that in a future podcast with regards to how compensation is handled. Number two, I think is a big one. Use a buyer agent, because your buyer agent is there to protect your best interests. Once you have an agency agreement with an agent and a brokerage, there's something called fiduciary duties where they are literally just like a lawyer has fiduciary duties, looking out after your best interests in the course of the transaction. Would you ladies like to. [00:09:31] Speaker B: I heard you get an expert for free. [00:09:34] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:09:35] Speaker B: And I think that I had mentioned before, there's different levels of expertise among realtors, and I know that this is kind of why we're doing this podcast. There's a lot of realtors, but some don't trade at all. Some are only part timers. So obviously you're going to get a higher level of expertise with somebody who's in and out of this industry every single day. But to be able to use that person who is looking out for your best interest, who can guide and advise you, who is there for you for free, is amazing. [00:10:04] Speaker C: And I'm also going to say there are different calibers, but even if you're choosing someone of a low caliber, let's just say because they're your nieces, Friends, aunts, godmothers, sisters, dog walker. And you really like her. [00:10:16] Speaker B: Wow. [00:10:17] Speaker C: Her expertise level is still greater than you, greater than someone that bought even five or six homes in their lifetime. They've been through some measure of training to have received their license. They are at a brokerage, let's say even those person has elevated knowledge you would expect. [00:10:33] Speaker A: And what we're going to cover is how you can find out just how much experience they have. We're going to give you some questions, listeners. I'm excited. If you are looking to buy a property on how to choose a good realtor and what does make a good realtor? We'll talk about that in the next few questions and points as well. I think what makes a good realtor would be experience in negotiation. Right. And if you're choosing a brand new realtor that has never done a deal before, they may have some experience in negotiation with just life negotiation, selling horses, selling art like they used to. [00:11:06] Speaker C: Teamsters. [00:11:06] Speaker A: Yeah, but it's kind of a little bit different. Yeah. Representing a union. Absolutely. But I think that communication is one of the biggest parts of negotiation. And you talk about this all the time, right, cheryl? [00:11:17] Speaker B: All the time. [00:11:19] Speaker C: There is negotiation relevant to our industry, too. I say one of the Teamsters, because I remember once negotiating this deal for a horse and it was against someone who was working for the teamsters and he was like the top negotiator and what he was doing wasn't making any sense for our industry whatsoever. And it kiboshed the deal. [00:11:37] Speaker B: Yeah. So experience in negotiation, somebody who knows how to negotiate but also can pivot because every person you're negotiating with is different, every seller is different, every home is different, every realtor is different. So yes, that is very important. [00:11:52] Speaker A: If you're dealing with someone who's done a lot of deals, they'll have dealt with other realtor personality types, some that are the Anvil, others that are working to work together with you to bring things together. [00:12:03] Speaker B: Seller. [00:12:04] Speaker A: Yeah. The other experience that realtors bring is if they have done a lot of deals, they can have their finger on the pulse of the market and they should be able to, as your buyer agent, look at a property that you're interested in and ascertain what perceived market value should be for that property, for that neighborhood, for that property type, and for the market that you're in. It might be a buyer's market, a seller's market, or a balanced market. And Cheryl, you delve deep, and that's one of your talents, is to break down information, statistics, and really do the comps, we call it in the industry, running comps. How many hours do you think you spend if you're working with a buyer? On average? [00:12:49] Speaker B: Yeah, I think every realtor who is trying to provide a good service to their client spends a lot of hours on this, sort of going through all of the comparable sales, what has sold, to ascertain that perceived market value, and then to guide and advise their client accordingly. However, I would say that I like it a lot, and I like having my finger on the pulse. And I'm the type of person, the way that I digest information and the way that I feel like I'm the expert is by knowing everything. So I feel like I need all the information before I can give you a good. [00:13:21] Speaker A: That's your personality type. You're not confident unless you know absolutely everything about it. [00:13:25] Speaker B: And I will do everything to know. And because I already like statistics and all that kind of stuff, it's something that I like to delve deep on. And I would do this. I do this every day. Even if we don't have a buyer client, I'm constantly looking at prices. And why are you smiling at me? [00:13:41] Speaker A: Because you're a numbers nerd. But she's a lot of fun at parties. [00:13:45] Speaker C: Don't worry, guys, I'm not. [00:13:50] Speaker A: I love the fact that you're a numbers nerd. It helps us as a team and a group be better because we're always chatting about what's going on with certain properties, how many offers, what you think it'll sell for, and Cheryl's usually spot on. [00:14:01] Speaker B: That's why I was actually right early on. I remember us discovering this may be my superpower when we first became realtors many years ago. I would walk into a house and holding offer strategy was really big then, and nobody had a rhyme or reason. Was it 100,000 less than it should sell or 200? I'd walk in, I'd be like, yeah, this is a 1.2 house. And john be like, how do you know that? I'm like, I don't know. It's just like from looking at all of the properties, I've gathered information in my head and this is just what I think without have done the comps to back that information up. And then it was happening. Like every time I would do that, it sold somewhere close to whatever price I felt when I walked in the house. So I was like, I need to learn why I'm good at this. So I was digging a little deeper on it. [00:14:44] Speaker A: If you don't have a realtor and you're a self represented party, how are you going to figure out what is a fair offer on a property without leaning on somebody? Are you going to go to house Sigma? [00:14:54] Speaker B: Sometimes it's helpful to still look at those things. But I think I forgot to mention, it's not just looking at the numbers and looking at the listings, it's actually having seen many of these homes, or homes like it, to know that doesn't mean that this equals x amount of dollars or this sometimes can take away value or whatever. And it might be small things that the regular folk might not understand. [00:15:17] Speaker A: I did just want to mention, I just wanted to mention House Sigma because I know a lot of people, they depend on that for the house sigma estimate. And we have tracked house sigma estimates on dozens and dozens of properties and seen them wrong either way high or way low. And they've even had to put a disclaimer as to how they come up with their house sigma estimate. And because we know it's so way off and the algorithm doesn't take so many things into effect, it is not something that a self represented party should depend on if they want to do themselves justice. Yes. [00:15:49] Speaker B: Do you have a comment too, or are you just copying? [00:15:51] Speaker C: No, I do actually have a comment. [00:15:52] Speaker B: I was just going to say, I'm very happy that how Sigma did that, because when it first came out, it was a problem that people weren't listening to the advice of their realtor and they were looking at house Sigma and how Sigma was getting it wrong. And some people wouldn't offer more than whatever House Sigma said. And now you can see, especially because the market has changed, your realist price will give you a very different house Sigma estimate. [00:16:13] Speaker A: Totally. [00:16:14] Speaker B: I'm glad that they put that disclaimer. I think that it's a good thing. [00:16:17] Speaker C: I wanted to go back and just talk about the comparables. That's what I was thinking about even when we're talking about, as Cheryl, as you said, going through the properties, but sometimes we can't have gone through all the properties, even looking at the pictures and going through and doing comparables that way practice makes perfect and perfect practice makes perfect. I find myself if I am not working with a buyer consistently, it takes me longer to do this. Even after, let's say, if I have a month has gone by, it takes me longer, and it's harder to do after one month of having not done it than if I'm doing it all the time. So if you've never done it before, if you've never been a realtor, what do you think the chances are that you're seeing all the little wear and tear on the property? Exactly. [00:16:59] Speaker A: And if it's a buyer's market and you're unrepresented, how do you know you're not going to be offering way too much? Right. And if it's a seller's market and there's tons of other buyers out there with their agents coming up with competitive offers, how do you know that you're even going to be in the conversation if you want to win a property. [00:17:15] Speaker C: Feeling they're all going to be lowballing. [00:17:16] Speaker B: May I just say that we're talking about all of these things. Why use a buyer agent? Because we're doing what we do best in the office and we're going off on tangents and blah, blah, blah. So we've got, you want somebody who has experience in negotiation and communication. You want somebody who has experience in determining what perceived market value may be. So I was just going to bring you to the next one, try to move us along. [00:17:41] Speaker A: That's my job. Cheryl. Exactly. With experience in contract, know if you have a lawyer, they might be able to do that. [00:17:47] Speaker B: And they're not going to be able to guide and advise on the market. They can guide and advise on the. [00:17:50] Speaker A: Paper, on writing it. Exactly. Performing due diligence on the property. Because we've seen so many houses over the years, we kind of know what to look for. As to moist basements or knob and tube. [00:18:04] Speaker C: Knob and tube is a big one that I think of when I was laying in bed last night thinking about what can we see quite quickly that other people might not see? Is a, the knob and tube evidence that might be present, but b, what does that mean exactly? What is it? What about looking at pictures? Sometimes we look at pictures and we're like, bet it's knob and tube. What do we see? [00:18:25] Speaker B: Implications depending on the buyer, because some buyers, it's not going to matter because they might be doing no financing with whatever. And for someone else it might be a make or break on the deal. [00:18:36] Speaker A: And we've experienced having gone through so many home inspections with our clients. And just as your buyer agent, we would recommend getting a home inspection done if there is not one already on the property. That's another thing. Experience in local market conditions. And I'll talk about this in number three, what to look for in a buyer agent. But it may be in your best interest to get a local area expert, depending on where it is that you are shopping. Realtors are required to uphold professional standards of conduct that stress fairness, honesty and integrity. And they must follow rules and regulations that are designed to protect the consumer. Realtors are also insured and at the end of the day, there's millions of dollars at stake and we do this every single day. So in the past. Yeah, go ahead, Cheryl. [00:19:28] Speaker B: We understand that it's million dollars at stake as not, you know, flippant for us. We understand how heavy that is on someone's shoulders and that may be the largest transaction in their life. [00:19:39] Speaker C: Very much so. You would think that maybe dealing with these multimillion properties every day, we'd be like just one, seven. I often think like, jeez, a lot of money. [00:19:48] Speaker A: Like, really big implications. [00:19:52] Speaker C: Big implications. [00:19:52] Speaker A: Largest financial. [00:19:53] Speaker C: Very seriously. [00:19:54] Speaker B: Do you remember when we used to sell art on the ship? They used to tell us not to shop with our own wallet. We would think it's too expensive. And I would say that we obviously don't want to shop with our own wallet. But it's almost the opposite with houses. Like, keep it in perspective that this is a lot of money for whoever it is in front of us. [00:20:13] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:20:14] Speaker B: It could be a $500,000 condo or a $3 million house. It's still like it's all their money. [00:20:20] Speaker C: Generally in Toronto, I would say that. [00:20:22] Speaker A: You want to work with an agent that is respectful of your budget and understands that this is in fact the largest acquisition, potentially of your life and your largest financial asset. Not a realtor. That's like, hey, how much money do you have? Okay, let's stretch you to the very top. You should just buy this. Let me show you something that's in the $2 million range. Do you have any money you could borrow from your family, et cetera, et cetera? [00:20:43] Speaker B: We sometimes hear that stories. [00:20:45] Speaker A: So pick someone that is, again, going to look after your best interests. And in the past, people used to go to the listing agent thinking that, oh, that's great, I'm going to get a deal. Things are going to be changing where this hasn't happened. But remember, when you do that, that person is under contract and providing agency to the seller. [00:21:05] Speaker B: Go ahead. [00:21:06] Speaker C: I still hear this. I still hear today people know we'll go to the listing agent because we could get a deal. Maybe. There's very little concept that, no, that person is not working in your best interest at all, period. This is not helping you. You are hindering yourself. [00:21:21] Speaker B: Yeah, Cheryl, I was just going to agree with her. You might wonder, listeners, I mean, watchers. I know anyone watching on YouTube. Nicole and I keep putting our hand up in the air to be chosen by John to say something. And it's because we got in trouble for talking over each other last. [00:21:37] Speaker A: It. It makes it harder to edit, especially doing the little trailers, the short forms. It's just a lot easier if there's some pauses and we're not talking over each other. Anyway, it's a good. [00:21:47] Speaker B: Oh, my God. [00:21:49] Speaker A: It's a good skill to have to listen more than you talk. [00:21:54] Speaker C: I've been told if people are watching, I also want them to see this. I want them to take some show notes and I'm going to make sure you. For how, my God, next year. [00:22:06] Speaker A: All right, carry on. I will. All right, let's go to our third question. What to look for in a buyer agent. And it goes back to number two. Why use a buyer agent? Because they have the experience. So I think you should look for an experienced agent. What does that look like? Because someone might be very proficient within their first year or two. Someone may be in the business for 20 years. And how many times have we heard, I've been in the business for 20 years. And I said once to an agent, well, you've been doing it wrong for 20 years. [00:22:40] Speaker C: Doing it wrong for 20 years. We have it recorded and we watch it sometimes. But they were doing it very wrong. [00:22:46] Speaker A: Oh, they were absolutely doing it wrong. And they were representing a buyer. [00:22:50] Speaker B: And just to go back to your first point, we know some very young. [00:22:53] Speaker C: Realtors who were excellent, and we ourselves were quite excellent. Quite early on. [00:22:59] Speaker B: I thought you were going to say quite young. And I was like, no, we're not. Someone's turning 50 in a week. No, you were younger than us. [00:23:07] Speaker C: But we did a lot of training, right? So, granted, we didn't have that much time, experience as an agent, but we were spending hours and hours and hours a day in training, working with other experienced agents, observing them. We were gaining experience at a very accelerated rate. [00:23:21] Speaker A: And here's the thing. We took it upon ourselves to do the training. [00:23:26] Speaker B: You have to. [00:23:27] Speaker A: Yeah, you absolutely have to. Well, you don't have to. If you're a realtor, you can just call it in. There's no requirements other than your basic schooling. [00:23:37] Speaker B: I didn't mean you have to as a realtor. I mean, if you want to learn and gather that expertise, you have to take it upon yourself. Because we are self employed. [00:23:45] Speaker A: Yes. So if you choose a part time agent that is spending 40 hours a week with their regular job and maybe doesn't have the access to training nor the time to do training, and you're using them as your buyer agent, there's some risks involved in that as well. Choosing an inexperienced agent. There can be inexperienced agents that work on teams that may have access to great mentorship. So when you're asking questions of your buyer agent, and we'll talk about should you interview buyer agents? I would say absolutely. Early on our career, very early, we went into a buyer consultation and we didn't realize that they were interviewing a bunch of agents. And it's more common to interview people that are going to list your property. But we're finding, I think it may be in your best interest, if you're looking to purchase a property, to interview agents and ask some good questions. Number one, how long have you been doing this for? How many transactions a year do you do? This is, I think, perfectly fine to ask of a buyer agent. [00:24:47] Speaker B: From my perspective, if I had to hire a buyer agent, if I were not a realtor, I think I would be overwhelmed because there's so many out there, like, who do I choose to interview? Obviously, you get referrals or whatnot. And sometimes if someone referred me someone and said they're good, I probably wouldn't interview because that just seems like a lot of work. I understand. Yes, it's a big transaction and stuff. [00:25:07] Speaker C: But to hear you say this. [00:25:09] Speaker B: Yeah, because I don't. [00:25:10] Speaker C: That's what I would do, too. But I always think of us as being different in that way. Be like, you trust them. I don't have time. You're good. [00:25:15] Speaker B: Well, I wrote down 80 20 here. As you guys know, I often will say when we are talking about perceived market value that I'm a facts and figures person, and 80% of perceived market value is facts and figures. But there's always going to be 20% of emotion, and you can't necessarily understand or control what that emotion is going to be with people offering on a property. I think it's kind of the same for finding a buyer agent, because, yes, you're going to ask these questions, John, and you're going to ascertain if they have the expertise you're looking for. But don't you think that 20% of that is like, do I jive with this person? [00:25:48] Speaker A: Totally. Yes. [00:25:49] Speaker B: Do I trust them from having a conversation with them? Do I like them? Because I'm going to spend a lot of time with them over the next little while. [00:25:55] Speaker C: Is their style similar to my style? Do they have the same, you saw, you looked at my scarf there. [00:26:02] Speaker A: Winter. [00:26:02] Speaker C: Give me a break. [00:26:03] Speaker B: It's not winter. [00:26:05] Speaker C: It's winter. It's fall. [00:26:06] Speaker A: It is fall. I want to just go a little bit more in depth on that. Cheryl said that maybe I wouldn't interview multiple agents if I was referred someone. They said, try John and Cheryl and Nicole. They've done the best job in the past. They're fantastic. You know what I would say? Okay, great. I would at least expect that agent to do a buyer consultation so that you can be walked through it. And then, hey, if you get like red flags or you're not jiving with them, then consider maybe interviewing someone else that you do jive with. Right. [00:26:37] Speaker B: What to look for in a buyer agent. Will they do a buyer consultation with me? [00:26:42] Speaker A: Yes. [00:26:43] Speaker C: That's a good one. [00:26:44] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:26:45] Speaker C: Did they even offer it? [00:26:46] Speaker B: Yes, because we do it for all we suggest, even to buyers who don't want to do it. Like, can we walk you through what the process is and what the process with us is? [00:26:55] Speaker A: Yes, and that's why it's a point right here. Someone who offers a buyer consultation, somebody that has good questions to figure out what's most important to you in the course of that real estate transaction. [00:27:06] Speaker B: Yes. Your wants, your needs, your requirements, fears, concerns. [00:27:11] Speaker A: And then that way the agent can have a better idea of how to best help you cater for you. [00:27:15] Speaker C: I'm going to go one step further and say someone that can hear when you can't hear what they're saying, like it's one thing to hear their questions, it's another to hear them repeat something back to you and they're saying it not quite right. And you realize, oh, there might be a mistake down the line when you have to pay your land transfer tax or your have to red flag. Actually, let me just go over this again because I'm hearing that you didn't quite read it back to me properly. [00:27:36] Speaker A: Sure. And the interesting thing is with these buyer consultations and questionnaires, when we've worked with our buyer clients for six months a year, we've seen that what they thought their needs were change after they've gone in and seen properties and after budgetary concerns come up or if it was a buyer's market before, it's become a seller's market. So we're there to guide and advise. [00:28:00] Speaker B: You want somebody who is on the ball and can pivot with you and maybe even, like you were saying, recognize that someone is not understanding which direction they're going in so that you can help to guide and advise. I keep saying guide and advise because I think it's so incredibly important, both when you're representing a seller and a buyer, that you are giving them good guidance and you're giving them good advice, but you're not telling them what to do. Because at the end of the day it's their decision, but they feel confident that they can lean on you as somebody that they can trust and learn from. [00:28:30] Speaker A: What do we say? We say that an educated buyer is a smart buyer. And we'll say that we want you to have all of this education, all of this guidance and advice so that at the end of the day, when you finally do buy that property, there are no big regrets, misgivings that you're happy with the process all the way through. And if you don't ask those good questions and give that good guidance, then somebody after the fact might be a year later is like, oh, I think I really made a mistake. So long as you're giving them all the facts and figures and they can make that educated decision themselves. Yeah. [00:29:02] Speaker B: You said regurgits. [00:29:04] Speaker A: I did. I was going to say no regurgits. The old meme. Regrets. So let's talk about the expertise when it comes to areas and property types. If somebody's looking to buy commercial, large scale industrial property, I don't think John, Nicole and Cheryl are necessarily going to be the agents for you. We have some awesome, but we know someone, we have some awesome who do a great job, who are like minded with us. [00:29:29] Speaker B: Somebody asked me last night, I told her that. [00:29:32] Speaker C: Oh yeah, cool. [00:29:33] Speaker A: So. And we have know our buyers, our buyers friends who've said, you should ask John and Cheryl and Nicole. They know a lot. They'll be able to guide and advise you. And that guidance and advice is like use an expert, use somebody that specializes in commercial or know if you want to go buy a farm or a rural property. A downtown condo agent is probably not going to be able to help you because they won't ever have done well in septic and put together the types of clauses that would be specific to buying a rural farm property. [00:30:04] Speaker B: We bought a farm for our clients. We didn't. [00:30:06] Speaker A: And there's as well, sometimes people have asked us, hey, do you work in Guelph? So it doesn't really make a lot of sense, necessarily, for a downtown Toronto agent to be helping someone if they're two or 3 hours drive away, timing wise, could not necessarily always work as well. The expertise that someone that is an agent in Guelph would have with regards to the market conditions and the property types. Yes, Cheryl, go ahead. [00:30:32] Speaker B: That all being said, we have an agent in Guelph that we would refer somebody. They did come to us and wanted. [00:30:38] Speaker A: To, and she's great. She's phenomenal. [00:30:40] Speaker B: Amanda lord. [00:30:41] Speaker A: Yes. Shouting you out. And we've had clients of ours that have insisted that we help them as far as Oakville. For those of you that are not listening, in Toronto, that's from the east end. That's about an hour's drive away, but. [00:30:54] Speaker C: An hour to 3 hours. [00:30:55] Speaker A: Yeah, depending. [00:30:56] Speaker B: We've helped people from Hamilton. We have multiple clients in Hamilton all the way to the schwa and north up to Barry. [00:31:05] Speaker A: That's right. And if you have a good agent who can do the research and have other agents in that area that can provide you with more information, then it's possible for somebody that is not necessarily in that market to be able to assist you. [00:31:20] Speaker C: And in the case of these people that you were speaking of, trust was the most important factor to them. What's the most important factor to them? Trust. They know you know how to do the research, and they would rather have you because they trust you with their money. [00:31:32] Speaker A: Totally. There's also the, with regards to getting a good referral, speak with people that have had good experiences and look for reviews. [00:31:40] Speaker C: Reviews. [00:31:41] Speaker A: If it's an agent that has zero reviews, you can't find them online. They may be competent. They may have just moved back from somewhere. [00:31:48] Speaker B: They may not be very tech, up to date with their tech. We know lots of great realtors who don't have reviews. [00:31:53] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:31:54] Speaker B: Poo pooing on. [00:31:55] Speaker A: But no, I wouldn't, I would say ask maybe to speak to some of their clients. [00:31:58] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. I think back in the day before there were. Would you mind reviews? [00:32:05] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:32:05] Speaker B: Can you provide some of your existed? [00:32:07] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:32:07] Speaker B: I mean, not before the Internet existed, because the Internet's been around for a long time. [00:32:11] Speaker C: We know realtors that have been around since. But they used to have the big book, right? I've heard the fable, I've heard the stories where you'd go into the brokerage and there was just a book, and then you would look through the listings in the book before my time, but. [00:32:22] Speaker A: They'Re faxing you over an offer right now in 1990. Yeah. So you can ask your friends, your colleagues, your family for referrals and then if you have a conversation with them, start to ask those questions. Would it be okay if I spoke to one of your past clients? Well, obviously if it's a friend or a family that has used you, and then maybe sometimes people love to look for the area experts. If they're area experts and do a lot of business, the vast majority of them should have reviews online. Biggest thing though, I think, is it should be a good fit. What makes a good fit with a buyer agent, in your opinion, ladies? [00:33:04] Speaker B: I think what she said, trust is a big one. I think personality, because even we often will say in our buyer consultation that many of our clients become friends and it's because it's a good personality fit. Do you think? [00:33:20] Speaker C: Yeah, I agree. I'm big on lately, the last year, like different personality types, what is interesting to them, what percentage of the population they are, because it's not an even split. I've been really deep diving my own rabbit holes. But someone that communicates with you in a way that is conducive to your personality type, conducive to the way you want to receive information. Conducive to the type of information that you want to receive. [00:33:44] Speaker A: Totally. [00:33:44] Speaker B: What do you think, John? [00:33:47] Speaker A: I think you kind of will get to know within the first conversation whether or not you jive. [00:33:55] Speaker B: Have you never had awkward first conversations and then worked it out after? Come on. But no, to your point, like your first date. [00:34:01] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. [00:34:03] Speaker B: Sometimes the first date is bad, but then you end up marrying them five. [00:34:06] Speaker C: Dates later, divorcing them five years later. [00:34:09] Speaker A: But anyway, you know what? Maybe it is almost like dating. We sometimes will say after our buyer consultation, I said, like, you know what? You can fire us if you don't. Like, you know, you can break up with us. It's almost like we are dating. The one thing is, though, is sometimes people might date three or four people at the same time. I would not recommend doing that with a realtor. [00:34:30] Speaker C: Welcome to John Cheryl Nicole's dating podcast. [00:34:35] Speaker A: It's not cool. It's okay if you want to date three or four people at the same time, but it's not cool if you want to use three or four realtors at the same time. And some realtors will ask you after they've shown you a few properties to actually sign, a buyer represented. Representative representation. [00:34:52] Speaker C: Some, that one. [00:34:54] Speaker A: Yeah. Buyer representation agreement, the BRA. And I don't think that's untoward if they were to ask you, I think it protect them. It is. And it's basically we're committing to work with each other and that's why you got to make sure that you feel comfortable one way or the other. [00:35:12] Speaker B: I want to speak about the buyer representation agreement, otherwise known as bra. And when sometimes a realtor will say, like, can we sign this so that we know that we are exclusively working together. There are some people that are not comfortable with that. And just to explain to anyone who's out there shopping and if their realtor has asked them to do this, I said it's to protect them because you don't want that realtor spinning their wheels. Because we work for free, like we're self employed, so we don't get paid until somebody actually purchases a property, it closes and then all the brokerages get paid. So you don't want somebody doing work on your behalf if you aren't actually planning on using them. Like, don't do it, don't be that person. [00:35:55] Speaker C: And then really no one is working in your best interest. We've had scenarios, especially when we were newer, where we're working with someone and we know that they are dating. I mean, working with many other people at the same time and as a result, same like dating. You're not as invested if you know that you're working with a buyer and they're telling you, oh, we're also working with all these other buyers agents. It's like, well, then work with them. Pick one person and it's not going to be me. [00:36:20] Speaker B: Well said to both of your points. John, I've heard you say this before. If you're working with four or five different realtors, only one gets paid. So it's not fair to four of the five realtors that you have them running around or doing work for you. Because at the end of the day, it's not like they're all going to share money. [00:36:43] Speaker A: There's only one person that gets compensated at the end of the day. And if you're dating around three or four other agents who do dozens of hours of work, then it is not fair for all parties for sure. [00:36:54] Speaker B: I feel sad right now. [00:36:55] Speaker A: Yeah, sorry. [00:36:57] Speaker B: But you always say as well, John, then you have one point person who can do all of that work for you and you can go directly to that person every time. You don't have to try and figure out scheduling. Actually, you say this often when we get calls on our listings. [00:37:09] Speaker A: Yes. I didn't have this in my notes, but I also want to point out that their accessibility to show properties. [00:37:18] Speaker C: Yes. [00:37:19] Speaker A: It's not here in my notes, but just came to me in the fact that if it's a very hot seller's market and properties are selling on the very first day, usually you're going to want to get in to see them as soon as possible. And if you're working with a single agent who's a part time agent who has other obligations with their other job, then they may not be able to even show you the property within the first 24 hours of it coming on the market. So ask the people that you speak with, the potential buyer agents, what their availability is like. We always say that you get three for the price of one, and if one of us will and should be able to get you into that property to see it. [00:37:59] Speaker B: May I comment on your comment, please? Just so everyone knows, this is not a podcast about why use John, Cheryl and Nicole, however you should. [00:38:08] Speaker A: Sure, of course. [00:38:10] Speaker B: But it's more general. So if we're not your personality type, that's cool. [00:38:14] Speaker A: Yes, but like us, please, we're nice. [00:38:17] Speaker C: But this also goes to the. This also goes to the full time agent. If someone is a full time agent, they should be able to accommodate you if you need nights or mornings or weekends or whatever it may be. [00:38:30] Speaker B: Because they know it's their job. [00:38:32] Speaker C: Because they're a full time agent. [00:38:33] Speaker A: Yeah. Unless they've got four different buyer clients at the exact same time. [00:38:37] Speaker C: I thought they were going to say four kids. [00:38:38] Speaker A: Four kids. [00:38:39] Speaker C: It is rough when you have the kids. [00:38:42] Speaker A: What takes more time? Four needy buyer clients or four children? [00:38:45] Speaker C: Oh, God. [00:38:49] Speaker B: She only has one child. She can't answer that. [00:38:51] Speaker A: Yeah. So, yeah, that's another thing. You want to choose an experienced agent. And we've heard of some realtors being just so busy and having so many clients that they're unable to facilitate. [00:39:04] Speaker C: Most good realtors, they'll figure it out. [00:39:07] Speaker B: They'll either say, I don't have the bandwidth, or let me bring someone on to help good realtors. Let's be very clear, too, that we're not saying that somebody who is a single agent or somebody that has children or whatnot can't do a great. [00:39:21] Speaker C: Some people can't, not at all. [00:39:23] Speaker B: I think you're trying to make the point of just make sure you're asking these types of questions so you know that you're getting good representation. [00:39:30] Speaker A: Sure. Communication is key when you're talking with interviewing an agent or when you have your buyer agent. Just remember that, like ask good questions of your agent they should be asking good questions of you throughout the entire process. Another thing I think that you should look for in a buyer agent is do they have relationships with home service professionals, both with regards to the property itself and in the course of the real estate transaction? Because there may be first time buyers out there that are listening, that have no idea where to start with regards to getting a pre approval. Your realtor, if they do business in our experience, should have mortgage partners that they've aligned themselves with. And you should look at those people in the same lens when interviewing or reaching out to them to ask good questions to make sure that they are looking out for your best interest. Because not all realtors are created the same. We also say not all mortgage brokers are created the same as well. So ask your agent if they have any recommendations and if their clients have used that mortgage professional, that mortgage broker, and if those people have had a very good experience. Other things would be home inspections and home inspectors, people like plumbers, electricians, all of these types of things that, especially if you're a first time home buyer that you will not have the experience in, your realtor should be able to recommend these experienced professionals. [00:40:55] Speaker B: Do you think that's a must? [00:40:56] Speaker A: No, but it's a nice to have. [00:40:59] Speaker C: But I do think it's a must. It's in pertaining to the house. Even if I was new and I don't maybe know a guy that can do the siding, well, I have lots of relationships with realtors and my realtor colleagues will help me out. I must know where to go to find that information. [00:41:13] Speaker A: Yeah, what she said, experienced agents should have people in their pocket that have provided a very good experience to other. [00:41:18] Speaker B: People, even though experienced agents might not have somebody. To your point, we have lots of great, we're fortunate colleagues across the board who we can put those questions to. Hey, somebody got a good siding person that you've had good experiences with. Great. I'm going to pass this on to my client. [00:41:36] Speaker A: Yeah. Let's go back really quickly to guidance and advice, because when it comes down to it and you're shopping around with your buyer agent, when it comes down to submitting that offer, how your agent handles multiple offers, and this is very important, how good relationships they may have with other listing agents is very important. [00:41:56] Speaker B: I just want to talk about multiple offers, but also communications with other realtors. I won't name names, but there are a couple of realtors that trade in central Toronto that we know that are actually kind of terrible to work with. They're not communicative they're kind of mean. They always are. Too cool for school and I, for the life of me, can't figure out how in the world they're getting the business that they get because I can't imagine that somebody doesn't see through that. Anyways, I was just going to comment on that. What were you going to say? [00:42:27] Speaker C: I wanted to say too. Sorry. Just as you were talking about pricing and find someone you trust. We find sometimes we'll have buyers and it's almost like they don't trust us with enough information for us to do our job. Well, you're looking for a buy agent. Find someone you trust and tell them all the information. That's your professional working for you? We will sometimes. And we generally find that maybe when we have a new buyer, the first or second Offer, it's almost like they're working against us. We're here to work for you. [00:42:55] Speaker A: Yes. It's better if they share all the information. Don't try to hold your own cards close to your chest. If your realtor is representing you, that's the only way that they can represent your best interest. [00:43:05] Speaker C: The only reason I can think of that buyers wouldn't tell us that is because they don't trust us. So find someone that you do trust because it will make everyone's job easier. [00:43:13] Speaker B: We can help you best when we have all the information. Absolutely. I agree with you, Nicole. Good point. [00:43:17] Speaker A: Very good point. Yeah, thanks, man. I think that we're getting close to rounding it out here. Hopefully we've given you some things to look for in a buyer agent, some questions to ask. I think just to recap, you probably want to find out just how experienced they are with regards to how much business they do, how active they are. Number two, what their experience is with regards to the type of property and or location that you are looking. I think that finding someone that you can trust, how do you do that? Well, sit down with them. If they can offer you a buyer consultation, I personally think that is key. If you're going to work with a buyer agent, make sure they have some type of consultation, presentation and questionnaire before you start to work with them. Buyer representation agreement. This is the document that allows us to represent you in the course of the transaction. Ask questions about it. Your realtor should be able to walk you through that. And I think it is only fair that if you're choosing to work with a buyer agent, you choose one agent, sign that buyer representation agreement, and then you work together as a team. I also wanted to point out that when you're purchasing a property, look at it as a partnership and a team with yourself, with your buyer agent, and of course the two other people that will be involved, your mortgage broker or mortgage professional, and finally your lawyer. They should be communicating throughout. And also choose a buyer agent that is going to walk you through the finish line and not just be like, okay, thank you very much. It's closed. Bye bye. Never see you again. Take you all the way through there and be there for any questions that you might have. [00:45:03] Speaker B: Maybe somebody wants to cut the relationship off at the end. [00:45:05] Speaker A: If you had a bad experience, even. [00:45:08] Speaker B: A bad experience, some people are like, yeah, I'll contact you again when I need you. I don't need you to be my friend. [00:45:12] Speaker A: Sure. [00:45:12] Speaker B: Right. [00:45:13] Speaker C: This is a recommendation, not a must have. But I'm going to say you might be spending a lot of time with this person, your buyer agent. Maybe find someone you like. [00:45:20] Speaker A: Sure. [00:45:20] Speaker C: Someone you enjoy spending time with. [00:45:22] Speaker B: Someone who. [00:45:24] Speaker A: Somebody that brushes their teeth. [00:45:25] Speaker C: Yeah, definitely that Minty breath. No. [00:45:29] Speaker A: None of us is always a bonus. [00:45:32] Speaker B: Excuse me. [00:45:33] Speaker A: Sure, Cheryl. [00:45:34] Speaker B: I also know that we're speaking mostly to the podcast listener who is interested to know what goes into finding a buyer agent. But if you are a new realtor listening, I hope that it also gives you a little bit of helpful info and hints on how to set yourself up to be successful when you are being interviewed or trying to find buyer clients. [00:45:52] Speaker C: And if you are dating right now, we've given you some great ideas because all of these apply to that, too. Find someone you trust other than the BR. [00:45:59] Speaker B: Ask your dating people a questionnaire. [00:46:02] Speaker C: I asked them to sign a bra. [00:46:04] Speaker A: That you be exclusive only. I don't know about that. [00:46:07] Speaker C: Actually, I don't. [00:46:08] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:46:09] Speaker B: Do you know what? You said something. You said team, and I just want to go back to that for 10 seconds, maybe 15. That's so important. We view it as a team. It's a team effort. Buying or selling. Like we aren't your higher up realtor. We all are working together to get this outcome for you. So we're part of a team? Yes. We'll do more of the heavy lifting in that team, but we are still a team. [00:46:32] Speaker A: And we have the same goal, to find you a great property for what you're looking for. [00:46:36] Speaker C: For the best price. We bet. [00:46:38] Speaker A: You bet. [00:46:40] Speaker C: Yes. Am I allowed to call on her? Yes. Cheryl, your hand is up. [00:46:44] Speaker B: Anyone watching YouTube, you will notice that I am dancing. It's not because I have to go pee. It's because I yelled at for doing a lot of this last time. So I like to scribble and make noise when I'm chatting with you guys, and this is what I'm doing instead. [00:46:58] Speaker A: We're going to put her in a straitjacket next podcast. Or maybe big boxing gloves. Who knows? Maybe a large snuggie would be fine. So I think that's it for today. We hope this was helpful. We are going to be doing how to choose a listing agent at some point. I think that's the natural progression for those folks that are looking to sell a property. And we, as always, want to finish by talking about a local business because we love to support local. And the local business we want to feature and talk about is the flamingo, which is an awesome little gift shop. They're located at nine. Nine one Queen street east at Queen and Pape, run by Cheryl. [00:47:38] Speaker B: Oh, is this. [00:47:39] Speaker A: Yes. [00:47:40] Speaker B: Tanya. [00:47:41] Speaker A: So it's a client of ours, Navin and Tanya. They run the Flamingo. It's a collective. Opened its doors last year, October 1. So just over a year old. They've got candles, clothes, soaps, jewelry, stationery, wellness, art and more. Everything in the store is handpicked and sourced by real people who love supporting artists and small businesses. And it's also a shop that supports marginalized communities, women empowerment, with a focus on making art affordable and accessible. It's lovely, isn't it? So go check them out. Perfect place to pick up some Christmas gifts because that's just around the corner and support a great local business. And that is the Flamingo, 981 Queen. [00:48:19] Speaker B: Street, east on the south side. [00:48:21] Speaker A: That's right, just west of pape by Mercury espresso. Yeah. So that brings us to a close. On behalf of all of us, thank you so much for listening, as usual. You can find all of our podcasts at WW therealestatepodcast ca. And we do have social media. I believe we have some social media, don't we? [00:48:40] Speaker B: Social media? [00:48:41] Speaker A: What is that? You can follow us on all of our socials. You can watch all this on YouTube. We are at JNC, Toronto group, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. So thanks, ladies. This was fun today. Hope you had a good time. Anything to say on closing? [00:48:56] Speaker B: I love you all. [00:48:57] Speaker C: If you'd like to have a buyer's consult, please feel free to reach out to us at. [00:49:01] Speaker A: I don't even know, [email protected]. [00:49:05] Speaker C: Yeah, there you go. [00:49:07] Speaker A: Oh, look at that. We got our first email just came in. All right, take care, folks. We'll see you on the next one. [00:49:14] Speaker B: Bye. [00:49:17] Speaker A: You have been listening to thereeastatepodcast. Ca. Visit our website for more episodes and follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube at JNC Toronto group.