THE TOP 5 QUESTIONS EVERYONE WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT THEIR REALTOR
BUT ARE AFRAID TO ASK

1. How Do Realtors Get Paid? How Much Do They Charge?

Buyer’s agents: It generally doesn’t cost you money to use a Realtor to help you buy a place. The Realtor gets paid by the seller.

Listing agents: Listing agents get paid by the seller when they sell your home. It’s laid out in the listing contract that you sign.

There is no regulation for how much Realtors can charge you.

Different listing agents have different fee structures. Some are very inexpensive, some are expensive. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for.

There are many creative fee structures, but typical commission structure is between 3 – 6% of the purchase price..

Example: if your Realtor sells your home for $1,000,000, you’d be charged between $30,000 to $60,000.

This does not include GST and the Realtor does not get paid this. This amount is commonly split with the buyer agent’s brokerage. It’s important to note that Realtors get paid ONLY AFTER the real estate brokerage takes some sort of cut and fee on the transaction.

2. How Do I Choose A Realtor?

To answer this, I’ll give you a few TIPS on How NOT To Choose A Realtor.

Number 1: DON’T choose a Realtor just because they are a relative, friend or you know them.

Number 2: DON’T judge a Realtor by what you see. Just because their signs and flyers are everywhere just means they’re good at spending money, it doesn’t mean they’re going to provide you the service you need.

Number 3: A busy Realtor isn’t a bad one. A busy Realtor with good time management is better than a Realtor who has tonnes of time but poor time management. Having said that, don’t choose a Realtor who’s TOO BUSY for you.

Number 4: DON’T choose a Realtor SOLELY based on the years of experience. 10 years of incompetence doesn’t make a Realtor competent. Sometimes new Realtors are more informed and trained than those in the business for years.

It’s not so important how much the Realtor knows but how willing the Realtor is to find out the answers to questions. I prefer a Vancouver Realtor who’ll do what it takes to find the answer than one who’s been in the business for years but won’t take the steps to find answers.

Bottom Line: There’s no 1 size fits all. Some want the cheapest, some want the consultant type, some want the nurture and care, some want the super fast paced type, etc…

3. How Much Is My House Worth?

Let me ask you. When do you want to sell your home? If you want to sell it now, then I can do a market evaluation. But if you want to sell your home 6 months later, then a market evaluation should be done 6 months later. An outdated evaluation is as useful as outdated stock prices. It’s a nice to know, but that’s about it.

4. Should I Buy Or Sell Now? When Is The Best Time To Buy Or Sell?

It depends. There are pros and cons to buying and selling at different times of the year. I go into detail in my blog post and video. The simple answer is buy or sell when you’re ready to buy or sell.

5. I Want To Invest In Real Estate, How Should I Start? Where Should I Invest?

Do you want to invest for cash flow?

Asset appreciation?

Is there a focus on 1 or the other?

You should start by talking to a Realtor who specializes in this area. Your Realtor should understand basic economic fundamentals, the market, supply and demand, cash flow analysis, creative financing, and many types of creative real estate investing strategies.

The most important thing in real estate investing is doing your research and due diligence and working with a team (Realtor, accountant, lawyer, home inspector, property manager, etc…)