To realtor up or not...

[GP_Matt]

The key with realtors is to go with the professional ones.
I just finished buying and selling a house and had great service from my purchasing realtor, pretty good service from my selling realtor and terrible service from the realtor that represented the guy buying my house.
My biggest complaint with realtors though is they are a middle man who can turn something simple into a game of telephone. You have to call your realtor who calls the other who calls the seller to ask a question and then reverses it to provide the answer. My life got a lot easier once I bypassed the realtors and was able to speak to the buyer and seller directly.

[TSXCman]

I've had my Realtor all summer, seeing about 4 per weekend and I still haven't found a place to buy. What I constantly learn is that what I see on paper and in pictures rarely is what is truly there.

I hope she doesn't hate me after all this time... I even go to open houses alone to give her a break. My issue is that my savings and most of my paychecks will be going to one thing, so I am being picky... Or just not buying expensive, low quality stuff.

[darklord700]

Is this a good time to upgrade? I meant the market is pretty busy or crazy right now. Would it be better to wait for the downturn to upgrade?

[troutman]

Originally Posted by darklord700

Is this a good time to upgrade? I meant the market is pretty busy or crazy right now. Would it be better to wait for the downturn to upgrade?

If I understand your question, it should not make a difference when you do it. If the market is hot, you will get more for the place you sell, but pay more for the place you buy. And the opposite is true if the market is slow.

A realtor could say better than me.

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by troutman

If I understand your question, it should not make a difference when you do it. If the market is hot, you will get more for the place you sell, but pay more for the place you buy. And the opposite is true if the market is slow.

You got me right. I'm paying say 20% more to upgrade. So the 20% in theory will be smaller in a down market than in an up market.

But I guess you are right that unless there's drastic decrease or increase in prices, it doens't matter too much at 20% or so.

[Kjesse]

Originally Posted by darklord700

You got me right. I'm paying say 20% more to upgrade. So the 20% in theory will be smaller in a down market than in an up market.

But I guess you are right that unless there's drastic decrease or increase in prices, it doens't matter too much at 20% or so.

There was an article in the Herald today or yesterday which suggested it was becoming more difficult for people to move out of their starter homes because the homes in the higher end of the market were appreciating in value more quickly than the starter homes. I looked for the link just now but its no longer on the Herald's front page.

Edit: Found it: http://www.calgaryherald.com/busines...796/story.html

Another Edit: This is crazy --- "Average annual MLS sale prices in Calgary have climbed from $256,327 in 2005 to $456,595 last year. Year-to-date until the end of August, the average price for 2014 was $482,185."

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by Delgar

Another Edit: This is crazy --- "Average annual MLS sale prices in Calgary have climbed from $256,327 in 2005 to $456,595 last year. Year-to-date until the end of August, the average price for 2014 was $482,185."

I bought my starter home in 2004 for $240K, sold it in 2011 for $440K. That house could fetch about $480K now in 2014. So in the last ten years, housing prices has doubled. What about your income?

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by TSXCman

I've had my Realtor all summer, seeing about 4 per weekend and I still haven't found a place to buy. What I constantly learn is that what I see on paper and in pictures rarely is what is truly there.

I hope she doesn't hate me after all this time... I even go to open houses alone to give her a break. My issue is that my savings and most of my paychecks will be going to one thing, so I am being picky... Or just not buying expensive, low quality stuff.

She shouldn't mind; some deals happy very fast and some take a while.

I've had buyers take an entire year to find the right place and I've had buyers buy places without even meeting me in person; all by email and wire transfer.

It all evens out for agents; so they should try to treat all clients with the same value.