another question for realtors

[DementedReality]

First off, please do not accuse me of being a realtor basher. I work on 100% commissions as well and have full respect for the work done by the professionals in the industry and just want to engage in dialogue.

I am fascinated with the art of selling and deal making and well here is my question.

Considering that a buyers realtor only makes money if they find the buyer a house to buy, can they really serve the best interest of their client?

Maybe I watch too many realtor shows, but it seems consistently that these buyers realtors are still trying to sell the house to their client as opposed to critically supporting the buyer.

What I mean by that is the realtor trying to overcome objections the buyer might have and esentially convincing the buyer to purchase. I have seem some cringe worthy moments where I felt the buying realtor was really in "sell mode".

Is it the job of the buyers realtor to showcase all the highlites and down play the obstacles? I think its a conflict of interest really.

Hope some of you industry types will comment on the psychology here and the line that must be walked.

[Slava]

I don't work in that line at all, but I would think there are times when doing what's best for the client means making them see that a property makes sense for them.

[troutman]

If a realtor wants return clients and good will, it behooves them to act in the best interests of purchasers. They also have ethical duties set out by their professional organization, and are subject to discipline. There are plenty of properties to show clients.

Code of Ethics:

http://www.areahub.ca/Members/media/...or_code-1-.pdf


A REALTOR ® shall protect and promote the interests of his or her Client. This primary obligation does not relieve the REALTOR® of the responsibility of dealing fairly with all parties to the transaction.

[Travis Munroe]

I have been in the industry since my teens and am still one of the younger realtors in the city despite several years experience. My goals to become this cities top agent will not be reached by setting people in places that they may not like or that may show signs of risk (be it the property or the buyers financially)
Many of the CP'ers whom have worked with me (whether you ended up buying or not) can vouch for my honesty. I do my best to expose any risks involved and my worst habit is treating showings as if I was buying the property. This leads to me making comments that may not have clicked in for the buyer which eventually walks away.
My team consists of one of the most honest mortgage specialists I have worked with. She will not let you buy unless you can actually afford the place. A condo review specialist whom has no problem failing buildings and collapsing deals. I will not let clients purchase a condo without her services and I take it one step further and ensure that the client doesn't have to worry about the cost. A property inspector whom is a former RCMP and is one of the most detailed inspectors I have worked with.
All of the services I mentioned above come as a choice. I am sure I could find people in those industries whom will always push the deal through however that is not how I work.

PS:
Those "realtor" shows are so fake it makes me laugh.

[Shazam]

Realtors don't have a fiduciary duty to their clients, unlike, say, lawyers, so you never really know who's interests they are serving.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Realtors don't have a fiduciary duty to their clients, unlike, say, lawyers, so you never really know who's interests they are serving.

Yes, they do, see post #3. They may also be sued for negligence, and carry insurance for such.

http://www.creb.com/public/why-use-a...-a-realtor.php

You are protected when you work with a REALTOR® for a number of reasons:

• All REALTORS® are graduates of a real estate education program and are committed to pursuing ongoing professional development courses;
• REALTORS® must adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Business Practice (113KB PDF); your guarantee of professional conduct and service excellence.
• All REALTORS® carry errors and omissions insurance;
• The Real Estate Assurance Fund is available to you in the rare event of fraud, or breach of trust by a REALTOR®. It is your protection against financial loss. This fund is financially supported by our members; and,
• A licensed brokerage supervises the business conduct of all REALTORS® to ensure their compliance with Alberta law.

[Shazam]

Anybody can be sued for negligence, and lots of people carry insurance for E&O, like me, that don't have fiduciary duty.

[troutman]

FIDUCIARY DUTIES: REAL ESTATE AGENTS and

ACCOUNTANTS, A CASE LAW REVIEW1
http://www.lesaonline.org/samples/12_48_07_p1.pdf

http://www.lajuett.com/buyers/fiduciaryresp.htm

In November, 1986, the National Association of Realtors® published a booklet titled: "Who Is My Client? - A Realtors® Guide to Compliance with the Law of Agency". The booklet describes fiduciary duties in Section IV. DUTIES OWED BY AN AGENT TO HIS PRINCIPAL: "A real estate broker who becomes an agent of a seller or buyer, either intentionally through the execution of a written agreement, or unintentionally by a course of conduct, will be deemed to be a fiduciary. Fiduciary duties are the highest duties known to the law. Classic examples of fiduciaries are trustees, executors, and guardians. As a fiduciary, a real estate broker will be held under the law to owe certain specific duties to his principal, in addition to any duties or obligations set forth in a listing agreement or other contract of employment (such as a buyer agency agreement)."

[Shazam]

Do the realtors know about their fiduciary duty?

Do their clients?

Watching some of those real estate shows, especially someone like Sandra Rinomato and listening to her pressure people into buying a place, because if they don't my god there are no more good houses in Toronto!

Lawyers seem to do a waaaaay better job of communicating their willingness to stick up for their clients.

[Travis Munroe]

All the information is in the agency document which needs to be signed by the client.

It is a lot of reading with boring information that should be common sense however it is there.
This is another reason as to why you do not type in realtor on google and pick a random person. Go with someone like a CP sponsor jokes aside, interview a few people until you find someone you feel right about.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Realtor 1

All the information is in the agency document which needs to be signed by the client.

It is a lot of reading with boring information that should be common sense however it is there.
This is another reason as to why you do not type in realtor on google and pick a random person. Go with someone like a CP sponsor jokes aside, interview a few people until you find someone you feel right about.

I'm not looking at it from a personal POV.

How do people like Sandra keep operating? Gee, I'd think any lawyer that acted that way would've been schlepped to death by the bar, and here she is on national TV pressuring potential buyers with shady used car salesman tactics.

[Travis Munroe]

"tv" is the key word. There has to be all sorts of things discussed and disclosed off camera.

[DementedReality]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Do the realtors know about their fiduciary duty?

Do their clients?

Watching some of those real estate shows, especially someone like Sandra Rinomato and listening to her pressure people into buying a place, because if they don't my god there are no more good houses in Toronto!

Lawyers seem to do a waaaaay better job of communicating their willingness to stick up for their clients.

i hate her, she makes me want to punch her out.

she told her client and the audience:

" George needs to understand, its all about the payment, how much it will cost per month, not how much the property is" ...

I couldnt believe she said that. She is one of the motivations for this thread. Another one was a realtor I saw on House Hunters who was in total sell mode and it just made me wonder where the line is.

Glad to see guys like Travis are around.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Doesn't Sandra show people properties in many random places as well?
I swear I've seen her work with buyers in Toronto, and then also in the US in areas such as Boston.
Always wondered if she's even the licensed agent on the deal, or if they have various licensees working with her?

[Travis Munroe]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Doesn't Sandra show people properties in many random places as well?
I swear I've seen her work with buyers in Toronto, and then also in the US in areas such as Boston.
Always wondered if she's even the licensed agent on the deal, or if they have various licensees working with her?

I dont think she is licensed.....if she is she must be killing it as she holds her license all around north america lol.

[Deegee]

Originally Posted by DementedReality

i hate her, she makes me want to punch her out.

she told her client and the audience:

" George needs to understand, its all about the payment, how much it will cost per month, not how much the property is" ...

I couldnt believe she said that. She is one of the motivations for this thread. Another one was a realtor I saw on House Hunters who was in total sell mode and it just made me wonder where the line is.

Glad to see guys like Travis are around.

Yeah, I get angry too when she says things like:

"Normally I wouldn't recommend you come in asking price with an offer, but I totally think you should do it this time"

WTF ?!

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by DementedReality

Maybe I watch too many realtor shows, but it seems consistently that these buyers realtors are still trying to sell the house to their client as opposed to critically supporting the buyer.

What I mean by that is the realtor trying to overcome objections the buyer might have and esentially convincing the buyer to purchase. I have seem some cringe worthy moments where I felt the buying realtor was really in "sell mode".

Is it the job of the buyers realtor to showcase all the highlites and down play the obstacles? I think its a conflict of interest really.

I'd say that's a pretty quick sign of a bad Realtor.

It's an important part of my job to point out negatives to buyers that they may not have thought about, not downplay them.

Most buyers are quite savvy about what they're looking at these days, but there's still usually things I can pick up on that they don't, and my buyers are thankful for me pointing those things out. That's the whole point of having experience.

For example I had a buyer go into a new townhouse in Vancouver a couple weeks ago during an open house. She really liked it and wanted me to come back with her the next day, see it and present an offer. Sounds like an easy pay day based on these TV shows.

I went in & found a lot of small issues with the workmanship. Things like bad tiling, uneven areas where different types of flooring meet, wavy undersides on the roofing etc. All things she had not noticed.

I mentioned that if we're seeing so many of these small issues and corners cut on a brand new place, who knows what issues could come up from the building envelope & foundation at later dates.

Despite the ease in which I could have made a quick sale and pay cheque, there's no way I would recommend a buyer to purchase like that. We kept looking and found a better place about a week later.

In the end she's very happy, I can honestly say I helped her without personal greed getting in the way & in the long term I'm sure it will lead to referrals/repeat business from her.
Any good Realtor will tell you that's the name of the game, not just 1 deal. Your reputation is everything, and you can lose it fast if you dupe your clients for a quick buck.

[ken0042]

^^ Having said all of that; one of the jobs of the realtor for the buyer is to overcome the objections and make the sale happen. When I was buying my current place; it was listed at $195K. We put in an offer at $187K and they countered with $189K. I wanted to go back with $188K, and my realtor told me why he didn't recommend it. He told me that I was in a position where it was up to me to buy the house, and if I put in another counter the seller could walk; or entertain another offer. I was also in the position where I needed to buy a house with an assumable mortgage; which limited my selection.

So yes, while it was in his interest for me to buy; and buy at a slightly higher price- his interests did not conflict with looking out for my best interests.

[Bigtime]

Reality TV guys, that should answer all the questions. You can't view them as "true" reality.

[Bill Bumface]

My realtor pointed out several flaws I had overlooked in a few different places. He encouraged me to keep looking for the right place, despite me getting antsy to settle on something after looking at 40+ places. It paid off, I found a place I really like living in.