The Importance of Having a Buyers Representative on Your Side.

Today's world is much different than even 10 years ago. With the boom of the internet, it seems that the "do it yourself" maintality has spread into all sorts of aspects in ones life. Looking to do some work on your home these days its quite easy to find advice on how to do just about anything from installing a light fixture to putting in hardwood floors. Most of the time these "DIY" jobs do nothing more than create more business for the real professionals out there. Everyone wants to save a buck, but most of the time it costs you more than you think. I'm sure you trust professionals to do most things for you though right? You probably don't cut your own hair, you go to a barber. If you break your arm, you most likely go to a doctor. So why is it that when it comes to purchasing a home, the biggest purchase of your life, you decide you want to tackle that yourself? Especially when it generally costs you nothing out of your pocket to have a Realtor assisting you when buying a home.

Before 1995 Realtors listed homes and thats it. They would handle both sides of the transaction and took care of the buyer and seller. Does that make sense? Would you have a lawyer take care of both the defendant and the plaintiff? Absolutely not. So when a home is listed and a buyer goes in with no one looking out for the buyer, do you think the listing agent is interested in getting the buyer the best deal, or getting the best price for his seller? EXACTLY!

I recently saw a home that had sold for more than 25k then any other home in the neighborhood? At first I was shocked. That is until I noticed that the buyer was acting alone in the purchase and didn't have a Realtor working with them. I mean why bother right? You can look online yourself, see the pics of a home all by yourself right?

Realtors are trained professionals. We know the market and can help advise you on whether you are paying too much for a property or getting a good deal. Sure your lawyer can draw up the paperwork, but I recently had a discussion where it came about that lawyers may now begin to have buyers sign waivers stating that they are aware the lawyer is in no way a Real Estate professional and have not and will not show comparables for the property they are buying. You don't get a lawyer to do your home inspection do you? Your doctor doesn't change the oil on your car right? So why not trust the biggest purchase of your life with a professional in the field.

Feel free to give me a shout if you would like more information on the matter. I'm here to help from beginning to end, from your first home to your dreamhome.



Andrew Miller
Sales Representative
Keller Williams Ottawa Realty Ltd.
Brokerage, Independently Owned and Operated
610 Bronson Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 4E6
Office: (613) 236-5959
Direct: (613) 447-7669
Fax: (613) 236-1515
Email: amiller@kwottawa.ca

Great Tips for Real Estate Investors

This is another solid blog that I grabbed from one of my Mortgage Specialists Nick Bachusky( www.mortgageinottawa.com ). I deal with a lot of investors and most start out making some of these mistakes. Give it a good read so that you don't.

Top Eight Mistakes Property Investors Make with Realtors from CREW (Canadian Real Estate Wealth)

Here is an interesting article that I came across in Canadian Real Estate Wealth magazine, I work with a lot of real estate investors and this is just a refresher to make sure you try hard not to fall into any of these traps

1. Lying about how much buying power they have
“Often investors are not honest with respect with their buying power and how much cash they have available, or they hope they can reduce the price or get some miracle and find the extra cash down payment,” says Montreal Realtor Banny Bar.

2. Backing out of deals
“A lot of hard work and effort can go into putting a deal together,” says Edmonton-based Realtor Corey Young. “Sometimes because an investor is not emotionally attached to a property, the slightest thing wrong with the inspection or with financing and they can pull the plug. That can definitely be frustrating for a Realtor.”

3. Being vague about where and what type of property they want to buy
First-time investors are especially vague, point out several Realtors. Requests for “cash flowing” properties could be answered with a single family home in a suburb, or a 100-unit building downtown. Know what type of building, tenant and cashflow you need, says one frustrated real estate agent, as well as the neighbourhoods and price range that interest you.

4. Being goal phobic
“If an investor comes to us and says that they want to buy a condo investment, we usually ask ‘what for?’,” says Toronto Realtor Adam Brind. “If they can’t give us a straight answer it means that we usually have our hands full.”

5. Expecting miracles from the Realtor
Bar has seen emails simply asking “Do you have any great deals?” without context or more information.
“I love those ones,” he says. “My reply is: ‘Yes I do, how many hours have you got? And I charge $2,000 per day.’”

6. Failing to listen and communicate
You use a Realtor for a reason – their expertise in the market. If they make a suggestion or ask you a question and you don’t take the time to consider it, you’re probably limiting yourself.
“The clients that actually follow through and purchase or sell product are the ones that ask the good questions,” says Young. “They are the ones that respond with in depth answers to my questions.”

7. Assuming the developer is on your side
Hello, investors: developer has their own agenda, and it’s really your Realtor who can help on issues such as picking the right floor plan for resale and weighing the adjacent land plans.
“It’s important for us to remind new clients that we have existing relationships in the industry and that we’re working for them – not the developer,” Brind says.

8. Having too many advisors
“Nothing is worse than working with an investor or first-time buyer that is getting mixed messages from various sources,” Brind says. “Very often we get investors that have ‘relatives’ in the business or ‘semi-professional’ friends that moonlight as real estate professionals.”

If Real Estate Investment is something that you have been thinking about, please feel free to give me a quick shout to see just how I can help. I have help many build and start their portfolio's in order to make solid and sound investments.