Thu Aug 23, 2012
Real Estate

First Time Buyers: Sarah Millar, 30, and Keith Foster, 31

What they bought: A two-bedroom house in the Junction for $422,000.

How long it took A week and a half.

How it happened: Keith, a web developer, was building a site for a real estate agent. One of the homes listed was a $569,000, six-bedroom house. The couple decided to check it out “for shits and giggles,” says Sarah. After a viewing of the fancy place, the agent took the couple to see an unlisted two-bedroom house. They fell in love.

What they liked: Though unassuming from the outside, the house had been gutted and redone inside. A yard at the side gave them the outdoor space they lacked in their Queen and Church loft. They went back to see the house five days later, and decided to go for it.

What happened next: While their financial adviser began pulling together a loan, the couple started negotiating, with their agent representing both parties. The seller agreed to come down from the planned asking price of $435,000, and to make the offer conditional on a home inspection and financing. A week later, their mortgage was approved.

What they learned: For them, privacy is worth a commute. “The fact that he can play video games and I can go to bed early and we won’t
be bugging each other is a really nice change,” says Sarah.

TAGS

First-time buyers

post a comment

Rex

How can an agent “represent” both parties? Why is there no proper regulation of real estate agents?

You cannot possibly be acting in MY best interests if you’re simultaneously acting as the agent for the other party. Impossible. This is a massive and glaring conflict of interest. One side or the other got hosed here. (And when your commission is a % of the selling price, I can guess which side …)

This industry is littered with scumbags.
1 0

Report

8:43 pm on November 5, 2012

Reply

Sarah

Rex,

It actually happens quite a lot. When a real estate agent represents both parties, both parties have to sign a waiver. The agent is no longer allowed to give advice to either party on the offer being received or made since they have an interest in either outcome.

As the article states, the house was sold for under the seller’s asking price, so I don’t there was a favoured party in these negotiations at all.
1 0

Report

2:36 pm on December 30, 2012