Who is the best real estate agent in Toronto?

[davidmarch]

hire a photographer?!?!?!?!

. This includes things like seeing sample feature sheets, where they will advertise your property, and whether they will use a professional photographer to take pictures (if they don't, then don't hire them).

not to hire a Realtor because they don't use a photographer has got to be the most ridiculous advice I've ever heard regarding the selection of an agent!! An agent who brings his digital camera to your listing presentation is not only an ambitious and proactive agent, but he can have your home photos on the web almost instantly to market your home. Home photo's only generate further interest, they don't need to be Rembrandts to do that!!!

 

[red]

Tom Wu?

 

[3Tees]

David - I may not have made myself completely clear. I just bought a house and sold my old one very recently, and have spent more time than I possibly care looking at house pictures. There are some real estate agents that will come with their own digital camera and just snap pictures of your house. The pictures may work-out looking just fine, but on the other hand they may not. I've seen a ton of house picutures on www.mls.ca (go yourself and see) that are dark, distorted and quite frankly ugly. One of the biggest offenders is someone taking a picture into the sun/window or light source. It makes everything in the room look completely dark, and you can't see any detail worth shit. Quite frankly, if I can't even see the picutre or get a sense of what they house looks like, I won't waste my time going for a visit. There's enough on the market anyhow, and I'd rather go to something that appeals to me from the outset than something that I'm not sure of. Going to open houses across the city is very tiring and a massive time committment. It's an activity that needs to be planned carefully, and we definitely decided which Open Houses to go to based on pictures we saw.

When I see really, really bad picutres, I think it is likely that the home owner or the real estate agent took the pictures themselves, and that they are not professional photographers. Our real estate agent (and I know many others as well) hired a professional photographer, or at least someone who knows how to use a camera, do basic lighting and put together a basic shot.

You need to keep in mind that most of these house pictures get put on www.mls.ca, or get put on feature sheets. As such, they are digitally sized, widened and shrunk - and on the MLS site, this is done automatically. You need to make sure that you take a picture with the right pixel count and resolution to account for this.

I think what I'm saying applies equally well to TERB. I'll ask SP's, MPA's and website designers which is better - having your picture taken by a professional (or at least someone who knows what they're doing) or someone who just snaps away without any knowledge - and keep in mind SP's and MPA's get a significant amount of business based on what people see of them in photos. There are plenty of reviews of SP's and MPA's in which people say the pictures do not look flattering at all, and won't visit them as a result. It's the same for Real Estate.

Finally, the Toronto Real Estate Market is simply crazy. As I mentioned before there are people who pay $300 - $500 to get a house inspection for a house they may not even wind-up getting just because they don't want their purchase offer to contain an inspection condition. We were fortunate enough not to have to do this, but we were prepared to. So sure, if your real estate agent is great in everything else, hire them, but believe me, in this market you need every little advantage and trick up your sleeve possible - and that's what good photos are.

 

[james t kirk]

Hey mtl_guy,

I strongly disagree with your comment that Real Estate Agents add little to the transaction. A good agent will provide you with the information necessary for you to determine if you are making a sound decision. A good Realtor will represent your interests first and formost, knowing that by doing so your trust and and thus repeat business will follow. A good agent will utilize their finely honed negotiating skills to your benefit. People are under the misconception that Agents are over-paid, not realizing the hard work and costs associated with being a Realtor.

Bullshit,

Agents are totally overpaid.

They try to get you to sign for 6% although most will go to 4.5% to list.

Thing is, this is no different than 10 years ago.

In 1995, the commission rates were exactly the same, only now the prices of housing is 2 and 3 times what it was then.

Will they think about lowering their rates?

Noooooooooo waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy.

5% on 500 grand is 25,000 in real estate fees.

These days, the houses are flying off the shelves. The agents hardly have to work for their commission.

Try being an architect and telling someone that you want 6% to design their house. They will look at you like you are on glue.

Yet an architect or engineer has to have incredible skills and ability. The average home owner has no idea what kind of thought and re thought goes into designing a house.

Agents?

I doubt most have even high school, yet people will pony up to pay 5 or 6 % like it's the done thing.

 

[davidmarch]

You have no idea.....

You really shouldn't speak about that which you do not know.
What other professional do you know of that will spend tons of money and time marketing and working on your behalf, but only get paid if there is a successfull sale? And of that 5 or 6% you mention, half of that goes to the other broker, and what's left (2.5-3%) is divided between the agent and his broker. Then of what's left the agent has to cover advertising costs(very $$), monthly desk fees to his broker, and monthly dues to the local Real Estate Boards. The costs asociated with doing business as a Realtor are high, and it is the main reason why their is such a high industry attrition rate.
Never mind that the tuition costs associated with getting one's Real Estate license!!!!!

 

[DateMasamune]

My vote goes to Bill Thom because he is always on the cellphone ready to recieve calls from his clients. Now that is superior customer service.

(If you have seen Bill Thom's ads at bus stops, you'll know what I am talking about)

 

[mtl_guy]

tuition costs? are you for real?

the problem with agents is this:

lets say im selling my house. i want to list it for $600,000 and feel i can get $550,000 for it. the agent agrees to list it at $600,000. Offers come in and the highest offer is $500,000 . I feel this is too low but the agent tries to convince me this is a fair price.

At $500,000 and 5% commission, thats $25,000 in commission for the agents. Thats $12,500 per agent when its split between buying and selling agent. Thats guaranteed for my agent if I agree to sell it now. If I want to hold out for $550,000, thats an extra $50,000 for me. But for the agents, its only and extra $2,500 total, and split in two its only $1,250.

So does the agent want to work hard and possibly earn me and extra $50,000 while only earning an extra $1,250 for himself and risk losing the sale and not earning the $12,500 from a $500,000 sale. Whats the agents incentive to work hard for you.

You really shouldn't speak about that which you do not know.
What other professional do you know of that will spend tons of money and time marketing and working on your behalf, but only get paid if there is a successfull sale? And of that 5 or 6% you mention, half of that goes to the other broker, and what's left (2.5-3%) is divided between the agent and his broker. Then of what's left the agent has to cover advertising costs(very $$), monthly desk fees to his broker, and monthly dues to the local Real Estate Boards. The costs asociated with doing business as a Realtor are high, and it is the main reason why their is such a high industry attrition rate.
Never mind that the tuition costs associated with getting one's Real Estate license!!!!!

 

[gibsomstreet]

Re hot agents, there's Irene Kaushansky...

 

[DateMasamune]

Re hot agents, there's Irene Kaushansky...

There are a few hot ladies at http://www.harveykalles.com/ , with facial pics too! LOL

 

[james t kirk]

You really shouldn't speak about that which you do not know.
What other professional do you know of that will spend tons of money and time marketing and working on your behalf, but only get paid if there is a successfull sale? And of that 5 or 6% you mention, half of that goes to the other broker, and what's left (2.5-3%) is divided between the agent and his broker. Then of what's left the agent has to cover advertising costs(very $$), monthly desk fees to his broker, and monthly dues to the local Real Estate Boards. The costs asociated with doing business as a Realtor are high, and it is the main reason why their is such a high industry attrition rate.
Never mind that the tuition costs associated with getting one's Real Estate license!!!!!

Ba ha ha ha, professional, I love it.

You're an agent aren't you?

Tuition costs? Like Architects and Engineers don't have very REAL tuition costs in very real UNIVERSITIES over 4 or 5 or more years, not some Tom Wu School of Real Estate.

Oh yes, Architects and Engineers also have licensing fees as well.

Real estate fees are too high which is why you are seeing more and more people selling their own homes.

My impression of agents is most of them are only interested in ONE thing. Closing the deal at any cost. The first agent I had - Gladys Sp!zzier! could tell that we were newbies when it came to buying a house, so she initially only showed us houses that SHE had listed. Then, she showed us a gut job and I told her to put in a low ball offer on the knowledge that the estate only wanted to dump the place quick, and it was a disaster house. She said that "it will go for much more than that", and I told her I didn't care, because you never know.

The fat pig never bothered to put in the offer, in her words, "your offer was too low, I didn't think that we would get the sale." In other words, I couldn't be bothered working for you.

Needless to say, we found another agent after that who closed another deal for us a month later.

Needless to say, I wouldn't nominate Gladys for Real Estate Agent of the Year either.

 

[mmouse]

Yes, 5-6% commission is a total scam, and higher than many other countries.
Suggested reading:
http://reddeer.comfree.ca/articles/news26.html

 

[3Tees]

I think that agent's fees are fair, and I agree with what David March said. Out of her own pocket, our agent paid for a decorator to come to our house and give a consult, high-gloss feature sheets, cleaners the day before our Open House and (of course) a photographer to take pictures. And DM's right. That 5% to 6% commission goes practically everywhere but the agent's pocket.

Our agent also has a list of ancillary service providers such as painters, contractors, insurance people as well. We tried calling a painter on our own and his earliest appointment was three months (and as it turns out "the trades" in general are very busy these days)! Our real estate agent gave us the name of her painter for us to call on our own, and he did not return our call for three days. At our house, she got him on the phone instantly and he was literally at our house 6 hours later!

Are Real Estate Agents interested in selling a house as quick as possible - you better believe it. However, the good ones will find ways of doing it WITHOUT you low-balling your own listing price, like recommending how to spruce up a home so that it looks better. They'll market hard and have people (like the painter) who can do the work in three days, as opposed to three months!

And as for the fact that houses are flying off the shelves, sure they are - and they have been in recent past and it will likely continue in the near future. However, Real Estate markets also experience downturns as well. So sure, let the agents feast for a while, because there was famine in the past and there will likely be famine in the future. And for the guy who said "I don't see agents lowering their commissions now", I'm wondering if we see them raising commissions when times are bad - and don't take that as a flame. I'm curious - if they do raise them when times are bad, then it's pretty shitty, but if they keep them the same all along, then they do have a pretty tough burden when the market goes into the crapper.

I'll tell you this, I was fortunate to have a good agent, and we got great results. If my agent was crappy I may feel differently and agree with some of the other comments made, but I feel if you get a good agent, it is well worth the price.

 

[DateMasamune]

Amy Tang looks hot in pics...
never met her though, could be a B&S

Yes, I saw her ad today passing by Finch subway station. Amy Tang is a hottie!!!

 

[21pro]

There are a few hot ladies at http://www.harveykalles.com/

yeah, that's where all of the former strippers turned R.E. agents ended up that retired from dancing between '99 and 2005.

now, i'm finding that RE is not the career de choix for retiring dancers. lately alot of them are jumping on the back to school thingy.