In fact, there isn’t much time before the goons from organized real estate break down our door, shut down the computers and take us to real estate jail.  It’s a normal jail cell, but what makes it real estate jail, is that it’s described as being located in an in-demand area, with 24 hour security, an on-site exercise area and low, low maintenance fees.

The reason we’re going to be in trouble is because we’re sharing a secret that the public isn’t supposed to know about.  If you’ve ever felt like you’re missing out on something, that there must be some secret way in which some buyers and sellers transact, you’re right.

Here’s the secret – not all properties sell through the MLS system.

Sure, the multiple listing service (MLS) is where the majority of real estate transactions take place, but there’s other ways in which buyers and sellers get deals done.  Without further ado, here’s three other sources for real estate listings.

No Realtors Allowed

The first alternative source for real estate deals is any approach that, by design or by accident, eliminates Realtors from the mix.

While the vast majority of real estate deals are negotiated and written up by Realtors, we don’t have to be involved in a real estate transaction.  Lawyers as well as auctioneers can legally facilitate the purchase and sale of real estate.

Whether it is between family, long-time friends or neighbours, you can be on the look for real life opportunities to find a home that suits your needs and try to negotiate for its purchase.  Such deals do take place but they are relatively rare, as it is often hard to find a motivated seller and buyer who are comfortable with such a large financial transaction without expert advice.

The more common version of an opportunity to buy a place with no Realtor involved is when the property goes up on a network designed to avoid Realtors.

There are lots of private sale listing sites within Ontario that are designed to share information, promote real estate for sale and allow buyers and sellers to meet without using a Realtor and, more importantly, pay Realtor commissions.

Whether these are designed specifically for real estate (fsbo.ca, prelist.org) or are more general sites that also include real estate sales (craigslist, kijiji), there are options that charge a nominal fee to list properties for sale.

The nominal fee is reflective of the fact that such sites are not commonly searched by prospective buyers.  They may be difficult to navigate, have out of date listings, or most critically, just don’t have anything that fits the needs of a given buyer.

There is a subset of this type of option that also includes exposure on MLS.  There isn’t an agent representing the seller in many cases, but they are actually on MLS and will show up when a buyer is looking on Realtor.ca.  Examples of these types of “mere listings” or a-la-carte servicing would include purplebricks.ca, forsalebyowner.ca and countless others.

If you’re willing to put in the time and energy to search a number of different sites, you can find properties that aren’t on MLS.  The caveat with such properties is that when they won’t pay a Realtor, you don’t get the services of your own Realtor as a buyer agent.  This means you better be very certain that the price you’re paying is worth it, that you understand all relevant aspects of the deal and the property and that you know how to avoid problems in a transaction.

Only One Realtor Allowed

The second secret way in which some buyers find properties that aren’t on MLS is through the old-fashioned, hard work of their agent.

Whether it is door knocking neighbourhoods, calling particular buildings or advertising in focused communities, a pro-active approach can result in a buyer finding a property before the seller took it to market.

Such an approach can involve more costs for the buyer as the most common structure involves the seller paying no commission and the buyer instead taking on that cost.  The clear benefit to the buyer is that the price, even including the commission the buyer agent’s brokerage, is one they are willing to pay to get the home in question.

In other cases, your agent can have listings of properties where the seller doesn’t want to go on the public MLS market and is open to their agent bringing a buyer without another agent.  In such cases, the seller could potentially save on commissions and as such is willing to take a lower price on the sale of the property.

Only Good Realtors Allowed

The final secret source for real estate listings involves multiple Realtors, but not all of them.  We’re talking about exclusive networks of busy, active real estate agents from reputable real estate brokerages.

With approximately 56,000 licensed real estate agents in the Toronto region, it’s hard to throw a rock without hitting a Realtor.  On a positive note, if you hit a Realtor with a rock, they will calm down pretty quickly if you mention you might want to buy or sell a property.

While there may be lots of licensed real estate agents, there is a tremendous difference between an established, experienced agent who works at a full-service brokerage and the one who got licensed two months ago, joined the cheapest discount brokerage they could find, and have helped one person lease a condo.

When you work with an experienced agent from a reputable brokerage, you gain exposure to the network of your agent as well as the resources available to their brokerage.

Here’s an example of a CRM program we use on our team (Contactually) and what shows up when we look for contacts tagged as Realtors.

With over 1,200 Realtors that we’ve met, dealt and interacted with over the years, we have tons of people who contact us daily with new, exclusive listings.  We do the same for our listings, because we want to make sure that the active, working agents out there are aware of what we’ve got available.

At the brokerage level, your Realtor also can benefit from their peers within their brokerage as well as the resources that the brokerage has available.  Within Keller Williams Advantage, we have 130 licensed agents and at any given time, about two-thirds of those agents are regularly active and busy working with sellers and buyers.  We share information about what our clients are looking for or what we have coming on private Facebook groups and internal meetings.

In the past couple of years, we have also seen the rise of extended, multi-brokerage exclusive networks through private companies like BrokerBay.  BrokerBay is a brokerage software company that streamlines appointment bookings, showing feedback, offer registration and also offers a platform to share exclusive listings.  We use it at Keller Williams Advantage and it ain’t cheap – and that’s a good thing.  It’s used by about 40% of brokerages in Toronto and they are the full-service, quality focused brokerages that are doing enough business to make it worth their while.

Here’s a screenshot of their Exclusive Network platform where we can look for properties that aren’t on MLS but are currently available to peers within the BrokerBay network.

While not all exclusive listings are on this network (and if they were..it wouldn’t be exclusive would it?) we’ve reached a tipping point of sorts, where there are enough properties being shared that deals are getting done through this method.

There you have it – three ways that deals get done before they hit the MLS system and the general public.  If you enjoyed learning about these alternative approaches to finding properties for sale and like the idea of working with an agent who can make the second two ways happen, get in touch with us.  In the meantime, we’ll finagle a way to get ourselves out of real estate jail so we’re ready to help you move forward.

When you’re buying or selling real estate, you need, at a minimum, a buyer and a seller.  While that’s a pretty low bar, not all properties are created equal and not all buyers and sellers are equal in their ability to close a transaction smoothly, without problems, and on time.

Over time, we’ve identified certain red flags that tell us that the person on the other side of the deal may be less than ideal.  While looking for perfection in the party on the other side of the deal can be counter-productive, it is smart to not overlook clear indications that this deal could be trouble.

Here’s three red flags to watch out for when you’re selling a property.

Buyer Red Flag – Not Respecting the Rules

When you are selling a property, you establish how that sale will proceed.  This includes when the property will be available for showings, what timeframe we’re asking for with offers, requested deposit percentage and so forth.

When a buyer is violating those rules during the for sale period, it’s a red flag that they won’t follow the rules during the conditional period or after it firms but before the sale closes.

If you see a buyer who wants to do things their way from the beginning, it’s likely they won’t suddenly become a considerate person who does things as requested throughout the process.

Buyer Red Flag – Not Listening to their Agent

A corollary to the first red flag above is when a buyer doesn’t listen to what their agent says.

There are pretty specific rules about communication in real estate.  Agents communicate with each other and with their respective clients.  We aren’t permitted to communicate directly with another agent’s clients unless it is discussed and agreed upon.  This is something that the majority of buyers and sellers understand and respect.

If a buyer disregards this or other advice from their agent, it a clear red flag that they think they can do things however they want.  If the buyer’s agent isn’t in control of their client and is merely relaying what the buyer wants, it is a sign that things are not going to go smoothly.  If you ever hear a buyer’s agent abdicate responsibility for their client and say that’s just what my client wants, be wary.  An important part of the role of a Realtor is to help the client understand how transactions take place and to make sure they move smoothly.  If a buyer isn’t listening to their agent, problems will start occurring.

Buyer Red Flag – Not Living Up to Promises

Real estate transactions are done through written contracts that clearly specify the terms of the transaction.  In addition, throughout the showing, conditional and firm period, there are promises made on both sides.

If a buyer shows up late to a booked showing, or not at all, it’s a potential red flag.  If the deposit cheque that is required to be provided within 24 hours isn’t available for longer with no prior discussion, it’s a red flag.  If the conditional period for a mortgage review is five days and on the fifth day the agent finally says they need more time after ignoring requests for updates, it’s a red flag.

In general, people behave consistently in one way or another.  A diligent, responsive buyer is unlikely to turn into a reluctant, unresponsive buyer partway through the process.  If the buyer is consistently failing to live up to promises (verbal or written), then it is a red flag that the rest of the deal will continue in this fashion and perhaps not successfully transact.

Just like on the buying side, there are red flags that indicate a seller is going to cause problems with a deal.

Seller Red Flag – No Attention to Detail

A huge benefit to being on the buy side is that, in many cases, you get to see how the seller lives.  While sellers often present the best-case version of their home, it is impossible for a seller to fundamentally change who they are and how they live.

If you’re visiting a home and it looks good on the surface, but closer examination reveals a different story, it is a red flag that the seller is not someone who is focused on the details.  When you see a red flag like that, it means you will need to look closer at more aspects of the home.  Such a seller is unlikely to have done regular maintenance on the home or properly cared for the mechanicals or appliances.

Seller Red Flag – Lack of Consideration

While things have changed in 2020 with the rise of COVID-19, the physical showing of a property is still an important part of the buyer process for many buyers.

If a seller has severely restricted showing times, fails to leave the home ready for showings (snow not shovelled for days, lights left off in the evening when they leave for a buyer showing, etc.) or generally treats potential buyers as intruders rather than guests, it is a red flag.

Such a seller will likely continue to not show consideration for you as a buyer during the rest of the process and if there is a situation that requires flexibility, it is not likely to be given.

Seller Red Flag – Unprepared to Show

The final red flag for a seller is when you encounter a property that is clearly unprepared for showings.  When the seller has made little to know effort to prepare for potential buyers to see the home, it is a sign that they are not motivated to sell or don’t think they should have to change a thing about their lifestyle in order to sell.

These types of sellers often give off a vibe of you being lucky to see their home and this attitude often extends into the negotiation process.  Such a seller is unlikely to be willing to listen to reason when it comes to negotiating and often won’t care about what is important to you as a buyer.

If a deal is done despite such red flags, it is very important to monitor the process through each step of the sale.  Such sellers are much more likely to drag their heels when hiring a lawyer, movers, packing and leaving the property in good shape.

No buyer or seller is perfect and sometimes the best opportunities come when the party on the other side has exhausted or angered other potential options for them to get a deal done.

If you work with a Realtor that understands the red flags, they can help you avoid problems or steer you through them to a successful completion.  If that sounds appealing, we’re here to help move you forward.

It’s the start of April, 2020 and it’s kinda anxious out there.  It’s easy to focus on the negative things going on and media stories certainly trend that way.

There was a recent RBC report that predicts a 30% drop in real estate sales and a small, year over year, effective drop in price by the latter half of the year, before sales come roaring back.

That, of course, led to tons of media stories about a 30% drop in sales AND prices, which is not what was said in the one analysis written by someone at RBC.  The name of that analysis by the way?  It’s literally called “A Tough but Temporary Blow to Canada’s Housing Market”.

Given the lack of sunshine and optimism right now, we thought it would be nice to take a bit of a light-hearted look at the real estate market.  Here you go, all you need to know about real estate you can learn from dogs.

This is mine now.

The first lesson we can learn from dogs is that it doesn’t matter who used to claim it, you can make it your own.

When dogs go for a walk, they claim their territory by peeing on it.  It’s a constant battle against other neighbourhood dogs to see who actually owns that tree, fire hydrant or bush now.

The lesson we can learn is that you can make a home your own.  It doesn’t matter how it looks right now or if you wouldn’t ever want to live there like the current owners do.  Renovate, build on, tear down – turn it into a place you are claiming as your own!

You gotta try.

The second lesson that dogs can teach us is that you never know unless you try.

When dogs smell something tasty that their owner is eating, they don’t sit in the living room saying “I can’t have that so I’ll just stay here.” They get their snouts up as close to what they want as possible.

The lesson we can learn is that life is hard enough without denying what you want.  Many people don’t look at a move because they imagine they’ll never be able to afford a new home that better suits their needs.  It may be true, but you might also be pleasantly surprised.  Ask any dog owner if they’ve ever fed a dog at the table and you’ll see that just because it doesn’t always work doesn’t mean it never works.

Put your best foot forward.

The third lesson that dogs can teach us is that you gotta play to your strengths.

Somehow, at some point in the distant past, dogs figured out that tilting their heads and opening their eyes wide made humans susceptible to doing whatever the dog wanted.

The same dog that was ignored or yelled at for barking or scratching gets what they want when they sit pretty and look adorable.

The lesson we can learn is that there is no such thing as a bad property.  The worst house can be positioned in the best light and sell for more as a result.  The tenant with the challenging credit history can be presented as a redemption story.  If you look at almost any real estate listing, you’ll see Realtors have jumped on this lesson with a passion.

It’s not small, it’s cozy.

It’s not falling apart, it’s ready for you to add your own touch.

It’s not currently on fire, it’s warm and welcoming on a cold night.

Enjoy what you have.

The fourth lesson that dogs can teach us that you have to appreciate what you have.

While some dogs may enjoy a big yard or a nice circuit in the house to run around repeatedly, dogs have the ability to enjoy the little things.  Whether it is a tiny apartment in a bad part of town or a mansion in a gated community, dogs don’t care.  Any dog owner who has seen their dog fall asleep in what can only be an extremely uncomfortable position can attest to the fact that dogs make do with what they’ve got.

The lesson we can learn is that if we focus on what’s missing, we’ll be miserable.  Instead, enjoy what you’ve got and watch as your life suddenly seems better.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this break from what’s going on in the world these days.  Remember, change your thinking, change your world.  After all, which of the dogs below would you rather be?