Why Work With a Realtor?

Working With a Broker or Salesperson

When you work with a registered broker or salesperson you benefit from:
Education, Knowledge and Experience
 

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All brokers and salespersons are required to complete educational courses prior to becoming registered and are also required to take continuing education courses. Many brokers and salespersons pursue ongoing professional development opportunities, obtain membership in professional associations and attend industry events on a regular basis. While consumers buy and sell real estate infrequently, most brokers and salespersons are engaged in these activities on a daily basis.

I currently have 3 designations, including Certified Negotiation Expert, Seller Representative Specialist and Accredited Buyer Representative.

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Consumer Deposit Insurance

All brokers and salespersons are required to be insured. The insurance program administered by RECO includes consumer deposit insurance. The coverage that protects your deposit is available under the insurance program at no cost to you. In the event of fraud, misappropriation of funds or insolvency there is coverage available to consumers of up to $100,000 per claim to a maximum of $1,000,000 per occurrence. If the deposit is being held by your lawyer, you should contact the Law Society of Upper Canada to determine what insurance protection may be available.

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Complaints & Enforcement

All real estate brokers and salespersons are required to comply with the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 and associated regulations, including the Code of Ethics. RECO addresses inquiries, concerns and complaints about the conduct of brokers and salespersons and takes appropriate action to protect the public interest.

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Make sure your broker or salesperson is registered

In Ontario, in order to trade in real estate, brokers and salespersons must be registered under the Real Estate Business and Brokers Act, 2002. Before you begin working with a real estate broker or salesperson make sure you confirm that they are registered by using the online search feature.
The information available to you includes the registration status, the current expiry date of registration and regulatory activities related to the brokerage, broker or salesperson, such as:

• Registrar’s Proposals to refuse, revoke, or suspend or apply conditions to a registration
• Charges under REBBA 2002 and related convictions
• Immediate suspensions ordered by the Registrar
• Decisions of Discipline and Appeals Panels related to ethical conduct.

Aside from all these minimal requirements, a good Realtor should be able to provide references and reports to show their past success.  Sales awards are relatively meaningless as the criteria for awarding them varies greatly.  To find out the three questions you NEED to ask your prospective Realtor, check out https://youtu.be/dFVQC4RCeeU

Contact me today for a free Home Value Report or to chat about real estate in your area!

This Lawyer explains what Realtors and Sellers MUST disclose when selling a home...

Failure to disclose is one of the most common reasons for buyers to make claims against sellers and Realtors.

Find out disclosure rules and avoid getting sued!

Do you know how much your interest penalty is if you buy out your mortgage early?

Many people, myself included before I became a real estate broker, don't have a good understanding of what penalties might be incurred if you decide to buy out your mortgage early (prepay before the term is up).

It's not just the "3 months interest" ever since the CMHC removed the cap on their insured mortgages.  The lenders now generally "clawback" (probably not the right term) the discount you were given on your rate.

For example.  If they gave you a 20% discount on the posted rate on a 5 year term and you decided to sell after losing your job 1 year into the term, they would usually charge you for the 20% "discount" for the 4 years they are losing out on your payments.

This has a big effect on potentially limiting your options if life changes for you (and it always does).

In 2012, the government required banks to post online prepayment penalty calculators from all lenders.

Here are the big six below in case you wanted to know what your penalty would be if you decided to sell your home and not port your existing mortgage over.

National Bank of Canada

Bank of Montreal

CIBC

Scotiabank

Manulife Bank

Laurentian Bank

TD Canada Trust

Royal Bank

Contact me today for a Free Home Value Report or to chat about the current real estate market at www.kimlouie.net

 

 

Great Apps for the home buyer!  And one for homeowners...

 

Realtor.ca has a great app for Homebuyers.  It allows you to search and filter MLS listings.  You can use your location and find out about open houses in your area as well!

And I also included an app for homeowners at the bottom.

For Apple Products: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/realtor-ca/id408873309

For BlackBerry Products: https://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/39031/?lang=en

For Android Products: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca.crea.realtor&feature=search_result&hl=en

Here is another great app http://www.clientlinkt.com/install/186
It allows you to browse local service providers, restaurants, etc.... Make sure to choose me, Kim Louie, as your favourite agent for my personal recommendations!

Home sales up considerably in January, 2016 compared to last year - and sale prices continue to rise...

With this level of continued activity, now is a great time to sell with inventory levels low and demand still high.  Contact me today to find out what your home is worth!

(February 5, 2016) –– Homes sales through the Multiple Listing System (MLS®) of the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of REALTORS® (KWAR) in January were up 29.8% compared to January of last year.

A total of 309 residential properties were sold compared to 238 the same time last year in Kitchener-Waterloo and area.  Residential sales in January included 205 single detached homes (up 33.1% from last January), 14 semi-detached (down 17.6%), 21 townhomes (up 31.3%) and 67 condominium units (up 31.0%). 

“We came off a strong 2015, and the pace of home sales hasn’t slowed down in January,” stated Charlotte Zawada, President of the KWAR. “The last few winters we experienced sluggish sales, but we’ve been fortunate and haven’t had as much snow or ice to keep people from getting out there and looking for a new home.”

Single detached homes sold for an average price of $409,101 an increase of 10.5% compared to last year. The average sale price for a condominium was $214,464 a decrease of 7.6%, while townhomes and semis sold for an average of $311,509 (up 12.4%) and $283,966 (up 10.0%) respectively. The average sale price of all residential sales through the KWAR’s MLS® System increased 8.2% to $353,514 compared to January 2015. 

“Buyers and sellers will be all the more eager once spring hits, and we are expecting a strong spring market,” said Zawada. “With interest rates holding steady we should continue to draw people looking to live and invest in Waterloo Region.”

New Mortgage Downpayment Rules Take Effect February, 2016 - downpayments requirements going up for certain homes ...

The new mortgage rules are raising downpayment requirements for homes selling above $500,000.  Find out what that means and how much in this brief video.





Contact me at www.kimlouie.net for a Free Home Value report or to ask any real estate questions!