Advice on Real Estate Agent Dealing w/ Lofts

Hi,

I'm new to the city and am thinking about buying a loft in the downtown area. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good real estate agent who specializes in lofts.

If possible, though, I would like to hear from actual loft buyers who can speak from personal experience as opposed to real estate agents trying to give themselves a shameless plug.

Thanks for any advice!

I'm not a loft buyer, although I love lofts and am actively searching for the right one.

If I had to recommend an agent, I'd say call Brad Lamb and have one of his agents help you out. They specialize in condos (and lofts in particular) so if anybody can help you they can.

www.torontocondos.com

PS - I know it probably sounds like I'm promoting them, but I promise you I have absolutely nothing to do with Brad Lamb or his brokerage. I Just know that he markets himself as the loft broker for Toronto so he probably does know the most on the subject.

I PM'd you a recommendation. My advice to you is to also pick out your neighbourhood first. The "downtown area" is diverse and you should really get to know the pockets that have lofts as opposed to apartment condos.

I'd honestly recommend finding an affordable, central apartment and sign a lease for a year. That will give you plenty of time to explore the city better and time to do your homework on areas which may or not appeal to you. Your making a big decision when buying property, do your research and choose an area which suits your lifestyle and price range, then move towards making a purchase in that area.

Thanks, everyone for your advice!

If anyone has any more suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

For what it's worth I think dt's suggestion is a good one. Rather than be stampeded into a quick decision which you may regret, why not take your time, rent for a year, look around, and get your own feel for things?

Best wishes in the "big smoke"!

I wasn't impressed with the Brad Lamb agent I met - disinterested.

I was impressed with Edwin at Toronto Lofts (www.torontolofts.ca). He really seemed to know his stuff. Sadly I didn't go with him as when I was first looking, he wanted exclusivity and I wasn't sure if I wanted a loft or townhouse (he ONLY deals with lofts).

By the time i'd ended up deciding on a loft I was already committed to a realtor - who turned out to be the most useless, unprofessional person i'd ever dealt with. Heard nothing from them since they took the commission - not even a call to ask how the move went, never mind a card or anything...

Bentley said:

I'm not a loft buyer, although I love lofts and am actively searching for the right one.

If I had to recommend an agent, I'd say call Brad Lamb and have one of his agents help you out. They specialize in condos (and lofts in particular) so if anybody can help you they can.

www.torontocondos.com

PS - I know it probably sounds like I'm promoting them, but I promise you I have absolutely nothing to do with Brad Lamb or his brokerage. I Just know that he markets himself as the loft broker for Toronto so he probably does know the most on the subject.

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I personally recommend that you avoid this firm. In my opinion, based on my personal experience, the agents and the broker by extension, are disreputable and dishonest.

investor said:

I personally recommend that you avoid this firm. In my opinion, based on my personal experience, the agents and the broker by extension, are disreputable and dishonest.

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Yeah and the sky is blue. Your statement applies to 99% of real estate agents out there.

OP: they are a dime a dozen... and are like vultures. I'm guessing your post got you PM'd from dozens of them already.

gei said:

Yeah and the sky is blue. Your statement applies to 99% of real estate agents out there.

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I was thinking about that as I posted. They are guilty until proven otherwise as a rule its true, but I had a particularly negative experience with them that I don't care to share here but I would gladly swear under oath if required.

Personally, I don't comprehend the concept of using a real estate to buy property in the age of the internet. All available property is listed on MLS so why crowd the transaction with another body unless you are really unsophisticated and don't understand the process or can't ascertain a fair value for the property. The listing broker will love you for showing up solo and will probably push for your offer provided that it's competitive.

The listing broker will love you for showing up solo and will probably push for your offer

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Investor, there's just a little bit of logical inconsistency in your argument. If agents / brokers are all as "disreputable and dishonest" as you allege (backed by a noticeable lack of supporting evidence), surely one way you could begin to protect yourself, as a buyer, would be to have another agent acting on your behalf and only on your behalf under a Buyer Agency agreement, as opposed to going in on your own and putting yourself at the tender mercies of the broker who is acting for the seller? (The listing broker will be glad to "push for your offer" if it is unrealistically high.)

The wider question of how honest or how well equipped any particular agent is, would be a separate matter. As either a buyer or a seller, sit down and interview anyone who you might be thinking of getting to represent you. Also seek recommendations from others. Last but certainly not least, be proactive yourself, in looking at what is available in the market (as a buyer) or reviewing recent comparable sales (as a seller) and forming some of your own opinions, independent of what an agent is telling you and regardless of how good the agent might be.

As for "doing it yourself", without an agent, that's OK for the small percentage of people who are relatively sophisticated and knowledgeable in real estate matters, and who have access to the full MLS data, not all of which gets on mls.ca. For the great majority of people, who are involved in real estate transactions only a few times in their lives, I will state flatly that doing it yourself is just plain foolish. I could recount a number of stories of people who have outfoxed themselves by not having knowledgeable advice.

(For anyone here who is wondering, I do not handle real estate sales and am not saying this to promote my own interests.)

Spoken like an erudite snob whose opinion of the average home buyer's intelligence is insulting. What are you an appraiser? I wonder who sends you the bulk of your business...

Observer Walt said:

Investor, there's just a little bit of logical inconsistency in your argument. If agents / brokers are all as "disreputable and dishonest" as you allege (backed by a noticeable lack of supporting evidence),

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You want evidence? Take a poll here and see how the forum feels about their level of ethics.

Observer Walt said:

surely one way you could begin to protect yourself, as a buyer, would be to have another agent acting on your behalf and only on your behalf under a Buyer Agency agreement, as opposed to going in on your own and putting yourself at the tender mercies of the broker who is acting for the seller? (The listing broker will be glad to "push for your offer" if it is unrealistically high.)

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No Walt. The Seller's Agent wants to keep the FULL COMMISSION. He'd rather have 4% or 5% for himself than split it with another agent. Even if your offer is slightly LESS he'll push for it because 4% of $400,000 is slightly higher than 2.5% (sometimes even 1.5%) of $405,000. He might even feed you the high bids to give you a better shot at a hot property. I'm sure Walt has never seen or heard of such a thing.

Observer Walt said:

The wider question of how honest or how well equipped any particular agent is, would be a separate matter. As either a buyer or a seller, sit down and interview anyone who you might be thinking of getting to represent you. Also seek recommendations from others. Last but certainly not least, be proactive yourself, in looking at what is available in the market (as a buyer) or reviewing recent comparable sales (as a seller) and forming some of your own opinions, independent of what an agent is telling you and regardless of how good the agent might be.

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The time it takes to do this negates the need to contractually bind yourself to an agent that only crowds the negotiation process. Tell an agent what you are looking for and ask them to send you any listings that aren't MLS listed and that match your criteria. If you haven't seen it yourself, then by all means visit the property with them, but don't commit yourself to one person. This isn't the prom, you can bring more than one date.

Observer Walt said:

As for "doing it yourself", without an agent, that's OK for the small percentage of people who are relatively sophisticated and knowledgeable in real estate matters, and who have access to the full MLS data, not all of which gets on mls.ca. For the great majority of people, who are involved in real estate transactions only a few times in their lives, I will state flatly that doing it yourself is just plain foolish. I could recount a number of stories of people who have outfoxed themselves by not having knowledgeable advice.

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SCARE TACTICS, pure and simple. Reminds me of the old lines you used to hear about using an online broker to buy/sell stocks or using an online travel agent to book a flight. Get with the times Walt, you relic. The buyer should put in a clause to have the agreement reviewed by his lawyer within 48 hours and he'll get much more 'protection' than any agent could possibly offer.

Well speaking as one "relic" to another, I wonder why you continue to argue both sides of the same argument. You seem to have complete disdain for agents, yet you advocate a buyer, regardless of their knowledge or experience, not having their own agent to represent them, and placing themselves completely in the hands of the seller's broker, whose obligation is to the seller.

Investor, you may be one of the minority who can navigate through the market without an agent. It takes experience and current market knowledge. A few people can do it. I reiterate that for most potential buyers out there, who are not heavily involved in the real estae market and who don't buy and sell very often, it's foolish not to have your own advice, especially when it won't cost you anything extra. It's not "scare tactics" to advise people that they should be well informed.

As for commissions, of course a listing broker would like to double-end a deal and get all of the commission rather than half. That's no surprise. I wonder why you seem eager to facilitate that, given your disdain for agents? Any buyer should have their own agent, and let them share the commission in the usual manner if a deal gets done.

I do agree with your final sentence, although perhaps not for the reason you think. You advise consulting a lawyer. Of course any agreement should be made conditional on a lawyer's review. But lawyers are there to address any possible legal pitfalls. They won't be in a position to advise you on the merits of competing properties, or to stop you from overpaying. That's the job of an agent, along with the purchaser's own proactive and informed involvement.

I think investor is trying to say that relying on a real-estate lawyers advice is far better than what you get through a buyer agency representation. As such, save a few thousand dollars on the price by buying directly and invest those dollars into the legal fees trying to move the risk back over to the developer.

pickleberry said:

I wasn't impressed with the Brad Lamb agent I met - disinterested.

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I got the same treatment with Brad Lamb, worst service ever.

I bought mine thru Jon Ferrier, he specializes in lofts in Toronto and he's really a great guy who'll fight for his clients.

www.jonathanferrier.com