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Advice on Real Estate Agent Dealing w/ Lofts

Anyone is free to work with a Buyers Agent or not. Yes it is true that a buyer might save about 1-1.5% by not working with a Buyer Agent. On a purchase price of $300000 that's like $3000-$4500. This is all well and good but if they don't know anything about real estate (and this is the market I am talking about) they are probably going to get screwed for way more than that in other areas that even a lawyer isn't going to help them out on. Talk to anyone who bought without knowing what Interim Fees or Assignment Clauses are and they will tell you it's worth it to have a Buyer Agent. Yes, a knowledgeable Buyer probably doesn't need representation.
 
nuttym said:
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!
Click to expand...
Hello,

I lived in a loft for 3 years in the King and Parliament area. I absoultly loved it with the exception of one issue.. I found there was no privacy. When I was watching TV my girlfriend complained about not being able to sleep due to the noise. Loft living is very open concept.
Before buying there, I looked in many different areas- more lofts in King West. I also looked at the Tip Top Lofts but they were really expensive.
I worked with a great girl who seemed to understand what I was looking for. She pre-screened all our showings in order to not waste my time as I was adament on a true loft feel. She is quite young and trendy and got what loft living is all about. She was an absolute sweetheart. I actually regret leaving my loft... But wedding bells were ringing..lol
Her email is: alltorontocondos@gmail.com.
Good Luck.
 
gei said:
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.
Click to expand...

but but but...the broker drives a Rolls Royce and has his own TV show*







*sarcasm...i have nothing against these guys cuz i've never dealt with them before.
 
My suggestion is find 2-3 Realtors. You can get them through referrals of members on here or maybe from co-workers who have lived in Toronto for a while. You can also just google "Toronto Condos" and include 1 or 2 of the people who's sites you like.

I'd tend to not use the "No.1" person, as in any business that is based off high volume, less attention is paid to you. I would look for someone that sells quite a bit, but still has time to give you attention.

As for all Realtors being snakes, I'd have to argue against that. Yes, I'm a Realtor. No, I'm not plugging myself. But it's like any industry - there are the good & the bad.

I do think experience counts. If someone has been doing it 5-10 years, they're obviously doing something right and have a lot to lose by upsetting a client and having their name dragged through the mud.

Goodluck with you search! Renting for 6 months to get settled and explore the city isn't a bad idea...
 
There are something like 23,000 agents in the City of Toronto so painting them all with the same brush...whether positive or negative is somewhat impossible. I deal with agents every day...some great...some horrible. Although its fun to surf MLS all night and call for appointments, a good agent who communicates and understands your needs makes sure that your time is implemented efficiently. Also, if you find an agent you can trust they can be a great "voice of reason" through a very emotional and costly experience.

I am a licensed agent (commercial) and actually use residential agents to facilitate my residential requirements. I wouldn't do it any other way. My advise is;

-get references from a variety of sources, friends, colleagues, real estate lawyers, the owners of brokerages, etc.
-get an agent that is active in the area you want...i.e don't ask Aunt Marge from Newmarket to help on your search though Liberty Village
-meet several and INTERVIEW them...make them EARN your business...its a VERY competitive marketplace...if they are too lazy to meet at your house, come very prepared and on-time to impress you with their track record, systems, experience, etc and actually LISTEN to your needs give them the boot and call the next one.
-use someone in the know...you are not looking for a friend to hang with, you are looking for a service, find agents that are active, have a decent amount of listings and are involved in the day-to-day of their business, many agents have a great name and farm it out to their team.
-look for professionals. The 80/20 rule was made for real estate agents, the top 20% make 80% of the cash, associate yourself with the top 20%.
-Get experience...my agent has been selling for over 25 years, she knows what it was like when interest rates were 18%, when the condo market crashed over night, when people took $100,000.00 losses on their houses, etc. Find someone that has been on the ride up as well as the ride down.
 
i dealt with tom from torontolofts.ca (no choice really in my circumstance). he was great regardless.
i also met a few other good loft-dealers out there.

best thing, as mentioned, get references, interview them, get to know them, make sure you work well together.

good luck.
 
nuttym said:
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!
Click to expand...

Toronto agents have a bad rep.. I'd say about 90% of them look after their pocket rather than their clients. I have used several agents over the years and I can only recommend one George Kozaris Remax.
My first interaction with him was a few years back he advised me not to purchase a property as the potential was not there for gains.
Even though it would have paid him more than what I eventually bought. He would only sell something if he'd buy it himself. In all my years I have never had an experience like that!!
He's got commercials running on CP24 and CTV and does big volumes, but will assist with a 200k property as if it were a 1mil
He is well connected in the city. That's my suggestion. Good luck & welcome to TO

BTW his cell number is 6472719931
 
TorontoMike$$ said:
Toronto agents have a bad rep.. I'd say about 90% of them look after their pocket rather than their clients. I have used several agents over the years and I can only recommend one George Kozaris Remax.
My first interaction with him was a few years back he advised me not to purchase a property as the potential was not there for gains.
Even though it would have paid him more than what I eventually bought. He would only sell something if he'd buy it himself. In all my years I have never had an experience like that!!
He's got commercials running on CP24 and CTV and does big volumes, but will assist with a 200k property as if it were a 1mil
He is well connected in the city. That's my suggestion. Good luck & welcome to TO

BTW his cell number is 6472719931
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike!
 
morsemosi said:
They are guilty until proven otherwise, it is usually true, but I had a particularly bad experience with them that I do not care to say here, but I had like under oath, if necessary. Personally, I do not understand the concept of using a property to buy property in the Internet age. All the activities available are listed in MLS so why crowd the transaction to another agency, if you are really simple and do not understand the process or we are unable to determine the fair value of the property. Listing broker love you see alone and probably guide their offer, provided that it is competitive.
Click to expand...

The challenge for buyers is they can track listings on MLS but they don't have the historical sales data you need to make an informed purchase. Plus, there can be differences between properties that you don't understand from simply viewing the post on Realtor.ca but if you have an active Realtor helping you, they will have seen most of those earlier sales first hand and bring that knowledge to the table.

I understand the "buy from the listing agent" mentality and in some rare cases where two identical suites sold in the same month, then determining a value isn't as difficult. But still... You know what those other two suites asked, how do you know what they got?

Keep it in the back of your mind that the seller's Realtor is working for them, not you.


With or without a Realtor - happy condo hunting!
 
Hi Guys,

Found this old threat. I am a first time home buyer looking for a loft in entertainment district /king west area within 300s range, any suggestions?
 
I'm not an agent, but I live in an authentic hard loft in the King West neighbourhood.
There are a few realty agencies that specializes in lofts or unique properties, but if you get a good agent they should be able to identify such buildings and find you the loft you are looking for.
In the $300,000 range you might be able to find a soft loft in the 500-sq.ft. range in the Entertainment District or King West area. These are typically newer condos with exposed 9' concrete ceilings and columns and the token exposed duct -- marginal loft-like features which don't have the history, spaciousness, charm and character of a authentic hard loft, but they feature modern energy efficient construction and finishes.
 
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