Shop for a house | 5 things no one ever told you

Whether or not this is your first time shopping for a home, key information influences you to estimate its value and popularity. Here are five pieces of information that you can, deliberately or not, mislead you about.

The date of sale

A property in the neighborhood you want to move to has just been added to Centris. Quickly, you leap to the phone. The broker who sells it must be contacted immediately so that you are the first on the list to visit it.

A property newly put up for sale immediately arouses interest and curiosity. While those that pile up in the last pages of Centris are reminiscent of those wilted vegetables at the back of a supermarket shelf that no one wants to buy.

All the information you have engulfed before starting your shopping, whether from brokers, relatives or on the Internet, comes to the same conclusion: a property lying around on the market is suspect. She surely has serious problems… Of structure, perhaps… Who knows, of cultivation of cannabis? In real estate jargon, we’ll say it’s burnt out.

No seller or broker wants a property with such a label. Three months on the market and the property becomes “like a bachelor at 3 a.m. in a bar who hasn’t found a soul mate yet,” explains a broker.

Few want a property so rejected. And yet, it is sometimes the one that corresponds to several of your criteria.

Real estate brokers have found a simple way to solve this problem, without it appearing: the property is removed from Centris, the brokerage contract is canceled, a new one is made and the house appears as if by magic as a novelty on Centris legally.

Tip: ask to see the listing history of the proprayer that interests you. Ask relatives who have bought a property that has been on the market for a long time if they are satisfied with it.

The number of visits

A white lie, one would have said in another era. It’s easy to claim there’s “a lot of activity” when it comes to a property. Child’s play to go so far as to specify that there have already been 10 visits even if no potential buyer has crossed the doorstep. To give you an impression of excitement, you can also be wedged between two other pairs of buyers, because, supposedly, that was the only time available on the schedule.

If some remain insensitive to this type of tactics, others, easily influenced, will be anxious at the idea of ​​losing a property once again.

The most stressed will also react to this sentence: “If you are interested in the property, hurry up, because five more visits are scheduled tomorrow and a couple have shown themselves to be very, very interested. »

In general, each visit is entered in the calendar of the selling broker with the time and the address of the property. Your broker does not have access to it, but there are no regulations prohibiting him from requesting a copy. Yes, a fake visit can be scheduled on the calendar, it has happened before. However, this stratagem takes time and brokers do not work with an hourly rate.

Tip: If you have any doubts about the number ofe visits dthem, ask the selling broker to provide his schedule of visits.

The reason for a withdrawal

Does the reason why a buyer has withdrawn influence you? If you’re a do-it-yourselfer ready to take on anything, chances are you’ll be shielded from a non-compliant garage, a cannabis crop, or mold.

However, if you are looking for a turnkey property, we will have more success in reassuring you by telling you of the previous buyer that he “did not go through with the financing” rather than he “ran away after the inspection. “.

As an inexperienced first-time buyer, your imagination can quickly run wild thinking about the possible facts uncovered during the inspection. Perhaps a vague memory of the film will then arise in your mind. The Fair of Misfortunes (The Money Pit) with Tom Hanks, in which a young couple buys a house at a reasonable price where the work turns into a nightmare.

The apprehension of potential problems will make your stomach churn.

The seller may claim that he does not know the reason for the withdrawal, just like your buyer’s broker. However, selling brokers know this: if a buyer withdraws because of the inspection, they must mention it to future buyers and give them the inspection report.

Tip: Ask the broker sellsur or hasu owner who sells himself proof of the reason for the withdrawal and do not take the sole word of the broker with whom you are shopping.

The number of promises to purchase

Imagine that you are the only ones to make a promise to purchase on a house. Although feverish and excited by the hope of finally realizing your project, you will feel comfortable offering the right price in your eyes. Even negotiate down in some cases.

Now imagine being told there are six… The pressure is sure to rise! With six offers on the table, you will be convinced that it is urgent to open your portfolio once again and improve your promise to purchase.

The problem is that the buyer does not have access to official documents that prove to him that all these promises to purchase exist.

The selling broker can bluff and so can the broker shopping with you… especially if you have already visited around thirty houses with him.

If you have made a promise to purchase and you are quickly told that there is a second one, it is possible that this promise to purchase was made to create an artificial overbid.

False information can influence your decision making.

Tip: if you have any doubts about the number of pledgess of purchase, ask for proof from the owner who sells by himself or from the agency manager of the broker to carry out checks. It is also possible to contact the OACIQ.

The secret surrounding the offers

In the office of the same real estate agency (for example RE/MAX Signature, Sutton Actuel, Royal LePage Tradition), brokers who sell properties and brokers who represent buyers rub shoulders every day.

Yes, brokers comply to the letter with the Real Estate Brokerage Act and do not disclose to their colleagues the amount of promises to purchase received on the properties they sell.

But although many brokers swear that a Chinese wall has been erected between them and their colleagues in their agency, that the ethics there are irreproachable, others admit to a certain volubility in front of the coffee machine.

A buying broker could thus be made aware of offers already received by a fellow seller, which has been prohibited by law since 1994.

It all depends on the system put in place by the director of the real estate agency, explains to The Press the former president and head of the Organisme d’autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec (OACIQ) Robert Nadeau.

“It depends on whether the brokers have access to the file or not,” he says.

“It’s a big debate at the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) and not yet at the OACIQ,” he continues. For example, does the director of the real estate agency have the opportunity to give access to all brokers in the agency to all transactions? Or should it be fair to the broker involved in the transaction?, explains Robert Nadeau. There is no management element yet. »

Robert Nadeau indicates that each real estate agency has its own mode of operation.

This topic is hotly debated among faculty, he says. “Between the reality of life, the rules of the OACIQ and how the organization applies them, there are major discussions. »

Advice: if you are in a situation of multiple offers and that you have doubts, contact the director of the agency by claiming that he makes checks. He is atif possible to interpsher the OACIQ.