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Before Buying or Selling
Things You Should Know

Why use a Realtor?

Whether you are selling or buying property, a professional realtor can provide you with invaluable services and information. A realtor has their finger on the pulse of the housing market and is in daily contact with potentially interested buyers. A realtor is your best source of information for current market listing and conditions. He or she is a trained professional who is educated about legal issues affecting real estate transactions and will negotiate your best price, and terms in a contract of purchase and sale. A realtor can provide objectivity in a potentially emotional situation and may also be able to help find a lender that can work with your unique criteria. Only a realtor who is an active member of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has access to the Multiple Listings Service (MLS) which is Canada's most powerful real estate marketingsystem with over 600,000 unique visits each month. There are many more reasons why to use a realtor for all your real estate transactions but before you go any further you should understand agency disclosure and the different types of agency relationships you can have with a broker and your representative.

Agency Disclosure:

A requirement of the Real Estate Act and the Code of Ethics is to explain and document the nature of your agency relationship with the party or parties involved in the transaction. There are three different types of agency relationships your realtor should discuss with you. Each is described below:

    The Agency Relationship:

    Realtors work within a legal relationship called agency. The agency relationship exists between you, the principal, and your broker, the company under which your representative is licensed. The essence of the agency relationship is that your representative has the authority to act upon your behalf in dealings with others. Brokers and their representatives are legally obligated to promote and protect the interests of their principals as they would their own. Your representative must protect your negotiating position at all times and disclose all known facts which may affect or influence your decision. Your representative has an obligation to keep your confidences and to obey all of your lawful instructions. Also, your representative must exercise reasonable care and skill in performing all assigned duties and account for all monies and property placed in your representative's care while acting for you.
     
     


    Dual Agency:

    Dual agency occurs when a brokerage is representing both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction. Since the brokerage and your representative have promised a duty of confidentiality, loyalty and full disclosure to both parties simultaneously, it is necessary to limit the duties in this situation, if both parties consent. The brokerage and your representative will deal impartially with both the buyer and the seller. The brokerage and your representative must disclose everything they tell to one party to the other party but with some expectations. The brokerage and your representative will not share with the buyer or the seller the highest or lowest acceptable offer or any contract terms other than those in the listing or sales contract. The brokerage and your representative will not disclose any personal information to the other party or any motivation or lack of in regards to how quickly they may want to buy or sell. The brokerage and your representative will disclose any know latent defects to the buyer.
     
     


    When There is No Agency Relationship:

    This occurs when a party chooses to use the services of a realtor without agency representation. ie. Being shown a home by a seller's representative. The realtor that you choose to work within this respect has a legal and ethical duty to provide you with the honest and accurate answers but cannot divulge their principal's lowest selling price. The realtor that you choose to work with, without an agency relationship, cannot disclose any personal or confidential information nor recommend a price.

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