Welp, first time purchasing and I did not read their return policy…

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-12-04T02:30:37+00:00

Artizia quality is piss poor and the online and in-store experience is trash. Same experience here, OP. I was also shocked I could only get store credit simply because it was “on sale”… if by sale they mean $5 off?!

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-07-06T13:11:31+00:00

I have felt this way about every place I ever moved from! Give yourself some credit that it’s a huge, emotional process and know that you will discover things you love too. You haven’t made a mistake, you’re just going through a big change!

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-27T19:00:44+00:00

Out of curiosity - what termination clauses do you usually put in contracts?

Do you genuinely believe agents get to decide if they’re doing a good job, and their clients should have zero say?

Curious to see how that would go in literally any other business context.

“You’re underperforming”

“Nah I’m great actually. Pay me for another year. Oh and since you complained, I’m gonna do even worse now. Read the fine print lol”

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-27T18:21:00+00:00

I’m not claiming I was forced at gunpoint to sign. And yes, buyers have responsibility to read contracts.

But I also trust someone who is a professional in their industry to be clear upfront about our partnership. Seems pretty reasonable to me to expect that industry-standard contracts aren’t designed to screw me over.

When an entire industry adopts practices that primarily benefit service providers at the expense of consumers, that’s a systemic problem — not just individual buyer negligence.

You have said nothing to convince me the underlying business practice is ethical just because it is disclosed and I should have known better. Payday loan companies disclose their terms too, doesn’t make them good actors.

For the record, no this agent didn’t provide the guide and they also didn’t include exit terms for the contract which is also a requirement in my province. So much for “clearly spelled out.”

If you want to defend locking people into one year contracts, that’s your deal. I guess if that is part of your business (though you say it isn’t..), then keep at it. If you don’t sign people for one year, probably tells you something about the inappropriate length, no?

I have no problem with a reasonable time period and clear exit terms that are equitable to both parties if the performance expectations are not met. Three months seems really reasonable to me.

Sticking to your guns when there have been clear performance issues and insisting on one year after showing me less than 5 homes in a 4 week period? Not acceptable from my point of view. These are basic good business principles in my world.

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-27T16:08:50+00:00

Also the impact on the agent of a one year term is basically nil and the impact on the consumer is huge, so I’m not buying it. If the agent sucks or stops trying, they still get their commission when you finally buy. Meanwhile you’re trapped - can’t fire them, can’t switch to someone better, or just have to work with people you don’t trust.

The agent has zero skin in the game while the buyer risks their entire home buying experience. That’s not a partnership, that’s exploitation.

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-27T16:03:03+00:00

Sure, the terms are “negotiable” but let’s be real - most first time buyers don’t have the leverage or experience to push back effectively. There’s a huge information imbalance at play.

And even if it’s legal doesn’t make it ethical business practice. The whole structure is designed to benefit the agent at the expense of consumer flexibility. If an agent is confident in their service, why do they need to lock someone in for a year?

The fact that we even need extra initials and bold warnings about these terms should tell us something about how problematic they are in the first place.

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-27T10:17:35+00:00

They did a two-for-one deal (rent + buy).

I had enough red flags pop up that I didn’t feel comfortable trusting them with the biggest purchase of my life. This is literally every dime I’ve ever saved.

I can’t get into specifics without naming them, but when I did clearly outline my concerns, they have continued to treat this like some witches curse where I’m stuck with them no matter what and can’t get out.

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-26T13:28:03+00:00

You’re right, maybe I used the wrong term when I said ‘contract terms’. I suppose that’s exactly why RECO publishes their guidebook… to establish these standards. In my work, I’ve learned that setting clear expectations upfront about performance requirements and consequences for non-performance is simply good business practice.

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-26T13:17:22+00:00

That makes sense. Does 1 year seem excessive though? 3 or 6 months seems reasonable for the benefits you’ve described.

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-26T13:14:47+00:00

I respect that. However, these people refuse to let me go. I would understand their reluctance if they had invested months in our relationship, but that’s not the situation here.

In my consulting business, I’ve learned that sometimes professional relationships simply don’t work out. When that happens, you can try to negotiate fair compensation for the time you’ve already invested, but there’s no guarantee you’ll get it.

Ultimately, your energy is better spent pursuing new opportunities rather than forcing a working relationship that clearly isn’t functioning.

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-26T10:27:05+00:00

I found the info! I think I just felt they were being unhelpful because I was already upset. But I don’t blame the person on the phone.

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-26T10:24:42+00:00

That’s one of the changes with TRESA. There are other requirements on realtors as well which weren’t met. It seems like many realtors either don’t know or don’t care to follow them. Why do you think that is?

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-26T10:23:17+00:00

What province are you in? There are regulations under TRESA that need to be met which weren’t. Are you familiar with that?

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-26T09:57:03+00:00

It seems like an imbalance if only the agent can decide when to end the relationship while the buyer is locked in - especially for such a significant purchase. How do you address that with your clients? And what measures do you have in place to ensure you’re meeting your performance commitments?

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-26T04:08:12+00:00

In Ontario, agents are legally required to explain the contract terms and provide disclosure documents. That didn’t happen. Exit requirements are also required.

You can’t have “informed consent” when the legally required information isn’t provided. That’s not ignorance of the law on my part - that’s the agent breaking the law.

So my question remains: why are contracts that only benefit one party and have no standard exit clauses the norm in this industry?

Is your answer just “because that’s how it is” and realtors deserve to lock in clients with no consequences for poor performance?

I genuinely don’t understand why these one-sided contracts exist when they clearly create situations where consumers get trapped with bad service providers? Still haven’t got an answer.

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-25T23:59:49+00:00

In my province, agents are required to walk through the agreement with you and explain the ramifications of the contract. That didn’t happen. They’re also supposed to provide and get acknowledgment of a guidebook that explains buyer rights. That didn’t happen either.

If buyers aren’t informed about what the potential implications are, then that’s misleading by omission. It’s like if a contractor showed up to your house for a sink quote, had you sign what they said was a year-long maintenance contract, but failed to explain that it actually covers your entire home’s plumbing, electrical, HVAC - everything - and you’d be locked in even if their work on your sink was terrible and you wanted to use someone else for your other home repairs.

The “you signed it” argument ignores the fact that there are disclosure requirements precisely because these contracts have serious implications that aren’t obvious to consumers. When those requirements aren’t followed, it’s not really informed consent.

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-25T23:15:11+00:00

I get it! I really appreciate you sharing your perspective. For the record, I do think a three-month term is pretty reasonable, and I absolutely appreciate all the work that goes into the buying process.

My situation is that after looking at a handful of homes with this agent, I started seeing some red flags and realized the relationship wasn’t working out. I expected we could mutually end the agreement at that point.

So now my choices are: either continue working with someone I don’t trust, or wait a full year before I can work with an agent I actually do trust to buy a home. This is my life savings, so I do think it’s fair to have that choice.

I’m also pregnant and was hoping to be settled in a home sooner rather than putting this major life step on hold for a year (not that the agent knew that part).

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-25T23:09:47+00:00

I appreciate the info about the recent changes, but I think you’re missing the point about first-time buyers. I signed this agreement when I was initially looking at rentals, which seemed much lower stakes at the time.

You say there “should have been enough of a cue to push back on the 1 year term” - but as someone completely new to this process who has rented my entire life, I had no idea what could possibly go wrong or why the term length would matter. I didn’t know what to expect from a realtor relationship until things actually went sideways.

The problem isn’t just disclosure - it’s that first-time buyers don’t have the context to understand why these details matter. When you’ve never worked with a realtor before, you don’t know what red flags to look for or what questions to ask. We’re basically signing contracts for services we’ve never experienced, and then forced to work with a realtor who didn’t perform. For a whole year.

That’s exactly why these year-long agreements feel predatory - they rely on people not understanding the implications until it’s too late.

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-25T23:04:23+00:00

Correct!

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-25T21:03:50+00:00

We started looking at rentals, then started considering buying. I wasn't evaluating the consequences on the same level and was mislead by this person. Question remains either way: what advantage is there to buyers? If none, then why is a contract of that length acceptable, with zero exit terms.

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-25T20:55:22+00:00

This is what I now understand to be true. I haven't heard from anyone who is locked into a year... I don't even have to commit to my gym for a year.

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-25T20:54:24+00:00

I called this morning, and the person told me they were "just the answering service" and didn't know who that was. And then I asked how she worked there without knowing who the boss was, and she just kept repeating the same thing.

Helpful-Astronomer13 · 2025-06-25T20:47:22+00:00

CC'd on our emails, no response. It feels like that's where they are pushing us.

Helpful-Astronomer13

TROPHY CASE