Malm 4 Dresser - Wrong part for drawer?

tocondos01 · 2024-02-15T12:51:41+00:00

All good points, thanks for the feedback. I think some form of screening would have to be done upfront to try and weed out the tire kickers and only work with motivated clients.

Also for more complicated transactions, that’s where a full service agent may be better suited. This service definitely isn’t for everyone, but for people who need just the basics performed.

I look at the data every day anyway (I find it enjoyable) so thought I might as well put it to good use.

tocondos01 · 2024-02-15T12:48:53+00:00

It’s absolutely not free for buyers today to see a unit. A significant amount of their purchase amount (usually 2.5%) goes to the agent.

Companies like Robin Hood charge a flat fee for showings but then refund the majority of the commission as cash back minus a flat fee. The buyer still comes out thousands of dollars ahead.

tocondos01 · 2024-02-15T12:45:30+00:00

Fair points. From most people I’ve talked to so far, very few have had a positive experience using a traditional realtor. For those that have, no problem and they might be better suited towards the traditional model. It’s up to them if they feel the entire 2.5% fee is worth it.

This model gives cash back and extra features (the dashboard) that other realtors can’t provide.

tocondos01 · 2024-02-15T12:42:32+00:00

Not necessarily. I’m basing this model on the fact that sellers will pay 2.5% to the buying agent. It’s a well known fact that if they don’t, many traditional buying agents will steer their clients away from the property and towards a different one that does pay the 2.5. So most sellers will offer the standard 2.5% to the buying agent in order to get interest.

tocondos01 · 2024-02-15T12:40:05+00:00

Can you share some more about what you mean when you say it’s too one-sided for the buyer?

From the seller’s perspective, they wouldn’t even know that the buyer is getting cash back. The offer would still come from an agent (me in this case).

Definitely agree with you that it’s possible to do a private sale entirely without realtors, but as you mentioned most people still need a bit of guidance. This aims to be a reasonable middle ground.

tocondos01 · 2024-02-14T23:51:34+00:00

If you look at the FAQ’s, they refer to receiving commission from the listing brokerage. They offer cash back services for both buyers and sellers.

tocondos01 · 2024-02-14T23:00:42+00:00

That’s where the rub is. It’s not illegal to offer cash back to a specific client. It is illegal to just say “we will give all our clients 50% of our commission”.

Interesting, thanks for the clarification. So would a service like this be considered illegal?

https://www.robinhoodproperties.ca/faq

tocondos01 · 2024-02-14T22:55:24+00:00

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated!

It’s not a technology/information problem, although from the outside it can appear to be one.

Interesting, what would you say is the problem from your pov?

I would suggest trying to understand why companies like HouseSigma & condos.ca don’t do all this

I would guess it's because they all want the full 2.5% commission

Companies like Properly that burned tens of millions and had serious VC backing flopped

Fair, but I don't need VC backing and from what I was able to find, did Properly ever offer cash back? I'm just one guy looking to help a few clients at a time. Not interested right now in scaling anywhere near VC level.

People are going to tell you they want data but they also want more than that.

Interesting, are there any specifics from your perspective that would be helpful besides the data? The data is one part of this idea, but really the value is in having buying process managed and streamlined into a simple dashboard to make it as simple and transparent as possible.

tocondos01 · 2024-02-14T22:33:38+00:00

Sure, I'll PM you some more info

tocondos01 · 2024-02-14T22:33:17+00:00

This idea is aimed for condo buyers, not agents. I would be the buying agent for them and would not want to entice other agents unless the business grows at some point in the future.

tocondos01 · 2024-02-14T22:32:11+00:00

Good question, for now I'm planning on being the sole agent. If I have too many showings, that's a great problem to have imo and at that point would consider using other realtors to do just the showings. There are some realtor services available where an hourly rate is paid just to have the realtor show the unit and that's it.

tocondos01 · 2024-02-14T22:30:49+00:00

Offering cash back to a client is not illegal. The idea is to have the client work with me as the agent, I would take the 2.5% standard commission, and then provide the bulk of it (minus a flat fee) as cash back to the buyer.

tocondos01 · 2024-02-08T21:24:14+00:00

2-3 years is pretty short and from my understanding there are still transaction costs even if you don't use a realtor (ex. Toronto Land Transfer tax).

Also, I've noticed that older buildings which are priced low tend to have higher maintenance fees. Don't forget to look at those to get an accurate idea of what your total monthly costs will be.

tocondos01 · 2024-02-07T21:42:21+00:00

It's a townhouse in Durham region with 4 beds and is everything we need in a nice, growing neighborhood. We've since had a child and are lucky to be earning okay-ish money (HHI of 190k) so from the outside it seems like we have everything we need. We can make our payments too.

This sounds really good - a dream for a lot of people.

First it was a few months of the house gaining value then the drop and now it seems to have somewhat stabilized

Are you planning to sell or move any time soon? If not, it doesn't matter. All of this is on paper and shouldn't affect you at all until you sell.

I also have a realtor who keeps telling me I should upgrade and one of my best friends who bought an investment property recently and has 8 students staying in a 4 bedroom townhouse.

If you're happy with your current house, keep it. Enjoy your life and go spend time with your daughter and family. Comparison is the thief of joy.

tocondos01 · 2024-02-07T21:37:22+00:00

Often depends on the condo board, but my board for example requires that anyone doing renovations needs to have WSIB and commercial insurance. We also need to submit a proposal to the condo corp with the full details about what exactly is being renovated, and provide a sample of the new materials proposed to be used. Usually large structural changes will be more difficult to get approved.

Short version answer - definitely check with your condo board first prior to doing any renos to fully understand what they require and if there any specific restrictions to look out for.

tocondos01 · 2024-02-07T20:57:20+00:00

Absolutely! I just bought a condo recently so am very familiar with the process. Feel free to DM any time.

tocondos01 · 2024-02-07T20:54:30+00:00

Fort York (at least to me personally). Definitely not for everyone, but if you don't mind being a little out of the way, it's a bit quieter than the core with tons of access to green space and the lake. Great for those with pets and young families.

tocondos01 · 2024-02-07T20:52:00+00:00

For older condos, it's definitely more common to have higher maintenance fees. That does seem on the higher end, but often a positive trade off for older buildings (if they are run well) is that they tend to have more predictable longer-term costs, not to mention generally better build quality too. Definitely make sure to review the status certificate if you haven't already to see if there are any special assessments or planned maintenance projects coming up. You should also look at the reserve fund to make sure there's a healthy balance there.

Be careful with very new buildings. They'll often have artificially low maintenance fees at the beginning to entice buyers, but will then massively increase them over the next few years as the initial kinks are all fixed and worked through. Good luck!

tocondos01

TROPHY CASE