Whether you're buying or selling a condominium home, you deserve professional service from a Realtor who specializes in the field. Using the right Realtor could obtain an owner a sale in a slow market, such as wintertime, and could ensure that a condo buyer gets good value and buys only in a well-run condominium development.
Let's start with those who are selling, and point out how many sellers are under-served when their condo home is marketed. While the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is a powerful marketing tool, used on-line by thousands of Canadians daily, it's not half as powerful if there are no photos of the home beyond the building's front door. This is a pet peeve of mine. No seller should be satisfied with their listing on www.MLS.ca without numerous additional photos showing the layout and the light that their home offers.
Further, those photos should also appear on a condominium web site in additional to MLS.ca. There are a handful of these in Calgary, and the locals are watching them for listed condo homes in specific neighbourhoods and even in specific buildings. If a Realtor doesn't have such a site, or an affiliation with such a site, you might be waiting longer than necessary for an offer to buy your property. In some cases a condo-specialist Realtor can bring seller and buyer together before even listing the property, simply through all the contacts and familiarity the Realtor brings to the table.
There are also issues that a qualified Realtor can address, such as confirming the status of your parking and assembling the condominium documents that you might not have on hand. Some readers will remember my example of the sale that fell apart because the condo owner didn't own the titled parking stall. A good Realtor will discover this early and deal with it in advance of the sale.
A condominium home shopper has at least as many concerns that are best addressed by someone who specializes in the field. When considering housing options, for example, one Realtor will only know of houses, while the condominium Realtor will be able to summarize various condo buildings, townhouse developments, price ranges and lifestyle choices, all before you even go on the road to see them!
Specialized Realtors might also know of the perfect condo home that's not yet on the market, so you'll have first dibs on it. Both the seller and buyer like the convenience of being brought together without listing, marketing, dozens of viewings and perhaps weeks of delay. There can also be a cost saving, as the one Realtor is acting in "dual agency" on behalf of both parties. Read my column on this topic on my web site.
Lastly, buyers are best served by a condo-specialist Realtor who does not hurry them into their purchase decision. By the time you make an offer you should know why you're buying what you're buying, and why you're paying what you're paying. Be patient with yourself and require that your Realtor be equally patient. You're buying a home and a major investment, not a blouse or a car.
In summary, condo sellers and buyers should demand more from Realtors. Sellers deserve multi-photo and multi-web site marketing and access to buyers who need condominium homes. Buyers deserve a Realtor who doesn't rush them, who knows the condo marketplace and who likely lives in a condominium home himself or herself.
Calgary Condominium Directory
