This realtor’s quiz allows you to see if your agent is right for you — or best left at nearest open house
Tom Everitt
Sun
CREDIT: John McKay, CanWest News Service Victoria Times Colonist / A centenarian in December, the restored Moses farmhouse on the Saanich Peninsula will be open to the public on Sunday, one of six homes there included in the annual Art Gallery of Greater Victoria’s house tour. For more information, visit the gallery’s website, aggv.bc.ca, or telephone 250-384-4101. Before restoration, the floors had the same roll and warp as the land beneath it, a consequence of a foundation of 4 X 4 posts set on stones laid on top of the earth, and the interior walls were sheeted in burlap and covered with wallpaper and wainscotting, scant protection from the chill of Vancouver Island’s damp winters.
CREDIT: John McKay, CanWest News Service Victoria Times Colonist / A centenarian in December, the restored Moses farmhouse on the Saanich Peninsula will be open to the public on Sunday, one of six homes there included in the annual Art Gallery of Greater Victoria’s house tour. For more information, visit the gallery’s website, aggv.bc.ca, or telephone 250-384-4101. Before restoration, the floors had the same roll and warp as the land beneath it, a consequence of a foundation of 4 X 4 posts set on stones laid on top of the earth, and the interior walls were sheeted in burlap and covered with wallpaper and wainscotting, scant protection from the chill of Vancouver Island’s damp winters.
CREDIT: John McKay, CanWest News Service Victoria Times Colonist / A centenarian in December, the restored Moses farmhouse on the Saanich >Peninsula will be open to the public on Sunday, one of six homes there included in the annual Art Gallery of Greater Victoria’s house tour. For more information, visit the gallery’s website, aggv.bc.ca, or telephone 250-384-4101. Before restoration, the floors had the same roll and warp as the land beneath it, a consequence of a foundation of 4 X 4 posts set on stones laid on top of the earth, and the interior walls were sheeted in burlap and covered with wallpaper and wainscotting, scant protection from the chill of Vancouver Island’s damp winters.
CREDIT: John McKay, CanWest News Service Victoria Times Colonist / A centenarian in December, the restored Moses farmhouse on the Saanich Peninsula will be open to the public on Sunday, one of six homes there included in the annual Art Gallery of Greater Victoria’s house tour. For more information, visit the gallery’s website, aggv.bc.ca, or telephone 250-384-4101. Before restoration, the floors had the same roll and warp as the land beneath it, a consequence of a foundation of 4 X 4 posts set on stones laid on top of the earth, and the interior walls were sheeted in burlap and covered with wallpaper and wainscotting, scant protection from the chill of Vancouver Island’s damp winters.
CREDIT: John McKay, CanWest News Service Victoria Times Colonist / A centenarian in December, the restored Moses farmhouse on the Saanich Peninsula will be open to the public on Sunday, one of six homes there included in the annual Art Gallery of Greater Victoria’s house tour. For more information, visit the gallery’s website, aggv.bc.ca, or telephone 250-384-4101. Before restoration, the floors had the same roll and warp as the land beneath it, a consequence of a foundation of 4 X 4 posts set on stones laid on top of the earth, and the interior walls were sheeted in burlap and covered with wallpaper and wainscotting, scant protection from the chill of Vancouver Island’s damp winters.
The term ”fall” can have many definitions from a real estate perspective. In simple terms, a ”fall” can be merely succumbing to the relentless pull of gravity on someone’s front lawn. A ”fall” can also mean a steady decline, like the fall of Western civilization or the fall of the real estate market. (Some people think they are one and the same.) Finally, the word ”fall” can also describe the season that approaches us now; a season that brings as much hope and apprehension to real estate investors as it does dread and misery to the many high school students heading back to algebra.
From this past spring, which brought us a bevy of multiple-offer situations in virtually every area and price category, right up to an August that was historically supposed to be very slow and instead turned into another record-setting month, the Lower Mainland’s real estate market continues to surprise us.
Vancouver‘s market recorded a 45-per-cent increase over last August (which had also set a record); the Fraser Valley increase was a mind-numbing 66 per cent.
As the great unknown of this particular fall market approaches, I thought there would be no better time than the present to take a few shots at your favourite person and mine, The Realtor.
If you are thinking of buying or selling this fall, I have included with this column a guaranteed fail-safe questionnaire to aid in your realtor-search using the 10 most commonly asked questions during a real estate transaction.
At the end, you will find a score sheet that will tell you whether or not this particular realtor is the right person for your real estate needs. Good luck and enjoy:
1. Should I buy or sell real estate this fall?
a) Let’s take a detailed look at the needs of your family.
b) Make sure you are comfortable either way.
c) It doesn’t matter. I make money either way so just pick one . . . or, even better, do both.
2. Will I make money when I sell it in five years?
a) I’m afraid I can’t answer that question fairly.
b) No one knows where the market will be in five years.
c) Yes, you’ll make tons of money and besides, I’ll be retired and living in Palm Springs in five years so who cares?
3. Would you buy this property if you were me?
a) Only if it matched my criteria.
b) Every client asks that question so I’m afraid I can’t answer.
c) Yes and I’d give my realtor a $10,000.00 bonus because he has done such a wonderful job.
4. Do you know any good inspectors?
a) I’m sorry, that’s a major conflict of interest.
b) Choose from these three or four highly reputable inspectors or your own.
c) Well for gosh sakes, what a coincidence. I used to be an inspector.
5. Should I write an offer today?
a) Only if you are completely comfortable with your decision.
b) Perhaps you should consult with your husband/wife.
c) I’ve already written and signed it for you and it’s a damned good one.
6. How much money can I get from the basement?
a) You will get market value for your rental suite.
b) You need to verify rental potential yourself to be sure.
c) That depends on whether or not there is a grow-op down there.
7. Will you call me if you see any deals?
a) I’ll send you instant e-mail updates and do my best.
b) Only if they meet your requirements completely.
c) Sorry, there are only three people I call if I spot a real estate deal. Me, myself and I.
8. Since there are 10 offers, do I need to write above asking price?
a) You only need to write the offer you are comfortable with.
b) Perhaps we should take a step back and keep looking.
c) Congratulations! I just added an extra zero on the end of your price and they took it.
9. Will this be expensive to fix up?
a) I’m not qualified to answer that question.
b) You need to consult your contractor, home inspector, priest etc. . . .
c) No, three feet of water in the basement is perfectly normal this time of year.
10. Do people ever lie on a Property Condition Disclosure Statement?
a) No, because the P.C.D.S. usually forms part of the contract and is a legal document.
b) No, it is filled out to the best of the knowledge of the home owner.
a) No, people never lie . . . and Bill Clinton did not have sexual relations with that woman.
Either ‘a’ or ‘b’ is usually the correct answer. If your realtor circled the letter ‘c’ on zero to one questions, he or she is probably very reputable and trustworthy. If your realtor circled the letter ‘c’ on one to three questions, report them to the real estate board immediately. If your realtor circled the letter ‘c’ on four to 10 questions, they should be in jail.
May everyone have a wonderful autumn.
Vancouver real-estate agent Tom Everitt maintains an Internet site at www.thinktom.com.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005