Seller realtor asks financial questions

[spark1]

Hi all,
I am a beginner investor, just looking for my second investment property.
Yesterday I tried to see a potentially interesting house and the seller`s relator said he would not show me the place unless I disclose how much downpayment I have, show him preapproval for the listed price and come to his offcie to verity if I "am not a terrorist". I was a little bit puzzled , I do not want to disclose my financials because my offer ( if any at all) anyway will be at least 20% below the listing. It is in Toronto and we are talking about a 350-400k semi.
Questions: is it normal in the industry? What can I do if I do not want to disclose to the seller realtor my financial situation?

thank you,
igor

 

[RedlineBrett]

The Canadaian Real Estate Association (CREA) has mandated all members to have their clients fill out a "individual identification information record" as part of the real estate industry`s move to comply with the crime and terrorist financing act. If you buy a property you will be required to provide a driver`s license or health care card, SIN card or some piece of government issued ID.

The DP verification and pre-approval is just the listing agent wanting to make sure you are a qualified buyer before he/she spends any time on you. Sound like they are a bit abraisive with how they treat their potential buyers, but it is nonetheless common for agents to do this before moving forward. Weeds out the tire kickers.

My suggestion would be for you to get an agent to represent you as the buyer`s agent and have them deal with the listing agent for you... especially this lister if you intend to lowball them... more than likely they wouldn`t want to work with you with such an offer!



QUOTE (spark1 @ Dec 22 2008, 11:03 AM) Hi all,
I am a beginner investor, just looking for my second investment property.
Yesterday I tried to see a potentially interesting house and the seller`s relator said he would not show me the place unless I disclose how much downpayment I have, show him preapproval for the listed price and come to his offcie to verity if I "am not a terrorist". I was a little bit puzzled , I do not want to disclose my financials because my offer ( if any at all) anyway will be at least 20% below the listing. It is in Toronto and we are talking about a 350-400k semi.
Questions: is it normal in the industry? What can I do if I do not want to disclose to the seller realtor my financial situation?

thank you,
igor

 

[tbarcier]

I have never had to. I would tell him to have a nice day and move on. He will have an interesting time selling that one. Are you using your own agent? If not I would suggest using a buyers agent.

 

[spark1]

QUOTE (tbarcier @ Dec 22 2008, 12:15 PM) I have never had to. I would tell him to have a nice day and move on. He will have an interesting time selling that one. Are you using your own agent? If not I would suggest using a buyers agent.

I bought a property 4 months ago and did not have anything close to the buyers treatment I have now. I guess the real estate situation changed a lot for the last several months.

No, I do not use a buyer`s agent. I do search on my own. I know what exactly I need and where. Also, I have some time on hands to search and to do my own due diligence. in the past the agent tried to push me quickly into the deals I did not feel make economical sence. Once burned by milk you will blow on cold water.

 

[tbarcier]

QUOTE I guess the real estate situation changed a lot for the last several months.

I just bought a property today, still did not have to do anything like that.

QUOTE No, I do not use a buyer`s agent. I do search on my own. I know what exactly I need and where. Also, I have some time on hands to search and to do my own due diligence. in the past the agent tried to push me quickly into the deals I did not feel make economical sence. Once burned by milk you will blow on cold water.

I hear you, that is why you need one who will be part of you team and understand your needs. I know what I want and do my own searches as well, however I use my agent to set up viewings and all other things associated to dealing with the sellers agent just to avoid situations like yours. I would doubt very much that he would ask your agent to get you to provide this information. I am know there are REIN members here who are agents who will help you out and not be pushy at all, just ask around.

 

[nepoez]

HAHAHA... I`m just curious what his exact words are. "Dear client, we need to verify that you are not a terrorist before proceeding"

QUOTE (spark1 @ Dec 22 2008, 10:03 AM) Hi all,
I am a beginner investor, just looking for my second investment property.
Yesterday I tried to see a potentially interesting house and the seller`s relator said he would not show me the place unless I disclose how much downpayment I have, show him preapproval for the listed price and come to his offcie to verity if I "am not a terrorist". I was a little bit puzzled , I do not want to disclose my financials because my offer ( if any at all) anyway will be at least 20% below the listing. It is in Toronto and we are talking about a 350-400k semi.
Questions: is it normal in the industry? What can I do if I do not want to disclose to the seller realtor my financial situation?

thank you,
igor

 

[nepoez]

Having a good agent that is willing to work according to YOUR agenda will change your view. After all, you don`t pay commission when you buy, there`s no reason not to try to find a good realtor. It took me a while to find a good realtor as a team member but I am really really glad I did!

QUOTE (spark1 @ Dec 22 2008, 10:45 AM) No, I do not use a buyer`s agent. I do search on my own. I know what exactly I need and where. Also, I have some time on hands to search and to do my own due diligence. in the past the agent tried to push me quickly into the deals I did not feel make economical sence. Once burned by milk you will blow on cold water.

 

[Dan_Eisenhauer]

The question of how do you find a good Realtor has come up before. I reposted one of my suggestions in a new post on the subject.

You can find it here.

 

[Mike Milovick]

Hi Igor;

I would suggest finding a realtor (REIN member?) to work with. If you are looking at paying $350K to $400K for a semi in Toronto - without even looking at the numbers - I am going to go out on limb and say the property does not meet the REIN First Funnel.

Find a buyer agent realtor that specializes in income property in the area. He will work with you on getting a pre-approval and pointing you toward property that meets your investment objectives.

Also, note that I specialize predominantly in a certain type of income property in Waterloo. Many of my listings are exclusive offerings (as opposed to MLS) as my sellers do not want to have tenants disturbed by unqualified buyers or realtors that do not know how to get these deals done - so I know where this agent is coming frmo.

The buyer agent`s questions re: amount down and pre-qualification are legit - but, I agree, presented in an abrasive manner.

Mike




QUOTE (spark1 @ Dec 22 2008, 01:03 PM) Hi all,
I am a beginner investor, just looking for my second investment property.
Yesterday I tried to see a potentially interesting house and the seller`s relator said he would not show me the place unless I disclose how much downpayment I have, show him preapproval for the listed price and come to his offcie to verity if I "am not a terrorist". I was a little bit puzzled , I do not want to disclose my financials because my offer ( if any at all) anyway will be at least 20% below the listing. It is in Toronto and we are talking about a 350-400k semi.
Questions: is it normal in the industry? What can I do if I do not want to disclose to the seller realtor my financial situation?

thank you,
igor

 

[Mike Milovick]

Completely agree.

Good buyer agent (as well as good property manager) worth their weight in gold.

Mike

QUOTE (nepoez @ Dec 24 2008, 02:15 PM) Having a good agent that is willing to work according to YOUR agenda will change your view. After all, you don`t pay commission when you buy, there`s no reason not to try to find a good realtor. It took me a while to find a good realtor as a team member but I am really really glad I did!

 

[spark1]

[quote name=`MikeMilovick` date=`Dec 30 2008, 08:49 AM` post=`46526`]

Thank you Mike,


" If you are looking at paying $350K to $400K for a semi in Toronto - without even looking at the numbers - I am going to go out on limb and say the property does not meet the REIN First Funnel."

I am not sure why you assumed that I did not look at the numbers. That was the first thing I did before calling the agent.

I guess it is very easy to say "find a great realtor". The reality - it is a hard task. There are miriads of them around braging they are the best. The way I am doing my search for the great realtor I am looking at the properties I am interested in my area and see if the seller`s agent potentiay can be my realtor. I ask him various questions about the local market and income propertis in the area. So far (with talking to about ten realtors) I have not seen a great realtor. I keep trying.

Thank yo very much all for you comments.

Happy New Year everybody!

 

[markl]

I have had this happen to me in Toronto while looking at income properties and personal properties. The sellers agent was down right rude this of course was in a rising market I cannot imagine right now that happening as it is more balanced.

Just goes to show you...you have to do due diligence on your buying agent and your selling agent these are the people representing you.

Happy New Years

 

[housingrental]

Spark1 - Mike above is a great realtor BUT
I had a hard time finding an adequate never mind a great realtor and went through many over 6 months until found
I think there are three big issues when finding a realtor ( and the other posts on this also have a good info) - Get one that specializes in, and owns a similar investment in the the specific location your looking in, know what your able to finance and give realtor confidence in this, and be willing to commit to a buyer agency agreement - lots of tire kickers so if role was reserved how much time would you dedicate to providing free investment advice to someone?

 

[RedlineBrett]

QUOTE (markl @ Dec 31 2008, 02:38 PM) I have had this happen to me in Toronto while looking at income properties and personal properties. The sellers agent was down right rude this of course was in a rising market I cannot imagine right now that happening as it is more balanced.

Just goes to show you...you have to do due diligence on your buying agent and your selling agent these are the people representing you.

Happy New Years

A big part of this "bad attitude" towards buyers is that most agents only want to work with listings... or want to get as many as possible and let other, smaller agents do all the work with buyers. It takes about 3x the work to close a buyer than it does a seller... so many agents go for listings for the better leverage.