Builder Previews

Buying Thru The Builder’s Agent Versus Buying With Your Own Representation

Please keep in mind that the idea that going to the builder will somehow save you money is a complete fallacy. The price of your unit will be the same whether you hire your own agent to represent you or whether you go through the builder’s agent.

In fact our service which is FREE TO YOU THE BUYER may save you several thousands of dollars. Plus we have great financing , legal and Team Resources to serve you.

Here are the differences.

1/ Most of the builder’s agents do not hold a real estate licence therefore they do not have any fiduciary duties towards you to protect your interests and therefore you cannot come back on them if there are any problems as they work for the builder and you did not insist on your own representation.

2/ Let me repeat it,the builder’s agent works for the builder.

The meaning should be obvious. They do not have a duty to tell you anything they may not want you to know. We have even had a builder’s agent tell us a unit would have waterfront views and I have fortunately gone back the next day, spoken with someone else, found out this wasn’t true, told my clients and been able to abort the deal. We were paying a price that assumed waterfront views.

3/ We can guide you with regards to floor plans ( this can be very decieving). Builders generally inlcude outside walls and every bit of space including all the closets, vents etc. into floor space.

Some of them even include the balcony as part of floor space. It is not unusual for someone to move into their new unit only to discover that their effective floor space is up to 200′ less than they thought they would be moving into.

We can point out many items around locations of certain features such as garbage chutes being next to your door and elevators. We are also able to go thru all of the paperwork and point out where all of your hidden costs will be.

It is important to note on buying new that the price you will pay on your offer is not your actual closing price. Builders build many extras into the deal which they don’t tell you about and they can’t pin down the amounts of those extras ahead of time. We have found that they range from a low of $2000. to a high of $15,000.

While we cannot totally control these costs, we can point out where they will be and try to put some upper limits on them.

We will also make sure a solicitor reviews your offer for you within the 10 day cooling off period and makes recommendations. If necessary we will go back and negotiate for you on these during this time frame.

Please do not go to the builder first and then call us. If you do this we cannot act for you. Please call and indicate your interest. We will call and get prices and floor plans or an invitation to the agent’s preview for you so that you get first dibs on the best units and the best prices.

How Builders Sell Their Condo & Loft Projects

Most people don’t understand how builders build. In order to finance a project a builder must raise Bank financing. In order to do this he must Pre-Sell at least 65% of his project. At this point the bank will forward funds and he will start to ” break ground”.

In order to pre-sell the project most builders turn to the one source in Toronto that has the largest captive audience of contacts and cleints. Those are the real estate agents. Some of us have huge client lists, both end users and investors.

Therefore one of the very first things that builders do is contact the local City Realtors and invite them to an early preview. If you are on our preview list then we can invite you out and you will obtain the first choice of locations and the lowest prices that the project will sell for.

Keep in mind most builders sell the largest number of their units up to 3 years in advance.