By allowing seller information on the MLS, has the Competition Bureau opened
the door to criminals? With a handful of sellers choosing to pay flat fees
to have their private sale featured on the MLS and wanting to handle all
aspects of the sale on their own, we are on the verge of these sales taking
an ugly turn for the worst. In showing one of these listings, I was asked
to call the seller directly. I was asked to meet the seller at the time
requested and was told that the seller was indeed "cooperating fully with
Realtors". About 15 minutes before my scheduled appointment, the seller
called me on my cellular phone and said they were stepping out but had a
lockbox for my convenience. Not knowing the proper way to handle the
security or legitimacy of the appointment, the seller went ahead to provide
me with the access code to their home. My client and I were in total shock
as we were given a lockbox code to enter the home, which had three laptops,
an ipad, two flat screen televisions, and who knows what else in the drawers
and closets. Now, if I'm a thief and have kept up to date with the changes made by the
competition bureau, I would be salivating! Wow! Thieves no longer have to
break windows, pick locks, or break doors down to random homes and take a
chance that the homeowners may have some exciting goods to steal. Thieves
can now sit back on their stolen laptops, browse Realtor.ca for homes being
sold by the owner, check out each room for attractive
furnishings/electronics, and then simply call the owner for an invitation to
their home WHILE THE OWNERS ARE OUT!! How cool is that? The only drawback
for thieves is that they'd need a business card to get in. What was that?
They can make them at home? Yikes! While walking through the home, and still in shock that the owner just lets
people in without so much as confirming identity, I was looking at a few
family pictures. The owners had what seemed like two kids under 10 or so.
I thought to myself, the best thing these guys did was to leave for the
showing. Can you imagine if they were home with the kids when thieves were
invited in? Forget Home Invasions, thanks to the Competition Bureau, those
are so last year. You just need to have internet access to browse these
Flat Fee listings, check out the television, appliances, paintings, or
furnishings that you want, and call for an invite. Being new to Real Estate in Ontario, flat fee is in its novelty stage - an
attractive avenue for owners that wish to sell privately. They aim to save
the listing portion of the transaction, not realizing that they are
increasing their liability and risk. Also, private sellers don't have the
time or resources to verify each person's identity and authenticity, a
factor that is taken for granted during the sale process. Secure and
limited access to qualified professionals is imperative for a sellers' peace
of mind and the safety of their family. Just how much money do you need to
save to make it worthwhile to risk your family's well-being? 2 or 3% or a
real estate transaction surely is not even close to being enough, is it? Although I've only seen one or two of these on the system so far, I know it
will only be matter of time before one of these private sales makes
headlines - for all the wrong reasons. Homes will be targeted through
Realtor.ca and cleaned out, home owners may get hurt, and one or two may
even get killed due to the increased exposure and lack of security.
Insurance costs will surely rise as thieves catch on to this new source of
income, lawyers have already doubled or tripled their fees to "review and
finalize offers", and liability lawsuits will become part and parcel of the
private sale process. It is sad, but it seems to be a sign of the times.
Home owners risking their lives, increasing their liability, and
jeapordizing the safety of their family to try and save a couple of thousand
dollars. One thing that was omitted from the Competition Bureau's summary
after they struck a deal to allow private exposure on the MLS was the Latin
phrase "Caveat Venditor". Let The Seller Beware! Asif Khan, Realtor Re/Max All-Stars Realty Inc. Google me: Asif Khan Re/Max Follow me on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook
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ask the sender of the message to disinfect their original version and send
you a clean copy. At Thu Mar 10 21:24:44 2011 the scanner said:
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the door to criminals? With a handful of sellers choosing to pay flat fees
to have their private sale featured on the MLS and wanting to handle all
aspects of the sale on their own, we are on the verge of these sales taking
an ugly turn for the worst. In showing one of these listings, I was asked
to call the seller directly. I was asked to meet the seller at the time
requested and was told that the seller was indeed "cooperating fully with
Realtors". About 15 minutes before my scheduled appointment, the seller
called me on my cellular phone and said they were stepping out but had a
lockbox for my convenience. Not knowing the proper way to handle the
security or legitimacy of the appointment, the seller went ahead to provide
me with the access code to their home. My client and I were in total shock
as we were given a lockbox code to enter the home, which had three laptops,
an ipad, two flat screen televisions, and who knows what else in the drawers
and closets. Now, if I'm a thief and have kept up to date with the changes made by the
competition bureau, I would be salivating! Wow! Thieves no longer have to
break windows, pick locks, or break doors down to random homes and take a
chance that the homeowners may have some exciting goods to steal. Thieves
can now sit back on their stolen laptops, browse Realtor.ca for homes being
sold by the owner, check out each room for attractive
furnishings/electronics, and then simply call the owner for an invitation to
their home WHILE THE OWNERS ARE OUT!! How cool is that? The only drawback
for thieves is that they'd need a business card to get in. What was that?
They can make them at home? Yikes! While walking through the home, and still in shock that the owner just lets
people in without so much as confirming identity, I was looking at a few
family pictures. The owners had what seemed like two kids under 10 or so.
I thought to myself, the best thing these guys did was to leave for the
showing. Can you imagine if they were home with the kids when thieves were
invited in? Forget Home Invasions, thanks to the Competition Bureau, those
are so last year. You just need to have internet access to browse these
Flat Fee listings, check out the television, appliances, paintings, or
furnishings that you want, and call for an invite. Being new to Real Estate in Ontario, flat fee is in its novelty stage - an
attractive avenue for owners that wish to sell privately. They aim to save
the listing portion of the transaction, not realizing that they are
increasing their liability and risk. Also, private sellers don't have the
time or resources to verify each person's identity and authenticity, a
factor that is taken for granted during the sale process. Secure and
limited access to qualified professionals is imperative for a sellers' peace
of mind and the safety of their family. Just how much money do you need to
save to make it worthwhile to risk your family's well-being? 2 or 3% or a
real estate transaction surely is not even close to being enough, is it? Although I've only seen one or two of these on the system so far, I know it
will only be matter of time before one of these private sales makes
headlines - for all the wrong reasons. Homes will be targeted through
Realtor.ca and cleaned out, home owners may get hurt, and one or two may
even get killed due to the increased exposure and lack of security.
Insurance costs will surely rise as thieves catch on to this new source of
income, lawyers have already doubled or tripled their fees to "review and
finalize offers", and liability lawsuits will become part and parcel of the
private sale process. It is sad, but it seems to be a sign of the times.
Home owners risking their lives, increasing their liability, and
jeapordizing the safety of their family to try and save a couple of thousand
dollars. One thing that was omitted from the Competition Bureau's summary
after they struck a deal to allow private exposure on the MLS was the Latin
phrase "Caveat Venditor". Let The Seller Beware! Asif Khan, Realtor Re/Max All-Stars Realty Inc. Google me: Asif Khan Re/Max Follow me on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook
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Posted via email from Markham Real Estate Today with Asif Khan
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