ARA B. MAMOURIAN

Hello there, well I have another interesting story. As a REALTOR I have come across many different deals, different people and different dilemmas. I got a referral from an old high school friend. I made contact with the new referral at the beginning of July and once I got to know the client my job was to find a one bedroom condo in Toronto for under $220,000. PROBLEM...that does not exist.

Correction...it does exist but not anywhere you would willingly want to live. My first thought was to introduce my new client (first time buyer) to a new construction project or a pre construction. You can usually find good deals if you're willing to wait a few years to move in. A buyer of a pre-construction condo or home can expect to see a $40,000 - $150,000 increase in value depending on the type of unit they purchase. Not bad eh!

As I mentioned in a previous blog post (click here to view previous post) the Don Mills and Lawrence area is booming and any property there is very likely going to significantly appreciate over the next few years. I have had my eye on a decent condo development called the Red Hot Condos located at Don Mills and Greenbelt Rd just south of Lawrence. I had referred a client there in the past but we ended up buying somewhere else. Anyway, I told my client about this place and he liked what I had to say. I sent him the MLS listing for the unit and he liked it even more. All of the upgrades you could want with a great location that strikes the perfect balance between busy Toronto and a nice peaceful place to spend a quiet weekend.

Our goal was to get in to the sales centre and see what they had to offer. Some of you know that I was on a course all of last week so was not able to do to many showings so we scheduled something for yesterday (Sunday). However, mid week, I got an email from my client saying that he had been bored so he took a drive to the area to check it out. At the time he didn't tell me that he went in and spoke to the Agents at the Sales Centre (can you smell a problem brewing here?). We were scheduled to meet on Sunday at 12pm right when the sales centre opened. My client showed up right on time and the Agent recognized him immediately. As soon as he walked in what this Agent did was very surprising and highly unprofessional.

"Hey you were here the other day, you signed the registration card and you didn't tell me you had an agent" "We'll you know what this means don't you, you're Agent isn't going to get paid for this" Can you believe this????? Then is other Agent bursts out of the back office and decides that her opinion is needed and blurts out "Ya it's all about first introduction" SHUT UP YOU IDIOTS! Can you believe how unprofessional this is. Imagine your my client. How embarrassed would you feel? All he wants to do is buy a condo and enjoy his Sunday condo shopping. I had to put a stop to this insane unprofessional behaviour so I immediately said:

"This is not a converstaion we need to have now" and escorted my client to the show room in the unit next door. As expected he felt sooooooo bad, he thought he had done something wrong and was so sorry. I assured him that they were absolutely insane and they did not have a leg to stand on here. At the end of the day my goal was to find him a great development and I did (I always do!). We talked for a while and after seeing some other units he decided that he wanted to buy a condo here. I agree, it's a great building and it was a good deal. 

Now let's get back to the "problem" here. Usually when someone walks in to a Sales Centre you're asked to register, on the form it asks are you working with a REALTOR....if you are please answer YES!!!!! In this case a friend of my client had told him not to tell anyone at the Sales Centre that he was working with an agent already (don't ask why) so he didn't....small problem right? WRONG!!!! You see the difference here is that since most of the units had already sold the builder had asked the listed brokerage to post a few units on MLS. Well guess what? We were buying one of those units on MLS so your dumb registration card and useless builder rules don't matter. The fact is I have my client under a Buyer Representation Agreement (as all smart Agents do), I had introduced him to the development (I have the email paper trail to prove it) and I'm the greatest Realtor in the world so what this means is I WILL ALWAYS WIN YOU SNEAKY SHADY UNPROFESSIONAL AGENTS WILL ALWAYS LOSE.

Bottom line is that I will not ever let anything get in the way of my clients getting what they want. In this case my commission was on the line but I could not allow that to get in the way here. The clients investment is top priority. Even if I end up not getting paid, my loyalty and professionalism will certianly guarantee a lifetime of referrals from each client I deal with. I am positive that I have a new friend in my new client as well, he's a great guy who now has a great condo (if you read this I'd like an invite to the house warming please)

If you are reading this and are in the market for a house, condo or investment property please give me a call and we'll get the process started. Stay tuned for more exciting stories (I'll let you all know if I end up getting paid on this one...don't worry I will)