Quote of the day

"Buyers are a lot more cautious," said Palibroda, who's been in the business for 28 years, "and they're not a lot of fun to deal with. We can't push them around anymore."

An Alberta Real Estate Story

This is a story of a client that gets their home appraised by a REALTOR A. REALTOR A tells REALTOR B of the same firm all the juicy details of this new listing including the sellers motivation (Family illness) and their minimum price. This REALTOR fails to informs the sellers of the value increasing zoning of the property.

REALTOR B submits an offer to the seller with another company he owns using this confidential information. REALTOR B sells the property one week after taking possession to developers for a profit of $55,000.

Almost 5 years later REALTOR B is required to pay a fine of $10,000 plus costs of $7,000. Net profit $38,000.

Real Estate Council of Alberta - Decision

Morale of the Story: Avoid being caught in shady deals because you might need to pay a fractional amount of your ill-gotten gains.

Real Estate Council of Alberta Other Decisions
Real Estate Council of Alberta - News Releases

*Picture of Wolves inspired by shadow company REALTOR B used to buy the property "Wolf Willow".

Conflict of Interest

Global Edmonton aired a story of a local REALTOR that sold a property to one of his clients without disclosing he was the owner or problems of the buildings condition. He sold this property after owning for 6 months at a substantial profit. Also interesting to note the $40,000 'cash-back' deal involved on the buyer's part.

Global Troubleshooter story BUYER BEWARE

see also: NO BURN, FIRE PROTECTION

Foward Looking Statements

A Calgary REALTOR posted about what to expect in terms of appreciation:

A client recently asked me about the Royalty Review, the current flat and depreciating market, and why I think prices will continue to increase in Calgary.

Here's my response.

In 2006 prices increased 37%

In 2007 ... to date ... prices have increased 24%. (Isn't this amazing ... the media is only speaking about the drop in prices.)

In 2008 prices WILL increase 12 + %.

...

I am concerned about the certainty in the uppercase WILL and that this was directed to a client. Consider that the REALTOR gains a commission for persuading a buyer but loses nothing if the forward looking statement turns out to be incorrect.

Fun video (course language): Always Be Closing