The Real Estate Sales Professionals Credit Report

Mortgage agents and brokers in Ontario heavily rely on the Equifax Credit Report to assess the credit worthiness and serviceability of an applicant. Really, if you think about this, a real estate sales professional could put together, based on the tools that they have in front of them, a veritable credit report that considers the client and the property being purchased and sold.

Let’s look at your average real estate transaction and its components – this is after the client has been landed - you are going to want to know the same things across the board about your client and property – negative attributes may prevent you from working with the client, positive ones let you know that you have a good, clean deal.

The property:

• What is the sales history on the property – both transfer amounts but also transferees?
• What is the legal description of the property?
• What are the comparable sales in the area?
• What things in the area are potential benefits or concerns?
• If it is a condo – is the financial standing of the condo corporation good?

The customer:

• Is your client currently the legal owner of a property?
•  Does your client have enough equity in a property being sold to finance the closing costs?
• Does your client have enough equity in a property to finance the down payment of a subsequent purchase
• Does your client have multiple mortgages or liens against the property – this could be a sign that your client has financial problems?

These questions and more can be answered by performing a property search in a tool like GeoWarehouse which will enable you to validate who owns a property, its history, value, financial standing and more.

Creating your own form of credit check for your clients helps you identify potential challenges early on in the process of engaging a new client. You are the first in a series of professionals who will be called upon to work on the transaction you have originated – mortgage agents and brokers, lenders, appraisers, property inspectors, stagers, real estate lawyers, title insurance companies, property insurance companies – even the municipality.

Doing your part to vet the client not only saves you time and expense but also saves all the other professionals that will become a part of the transaction time too! This is not to mention that the due diligence measures outlined above also go a long way to cut down fraud in the mortgage industry.

GeoWarehouse can help you conduct this credit check - visit www.geowarehouse.ca today.

Previously Painful: Thinks You Need that Used to Be a PIB to Get

Over the course of your role representing a buyer or seller, due diligence is going to require some extra digging. There are certain things in real estate that when needed could be a real pain to get.

Some examples of this are:

·         Condo Status Certificates – which can take up to 10 days to get and involve a written request, issuance of payment and then pick-up

·         Surveys – would involve a surveyor to come out to the property

·         Instrument Images when things come up on title – liens or other registrations come up on title and the registrant’s contact information is needed in order to get it resolved

Some real estate sales professionals don’t even realize that by being a member of a real estate board your board may have set-up access to GeoWarehouse. A GeoWarehouse subscription provides access to property search and evaluation features – but also access to premium searches, images and reports that can be needed from time to time and are a pain in the butt to get. If available, through the GeoWarehouse Store you can purchase a Condo Status Certificate, survey, Instrument Image or even MPAC Property Assessment report online.

Just realizing that you are a GeoWarehouse member? Here are some vital guides that walk you through how to request various searches, images, documents and reports in the GeoWarehouse Store.

·         Introduction to the GeoWarehouse Store https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK2ZVCpF__c

·         How to request a survey, plan or MPAC Assessment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaBKInGfEfc

·         How to request a condo certificate http://www.geowarehouse.ca/marketing/condo-verification-online-conduit.php

Not a GeoWarehouse customer? Visit www.geowarehouse.ca for more information about how to access this work changing tool!

Pinterest Marketing – Real Estate Edition

Social media is ever evolving and new sites are popping up all over the place all the time. Sometimes the question comes up – is it worth wasting time developing presences on the newbie sites? Time = $$, right? It’s often a best rule of thumb when these new sites emerge to wait to see how they perform – how quickly they gain members, what types of members and that there members are where you targeting.

Pinterest has proven itself to be a formidable social media site that should not be ignored. With a membership base exceeding 72 million users and a large demographic, Pinterest is used by many to view images and infographic to get ideas.

Pinterest is a great place to share useful information with your clients about selling a property, staging, landscaping, etc… while also creating boards to promote listings.

Here is ViMO’s guide – Pinterest for Real Estate.

Don’t leave any opportunities behind - use them to your advantage.

For more, visit www.geowarehouse.ca.