Verifying Home Ownership Information – Lawyers, Mortgage Brokers & Real Estate Sales Professionals

Every real estate transaction involves a homeowner. Most real estate transactions also involve a real estate lawyer, mortgage broker or agent and/or real estate sales professional or broker. The question is, do all 3 need to verify home ownership information? 

For real estate lawyers, the reason for verifying home ownership information is clear: the real estate lawyer is charged with the task of closing the legal aspects of the real estate transaction, including transferring title. Generally, lawyers are paid by retainer from the client and so, when verifying home ownership information, if something is amiss, they are paid regardless. 

For mortgage brokers and agents, knowing who is on title is critical because often they are not paid until their deal closes and they receive payment from proceeds of the mortgage or from the lender to whom they refer the mortgage. If there are other people on title, they stand to waste an immense amount of time. 

If you are a real estate sales professional, the same is true for you. Often you are the first to encounter the client in the process of undertaking a real estate transaction at it relates to the purchase or sale of a home. Like mortgage agents and brokers, you are likely paid for your work from the proceeds of the seller’s home. You benefit from having higher closure rates, and not having deals implode because information was omitted by a client on either side of the transaction. 

As a real estate sales professional, when performing due diligence on a real estate transaction we recommend taking the following steps:

1.      Verify who your client is – you can do this by asking for identification and then, if they are a seller, checking their name against whose name is on title.

2.      Verify that the seller has the equity to pay your fees.

3.      Investigate the property being purchased or sold and determine a fair list price/offer with your client.

In terms of taking the above 3 steps quickly and efficiently you can achieve all 3 by:

·        Requesting a Property Details Report in GeoWarehouse and/or;

·        Purchasing a Parcel Register in the GeoWarehouse Store.

Taking these steps will mean that you will know more about your client, prevent fraud, close more deals, thereby leading to stronger relationships with banks and other mortgage lenders and also your clients. Verifying home ownership is your first step towards increased profitability. 

For more information about how you can verify home ownership information please visit www.geowarehouse.ca or call 1-866-237-5937.

Flashback: How to Access the Year Built

We released this video back in January 2013 and got a lot of positive feedback - many real estate sales professionals found it really useful. For this reason we decided to flash back and share our training video about how you can access Year Built information and learn the year that a home was built. This video will show you how to access information through: 

·        GeoWarehouse Residential Report Level 1 MPAC Assessment Report

·        GeoWarehouse Residential Report Level 2 MPAC Assessment Report

·        GeoWarehouse AVM Enhanced Residential Report

Mobile Apps Make Doing Business Easier for Real Estate Sales Professionals

Mobile apps have made doing almost everything easier, and it is no different with real estate. We all know that real estate is a profession where individuals are on the go constantly, and most real estate sales professionals have come to realize that embracing different technology makes adapting in this fast-paced profession that much easier.

 

So what apps are out there that real estate professionals are buzzing about?
 

•        WhatsApp – This is a free app that enables you to send and receive text messages from anywhere for free. When it comes to communicating on the go with co-workers, colleagues and even family, this app puts money back into your pocket.
 

•        ViMO – ViMO is a premier sales and marketing support tool that enhances your personal brand by allowing you to use mobile technology provide a better client experience when face-to-face with your prospects and clients, all from your iPad.
 

•        Magic Plan – this is an app that enables you to create floor plans by moving your iPhone or iPad around a room taking pictures.
 

•        JotNot Scanner – this app turns your iPhone or iPad into a scanner, enabling you to share documents on Dropbox, Evernote, Google or even by email.
 

•        Digital Receipts By Proximiant – you can use this app to organize your receipts digitally. All you do is snap a picture of your receipt, index it and done! You can also use it to generate expense reports and have a much better handle on your receipts and expenses. Real estate sales professionals are constantly spending money on marketing, attending events, parking, gas, lunches and dinners… this app can make keeping this organized much easier.
 

•        Dropbox – you can store information and documents that can be quickly accessed from your iPad, smartphone, computer or anywhere else you have access to an internet connection.

As you can see, there are a diverse range of apps that real estate sales professionals are using to organize and store data, communicate more fluidly and work more efficiently on the go.

 

The last thing you want to do is end up with too many apps clogging up your smart phone. Vet the app by Googling it and seeing what people are saying about it. Who is behind the app? You want to ensure that there is big business behind the provider, especially if you are going to be putting your personal information or your client’s personal information in. Only choose apps that are offered by recognizable brands or companies you are aware of through your industry.

 

For more information about mobile apps for real estate sales professionals please visit www.geowarehouse.ca or www.myvimo.ca

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What Can an Instrument Image* Do For You?

Many real estate sales professionals are aware of common searches they can perform, such as searches for sales history information, property ownership information, information about a property’s financial standing, neighbourhood sales and demographics information and more. Some real estate sales professionals even go as far as to look as a property’s Parcel Register as an extra step to ensure due diligence. 
 

So what is an instrument image* and why is it something relevant to you?  

An instrument image* is an image of documents registered with the Land Registration System of Ontario. When looking at a Parcel Register, if there is a transfer, mortgage or lien and you want more information including the name and contact information of the other party, court file number, registered balance, etc., you are one step closer when you have the instrument image*. Instrument images* are the documents that support mortgages, transfers, liens, condominium declarations and more. 

Using this information you will close more deals because you will be able to quickly identify deals that will present an issue. 

For more information about how you can obtain instrument images* please visit www.geowarehouse.ca. If you are a current GeoWarehouse customer wondering how you can obtain an instrument image* – watch the training video below – instructions regarding how to obtain an instrument image* are addressed about halfway through the video:

*** Instrument images* are supplied by the registrant and we cannot guarantee the information contained in them or how complete the information is.

* An official product of the Ontario government pursuant to provincial land registration statutes.

Knowing a Property’s Financial Standing Can Save You Big in the Long Run

This is a topic we like to repeat-blog on from time to time, but with good reason. When you take on a new client, especially in the case of a new listing, you have to vet your new client. You may take steps to verify that your client is the legal owner of the property, or you may perform sales history and ownership history searches on the property. There are many ways that you can perform due diligence.  

In addition, you can also go one step further and verify a property’s financial standing. How can you do this? By purchasing a Parcel Register. In addition to revalidating home ownership information, the Parcel Register will give you insights into a property’s financial standing. 

A Parcel Register will tell you a number of things – here is a short list and why each one is relevant to you: 

·        Any mortgages registered on title, when they were registered and the amounts registered - this will enable you to avoid clients who don’t have enough equity to cover your commission.

·        History of title transfers – you can see when the property was last purchased and for how much in correlation to your client’s expected list price.

·        Any liens on the property – you can identify a property tax lien, a condo lien or a tax lien from the Canada Revenue Agency. Canada Revenue Agency tax liens have been known to prevent deals from closing because often they will exceed the equity available in the property.

Knowing a property’s financial standing helps you do a better job. If issues show up on the Parcel Register you are in a position to ask your client for more information. For example, sometimes mortgages are paid off but don’t get discharged – this can prevent a deal from closing. Knowing this at the point of listing enables you to educate your client about how they can go about gathering the proof to show you the mortgage was paid and also how to go about getting it discharged before you have a deal closing. 

·        If you see that there are mortgages registered that you think are too close to the value of the property, but your client thinks they are less, ask your client for a mortgage statement to confirm the current values.

·        If there is a condo lien – this would have come up with the Condo Status Certificate. If there is a lien from the condo corporation your client has to get you a discharge statement indicating the amount to pay the lien in full.

·        If there is a property tax lien you can ask your client to obtain the current balance by requesting a tax certificate from the municipal tax department.

·        If there is a tax lien from the Canada Revenue Agency the balance will have to be requested by them directly.

Taking the steps to validate a property’s financial standing will save you time and money because no more time will be lost on deals that have underlying issues. 

For more information about how you can research a property’s financial standing please visit www.geowarehouse.ca.

Representing Clients in Neighbourhoods That You Are Not Familiar With

No one ever wants to pass on a deal, and whether it be the result of online marketing or a referral from a friend or family member, sometimes you are approached by clients who have a home to list or are interested in a particular neighbourhood that you are not familiar with.  

 

Many real estate sales professionals have differing positions on this. Some real estate sales professional stick exclusively to defined areas and will not take on business outside of those areas. These real estate sales professionals may tell you that this is because they are acting in the best interest of their client and that no real estate sales professional should veer outside of territory that they know well. However, other real estate sales professionals may argue that this is not a luxury that one can afford – and so will offer representation outside of their usual area.

Fortunately, with the advancement of technology, it is not so risky these days to represent a client in an area you are not familiar with. There are things you can do to find out everything that will enable you to work with a client in an area that you don’t usually work in. 

·        Take advantage of aerial imagery – using different online tools you can view aerial imagery of a particular neighbourhood to identify both positive attributes such as parks, schools and transit, as well as negative attributes like train tracks, factories, highways and other issues that could be a concern for your client.

·        Test comparables – pull comparable sales of properties in the area in question to get a sense of what things are selling for.

·        Demographics – like aerial imagery, there are tools available that enable you, at the click of a mouse, to learn demographics information about a particular neighbourhood such as family make-up (couples, families, seniors), schools, income ranges, types of residents: owners vs renters, and more…

It all comes down to research, and fortunately the internet has placed the tools we need at our fingertips. This is coupled with the fact that the emergence of real estate apps for real estate sales professionals takes you from only being able to perform research in your office to being able to perform research on the go on your iPad. 

It seems that by embracing technology and both online tools and apps for real estate sales professionals, one can take on a client in a neighbourhood they are not familiar with and do a fine job representing them through performing the research required to do so.

 

For more information about how to access important demographics information, sales history information, aerial imagery on a property or area, visit www.geowarehouse.ca 

Real Estate Sales Professionals Who Care – An Excellent Initiative Sponsored by OREA

From time to time we like to highlight the good work of organizations who are giving back to the community. This month, we take a look at The REALTORS Care Foundation. For the past 15 years they have been raising money and granting funds to more than 20 shelter-based charitable organizations in Ontario. Watch this video so you can find out how you can get involved: