When working with a REALTOR, it is important to understand who the REALTOR works for, and to whom is the REALTOR legally obligated. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) requires REALTORS to disclose Agency Relationship to a potential client at the earliest time possible.


A Buyer has a choice of two relationships with a REALTOR.

As a Client, a real estate company acting as a “Buyer’s Agent” must do what is best for the buyer. A written contract, called a Buyer Agency Agreement, establishes buyer agency. It also explains services the company will provide, establishes a fee arrangement for the REALTOR’s services and specifies what obligations a buyer may have. Under such agency, a buyer will be obliged to work with that company for a period of time. In return, confidence a buyer shares with that company will be kept confidential. The REALTOR is also required to offer professional advice, negotiate the best price for the buyer and provide the buyer with as much information required to make the right decision.

As a Customer the buyer can expect to be treated fairly and honestly. It is important for the buyer to realize that under such a relationship the REALTOR is technically a sub-agent of the seller so that duties are owed to that seller. However, the buyer can expect the REALTOR to disclose all pertinent information about a property, not to misrepresent any facts, and to honestly answer all questions about the property. Under such relationship with the buyer, the REALTOR must not imply that they shall negotiate a price for the buyer as that would be a direct conflict with the REALTOR’s sub-agency relationship with the seller and a violation of our rules and regulations.

Seller’s Relationship to Realtors

A real estate company must do what is best for the seller of a property. A written contract, called a Listing Agreement, establishes seller’s agency. It also explains services the company will provide, establishes a fee arrangement for the REALTOR’s services and specifies what obligations a seller must have.

Confidence a seller shares with their REALTOR must be kept confidential from potential buyers and others. That REALTOR must tell the seller anything known about the buyer. For instance, if the REALTOR knows that a buyer is willing to offer more for a property, that information must be shared with the seller.

A seller must understand that a REALTOR working with a buyer as a sub-agent is ultimately working with the seller’s best interest in mind. A REALTOR working with a buyer, as a Buyer Agent, is working for the buyer’s best interest mind, but may still be compensated by the seller through provisions made to the Listing Agent.

Dual Agent

Occasionally a real estate company will be the agent for both the buyer and the seller. The buyer and seller must consent to this arrangement in their listing and buyer agency agreements. Under this “dual agency” arrangement, the company must do what is best for both the buyer and seller.

Since the company’s loyalty is divided between the buyer and seller who have conflicting interest, it is absolutely essential that a dual agency relationship be established in a written agency agreement. This agreement specifically describes the rights and duties of everyone involved and any limitations to those rights and duties.

Most mortgages have the option to allow payments to be made on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. This option may be desirable for two reasons. The first is it can save you money as you can expect to pay off your mortgage about 4 years sooner. This can save you dramatically over the life of your mortgage. The other reason why these options are so popular is that if your employer pays you on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, you can simplify your budgeting by making the payment line up with the way you paid.

Paying extra amounts on your mortgage can make a big interest saving over time. When we select a mortgage company, privilege payments options are something that we look for. A 20% privilege payment will allow you to pay off up to $20,000 per year on a $100 000 mortgage. It is important that the privilege payment also be flexible to allow you to pay smaller payments on the mortgage and as often as you wish. An extra $1000 periodically paid on a mortgage can help you become mortgage free faster.

When you require a mortgage for more than 80% of the purchase price of a property, that mortgage must be insured by Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC) or GE Mortgage insurance. The premium charged by these company`s decreases as the down payment increases. When you finance your property at 95%, a premium of 3.75% is added to the mortgage. By increasing the down payment to 10% of the purchase price the premium can be reduced to 2.5%. If you can put down 20%, you can avoid any additional insurance fee. Depending on your situation there are ways that you can structure this financing to avoid the CMHC or GE insurance premium.

As mentioned above, when you put a 25% down payment on your purchase you can avoid the CMHC premium. More importantly the larger the down payment, the lower the amount of interest you will pay over the life of your mortgage. It is important to note that it may not be wise to stretch yourself to increase your down payment and end up borrowing on credit cards or a line of credit at a higher rate.

The options for mortgages available can be very confusing for most mortgage shoppers. Terms for mortgages vary between variable and fixed rate, 6-month terms to 10 year terms. Taking a variable or floating rate mortgage can have savings. Typically the shorter the term or guarantee of the rate, the lower the rate will be. This does not always happen, depending on the market place and the economy, but history has shown that short-term rates tend to be lower than long-term rates. The up side of variable rate is the strong potential for interest rate savings. The down side is the fact that you are accepting the interest rate risk without a guarantee. If you are considering a variable rate mortgage you need to look at your own risk tolerance, and your cash flow available to deal with potential increased payment. Considering projections of rates and where we see interest rates heading can also be important in this decision. Make sure you talk to an expert when you are making this decision.