[jag416]

Hi there fellow UrbanTorontonites!

Ok, so this is the situation. I am currently sharing with my cousin in Forest Hill after returning from the Cayman Islands on a 6 month work stint. I now work in various downtown hospitals with an agency, and I have decided against buying a car. Therefore, for convenience and to save on cab fare, I am looking to rent a clean, modern 1 BDRM apartment, or condo right in the heart of dwntn Toronto. Looking for something more upscale, and with a ensuite washer/dryer, all utilities included. Lots of light in the place would also be a bonus. Not looking for anything beyond $1450/month, or with no affordable parking options (for guests). Large highrise building are also unattractive to me.

I would be ready to move in May or June 2008.

Any inside leads, links, or a heads up would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Chuck]

Not very realistic. High end apartments like the one you describe tend to go for much higher than that - probably $1500-$1800 per month to start. In fact, you'll almost certainly have to rent a condo, because I don't know of very many apartments with in suite washer and drier. The only building I ever saw that in was Minto Roehampton at Yonge and Eglinton, and the rent was $1400 for only 500 square feet.

Your best bet is to consider renting something in a house in the Annex.

 

[Kaya4u]

Have you considered talking to a realtor? You do not have to pay any any money for his/ her services. Landlord will be paying the realtor fees for finding a good tenant. I my self am an realtor but I do not work in Down Town area. I do have a realtor friend who lives in DT who works with DT condos.
If you are interested pls private msg me so that I can give you his cotact info.

 

[lowesthangingfruit]

Have you considered talking to a realtor? You do not have to pay any any money for his/ her services. Landlord will be paying the realtor fees for finding a good tenant.

The same arguement is used for "buyer" side realtors that claim it is free for the buyer as the seller is paying the commission. The fact of the matter is guess where the seller or landlord is getting the monies from to pay the realtor ?? No such thing as a free lunch whether you're paying for it directly or indirectly.

 

[Kaya4u]

MLS.ca shows the listings that are listed by realtors.
I do not know about other realtor but I my self do not need to rent condos to make money.
I already am selling houses. I was only suggesting to talk to realtor because alot of condo are rented via realtors. Even if you find something on MLS.ca you still have to contact the listing agent to view/ rent the property.

 

[lowesthangingfruit]

? You do not have to pay any any money for his/ her services.

Ha ha ha. Kaya4u, I see you met Caveat. Take my advice, u best just turn around and run now while you can.

I am not as radical, but I just find it amusing when ppl in your industry on the buyer side claim their services are "free" to the buyer. I don't have a problem with anyone making a buck, but please, for heaven's sake, don't insult us with this propaganda.

 

[nekz]

Either way, a realtor that knows the downtown core will be able to help you narrow down your choices, from matching up your wants and needs with their knowledge and experience with the available buildings... Is that not an honest way to make a buck?

And yes, I am one of those leeches too

 

[lowesthangingfruit]

Either way, a realtor that knows the downtown core will be able to help you narrow down your choices, from matching up your wants and needs with their knowledge and experience with the available buildings... Is that not an honest way to make a buck?

And yes, I am one of those leeches too

Like I said, no problem in anyone making a buck. And there always will be a need and market for good agents. What I have an issue with is the lack of transparency and forced monopoly in this market. The "buyer side is free" propoganda is just one small example I brought up because an earlier post from an agent reiterated that.

 

[urbandreamer]

alot a lot A LOT

did i spell that right?

KAYA4U, just reading your post sickens me. You're a realestate agent, correct? In the public eye! And certainly deal with many "lots for sale" eh?

Then why do you use "a lot" in the following incorrect manner?

"MLS.ca shows the listings that are listed by realtors.
I do not know about other realtor but I my self do not need to rent condos to make money.
I already am selling houses. I was only suggesting to talk to realtor because alot of condo are rented via realtors. Even if you find something on MLS.ca you still have to contact the listing agent to view/ rent the property."
__________________


For your information, "a lot" refers to "a lot of land." Quite literally, a lot or a plot of land! Nothing else

 

[nekz]

Hmmm, that wouldn't be a bad idea, to get paid on consultanting-based fees. It would certainly be more fair for everyone. Except, of course, no one would pay it.

You guys don't realize how much hard work we agents put in... it's definitely not brain surgery, but it's not for everyone either. It's truly a people business.

If you guys think it's so lucrative (not saying it's not) and/or easy (not saying it is), then why don't you give it a shot? The barriers to entry are relatively low. Just a few grand, a couple of months to study, a solid strategy/plan, a good network, and you're off. Don't knock it before you try it.

 

[urbandreamer]

^I am gonna try it. I think in the midst of the condo crash I will get my real estate license. I love talking. However, my network sucks--aka I have no friends So I'm thinking of picking some boring small town in Texas where I do have some connections...then selling houses before finally becoming town mayor in my fifties.... A good plan?

 

[nekz]

How many hours do you spend on a typical deal Nekz? I am very interested to hear.

Hours? Or days? Sometimes even months...
Depends on the client, really. Varies a lot. Also depends on how you interface with your client.

When you're helping clients buy, I have some clients that will take a few months to find something that they like, and I have some rehab investors that will jump on it within 24 hours.

When you're selling, the sellers already know they want to sell, so it's a matter of convincing them to list with you and walking them through the process for first time sellers, or qetting on the same page for experienced sellers.

Sorry for such a vague answer, but when you deal with people, everyone is different.

But I will say this, I'm never sitting at home picking my nose with nothing to do. Because everything is so time sensitive, it's always crunch time.

 

[Observer Walt]

nekz: Advice for a newbie, if you don't mind: don't spend a whole lot of time responding to posts such as some in this thread. I've done it a couple of times and concluded that it is a waste of time.

They are entitled to their opinions of course, but when it comes close to trolling, as a number of posts here have, it's probably best to ignore it. We know their opinions by now, and after all it's not as if they are making meaningful contributions to other threads on the forum.

 

[nekz]

nekz: Advice for a newbie, if you don't mind: don't spend a whole lot of time responding to posts such as some in this thread. I've done it a couple of times and concluded that it is a waste of time.

They are entitled to their opinions of course, but when it comes close to trolling, as a number of posts here have, it's probably best to ignore it. We know their opinions by now, and after all it's not as if they are making meaningful contributions to other threads on the forum.

Thanks Observer, but I get this question all the time. It's no big deal.
My close friends and family know how hard work it is, but others assume differently.

And maybe it's in an agent's nature (or salesperson for that matter), to always be defensive.

 

[DZ2007]

The residential real estate industry, particularly the urban condo market, is ripe for a consultancy model of service. Agent bills by the hour for his time, not a ridiculous commission. I don't blame the agents themselves- 20% of them make 80% of the revenue- it's the brokerage houses who have manipulated the system to their advantage.

You're telling me that on a typical $300,000 condo sale in the 416 the agents should gross $15,000 in fees? What is really involved in that process? 10 hours of work? Call it 30 hours and that's $500 per hour of work.

It should be 1/10 of that amount considering the qualifications to become an agent. 90% of the work is getting the listing on MLS. The remaining effort is nothing but monkey work. A conscientious high schooler can be taught to show an apartment. The lawyers do the real work anyway and get paid 1/10 of what the agents make.

In Europe the lawyers handle the whole process. That's the way it should work here too if fairness was a factor. Again, I don't begrudge the agents. They are all just trying to make a living and I respect that very much. But the 4 or 5 local brokerage firms are anti-competitive and should be forced to open up the mls sytem. One of these days it will happen and the floodgates will open for drastically lower commissions. It should enable the average agent to probably do much better.

This is a brilliant observation. It's true, why do we hear the debate always about gas companies colluding, or cell-phone providers, but not realtor companies? Why does it HAVE to be 5% no-questions-asked? There should definitely be competition. I agree that the barriers to entry to becoming an agent are so low, too low to justify the high commissions they pull in.

And I was recently looking on Craigslist for a place in downtown as well myself, to rent out, but I kept finding meddling agents either contacting me, or replying to my posts. I gave one a try, and she sent me like six forms to fill out, I was probably signing my life away somewhere in there! Whereas by renting directly with the owner one can avoid the issue, sign a one-page paper, give the post-dated cheques, and that's it.

What you wrote should be an article in the next issue of "Condo Living" in the Saturday star, or "Post Homes" in Saturdays' National Post.