JohnAmardeil.com

Thanks to recent press coverage and social media campaigns, you’re probably well aware of the lack of competition in our communications industry, which is one of the most expensive in the world.

But you may not be aware of a recent revolution in another industry, despite the fact that changes in this industry have far more of an impact on your pocket than any cell phone bill.

I’m referring to the real estate industry, which is undergoing important changes that can affect the way you buy your home. Most of these changes are good for you—provided you know of them.

If you don’t, and if you insist on using a real estate agent, you risk signing away important rights. You also risk disclosing personal information and paying more money than you should.

When the time comes for you to buy your resale home, I want you to be able to make a well-informed decision, one that will let you keep more of your hard-earned dollars where they belong—in your pocket.

This is why I have blogged before about the exclusive representation agreements that real estate agents try to get homebuyers to sign. I have also blogged about the federal Competition Bureau when it opened up the MLS system to homesellers without them having to pay huge commission rates to real estate agents.

Today I’d like to direct your attention again to Ellen Roseman’s latest column for the Toronto Star. In it, Ms. Roseman answers to many FAQs about a homebuyer’s relationship with an agent.

For example: in terms of buying a resale MLS home, do you know the difference between being a “client” and being a “customer”? Do you know if you really have to sign exclusive contracts with a real estate agent?

In my experience, a lot of people don’t know the answers to these questions. And that’s just the way many real estate agents like it.

This week, I read an article in the Toronto Star about the exclusive representation agreements that real estate agents try to get new home buyers to sign with them. Agents lock people looking for a new home into an exclusive relationship with them, so that they will have to pay commission to the agent whether or not that agent finds them their new home. Worse, agents are trying to get buyers to sign these agreements in sneaky ways – not explaining the paperwork they’re pushing in front of their clients, and not letting people get out of the deal when they realize with shock what they’ve agreed to.

I blogged about this issue back in November 2010, and it’s still a big issue today.

Luckily our current Commissioner of the Competition Bureau, Melanie Aitken, is here to help. Aitken is a hero for Canada’s consumers, as many articles have noted. Part of the reason this problems is happening is that Aitken opened up access to the MLS to low-commissioned firms and no-fee companies, to give consumers more choice and so that homeowners wouldn’t have to pay high commissions. Aitken eliminated the barrier to entry, made MLS available to everyone, and made it easier for homeowners to sell their own homes. But now the high-fee brokers are trying to keep control of the market. They want to convince you that you need a real estate agent to find your dream home. The Canadian Real Estate Association recently launched an ad campaign that uses humour and fairy tale imagery to keep you in their grip and keep that 6% in their pockets. Since you as a consumer may not want to pay that high commission, real estate agents are now actually coercing people into signing these exclusive relationship agreements. This is manipulative and the type of behaviour that Melanie Aitken is fighting so hard to eliminate.

Next up, Aitken is going after credit card companies, trying to stop them from charging such high interest rates, which are non-competitive, usurious rates. Big changes are coming soon to credit card rules in Canada. Aitken is single handedly spearheading all these initiatives, so big kudos to her, and remember: If you’re considering buying a resale home, beware! Real estate agents are not always acting in your best interests.