Read This Before Hiring an "Out Of Town" REALTOR®

It’s the holidays. You’re enjoying a dinner with your extended family and you mention that you’re looking to buy or sell your home, “That’s wonderful” says Aunt Jo. “Your cousin just got his license- you should call him!”

Which is exactly what you do. I mean, family is family after all- does it really matter that Cousin Fred lives in Toronto? Maybe it’s true that the only time he spent in London was the odd kegger he went to when his best friend went to Western University; but how hard could it really be to help you do the paperwork to buy a home?

As it turns out, things could get complicated.

First of all, London has it’s own real estate board. Not an insurmountable issue but that can make it difficult for Cousin Fred to actually search for (and find you) a home. You may find yourself seeing things on Realtor.ca before he sees them and by that time all the local realtors (and their clients) have seen hot listings.

When you are looking at listings, does Fred know that one side of the neighbourhood you are looking at is zoned for the school you DON’T want your kids to go to? Does he know how much value a garage adds on the street you like, or what our municipal zoning means? Where the trouble areas are in the city for sewer backups/water damage? And would he know where the up and coming communities are that will be good investments? Maybe not. Maybe you already know exactly what you want and don’t need all that background info, but a local expert is a good person to have on your team.

So you find the perfect house and know it’s going to go fast with multiple offers. Is Fred able to drop everything and drive two hours to show it to you? Or were you going to ask the listing agent to show it? Most listing agents would expect you to use Fred to show you the property, assuming Fred will be putting in the offer. It’s his job to notice things and draft up the offer based on what he’s viewed.

One of the big complications is that if he is available to come to London at a moments notice, how is he getting into the property? We have really cool lockboxes here in the Forest City that require a special FOB or app on our phones with permission from our Local Board to access them. Fred will have to make a trip and set that up at our board office before he can open any doors for you.

If you are planning on asking the listing agent to show, at least be transparent that you will be using Fred to put in an offer. It’s a well documented knee-jerk response to say “NO” when you are asked if you are working with a Realtor. Honestly we aren’t trying to be clingy over-attached girlfriends. It’s actually an ethical issue to show a property to someone who is working with another professional. We really do need to work as a team WITH your REALTOR®, and if they want us to do their job (aka open doors and show properties for their clients) it’s important we work out those details with them and not be blindsided at offer time. Spoiler alert; you are likely to get some harsh responses from listing agents when you ask them to show their property because Fred can’t/wont. It’s a bit of a touchy topic for professionals who work on 100% commission to spend time with a client who ultimately won’t be working with them. I think there may be some room to argue as a listing agent showing your property is helping your seller client as well- but most will push back on it.

Let’s fast forward to offer time. Does Fred know local convention for deposits (MUCH different than in the GTA), or what a house is LIKELY to sell for, and will he be able to present in person if it’s a multiple offer situation? These things can dramatically affect your odds of getting the home you are after- so you should make sure he’s ready and capable of negotiating for you.

Does Fred have a network of home inspectors, lenders, lawyers contractors etc in town to make sure the deal closes smoothly? And on that note, is Fred prepared to come back to town to let your home inspector in, stay there for the entire duration, as well as for any additional walk throughs, appraisals etc. Legally, he needs to be present for each visit for the entire duration, so you should make sure he will be available and again, that he leaves time to visit our Board office to get access for our cool lockboxes.

Fred is probably a great guy and if you’re shopping in his town, it makes sense to support family if you can (and if it’s otherwise a good fit). But for him to support you in one of the biggest purchases you will ever make; you really need to ask yourself if it’s worth the hassle and potential issues for everyone involved. If you don’t want to insult Fred, why not call him first and tell him you are looking for a local REALTOR® and ask if there is anyone he can refer you to? Fred can make the introduction, not feel snubbed when you don’t ask for his help, and if he makes a connection to a REALTOR® who is agreeable he gets a kickback (referral fee). That way you get the expertise of a local sales rep who can be available to open doors, guide you on the nuances of our local market and not make you feel like a jerk for asking Fred to drive four hours round trip just so you can have a walk-through. You could even suggest a particular person for Fred to refer you too, and that’s where I come in. I am always happy to work with referrals and give Fred a percentage for making the introduction and maybe even help keep your extended family dinners pleasant. It’s really all just win/win.

If you have any questions about the market in London, please don't hesitate to reach out!