Lobbyist Registry

by Darrin DeRoches April 17 - 23, 2014

The Lobbyist Registry will go right up beside the ‘bus lanes’ as the biggest blunders of the year, and it is only April. For those who do not know what a Lobbyist Registry is, it is a “sign in sheet” for anyone who wants to do business with the city. Its intention is to create transparency and eliminate the opportunity for “back room deals”. The only thing it will create is more “red tape”. Have we not learned the lessons from our past, when no one wanted to do business in our city? The numerous complaints about the city moving at a snails pace to get things done. So let’s add another level of red tape and scare away potential business from our city.     The best example of doing it right was the deal to bring Canada Bread to our community and create jobs and new taxes. The councilors had no idea about the deal until they needed to know and vote. That is their job, to vote – not to make the deal but to vote on a deal. A politician is not a business man and should stick to being a politician. A businessman wants to open a business without politics. By creating this registry, it will only bring unwanted attention to proposed deals which may or may not come to fruition. The registry will become public information where politicians will try to use it as a “grandstand” and the media will use it as a honey pot to write about businesses that are coming to town. The thing is, neither the media nor a politician understands how business works. They do not want to be announced to the community or their competition until they are ready to open. Several new restaurants in downtown have been announced by the media and city but they still are not open until a year later. This brings negative buzz before they even open and everyone wonders what is going wrong with these locations and King William. The best thing is for you to do is a soft opening and let the buzz build, then have an announcement with the mayor cutting the ribbon and the media exposes it – not the other way around.     A registry will not help our city and its negatives will outweigh any possible positives of these so–called backroom deals. Do you really think they exist? Is there a line of people, with millions of dollars to invest, missing out on opportunities in the city? Hell no. Let the businessmen do business and stop adding more red tape to the process. Everyone can have an opinion on the matter but those who have created business in this city and deal with the process of doing business on a daily basis know that investors will move on to another city if they keep running into red tape. They do not want their competitors knowing what they are doing until it is time to open and compete. V     Darrin DeRoches is a local real estate and mortgage broker. He can be reached to answer questions, comments or stories about real estate experiences through this weekly column at sold@uniquerealty.ca.

April Fool!

by Darrin DeRoches April 10 - 16, 2014

I went to look at a property to be listed today and when I drove down the street, I could see four other homes being worked on, ready to hit the market. The seller of this particular “flip” house had several agents come to look at his property and the first one to “bite” at his proposal would win.     The property is about 70 per cent complete and he wants to list it at a 20 per cent premium without even finishing the work. He believes that people with money can see past the unfinished work and will be willing to pay a premium for his property. It was one of those meetings where even if he was willing to give you the listing you would still have to turn it down. The outside looked great, the workmanship is good, the location is perfect but once you walk through the doors and see the unfinished work and discuss their expectations, you just have to walk away.     I have sold properties in all stages of completion. I do not believe that a property has to be finished and staged to get top dollar. I have sold homes for top dollar with swearing tenants, leaking roofs and foundations but they sold with full disclosure and fair pricing. This seller believes it is such a “hot market’ that he can sell a property that is unfinished, badly designed for a hundred thousand dollars over comparables. It has been over a year since they tried to sell before and the work is still not finished. Once you walk in the door, all the red flags start to fly. After a five minute conversation, another dozen red flags pop up. The seller believes that agents do not have vision and he wants to sue past brokers over certain promises and all the time offering a game plan to sell the home of 4 per cent commission with 3 per cent going to the buyer agent. Then a bonus if you get his ridiculous price. All I could think of was how would I get out of the house with my ethics and real estate license still intact? Any agent who would take such a listing is risking a fine, a lawsuit, or worse. I have worked with all types of sellers and I always find a way to make it work for everyone but sometimes you have to walk away.     The problem is that he did sign with an agent who agreed to his insane plan. There is no way that they can get this home sold for this “fools price”. The agent will lose money just listing the property but since it is in a great area they will risk taking a losing proposition. The listing went from a For Sale By Owner to an agent who chases FSBO to an agent who will list at any price. It is a hot market but buyers are not fools and anyone willing to list a property that is 20 per cent over comparables may be foolish.     Make sure that you do your homework and work with a broker who earns your trust. V     Darrin DeRoches is a local real estate and mortgage broker. He can be reached to answer questions, comments or stories about real estate experiences through this weekly column at sold@uniquerealty.ca.

Commercial Market Changes

by Darrin DeRoches April 3 - 9, 2014

Properties are slowly coming up for sale throughout downtown Hamilton and recently a couple of buildings have come up for sale and lease. Most commercial properties do not have signage on them and people wonder why. It’s pretty simple. I doubt that you have 3 million dollars burning a hole in your pocket and you drive by a property where the sign will convince you to buy it. Commercial owners also like to use out–of–town agents since they figure it will keep it quiet when they are trying to sell the property. So no sign and an out–of–town agent may keep things quiet but maybe you forgot about the little thing called the internet or worse yet — word of mouth.     I was having a beer this week — shocker, I know — and the conversation at the table turned to a local bar that is rumoured to be for sale. I know the property and had to tread softly in the conversation since I had already met with the owners and know that they are not selling it yet, but according to this guy in the bar — it’s for sale. Then they tried to figure out how much it would sell for and since I already know the listing price, I humoured them when they came up with a price. I then threw out the real price and they thought it was too much after they figured what is should be worth. I told them about a bar on Augusta priced for 2.9 million ready to go and they also figured that was too much. Of course, none of them own any commercial property but they figured it is way overpriced. These rumours can hurt a business and even a potential sale since everyone is talking about the property before it even goes on sale. Then there are properties who list at an outrageous price to “test the market” and everyone thinks some magical buyer from out of town will swoop in and buy it.     In the commercial world, the majority of deals are done over a long course of time with people who know the market and sometimes do not even list the properties. A friend or business associate will use “word of mouth” to let it be known the property is for sale and overtime they find a buyer or lease. Kijiji and other internet sites attract more interest than the commercial real estate sites. You really have to think outside of the box when marketing a commercial property in today’s market. Twitter and LinkedIn have become a useful recourse in today’s evolving commercial real estate market. The problem is the majority of commercial agents are “mature” agents who do not evolve as quickly as the market and this may be their downfall. My last few commercial deals have come down to word of mouth, signage and most importantly, Kijiji. Real estate is always changing and a good broker has to move with the times. V     Darrin DeRoches is a local real estate and mortgage broker. He can be reached to answer questions, comments or stories about real estate experiences through this weekly column at sold@uniquerealty.ca.