# New MLS Postings - Without involving RE Agent



## Xoron (Jun 22, 2010)

I'm looking for a site to e-mail me new MLS postings when they are listed in my neighbourhood. Any site recommendations?

I know this is something standard you can have setup with a buying agent, but I'm not looking to go that route right now. 

Thanks


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## Mortgage u/w (Feb 6, 2014)

I think you answered your own question - have it set-up with an agent.

Only other option is to sign up to MLS yourself.....but I beleive you need to be a certified agent to do so.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

The agent I bought my house from is always more than happy to provide me with listings of homes for sale in my area, without any obligations whatsoever...
all you need to do is to go into an office close to your area and ask.


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

MLS is owned by realtors, it's kind of their Crown Jewels, it's not exactly public information...so you're not going to get access to the data without a realtor involved.

Of course, even realtors are usually restricted to certain geographical locations as far as being legally allowed to buy and sell, though I believe they have full access to MLS.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

If you sign up with a ReMax or Royal LePage agent, they will normally ask you to sign an exclusive buyer agreement, which protects the agent, in case you go ahead and purchase a property on your own (or via another agent).

However, what you can do is find a few local agents and sign up on their websites for automated emails.
This does not require you to sign any agreement, and quite likely, the agent himself/herself is not aware of their own subscriber list, since it must be managed centrally.

The downside is that the emails you get may not be relevant for you (outside your neighborhood, or price range, etc.) and the information may be stale (i.e. property may already have sold).
You will also be missing one key piece of information without an agreement with an agent - you will never get to know the real selling price of properties, only a R/E agent has access to that information.


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

The other thing about working with a realtor is they can send you much more information than is publically available. The info sheets I have from my realtor contains twice the information that appears on the public MLS system (things like days on the market are quite important) and, as HaroldCrump said, the public information is probably delayed whereas the email notifications are triggered on a change to the mls database.

Plus a realtor can do historical searches on a property so you know the sales history.


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## Mortgage u/w (Feb 6, 2014)

just steal a realtor's user name and password!:biggrin:


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## PoolAndRapid (Dec 3, 2013)

..


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## agentPawel (Mar 19, 2014)

Is there any particular reason why you wouldn't want to work with an agent when searching for a home?


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## Xoron (Jun 22, 2010)

Just a Guy said:


> Plus a realtor can do historical searches on a property so you know the sales history.


I'm not worried about that. I've actually found a site that will forward me recent sales in the GTA. 

Anyone have a recommendation for an RE agent? I'm not ACTIVELY looking for a new house, just want to keep an eye on the my neighbourhood in case something comes up.


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## ChrisR (Jul 13, 2009)

What is the advantage to signing up for these email alerts? Do they let you find out about properties before they show up on the MLS website? Or even find out about properties that don't show up on the public website at all?

I've heard rumors that not all listings ever make it to the public website. Does anyone know if this is true? 

(If it is true, I certainly don't understand why sellers would put up with that. You would think that listing on the website would result in more exposure and a greater chance of bidding wars breaking out...)


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

Realtors enter information on MLS, the info goes out by email alert as soon as it does.

The benefits depend on the market and why you are buying, also what you ask for in the alerts...in a hot market, it helps to be fast. As an investor, it helps to have information fast and more information than the public gets. It's easier if the information comes to you rather than you having to look for the information. The information has already been filtered so you're more likely to find what you're looking for. Another good thing offered by my realtor is an annual sales in your area...that way you can appeal your taxes.

I think, though I've never actually checked, that the public MLS is delayed.

Very few properties are sold without going on MLS, but it could happen if the agent has a potential buyer lined up or sometimes an inter-office kind of transaction where another realtor had a buyer lined up.

Some people just want to sell a house, they don't like people coming through, disturbing their lives, or they need to sell quick...if they get their asking, or close to it, they are happy.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

agentPawel said:


> Is there any particular reason why you wouldn't want to work with an agent when searching for a home?


In at least some provinces now there are modern sites setup much nicer and more in tune with today's technology than MLS. Any one can use a computer today to search, setup automatic notifications, make contact etc.. Spend 5 mins to fill out a PDF form to make an offer to buy and you potentially saved 2-3% on the price of a house (we're talking easy thousands, if not 5 digit savings here..) Is there any particular reason you would want to use an agent, besides that they control MLS?


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

The technology is why real estate agents will have a smaller role to play in next 10 years ,I remember when we bought our first house there was no internet and the book of listings was printed every 2-3 weeks in black and white with 1 photo and you could barely read the print. The agents had the mls system but it was not as visible or accessible as it is today.
we have always used an agent but the idea to pay $50,000 in fees to sell my current home sounds ridiculous when you can so so much on your own.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

We have always used an agent to sell with good success. The last sale in 2009 was listed for $529k and sold to the highest of 3 bidders for $555k. I was happy to pay her the commission as I was selling a Toronto house from Vancouver.

In 2008, we sold a Richmond TH from West Van and gladly paid the listing agent. I have seen people trying to sell on their own. It is not a pretty sight. Now Marina might be an exception. She seems to be good at selling all kinds of things...

The thing for me is that they are big ticket items and you don't sell many in a lifetime. That seems to be when you need expertise. Of course agent selection is also crucial.

BTW delegating it all to an agent is pretty silly too. You need to stay involved.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

I will always use an agent to sell so long as I'm working. I wasn't home when I sold or closed and the agent fee was paid by work anyways. If it wasn't paid by work and I was selling a +$500k house... I would definitely negotiate some kind of tiered commission. Flat 5 or 6% is bs imo. They should earn most of their commission from that extra $25k above the asking imo

The op seems to be about buying though. The buyer agent usually expects 2-3% as well. For what? Their service seems to be the guarded information and exclusive access to MLS. You shouldn't have to sign any "Buyer's Agreement" just to get automatic email updates on new listings. I'm surprised MLS hasn't been replaced yet.


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

Mls's value is in the historical records. It's not just about what is for sale, but what has sold in the past, what the properties have sold for back nearly 100 years...

MLS is big data, not just a current list.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Just a Guy said:


> Mls's value is in the historical records. It's not just about what is for sale, but what has sold in the past, what the properties have sold for back nearly 100 years...


And that is kept secret why? Any other historical information that is not classified can be googled by any layman. MLS has its use; keeping agents in business.


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## maxandrelax (Jul 11, 2012)

Just a Guy said:


> Mls's value is in the historical records. It's not just about what is for sale, but what has sold in the past, what the properties have sold for back nearly 100 years...
> MLS is big data, not just a current list.


Agreed. The info that is sent to you by an MLS agent is much more detailed than just accessing the MSL site yourself.


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

m3s said:


> And that is kept secret why? Any other historical information that is not classified can be googled by any layman. MLS has its use; keeping agents in business.


Because it gives them an advantage...the same reason why stores offer you loyalty cards, or Google reads your email/tracks what you read. You don't think gmail is free because Google is nice do you? You don't get points to lower a store's profits...your credit cards aren't just convenient, there's a reason they don't want you using cash...

You are tracked, and information is constantly stored. Very little information from "big data" is publicly available. If you think about everything that is available out there, I'd bet it's only a tiny portion of what's actually collected and freely given.

Information is power, and no one really wants power for the people.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

kcowan said:


> We have always used an agent to sell with good success. The last sale in 2009 was listed for $529k and sold to the highest of 3 bidders for $555k. I was happy to pay her the commission as I was selling a Toronto house from Vancouver.
> 
> In 2008, we sold a Richmond TH from West Van and gladly paid the listing agent. I have seen people trying to sell on their own. It is not a pretty sight. Now Marina might be an exception. She seems to be good at selling all kinds of things...
> 
> ...


Have not tried to buy or sell without an agent. For me safety would be a reason to use an agent ,not sure how I would feel having strangers call up and come out to our home without being vetted. Thankfully we do not have any plans to sell our home ,recently we know somebody who took the cheap property guys package and sold their home for $539,000 in about a week.It was only listed for about $2000 more than that ,we have same agent for 16 years and I have bought rentals from her that I could not even go in because of my disability so have great amount of trust in her.I think in few years we may see flat fee rates from agents ,have no issue paying 10k but when you get up to 40k+ that seems steep.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

marina628 said:


> Have not tried to buy or sell without an agent. For me safety would be a reason to use an agent ,not sure how I would feel having strangers call up and come out to our home without being vetted. Thankfully we do not have any plans to sell our home ,recently we know somebody who took the cheap property guys package and sold their home for $539,000 in about a week.It was only listed for about $2000 more than that ,we have same agent for 16 years and I have bought rentals from her that I could not even go in because of my disability so have great amount of trust in her.I think in few years we may see flat fee rates from agents ,have no issue paying 10k but when you get up to 40k+ that seems steep.


How much vetting do you think a buying agent does?

Buyer brokers get paid by the seller, and if they've listed on MLS, they've already committed to selling through a broker.

As far as exclusivity agreements, my broker didn't make me sign until we started writing up an offer, even then they should be okay with a very limited one (a few weeks or months, a particular street, or even just that single address)


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## Fain (Oct 11, 2009)

if selling agent has a 5% commission and they split the the buying agent on a sale. In alot of cases you can ask an agent to give you a 1% kickback.


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## gt_23 (Jan 18, 2014)

m3s said:


> In at least some provinces now there are modern sites setup much nicer and more in tune with today's technology than MLS. Any one can use a computer today to search, setup automatic notifications, make contact etc.. Spend 5 mins to fill out a PDF form to make an offer to buy and you potentially saved 2-3% on the price of a house (we're talking easy thousands, if not 5 digit savings here..) Is there any particular reason you would want to use an agent, besides that they control MLS?


Do you know any for Ontario? GTA specifically?


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## gt_23 (Jan 18, 2014)

Fain said:


> if selling agent has a 5% commission and they split the the buying agent on a sale. In alot of cases you can ask an agent to give you a 1% kickback.


I used to try this....you can't get the agent to put it in writing cause it's illegal. In most cases, I had to threaten them when it actually came time to collect.


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## gt_23 (Jan 18, 2014)

marina628 said:


> The technology is why real estate agents will have a smaller role to play in next 10 years ,I remember when we bought our first house there was no internet and the book of listings was printed every 2-3 weeks in black and white with 1 photo and you could barely read the print. The agents had the mls system but it was not as visible or accessible as it is today.
> we have always used an agent but the idea to pay $50,000 in fees to sell my current home sounds ridiculous when you can so so much on your own.


Part of this comes from the fact it has been a seller's market for the past 14 years. Today, I think the agent's much more valuable to a buyer, especially if he is working all day and doesn't have time to stay on top of the market.


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

gt_23 said:


> I used to try this....you can't get the agent to put it in writing cause it's illegal. In most cases, I had to threaten them when it actually came time to collect.


There is a clause in the listing contract that says what percentage you are willing to pay the buying agent and a separate area for the selling agent. You don't need to have a kickback. You can even write a different percentage if the agent is a duel agent. 

Of course this may vary by province...


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

gt_23 said:


> Do you know any for Ontario? GTA specifically?


comfree.com just off the top of my head. Never lived in Toronto or know what the big sites are there but I can't imagine paying 6% on top of those prices :eek2:

The internet is here people. Stop locking in houses with listing contracts when you could easily list it yourself.


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## gt_23 (Jan 18, 2014)

Just a Guy said:


> There is a clause in the listing contract that says what percentage you are willing to pay the buying agent and a separate area for the selling agent. You don't need to have a kickback. You can even write a different percentage if the agent is a duel agent.
> 
> Of course this may vary by province...


Gotcha...I was referring to the buy-side of the deal.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

marina628 said:


> T.
> we have always used an agent but the idea to pay $*50,000 in fees to sell my current home sounds ridiculous *when you can so so much on your own.


Yikes!.... $50k real estate commission on a million dollar home...highway robbery, I would say.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

carverman said:


> Yikes!.... $50k real estate commission on a million dollar home...highway robbery, I would say.


5% commissions were the norm for full service brokerages even 10 years ago.
It is only in the last 6 - 7 years that commissions have come down to 3.5% for full service brokerages (and 1% for discount brokerages).

Fees & closing costs is one of the main reasons it is not practical to trade houses as stocks :biggrin:


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

I have paid 4% since 2001 to my agent but we have done multiple deals with her.


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## summer (Jul 7, 2011)

I agree with Marina. We have only ever paid 4%, even with brand new agents we haven't used before. 
They usually agree. One agent said no, so we went with someone else. She called a day later to say she will do it but it was too late.


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## AMABILE (Apr 3, 2009)

I've always paid 3 and a half % commission
1% for the listing broker
2 and a half % for the buyer broker


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## atrp2biz (Sep 22, 2010)

We just bought our house without a buyer agent here in Calgary. We worked directly with the selling realtors to coordinate viewings. Most of the realtors understood our motivation for going realtorless (and they typically offer up why we should work with a buyer agent--particularly them). In the end, we ended up trimming 0.7% of the closing price by negotiating with the realtor. Not sure if that's a great deal, but figured there were still brokerage fees to pay on both ends and something for the realtor herself to make a deal out of it.

As for technology, we found Zoocasa to be far superior to MLS in terms of listing updates. Univs.ca also provided some interesting listing information.


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