Shocked by Realtor’s fine print

Julie’s story is a great example of what not to do. She and her husband, looking at cottage properties in the Muskoka area, had made appointments with several realtors. “The agent pushed a form across the desk that said `buyer...

Julie’s story is a great example of what not to do. She and her husband, looking at cottage properties in the Muskoka area, had made appointments with several realtors. “The agent pushed a form across the desk that said `buyer agreement’ on it. She told us she could not take us to the first showing until we had signed this document,” Julie said. “We drove in our car, following the agent in her car, to four properties. At most 1.5 hours later, we said goodbye.”

Only when they returned to Toronto did they read what they had agreed to. They were locked into an exclusive relationship for six months, covering any properties in the Muskoka area. The broker of record at the firm offered to assign a more experienced agent to work with them, but refused to rip up the document.

The couple waited until the agreement expired to look in Muskoka again, not wanting to deal with a firm that abused their trust by filling out forms without consulting them. “We went on a blind date and turned out to have signed a marriage license,” Julie

See article in the Toronto Star by By Ellen Roseman »