One of the most important things to do when purchasing a home is to find a great real estate agent to make the process flow smoothly and effectively.  A question many people ponder is how to find a good real estate agent.  The best agent may not necessarily work at one of the top ten agencies in the area.  The agent who will work best for you would be an experienced agent who will listen to your needs, act in a professional and ethical manner and knows the market in your area.

1.)Word-of-Mouth or Referral
Most real estate professionals attract a sizable amount of business because of a satisfied client who recommends them to a friend, family member or neighbour.  When you are thinking of purchasing a home, it is a good idea to ask those around you who they have used and ask them to elaborate on their specific experience with the real estate agent in question.  Successful real estate agents strive to make customer satisfaction their number one priority and will do everything they can to facilitate a good experience for a customer.  Try to find an agent that has a proven track record and reputation for delivering quality service, customer satisfaction, and have experience in the neighbourhoods that you are looking in.

2.) Do an Online Search For Real Estate Agents
There are many online resources available when searching for a real estate agent referral, but this by no means ensures quality.  The agents referred online may have paid a fee to the website owner to be listed in the directory.  Performing a Google search of the top agents in your area and then reviewing their websites will give you a good list of agents to interview.  Agents who have experience in the field will tell you, but a newer agent will more than likely have the extra time to spend working with you.  Review any customer testimonials or feedback about an agent you may be interested in retaining.

3.) Visit Open Houses in the Area
You should visit some area open houses where you can actually meet with a potential agent in a non-threatening manner.  Here you can see how they work, collect business cards, formulate an opinion and talk with them on a personal basis.  If you are thinking about selling a home, pay close attention to how the agent presents the home.  Make sure the agent is polite, informative, approachable and professional.  Does the agent promote the home by handing out professional looking feature sheets or other related materials?  Is the agent trying to play up the features that make the home more enticing?  Or is the agent in the corner, back turned and uninvolved in the whole scenario?  

4.) Pay Attention to Real Estate Signs
Carefully monitor the real estate signs in your neighbourhood.  Observe how long from the day they go up until the home is actually sold.  An agent who has a high sales turnover might be a better choice than an agent who has lots of for sale signs but few sold signs.  An agent who gets results is what you want.

5.) Why Agents Use Printed Advertising
There are two main reasons real estate agents use printed advertisement.  First is to advertise and sell a specific piece of real estate.  Secondly, advertising is used to promote the agent handling the transaction.  By checking the local Sunday real estate ads in your neighbourhood and then checking the agents website, you can find the agents who may specialize in your particular neighbourhood.  Contact the agent and inquire about their expertise and ask any other relative questions you may have.

6.) Seeking Recommendations from Other Real Estate Professionals
Ask around and seek out other real estate agents for a referral.  Most agents are happy to refer a buyer or seller to another associate, if the service you require is not a specialty they can provide.  Some agents only specialize in resale property, while others work predominantly with the sale of new homes.  Other agents work exclusively with commercial or investment properties.  Mortgage brokers are a great resource for agent referrals; many brokers have first-hand knowledge and can point you in the direction of a top-quality real estate agent and remember professionals tend to refer like-minded peers. There is also typically a referral fee involved for the referring professional so be careful that they refer you to the best Agent not the one that pays the highest referral fee.

Finding good real estate deals can be quite challenging if you have no idea how to go about it.  Savvy investors in the Toronto real estate business have a few tricks up their sleeves that they use to ensure they get the best deals in the market.  You can use these tips as well to increase your chances of finding great a good deal on your real estate purchase.

One of the more common ways to find Toronto real estate is to look in local papers, bulletin boards and small independent magazines and publications.  However, you need to go the extra mile if you are to hear about real estate that is selling before your competition can get the same information.  One of the things you can do is visit the facility where the publication is printed,getting your copy before it is publicly circulated.  To gain the upper hand, go ahead and advertise yourself so that those who are thinking of selling their real estate in Toronto can contact you prior to putting out an ad.

Looking at the legal section of the local newspaper can yield good results.  You can contact attorneys and people who have recently inherited properties and find out if they would be interested in selling.  Visiting garage sales is also an excellent tip as 20% of people who hold them are usually planning on moving out.  Once there, enquire about their house and if any of their neighbors are looking to sell their property.  To increase your chances of success in locating prime real estate in Toronto, focus on large population centers and keep an eye out for the deal you are looking for.

Finding vacant, fire damaged, abandoned or run down houses that have evident city notices is a great way to find a good deal.  Talk to the people living close to these houses as most of them are a good source of information on what is going on with the property.  Additionally, they are interested in having the house restored to its full beauty as it adds to the value of other houses in the neighborhood.  Once you have confirmed that the house is indeed vacant, contact the owners of the property with your offer.  If the owners of the property live outside that area, a quick run through of public property records will let you know how to contact them.

Foreclosures offer a unique opportunity for anyone interested in Toronto real estate to find a great deal for less than the market value.  Talking to local lenders and asking them to call you should they have a foreclosure is one way to get the information ahead of others.  The best way to get local lenders to call you sooner is to pre-qualify with them.  That way they know that you are already approved as a potential buyer of foreclosed properties.  Your local paper will carry information on foreclosure auctions, tax sales and the like and is one of the ways you can find a good real estate deal in Toronto.

You have decided to take the leap into the Toronto real estate market and become a homeowner.  You’ve done your homework, you can recite the CMHC fee schedule, you can calculate land transfer tax in your head, and you have even bought the DVD box set of Flip this House.

But as a first-time home buyer, how do you find the perfect Toronto neighbourhood?

While personal considerations such as living close to family (or keeping a comfortable distance from them) may limit your selection to only a few Toronto neighbourhoods, there are otherwise over two hundred communities across the city from which to choose.  Here is a sampling of some of the more popular neighbourhoods for first time home buyers:

Riverdale and Danforth Village

From Broadview to Woodbine, straddling the first few streets on either side of the Danforth, and Danforth Village combine to offer a selection of stylish entry-level character homes.  Perfect for the young urban dweller with a disdain for the uniformity of suburbia, this area offers convenient subway access, cool Danforth dining and shopping, and a range of prices for every budget.  Riverdale is superb both for finding homes with great bones for the ambitious do-it-yourselfer, and finding magazine-quality renos for those you want to just move in and impress their friends.

Riverdale and Danforth Village Real Estate Values:  Entry-level Danforth Village homes range from $250-400,000 while entry Riverdale homes range from $400,000-550,000.

East York

The portion of East York spanning from the Danforth north to O’Connor Drive offers some of the best value in all of Toronto.  It is still possible to find homes for under $325,000 that are on quiet streets, are close to the subway, and that don’t give you an icky feeling when you step inside.  The author can personally attest that East York is a very pleasant place to live, as it is where she bought her first two homes!

Thinking about eventually either having a family, or needing more space?  Consider one of the traditional East York bungalows, and then have one of the rapid renovation companies that specialize in “topping-up” bungalows add a second floor when you need it.  (This is also a respectable way to add value to your investment; some of these topped-up bungalows are fetching $500-600,000 on resale).

East York Real Estate Values:  While some semis and small detached homes can be found for as low as the $250-300,000 range, a much greater selection is between $300-400,000.

Harbourfront

Who said that just because you are a first time homebuyer, you can’t have a view of the water and be right in downtown Toronto?  While you can’t expect a sprawling Harbourfront condo penthouse for under $200,000, there are bachelors and junior one-bedroom units in contemporary buildings with excellent facilities that sell for as little as $180,000.  In addition to building amenities, you have Harboufront’s cultural attractions and Lake Ontario’s outdoor activities outside your door, with streetcars and the downtown only steps away.

Davisville Village

Right in the middle of the city, Davisville Village offers some of the best-priced housing options within the desirable Yonge Street corridor.  Offering the convenience of a brief subway ride to downtown, Yonge St. shopping, and loads of fun restaurants and pubs, Davisville Village has been attracting young buyers looking for their first home or condo.  The hoards of singles in their twenties and thirties who reside in the numerous condos near Yonge and Eglinton are what have earned the neighbourhood the moniker of Young and Eligible.

Davisville Real Estate Values: Entry-level condominiums have been recently selling from close to $200k, while semi-detached homes start at around $400,000.

Other Neighbourhoods

From Don Valley Village to the Upper Beach, Toronto offers dozens of affordable and convenient neighbourhoods that are excellent for the first-time home buyer.