It can be a real estate agent’s nightmare. You’ve taken the time to arrange a great deal for your client who is selling their home… but then they can’t pay you the commission.

Suddenly, you’re out money and time. You could take the client to court to try to recoup the costs, but again that is more money and more time.

Wouldn’t it be easier to just make sure your client is able to pay in the first place?

That’s where this one secret comes in. You will want to be sure this is included in your real estate tool case.

It’s called a Parcel Register*.

A Parcel Register* from GeoWarehouse is like a credit report — but instead of checking a client’s credit score, it checks the property.

It will show you:

• If any encumbrances exist.
• The lender the encumbrances are with.
• When the encumbrances were registered.
• The registration value of any encumbrances.
• The legal homeowners and the type of ownership.
• A history of registered mortgages and liens.
• And more.

With this tool, you’ll be able to find out from the get-go whether or not the client can pay you and if there is enough equity available in the home for it to be worth your while.

This is vital in today’s changing economy when interest rates are rising, and new mortgage rules are in place. Federally-regulated lenders have to take into account the client’s gross debt service (GDS) ratio — all of the housing related debt they carry — and total debt service (TDS) ratio — the total amount of debt they carry.

However, private lenders that are not federally regulated do not have to do this. So, it could be possible for a client to be securing their mortgage privately and struggling with debt — and you may not find out until it is too late.

That is why it’s always a good idea to get a Parcel Register*. You’ll be able to know more sooner and rest easy knowing that the deal will go through uninterrupted and you’ll be able to get your real estate commission.

A GeoWarehouse Parcel Register* is easy to obtain. Find out more today. Call 1-866-237-5937 or visit www.geowarehouse.ca.

* An official product of the Ontario government pursuant to provincial land registration statutes.

As a real estate sales professional you have a budget and within that budget you have a number of resources available to you to, both acquire deals but also, to get them closed quickly and efficiently. The more efficient you are the better the services your clients receive. Also, you can close more deals because you will be better equipped to serve a higher volume of clients.

When looking at ways to improve your closure rights, or maximizing on what you are spending on landing new clients, technology is your friend. The more reliable information that you can access sooner, improves the time it takes you to provide service to your clients.

GeoWarehouse reports are a great example. Here are 7 ways you can use GeoWarehouse reports to improve closure rates:

1. Know who your client is. Using GeoWarehouse you can verify that your client is, in fact, the legal owner of a property; and if they are not, advise them accordingly.
2. Know that you can get paid. Using GeoWarehouse you can also see encumbrances that are registered against the property. If there are more encumbrances against a property than the value of the property you may want to ask your client or the selling agent how you will be paid.
3. Know as much as you can about the deal. You may be able to leverage searches available in the GeoWarehouse Store to learn of potential liens or other issues with title that could prevent a deal from closing.
4. Quickly assess values. Whether you are assessing list value or determining an offer for a client on a property, leverage comparable sales listings in GeoWarehouse to determine a fair offer that represents market value.
5. Know the area. Leverage neighbourhood demographics reports to tell your client everything they need to know about who lives in a particular neighbourhood, including average income, types of household, ages in household, family structures, religions, schools, transit and more…
6. Condos. Before you request your condo certificate the good ‘ole fashioned way, check on GeoWarehouse to see if it is available for purchase in the GeoWarehouse Store. This will greatly expedite the process of verifying information like whether or not the condo fees are up to date and that there are no issues with the condo corporation or their financials to be concerned with.
7. Sell, sell, sell. Leverage your property details and neighbourhood demographics reports at open houses and use them when showing properties to clients. This is an excellent opportunity to shine – your GeoWarehouse reports are professionally branded.

If up to date information or supporting documentation is needed, it can be obtained in the GeoWarehouse Store by purchasing Parcel Registers and/or Instrument Images.

By accessing GeoWarehouse and running an Enhanced Sales Report which includes home ownership information, sales history information, comparable sales information, neighbourhood sales information and aerial and street view imagery on each property you are planning to list or show, you will be more prepared, more efficient and in the end able to provide better services and close more deals.

For more information about how you can use GeoWarehouse to improve closure rates please visit www.geowarehouse.ca or call 1-866-237-5937.