Skinny dipping

“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked” – Warren Buffet

As this post goes to press (ok – just a tiny bit pretentious!) our property in Buckinghamshire goes back on the market (the full background can be found here). Though the UK market is still pretty flat properties are being sold – just as they are in BC – so fingers (…legs, eyes and anything else available) crossed that Mr and/or Mrs Right rapidly puts in an appearance and snaps up this undoubted bargain.

When I spoke to our estate agent (Canadian – realtor) about putting the apartment back on the market I was advised that we would probably first need to give our tenant the agreed two month’s notice, thus risking both losing him and possibly still not finding a buyer. Fortunately our letting agent came up with a better suggestion. He felt that if we offered our tenant a discount on the rent he might agree to the property being marketed for a trial period – say three months – and co-operate with the process. As our tenant seems to be pretty houseproud it was felt this would probably not be a major inconvenience to him. This has indeed turned out to be the case and we currently have the best of all worlds.

Buying and selling property is a very different proposition in the UK to that extant in Canada. For a start, estate agents operate in a very different manner to the Canadian realtor. An estate agent acts solely on behalf of the vendor. This has two effects. First, to explore the market in any location fully the prospective purchaser must visit many estate agents. Though this has been somewhat mitigated by the spread of the InterWebNet – since all agencies now advertise on the main property listing sites (there is no UK equivalent to the MLS) – it is still necessary to visit the agent once a suitable property has been located. This exposes the second effect – namely that the agent’s motivation is founded solely on the interests of – and, of course, the fee from – the vendor. No-one actually acts in the interests of the purchaser at all.

The Canadian realtor both buys and sells properties. A prospective purchaser finds a suitable realtor and the latter henceforth works on their behalf, regardless of who is actually selling the property. As a result, for most sales two realtors are involved, one acting for each party.

The process by which property is sold in BC is also significantly simpler and fairer. Once an offer has been made and accepted – which transaction is accompanied by a significant amount of legal paperwork – the deal is effectively done. Having an offer accepted on a property in England (though not in Scotland, where property law is significantly different) seems merely to be an invitation to haggle, gazump, bully and cheat on either or both sides. The sale is not secure until contracts have been exchanged – which can be weeks later – and those with experience still won’t fully trust the deal until completion and the transfer of funds. We all know someone who has been bullied into selling at a reduced price (or purchasing at a increased price) at the very last minute because the other party knows that the success of another transaction in the chain depends on this sale.

Buying and selling real estate is not for the faint-hearted at the best of times. It is no surprise that moving has long been considered one of the more stressful life events, with much of the pressure concerned arising from the transaction itself. Well – buying and selling internationally – on different continents – adds whole new layers of imponderability. It is hard enough trying to sell a property in a flat market, with little idea as to how long we might have to wait for an interest. Keeping, in addition, a nervous eye on the market in Victoria – hoping that it too will remain friendly until we actually have ‘brass in pocket’, and seeing properties that we like come and go at (notionally) affordable prices – requires strong nerves. As does monitoring the sterling/Canadian dollar exchange rate! It is quite conceivable that we could sell at a reasonable price and find our dream house on the Saanich peninsula only to find that a weakening pound has wiped out a percentage of our capital.

Nerves of steel, baby! Nerves of steel!