How hiring works

A hire is a sequence, not a mood. It has a start, a written middle, and a point at which you are free to stop.

The London Realtor sets that sequence out so you can see the shape of the work before you send a request. The file is a purchase, a sale, or both. One person stays with it.

The first conversation

The first conversation is for constraints, not for charm. Say which file is open, what the household cannot bend, and which date actually matters. A purchase has a carrying cost, a sense of rooms and stairs and outdoor space, and a way of getting to work that still has to work in winter. A sale has the house as it stands, a list of what will not be repaired before showings, and a date the seller needs the file to reach. If both files are open, name which one leads. A tour, or a sign, is the wrong opening.

What gets written down

After the conversation, the constraints should exist on paper you can see. Not a slogan. A short list: the file, the part of London, whether the lot is inside a heritage district or only near the name, the cost the household can carry, the date that cannot move, and the conditions under which you will walk away. Later, when a house is pleasing or a visitor is eager, that list is what the hire is measured against.

A representation agreement has to be put in writing and presented as soon as possible. Before services, the agent gives you the RECO Information Guide and explains it. Designated representation has been available in Ontario since 1 December 2023, so the agreement can name who represents you. RECO, a government authority, and a real estate association do not set the commission. The rule is on RECO's page about signing a contract with a brokerage. The City lines for seven places are on the neighbourhoods page.

What the hire repeats back

A useful agent repeats the list in ordinary language before recommending a next step. Listen for omissions: a missing date, a softened constraint, a place you did not name, a lot treated as inside a district when CityMap has not been checked. That repeat is how you learn whether the person was listening.

On a purchase, the next step is a shortlist judged against the list. The agent should say which constraint a house meets and which it breaks. On a sale, the next step is a walk through the house, separating work that changes a visitor's confidence from work that only spends money. The walk happens with the seller present, before a sign is treated as a decision already made.

One person, two files

One hire can cover a purchase, a sale, or both. The reason to put both in one hire, when both are real, is that the dates have to be held by someone who has heard both. A condition on the purchase and a closing on the sale are the same calendar. If you want one person for both files, say so in the first conversation, including what happens if the sale is slow and the purchase is ready, or the reverse. The agreement should name who represents you on each file.

When to stop

Stopping is part of hiring, not a failure of it. Stop if a date is missed without a clear account, if a figure cannot be explained, if the pressure is to drop a constraint the household set on purpose, or if silence lasts longer than the file can bear. Stop also if the person cannot say whether the lot is inside a heritage district or only near the name.

The City's lines are on the neighbourhoods page. A person rushed to sign in the first meeting is free to leave.