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Certified Calgary Condo Realtors. Why You Need One.

Condominium transactions are vastly more complicated than a typical single family home transaction and mistakes can cost you thousands of dollars.

Condo ownership involves not only ownership of a home, but also part ownership in a corporation, subject to rules and legislation which do not exist for other Calgary home owners. One aspect of that legislation which often comes as a surprise to our clients is that condo owners are personally responsible for the financial shortfalls of the corporation. Considering these shortfalls can be in the hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars, it's important that you seek out a Realtor who really understands the nuances of condominium Real Estate transactions. You need a Certified Calgary Condo Realtor who has extensive experience in this specialized field.

Not many Real Estate companies encourage you to shop around, but we welcome the opportunity. About 50% of our business is in condos, we've taken every condo course offered in the last 15 years and hold every condo certification there is to hold. We're certain that when compared to the other Realtors you interview, our superior condo experience will become quite clear. So contact us and feel free to call a few others. Here's a guide to get you started:

How to Find a Specialized Condo Realtor in Calgary

The basic education Calgary Realtors receive during their initial licensing provides only a cursory introduction to condominium transactions. Additional education specific to condominiums is essential before a Realtor can properly understand the complexity of these transactions. Unfortunately this additional education is not mandated before a Realtor can trade in condos. To protect your interests therefore it is important that you know how to identify an experienced Condo Realtor with the proper specialized education.

To find a specialized condo Realtor in Calgary, you have to look past the marketing claims on websites and focus on a Realtor's education. More specifically, their condominium education. All Calgary Realtors will have taken the basic licensing course which includes a few chapters on condos, so if you just ask "have you been trained to buy or sell condos?" the answer will always be "yes". To spot the experts you will need to get a bit more specific.

In the last 15 years the Calgary Real Estate Board has offered the following specialized condo courses to their Realtors:

Verify your potential Realtor has taken at least one of those. Courses taken by Realtors at the Calgary Real Estate Board are archived and can be shown to you on a web browser or printed off for you to see. Those Realtors who have the Certified Condominium Specialist designation (or any other certification) will likely have that certification listed on their business cards so be sure to examine it.

Our Broker, Alpha Murray, has taken all of those (and more...) and is pleased to personally represent all our condo clients.

Experience is also important. Obviously, the more condo transactions a Realtor has under their belt, the better. Ask questions to determine not just how long they've been a Realtor, but how long they've been a condo specialist and also how many transactions they've done.

As for us, because we have a low listing commission we have been one of the most affordable ways to sell a condo in Calgary for over 15 years, and because of that, about 50% of our business comes from condominium transactions!

The more you learn about condos, the better it will be to spot the experts. We highlight some of the unique aspects of condo ownership and condo transactions in our "about condos" page. When you're ready, contact us to speak with Alpha about buying or selling a condo, to set up an appointment or to just ask general questions. We're happy to assist!

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