First-time buyer guide
If this is your first purchase.
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Buyer FAQ
Legally no. Practically, yes for almost everyone. Here's the honest answer, what a good agent actually does for you, and when it's OK to skip.
Quick Answer
Do I Need a REALTOR® to Buy in Coquitlam?
Legally no. Practically, yes for almost everyone. Here's the honest answer, what a good agent actually does for you, and when it's OK to skip. Craig Johnston, Top 1% Team Member — Greater Vancouver REALTORS®, 2022–2025 and 47+ year Tri-Cities resident, can walk you through the local context. Free Strategy Call ends with a written one-page plan in 24 hours.
You can buy in BC without a buyer's agent. The seller pays commission in almost all cases, so there's no direct cost savings. The question becomes: does the agent add enough value to matter? For most buyers, yes — especially on strata purchases where the due diligence is real work.
For direct-from-builder new construction, a developer-side sales rep handles the transaction and many buyers go without a separate agent. Even there, an independent buyer's agent is usually worth it.
Turns vague wants into a real filter.
Tells you what a home is worth, not what it's listed at.
Reads minutes, depreciation reports, reserve health.
Subjects, terms, price — not just the number.
Handles the back-and-forth without emotion.
Developer's sales rep handles it. Risk: no independent advice.
Buying from a relative — often lawyers only.
Multiple purchases, clear on their own strategy.
Different specialists sometimes.
Most Coquitlam buyers go strata-intensive — townhomes and condos. Strata review is genuinely skilled work. A good agent can save you from a six-figure special levy down the road.
For first-time buyers, read first-time buyer guide. For strata-specific guidance, buying a townhome and buying a condo.
Look for: Coquitlam specialization, strata fluency, willingness to tell you NO on a property, and transparent communication. Volume matters less than fit. The right agent walks you out of a bad deal as often as into a good one.
If you want to talk about whether we'd be a fit, book a 20-minute call. No pressure either way.
Since 15 June 2018 dual agency has been prohibited in this province. One brokerage cannot act for both the seller and the buyer in the same trade, and it cannot act for two competing buyers on the same property. A narrow exemption exists for remote communities where no other licensee is reasonably available; it has no application anywhere in the Tri-Cities, where hundreds of licensees operate. The consequence is concrete: if you walk into a Coquitlam listing without your own representation, the listing agent cannot simply switch over and start representing you as well. The rules do not permit it.
That single fact reshapes the question this page asks. Going without is not a choice between two agents looking after you. It is a choice between having someone whose legal duty runs to you, and having nobody in that role at all.
Before a licensee provides trading services to you, they are required to give you the Disclosure of Representation in Trading Services form in writing and walk you through it. It sets out, in plain language, whether you are being treated as a client or as an unrepresented party, and what each of those positions actually gets you.
Two situations are exempt from that requirement: hosting an open house, and answering general factual questions. There is a catch inside the exemption that very few buyers know about. The moment a licensee receives or solicits confidential information from you — your budget ceiling, your motivation, your timeline, what you would really go to — the exemption stops applying and the written disclosure becomes mandatory.
Which is worth holding in mind on a Saturday afternoon in a show suite. The conversation that feels like friendly small talk is the conversation that decides whether the person you are speaking to has an obligation to hand you a form.
Unrepresented is not a neutral middle position. A licensee dealing with an unrepresented buyer owes that buyer honesty and accurate disclosure of material facts known about the property. That is broadly the extent of it. No duty of loyalty. No obligation to advance your interests over their client's. No advice on what to offer, how to structure your conditions, or when to hold firm.
The rules go further, and this is the part worth sitting with: a licensee dealing with an unrepresented party must disclose the limited nature of the assistance they can provide, and must recommend that the person seek independent professional advice or representation.
Read that again. The regulator requires the other side's agent to warn you, in writing, that you should go and get help. That is not a marketing line invented by agents. It is what the framework says about the position you are choosing.
There is a matching obligation pointing at the seller. A licensee must disclose to their seller client the remuneration they expect to receive, for every offer presented — not once at listing, but each time an offer goes onto the table. The commission arrangement is therefore not a mystery in the room. It is stated, offer by offer, as part of presenting yours.
Buyers sometimes assume that arriving without an agent means the seller keeps more and will therefore take less. In practice the listing agreement governs what the brokerage is owed, and it was signed long before you appeared. What happens to any unearned portion is a matter between the seller and their brokerage. It is not a discount that lands automatically in your lap, and treating it as leverage without knowing the terms of an agreement you have never seen is a poor opening position. If saving on commission is the real question behind your search, the honest answer lives on my commission page rather than in a negotiation you cannot see the other half of.
Set aside advocacy for a moment and look purely at the labour. These are the tasks that quietly disappear when there is no agent on your side of the file, and each of them has a price when it goes wrong.
Nobody orders and reads the documents. On a strata purchase that is two to three years of minutes, the current budget, the Form B, the insurance summary and the depreciation report. It is several hours of reading, and the material problems are usually three lines buried in a minutes package rather than anything on the listing.
Nobody verifies what you are pricing against. Public portals show asking prices and stale records. Confirmed sold data, days on market, and what actually completed versus what merely went firm and collapsed — that is the difference between an offer built on evidence and one built on a feeling.
Nobody drafts conditions that protect you. A subject clause that is vague is a subject clause a seller's lawyer can argue with. The wording matters, the deadline arithmetic matters, and both are easy to get subtly wrong in a way you only discover under pressure.
Nobody is on your side when it tightens. Multiple offers, a surprise on inspection, an appraisal landing under contract price — those are the moments the whole arrangement is for. If you would like to see how I handle exactly those moments before deciding anything, the questions to ask page is written to be used on me as much as on anyone else.
Almost always zero out of pocket — paid from the listing agent's commission by the seller.
Legally yes in BC with dual agency disclosure. Practically it creates a conflict — avoid if you can.
Still use an agent. The offer and due diligence is where real value comes in.
Good ones do, line by line. This is where the value shows up.
I answer these kinds of questions every day. A 15-minute call usually resolves it.
Once you've decided on representation.
I have spent the last 47+ years living in Coquitlam, 9+ years on Burke Mountain, helping move-up buyers and sellers get from where they are to where they want to be — without the panic of owning two homes at once or selling under value. I work the Tri-Cities every day: Burke Mountain, Westwood Plateau, Heritage Mountain, and the rest of Coquitlam’s move-up neighbourhoods.
If you want a straight read on your timing, pricing, or move-up strategy, the fastest next step is a short call.
Licensed REALTOR® in Coquitlam. Tri-Cities-fluent, written-advice-first. Here's how I work any client file that lands on this page.
Every cost, tax, and legal step in the Coquitlam buying process is spelled out by a government or regulatory authority below. Use these as the definitive source — your agent and lawyer should line up with them, not the other way around.
External links open in a new tab. I'm not affiliated with these organizations — they are cited as independent authorities. Any time a number on this page differs from the authority, the authority wins.
Real reviews pulled from Google. No paid placements. No curated-only-positives. Every client below closed with Craig — most sold over asking, several within a week.
“He spent time getting to know us, visiting homes on our behalf until we were in the market. Craig prepared us to better understand the local market, city planning and developments all to refine our search. He is professional and works well with other realtors — a true partner in the process of purchasing a home!”
“Craig is what everyone hopes they will find in a realtor, yet is so incredibly rare. His foundation of genuine care and generosity with his time is outstanding… We never felt rushed, pressured or stressed by what is fundamentally a rather daunting experience, and it was because he created a dynamic of collaboration and support.”
“Craig extended such patience, excitement and professionalism in helping my husband and I buy a townhouse in Port Coquitlam (my hometown!) so we could continue raising our two girls where I also grew up. When we faced a hurdle getting financing approval because of a lien on our desired townhome, Craig worked tirelessly with our broker to get the lien removed.”
“Craig was a pleasure to work with for the purchase of our home. Craig was very patient as we debated between a condo and a townhome. Craig found us a home that ticked all of our boxes plus some! He made the whole process smooth and enjoyable.”
“We had a fantastic experience working with Craig on the purchase of our first home in Coquitlam. He was incredibly friendly and responsive, always quick to answer our messages and questions. Throughout the process, he took the time to walk us through each step so my partner and I always knew exactly what was going on and what to expect next. Craig also gave us honest, helpful opinions on properties we were considering, which really helped guide us toward a place we love. On top of that, he connected us with a great broker and lawyer, making the whole process feel seamless. We're so happy in our new home and couldn't have done it without him. Highly recommend Craig to anyone buying a home!”
“His creativity, top-notch communication skills, and a solid plan were instrumental in selling high and buying low. His foresight in negotiation, predicting outcomes before they happened, truly set him apart. He's also humble and very respectful.”
“Throughout our journey, Craig demonstrated immense patience and understanding. He went out of his way to provide extra resources and various options to consider on both the buy and sell side.”
“Craig assisted in every aspect of the purchase of my Bowen Island home, including the building inspection, the follow-up inspection, and ensuring deficiencies were repaired. He was thorough and protected my position every step of the way.”
“Craig was patient throughout the entire process. He never pushed us to buy something we weren't sure about, and when we decided to wait six months and save more, he just said ‘good call’ and stayed in touch. When we did finally buy, the math was so much cleaner.”
More on Buying in Coquitlam
Craig writes the Tri-Cities coverage most REALTORS® won't. Every page below is built on the same ground-truth data and the same negotiation playbook Craig uses for every client.
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