Everything we do for home buyers in London

• By Ken Small, REALTOR® ·
• Ken Small Real Estate Team, London, Ontario ·
• Century 21 First Canadian Corp., Brokerage ·
• Last updated: October 6, 2026 ·
• Reviewed monthly.

What does a buyer’s agent do that a listings app can’t?

An app shows you homes that are already listed. A buyer’s agent checks them, prices them, negotiates, and gets you to the keys.

What does all of this cost you?

It costs $495 to start, and $0 commission out of your pocket. Our 3% is paid from the seller’s side of the deal.

If a seller offers our brokerage less than 3%, you never pay the difference. See what it costs to buy with us →

What is in your buying plan?

Before you look at a single home, you get your money and your map straight.

• A buyer file in our system, with every document, call and milestone in one place.
• A personal video from Ken to get started and answer your first questions.
• Ken’s background, real client reviews, and our Worthy Cause mission, sent to you. A portion of our income goes to the Alzheimer’s Society Southwest Partners.
• A full pre-approval, not just a pre-qualification. We connect you with lenders and get a real budget, not a guess.
• The buyer strategy meeting, in person, at our office or your place, so you can show us what you want.
• Your must-haves and true deal-breakers, written down.
• A written game plan, built for your purchase.
• A closing-cost forecast, with land transfer tax and legal fees, so nothing surprises you at the lawyer’s.
• Your deposit and down-payment timeline, mapped before you ever face a bidding war.

How do we find homes in London, on and off Realtor.ca?

We don’t wait for the alerts. We watch every new listing, and we look past them.

Who we already know

• A first look at our own coming-soon listings, before they reach MLS.
• Calls to listing agents and our city-wide agent network, for homes not yet public.
• Our relocation networks, for homes and referrals moving in and out of London.

What we scan

• Full MLS, tuned to your real criteria.
• Beyond Realtor.ca: off-market, coming-soon, expired, withdrawn, and for-sale-by-owner homes.
• Hand-screened daily matches. Ken’s eye on every one, not a robot alert.
• Street-level intel: what homes really sell for on that block.

When your search needs it, we go hunting

• A blind “a buyer is looking here” ad and landing page, run across our channels.
• Letters to the streets you want: “I have a buyer looking on your street.”
• A voicemail drop and a geo-fenced ad to the area.
• Doors we knock: direct outreach to the streets you want.

Read more about how we find off-market homes in London.

What do we check before you offer?

You never fall in love blind. Before you offer, we dig into what the listing won’t tell you.

• Tax and MPAC checks: the real carrying cost.
• Title and registered owners: no surprises at the lawyer’s office.
• Lot size and easements, from GeoWarehouse.
• Zoning and land use: what you can and can’t do with it.
• A permit check: open, closed, and the work done without one.
• MLS history: how it was priced and marketed before, and every price drop.
• School catchment: checked boundaries for the Thames Valley District School Board and the London District Catholic School Board.
• Comparable sales, adjusted for the differences: what it is really worth.
• The seller’s real motivation: we call the listing agent and ask.
• A reality check on the HouseSigma or Zillow estimate, so it can’t mislead you.
• A rental-item check: the water heater or softener contract you’d inherit.
• Showings booked around your schedule, with us in the room.
• The problems walkthrough: we say out loud what’s wrong with the house.
• The true cost of owning it: the repairs coming, which we take off what we suggest you offer.

See exactly how we evaluate the home you’re buying →

How do we write and negotiate your offer?

We start from the market data, not the asking price. And we set a line we won’t cross.

• Your written offer plan: the market, your leverage, and the play.
• The seller’s real motivation, and their agent’s position.
• A price built on the data, never on their number.
• Your walk-away line: the ceiling where the math breaks.
• The offer terms: conditions, dates and deposit, built around your walk-away line.
• The negotiation: we work every counter-offer with you.
• Your guarantees, in writing.
• The Agreement of Purchase and Sale, finalized clean.

What happens from accepted offer to keys?

From accepted offer to the day it’s yours, every moving part is managed for you.

• Your deposit, paid into trust, checked, on time.
• The financing condition: we work with your lender to firm it up.
• The home inspection, booked and attended with you.
• Specialists when the home needs them: WETT, mould, septic, well water.
• Appraisal risk managed: if it comes in low, we have the data ready.
• Every waiver and deadline tracked, so nothing lapses.
• Papers to your lawyer, coordinated through to closing.
• The final walkthrough before it’s yours.
• An appliance and fixture check: nothing swapped out, nothing missing.
• Keys, fobs, garage openers and mailbox keys, sorted and handed over.
• A welcome binder with the manuals and warranties for the house.
• A utility transfer guide: hydro, gas and water, switched without the headache.

What backs you after you own it?

The relationship doesn’t end at the keys. This is where your protection starts.

• A day-one check-in: the move landed, you’re in.
• Love Your New Home Guaranteed or I’ll Sell It For Free. Not right within 24 months? We list it at 0% listing-side commission. That applies when you buy your next home with us, one of equal or greater value. You remain responsible for the buyer’s agency fee.
• 1-Year Canadian Home Shield SafeClose™ Warranty. Major systems and appliances, up to $15,000 protection, $100 deductible.
• Warranty and after-closing help: the questions that come up once you own it.
• A home-versary and a yearly equity review: we keep watching your number.
• 30-day and 6-month check-ins: a real relationship, not a closed file.

Two more protections start before you buy:

• Fire Us Anytime. Cancel our buyer agreement any time before you make an offer. No lock-in. Your $495 retainer stays with us, because the work it paid for is done. You keep everything it produced.
• 24-hour callback, or $100. If we don’t return your call within one business day, we pay you $100.

See the full terms →

Who this is not for

If you want an agent who opens doors and stays quiet, we’re probably not your team. We push back on a bad house. We run the numbers out loud. And we will talk you out of a home that is wrong for you.

What do London buyers say about working with us?

★★★★★

“All the way from the start of the house search, Ken was there to help at every step. From setting up search criteria that exactly met our needs, to getting viewings scheduled, to providing honest feedback about the properties (which is often rare for most agents); Ken went above and beyond our expectations. 10/10 experience with Ken.”

J H · Buyer · Apr 2023 · via Google

4.9 average from 14 Google reviews, as shown on our reviews page (October 2026). Read our reviews, or check them on Google (opens in a new tab).

Common questions about what a buyer’s agent does in Ontario