Yes. In almost every case you are free to hire a different REALTOR® to sell your presale assignment than the one who wrote your original purchase contract. Your contract of purchase and sale is between you and the developer — your agent is not a party to it. Buying through someone does not bind you to them for the resale or assignment years later.
The one thing worth checking is whether you signed a separate written listing agreement for the assignment itself. If you did and it is still inside its term, it has an expiry date and cancellation terms, and that is a conversation to have with that brokerage first. A buyer agency agreement from the original purchase is a different document and generally does not carry forward to an assignment sale.
People switch for reasons that are rarely dramatic. The agent who sold them the unit was a generalist who has since moved on to resale. The agent has stopped returning calls now that the commission is long since paid. The agent has never done an assignment and does not know how to get developer consent. Or — increasingly in 2026 — the agent simply will not take the listing, because assignments have become slow, paperwork-heavy and hard to move.
None of that is a moral failing on anyone's part. Assignments are a specialty. Most residential agents will do a handful in an entire career; the contract, the consent process, the marketing restrictions and the tax treatment are all different from a normal resale.
What a handover looks like with us: you send the original contract of purchase and sale, the disclosure statement and any amendments, and proof of your deposits. We read the assignment clause first — before we talk price — because that clause decides what is actually possible. Then we tell you honestly whether the assignment can be sold, at roughly what number, and what the developer will require. If the answer is that you should hold rather than assign, we will say that too.
We represent buyers and assignors — never developers. That is the whole point: the person on the other side of the table already has someone working for them.
We have helped 450+ families into presale contracts across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, with only 2 defaults in five years. Presale is the only thing we do.
Yes, in almost all cases. Your purchase contract is with the developer, not with your agent, so buying through one agent does not obligate you to use them for the assignment. The exception is if you have signed a separate, still-active listing agreement for the assignment itself — that document has its own term and cancellation clause.
Generally no. The agent who represented you on the original purchase was typically compensated by the developer at the time of that sale. An assignment is a separate transaction with its own listing agreement and its own commission. If you have an active listing agreement in place for the assignment, that is the document that governs.
If you have no active listing agreement, you are free to engage another brokerage now. If you do have one, check its expiry date and cancellation terms, or contact the managing broker at that brokerage — every BC brokerage has one, and they are responsible for service standards.
The developer needs to know who is authorised to submit the assignment paperwork on your behalf, so yes, they will be informed as part of the consent process. Changing representation does not by itself affect your standing under the purchase contract.
Not necessarily, but timing matters. As completion approaches, the window for assigning narrows — many developers stop consenting to assignments close to completion, and at some point your options shift from assigning to completing or selling as a resale after closing. The earlier you get an honest read, the more options remain.
The original contract of purchase and sale, the disclosure statement and any amendments, and proof of deposits paid. We read the assignment clause before discussing price, because that clause determines what is actually possible.
Talk to a buyer-side presale specialist: (672) 258-1100. Free contract review and valuation — we don't work for the developer.