SELL IT YOURSELF?
Just read an article on how you can save your money by selling your property privately with the help of a company for a fee, of course.. Sounds good, eh! Let’s look a little closer:
1) these people have undertaken a “rigorous” training program; what does that mean? What kind of training do they have as they are not legally able to act as your Realtor in any form unless they, have in fact, obtained their real estate license. Did they receive training on how to use a website or how to put a sign in your lawn, all of which you can do yourself without having to pay anyone any money at all! As a Realtor, I took 3 courses over a span of about 1 year to obtain my license and, as all other Ontario Realtors, I continue to take courses as we need to obtain 24 credits every 2 years in order to maintain our license. These courses are offered on a variety of subjects that help to keep us current with what is happening in the the real estate world and also helps us to assist our Sellers and Buyers in the best possible way. Apart from that, personally, I have 13 years of experience which, I believe, speaks for itself!
2) apparently they possess expertise in the world of ‘private sale’ but do they have any expertise in the world of real estate? This is probably one of the most significant transactions that you will ever make and you will need to know something about the real estate market and not just what is here say!
3) when marketing a home, one should hope to get it out to as many possible buyers as they can. Perhaps this can be accomplished the best by having it as a multiple listing; this way you would have a large number of viewers as this is primarily the way one starts their search whether it be on the major sites such as RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker, Royal LePage, etc. or, how smart is this, www.mls.ca!! Basically it is one stop shopping!
4) How many people think their homes are just that much nicer than the one that sold just down the street. There is selling and then there is overselling. How does a Seller talk effectively with a Buyer; I wonder? Are there legal disclosure issues involved here? Do you like to hear negative comments about your property or does that put you on the defensive; not a good thing when dealing with a potential Buyer; especially the Buyer who is looking for that deal!
5) Are you made aware of how many of these ‘private sale’ homes are actually sold through professional real estate offices after languishing on the market for many months? Something that you may want to ask about! As a licensed Realtor, in order to come up with a fair market price, I go though all of the sales, all of the current listings and also look at any properties that may have been on the market but have since expired.
6) Who governs their “strict code of ethics” and what is that code of ethics? Realtors are governed by RECO (Real Estate Council of Ontario) and we must abide by a long list of rules and obligations when dealing with, not only with our clients, but other Realtors as well.
7) I am sure that you have heard the saying, “if it is too good to be true, it likely isn’t”. I think that it is fair to say that every company and profession has their client testimonials as well as their naysayers; it is a big world with a large population and everyone needs to find the one that works best for them. Just make sure that you have all of the pros and cons up front so that you can make an educated decision.
Last but not least, I have worked with Buyers who absolutley do not want to work directly with a Seller. In a Buyer’s market, how would you work with this situation?
