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Basic Service option -
Intended for the For Sale By Owner |
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Q: |
What
do you actually do, if I list with the "Basic Service"? |
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A: |
Basically I do
what you cannot or are not supposed to do (entering home on MLS,
writing the contract, removing subjects, placing the deposit in a
trust account etc) |
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Q: |
What
would I have to do, if I list with the "Basic Service"? |
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A: |
You do what you
would normally do if you were selling your home privately as a FSBO
(showing your home, confirming appointments etc). You also do all the
legwork. If we have to get together you come to my office, you may
have to go and collect the deposit from the buyer and deliver it to
me etc |
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Q: |
If I want to
sell my home as "For Sale By Owner", why should I pay you $695? |
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A: |
Because of the
tremendous exposure your home will get being listed on MLS. If you
want to sell your home by yourself, you need to advertise in
newspapers or in one or more of the FSBO websites. That costs money
and the exposure you get is minimal. Once the buyer is found, we take
care of all the paperwork, placing the deposit in a trust
accounte.t.c. The only additional cost is $395 deducted from the
proceeds of the sale, upon completion (or $495 depending on where the
home is located and if another realtor is involved) |
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Q: |
Are there any
hidden fees, or additional chargers? |
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A: |
No hidden fees. We
tell you everything upfront. Our fee is $695 upon listing the
home and $395 (or $495 - see below) upon completion of sale
payable from the proceeds of the sale. That's it.
If the home is
located in the Vancouver board, $395 will be payable upon completion,
regardless if another realtor was involved or not.
If the home is
located in the FVREB, $395 will be payable upon completion if the
offer came from another realtor, or $495 if there was no other
realtor involved, in which case you save the buyers agent commission.
The reason we charge the extra $100 is that we would have to pay an
additional $100 to the FVREB, so we pass the extra cost to you.
For strata
properties you would have to pay for the strata documents (minutes of
meetings, strata plan, by-laws, form "B" etc) to the
management company. The cost of that could be anywhere between
$50 and $150. There could also be some courier costs if the
documents, deposit etc have to be couriered. |
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Q: |
How will
potential buyers find my tel. number or e-mail address? |
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A: |
First of all,
potential buyers have the choice of contacting their own realtor
(buyers agent). If, however, a buyer wishes to work without a buyers
agent, they can contact you directly as follows:
1st by contacting
me. I will pass on your contact info to a potential buyer, and then I
will send you the potential buyer's contact info.
2nd by viewing the
webpage of your home that I will create upon listing your home.
With your
permission, your name, telephone number and e-mail address will be
displayed on the webpage
For Fraser Valley
Real Estate Board (FVREB) listings, the link to the webpage of your
home is under the heading "Propery Brochure" at the top of
the www.realtor.ca
page displaying your home.
For Vancouver
Board properties, they would have to click on "Office
Website" or simply contact me first. |
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Q: |
What's the
advantage of having my home
listed on MLS? |
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A: |
By far the most
visited website for potential buyers is the www.realtor.ca
It receives 100's of 1000's hits a day. The hits on FSBO websites
don't even scratch the surface. Browsing buyers will find your home
and will either contact their realtor, or you directly.
If you advertise
in the newspapers, you'll have to renew and pay for each issue. If
you list with me, the initial fee of $695 buys the MLS expsure. It's
a far better deal. |
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Q: |
Do I have to
write the contract
and prepare all related documentation? |
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A: |
No you don't.
That's my job and it is part of the service. I will write the
contract, remove subjects, collect the deposit and place it in our
trust account and generally make sure the sale process goes smoothly
until completion. |
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Q: |
I thought if I
list with a realtor I would have to pay something like 7% on the
first $100,000 and 2.5% on the balance. Isn't this true? |
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A: |
Not necessarily,
even though this is still the most common commission rate charged.
Things have changed over the last several years mainly because of the
Internet. Fees always have been negotiable, realtors can set their
own fees, but it is up to you to pay whatever you feel is worth in
exchange for the service you get. |
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Q: |
How does that
work? I thought if I list in the MLS all the work has to be done by a
realtor . |
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A: |
Not necessarily.
With the "Basic Service", you in effect become the listing
agent for your home to do all the menial work a listing agent would
normally do. You are answering phone calls, confirming showings,
making sure there is access to the home. I will look after writing
the contract, removing subject clauses, placing the deposit in a
trust account e.t.c. to make sure the sale completes properly and
that you get your money. |
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Q: |
If I have any
questions, or I run into trouble doing all those things, can I call
you for help? |
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A: |
Absolutely. You
can call me anytime or send me an e-mail if there is no urgency.
Regardless of how much commission you pay, you are still my client.
I'd be happy to offer personal and professional advice should you
need it. |
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Q: |
How about if
after couple of months I decide that selling the home by myself it's
not for me. Can I have you take over? |
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A: |
Absolutely. You
can switch to the "Full Service" option and receive full
credit for whatever you paid upon completion of sale. |
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Q: |
How long is the
duration of the contract I will sign to have my home in the MLS? |
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A: |
Initially for 6
months, which gives you plenty of time to sell the home. However if
the home does not sell for whatever reason, like when the market
dropped in 2008, and for as long as you are serious about selling
your home, I will keep it on MLS by extending the listing contract
until it sells, no matter how long that will take. |
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Q: |
How does the
cost of $695 compare with the fee for entering my home in some of the
FSBO websites? |
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A: |
It's more or less
the same. However the exposure your home will get in the FSBO
websites doesn't even scratch the surface compared to the exposure
that the MLS can offer you. Besides nobody will prepare the contract
documentation for you. I am an experienced licensed realtor, in the
business since 1994, and I can do that for you. |
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Q: |
How about
setting my asking price, can you help me with that? |
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A: |
Yes I can. I will
tell you what your home's fair market value is. However it's up to
you to ask whatever price you want for your home, as long as it is a
reasonable price. |
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Q: |
If
I decide, to pull the home off the market, can I re-list later? |
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A: |
Yes, you can. For
as long as no photos have to be retaken and there are no changes to
the home, we charge a re-list fee of $150 to cover listing fees we
have to pay to the boards and for all the paperwork we would have to re-do. |
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Q: |
In your
opinion, do buyers prefer dealing directly
with an owner? |
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A: |
Some buyers would
much rather deal directly with the owner. However many buyers feel
intinidated and would prefer to have a realtor do the negotiating and
bargaining for them. Besides, many inexperienced buyers are not
familiar with the sale process. These people would not call a FSBO,
but ask a realtor to represent them and their interests and simply
by-pass FSBO homes. With the options I offer, you can have it both
ways. You can deal directly with a buyer or through a realtor, so you
don't lose any buyers. |
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Q: |
Do you
encourage FSBO's? |
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A: |
No, I don't.
Selling one's home is a complex and difficult thing to tackle. It
should be left to a professional realtor. Especially if you need the
funds to buy another property. However, if you already decided to try
selling your own home, might as well do it right. I have seen many
people get hurt big time trying to sell their own homes. The FSBO
websites, I strongly believe, do a disservice to the public.That's
one of the reasons I am offering the "basic service"
which is intended for the people who otherwise would be selling on
their own. |
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Online Listing |
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Q: |
I noticed that
you provide online listing forms that can be sent or faxed to
you.
Why's that? |
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A: |
To speed up the
process. Actually for Vancouver Board properties that is the only way
we will accept a listing. However you don't have to fill in all the
details of the home if the property has been on MLS before and no
major alterations have been done to the property. |
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Q: |
Once I fax or
mail you the "listing info" and "data input"
forms, then what? |
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A: |
I will check them
over and e-mail you the listing contract in PDF format. You sign it
and fax it back to 604-608-9403 with payment (by credit card). I will
visit your home once to take photos and check out measurements as
soon as possible after receiving the signed contract. Then I will
forward the listing to the real estate board. Your home will be on
MLS within usually 2 business days after I submit the listing. It
will be on www.realtor.ca
for the public to see one day after that. |
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Q: |
How about if I
don't know the answers to some of the questions in the "Data
Input" forms? |
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A: |
Don't worry about
it. Just fill in as much as you can. Either call me and we discuss
things over the phone or I will figure it out later when I visit your home. |
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Paying Fee Upon Listing |
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Q: |
What's the idea behind
paying the commission "upon listing"? I thought fees are
always paid on completion. |
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A: |
You are right, in
most transactions, commissions are deducted from the proceeds of the
sale. If the home does not sell, there is no commission to pay. This
is one of the main reasons commissions are so high. There are a lot
of sellers out there not really serious about selling, just
"testing the market". Either their asking prices are way
too high, or they don't bother making the home accessible to
potential buyers. As a result the home doesn't sell and any expenses
associated with the listing have to be passed on to other listings.
Unfortunately,
nothing is free in this world. In other words, the serious sellers
pay for the "market testers".
If you pre-pay,
you are a very serious seller. I save money by not wasting my time
with a non-serious seller and I pass on the savings to you. Makes
sense, doesn't it? Besides, when you put buyer and seller together it
is always a good idea to get paid ahead of time. I don't want to have
to chase people after completion for a few hundred dollars. |
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Q: |
What happens if
the home does not sell? Will I get a refund? |
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A: |
Sorry, no. There
are no refunds. That's the whole idea about pre-paying, to deal only
with serious sellers. But, don't forget, you can keep the home on MLS
until it sells. If it is priced competitively it will sell. |
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Q: |
What happens if
everything possible is done, but the home still does not sell? |
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A: |
Remember the 4
steps of selling a home. Although there are no guarantees, if
there is communication, accessibility, MLS exposure and the asking
price is close to fair market value, the home will sell. I have no
doubt about it. It may have to stay on the market longer, but it will
eventually sell. |
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Signage |
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Q: |
Can I put my
own "For Sale
By Owner" sign
on the property while
it is listed on MLS? |
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A: |
Sorry, no. The
only sign must be ours. All calls derived from the sign will be
directed to you. Besides, having too many signs will look totally
unprofessional. Even if you will be trying to sell your home by
yourself, it will be our listing. We want everything to look professional. |
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Q: |
How about if I
don't want any sign? |
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A: |
That's fine, if
you are uncomfortable having a "For Sale" sign on your
property, there will be no sign. |
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Q: |
How long does
the sign has to stay on the property? |
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A: |
Once the home is
sold - and by that I mean any and all subject clauses removed - there
is no point having a "For Sale" sign. However I may place a
"SOLD" sticker on the sign and leave it there for another 2
or 3 weeks. |
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Q: |
Is there any
cost for having lockbox or a "for sale" sign? |
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A: |
No. Our signs are
loaned to you free of charge. However, you are responsible for their
maintenance and their return to our office in good condition. If they
are lost or damaged there will be a charge. The same thing applies to lockboxes. |
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Full Service |
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Q: |
How does your
"Full Service" and 5% & 2.5% commission rate compare
with the "flat rate" discount realty offices? |
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A: |
The percentage
rates we offer are superior to the flat rates as they give other
realtors far more incentive to bring a buyer. Typically a "flat
rate" office will keep most of the commission for themselves,
while offering co-operating realtors a lesser amount. We feel that
this is fundamentally very wrong. Selling realtors (buyers' agents)
should be compensated more than listing realtors.
Moneywise, our
listing fees are more or less the same as the flat rates, sometimes a
little lower, sometimes a little higher, depending on the sale price
of the home. However, if a seller wants a "flat rate" to
list their home we will be glad to do it. Don't forget we are a very
flexible real estate office. |
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Q: |
With your full
service, how much does the buyers agent get? |
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A: |
The realtor who
brings the buyer (buyers agent) gets his full 3.22% on the first
$100,000 and 1.15% on balance just as if the commission payable was
7% and 2.5% as in most full service listings by other brokerages. In
a typical commission arrangement of a flat rate discount company, the
buyers agent would only get $2,500. |
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Photos |
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Q: |
Regarding
photos, will I have to take my own photos of the home and email them
to you? |
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A: |
No, you don't have
to do that. Actually I prefer taking my own photos and I can do
that when I visit the home. As many photos as would be required
to give the home the maximun exposure. The max. number I ever took
was 50 on a huge home. It's all part of the service. Ten photos are
uploaded once the listing is on MLS and there is an MLS number.
However on the webpage for your home that I will prepare, I could
upload all of them. |
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Showings |
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Q: |
What
do I do if a realtor calls me? |
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A: |
Well, buyers
agents will call you, not me, for an appointment to show your
home since it will be your tel. number in the listing contact info.
Try to accommodate other realtors as best you can. Normally they
would like to show your home within a hal-hour time frame, ie between
4:00 and 4:30.
If they are
interested in presenting an offer they will contact me and either fax
or e-mail the offer to me and then I will contact you to discuss it. |
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Q: |
What
do I do if a potential buyer calls me? |
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A: |
Set up an
appointment at a mutually convenient time.
If they are
interested in making an offer, negotiate verbally (do not sign
anything) and I will write the contract. Keep in mind that in such
case you will save the commission normally going to a buyers agent. |
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Open Houses |
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Q: |
Can we have our
own Open House? And how can we advertise it? |
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A: |
Yes you can. There
are two ways you can let other people know about your Open House. I
can upload a note on realtor.ca with the date and time of the Open
House. It's a fairly simple process, just a few clicks. If you decide
to have Open Houses on a regular basis, I could add a note on the
Realtors Remarks in the MLS description of your home. |
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Q: |
I understand
that it can take up to 4 days to get listed on MLS, how much longer
does it take to get listed on the open house site. I assume this is
part of MLS and is included in your basic service? Or am I wrong? |
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A: |
Yes it is part of
the service.
It takes approx. 2
business days for the home to be on MLS once submitted to the real
estate board, and another day or so to appear on realtor.ca.
Once the home is on MLS the Open House notification can be uploaded
the same day. |
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Ads |
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Q: |
What about an
ad in the local paper? |
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A: |
It's up to you to
place any ad you want where you want. papers, craigslist etc. It is
recommended to include the MLS number and t link to the webpage of
your home. |
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Q: |
How about ads
in the Real Estate Weekly? |
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A: |
In the Real Estate
Weekly, I can place an ad for you, as they only accept ads from
realtors, but you will have to pay for the ad. Ads are quite
expensive, depending on where in the Lower Mainland your home is
located, and the size of the ad, it could cost as much as $80 per issue.
They also require all ads to be placed at least a week ahead of publication. |
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Deposits |
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Q: |
How much
deposit should we require on a $600K home? initial deposit and after
subject removal. |
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A: |
The more the
better, approx. 5% of sale price, if possible. It shouldn't be less
than $20,000. There is no need for initial deposit. If subjects are
not removed we have nothing. The deposit should be collected once
subjects are removed and should be in the form of a bank draft.
Absolutely no personal cheques will be accepted. If the offer comes
from a buyer not working with a realtor, you would have to deliver
the deposit to me to be placed in our brokerage trust account as per
BC real estate regulations |
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Offer Presentation |
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Q: |
I understand
that we are supposed to decide on which offer we will take and then
have you do the paperwork - what about a multiple offer situation -
does the time we accept offers have to be daytime on weekdays so that
you are available? |
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A: |
When it comes to
offers I am available any time, daytime or evenings up to 12 midnight
weekdays or weekends. You are hiring me to help you sell your home
and that's what I will do.
Offers can come
two ways:
1) From another realtor
In such
case, the offer(s) will be emailed or faxed to me and I will forward
it to you and we will discuss it. If you prefer presentation in
person, you are welcome to come to my office (96th Ave. and 152nd St.
in Surrey). But most people prefer the speed and efficiency of
emailed offers. By the way, you should have access to a fax machine
or scanner. In a multiple offer situation, it's best to wait until
all offers are collected and then decide on the best one with the
best terms.
2) Offer from a
private buyer not working with a realtor.
In such case
negotiate verbally with the buyer the terms (price, deposit,
possession date) and I will prepare the contract and assist in
subject removals. If no other realtor is involved you will save the
buyers agent commission. |
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Miscallaneous Questions |
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Q: |
How do we know
the buyers have financing? If we sign back can we ask them for
something from their bank? |
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A: |
Excellent point! A
clause should be entered in the contract saying that the buyers will
provide us with a statement from the financial institution supplying
the mortgage, indicating that the buyers have been approved
UNCONDITIONALLY for the purchase of your home. And if you want to
push this further (and I recommend this) you can make the clause
subject to you viewing and approving it. This way, if the buyer does
not supply us a bank statement, you can let the contract expire and
look for a buyer that can provide proof of financing. |
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Q: |
How about some
feature sheets of our home to give to potential buyers, do we have to
prepare them ourselves? |
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A: |
Once the listing
is on MLS and photos are uploaded, there are several formats of
feature sheets that can automatically be generated complete with
photos. I will send you a copy of 5 or 6 different versions so you
can print the one(s) you like the best. |
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Got a question?
Send
me an email |
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A |
You'll Love Our Rates...
You'll Recommend Our Service. |
