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basic
service online listing
pre-payment signage |
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Questions of a general nature |
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Q: |
Where are you located? |
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A: |
We are located in
Surrey, but we have listings everywhere in the Lower Mainland from
North Vancouver to Abbotsford. Physical location looks like is
becoming less relevant, as more and more transactions are occuring online. |
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Q: |
How long have
you been in business? |
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A: |
The company
"Olympia-Pacific Interactive Realty" has been in business
since August 2002. However, I have been a realtor since 1994.
Previously I worked for Macdonald Realtors Olympic (4 years) and
HomeLife Benchmark Realty in Fleetwood (5 years). |
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Q: |
How does your
service compare with the other real estate offices? |
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A: |
We do exactly the
same thing, only a little better (we think). We belong to the Fraser
Valley Real Estate Board. There is only one MLS (Multiple Listing
Service). The difference between us and the other offices is that our
listings receive more internet exposure and it costs less to list
with us.
Also: to the best
of my knowledge we are the only local Real Estate office that offers
consumers two listing options "Full Serrvice" and
"Basic Service" intended for the For Sale By Owner. |
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Q: |
How does your
"Full Service" and 4.5% & 2.5% commission rate compare
with the "flat rate" 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 the
most flexible real estate office. |
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Questions regarding the
"Basic Service" option - FSBO section |
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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. |
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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. Your cost is $695 upon listing
the home and $395 upon completion of sale payable from the
proceeds of the sale. That's it.
For strata
properties you would have to pay for the strata documents (minutes of
meetings, strata plan, by-laws, form "B") to the management company. |
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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.mls.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
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: |
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.mls.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 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: |
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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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. You do all the work answering phone calls,
confirming showings, making sure there is access to the home,
negotiating offers (verbally). I will look after writing the
contract, removing subject clauses, collecting the deposit 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: |
For as long as you
are serious about selling your home, I will keep it on MLS 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 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 and
you won't have to pay anything again. As of December 2008 we even
waived the re-listing fee we used to charge. I have to clarify
something here. There is no extra charge for listings in the Fraser
Valley Real Estate Board, but the Vancouver Board does charge approx.
$50 to enter a listing on MLS and $50 for more than one photo to be
displayed, so these costs ($ 50 or $100) will be passed on to you. |
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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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Questions regarding
"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 604-596-6242 with payment (by credit card). I will
visit your home 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. It will be on www.mls.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: |
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. |
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Questions regarding
"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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Questions regarding
"Signage" on the property |
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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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A |
You'll Love Our Rates...
You'll Recommend Our Service. |
