Different Ways To Sell A House

If you’re considering moving house this year, you’re probably starting to think about options for how to buy and sell. Let’s look at some of the alternatives.

For Sale By Owner (FSBO)

The real estate market was hot in 2015 with countless stories about bidding wars and houses selling the same day sometimes far in excess of the asking price. With buyers lining up to purchase homes, why not try to sell it yourself?

 

Pros

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• You will save some of the real estate commission by doing it yourself.
• You will be in the drivers seat. You will do your own photography, staging, book your own appointments, conduct your own showings and negotiate your own price. You may pay a bit more to your lawyer to draw up the deal than if you had used a REALTOR®, but it would still be much less than paying a realty commission.

Cons

• If you don’t market effectively or set the right price, you may sell for less than you could have or, conversely, list too high and not sell.
• You will find that handling phone calls, appointments and managing showings can be extremely time-consuming. 
• But the biggest con of DIYing the sale of your house will be the lack of exposure to a broad pool of prospects. Almost 65% of Canadians start their home search online. Not having a listing on the MLS® (multiple listing service) will significantly limit your pool of potential buyers.

Discount Brokerages

The increasing role of the internet in the home search process had led to the advent of discount brokerages like Comfree and Property Guys. While there are many variations, essentially these brokerages will provide an MLS® listing for a fee or low commission rate and may offer some support an a la carte basis.

Pros

• As above, you are still in control with some marketing and negotiation resources available to you if needed.
• Your home will appear on the MLS® with broad exposure to buyers

Cons

• This option may not save you as much as you think. Almost three-quarters (74%) of Canadian homebuyers still choose to hire a REALTOR® to help them in their search. If a REALTOR® is including your home as one of many they are showing to a buyer, they will want to get paid for their time. Often sellers end up offering standard commission to the buyer’s REALTOR®. So the 1% they paid to the discount listing brokerage becomes 3.5% once the commission to buyer’s agent is factored in.

Full Service Brokerage

This is probably the best-understood option so I won’t go into it in great detail. Simply put, a full service REALTOR® will look after all the marketing, appointments, showings, paperwork , inspections and negotiations. They will have the experience and knowledge of the local market to help you. One last thing that is often undervalued; in Canada licensed REALTORS® are held to a strict code of ethics and have a fiduciary obligation to protect and promote the interests of their Clients. If a problem should arise, there are systems in place to protect the Clients.