Working with Realtors

One of the very first decisions you make when you decide to sell your own home is:

“Am I going to deal with Realtors or Not?”

Because it is almost guaranteed that as soon as you put your “For Sale by Owner” sign, the first calls about your home are going to be from Realtors.

The reason Realtors are calling is simple, they want to list your house and get paid a commission. They may disguise their call but when the smoke screen fades, it’s still the original reason they wan to list your house.

The most common line a realtor will give you is “I have a buyer for your home”. And some actually might but for many realtors, it’s just a line. They are trained to get their foot in the door. Their intent is to create an opportunity to give you their sales pitch about “Why you should list with them”. Those realtors with this intent can be easily picked out especially when they show up without a buyer. Also, a famous line is: “I need to preview the home first”.

However, it’s not all bad, there are some excellent Realtors out there who do actually have buyers and may be worth dealing with. Realtors have sold many “For Sale by Owner” homes, but keep in mind that if you allow a realtor to show your home to buyers they will expect to be paid some form of commission.

The Canadian HomeFind.com Sellers Guide explains several options available to you when dealing with realtors as well as how to negotiate realistic commissions.

Remember “You” are selling your home. A listing contract is not necessary under any conditions so don’t sign one!