Recently the Canadian Real Estate Association has launched a new website to promote real estate agents. The new site “www.howrealtorshelp.com” specifically tries to target “by the owner” properties in this document : http://www.howrealtorshelp.ca/pdfs/sell/selling.pdf
Here is the quote from their website: “When buyers see a home for sale ‘bytheowner’, they see a bargin”. Below are the agent’s other points and with them, the reality from ByTheOwner.com:
1) AGENT: The fact is, most people who try to sell their own home end up using a REALTOR® in the end anyway. Before anybody decides to fly solo through this complex, time consuming and financially perilous process, they should consider these questions.
BYTHEOWNER: The vague statement of “The fact is, most people who try to sell their own home end up using a REALTOR® in the end anyway” would be better if it was backed up by statistics or facts. ByTheOwner.com’s average success rate ranges from 50-60%, which compares to the agent’s success rate of 60-65%. In 2007, ByTheOwner.com is on pace to sell more than 6,000 properties. This means we now account for more than 1% of all home sales in Canada.
2) AGENT: Will you really “save” the real estate commission?
When buyers see a home for sale ‘by the owner’, they see a bargain. They imagine the REALTORS® fee going into their pocket, not yours.
BYTHEOWNER: ByTheowner.com’s homes sell for the same price as homes listed with agents. The only difference is that when a home sell privately on ByTheOwner.com, the seller’s are not required to pay 5% ($10,000-$30,000) in commission. If an agent sold a home for $300,000, it means that the seller kept less than $285,000 after 5% commission and GST paid to the agent. A person selling privately can sell a similar home for any amount more than $285,000 and still save. If they sell for $290,000, they save $5,000. If they sell for $295,000, they save $10,000, and if they sell for $300,000 they save $15,000.
3) AGENT: Are you familiar with real estate law?
Complicated and ever changing, real estate law governs nearly every phase of selling your home. One mis-step, and an entire deal can fall through, or worse, a lawsuit can come your way.
BYTHEOWNER: ByTheOwner.com recommends that all our clients have their lawyer review or even write the offer. Step one in our Guide to Selling Your Home Privately is to call your real estate lawyer. We ask you, who is more trained in contract law? A lawyer or a real estate agent?
4) AGENT: How many potential buyers will you reach?
Selling a home takes more than just hanging a “For Sale” sign. How will you promote your home? Will you write your own ads? How will you use the Internet, knowing that you’ll have no access to www.mls.ca or the Multiple Listing Service®?
BYTHEOWNER: ByTheOwner.com receives more than 150,000 visitors per week. We have designed our website so that it is very quick and easy to create your listing. If you are unfamiliar with the internet, our rep can easily create your listing for you. 40% of the homes listed on mls.ca DO NOT SELL. Obviously, just putting a home on mls is not the solution to selling.
5) AGENT: Do you have the time? Promoting a home is a full time job, and you may already have one. Will you be able to take calls at any time? How about screening the callers to figure out if they’re qualified to buy your home? Not everybody who calls is even suitable to walk through your home, but how do you tell?
BYTHEOWNER: Having your home listed on ByTheOwner.com will make it easy to manage your sale. All the photos and information are available to pre-screen the buyers. Selling with ByTheOwner.com means that YOU are in charge of the appointments, YOU decide when to show your home. No more 8pm showings as you are trying to put your children to bed! No more trying to keep the house clean all the time! Many ByTheOwner.com clients simply schedule a few hours on the weekends to show their home. All the buyers can come during this time, and discussions and offers can take place after.
6) AGENT: Do you know the market well enough to get the most for your home?
Lacking years of experience, the average do-it-yourselfer is merely guessing at their listing price. Often they set the price too low and miss out on thousands of dollars, or they price their home too high and drive away willing buyers.
BYTHEOWNER: ByTheOwner.com has many ways to find the fair market price for your home. They are all listed in our downloadable guide. There is so much information available.
7) AGENT: What about your selling skills?
If the personalities of prospective buyers rub you the wrong way, can you still deal with them effectively? What about your own defensiveness when you hear negative comments about your home? Best to keep it at arms length through a REALTOR®.
BYTHEOWNER: The feedback that we receive from our sellers is that the negotiation was the easiest part of the sale. Interested buyers will want to buy your home, people looking for different qualities in a home will go buy another home.
8) AGENT: Do you have the negotiation skills to keep a deal on track?
When an offer comes in, emotions can run high with so much money on the line. This is why direct seller-to-buyer deals often end in disaster. REALTORS® keep it professional and are indispensable when it comes to bargaining with buyers.
BYTHEOWNER: The fact that both real estate agents receive compensation (Their commission) for a home sale only when the deal is completed makes many people very uncomfortable. ByTheOwner.com’s client enjoy the fact that they are under no pressure to accept any offer that they do not like.
http://www.bytheowner.com
Thanks for your friendly advice……we sold the house in just 16 days for the price we wanted. Five minutes after you hoisted the sign and left, we had our first open house. It was a steady stream of people contacting us. The service you provide is worth it’s weight in gold and I recommend it to everyone I speak to. Simply amazing and we saved $13,000 in realty fees. It’s a no brainer. 
