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Thinking of selling your home with an unlicensed Commission Free real estate company?

Private home sales can be challenging and, in the end, not cost effective

Listing a property and selling a property are two very different things. With a Commission Free real estate company you can 'list' your property pretty easily on their Web site and get a sign to put on your front lawn - but what are your chances of selling, and who will help you through difficult negotiations?

Find out here why choosing such a company is not the best option when listing your home to sell.

Compare Bev O’Shea-Thomas and Commission Free companies	Bev O'Shea-Thomas	Unlicensed Commission Free Companies
In-home consultation
Professional features & photos
Ongoing follow-up & support
Offer to Purchase completed on your behalf
Listing sales sheet highlighting assets of home & neighborhood
Post-closing check in
Referral to lawyers & lenders who can help during closing
Free legal advice for buyers & sellers		Using their lawyer only
Exposure 24 hours/day via: Internet Magazine Signage Feature sheets Features by phone	(REALTOR®-to-buyer)	(computerized call)
Summary appraisal or evaluation		$150
Follow-up during sales process	After each showing and as needed
Virtual Tours	3-7 rooms depending on size	1-4 rooms depending on size
Fee for listing, paid up front	$0	$950-$1000
Additional marketing exposure	Home Buyers Guide REALTOR.ca EdmontonCityHomes.com Real Estate Weekly MLXChange	Main Webpage Magazine Publication (every 3 weeks)

Compare REALTORS® and Unlicensed Commission Free Companies	REALTORS®	Commission Free real estate companies
Average selling price (single family dwelling) based on February reports	$352,689	$338,356
Average Commission Paid	$14,580	$0
Fees paid	$0	$950-$1000
Total earned on the sale of your home	$338,109	$337,406

*All information taken from The REALTORS® association of Edmonton

Switch back and get cash

If you're currently using an unlicensed Commission Free company to sell your home but growing frustrated with the wait and the length of time it's taking to sell, get Bev O'Shea-Thomas on your side as your new REALTOR®.

Bev will reimburse you the fees that you’ve had to pay – up to $950CDN. Call (780) 445-8267 to get started with Bev today.

See how Bev helps clients of Commission Free companies (PDF)

What you GET with Commission Free real estate

When you list your home with an unlicensed Commission Free real estate company, you have only one option:

A basic "Success Package"

For the most part, this includes the following services:

Free licensed appraisal - This service is also provided by Bev.
Virtual Tour - On average, such companies only show 1-2 virtual tours per home. By listing with Bev O'Shea-Thomas you are given on average 5 virtual tours. The more information we provide to buyers, the easier we feel it will be to sell your home.
In home consultation, including feature write up - This service is also provided by Bev.
Your home listed in their publication - The most popular unlicensed Commission Free company ONLY publishes it's magazines every 3 weeks and distributes them in a maximum of 600 locations, this compared with the Real Estate weekly which is distributed weekly and has a circulation of 60,000 including every Thursday in the Edmonton Sun.
Your home on their webpage - When your home is listed on their webpage it is ONLY listed on their webpage and not linked with any other sites in which potential buyers may be trying to find a home. When listing with Bev, your home is displayed with as much information as possible on EdmontonCityHomes.com and Realtor.ca which allows potential buyers to find information about your home and be linked back and forth. In addition to this, your home will be posted on MLXChange which 3000+ agents have access to.
Email notifications sent out to "serious" buyers - Much like the email notifications Commission Free sites send out, MLXChange allows all agents in Edmonton and area the opportunity to customize searches for their clients. However, the main difference is that MLXChange allows REALTORS® the opportunity to be much more specific in their search criteria, this ensures that well suited buyers are the first ones to know about your property.
7-Days-a-week on call support evenings and weekends - Although many Commission Free companies offer 7 day support, you are still limited to the hours you can get a hold of them and who answers your questions. Bev is available 24/7 and you will always be speaking with the same person every time you phone with a question about your home. Keep in mind, that although the Commission may be "Free" your time very seldom will be when selling on your own.
20 Full-Colour feature sheets/buyers guides with photos, buyer's assistance, and more - Bev does not limit the amount of feature sheets that are provided to you and even provides a downloadable version of them to potential buyers. All feature sheets show detailed information, high quality pictures, nearby amenitites, and a map of the location of your home.
Professional Signage installed on your property or condo complex - This service is also provided by Bev.
Features By Phone – automated info about your home listed on your sign - Although automated features by phone are good for those walking or driving by, it does little other than repeat the details already listed on the webpage. If a potential buyer has a specific question about your home Bev is able to answer it right away, rather than having to go through an automated service.

Keep in mind that all costs are paid up front when using a generic "Success Package". So, if your home doesn't sell, you still pay.

Why the Commission Free "advantage" can be more of a "disadvantage"

The biggest selling feature to potential clients for Commission Free real estate is the fact that they can save on average $15,000 in real estate commissions. However this comment is misleading and in fact you could be making less on the sale of your home while doing all of the work by yourself (see the breakdown)

What DO you have to do when you decide to go Commission Free?

Part of listing with private sales services is that you do a lot of the activities that an experienced agent would normally do for you:

You answer calls from parties – whether they're serious about your home or not
You do all walk-thrus when you're at home
You leave work or other commitments when a potential buyer wants to view your home
You deal with drop-ins/passersby who want to see your home but may not be serious about buying it
You try to negotiate an offer face-to-face with a potential buyer, regardless of whether you're a skilled negotiator or new at it
You complete all contracts, which, if done incorrectly, can legally negate the sale. Although you can get a lawyer to help you review the contract, you are still liable for all information provided to the purchasers and can be sued directly if information is not accurate. By selling on your own you are not covered under errors and omissions insurance that REALTORS™ provide.

Some unlicensed commission free companies claim to offer "fast & user friendly" searches to find homes. However, the search engines that they offer are antiquated in comparison to that of realtor.ca and do not offer easy search options when trying to locate neighborhoods or specific features of a home that potential buyers may be looking for.

What you GET with a REALTOR®

On average, sellers pay commission at closing on a 7%/3% split, where 7% is charged against the first $100,000 of the home and 3% thereafter. That total commission is then split between both agents, who use the commission to cover costs such as:

Multi-media advertising (newspaper, magazine, online)
Flyer production
Folder production
Hosting broker tours (or agent open houses)
Paying for virtual tours and other extra marketing tools
Office, transportation and brokerage fees

Important: If your home does not sell, you do not have to pay commission to Bev O'Shea-Thomas.

When you use a REALTOR® to sell your home, you also get access to all comparable sales – so you can list your home for the right price. A REALTOR® holds showings, turns negatives into positives, arranges showings for other real estate agents and uses all the contacts in her network of real estate professionals to attract the right buyer faster.

A REALTOR® like Bev O'Shea-Thomas has the expertise to conduct sales ethically, complete legally binding contracts, market aggressively during cool markets and negotiate prices to ultimately get top dollar for her sellers. In a hot market when bidding wars are common, wouldn't you like to have a REALTOR® on your side who can get you thousands of dollars over asking?

What you DO when you hire a REALTOR®

The only true disruption you may have when listing with a REALTOR® is leaving your home during a showing. Tasks like staging and cleaning are tasks you would need to do when listing privately or with a REALTOR® – but, with an agent, you at least get the expert opinion to help you understand if your effort is going to pay off.

Contact Bev O’Shea-Thomas at (780) 445-8267 to see if she’s the right REALTOR® for you.