As an owner of a condo, loft or townhouse (any property type for that matter - “real estate”) you have every right to sell your own property.

There are certain pitfalls and inherent inconveniences accompanying any approach available to you. With the strong growth experienced in core Toronto condos over the past two and a half years have come rapidly growing prices. Today, astute Sellers are seeking out more creative and cost saving solutions to selling.

The historic and absolute best alternative to selling a condo rests with using a professional Realtor. When “Listed” on the Toronto Real Estate Board’s (“TREB”) Multiple Listing Service (“MLS”) your condo is simultaneously advertised to 19,000 registered real estate professionals (who earn their income through finding buyers) as well as to a global audience on mls.ca.



For Sale By Owner
Over the past few years, For Sale By Owner real estate marketing services have made some inroads into the way properties are bought and sold throughout North America however, research shows that only a small portion of the general public choose to try to sell their own property. Many sight legal issues (or lack of knowledge thereof), such as lack of personal resource, experience and/or skill to answer and/or respond to any/all telephone calls, costly newspaper advertising and a lack of negotiating skills as the key reasons for not taking on the job themselves.

When looking at FSBO’s for condos, the fact that (unlike detached homes) “For Sale” signs are NOT permitted in windows or on the property, the concept of “for sale by owner” for condos failed to gain acceptance in Toronto. Coupled with costly newspaper advertising rates, sellers of condominiums, lofts and townhomes really had only one choice when it came to selling their properties.

With the escalating costs of core Toronto condos, lofts and townhouses, the impact of a 5% or 6% sales commission represents a major inflator when it comes to real estate. History shows that “the condo, loft or townhouse actually sells itself”.

When it comes to selling a presale (new - from plans) condo the salesperson can definitely make a difference as this is “concept selling”. Buyers visit sales sites thinking that they are “just looking around” and can easily end up going back home owning a new condo. I know this because I was one of these highly polished sales professionals hired to “close” sales. The absolute BEST FREE advice that I can give you is “do NOT (EVER) visit condo sales sites without having me attend with you”! Correspondingly, “do NOT visit open houses without having a professional Buyer’s Agent attend with you (or at least disclose his/her name immediately upon arriving at one when your agent isn’t available”).

With a resale, you get the opportunity to walk into the actual real estate and inspect it yourself. Consumers are knowledgeable today enough to not get pressured into something that they can see and touch, thus it is solely and exclusively the condo itself that sells the condo!

When dealing with selling your condo, under law in Ontario you can become the “Realtor” for your own property (you may NOT act as a Realtor with respect to any other property than your own or you are committing a legal offense that may carry costly consequences). I have developed all the paperwork and forms necessary for you to market your own condominium, loft or townhouse on simplycondos.com in a professional way. By acting as your own Realtor you purchase the Simplycondos.com “How To Sell Your Own Condo Sales Kit” and pay 0% sales commissions.

A simplycondos.com Affiliate Realtor will visit and photograph the interior of your condo and publish your ad with colour photos “Until It Sells” on simplycondos.com. This will NOT give you the benefit of having your condo advertised on MLS. Your ad will appear only on simplycondos.com (15,000 “Hits” per day by genuine Toronto condo, loft and townhouse Buyers).

For those of you looking to save money (6% on a $350,000 condo equates to $21,000) simplycondos.com FSBO Program pays immediate cash dividends.

It is interesting to note that this 6% conventional real estate sales commission (see example above) actually equates to much more than 6% to the seller! With a conventional 75% mortgage the commission ($21,000) equates to 24% of the Seller’s equity ($87,500)!



For Sale By Owner with B/A Commission Agreement
For those of you who are convinced that you do not want to handle the “tire-kickers”, telephone calls, appointment scheduling, negotiating, status certificate, etc., you can still represent yourself on the Seller side (and save the accompanying commissions) agreeing to honour the conventional “Buyer Agency” fees ( 2.5%).

Full Realtor Multiple Listing Service
Alternatively and the absolute best shot that you have is by having a professional Realtor represent you. Most Sellers today seem to entrust the listing of their condo to someone that they know (many times a relative holding a real estate license). It is very important that you have a professional (experienced condo specialist) list your property on your behalf. When you register with simplycondos.com we will

advertise your condo on our site and refer you to a simplycondos.com registered Affiliate with the specialized expertise that you require to insure a successful and satisfactory listing and we’ll have them list it at a preferred rate for you.

When you choose this sales alternative, there are certain things that you can do to optimize your odds at successfully selling in the shortest amount of time, for the most money with the least inconvenience.

As a professional Buyer’s Agent I have a definite perspective that can save you major problems when selling your condo. Understand that Buyer’s Agents (Realtors are free to advertise themselves as anything) range in skills and expertise as do Listing Agents. There is always a range of candidates starting with experienced to newly registered although, fortunately in Ontario our extensive education as a result of OREA guarantees an educated practitioner. I have completed the complete educational program qualifying me to be a Broker.

As a Buyer’s Agent I see the full range (the good, the bad and the ugly) of Seller’s Agency without ever even having to meet the Realtors. I know the professionals by the way they do their business. There is no magic to selling a condo - magic is more reflective of coming up with the buyer. A Buyer’s Agent is the one who does that.

Don’t get confused when Listing Realtors boast about having sold a listing in 1 or 2 days of listing the property as their boasting only means that an astute Buyer’s Agent was on their game, saw the listing and brought his/her buyer. Funny how marketing allows Realtors to claim fame where in truth the Condo actually sold the condo. The magic is in finding the Buyer and by far the major force in getting a property sold rests with Buyer’s agents. Statistics show that only a very small percentage of listing sales representatives actually sell their listings.

Most professional Realtors charge between five (5%) percent and six (6%) percent of the selling price and offer a percentage of that (usually 2% - 2.5%) to other agents (buyers agents and co-operating Realtors) to deliver a buyer. Some agents discourage Buyer’s Agents by charging “marketing costs” - even though putting it on MLS is FREE. See if your Listing Agent is intending to charge Buyer’s Agents “Marketing Fees”.

Here are some tips to help you know if the Realtor soliciting your listing is really doing the job for you: