Who are you being exclusive to?
The term "Exclusive Listing" is one that had gone by the way side it would have seemed. More and more I am finding people with that sticker on their sign though. I ran by one this morning and it got me thinking. What is that agent offering as an "Exclusivity"?
Traditionally the reason a home seller would choose to go the route of an exclusive listing would be to save on commissions. The listing agent has said that in order to save on the buyer's agent commissions "we won't put the listing on the MLS and I will market it locally on my website, in the paper and through my network of buyers". This really is not that far off selling it privately, except your agent is going to charge you 2-2.5% if a buyer ends up bringing an offer.
I mean the whole term "exclusive" comes from "excluding" things, right? Why when you are selling your home would you want to exclude putting your home in front of buyers? Pick an agent in your town, any agent. Go to their website and browse through it. Was that a good experience? Heck most of them when searching for homes just point you back to Realtor.ca anyway!
If you are looking to save money when selling your house going to someone who drives an $80,000 car and talks about all the houses they sell is probably not going to do it, exclusive or not. Going to the agent around the corner, or the one who's son plays with yours at school and lists 3-4 houses a year probably isn't going to help you much either. The biggest bang for your buck is to ensure your listing looks professional for the online shoppers, has plenty of eye catching signs for the drive buy people and is in front of as many people as you can afford to get it in front off. Traditional real estate agents will charge you 5-7% ($15,000 - $21,000) for the average home sale ($300,000 house in the Waterloo Wellington area). Discount agents will charge you 3-4.5% ($9,000 - $13,500). Exclusive listings usually run 2-2.5% ($6,000 - $7,500) but REALLY limit your exposure.
Selling privately with PropertyGuys.com gets you all the same exposure to buyers, including a listing on Realtor.ca, for under $2,000 for the average home seller. Could be less depending on what options you want, not the value of your house!
So if you are ready to jump in, say it "I'm ready and you're the one I want!"
M
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