Do you want to get the most money for your home?

So you decided to “smart size”.  The beautiful home you raised your family in has become too big.  It makes more sense to sell it and move into a smaller, yet comfortable, place so you can begin to enjoy the next phase of your life.  Maybe you want to travel, maybe you want to move into a retirement residence.

How can you make sure you hire the right realtor – a good realtor, one who can get you the most money for your home?

Well, you could ask friends or family members who had positive experiences with realtors to recommend someone; you could use Google to find a neighbourhood “specialist”; you could even search the Internet for advice on how to choose a realtor.

Whatever method you choose, you should keep in mind that the most common complaint registered by the Toronto Real Estate Board is that “the agent promised the sun and the moon but is doing nothing.”  However, TREB has no power to cancel a listing agreement.

So, it would be wise to choose a realtor carefully in the first place.

Forget about “neighbourhood specialists”.  What you want is a passionate agent, someone willing to do the following:

• Write a marketing plan for a successful sale


• Attach the written plan to the Listing Agreement in form of a schedule that this way becomes a legal document, part of the agreement.


• Back up that schedule with a written guarantee signed by the Listing Broker.

Only then will you be safe, only then will you be able to cancel the Listing Agreement should the realtor neglect his or her obligations.

Common problems that may crop up during a real estate transaction

Stay tuned until next time, when I will take you behind the scenes and share with you some of the most common problems (there are more than 50!) that may crop up during a real estate transaction and jeopardize your deal.  Most important, how a good realtor may prevent or solve these problems.

by Rose Printz, B.Sc. Sales Representative, Royal LePage Partners Brokerage   www.soldbyrose.com