The popular attitude among home sellers these days is that hiring Scarborough real estate agents to help with the sale is a waste of money. Most people see realtors as middlemen who skim away a portion of your profits in exchange for doing almost nothing and that a seller would be much better off selling the home themselves. But the fact of the matter is that realtors do work for their commission, whether they're selling here in Halifax or elsewhere.
One of the most important things that Toronto real estate agents do for a home seller is advertise the property in more venues and media types than the seller could possibly manage on their own. With the backing of a whole office and a Blackberry full of contacts, your realtor will have your home listed in every newspaper, supplement, website, listing service, and park bench that they can find. To do all this yourself would require a considerable amount of time and money.
Another major advantage that Vaughan real estate agents offer you is that they deal with buyers on your behalf, including during negotiations. Where most people would balk at pushing a buyer or ruthlessly pursuing a good deal, a professional negotiator knows it's all about business and is able to act in your best interests - even when you can't. You'll have veto power over every move that is made, so you don't even have to work about your realtor getting too big for his britches.
As a private seller, you'd also have to make yourself available at any time of day to show a potential buyer around your Toronto condos. This can be very difficult if you have a job, go to school, look after children, or just have an active social life. Luckily, handling home tours is part of how an agent earns her commission. Plus there's the added bonus that buyers are more comfortable poking around and voicing opinions when the current owner isn't there.
For all this work plus the handling of all the paperwork, real estate agents earn their keep according to standard commission rates. For most homes on the Stouffville real estate listings, owners pay about 5% off the sale price of the home for the services of both their realtor and the buyer's realtor, which amounts to about 2.5% for each agent. Rates may be a little higher or lower depending on the market and the individual agent.
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