Video – For Sale by Owner franchises, what exactly are you paying for?
For sale by owner franchises (like The Property Guys or ByTheOwner) are not exactly in the business of real estate. They are advertising and marketing agencies whose product is likely your most valuable asset – your home. They are selling a product (sign, website) and sometimes a service (advice).
And that’s OK.
I just wanted to point out that they are not realtors and they do not have the same knowledge, licensing and liabilities of realtors.
Home selling franchises have flooded into that segment of the market where home sellers have always existed – those who want to sell their homes by themselves.
About 10-15% of homes sell privately.
Selling privately is about saving commission. That makes sense. We all understand that (even the buyer). Why pay a realtor thousands of dollars when you could spend $1833+HST (upfront) or less with a home selling franchise.
A visit to the Property Guys site reveals a couple things I don’t agree with.
They claim to be “Canada’s best online listing”. – But isn’t the MLS the best listing service?
With their more expensive packages, “Your listing never expires”. — But wouldn’t you want your home to sell in less than six months?
Those two, in particular, don’t make sense to me. And, I could go on about all the misleading information contained on their site, but as the Property Guys own site says “You’re not an idiot”. I’m sure you can see the benefits of a $5 sign from Canadian Tire and some free advice from your favorite uncle, over a dog and pony show.
There are some good tips in this video for private home sellers.
Keith Marshall is a Realtor with Prudential Grand Valley Realty, serving Kitchener Waterloo and Cambridge. If you’ve been trying to sell your home for 12 weeks and are thinking about hiring a professional realtor, please give me a call. You will save $500 with this special certificate of promise.
