Flat Fee Commissions Now $1 to Selling Broker

Is this the way that you would like to see homes sold in west Toronto?

While many are rubbing their hands with glee about the impending "savings" that will be available as soon as the Competition Bureau invokes the freedom for Providers of Listing Services to list your home on the MLS for a flat fee the lawyers are already hard at work.

You listed your property with a limited service brokerage; who for the sum of IE $199 , $399 or $799 uploaded your listing to the MLS system. They are responsible for nothing else.

You, in the course of your listing agreement were recommended to pay a selling brokerage commission, but hey, why bother, what do you need an agent for?

The Lawyers have been busy also.

Form 202 – Seller Commission Agreement with Co-operating Brokerage for a Listed Property

October 26, 2010 -- Please be advised that Standard Forms has developed a new form to assist Co-operating Brokerages where the Listing Brokerage has indicated in the Remarks to Brokerage field that you can contact the Seller directly for showings and to negotiate payment of commission.

If the listing so indicates, then the Co-operating Brokerage is at liberty to deal with the Seller directly and this form can be used before the showing to establish a commission payment from the Seller.

This form is now available in the REALTOR® STORE. It is also accessible through TorontoMLS and will be available on WEBForms™ as of the first week of November.

Here is a link to the form.

Now, Prior to showing your home, You and I, will need to have a face to face with each prospect that shows up at your door to show the house. My clients respect me enough to sign a buyers agency. They are paying for a service that is paid with funds funds they borrow as a mortgage to pay you and pay via the lawyers from the proceeds of the sale in the course of concluding a real estate transaction. The service that I provide is counsel; we discuss at length is this is the deal for them.

While the sellers are trying to save the commission; the Buyers are calling and asking if they can have the same commission rebated to them!

Its a wonderful house market in Toronto!