Showing your home to a potential buyer is an important step in the home selling process. Here are some steps to follow:

1. Clean and declutter your home: Before showing your home, make sure it is clean and free of clutter. This will help your home look more appealing to potential buyers.
2. Make any necessary repairs: If there are any minor repairs that need to be done, such as fixing a leaky faucet or replacing a light bulb, make sure they are taken care of before showing your home.
3. Stage your home: Consider hiring a professional stager or staging your home yourself to make it more appealing to potential buyers. This might involve rearranging furniture, adding some decorative items or artwork, or making small upgrades to the decor. Removing items in your home can be more effective than adding new ones.
4. Set the stage: Make sure your home is well-lit (turn on every light in the home) and smells fresh. Open the curtains and blinds to let in natural light, and consider lighting some candles, open windows or use a light air freshener to create a pleasant aroma.
5. Ensure the potential buyer has reviewed your listing, including photos and VR tour. This helps eliminate tire kickers or buyers who are looking for something that your home simply doesn’t offer.
6. Multiple Showings: Feel free to schedule multiple showings at one time. This is efficient for you as a seller and creates a sense of urgency when buyers know that others are interested in your property.
7. Make yourself available to show your home to potential buyers at a time that is convenient for them & you. You may need to be flexible with your schedule to accommodate their needs.
8. People don’t sell homes; homes sell homes. When showing your home, invite the buyer to take their time and let them walk through the home on their own. This allows the buyers space to immerse themselves in the thoughts or discussions of them potentially purchasing the property and creating their home there.
9. Be honest about any issues or limitations of the property.
10. Provide the potential buyer with any additional information they may consider valuable, such as the age of appliances or any recent upgrades or repairs.
11. Follow up with the potential buyer (or realtor ®) to answer any additional questions they may have and to gauge their interest in the property.

I’m selling with ComFree – how do I deal with Agents? 

If you’re selling with ComFree, you chose to save commissions, keep control of the sale and make your real estate experience better.  Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise! 

Even if you are using ComFree, some buyers insist on using an agent to purchase a home. This is their decision, and not yours. As such, buyers who come with an agent should expect to pay more than a buyer who comes direct with no agent.

Here are some things to keep in mind when contacted by an agent with a prospective buyer:

1. When speaking with an agent, make sure you let them know upfront that you’re selling your home with ComFree and you’re not interested in paying full commissions.
2. There are a few options for how to negotiate with agents:

• You could tell them what your bottom line is and anything above that number can be paid as a commission.  This may mean the buyer has to offer full asking price for the home.
• You could let the agent know that you will pay a flat fee of $x if they bring a buyer with an acceptable offer.
• You can tell the agent that you have priced your home without factoring in any commission and since the buyer decided to use an agent, they will have to be responsible for any buyers agent commissions owed from the sale. 
• In the event that you built in a full 3.5%/1.5% buyers commission into your asking price, this allows you flexibility to work with a buyers agent AND give you the opportunity to be more flexible with an unrepresented buyer where you can both benefit without paying any commissions.

3.  Be professional and  courteous.  Remember that licensed associates are just trying to do their job; you are also trying to sell your home as quickly as possible while keeping as much equity in your pocket.

Agent Myths

What if an agent says they can get me more money?

If anyone tells you that they can get you more money for your home than you could get on your own, that’s simply not true.  Why would a buyer pay more because a house is listed with a different brokerage on REALTOR.ca? All ComFree listings are marketed in the same place as they would be with any brokerage including MLS and REALTOR.ca. Also, it is against the code of conduct for an agent to solicit a seller who is already listed on the MLS  

What if an agent says I need a real estate agent to help me set my asking price?

An agent’s “Free Evaluation” is not free when they charge you an average of $19,000 in commissions.** ComFree offers decent sales which you can use in conjunction with doing a few minutes of market research on your own.  Additionally, ComFree works with a preferred Licensed Appraisal firm, who can complete a desktop appraisal of your home for only $197+GST.  (Remember, buyer financing is based on appraised value, not a Realtor’s market evaluation).

I was told I might make a mistake on the contract and potentially lose my home – is this true? 

Whether you sell through an agent or ComFree, a lawyer is the professional who looks after the entire transaction.  ComFree’s partner law firm will help you and/or your buyer with the Offer to Purchase free of charge.  Additionally, ComFree clients have the benefit of FREE legal review of their contract by our preferred lawyer. *  It’s called the Worry-Free Offer to Purchase Program.  It’s FREE, and it’s exclusive to ComFree!

*Consumers are free to chose a professional of their choice.

** Based on 7/3 split on $475,000 sale price.

At ComFree, we are truly passionate about helping buyers and sellers on their real estate journey in an easy, simple, smooth and straightforward way. We believe that by empowering our customers to feel confident selling or buying a home, we can create a powerful movement of capable people saving money while taking back control of the process. Providing knowledge and know-how through our accessible platform supports our customers, while transparent accountability and service-first mindset guides them every step of the way.

1. Consider being Pre-Qualified by a Mortgage Professional: Prior to making a formal Offer to Purchase, it is in your and the seller’s best interest that you be pre-approved for a mortgage.
2. Find a home you love! Once you have found a property online, tour the home with the digital walk-thru and photos. You may simply contact the seller directly via ComFree.com or the email or phone number listed on the ad to arrange a viewing.
3. Schedule a showing: Once you’ve reviewed the listing in detail including photos, virtual tour and listing info and believe you’ve found your dream home, you may connect with the seller to set a specific day and time, and please be sure to keep your meeting time. If you are unable to make it, or will be late more than 15 minutes, please give a courtesy call to the seller
4.  Fill out the required information on the form and our preferred lawyer will review it free of charge.  A lawyer will look after your best interests offering you the best protection you can get. It is in your and the seller’s best interest to have the offer reviewed or prepared by a lawyer.** If you don’t feel comfortable filling out the offer to purchase form yourself, Edmonton Law Office LLP, will help you with the preparation FREE of CHARGE. Once the seller accepts your offer, Edmonton Law Office will assist you with the closing of the purchase at a preferred ComFree rate of only $799 (+ GST & disbursements).**   If you are not able to reach an agreeable price with the seller, there is no charge for using the service, so there is no risk. This is a hassle and worry-free experience for you! Remember, no one is better qualified to answer your legal questions and protect your interests than a legal professional. A lawyer is not looking for a real estate commission. You will need a lawyer to complete the transaction anyway, so it makes good sense to have the same lawyer advise you from the beginning.   No Commissions (Unless buyer is represented by an agent). No Hassle!
5. Completing the offer: At this point the seller has the option of accepting, rejecting, or countering your offer. The seller will have a certain amount of time (as specified in the offer) to consider your offer, and they will likely take that time.If the seller counters your offer, the offer will be returned to you with the seller’s amendments noted. You will then have the time specified in the counter to either accept, reject, or counter again. It’s ok to mark up the offer to purchase, the closing documents will be prepared by the lawyer reflecting everything that is in the offer to purchase.  Once the offer is accepted and signed by both parties, you (the buyer) should deliver the offer and a deposit cheque to the seller’s lawyer. The deposit cheque should be made out in-trust to the seller’s lawyer which can be found on the Offer to Purchase you downloaded. If the offer is rejected, there is nothing further required from you end.  To save money sellers may also use Edmonton Law Office LLP to handle their sale.

Questions not answered here can be directed to Edmonton Law Office. They are happy to help! Contact Edmonton Law Office: Reach them via email at realestate@edmontonlawoffice.ca or by phone 780-784-6666.

Need More?

We are here for you 7 days a week! Contact one of our customer care specialists or live chat with us online for more information! You can call us at 1-877-297-1188.

Contact Us:

We’re flexible–online or in-person. Much of this can be done via oldsite.ComFree.com, email, chat, or phone. Don’t forget to tell the lawyer that you are buying through ComFree to get your discounted rate

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NOTES: Customers are free to choose a professional of their choice.  Buyers and Sellers are encouraged to seek independent legal advice.  If you are under a buyers agreement consent with your agent.