nandito
New Member
I hear a lot of talk about people using flat-fee listings in these forums but can't seem to find a reliable one for myself.
Does anyone know of such a service in Ontario?
Does anyone know of such a service in Ontario?
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Where are the flat-fee MLS listing services?
- Thread starter nandito
- Start date
aguduser
A part of UT
I came across one on the web:
Flat Fee Anthony
http://flatfeeanthony.com/flat-fee-listing/
I don't know the quality of his service though, but he seems very active on his website.
Flat Fee Anthony
http://flatfeeanthony.com/flat-fee-listing/
I don't know the quality of his service though, but he seems very active on his website.
kalaso
New Member
You need to understand the calculation. Basically, he charges you 1% of the selling price if your property is only sold by him otherwise you need to pay his 1% commission and additional 2.5% commission for buyer's agent in total you'll pay 3.5%. The 3.5% or 4% listing commission is very standard in the market.
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nandito
New Member
yeah, i remember when i did the math, flat fee anthony ends up costing you the standard 1-2% on a property worth 300k. his service would only make sense if you were selling properties worth 500k or more.
i've stumbled into a few sites that are based off of the US and claim to be able to list in Ontario but not sure if it legit though.
i've stumbled into a few sites that are based off of the US and claim to be able to list in Ontario but not sure if it legit though.
movieguy
New Member
Do you mean 1% of 300k is much less than 500k, so for 300k, alternative methods such as private selling should be more strongly considered? I agree with that.
But his fees are tailored to be a little less than 1%, which is below other agents, so whether your property was 300k, 500k, or 2 million, his fee is still less than that of other agents.
Whether you use flat fee anthony or not, please read the conditions. There are agents who do it for .25%, but they require you to sign a buyer's agency agreement (meaning, you have to buy with them). Most agents advertising the standard 1% require the buyer agency agreement to get that rate, so it is not standard. There are also agents who do it for $500, but it is paid upfront whether you find a buyer, and it just gives you an MLS listing. Essentially, you are paying for an MLS listing.
Anthony has none of these conditions. If your house doesn't sell, you don't pay, and he doesn't make you sign a buyer agreement. That's really where he differs.
Not applicable unless they have a license in Ontario. Flat fee or discount realty services are nothing new. All the talk about the recent ruling is chest-pounding. Consider that company "flat fee realty" - they've been offering as low as 2.75% (with buyer agreement) for a while now, so the argument that CREA was stifling discount brokerages, is absolutely false. What the guy was really after was free access to the MLS, which what he did at the time was illegal. I wouldn't be surprised that a lot of the big US guys were backing his legal campaign and positive media spin, to gain access to the Canadian market.
As far as I know, the US sites don't apply to Canada. They may offer realty services, but the MLS listing is usually excluded, making them no different from other for-sale-by-owner's. Check flatfeeanthony.com or flatfeerealty, or even right-at-home
dpylyp
Active Member
flat fee brokers
When to provide a service, pay the rent, pay the staff, pay for the brick and sticks of the store front, make a profit, make provision for taxes, all to stay in business.
I have seen agents using cell phones as their contact business number and the "mail box" is full to accept appointments.
Another provides an email booking system, but neither responds to the email appt requests or telephone messages.
Some call back after 2 or 3 days when you leave messages. Some only call back after 6 PM. Your lawyer, banker, appraiser and inspector will love that one.
Like anything in life you get what you pay for.
There are many choices out there for different people.
When to provide a service, pay the rent, pay the staff, pay for the brick and sticks of the store front, make a profit, make provision for taxes, all to stay in business.
I have seen agents using cell phones as their contact business number and the "mail box" is full to accept appointments.
Another provides an email booking system, but neither responds to the email appt requests or telephone messages.
Some call back after 2 or 3 days when you leave messages. Some only call back after 6 PM. Your lawyer, banker, appraiser and inspector will love that one.
Like anything in life you get what you pay for.
There are many choices out there for different people.
yyzer
Senior Member
Truer words were never spoken...
nandito
New Member
dpylyp, please, save me the propaganda. i'm just trying to find a service that caters to my specific needs.
movieguy, thanks for sharing the knowledge, i never got as far into it to realise the low commission rates were backed by buyer's agency agreement.
its true, i am looking for a service that will list on MLS for $ 500 be it upfront.
movieguy, thanks for sharing the knowledge, i never got as far into it to realise the low commission rates were backed by buyer's agency agreement.
its true, i am looking for a service that will list on MLS for $ 500 be it upfront.
Muskoka Agent
New Member
you get what you pay for
As a full time REALTOR I travel over 60,000 kilometers per year servicing Sellers and Buyers (that means I replace my car every 3 years due to excessive wear and tear). You do get what you pay and the less commission you pay the lower selling price you get as a rule of thumb. Is it worth it to save a few thousand when it might cost you several more in sale price? Do not forget that out of what you pay me comes my licencing fees, brokerage fees, income tax, insurance fees, mls access, prospect management, etc. We do not get what you give us but much less at the end of the day. As a Top Producer I make a decent living but I am available to clients and prospects 24/7 and it is not unusual to be woken up in the middle of the night to discuss an issue with a foreign buyer. Some day I see the Buyer paying for the services up front that are currently paid for by the Seller. If you had to pay me a retainer to look for a property that was based on a per hour basis as well as per service I would bet that you would take less time to purchase than the average Buyer today. I perform over 200 functions during an average sale or purchase. Most fisbo's do not close due to complications at closing that a REALTOR would be available to iron out. I have many times given a free Comparative Market Analyisis to a Seller only to have them list privately for the price that I had provided to them plus add in 10% above this, only to have them come back to me several months later to list it at the market value of the then current economic time. When our services evolve into a fee per service I will offer mls access for a flat fee (but everything else will have a price on it also) as well as full service. I understand the general public misconceptions about our services-they hear about the part timers who make large amounts of money for little work, or the quick turn over of a property but in reality the part timers only get business from friends and relatives and if your property sells quickly it was beacause your agent had been working for a while with the buyer building a relationship of trust and consumer education to make it happen. P.S The average income of an agent is about $37,000 per year. There are good and bad agents in real estate just as there are good and bad employees in any profession.
As a full time REALTOR I travel over 60,000 kilometers per year servicing Sellers and Buyers (that means I replace my car every 3 years due to excessive wear and tear). You do get what you pay and the less commission you pay the lower selling price you get as a rule of thumb. Is it worth it to save a few thousand when it might cost you several more in sale price? Do not forget that out of what you pay me comes my licencing fees, brokerage fees, income tax, insurance fees, mls access, prospect management, etc. We do not get what you give us but much less at the end of the day. As a Top Producer I make a decent living but I am available to clients and prospects 24/7 and it is not unusual to be woken up in the middle of the night to discuss an issue with a foreign buyer. Some day I see the Buyer paying for the services up front that are currently paid for by the Seller. If you had to pay me a retainer to look for a property that was based on a per hour basis as well as per service I would bet that you would take less time to purchase than the average Buyer today. I perform over 200 functions during an average sale or purchase. Most fisbo's do not close due to complications at closing that a REALTOR would be available to iron out. I have many times given a free Comparative Market Analyisis to a Seller only to have them list privately for the price that I had provided to them plus add in 10% above this, only to have them come back to me several months later to list it at the market value of the then current economic time. When our services evolve into a fee per service I will offer mls access for a flat fee (but everything else will have a price on it also) as well as full service. I understand the general public misconceptions about our services-they hear about the part timers who make large amounts of money for little work, or the quick turn over of a property but in reality the part timers only get business from friends and relatives and if your property sells quickly it was beacause your agent had been working for a while with the buyer building a relationship of trust and consumer education to make it happen. P.S The average income of an agent is about $37,000 per year. There are good and bad agents in real estate just as there are good and bad employees in any profession.
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cdr108
Senior Member
is that take home pay after income taxes and all the 'work related' deductions like car payments/insurance/gas, business entertainment expenses, etc that are not deductible by those not considered self-employed but would otherwise pay for with after-tax income?
MadMax
Active Member
On my last condo sale I had an agreement with an agent, 5% commission and all of the supposed services you've mentioned above. Needless to say, she decided to go on vacation to Mexico and didn't leave my file with any of her collegues (because of her greed) just in case a deal was coming through. Well, I ended up pretty much closing the deal myself! I was the one negotiating with the other agent, and I did a pretty good job if I say so myself. Just shows you how greedy some agents can be, and lucky for me I'm a purchasing agent by profession and my negotiation skills are top notch! I'm not saying all agents are this disfunctional, but I guess I came across a bad apple! Btw....she didn't even share the commision, not even a box of chocolates!
Muskoka Agent
New Member
cdr 108- $37,000 is Gross before expenses of the average agent. In this business like any other you "reap what you sow". The 10% who are Top Producers are not here by accident. We are here because of a very high level of service and ethics. We are committed to our profession and to our "clients". In this business we are independent contractors that work with in a Brokerage. We are responsible for all of our expenses to run our business including all vehicle costs, desk fees, brokerage fees, advertising and branding costs, errors and ommission insurance, CPP (both the employer and employee amounts), etc. It is not uncommon for a Top Producer to have a commitment of upwards of $70,000 for advertising, desk fees, etc for an operating year. These costs are paid regardless if we make a commission of any kind. And if the economy tanks.....we are still on the hook. As an independent contractor we are not eligible to collect unemployment insurance. We wake up every day with the motivation that we are unemployed and that we have to find, nurture and provide a service to the public that we do not get paid for unless we produce. Not everyone we meet will buy or sell but money will still be spent.
As for MadMax we are required by ethics and law to leave our business in the hands of another agent for client servicing. You should have complained to her Broker and then to RECO if you were not satisfied. I do not understand how you dealt with the Buyer's Agent directly as he would have been required to contact your agent's broker to present the Offer in her abscence as the listing is the property of the brokerage and not any one individual agent. The brokerage responsabilities would have been outlined in your Agency Agreement signed at the time of listing of which you have a legal obligation to read them and ask questions if you do not understand anything contained in it. It sounds like both the listing and selling agents acted improperly to me based on what you have provided, but there may be other info that you did not provide that would explain some of the circumstances and the actions that followed.
As for MadMax we are required by ethics and law to leave our business in the hands of another agent for client servicing. You should have complained to her Broker and then to RECO if you were not satisfied. I do not understand how you dealt with the Buyer's Agent directly as he would have been required to contact your agent's broker to present the Offer in her abscence as the listing is the property of the brokerage and not any one individual agent. The brokerage responsabilities would have been outlined in your Agency Agreement signed at the time of listing of which you have a legal obligation to read them and ask questions if you do not understand anything contained in it. It sounds like both the listing and selling agents acted improperly to me based on what you have provided, but there may be other info that you did not provide that would explain some of the circumstances and the actions that followed.
nandito
New Member
why is every request for flat-fee services on these forums bombarded by real estate agents trying to justify their services? seriously, this thread is not about the logistics, its very specific to what the topic says. i will urge you guys to stay on topic.
please take your garb and open a thread somewhere else.
please take your garb and open a thread somewhere else.
cmcint01
Active Member
37,000 a year????
If you only make $37,000 in real estate in toronto - you need to look at another career. last year which was considered a slow year - my very good friend made $200,000 and yes he worked his bitt off but made money.
If you only make $37,000 in real estate in toronto - you need to look at another career. last year which was considered a slow year - my very good friend made $200,000 and yes he worked his bitt off but made money.
Muskoka Agent
New Member
$37,000 a year
He cmcint01-If you read my post I was referring to the average agent's (90% of agents) income. I make reference that I am a Top Producer (10%). I was proving a point that our income is based on the amount of effort and financial resources that we put back into our profession in order to be sucessful. Also my handle should identify that I sell in another area other than Toronto.
He cmcint01-If you read my post I was referring to the average agent's (90% of agents) income. I make reference that I am a Top Producer (10%). I was proving a point that our income is based on the amount of effort and financial resources that we put back into our profession in order to be sucessful. Also my handle should identify that I sell in another area other than Toronto.