Selling a home is more than a sign on the lawn and an ad in the paper. By learning more about the home selling process and relying on the expertise of a REALTOR®, you can meet your goals of saving time, energy and money.

There are many critical decisions to be made regarding the sale of your home that impact your ability to meet those goals: pricing, chattels, possession date, documents, reports, marketing, showing the house, qualifying potential buyers, negotiating and completing the sale.

REALTORS® have developed very specific market information not available to the average consumer. Their experience, knowledge of market conditions and access to market data and buyers will enhance and expedite the transaction.

Working With A REALTOR®

A good REALTOR® can be an invaluable resource advising you on asking price, preparations for showing, a marketing strategy, various costs, and negotiating satisfactory terms of sale when appropriate for your needs.

Keeping in mind that the needs of each seller and property is unique, your REALTOR® may provide some of the following services to assist you in selling your home:

• Prepare a Comparative Market Analysis —a list of similar homes sold in your area— to advise you on your home's market value.
• List your house through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®), a database of properties for sale shared by over 2,500 REALTOR®S in the Edmonton region.
• Advertise your home, including world-wide exposure on the Internet at www.mls.ca; hold open houses and show your home.
• Advise you on how to prepare your property for sale; particularly to enhance those all important “first impressions.”
• Research his or her own buyers for a possible match for your property.
• Advise you on offers you receive.
• Negotiate the sales contract including price, possession date and chattels.

Marketing Your Home

Your REALTOR® works with the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®), a comprehensive database of properties for sale in the greater Edmonton region used to bring buyers and sellers together. Properties are indexed by price, location, type of home, number of bedrooms, amenities, and so on.

Once listed on MLS®, your home will be advertised on the Internet at mls.ca. Your REALTOR® also has access to the Real Estate Weekly, a real estate newspaper published by the Edmonton Real Estate Board and distributed throughout the greater Edmonton area. Your REALTOR® will also discuss the value of other strategies to promote the sale of your home, such as a "For Sale" sign, flyers, open houses, showings, etc.

The power of MLS® gives your REALTOR® the ability to network with other local REALTOR®S to find out if they have potential buyers.

Before your home is shown to prospective buyers, your REALTOR® can recommend ways to get your home ready for sale.

Listing Your Property

Now that you have selected a REALTOR®, you will discuss and sign a Listing Contract to include your home for sale on the Multiple Listing Service. MLS® is a co-operative marketing system used by all members of the EREB to match buyers with properties for sale.

The Listing Contract will include:

• The price of the property.
• The address and legal description of the property.
• The existing financing arrangements.
• A list of chattels, unattached items, that will be included in the sale.
• A list of fixtures— attached items— that will not be included.
• The commission amount.
• The expiry date of the listing contract.
• An explanation of agency relationship.
• A REALTOR® generally works on a commission basis and only receives payment upon the sale of your home. The commission can be a percentage of the total sale or a flat rate— this is entirely negotiable between you and your REALTOR®.

Besides covering the costs of marketing your home, your REALTOR® must share the commission fee with the real estate agency for which he or she works as well as the buyer's REALTOR®, if there is one.

Offer to Purchase

All the work keeping your house in ‘showhome’ condition has paid off. Your REALTOR® called to say an offer has been made to purchase your home. The interested buyer has prepared a written offer on a standard form called the Real Estate Purchase Contract.

• Your REALTOR® must present you with all written offers. If you receive several at one time, you are under no obligation to accept one over the other.
• When you receive an offer, you can accept it, refuse it, or make a counter-offer to the buyers, with the changes you want.
• An offer usually contains ‘subject clauses’ that the buyer needs to remove by a specific date. A subject clause is a special condition that must be met before the sale can take place. For example, a buyer may want to have a home inspection done before they commit to the sale. Once the subjects are removed and you've signed the offer, it becomes legally binding.

The Purchase Contract will specify a completion day for the sale.

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