Toronto Condos: Should You Hire A Real Estate Agent?

By Author: Robert Wilk
Total Articles: 41
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If you own a unit, can you really save if you undertake the marketing yourself rather than hiring a real estate agent who has the experience and network to sell Toronto condos? This is one of the most common misconceptions about listing: once you subtract the realtor’s commission, you are going to end up with the losing end of the stick. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Emotion vs business

First off, emotional attachment will get in the way of the owner setting up a fair price. So the owner tends to overlook the fair market value of the property with regards to location, floor area and design and end up quoting a higher price. Also, the owner is likely to be more choosy about the type of people he is willing to sell the unit to, just because he has already invested too much into the property—and not just on the furniture alone—that he wants to turn it over to what he thinks is the “right family” who will take care of the unit as he did. With all these considerations, it will take a long time for the condo space to be sold.

It might be harsh but finding buyers to scoop up Toronto condos for sale ...
... is a business decision. Keep your emotions out of it.

Do you have the expertise?

If you sell your unit on your own, there are numerous things you need to consider. You need to study the fair market value of your neighbourhood, consider the depreciation in relation to how old your condo is, prepare persuasive feelers, brochures and any other marketing tool, handle requests for info, create a property website or join the MLS where old and new condos are listed, review offers and bargain for a better deal. But that’s not all, you also need to know the legal and environmental requirements that cover disclosures, hire a lawyer to review and fine-tune the contract and most especially be available always when the client calls. That means you have to drop your work, leave the office maybe in the middle of a meeting and show your place to a prospective buyer.

Personal expenses

Aside from stress, you do need to fork some money for the advertising, legal and marketing costs. So when you compute the number of hours you put into the whole effort, plus the cost of the signs, posters and brochures, plus the number of months your unit is out in the market, can you really say that you will turn in a profit if you sell it on your own? If the profit is not upwards of $15,000, it’s much better to hire a real estate agent who trades Toronto condos for a living.

Robert J Wilk is an expert author and has written so many articles on toronto real estate and new condos toronto.