FAQ’s – Flat Fee – MLS® Listings – Mere Postings – FSBO In Canada?
Frequently Asked Questions
Canadians have lots of questions about the new rules that let people selling their own homes, otherwise known as for sale by owner (FSBO), get an MLS® listing and appear on the national real estate association’s public website REALTOR.ca without paying any agent commissions. Below we have some answers to popular questions.
What is a Flat Fee Listing, MLS® Listing or Mere Posting In Canada?
Simply put… it’s a property listing that is for sale by owner but advertised on REALTOR.ca (formerly MLS.ca or ICX.ca and affiliate IDX® sites, mobile sites and the REALTOR.ca smart phone app), on behalf of the private seller via a listing on a real estate Board’s MLS® System for a flat fee and with none of the any traditional REALTOR® services or commissions!
I heard private sellers can’t list directly on REALTOR.ca (MLS®). How do you make this happen?
We’ve partnered with progressive licensed Real Estate Posting Brokerages who are members of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®), believe in fairness and have chosen to operate as a posting brokerage that fulfills a “Mere Posting” service on behalf of private sellers like you. In part because the competition bureau help open up the rules. A “Mere Posting” is the technical name given to a listing posted on the MLS® system that appears on REALTOR.ca but is for sale by owner not by an agent.
What area do you cover? What if my town is small or property is rural can I still can on REALTOR.ca?
We can help advertise properties on REALTOR.ca for homes located in Ontario, Quebec, British Colombia, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. This is always subject to changing industry regulations and our supporting licensed brokerages. Local board coverage includes TREB (Toronto Real Estate Board), WREB (Winnipeg Real Estate Board) and GMREB (Greater Montreal Real Estate Board).
Can you have your property appear on the on the REALTOR.ca website without going through a REALTOR®?
No, but according to the new Consent Agreement between the Canadian Real Estate Association and the Competition Bureau, the public can post their property on MLS® when dealing with a REALTOR®, or in our case, a posting brokerage that is a member of a local real estate board and therefore has access to the MLS® system and REALTOR.ca. In other words, you still need a REALTOR® or Brokerage to officially post it to the MLS® system on your behalf and that listing is now technically called a “mere posting” meaning that the agent does not represent you in the sale of the property and it’s still officially “for sale by owner”.
How much commission will I pay to list with FlatFee4me?
There is no commission. We simply charge a flat advertising fee (depending on your location) based on the marketing services provided. The fee is based on our cost of posting your property on a local real estate board plus the logistics associated with advertising your property and distributing it across our network to additional sites like: HomeSalez.com Canada’s private sale real estate classifieds network! Kijiji.ca, Craigslist.org, Trovit.ca, Vast.com and other partners and to social media giants Facebook.com, Twitter.com and Pinterest.com
Can you make changes to the listing once it is advertised on REALTOR.ca?
Yes, changes of all kinds are allowed. Changes usually take 48 hours to process and must be requested via our MLS® change request form in your dashboard.
Should I let other agents show my property?
Sure why not, the property is being posted on MLS® so other agents will see it too, and while it is unlikely that a REALTOR® will want to show your home to a buyer (unless you are offer some cooperation incentive to a buyers agent), you must allow REALTORS® to show your home if they ask permission to do so. If you decide you want to work with local REALTORS® in selling your property you must be willing to pay them a fair fee for their work. That fee is to be negotiated directly between the seller and the agent that has brought an acceptable offer. In most cases you may not be offering any incentive to a buyers agent so you would be offering only $1 as a commission (it’s a technical requirement because it can’t be zero).
Can we show our contact information on the listing?
No. Nowhere on the REALTOR.ca posting can the contact information of the seller appear. On the front end we can provide a link from the REALTOR.ca listing directly back to your “home-base” posting on the FlatFee4me.ca website where you are free to publish the contact information, photos, private website address and any other information you might have related to the private sale including any buyers agent incentives.
Our unique jump link system can also link the buyer from REALTOR.ca to your own FSBO website if you have one.
Can you post an Open House message on REALTOR.ca?
No, this is a service option that is only available by full service REALTORS®. However, sellers can flag their home-base listing on FlatFee4me.ca as having an “Open House” from within their dashboard. Interested buyers will end up on your FlatFee4me.ca listing anyway.
How many pictures can I post on my REALTOR.ca listing?
Several pictures are allowed. Most real estate boards allow 10 photographs, some more. Photographs must be standard JPEG quality. We recommend one good photo to help drive traffic from the REALTOR.ca to FlatFee4me.ca (where you can post up to 30) for direct questions and contact. If you have your own website, place as many photos as you like on it and your website address can also be posted on your FlatFee4me.ca home-base listing along with details for direct questions and contact.
Why in some cases do you ask for a copy of our Assessment Property Valuation Information?
We need to be sure we have accurate information on the property. Errors in property details are not acceptable on REALTOR.ca. The easiest way to do this is to extract the information from the government supplied form.
How long does the listing process take?
We rely on documents being completed by you, verification and checking of details of certain information provided and finally scrutiny by the local Real Estate Board. That being said it’s roughly 48 hours after everything been submitted. You will be emailed when it’s live and can also can check your dashboard.
Will my phone number appear on REALTOR.ca?
No. Nowhere on the REALTOR.ca posting can the contact information of the seller appear. We provide a link from your REALTOR.ca listing to your home-base posting on FlatFee4me.ca where you can publish the contact information and any other information like your private website address if you have one. Our unique jump link system can also link the buyer from REALTOR.ca to your own FSBO website if you have one.
How will my listing appear on REALTOR.ca?
The posting of your property is exactly the same as if it was completed by a full service REALTOR® Similar forms are used and the information is subject to the scrutiny of the real estate board and its MLS® rules. The forms basically indicate that you are not represented by a REALTOR® and are selling privately.
How are incoming leads or offers handled?
There are three types of buyer inquiries you can expect to receive.
1) Those that come from a local REALTOR® will be handled in the normal manner where a realtor will call you, arrange a showing, visit your property with the potential buyer and if an offer is forthcoming it will be presented to you by the REALTOR®.
2) In the case that a member of the public is interested they will contact you directly via your FlatFee4me.ca listing (email or phone), arrange for a showing and if they want to make an offer they will do so through directly with you.
3) In the case where a potential buyer does not want to deal directly with a seller we will assist the buyer by referring them to a local associate REALTOR® (buyer agent) who will arrange the showing, visit the property with the potential buyer and meet you while viewing the property. If they are interested in making an offer to buy the property, the local realtor will do that for them and negotiate a commission for his or her services and deal with the offer in the normal manner.
Can I Post My Rental Property?
Yes, we can post long term rentals on MLS® and REALTOR.ca
How Much Are The Agent Commissions?
0% through FlatFee4me.ca, we only charge you a flat adverting fee and the rate depends on your location Click here to see flat fee packages in your area. We also have a quick real estate commission calculator you can use to calculate the cost / savings associated with agent commission fees.
I Run A For Sale By Owner Classifieds Website, Can You List My Clients On MLS® too?
Yes, we have a few partner programs based on either preferred pricing and/or lead affiliate based compensation. Contact us for more info. This extends to mortgage brokers, classified ad publishers and other FSBO site operators. Our unique jump link system can help direct buyers off REALTOR.ca onto your own website or your clients website/ad.
Do You Offer B2B or Wholesale Packages?
Yes, we have bulk listing partner options for new home builders and have REALTORS® that use our unique jump system to manage their mere posting clients. Contact us for more info.