0.5% Commissions | MLS® | myrealty.ca | Searchable Content Display

What is a latent defect?

Frequently referred to as a hidden defect, a latent defect is a physical deficiency, construction defect, or impairment in the use of a property not readily ascertained from a reasonable inspection of the property, such as a defective septic tank or under ground sewage system, improper plumbing or electrical lines, or property-specific zoning or environmental protection measures. Conversly, a patent defect is readily discernable to the untrained eye.

Latent defects are an exception to the principle of caveat emptor ("let the buyer beware") and must be disclosed to potential buyers, or otherwise be liable to the buyer for the costs of repairing the defect when it is discovered.

myrealty.ca will act for you only if all material latent defects have been disclosed to potential buyers and myrealty.ca.

If you are uncertain as to whether a defect is "material" or "latent", our advice is to disclose all defects to potential buyers, no matter how small or clearly visible. Full disclosure will result in a faster sale and often a higher price. This is because any defect likely will have already been factored into your pricing and buyers value the added certainty of full disclosure.

How do I determine my asking price?

Every home is unique so no one can say with certainty what a home's correct asking price is.

The best way to determine your asking price is to think like a buyer: when you bought your home, you probably looked at several homes with similar features: location, size, bedrooms, bathrooms, amenities, etc. You then determined that only a few of the homes available offered 'good' value and so you discarded the other homes as possibilities. Eventually you bought one of these homes.

To determine your asking price, get to know what your home's competition is. Visit REALTOR.ca and open houses in your neighbourhood. Talk to your neighbours. With all this information in hand, make a list of your competition's features and compare that to your own home's features. You should start to get a clear sense of where your home would be valued by most buyers. Pick an asking price at the upper end of this value range. Make sure your asking price is high enough to leave you some room to negotiate but not so high that your property is never considered seriously by buyers.

How long is my home listed with myrealty.ca?

The term of your listing contract with myrealty.ca will initially be set at 67 days.

The 67 day initial term is based on your local board's MLS® system which has a 60 day minimum listing term and myrealty.ca's need to have a one week buffer to ensure listings are accepted by your local board's MLS® system.

At anytime during your listing with myrealty.ca, you can add up to 60 additional days to the term of your listing without cost. (For clarity, the maximum listing term possible with myrealty.ca is 127 days.)

Please note that we will not re-list your home if your listing expires.

Of the people who used myrealty.ca successfully during the years 2005 to 2007, 73% of these people were successful during the intial 67 day term and 90% were successful within 127 days. (The policy to restrict the term of a listing to a maximum of 127 days came in to effect in 2008.) Please see: How long will it take for my home to sell?.

Should I offer commission?

myrealty.ca lets you choose the amount of commission offered to other agents to help sell your home through your local board's MLS® system in any amount from $1 and up on either a flat fee or percentage-of-selling-price basis. If your home is sold without another agent involved, you only pay myrealty.ca's 0.5% commission.

The decision to offer a commission to other agents will depend on your financial circumstances and personal preferences. For example, if you have little or no equity in your home and don't have other financial resources sufficient to pay a commission, you should only offer the minimum commission of $1.

If you decide to offer a $1 commission, please bear in mind that other real estate agents may not try to help sell your home and you will be relying entirely on REALTOR.ca to attract a buyer.

To see the commission offered and paid by other myrealty.ca clients, please see Selling or Co-operating Broker Commissions - Paid and Offered.

If you decide to offer commission to other agents, please see How much commission should I offer?.

How much commission should I offer?

There are no 'set' industry commission rates - commission rates are negotiable.

Having said that, common commission rates for home re-sales in Ontario are 5%, in Alberta 6% for the first $100,000 and 3% on the balance, and in BC 7% for the first $100,000 and 2.5% on the balance of the selling price.

In order to help sell a home, agents typically offer half of the common commission described above to other agents to find a buyer for a home. This offer of commission is made through your local board's MLS® system and is referred to as either the "selling commssion" or "co-op commission".

myrealty.ca allows you to specify the amount of commission myrealty.ca offers to other agents. This amount is in addition to our 0.5% commission.

myrealty.ca clients typically follow one of four strategies:
1. Offer $1 and rely on your asking price and REALTOR.ca exposure to sell your home.
2. Offer less than the common amount of selling commission and negotiate if an agent wants more money to sell your home.
3. Offer the common amount of selling commission.
4. Offer a "bonus" amount of commission so that agents have more motivation to sell your home.

When deciding on the amount of selling commission you are going to offer formally through your local board's MLS® system, please bear in mind that myrealty.ca has a policy of not allowing the amount of selling commission offered to be reduced unless an agent brings you an offer for less than your full asking price and agrees to a commission reduction in writing to make the sale. Please see Can I change my selling commission?.

The amount of selling commission you offer will affect the time it takes to sell and the amount of money you receive.

If the amount of selling commission you offer is not competitive with other homes for sale in your area, agents will have less incentive to sell your home. This can result in a longer selling time.

To see the selling commission offered and paid by other myrealty.ca clients, please see Selling or Co-operating Broker Commissions - Paid and Offered.

How do other agents know that I am offering selling commission?

You can offer selling commission to agents either formally through your local board's MLS® system or informally by letting agents know the amount of commission you are prepared to pay to them if they sell your home when they call. If you offer an agent's selling commission formally through your local board's MLS® system, this amount is clearly marked on the listing contract and advertised to other agents through your local board's MLS® system. Agents read the advertised amount of selling commission carefully. They may decide not to call you or show your property if they believe the amount of commission advertised through your local board's MLS® system is too low.

Please note that once you decide to offer selling commission formally through your local board's MLS® system, myrealty.ca has a policy of not allowing the selling commission offered to be reduced.

Will agents help try to sell my home or will I get blacklisted?

Cooperating agents are an important part of our success: 56% of myrealty.ca's listings are sold by other agents.

We believe that real estate agents have a role to play in helping you sell your home. We also believe that you should have a choice in what that role should be. If you hear things like "we only deal with local real estate agents" or "we only deal with full-service brokers", aside from likely breaching the Canadian Real Estate Association's Code of Ethics and Standards of Business Practice, there is a simple technique to use to find out if indeed your listing has been 'blacklisted': ask the person making such claims to tell you which comparable homes have been sold during the term of your listing with myrealty.ca where the buyer did not consider your home. What you will find is that buyers do not care who the listing agent is.

Our experience has been that if you offer a competitive selling commission, agents will help sell your home.

How long does it take to have a home listed on my local board’s MLS® system?

It depends on which province your home is in and which aspect of the MLS® you are interested in: REALTOR.ca where your home is advertised to the general public; and your local board's MLS® system where your selling commission is advertised to other agents. The time it takes for each by province is as follows:

               REALTOR.ca         Your local board's MLS® system

Alberta     2 business days     6 business days^1.
BC           5 business days     3 business days
Ontario     2 business days^2.   1 business day^2.

^{Note 1: One business day for homes in the Red Deer and District Real Estate Board area.
Note 2: Up to 5 business days for homes outside the Greater Toronto Area.}

Related topics:

Alberta: What happens after I send my listing forms to myrealty.ca?
BC:       What happens after I send my listing forms to myrealty.ca?
Ontario: What happens after I send my listing forms to myrealty.ca?

Can I advertise my listing?

Yes you can advertise your home for sale in the local real estate papers, online, on signs or elsewhere as you wish.

Having said that, a well-priced home listed on your local board's MLS® system offering a competitive selling-commission should sell without difficulty. If you are having difficulty selling your home, it may be more cost-effective to lower your asking price and/or increase the amount of selling commission offered than start spending on advertisements. Remember, an advertisement is usually only effective for a short period of time but commission receives attention until your home is sold.

If you decide to advertsie your home for sale in addition to the MLS® advertising, please note:

1. myrealty.ca will not review these advertisements;

2. We are not able to authorize the use of the Canadian Real Estate Association's trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, MLS® and Multiple Listing Service®" and the logos "REALTOR.ca" and "mls.ca"; and

3.  If you wish to use myrealty.ca's name or contact information in your advertisment, caution must be used to avoid the appearance that you are authorized to trade in real estate or that you represent myrealty.ca. For example, for a home listed in Ontario, the advertisment might read something like: "Listed with MyRealty Services Inc., Brokerage. Please contact the owner at:_____". In BC and Alberta, the advertisment might read something like: "Listed with myrealty.ca. Please contact the owner at: _____".

Can I list my home with another agent while listed with myrealty.ca?

No. Your local board's MLS® system only accepts one listing per home at one time.

How long will it take for my home to sell?

The length of time it takes to sell a home depends on three factors:
- the general level of activity in the real estate market;
- how competitive your home's asking price is; and
- how competitive your home's selling commission is.

You control the last two of these three factors: by making sure that your home's price and selling commission are competitive with similar homes for sale in your area, your home will be the next to sell. If your selling commission is low, you may miss a buyer or two because an agent has little or no incentive to show your home but your home will sell.

Your home will receive the greatest amount of attention from buyers when you list your home. Of the people who used myrealty.ca successfully during the years 2005 to 2007:
- 36% were successful within 30 days of listing;
- 70% were successful within 60 days of listing; and
- 83% were successful within 90 days of listing.

We have had a few homes sell within hours of being listed on a local board's MLS® system but the more common experience is that it takes time for the market to assess a listing. While your home will be listed on REALTOR.ca within three business days, not all buyers or agents check online every day. Moreover some buyers and agents only get the printed portion of your local board's MLS® system (i.e. your local board's MLS® system catalogue of homes) which is published every two weeks typically.

After 30 days all potential buyers will have seen your home and if you don't have strong buyer interest, the market will be telling you that your price needs to be adjusted in order for you to sell your home. If you do not adjust at this point in time, you will be waiting for the 'right' buyer to come along and this can take much longer (if ever). (See our expired listings summary.)

In the spring or fall markets, most homes should sell within 60 days of listing or a price change. In the winter or summer, an additional 30 days may be needed. Homes in less active markets or with truly unique attributes may also require additional time to sell.

You can change your asking price and/or selling commission by logging in to the 'Manage My Listing' section of myrealty.ca.

Someone already wants to buy my home. Do I still have to pay 0.5%?

Yes. myrealty.ca's commission is earned even for a known buyer: no parties are excluded from any of our listing contracts.

It may be possible to find another real estate agent to agree to a 2 - 3 week exclusion from a listing contract for a known buyer, particularly if the real estate agent is short on listings. In these situations, the real estate agent will still get the benefit of attracting buyers to this type of property and possibly selling another buyer on another home. After the 2 - 3 week period, if the known buyer buys the property the full commission rate would apply (although it is often negotiated down to a listing commission only). The reason for a short exclusionary period of 2 - 3 weeks is that by the end of this period of time, most real estate agents will have already performed a substantial amount of the service and any further work may start to advance the interest of the known buyer.

myrealty.ca's service is different than most brokerages in many respects: a substantial amount of the service is completed after a few days when the home is listed on your local board's MLS® system; we have a tiny listing commission; we always waive the selling commission when there isn't another real estate agent involved; and we don't work with buyers to sell them on other homes. In fact, our service is ideally suited to a situation where there is an known buyer: just by listing on your local board's MLS® system, you can spark new life into an old or reluctant prospect without running the risk of a much bigger commission payment if the known buyer ultimately buys your home.

I think the buyer found my property on his own. Do I still have to pay 0.5%?

Yes. Approximately 85% of all homes sales in Canada are initiated through the MLS® making the MLS® the first and often only place buyers look for their next home. myrealty.ca provides inexpensive access to the MLS® for independent home sellers who want the exposure of the MLS® without interference from a listing agent. Our service is designed to make it as easy as possible for a potential buyers to contact our sellers. As such, it would be both time consuming and difficult to determine how a buyer was actually introduced to a property. Moreover, even if the buyer wasn't introduced to the property through the MLS® and myrealty.ca's efforts, our service can still be very helpful to sellers. For these reasons, myrealty.ca has adopted a fair and simple policy of not allowing any exclusions or exceptions to listings.

I think some one is going to make me an offer. What should I do?

Please login to the Manage My Listing section of myrealty.ca where you will find advice on sale contracts.

Can myrealty.ca help in drafting and reviewing offers?

Yes. If the buyer is represented by an agent, they will draft and present the offer to you. At this point you may wish to review our notes on sale contracts which can be found by logging in to 'Manage My Listing.' You can also ask myrealty.ca for advice on certain points or fax/email the offer to us for our review.

If the buyer is not represented by an agent, we would be pleased to draft a sale contract to be given to a prospective buyer so they can make you a written offer easily.

When and how does myrealty.ca get paid its 0.5% commission?

myrealty.ca's commission is payable on completion of the sale of your home and is usually paid out in accordance with the Statement of Adjustments just like most other real estate transactions. myrealty.ca will provide your conveyancer with a sale report which will include our statement of account. You will have an opportunity to review our account before payment is made.

What happens after I have an unconditional, written sale contract?

Once you have an unconditional, written agreement to sell your home, the marketing phase of selling your home is over and the legal phase of arranging the exchange of money for title begins.

To remove your listing from your local board's MLS® system, please fax or email a copy of your sale contract to myrealty.ca. This will stop people from calling you about your home for sale and allow myrealty.ca to prepare a Conveyance Report and Commission Statement for your conveyancer.

To complete the sale of your home, the buyer will want to have his or her name registered with the Land Registry or Title Office as the new owner and at the same time, you will want to receive your money from the sale. This exchange happens on the Completion date specified in your sale contract and the exchange is usually handled between your lawyer (or notary for BC sales) and the buyer's.

Please let myrealty.ca know the name of your lawyer (or notary) who will be handling the property exchange for you so that we can provide them with a Conveyance Report and Commission Statement.

Your conveyancer will require a copy of your sale contract also. Once they have this, they will prepare the necessary documentation to make sure you receive your money from the sale and pay off any mortgages as required. One of the documents that will be prepared is a Statement of Adjustments. A Statement of Adjustments reconciles the sale price of your home to the amount of money you will receive after completion of the sale. One of the adjustments will be a deduction for myrealty.ca's 0.5% commission and any co-operating broker's commission plus HST/GST.

Your conveyancer will ask you to review and approve the Statement of Adjustments a few days prior to the completion of the sale.

Do you have a list of conveyancers who can help me?

Yes. You can see the conveyancers used by other myrealty.ca sellers by clicking here and buyers by clicking here, search for a notary by clicking here, or be referred to a lawyer by contacting the BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association by clicking here.

Do you have a list of lawyers who can help me?

Yes. You can see the lawyers used by other myrealty.ca sellers by clicking here and buyers by clicking here or be referred to a lawyer by contacting the Law Society of Alberta's Lawyer Referral Service by clicking here.

What kind of insurance does myrealty.ca carry?

myrealty.ca carries the same mandatory errors and omissions insurance as all other real estate agents in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario. This insurance covers errors and omissions made by myrealty.ca.

Whether you list with myrealty.ca or another real estate agent, if you are concerned about potential liability from the sale of your home, you should speak to your legal or insurance advisor.

myrealty.ca has never had to make a claim on its insurance.

Does myrealty.ca provide a lockbox?

No. We do not recommend using lockboxes as we believe they present an unnecessary security risk for most homes: if you establish a set showing schedule - say an hour one night a week and one on weekends - this should be enough for most viewing requests. If you know and trust the person who wishes to view your property without your attendance, it may be just as effective to have an extra set of keys made with the words "DO NOT COPY" engraved on. If you believe however that the security risk to your property is low, lockboxes can be purchased from most hardware stores and locksmith shops for around $50.

Can I use my own web page?

Yes! After your listing is uploaded to REALTOR.ca, one or more of the following icons will be added to your listing on REALTOR.ca:

, and/or

.

Initially these icons will be linked to your listing inquiry page on myrealty.ca but you can reset these links to a web page of your choosing any time through the Manage My Listing section of myrealty.ca.

Using your own web page is the most effective way of describing your home in pictures and words in a format of your choosing.

(There is one condition to the use of this feature: the price advertised on your web page must be the same as that price advertised on REALTOR.ca. There is no advantage in advertising different prices. Please see the following link: I think the buyer found my property on his own. Do I still have to pay 0.5%?.)

Can I cancel my listing with myrealty.ca?

Your local board's MLS® system requires that listings be for a period of no less than 60 days.

After your listing has been on your local board's MLS® system for 60 days, you can shorten the remaining term of your listing by faxing a listing amendment form to myrealty.ca with your new expiry date. Please note that the listing amendment form must be received at least three business days before the new listing expiry date. Listing amendment forms can be obtained through the 'Manage My Listing' section of this web site.

Once your listing has expired with myrealty.ca, you may list your home with another agent straight away and this will release you of any further obligation toward myrealty.ca. If you do not list your home with another agent after the expiry of your listing with myrealty.ca and your home sells, you may be obligated to pay myrealty.ca commission under certain circumstances described in the listing contract. Please read the listing contract carefully.

Please note also that once your listing has expired, myrealty.ca reserves the right not to re-list your home.

How do I find the legal description and PID for my home?

Any formal documentation relating to your home should have both your home's legal description and PID on it. (Your home's PID is a nine digit number in the following format: 123-456-789). Often the easiest place to find this information is on your property tax assessment notice. Other possible sources of this information include: the original sale contract for your home, any mortgage documentation, appraisals, and survey or subdivision plans.

How do I find the legal description for my home?

Any formal documentation relating to your home should have your home's legal description on it. Often the easiest place to find this information is on your property tax assessment notice. Other possible sources of this information include: the original sale contract for your home, any mortgage documentation, and appraisals.

Your home's legal description may only consist of a lot and plan number. Some home's legal descriptions also include block number or other notations.

Can I have my phone number appear on REALTOR.ca?

No.

Only the contact information of agents who are licensed to sell real estate can appear on REALTOR.ca.

Does myrealty.ca handle inquiries?

Whenever a buyer or real estate agent tries to contact us regarding one of our listings, they are encouraged to visit the 'Contact Our Client' page on myrealty.ca so that they can contact you directly. Buyers and real estate agents not wishing to do this, can leave a message with myrealty.ca. These messages will be forwarded to you by email as soon as possible during normal working hours. If a message is unclear, we will attempt to clarify the message with the caller.

Are there any upfront charges, hidden fees, cancellation fees, or exit fees?

There are no upfront charges, hidden fees, cancellation fees, or exit fees. (We only get paid on sale. If your home does not sell, we get nothing.)

Does myrealty.ca provide a sign?

No.

We used to provide signs as part of our service package but also charged a $250 upfront listing fee to cover their cost. A few years ago we dropped both signs and our upfront listing fee from our service package. We did this for a couple of reasons:

  1. Signs are not very effective home selling tools - most serious buyers are surfing       REALTOR.ca or are working with an agent;
  2. It cost us more than $250 to have a sign delivered but people could find better signs for       less money at a local sign maker; and
  3. People wanted more choice in signs than we could provide. (We found that we were       getting into the sign business.)

For these reasons, we opted for simplicity passing the savings on to you.

If you would like a sign, artwork and a list of sign makers can be found by clicking here.

Please note that we are not able to authorize the use of The Canadian Real Estate Association's trademarks "REALTOR®, REALTORS®, MLS® and Multiple Listing Service®" and logo "REALTOR.ca".

How do I get a photo of my home to appear on REALTOR.ca?

Please email your photo(s) of your home in .jpg format to pictures@myrealty.ca using the following dimensions: 512 x 384 pixels (width x height). You picture(s) can be sent in another size and format but this can result in delays and lower photo display quality. Please name your picture file(s) according to the order you would like them to appear as follows:

123mainstreet-1.jpg (where 123 Main Street is the address of your home)
123mainstreet-2.jpg

Please note that pictures with watermarks in them can't be used. (i.e. photos downloaded from ByTheOwner.com or PropertyGuys.com). Sorry.

Related topic:

How many pictures can I have on REALTOR.ca?

Does myrealty.ca provide voice service?

In order to continue to deliver high-quality, low-cost service, myrealty.ca relies on this self-service web site to answer many of the commonly asked questions about listing your home with myrealty.ca and selling your home. Consequently we only provide voice service to clients of myrealty.ca who have received an offer to buy their home and need immediate advice. If you require more voice service than this, myrealty.ca will not be able to provide the service you require and you should not list your home with us.

How many pictures can I have on REALTOR.ca.?

For most areas, we can display up to eight pictures on REALTOR.ca.

Can I have a description longer than 255 characters appear on REALTOR.ca?

Depending on your local board's MLS® system, it may be possible to have a description longer than 255 characters appear on REALTOR.ca. Please email your longer description to us.

Having said that, we recommend limiting your description to 255 characters. Remember, the object of advertising your home is to have potential buyers make an appointment to view in person. Short description are most effective at this precisely because they don't tell the whole story. Try to boil your home's features down to two or three points and let the buyer "discover" your home on viewing.

Long descriptions by contrast are often not read beyond the first few sentences.

Initial Deposit - Deposited After Two Business Days

The Real Estate Act (Alberta) stipulates that deposit money will be placed into a brokerage’s trust account within two banking days after receipt of the money [section 25(1)(b)] or within a longer period of time agreed to in writing by the parties.

The Purchase Contract allows for a longer period of time to which the parties agree (two days after final signing). If the deposit monies will be deposited more than two business days from final signing, then the following phrase should be inserted in clause 3.1, in addition to the name of the brokerage where the funds will be held in trust:

"Initial Deposit to be placed in trust with ________________________________ (name of brokerage) on or before _________________________ (day, month, year)."

Clause 3.2 should be amended as follows and initalled by all the parties:

"The Initial Deposit shall be deposited no later than the second Business Day following the day ~~that final signing occurred (as per clause 15.1)~~ it is received by the brokerage in 3.1 above. Additional Deposits shall be deposited no later than the second Business Day following the day the Additional Deposit is received by the brokerage."

Additional Deposits Given After Removal of Condition

The same rules apply if there is to be an additional deposit. For example, if the additional deposit is to be given after the removal of a condition, wording in clause 3.3 could say:

"Any Additional Deposits shall be delivered as follows:
- upon removal of all conditions.
OR
- on or before ___________________________________ (day, month, year)."

Additional Deposits Paid Directly to Seller

In some circumstances, the parties may agree to pay a deposit directly to the seller. Usually this request happens when the seller is a builder. In these circumstances, the buyer should obtain legal advice. The following clause should be inserted either in 8.1(e) or 8.2, depending on whether it is the buyer's or seller's condition:

"This Contract is subject to the Buyer/Seller obtaining legal advice on the Deposits, at the Buyer's/Seller's expense. Such review is to be acceptable to the Buyer/Seller."

Interest to Accrue to Specific Party

If the deposit is to be placed in an interest bearing account with interest accruing to a specific party, then this would be written into clause 3.4:

"The Buyer and Seller hereby direct the brokerage holding the Deposit to place it in an interest bearing account, with any accrued interest on the Deposit to be paid to the Buyer/Seller on completion or termination of this Contract."

The brokerage paying interest to a specific party is required to have the social insurance number of that party before paying interest on deposits.

Failure to Pay Deposit

This phrase could be inserted in clause 7.6 of the Purchase Contract.

"If the Buyer fails to pay the Deposit as required in this Contract, the Seller may at its option terminate the Contract."

This clause could protect the seller if the buyer has asked for a longer period of time in which to provide the deposit.

Building/Property Does Not Have an Existing Condition

"The Seller warrants that, to the best of its knowledge, the Building/Property does not have _______________________________________________ (describe the condition)."

Insurance Claim Warranty

This clause is to be used in circumstances where the seller may have received insurance money but not made the appropriate repairs.

"The Seller warrants that it has not received any insurance settlements where the work on the Property has not been completed. "

A property inspection could be requested for the buyer's protection.

Seller to Pay Discount to Buy Down Interest Rate for the Buyer

This is used in periods of high interest when the buyer wants a more attractive mortgage rate, or when the buyer cannot qualify at today’s rate but could qualify at a lesser rate. Always check with CMHC for their rules regarding the term required for the buyer to qualify at the lesser rate. The seller would be willing to reduce its net proceeds by paying a sum to the mortgagee/mortgage broker to accomplish this, thereby giving that 'market rate' to the lender.

The loan amount is inserted into clause 2.2 and the buy down rate is inserted in the second bullet of clause 8.1(a) where it states, “interest rate not to exceed _________ percent…”.

Then in clause 7.6, additional terms, insert the following wording:

"The Seller will pay a discount to the ________________ on the mortgage arranged by the Buyer, sufficient to yield the mortgagee an interest rate of _________% per annum, calculated semi-annually not in advance, for a term of ________ years. The amount of the discount and buy down may not exceed $____________ in total and will be deducted from the proceeds of sale due to the Seller on completion."

Wood Stove/Fireplace Fire Insurance Acknowledgment by Buyer

"The Buyer acknowledges that the ______________________________________ (wood stove/fireplace) installed on the Property may not be approved for legal use and may render any fire insurance void."

Partially Completed, Defects or Repairs

These terms would be inserted into clause 7.6.

"The Seller, at its expense, will complete and/or repair the items specified on the attached addendum and valued at $_________________. The addendum forms a part of this Contract. The quality of workmanship and materials will be equal to or better than that of the surrounding construction.

The Buyer will hold back from the sale proceeds the amount specified in the above clause until all the deficiencies specified in the addendum are completed, and will place this holdback in the Buyer’s lawyer’s trust account.

Deficiencies are to be completed before 9 p.m. on _________________ (day, month, year). If the work is not completed, the total funds held back will be returned immediately to the Buyer."

Seller to Provide Title Insurance in Lieu of an Real Property Report

This term could be added to additional terms (clause 7.6).

"The Seller will provide, at its cost, title insurance to the Buyer and the lender."

The first sentence of clause 4.11 should then be crossed out and initialled by both the seller and the buyer.

Seller to Supplement Existing Real Property Report

If the buyer requests that the seller supplement an existing real property report with the addition of title insurance, then the following phrase should be added to the additional terms in clause 7.6:

"The Seller shall provide, at its cost, title insurance to the Buyer and the lender to supplement the existing real property report."

Modification of Clause 4.11/Real Property Report

These clauses are to be used when the seller doesn’t want to update or provide a new real property report.

"The Seller will provide an existing real property report and an affidavit confirming that there have been no changes made to the Property since the existing real property report."

OR

"The Seller will provide to the Buyer a survey certificate in lieu of a real property report and an affidavit confirming that there have been no changes made to the Property."

Alarm System to be Removed

"The Seller agrees, at the Seller’s expense, to buy out the monitoring and/or sales agreement for the alarm system with the result being the removal of the system completely by the Completion Day. The Seller will take steps to repair any holes in the walls or other damages caused by the removal of the alarm system."

Alarm System to be Kept But Not Monitored

"The Seller agrees, at the Seller’s expense, to buy out the monitoring and/or sales agreement for the alarm system with the result being that the alarm system is intact and operational on Completion Day but not monitored."

Buyer to Assume Monitoring Charges for Alarm System

"The Buyer agrees to assume monitoring charges on the existing alarm system contract."

Goods And Services Tax - Subject to Professional Advice

"Subject to the Buyer/Seller receiving and approving information or professional advice concerning its GST liability, GST exemptions, or GST rebates.
Before 9 p.m. on _______________________ (day, month, year) (the "Condition Day")."

Back-Up Purchase Contract

This clause is for use in situations where the seller has already accepted a previous conditional offer on the same property, but the buyer has not yet communicated the Notice. It is to ensure that the previous buyer and the seller have actually signed all the necessary release forms acknowledging that the previous sale has been terminated before the seller removes the conditions on this contract. This clause would go into Seller’s Conditions (clause 8.2).

"This is a back-up contract only and is subject to the Seller being released by a previous Buyer from all obligations under the previously accepted Purchase Contract #__________________.
Before 9 p.m. on _______________________ (day, month, year) (the "Condition Day")."

Buying from an Estate

This is a condition precedent for Seller’s Conditions (clause 8.2).

"Subject to the Seller receiving the following by _________________________ (date):
1. Copy of letters of probate.
2. Assurance from the lawyer for the estate that everyone entitled to claim has waived or released their claim against the Property.
Before 9 p.m. on _______________________ (day, month, year) (the "Condition Day")."

Financial Obligations May Exceed the Sale Price

Where the sale price appears to be insufficient to cover financial encumbrances and real estate commissions, the seller can be protected by the use of the following clause in Additional Buyer’s Conditions [clause 8.1(e)].

"Subject to the Seller verifying its ability to proceed with the sale.
Before 9 p.m. on _______________________ (day, month, year) (the "Condition Day")."

Third Party Conditions

This clause may be used where fulfilling a condition is dependent of the approval or opinion of a third party. These are often called 'escape clauses' or 'whim and fancy clauses' because the third party can simply withhold approval and allow the buyer to walk away from the contract without removing the condition.

Because this clause is slanted in favour of the buyer, the time for removal of this kind of condition should be kept as short as possible for the seller’s protection, and you should advise all parties to the contract that the contract is unenforceable until all the conditions are removed.

"Subject to approval of this Contract by _________________________________ (name of relative/trusted friend).
Before 9 p.m. on _______________________ (day, month, year) (the "Condition Day")."

Subject to Property Inspection

The following is suggested wording if you are not using the recommended Property Inspection Schedule mentioned in clause 8.1(b).

"Subject to the Buyer confirming, by means of a property inspection performed at the Buyer's expense by a professional or otherwise qualified inspector, the absence of fundamental defects (structural, mechanical, electrical or other unusual major expense) in the Property. The Buyer acknowledges that the house is _________ years or more old and that items of deferred maintenance or normal depreciation related to the age of the house do not constitute grounds for termination of the Contract.
Before 9 p.m. on _______________________ (day, month, year) (the "Condition Day")."

If the Buyer believes that a defect identified in the building inspection is fundamental, the Buyer will deliver a copy of the inspector’s report to the Seller prior to the expiry of the condition and allow the the Seller a reasonable length of time to rectify the defect."

Subject to Wood Burner/Fireplace Insurance Confirmation

This should be put in Additional Buyer’s Conditions [clause 8.1(e)].

"Subject to the Buyer obtaining confirmation from its insurance agent that the ______________________ (wood stove/fireplace) installed on the Property will not void its fire insurance coverage.
Before 9 p.m. on _______________________ (day, month, year) (the "Condition Day")."

Subject to Inspection/Testing/Government Approval

This clause can be used in a wide variety of situations where there is a risk of some latent defect. Examples include but are not limited to:
- potability of water
- drainage
- quantity of water
- soil quality
- adequacy of sewagedisposal/treatment
- environmental concerns
- suitability of site topography
- asbestos
- urea formaldehyde foam insulation.

"Subject to the Buyer receiving and being satisfied with a site inspection and report from _____________________________, concerning ____________________________ (describe the concern). The Seller will allow access to the Property for this purpose on reasonable notice.
Before 9 p.m. on _______________________ (day, month, year) (the "Condition Day”)."

This would be added to clause 8.1(e), Additional Buyer's Conditions.

Subject to Legal Advice

"Subject to the Seller’s lawyer’s approval of the Contract.
Before 9 p.m. on _______________________ (day, month, year) (the "Condition Day")."

Subject to Title Search

This is to be used if, for some reason, there is no title search available.

"Subject to the Buyer receiving, perusing, and being satisfied with a title search of the Property.
Before 9 p.m. on _______________________ (day, month, year) (the "Condition Day")."

Subject to Obtaining Home Insurance

This condition could be included if there is any doubt regarding the buyer being able to obtain home insurance. Due to the nature of this clause, a short time period should be selected for this condition.

"Subject to the Buyer obtaining insurance on the building against risk of fire, at a cost acceptable to the Buyer. The Seller agrees to cooperate in providing reasonable access to the Property, if necessary, for any inspection of the Property required for the fulfillment of this condition.
Before 9 p.m. on _______________________ (day, month, year) (the "Condition Day")."

Confirmation of Zoning Clause

"Subject to the Buyer confirming that the zoning is ______________________________ (desired zoning).
Before 9 p.m. on _______________________ (day, month, year) (the "Condition Day")."

Changes of Zoning Clause

"Subject to the Buyer, at his expense, obtaining final approval of zoning changes from _________________ to ____________________. The Seller will cooperate with the Buyer in the zoning application process.
Before 9 p.m. on _______________________ (day, month, year) (the "Condition Day")."

Assumption of Mortgage

"Subject to the issuance by the mortgagee of an assumption statement for the transaction.
Before 9 p.m. on _______________________ (day, month, year) (the "Condition Day")."

Why use a secondary email address?

You can specify another email address where copies of all your messages will be sent. This can be very handy if you have separate email addresses for work and home. You can even use your cellular phone to receive messages as most cellular phones have a unique email address. Please contact your cellular provider for your cellular phone's email address. Another popular use is to send copies of messages to someone else who is 'covering' for you while you are traveling.

How do I make changes to my listing?

Changes to your listing's price, selling commission, or term must be made using a listing amendment form. This form is available through the Manage My Listing section of myrealty.ca.

Changes to your listing's description, picture(s) or other property information can be made by emailing the changes to us. We will then forward the changes to your local board's MLS® system for processing.

All changes can take up to 2 business days to appear on REALTOR.ca.

Are there any types of property myrealty.ca does not list?

Yes.

myrealty.ca is a simple, low-cost service designed for people who want to sell their own home using REALTOR.ca.

We list:
- single-family dwellings;
- apartments (or 'condos');
- townhomes; and
- half-duplexes with individual ownership;
where occupancy can be provided to a buyer within 90 days of listing.

We do not list:
- leasehold properties;
- mobile homes;
- assignments of condos or homes to-be-built;
- unregistered condos;
- mixed use property except if the commercial use is limited to a home office;
- property in a mandatory rental pool (i.e. condo or strata hotels);
- parcels of unsubdivided lots (even if subdivision approval is imminent);
- unimproved (or 'raw') land including building lots;
- full duplexes, triplexes, etc.;
- non-residential use property; or
- property being sold by the developer unless the property is a single-family dwelling.
These types of properties either require more service than myrealty.ca can provide or do not benefit significantly by a listing on REALTOR.ca.

We will list tenanted property but please bear in mind that these types of properties will require additional effort to show.

Is there a minimum charge or fee for lower priced homes?

No.

What should I do during the conditional period of the sale?

During the conditional period of the sale (often called the 'pending' or 'subject' period), the sales process has two components:

(1) providing the buyer with whatever assistance they need to satisfy or waive their condition(s); and

(2) continuing to market your home so that you have a list of potential buyers just in case the first buyer is unable to satisfy or waive their condition(s). You can even accept a back-up sale contract but please be sure to included the appropriate back-up sale contract clause available through the 'Manage My Listing' section of myrealty.ca or contact myrealty.ca. (Care must be taken in accepting another offer so as not to sell your home twice!)

What is a floodplain?

A floodplain is a lowland area, whether dyked, floodproofed, or unprotected, which is at an elevation susceptible to flooding.

An area designated as a floodplain by a provincial and/or federal Environment Minister will require floodproofing measures to be taken. Floodproofing is the alteration of land or other precautions to reduce flood damages. Floodproofing may include adding fill to raise the elevation of a building site, structural measures such a foundation walls or columns to raise a building, or combinations of fill and structural measures. Floodproofing includes the use of setbacks to maintain a floodway and allow for erosion.

Help in determining if your home is situated on a floodplain can be found at the following links:

Government of Canada
Province of Alberta
Province of British Columbia
Province of Ontario

What happens after I send my listing forms to myrealty.ca?

Once your listing is received by myrealty.ca, it is forwarded on to the real estate board serving your home's area for input in to their MLS® system.

Generally real estate boards staff their data input departments so that new listings will be on your local board's MLS® system within three business days of receipt. If the number of new listings is less than expected, your listing will be input more quickly. If the number of new listings is greater than expected or there is some unexpected problem at the local real estate board, your listing will take longer to be input. As soon as your listing has been entered into the real estate board's database, your listing is assigned an MLS® number by your local board and you may start to receive inquiries from agents.

Once your local board assigns an MLS® number to your listing, myrealty.ca will send your picture(s) to the local real estate board to complete your listing file with them. At the same time, your listing will be added to the daily batch of listings to be uploaded to REALTOR.ca. Depending on the timing of this upload, it can take up to two business days after you have received an MLS® number from your local board for your listing to appear on REALTOR.ca. As soon as your listing appears on REALTOR.ca, links to your 'Contact Our Client' page on myrealty.ca (or your own web page) will be ordered.

If you are trying to time the marketing of your home, it is better to fax your listing documents to myrealty.ca one week before you want to have your first showing: if your listing is on REALTOR.ca earlier, you can always schedule your first viewing for a time when you will be ready.

What happens after I send my listing forms to myrealty.ca?

Once your listing is received by myrealty.ca, it is entered into the Central Alberta REALTORS® Association's MLS® system and a Central Alberta REALTORS® Association MLS® number is assigned. On the next business day, the Central Alberta REALTORS® Association uploads your listing to REALTOR.ca.

If your local board is not the Central Alberta REALTORS® Association, your listing will be sent to your local board for inclusion in their MLS® system.

Generally real estate boards staff their data input departments so that new listings will be on your local board's MLS® system within four business days of receipt. If the number of new listings is less than expected, your listing will be input more quickly. If the number of new listings is greater than expected or there is some unexpected problem at the local real estate board, your listing will take longer to be input.

If you are trying to time the marketing of your home, it is better to fax your listing documents to myrealty.ca one week before you want to have your first showing: if your listing is on REALTOR.ca earlier, you can always schedule your first viewing for a time when you will be ready.

Do you have a list of lawyers who can help me?

Yes. You can see the lawyers used by other myrealty.ca sellers by clicking here and buyers by clicking here or be referred to a lawyer by contacting the Law Society of Upper Canada's Lawyer Referral Service by clicking here.

If a buyer does not have a real estate agent, does myrealty.ca get the selling commission?

No. myrealty.ca does not get the selling commission. The selling commission goes unearned resulting in your total commission being only 0.5%.

Can I change my selling commission?

You can increase the amount of selling commission offered through your local board's MLS® system but reductions are not permited. (As soon as your listing is processed by your local board's MLS® system, real estate agents may start working on your listing based on the amount of selling commission offered. There is no way to notify agents of a commission reduction so a commission reduction at this point may have no effect as a real estate agent likely will be entitled to the higher amount of selling commission already offered.)

Having said that, if a real estate agent brings you an offer for less than your full asking price, you may ask that agent if they are prepared to accept less than the full amount of commission offered to make the sale. Please make sure any agreement to change the amount of selling commission is in writing.

How do I find the legal description for my home?

Any formal documentation relating to your home should have your home's legal description on it. Often the easiest place to find this information is on your property tax assessment notice. Other possible sources of this information include: the original sale contract for your home, any mortgage documentation, and appraisals.

What happens after I send my listing forms to myrealty.ca?

Once your listing is received by myrealty.ca, it is forwarded on to the real estate board serving your home's area for input in to their MLS® system.

Generally real estate boards staff their data input departments so that new listings will be on your local board's MLS® system within three business days of receipt. If the number of new listings is less than expected, your listing will be input more quickly. If the number of new listings is greater than expected or there is some unexpected problem at the local real estate board, your listing will take longer to be input. As soon as your listing has been entered into the real estate board's database, your listing is assigned an MLS® number by your local board and you may start to receive inquiries from agents.

Once your local board assigns an MLS® number to your listing, myrealty.ca will send your picture(s) to the local real estate board to complete your listing file with them. At the same time, your listing will be added to the daily batch of listings to be uploaded to REALTOR.ca. Depending on the timing of this upload, it can take up to two business days after you have received an MLS® number for your listing from your local board for your listing to appear on REALTOR.ca. As soon as your listing appears on REALTOR.ca, links to your 'Contact Our Client' page on myrealty.ca (or your own web page) will be ordered.

If you are trying to time the marketing of your home, it is better to fax your listing documents to myrealty.ca one week before you want to have your first showing: if your listing is on REALTOR.ca earlier, you can always schedule your first viewing for a time when you will be ready.

If my home does not sell, can I re-list with myrealty.ca at a later date?

No. We only get paid if a home sells and if a home does not sell when listed with myrealty.ca, we write-off our listing costs. We are prepared to write-off these costs once but not twice. As a result, we do not re-list homes if the the home has already been listed by the same owner with myrealty.ca.

Have you received any government or local authority notices?

If any branch or level of government has given you notice to change the physical status of your property or the way in which it is being used, you should answer this question with a 'yes'. Similarly, if any branch or level of government has given you notice that they are going to change the physical status of your property or way in which you use it, you should also answer this question with a 'yes'.

Are you aware of any lack of permits for any development on the property?

If you know that certain improvements to your property were made without a permit, your answer to this question should be 'yes'.

What is the possession date?

Enter when the property will be available for possession. This can be either a specific date (such as July 1, 2010) or the number of days (such as 60 days) or the range of days (such as 30 to 90 days) in which possession can be available.

Like all terms, the timing of possession is negotiable but possession is an important term in a sale contract.

How do I report the number of bedrooms my home has?

The first data field refers to the number of above-grade bedrooms in your home. The second data field refers to the number of below-grade bedrooms in your house. (i.e. A basement bedroom is below grade.)

How do I report the number of bathrooms my home has?

The first data field refers to the number of full-bathrooms in your home. The second data field refers to the number of half-bathrooms in your home.

A bathroom with more than 2 pieces is a full-bathroom. A bathroom with 2 pieces or less is a half-bathroom.

Are you legally married?

"Legally married", pursuant to the Dower Act, includes a separated couple not legally divorced but does not include a couple in common law relationship.

Have either you or your spouse resided on the Property at any time since your marriage?

If you are legally married and your spouse resided on the Property at any time since your marriage, then, pursuant to the Dower Act, a "Dower Consent and Acknowledgement" (sworn before a Commissioner of Oaths) must be completed and attached to the MLS® Listing Agreement.

The main purpose of the Dower Act is to prevent a married person from disposing of a homestead without the consent of the other spouse. "Married person" is not defined in the Dower Act so it can be an issue at the outset of the sale process as to whether the Dower Act applies or not.

If you are not a "married person", then the Dower Act does not apply.

Regardless of whether you list your home with myrealty.ca, buyers will want to know early in the negotiating process if your spouse has consented to the sale. The "Dower Consent and Acknowledgement" establishes consent.

Once you have a "Dower Consent and Acknowledgement" (sworn before a Commissioner of Oaths), this form can be used with subsequent MLS® Listing Agreements.

Does HST/GST apply to the sale of a new home?

Yes. Please refer to Canada Revenue Agency's web page entitled "Building, purchasing and selling new houses".

Do you have any tips on getting a home ready to sell?

Some very good tips can be found at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's web page entitled "Getting Your House Ready to Sell".