When you put your home on the market with a real estate broker you give your agent permission to create a listing for the property on a Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The listing contract you have with the agent gives them exclusive rights to sell your property for the period of time outlined in the contract.
If your contract expires agents will want a shot at representing you and selling your property, but did you know that this solicitation is not only unethical but also against RECO (Real Estate Council of Ontario) Guidelines just like the DO NOT CALL LIST. If you report these realtors they will get fined & reprimanded. The RECO exists to protect you and public interest in order to keep the industry fair for everyone.
All real estate professionals must abide by the regulations set out in the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act (2002) in order to operate in Ontario. RECO is the regulatory body which oversees real estate operations and Ontario to ensure they are up to the legal standard. If an agent does not abide by these rules, they will face consequences ranging from a warning to expulsion and criminal charges.
RECO receives approximately 2,000 complaints annually and each complaint helps keep the industry safer for people selling their home. If you should find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having an experience of an agent who breaks the regulations, you can get all the information you need to know about filing a complaint with RECO here. You can use this link to file the complaint.
What If A Real Estate Agent Breaks The RECO Guidelines By Soliciting An Expired Listing?
Since Toronto & GTA Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Listings are publicly visible, an agent might contact you hoping to sell the property for you.
However, under no circumstances are realtors allowed to contact you after your listing expires unless you explicitly authorize them to do so. If they solicit you they are breaking the rules. Under no circumstances should anyone contact you to sell your listing expires. They are either registered under REBBA and breaking the RECO regulations or not registered. If the later is true, they are operating illegally since very real estate professional in Ontario must be registered under the REEBA.
The Reason A Real Estate Agent Is Not Allowed To Contact You If Your Home Listing Expires
When someone solicits you to sell your home in Toronto or The GTA, there’s a good chance you have no idea who they are. Since selling your home for top-dollar value in a timeframe you agree on is a challenge depending on the agent, the market conditions, the listing, and many other factors, picking the right real estate agent for you is essential to a successful sale.
The RECO guidelines are in place to protect home sellers from being targeted by predatory agents who take advantage of someone’s desperation to get the listing and make a sale, even if it isn’t the seller’s best option. When your listing sits on the market unsold for a long period of time it can be discouraging. You may start doubting whether you’ll be able to sell at all never mind thinking about getting top dollar from the sale and settle for less. You need a proper strategy for your particular property and home evaluation to make sure that you sell and get the best possible results.
An agent could take advantage of the situation and contact you in your time of despair, which could result in you making a decision without doing your proper investigations and inquiries. This could ultimately result in selling your property for far less than the home is worth. Although the agent would earn less on the sale if the house sells for less, it may be easy money since he or she doesn’t have to invest time and money into marketing the house. Selling a home in Toronto for the best price takes a great deal of investment of time, resources, and knowledge. Selling for below market value makes the job much easier. Savvy buyers or investors will naturally be attracted by the price but since the lack of advertising will not be reaching the largest pool of potential buyers, they can get a deal at your expense. Also this will minimizing the amount of work the agent needs to do and require little or no advertising budget or expense.
How To Avoid Getting Contacted By Real Estate Agents Who Want To Sell Your Expired Home Listing
To minimize the chances of having agents solicit your expire listing, you can ask the agent you listed with to make you check off that the box that states to not be contacted if the property expires. This now will protect you from being solicited from unscrupulous realtors. If anyone does contact you directly they will be in breach of the RECO rules and subject to penalties..
What You Should Do If Your Real Estate Listing Has Expired
Obviously no one expects to sign a listing contract with an agent and the property not be sold. When offers don’t appear or you receive low-ball offers that are not acceptable it can be tremendously frustrating.
The first thing to consider when your listing expires is that your official relationship with the real estate agent is more or less over. At this point, you will have options. You can decide not to sell or can to do some research to find an agent to determine why the home isn’t selling and provide you with a solution to get it sold with the best possible results. Each sale is different, so determining why the home didn’t sell can be a challenge for someone with inexperience.
If you have any further questions about selling your home in Toronto & the GTA remember that you can always contact us to get answers and take advantage of our real estate resources.
How To Find The Right Realtor To Sell Your House In Toronto Or The GTA
Finding the right realtor to sell your house in Toronto or the GTA doesn’t have to be difficult. You should be selective and do research. Remember history repeats itself. It’s not by accident that the same realtors keep having success in selling more and more home while other agents have trouble selling any properties at all. Before you reach out and contact a real estate agent at least you have done some research or received a recommendation and are now knowing who is coming to meet with you. You are in control and can ask the appropriate questions to proceed with confidence.
For most people, their home is the largest investment and one of the most important financial decision of their lifetimes. Don’t leave it to chance? Seek out an agent you trust who has a proven track record. Interview them and ask what their plan is to sell your property and how they will maximize your profit from the home sale. Frank Leo & Associates, for example, employ a Guaranteed Home Selling System developed by Frank and his team over 3 decades helping people buy and sell homes all over The GTA.
Most agents offer a free home evaluation but the evaluation is only as good as the person’s ability and experience providing it. You need to know much more than just price and the fee charged. Anyone can throw out numbers at you. The most important question you should ask any realtor is “ What will you do to maximize the net dollars I receive from the sale of my home”. It is also very important to follow the money spent or invested to sell your property. It probably easy to realize that it costs nothing to do nothing. To get the best results in any industry you need to have the best professional with the best tools working for you. This will help you attain the best results. Would you want any surgeon to perform heart surgery on you? If you were mistakenly charged with murder would you want just any lawyer representing you? Of course not, considering that you home is one of your largest investments wouldn’t you want the best possible agent representation for you.
Interview Real Estate Agents
Interview the agents you are interested in and make sure they can provide you with the level of service, expertise, and marketing you need to maximize your results. Ask them tough questions. Remember that a good agent will definitely have an answer and solution.
Look for an agent who’s willing to invest time and money into selling your property instead of passively waiting for buyers to stumble onto your property. Get an agent that does things differently and is progressive and doesn’t just rely on old traditional methods. For example, open houses are a proven ineffective method that can benefit real estate agents more than home sellers.
If you are in a situation where you need a reputable real estate team with a proven track record. Don’t hesitate to contact us with your Toronto & GTA real estate questions. A good agent will help you perpare your home for sale in Toronto, provide you with a free home evaluation and plan of action to give you the peace of mind knowing your home will be sold with the best possible results.
Find out more about more about your rights as a home seller in Ontario by contacting RECO and making sure you hire a reputable agent to represent you.
The Difference Between A Withdrawn (Suspended) Listing vs. An Expired Listing vs Cancelled (Terminated) Listing
A withdrawn (suspended) listing has been withdrawn from a Multiple Listing Service but is still represented by a real estate agent. Even if your listing is withdrawn your contract with the listing agent remains intact. An expired listing is also withdrawn from the MLS but the contact between the agent & seller is no longer intact. Also a cancelled listing before the expiry date will also make the contact between the agent & seller is no longer intact
Keep in mind the difference between a withdrawn listing, an expired listing and a cancelled. Real estate agents are not allowed to solicit your business regardless of whether your listing is withdrawn, expired or cancelled, but it’s helpful to understand the difference nonetheless.
How To Avoid Having An Expired Listing
Most people, if given the opportunity, would opt to avoid having their listing expire. Home sellers place their properties on the market to, well, sell them. Fortunately there is a way to guarantee your listing won’t expire.
It’s called the Guaranteed Home Selling System. Offered by Frank Leo & Associates, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Frank Leo & Associates will sell your house for a price you agree to and in a the timeframe that works for you – 100% guaranteed. We use a multi-million dollar marketing operation working around the clock to find a qualified buyer for every property. Frank & his team have developed this system over 3 decades selling homes in Toronto & The GTA.
In fact, if we don’t find the right buyer for your home we will buy the home ourselves. That’s how confident we are about selling your property. You can contact us any time to find out more about selling your home in Toronto or just to ask any real estate questions you might have.