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Frequently Asked Questions About the First Choice concept. When you offer services that are very different than the traditional or normal services many questions are asked. The public may not understand and therefore be afraid of a new concept. Competitors may inadvertently make wrong or misleading comments about a new concept. We at First Choice Realty Ontario Ltd. have created the following Frequently Asked Questons and Answers to help you make informed decisions about selling your home. Why did you open First Choice Realty Ontario? We opened First Choice Realty Ontario Ltd. because we knew that the public were demanding changes that the traditional companies could not or would not offer. Even though commission rates are not fixed by law, we wanted to offer the same FULL SERVICE that most companies charge 5% and 6% for, for less. All listings are on the MLS System of the local real estate board. D0 YOU FOLLOW THE SAME RULES AND REGULATIONS? YES. We follow the same rules and regulations as all other real estate companies. All real estate companies and their sales representatives are governed by the Real Estate Council of Ontario's (RECO) code of ethics. We are members of the Ontario Real Estate Association and the Canadian Real Estate Association. Are Listings on the local board's system? YES. All the homes we list for sale go on the MLS system of the Local Real Estate Board, unles otherwise instructed by the Seller. They are also listed on REALTOR.ca and First Choice Realty Ontario's web site, as well as other company's sites. Do you advertise? It is the individual Sales Representative and not the company that makes the decision how and when to advertise. With todays buyers knowledge and their access to the MLS System where most listings are posted, some Sales Repesentatives advertise and some do not. Serious buyers continually scan the MLS System and either call the listing Sales Representative or their own Sales Representative to see the property. Do you do open houses? It is up to the homeowner in conjuntion with their Sales Representative to decide if a public open house is suitable for them. How can you provide your services so much cheaper? This is a very important question,as mant people may feel that we must cut corners in order to reduce our fees. This is just not true! We have set up our real estate organization differently than the traditional real estate model. Where most have large staffed offices to carry, we are much more steamlined and effficient. Others typically have Broker/ Owners that makes his /her living from fees charged. Our Owner is a selling Broker, and actually earns her living through selling homes. Why do other Sales Representatives not offer their services at lower fees? As the last answer indicated, the majority of the Sales Representatives cannot or will not offer the same services for the fees that we charge. They usually are paying large fees to their Brokerages and to their support teams and assistants.Their companies may have office policies that dictate what they can and cannot do. Also remember that after collecting 5% and 6% commisions for so many years, they just may not want to charge less when the public have been willing to pay more. Do you pay other Sales Representatives a selling commision? YES. There is no exact stated selling commision and this is one of the truly unique features about our company. We allow the seller to decide how much is offered to the other Broker/Sales Representative. We strongly recommend that the fee offered be equivalent to the standard in your area. Do other Sales Representatives show your listings? Absolutely! We could not sell the number of homes we sell without the co-operation of all other Sales Representatives. In this day of computers and the internet the public are much more informed than ever. They often tell their Sales Representative what homes they want to see because they have seen them on REALTOR.CA. When we list your property you are assured that it will be veiwed by all buyers. Buyers do not care who offers the listing, why would they. Buyers only care if they can see the listed property and potentially buy it if it meets their needs. WHAT IS THE CATCH? There is no catch. We actually get asked this all the time , and there truly is no catch to our real estate services! Certain conditions do not have to occur to take advantage of our lower commision rate, all Sales Representatives and buyers will be anxious to view your home and possibly buy it if it meets their needs. Did you know that most sales involve two different real estate companies? ®
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