What to Expect from a REALTOR®

Buying or selling a home may be one of the biggest financial transactions you will make in your lifetime. It can also be a very complicated and frustrating process. You will need a friend to help you every step of the way. A friend who is highly trained, very knowledgeable and has ethics beyond reproach. Your best friend in a real estate transaction is a REALTOR®, a member of your local real estate board and/or The Manitoba Real Estate Association. You can expect a great deal from a REALTOR® whether you are buying or selling. When you are selling your home . . . The REALTOR® you choose is working for you, the vendor, and not for the people who are the potential buyers of your home. The REALTOR® gets paid, usually in the form of a commission, from a percentage of the proceeds of the selling price of your home. In line with the strict code of ethics the REALTOR® must follow, he or she will disclose this arrangement to you clearly, fully and in writing. The REALTOR® is experienced in the marketplace and can offer you expert advice on what price to set for your house, how you can make your house more attractive to potential buyers and what marketing plan will sell your home quickly, efficiently and smoothly. The REALTOR® has contacts among potential buyers currently looking for a home. He or she can quickly separate the merely curious "lookers" from the "buyers". As a member of the local real estate board, the REALTOR® can list your home on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®), which gets the details about your home into the hands of thousands of potential buyers. Only REALTOR®S are able to list homes on MLS®. When you are buying a home . . . The REALTOR® will make it crystal clear to you whether he or she is working for you, the buyer, or the seller. Special arrangements can be made so that the REALTOR® becomes your agent for buying a home. The REALTOR® is bound by ethics to disclose this relationship to potential vendors you may deal with. With his or her wide experience and contacts, the REALTOR® can direct you to your potential "dream home" much more quickly and efficiently, saving you many hours and lots of frustration checking the ads and driving around. A REALTOR® has access to thousands of listings on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®). The REALTOR® is usually paid by the vendor; this is the case whether the REALTOR® works for the seller or the buyer. When a REALTOR® working as your agent helps you buy a house, he or she usually is paid from the commission paid to the vendor's REALTOR®. Whether buying or selling, a professional REALTOR®'s services can be invaluable. Their advice can save you from making bad choices and help make your home buying or selling experience a positive one. Multiple Listing Service, MLS® and REALTOR® are registered trademarks of the Canadian Real Estate Association. REALTOR® describes a real estate practitioner who is a member of the Association.