Attempting to sell or buy a For Sale By Owner home or other property (i.e. 'private sale' - a misnomer, since often these are anything but private) without full-service Seller and Buyer REALTOR® representation is not without risk. Before viewing any property and entering into an irreversible transaction, Sellers and Buyers are encouraged to first identify, analyze, and understand the total quantity and diversity of risks accepted in exchange for possibly saving part or all of a REALTOR® sales commission.
For inexperienced Sellers or Buyers who may not fully appreciate the value of a REALTOR® for work being done on their behalf, there can often be no savings or else a medium to large negative impact from high risks accepted as one side (i.e. Seller or Buyer) can easily receive a significant benefit at the expense of the lesser informed party to the transaction.
Selling without listing representation by a full-service REALTOR® or buying from a For Sale by Owner should always be avoided (and this is true even for highly experienced Sellers or Buyers who have repeatedly bought or sold many times) unless: (a). the opportunity for savings is highly significant and guaranteed (such as from a personal friend or family member giving it away for more than $60K+ under the appraised value); and (b). all other risks identified in this article have been considered and addressed. Note that even in these situations with large savings, there is even greater merit to hire a REALTOR® to conduct the transaction to ensure that nothing critically important has been overlooked which is easy to do when the transaction decisions accelerate quickly due to emotional factors.
It is not simply ‘one’s potential ability to sell or buy without a REALTOR®’ that is important, but rather it is the great work that REALTORS® do in order to make each transaction ‘risk-free’ and ‘problem free’ for the positive benefit of Seller and Buyer clients. [Agency duties provided by full-service REALTORS® (Single Agency or Transaction Brokerage) include loyalty, obedience, confidentiality, reasonable care and skill, full disclosure, and full accounting.]
Below are Kelly Grant's list of 12 important risks that Sellers and Buyers unknowingly accept when (a). Selling privately vs. Hiring a full-service REALTOR® when selling; or (b). Buying a private sale vs. using their own Buyer REALTOR® and Buying a property where the Seller is represented by a full-service REALTOR®:
(1). SECURITY
– Who is this person (Buyer or Seller) that you are coming in contact with behind closed doors? Is this person someone you and your family can trust?
- Without any pre-screening, Buyers can be meeting a dangerous Seller and vice versa Sellers can be letting in a dangerous Buyer off the street into their home.
- This is very different when hiring a REALTOR® because REALTORS® use a screening process for our Buyers and keybox records are kept for every REALTOR® escorting Buyers into a home.
- Criminals often avoid contacting REALTORS® due to additional screening and traceability (i.e. risk of getting caught committing a crime is much higher) when they can simply ring the doorbell to enter a private Seller’s home (usually on very short notice, day or night) without any Seller scrutiny while avoiding traceability.
- REALTORS® also work to protect a property from damage (carefully watching and coaching our Buyers) and to physically caution and protect our clients in the event of an unforeseen or undesirable situation.
- Next, what about dangerous animals (e.g. vicious dogs) during a showing? Situations have occurred where For Sale by Owner Sellers had dangerous animals and reptiles including K-9 attack dogs and boa constrictor snakes!
- These situations are unacceptable and are not tolerated whatsoever in full-service REALTOR® listings who make certain that Sellers are properly coached to understand the importance of removing dangerous animals during showings to protect Buyers and REALTORS® at all times coming into the home.
- Further Seller coaching includes making sure that other hazards such as live wires, the need for hand rails and barricades, slipping hazards, etc. are adequately controlled.
- You cannot put a price on your well-being and your family’s well-being – one negative incident in a Buyer’s lifetime is one too many.
(2). HARASSMENT
– Once a For Sale by Owner Seller or Buyer has your personal contact information (phone number or address) from calling or visiting a property to show interest in buying a home, there can be a chance of receiving regular unwanted phone calls, emails, or texts (every few hours or days) in their ongoing desperation to sell or buy the property. This can make for very uncomfortable, unpleasant, and possibly dangerous situations.
- Furthermore: Sellers and Buyers can accidentally give out confidential information to the other party that can significantly reduce their negotiating leverage or can put the other party in a state where they do not want to sell or buy to the other party.
- With using a full-service REALTOR®, it is the REALTOR® who will usually field all of your calls from signage and inquiries and / or will resolve a rare situation of you receiving unwanted phone calls from a Buyer or a Seller.
- Private Buyers can be harassed by private Sellers while conducting their own showing and note most Buyers do not want the Sellers present when they are viewing a home because they want the freedom to relax and look anywhere and say whatever they want; this is a huge benefit to Buyers when viewing a home listed by a full-service REALTOR® with well over 90% of the showings conducted in confidentiality alone with their Buyer REALTOR®.
- Also, private Sellers are harassed with private Buyers showing up on their doorstep (ringing the doorbell any time day or night) wanting a showing whereas when listing with a full-service REALTOR®, showings are arranged in advance at times mutually suitable for both the Seller and the Buyer.
- It is important for Sellers to respect the Buyer’s comfort level with the showing and sales experience. As this increases, then correspondingly a Sellers’ chances for the best possible sale price increases.
(3). WORKLOAD
- When Buyers and Sellers engage the services of a full-service REALTOR®, there are many services the REALTOR® will usually automatically provide for a client (varies for Sellers and Buyers).
- These REALTOR® work packages usually include but are not limited to the following:
(a). Providing comparative market analyses;
(b). Measurement of property living area according to the RMS standards;
(c). Gather all required documents and information for legal disclosures;
(d). Registration of the listing with the Local Real Estate Board and on the Canada-wide REALTOR.ca;
(e). Professional levels of advertising and marketing;
(f). Good advice for maximizing market value;
(i). Handling incoming calls and scheduling appointments;
(j). Providing keypad access for showings; assistance to compare, analyze, and rank properties for Buyers;
(k). Providing regular updates on the market and new listings;
(l). Offer and counteroffer presentation, negotiation, and acceptance;
(m). Resolution of finance, inspection, and document issues;
(n). Completion / turnover;
(o). Plus additional valuable advice and guidance as required, etc.
- When people 'go it alone' privately to sell or buy, they are essentially undertaking to do all of the work that a full-service REALTOR® would normally perform without licensing and without the necessary real estate education, experience, and equally important: without a REALTOR's® market access and contacts.
- Once private Buyers add up all of the time, effort, and expense they would undertake to possibly make a private deal (note the word 'possibly' - very often private Buyers and Sellers will waste time, effort, and expense in failure) this one category alone adds up to a very large risk component!
(4). NON-DISCLOSURE of LATENT DEFECTS
– Many private Sellers do not understand and / or are not concerned about their legal obligations to disclose serious latent defects and undesirable previous history related to the property to Buyers that might not be determined during the course of a normal property inspection.
- This can include intentionally covered up foundation cracks not yet repaired; past history of flooding for which no remedies were taken by the Seller to solve the problem; a serious crime that was committed in the house; mold or asbestos issues; etc.
- In contrast, quality full-service REALTORS® will quiz Sellers at length on their property and have a serious discussion on the topic of disclosing to Buyers both latent defects and any serious undesirable previous property history.
- There was a situation in the past with a Seller’s condo where a terribly serious violent crime was committed in the unit. The Seller was informed that due to the severity of this past property history (without a waiver 'legal advice' signed by their lawyer), this past history would likely need to be disclosed in writing to prospective Buyers. The Seller refused to comply with their legal, moral, and ethical obligations and instead offered the home for sale without a REALTOR® and ended up selling the property to a Buyer who was completely unaware of the past history at the time of purchase. Imagine after a few months once the Buyer suddenly finds out from neighbours, etc. of this past history, they would likely be very upset and not feel comfortable living in a highly-stigmatized property.
- Other types of required disclosures include City or County ordinances; Capital Health Notices; etc.
- In Alberta it is Buyer beware so it is always advisable for Buyers (in a high majority of cases with some rare exceptions) to obtain an independent property inspection and there are routinely many situations where non-represented Buyers have been and continue to be talked into not having a property inspection by for-sale-by-owner Sellers (hiding latent defects not disclosed to the Buyers) and who were faking competing interest or else offered an incentive in exchange for the Buyer buying the home without an inspection.
- As a result, Sellers with something to hide about their property are more apt to sell privately as a for sale by owner because they have a higher chance to avoid facing the scrutiny of a licensed REALTOR® (i.e. they want to push negotiating leverage over on a Buyer) and this means when Buyers buy a property from a private Seller, there is a much higher risk they will encounter situations of the Seller not disclosing latent defects, City ordinances, etc.
- Other issues can include non-disclosure from private Sellers of an entire 100% condo documents package, acreage documents, commercial documents, etc. plus lack of good advice for dealing with these issues.
- A sizable component of a full-service REALTORS®’ daily work on properties for Sellers and Buyers can often include document acquisition; review; and analysis / advice.
(5). INNOCENT, NEGLIGENT, OR FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION
– Because private Sellers are not using a full service REALTOR® to properly advertise features and measure a property according to RMS standards, what is to stop a private Seller from advertising a home as 3000 sq. ft. by including basement, garages, patios, ‘larger than life’ dimensions, etc. in efforts to fool an unsuspecting Buyer even though the actual living area may only be about 2100 sq. ft.?
- The answer: very little – in Alberta it is Buyer Beware, and the only post-turnover remedy for a Buyer would be to pursue a costly legal process with very little chance of success.
- When buying a home listed by a full-service REALTOR®, there are advertising standards that REALTORS® use and if any questions exist Buyers should request their own Buyer REALTOR® to check measurements to ensure the advertised amount equals the actual amount within a reasonable measuring tolerance.
- Note: do not be fooled into relying solely on City or municipality measurements, since City measurements, while usually reliable, are on occasion prone to error in some rare cases by as much as 10 or 20%+ (one example: when additions or subtractions were made without the City's knowledge).
- There is a lot to know when measuring a property, and most private Sellers and Buyers do not know (or care) how to measure the living area properly.
- Suggestion: Sellers should make sure when they hire a listing REALTOR®, their property will be properly measured according to RMS standards and likewise Buyers (if any related concerns exist) should ask their Buyer REALTOR® to check any questionable measurements during a property inspection before removing all conditions.
(6). THE OFFER STAGE
- When a Seller hires a full-service REALTOR® to list a property for sale, that REALTOR® must provide proper conduct protocol and accepted behavior when dealing with offers, counteroffers, and multiple offers to ensure that Buyers and Buyer REALTORS® are treated in a fair and equitable manner.
- For example, in the case of multiple offers, there are strict regulations in place to ensure that proper disclosures are made to all Buyers via their Buyer REALTORS® in advance of the multiple offer presentation to ensure that all Buyers are given an opportunity to improve their offer to make it their very best.
- With private unrepresented Sellers, however, it can literally be 'jungle law' with offers since they have no obligations for their conduct in dealing with offers in a timely manner, no obligations with honesty and fairness in the case of dealing on multiple offers, and no obligations in dealing with counteroffers and acceptance.
- Oftentimes due to logistics it is important in real estate (and in a Buyer's interests to secure a property) for a deal to become verbally pending until such time as documents can be signed and initialled by both parties, regardless of the fact that very few if any legal options exist to Buyers or Sellers in the rare event of one party not keeping their word to sign documents.
- With situations where a Seller is represented by a full-service REALTOR®, issues relating to offer details or 'of one party not keeping their word' are actually quite rare.
- However, without good REALTOR® coaching on a Seller's moral and ethical obligations to Buyers, a for sale by owner Seller's word can be worth nothing during the critical stage before signing, even after a deal has been reached.
- This added risk means that private Buyers can easily 'get pushed around' by private Sellers who delay offers to discuss with their lawyer; are dishonest in stating that multiple offers exist when that may not be the case; provide preferential treatment for a particular Buyer (e.g. friend or neighbour they want to sell to but are testing the market to see what is a fair price); etc.
- For all of these reasons, a Buyer's interests are seriously in jeopardy when making offers to unrepresented private Sellers (with or without Buyer's REALTOR® representation).
(7). NEGOTIATIONS
– Direct negotiations between private Buyers and Sellers are often very difficult and emotional.
- Buyers often are inexperienced in knowing how to behave during high-pressure situations and it is very easy for naïve Buyers to leave out extremely important details on the purchase since Sellers are the ones most familiar with their property, etc.
- Conversely, REALTORS® operate as agents of the Seller or Buyer (as a business) without any direct emotion attached and this means good REALTORS® will use clear-headed thinking throughout the negotiation process for clients’ benefit regardless of how stressful and how lengthy the negotiations may become.
- Plus, without a Buyer REALTOR® who can point out items to consider and disclosure of past sales (along with viewing a larger number of properties to establish ‘personal value’), the Buyers or Sellers often have very little way of knowing if a particular home is priced properly for the neighbourhood.
- Note that even with a Buyer Agency Contract activated with a full Buyer Agency commission paid by the Buyer, some private Sellers still refuse to cooperate with the Buyer’s REALTOR® (including activation of a Customer Status Agreement in advance for basic real estate services during the transaction; Agency Guide; FINTRAC; etc. for which REALTORS® and brokerages must have records of when dealing with unrepresented Sellers as part of ongoing licensing and auditing requirements to present offers).
- The Sellers understand there are some real risks to them of not being represented by a licensed REALTOR® and they can be afraid of losing the negotiation in a very significant way to the Buyer. For this reason, many unrepresented Sellers do not cooperate with Buyer REALTORS® wanting to show their property.
- This should serve as a red flag to Buyers whenever a Seller ‘does not want to cooperate with Buyer REALTORS®’; there can often be hidden reasons such as something they are attempting to hide from the Buyer about their property, etc. that they do not want a REALTOR® to point out to the Buyer or do not want to be tied into a purchase contract that they cannot easily cancel (e.g. if their next door neighbour comes in with a higher offer next week).
- For example, there have been situations with unethical builders who refused for Buyers to be represented by a REALTOR® because they prefer to negotiate with the Buyer direct into an agreement that is not in the Buyer’s best interests and they did not want the REALTOR® questioning their ‘modus operandi’ as to how deposits are dealt with; what rights Buyers have in the event of builder default; the rights Buyers have for independent inspection; deficiency identification and clean-up; resolution of builder and contractual issues; permit documents from the municipality; Builder's Lien and deficiency holdbacks; etc.
- Other common issues include private Sellers who tie up their home ‘subject to sale of home’ (because the Buyer was so convincing) and they end up having deals fall apart because the Buyer had no chance of selling their home or meanwhile found a better home.
- When Sellers hire full-service REALTORS® to list their home, Sellers gain the experience of the REALTOR® on which offers are risky; offers that should be rejected, and offers that should be considered for acceptance.
- Both Sellers and Buyers gain a professional negotiation with full-service REALTOR® representation.
(8). DEPOSIT
– When Buyers buy from a private Seller, often Sellers may insist that the deposit be held with either the Seller or the Seller’s lawyer.
- This can create a multitude of complications because if there are any deposit issues, the Seller can instruct their lawyer to withhold release of the deposit or can refuse to return the Buyer’s deposit whereby the Buyer’s only recourse would be to initiate costly legal action against the Seller to retrieve back their deposit.
- Sellers’ problems can include Buyers’ cheques bouncing or Buyers suddenly untraceable to replace a deposit.
- This is very different when buying or selling property listed by a full-service REALTOR® - real estate brokerages hold deposits in accordance with the Real Estate Act and both the Seller and the Buyer (i.e. via Buyer REALTOR® representation) will understand prior to the offer the rules for their deposit(s) including what circumstances, timeframes, and under what conditions the Buyer’s deposit(s) will be returned.
- Full-service REALTORS® work for licensed brokerages and the manager is always a licensed broker, all of which are bound by the Code of Ethics and the Real Estate Act when dealing with deposits, and these balances provide extra deposit security for both Buyers and Sellers.
- Note that small real estate firms on occasion can become insolvent; when Buyers are providing deposits to any small real estate company, to mitigate this risk it is best to have as small of a deposit as possible or better yet in this situation: negotiate hard to have the deposit retained with the Buyer REALTOR'S® firm.
(9). PURCHASE CONTRACT
– In Alberta, REALTORS® (when representing clients) use purchase contracts and associated documentation prepared by the Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA).
- The purchase contract is a widely accepted document that includes rules, information, and allowances for: the property itself; financial details of the transaction; deposits; closing (including real property report / compliance); insurance; warranties and representations; additional terms; conditions; remedies / disputes; advice; etc.
- Note the documents prepared by AREA are thorough; explanatory; all-inclusive; and as ironclad as possible to ensure that when a deal is made and finalized, problems are minimized because both parties (the Seller and Buyer) understand their contractual obligations since they are advised by their REALTORS® of those obligations every step of the way in the event of any questions or discrepancies.
- This continual coaching and prodding of both the Seller and Buyer by their REALTORS® is paramount to keep simple and complex real estate deals on track in efforts to avoid problems on closing and resolve questions about intention of either of the parties that can amass technical and complex legal issues afterwards.
- Many private Sellers tend to favour using their own contracts (in the case of builders) or contracts prepared by for sale by owner companies and those same Sellers may refuse to deal with AREA contracts prepared by a full-service REALTOR®.
- While other contracts may technically still be legal, this does not mean the same amount of risk coverage for Buyers (or Sellers) vs. using the REALTOR®-prepared AREA purchase contract.
- A Seller who is not represented by a full-service REALTOR® or lawyer during negotiations and / or a Seller who refuses to deal with a purchase contract prepared by a REALTOR® indicates a huge red flag and those Sellers should be avoided.
- Dealing with private Sellers direct also includes higher risk of omitting important contractual details and extra legal costs from added contractual risk or from lawsuits due to not having the complex transaction conducted properly by a REALTOR® using the standard AREA purchase contract designed to protect a Buyer’s (and Seller’s) best interests against a myriad of contractual pitfalls.
- Finally, there are often many important additional terms and other considerations that are added to a purchase contract (on a property by property basis) on the advice of the Buyer's or Seller's REALTOR® as a result of their experience and lessons learned (in many cases between dozens to hundreds of previous sales) for the benefit of the Buyer or Seller that would otherwise be missed.
(10). SALE RESCISSION
– A private Seller, being unrepresented by a full-service REALTOR®, might try to nullify a private Buyer’s purchase for someone else who later agrees to pay more for their home.
- Imagine how upset you would be if you sold your home, were ready to move into your new home that you bought from a For Sale By Owner only to discover you are out on the street since the Seller used a loophole (legally or illegally) to nullify your contract because someone just offered to pay him or her a few thousand dollars higher. In this case your only recourse might be initiating legal action against the Seller that you might lose if the purchase contract allowed the Seller this loophole.
- When representing Sellers and Buyers as full-service REALTORS®, both before and during the transaction clients are professionally coached (with questions answered) on the purchase contract documents they are signing to ensure a full and conscientious understanding of the deal being made (plus amendments and notices) along with the potential consequences of any non-compliance or non-conformance.
(11). REAL PROPERTY REPORT (RPR) and COMPLIANCE
– Provision of a current RPR and Compliance must only rarely be negotiable from a Sellers’ or Buyers’ perspective when purchasing a house, acreage, commercial property, or bareland condominium.
- Good full-service REALTORS® will ensure Sellers understand at the initial evaluation meeting they will most often be obligated to provide this, and likewise when representing Buyers, that a current RPR and Compliance is contracted to be provided by the Seller without exception unless the client receives contradictory advice from their real estate lawyer (rare circumstances - for example in the case of a lot value property sold 'as-is, where-is with no representations or warranties of any kind being made ...')
- When buying real estate privately without a REALTOR®, the current RPR and Compliance requirement and risks can easily be overlooked, particularly in cases where the private Seller convinces the private Buyer into a lower price in exchange for not providing a current RPR and Compliance.
- The risks of current RPR and Compliance can include (but are not limited to) permit issues; development issues; encroachment or other encumbrance issues; and may require a Buyer (at a future date) to remove or remedy the issue, for which the cost can be substantial (e.g. tens of thousands of dollars +).
- If Sellers refuse to provide a current RPR and Compliance (or title insurance which by the way is not foolproof), this can indicate a red flag that there is some type of permit or encroachment issue they are attempting to hide from a Buyer.
- The typical total cost for a basic RPR and Compliance can be in the range of about $500 to $750+ (varies, more for commercial properties) not including cost to remedy permit; encroachment; etc. issues which in some cases can be very high amounts ($X,000s).
(12). LAWYERS / CONVEYANCING / INSPECTORS / MORTGAGE BROKERS
– When Buyers attempt to buy property (either with or without full-service REALTOR® representation) from a Seller not represented by a full-service REALTOR®, sometimes Buyers can receive a request from the Seller to use the Seller’s lawyer, inspector, and / or mortgage broker to help save money (with possibly the Seller receiving an undisclosed kickback from the service provider).
- Buyers are strongly advised against this since Buyers should always select their own service providers (qualified, experienced, and available) who are looking out for their best interests only as opposed to the Seller’s best interests or the for sale by owner company’s best interests.
- If in doubt of a good real estate lawyer, inspector, or mortgage broker, a great option is to ask your REALTOR® for the name(s) of service providers who have demonstrated superior customer service and general knowledge of the real estate industry. For example: referrals of quality lawyers; mortgage brokers; inspectors; engineers; contractors; insurance, etc.
In summary, while attempting to buy or sell property without a full-service REALTOR® is currently an option available in free-market societies like Canada and the United States, it carries a very large size and diversity of risk. It is important for Buyers and Sellers to first weigh the risks before jumping in too quickly and making one or several huge irreversible mistakes. Buying or selling a home or other property will be one of the most high-stakes and important endeavours one will encounter in their lifetime so it is critical to mitigate risk by hiring a quality full-service REALTOR® and not blindly 'roll the dice’ on your own without properly handling the magnitude of risks involved. By following this advice, it will help ensure your next selling or buying experience will be positive and rewarding.
[Article written and ©2011, ©2020 by Kelly Grant, M.Eng., ABR, NCSO, P.Eng. - REALTOR® at MaxWell POLARIS in Edmonton, AB]
Disclaimer: for those readers not currently represented by another licensed REALTOR®, to obtain more information on this topic and / or if you will be selling or buying in the Greater Edmonton Area, call Kelly at 780-414-6100 (pager); text Kelly at 780-717-9290; or send Kelly an email to SOLD@KellyGrant.ca to schedule a confidential appointment.