FAQs

**Please note if your question is not covered below, please call our office at 250-487-7597 or toll free 1-866-987-7597

SELLERS:
What does "ComFree" stand for?
What is the process to get my home listed on ComFree?
What percentage of the market does ComFree represent?
When is payment due?
Why should I sell through ComFree rather than through a real estate agent?
Agents say they can get a higher price for my home. Is this true?
How fast are homes selling through ComFree?
What is the Success Rate for homes listed with ComFree?
How do I know what to ask for my home? Does ComFree offer Evaluations?
BUYERS:
How do I view a home listed with ComFree?
How do I sign up for email notifications for all new ComFree listings?
How do I make an Offer on a ComFree home?

 

SELLERS:

What does "ComFree" stand for?

ComFree stands literally for "Commission-Free." So when a house sells through ComFree, the owners puts all the money from the sale into their own pocket rather than pay the high cost of a commissioned real estate agent.

 

But ComFree also stands for other things: First, it's an intelligent system that empowers you, the homeowner. Through education about how the real estate system actually works, ComFree frees you to act in your own best interest and to keep all of the equity you've built up in your home. Knowledge is power. Agents do everything they can to make you afraid of the process so you'll feel compelled to use them. ComFree has trained thousands of homeowners just like you to acquire confidence through knowledge. Once you've sold through ComFree, you'll never go back.

 

Second, ComFree is also a powerful advertising medium that is far more efficient than the agents' listing system. At far less cost to you, ComFree has created an alternative market for homes. No one can know this housing market without also checking the ComFree marketplace. Thousands of ComFree clients have paid less than a tenth as much to succeed in selling their home as those who've used the agent's high-priced marketplace. That's efficiency.

So ComFree really stands for empowering you through knowledge to control and keep all of your equity.

 

What is the process to get my home listed on ComFree?

Call our office 7-days a week to have any of your questions answered. Once you have decided to list with ComFree, a consultant will be sent to the home to take room dimensions and note features of each room in the home. We will then do a detailed write-up, create your web page, print your highlight sheets and install your sign on the front lawn. Please allow 2 to 3 business days to get all this set up. Then you will be visited by your consultant a second time to go over the finished product; including your highlight sheets, signs and contract of purchase and sale form.

 

And then your consultant will give you a training session on how to show your home, how to deal with agents and what to do when offers come in. You'll know what will happen, what to do when it does and when to call us or your lawyer/notary. Your home will then be published in the next edition of the ComFree Magazine and in every issue for up to a year thereafter or until your home is SOLD.

 

What percentage of the market does ComFree represent?

To give you an indication of how popular our service is, ComFree Winnipeg, the parent company, is that city's largest real estate listing company. In Edmonton, in 2007, ComFree listed just under 9,000 properties, about 30% of all listings, including MLS, making it the largest real estate listing company in Alberta. The system that we have works well in Manitoba and Alberta and is working very well here as we pass out first anniversary.
 

When is payment due?

Payment is due upon the first appointment. All of our work is done upfront and so payment is taken upfront. Your advertising is then good until your home sells. But remember, any home that takes a year to sell is simply priced too high.

 

Why should I sell through ComFree rather than a real estate agent?

In the past, it typically was difficult to market a home privately because there was no method of on-going exposure, so an agent was the popular choice.

 

Now, ComFree has developed a system for selling a home that has achieved success that remains unmatched for efficiency and effectiveness by any other system or service, including the agent's listing service. Selling your home privately has numerous advantages; the most obvious is that you do not have to pay the high cost of a commissioned real estate agent.

 

Our office has even received calls from people who tell us they have a family member who is an agent and even they recommended they use ComFree. Now that's a testimonial that can't be beaten!

 

Agents say they can get a higher price for my home. Is this true?

If this statement were true, then ComFree wouldn't be in business, let alone growing. If homes always sell for more through a real estate agent, why would anyone want to buy through one? This would mean that if you use an agent to buy a home, you'd always pay more for the home than it's worth. The bottom line is, a home is only worth what the market is willing to pay for it, whether it is sold through ComFree or any other service. You can't argue with the marketplace, and that goes for agents, too.

 

How fast are homes selling through ComFree?

Looking at the existing ComFree market, this number changes depending on the time of year. In the busy months of spring and summer when more buyers usually look, this number is typically lower, while in the calmer winter months the average days on market may rise. But a home priced close to what the marketplace believes is fair value will always sell much faster than an over-priced home, which will never sell until it's no longer considered over-priced.

 

What is the Success Rate for homes listed with ComFree?

The majority of homes listed with ComFree sell through ComFree.

 

How do I know what to ask for my home? Does ComFree offer Evaluations?

Everyone has heard of agents offering free Market Evaluations. Don't mistake this for an "appraisal". Please remember that most agents are not licensed appraisers. Agents may offer "free evaluations" as a secondary service for their primary business of securing a listing. But banks don't recognize an agent's "evaluation."

 

However, a professional appraiser's primary business is to provide an independent and unbiased market value that is not coloured by the pressures of earning a commission. So, though ComFree is not in the business of evaluating homes, ComFree recognizes the critical importance of your asking price to your success. Price is the only factor you control once your home is up for sale. You have no control over other key criteria such as the location, the number of bedrooms, etc. If your home is over-priced it will not sell, whether through an agent or ComFree.

 

Most of you already have a pretty good idea of what your home is worth, and comparable homes can be found on the ComFree website. But if you need further assistance, we recommend you hire a licensed appraiser. There are many advantages to this approach we'd be pleased to discuss with you.

 

BUYERS:

How do I view a home listed with ComFree?

All homes for sale with ComFree are private sales. So, to view a home, you must contact the owner directly at the phone number listed on the ad.

 

How do I sign up for email notifications for all new ComFree listings?

From the ComFree Okanagan homepage, select "Find a Property"; scroll down to "Advanced Search & Email Notification of New Listings"; select the relevant features you are interested in. Enter your email address and hit search.

 

How do I make an Offer on a ComFree home?