Listing with ComFree isn’t just about saving
a lot of money in commissions. It’s also
about saving time and avoiding stress.
Just ask Winnipeg policeman Jim Philips and his
wife, Tami, a pre-school teacher. In July they
decided to move to a larger home for extra room
for their sons, Nick and Zack.
They sold their first home with ComFree four
years ago in a matter of hours. So they didn’t hesitate
to list with ComFree to sell their second
home in Garden City, a 1,144-sq-ft, 4-bedroom.
“Using an agent means being interrupted all the
time. This way you have more control over the
process,” Tami says. “We know our own home better
than any agent and ComFree makes the process
easy and understandable. ComFree provides rapid
answers to any questions you or the buyers have.”
She says the ComFree website also makes it easier
to find a home than through the MLS. “You
can tell exactly where a home is and get information
right away without a bunch of phone calls.”
The sale of their Garden City home was done in
less than a week for $273,000, more than $8,000
above their list price. So they saved $17,199 in
agents’ commissions and GST.
“We had a weekend Open House and more than
20 couples came,” says Jim.
“We asked for final offers by Monday and it all went
smoothly. They knew roughly what price we wanted and we had
multiple offers, so we took the best one.”
Both Tami and Jim say pricing is crucial to a
swift sale. “We researched similar local houses
and deliberately were not greedy,” says Jim.
“One similar house was priced at $269,000 but
didn’t have a finished basement like ours. We
decided to ask a bit less than that and ended up
getting more than our asking price.”
She was also impressed by ComFree’s Buyer’s
Guide, which answered questions such as how a
buyer can make an offer. “Many of those who
looked at the house were first-time buyers who
needed guidance, so that helped a lot.”
Removing clutter, fixing minor blemishes, having
a tidy yard and putting all the lights on to
brighten the space are all tips they pass on. Oh,
yes, packing off the children to grandparents during
Open House is also a good idea. And it’s advisable
to have at least two people around.
“We had a flood of inquiries but everything was
finished and done within a week,” says Tami. “I’m
a pre-school teacher and, interestingly, quite a few
people who came to see the house were also teachers.
The ComFree website and signage certainly
generated plenty of interest.”
