By Peter Carlyle-Gordge
After two real estate agents tried to sell her home
and failed, human resources manager Laura
Cumming has nothing but praise for Comfree’s
efficiency in helping her sell her Scotland Avenue home.
Listed at $144,000, the two-bedroom home sold in three
weeks for $135,000 and Laura paid just $699 to ComFree.
Had she sold with an agent, the commission bill would
have been more than $8,000.
Laura found dealing with Winnipeg real estate agents a
study in frustration. Neither agent she listed with managed
to find a buyer and Laura found their communication poor,
the constant interruption of her life annoying and the
knowledge of her property by the agents who did show up
to be scant.
“Really, I felt I had no control over the process,” she
says. “I’m a single, working mother with a 12-year-old son
and three pets. The constant interruptions were a big nuisance.”
She first listed with an agent in September 2008 but says the
experience was a nightmare. “I asked him to just show people round
two days a week, but they brought people every day of the week and
didn’t seem to like the idea of an Open House.
“I had to get my son to take the dog for walks. Then they finally
agreed an Open House might be a good idea, but no signs were put
up and the agent arrived late.”
Worse, the company put the wrong photographs on their website.
It took four weeks to get the right pictures online. The company also
promised to provide some free cleaning and basic hardware as part
of their package and promised there would be no charge if they
failed to sell the home.
“I was so frustrated I decided not to deal with them,” she says. “I
waited three months till our agreement was up.”
They then billed her $1,000 for their cleaning services, despite a
verbal agreement she would get no bill. When she refused to pay,
they offered to halve it. Finally, she threatened to publicize their
shoddy treatment and they backed off.
Laura and son, Justin, in front of their Crescentwood home
Finally
success
Last June, she tried another agent recommended by a family
member. “He had no problem doing Open Houses, which I preferred
as I’m busy in the week at work,” she says. “Even so, he did
bring people in during the week and the photographs he wanted to use were poor, so I finally took my own.”
When she took a holiday in Vancouver she assumed the showing
would stop, but instead her pet sitter was pestered with calls for
showings. “I just felt we had no control over our lives, so I told him
to limit showings to two days a week and a weekend Open House,”
she says. “Twice we thought the house was sold to pre-approved
people, but it fell through in both cases.”
This fall, after months of frustration, she dispensed with the agent
and went to ComFree.
“I finally felt in control and they were great about getting my
home on the Internet superfast,” she says. “They strongly supported
me in having Sunday Open Houses and we also limited showings to
Tuesday and Thursdays, which suited me.”
She was also impressed when she had to call ComFree with a
question late at night and they got back to her within half an hour.
One agent had suggested a price of $149,000 and the other
dropped it to $139,000. She split the difference
and list at $144,000.
“I had my last agent for 101 days with no sale, but with ComFree
we sold in three weeks,” she adds. “I was very impressed with how
many people came to the Open Houses. Without ComFree I think
the house could have been on the market indefinitely. Now we can
finally move on.”
