You’re trusting a REALTOR® with your most valuable possession, your home. REALTORS® take this responsibility very seriously. Here’s what we promise you:

1. Your REALTOR® is a trained professional

REALTORS® take extensive pre-licensing courses in order to obtain credentials for practicing in real estate.

2.Your REALTOR® is continuously trained

REALTORS® keep pace with the times by taking continuing education courses to upgrade their knowledge on a broad range of real estate related issues in order to be able to continue to provide consumers with current advice.

3. Your REALTOR® does everything by the book

A REALTOR® must be registered under provincial laws that govern exactly how real estate can and cannot be traded. These regulations are your legal guarantee of professional behavior.

4. Your REALTOR® is an ethical businessperson

REALTORS® must adhere to the extensive Code of Ethics of the Canadian Real Estate Association. Several provinces have additional codes of ethics governing real estate professionals. Your interests must always be put first.

5. Opportunity for recourse

Should you have concerns about the professional behavior of a REALTOR®, provincial regulators and your local real estate board or association take these matters very seriously and work quickly to resolve any issues.

6. Your REALTOR® has access to a local Board’s MLS® System

A Board’s MLS® system is the single most powerful tool for buying and selling a home. Your REALTOR® can provide you with exclusive features of the Board’s MLS® System, such as immediate notification when new properties are listed. You don’t have to wait for it to be posted on a web site.
– Howrealtorshelp.ca

REALTORS® help you get the most for your home and they remove stress and confusion from the process. Here are just some of the advantages.
Your REALTOR® becomes your home’s champion
When you sign a “Listing Agreement” with your REALTOR®, this is their promise that he or she will use all their skills and resources to get the most for your home.
REALTORS® know how to attract the most potential buyers
Your REALTOR® is an expert home promoter, connected to a network of agents and their buyers. He or she knows how to write compelling ads for your home, and only REALTORS® can place your home on a Board’s MLS® System.
REALTORS® will help you increase your homes “sale-ability”
You probably have an emotional attachment to your home, and therefore can’t view it objectively. Your REALTOR® will help you present your home in the best light, so buyers will fall in love with it more easily.
Market Knowledge – to help you get the most for your home
REALTORS® are masters of reading the market and pricing your home for maximum return. A REALTOR®’s experience literally pays!
Negotiation Skills – to keep the deal on track
REALTORS® are indispensable when it comes to bargaining with buyers. Tempers can flare and heels can dig in. Your REALTOR® is an expert at smoothing things out.
– Howrealtorshelp.ca

“REALTOR®” and “real estate agent” are not interchangeable, although some real estate agents might like them to be.
The term REALTOR® is a registered certification mark that identifies the quality of services rendered by
licensed real estate agents who are members of The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). All real
estate agents are not REALTORS®, but all REALTOR® members are real estate agents. REALTOR® members are
committed to a strict code of ethics known as the REALTOR® Code, and are the only ones who have the
right to list your property on the MLS® Systems of their local real estate boards. To correctly be
referred to as a REALTOR®, a real estate agent must be a member of CREA.
-How Realtors Help.ca

Selling a house can be a complex process. A REALTOR® can help you at every stage,
from setting a price to marketing the property to closing the sale.

Setting the Price

The selling process generally begins with a determination of a reasonable asking price.
Your Realtor can give you up-to-date information on what is happening in your local marketplace,
as well as the price, financing, terms and condition of competing properties. These are key
factors in marketing your home and selling it at the best price. Often, your Realtor can
recommend repairs or cosmetic work that will significantly enhance the saleability of the property.

Marketing

The next step is a marketing plan. Marketing exposes your property to the public as well as to
other Realtors through a Multiple Listing Service, other cooperative marketing networks, open
houses for agents, and so on. In many markets, a substantial portion of real estate sales are
cooperative sales; that is, a real estate agent other than yours brings in the buyer. The Realtor Code
of Ethics requires Realtors to use these cooperative relationships when they benefit clients.

An agent will also know when, where and how to advertise — which medium, format and frequency will
work best for your home and your market. Though advertising can be valuable, the notion that advertising
sells real estate is a misconception. National Association of Realtors studies show that 82 percent of
real estate sales are the result of agent contacts from previous clients, referrals, friends, family and
personal contacts.

Providing Security

When a property is marketed with an Realtor’s help, you do not have to allow strangers into your home.
Agents will generally prescreen and accompany qualified prospects through your property.

Negotiating

Your Realtor can help you objectively evaluate every buyer’s proposal without compromising your marketing position.
This initial agreement is only the beginning of a process of appraisals,
inspections and financing — a lot of possible pitfalls. Your agent can help you write a legally binding,
win-win agreement that will be more likely to make it through the process.

Monitoring, Renegotiating and Closing

Between the initial sales agreement and the closing (or settlement), questions may arise.
For example, there are unexpected repairs that require the buyer to obtain financing, or a
cloud in the title is discovered. The required paperwork alone is overwhelming for most sellers.
Your agent is the best person to objectively help you resolve these issues and move the transaction to closing.

Getting the Realtor Guarantee

All real estate licensees are not the same. Only real estate agents who are members of the Canadian Real Estate
Association are called Realtors. Realtors subscribe to a strict code of ethics and are expected to maintain a
higher level of knowledge of the process of buying and selling real estate. Realtors are committed to
treating all parties to a transaction honestly. An independent survey reports that almost 85 percent
of home buyers would use the same Realtor again.

Getting Expert Assistance

Finally, consider the scale of your transaction. Selling your home is one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll make.
Transactions today usually exceed $300,000. If you had a $300,000 income tax problem, would you attempt to solve
it without the help of a CPA? If you had a $300,000 legal question, would you deal with it without the help of
an attorney? Considering the relatively small cost of hiring a Realtor and the large potential risk of not
hiring one, it’s smart to find a professional to sell your home.- Realtor.com – Ron Schmaedick

Check out this Forbes.com article for “5 Reasons You Still Need A Real Estate Agent”. (Link) to below article

The proliferation of services that help homebuyers and sellers complete their own real estate transactions
is relatively recent, and it may have you wondering whether using a real estate agent is becoming a relic
of a bygone era. While doing the work yourself can save you the significant commission rates many
real estate agents command, for many, flying solo may not be the way to go–and could end up being
more costly than a realtor’s commission in the long run. Buying or selling a home is a major
financial (and emotional) undertaking. Find out why you shouldn’t discard the notion of hiring an
agent just yet.

1. Better Access/More Convenience

A real estate agent’s full-time job is to act as a liaison between buyers and sellers.
This means that he or she will have easy access to all other properties listed by other agents.
Both the buyer’s and seller’s agent work full time as real estate agents and they know what needs
to be done to get a deal together. For example, if you are looking to buy a home, a real estate
agent will track down homes that meet your criteria, get in touch with sellers’ agents and make
appointments for you to view the homes. If you are buying on your own, you will have to play this
telephone tag yourself. This may be especially difficult if you’re shopping for homes that are for
sale by owner.

Similarly, if you are looking to sell your home yourself, you will have to solicit calls from interested parties,
answer questions and make appointments. Keep in mind that potential buyers are likely to move on if you tend to
be busy or don’t respond quickly enough. Alternatively, you may find yourself making an appointment and rushing
home, only to find that no one shows up.

2. Negotiating Is Tricky Business

Many people don’t like the idea of doing a real estate deal through an agent and feel that direct negotiation
between buyers and sellers is more transparent and allows the parties to better look after their own best
interests. This is probably true–assuming that both the buyer and seller in a given transaction are reasonable
people who are able to get along. Unfortunately, this isn’t always an easy relationship.

What if you, as a buyer, like a home but despise its wood-paneled walls, shag carpet and lurid orange kitchen?
If you are working with an agent, you can express your contempt for the current owner’s decorating skills
and rant about how much it’ll cost you to upgrade the home without insulting the owner. For all you know,
the owner’s late mother may have lovingly chosen the décor. Your real estate agent can convey your concerns
to the sellers’ agent. Acting as a messenger, the agent may be in a better position to negotiate a discount
without ruffling the homeowner’s feathers.

A real estate agent can also play the “bad guy” in a transaction, preventing the bad blood between a buyer and seller
that can kill a deal. Keep in mind that a seller can reject a potential buyer’s offer for any reason–including
just because they hate his or her guts. An agent can help by speaking for you in tough transactions and
smoothing things over to keep them from getting too personal. This can put you in a better position to
get the house you want. The same is true for the seller, who can benefit from a hard-nosed real estate
agent who will represent their interests without turning off potential buyers who want to niggle about the price.

3. Contracts Can Be Hard To Handle

If you decide to buy or sell a home, the offer to purchase contract is there to protect you and ensure that you
are able to back out of the deal if certain conditions aren’t met. For example, if you plan to buy a home with
a mortgage but you fail to make financing one of the conditions of the sale–and you aren’t approved for the
mortgage–you can lose your deposit on the home and could even be sued by the seller for failing to fulfill
your end of the contract.

An experienced real estate agent deals with the same contracts and conditions on a regular basis,
and is familiar with which conditions should be used, when they can safely be removed and how to use
the contract to protect you, whether you’re buying or selling your home.

4. Real Estate Agents Can’t Lie

Well, OK, actually they can. But because they are licensed professionals there are more repercussions
if they do than for a private buyer or seller.
If you are working with a licensed real estate agent under an agency agreement, (i.e., a conventional,
full-service commission agreement in which the agent agrees to represent you), your agent will be bound by
common law to a fiduciary relationship. In other words, the agent is bound by license law to act in their
clients’ best interest (not his or her own). In addition, most realtors rely on referrals and repeat business
to build the kind of clientèle base they’ll need to survive in the business. This means that doing what’s
best for their clients should be as important to them as any individual sale.

Finally, if you do find that your agent has gotten away with lying to you, you will have more avenues
for recourse, such as through your agent’s broker, professional association such as the Real Estate
Council of Alberta or possibly even in court if you can prove that your agent has failed to uphold
his fiduciary duties.

When a buyer and seller work together directly, they can (and should) seek legal counsel, but because
each is expected to act in his or her best interest, there isn’t much you can do if you find out later
that you’ve been duped about multiple offers or the home’s condition. And having a lawyer on retainer
any time you want to talk about potentially buying or selling a house could cost far more than an
agent’s commissions by the time the transaction is complete.

5. Not Everyone Can Save Money

Many people eschew using a real estate agent to save money, but keep in mind that it is unlikely that
both the buyer and seller will reap the benefits of not having to pay commissions. For example,
if you are selling your home on your own, you will price it based on the sale prices of other
comparable properties in your area. Many of these properties will be sold with the help of an agent.
This means that the seller gets the keep the percentage of the home’s sale price that might otherwise
be paid to the real estate agent.

However, buyers who are looking to purchase a home sold by owners may also believe they can save some
money on the home by not having an agent involved. They might even expect it and make an offer accordingly.
However, unless buyer and seller agree to split the savings, they can’t both save the commission.

The Bottom Line

While there are certainly people who are qualified to sell their own homes, taking a quick look at the long list
of frequently asked questions on most “for sale by owner” websites suggests the process isn’t as
simple as many people assume. And when you get into a difficult situation, it can really pay to
have a professional on your side.

Whether buying, selling, leasing, sourcing tenants or investing in Commercial Real Estate,
a Commercial REALTOR® is a business partner with the training, market knowledge and experience
that you want on your team.

From the sale of a business, farm or ranch to syndication and investment to
financing and consulting to providing information on environmental studies and
tenant inducements, commercial REALTORS® are authorities on commercial real estate.

Remember, REALTORS® are in the real estate business to advise, recommend,
caution, and counsel their clients with a level of expertise that brings
value to the transaction. Consider some of these advantages of using a
Commercial REALTOR®

• They know the local market.
• They know what’s available that suits your specifications.
• They can provide the analysis to show whether you should lease or buy.
• They can maintain your investment with professional Property Manager services.
• They can assemble a team of specialists knowledgeable in space planning, zoning, local
  government or zoning issues, architectural design, tax assessment, appraisals, financing,
  market trends and closing procedures.
• They can market your property through a variety of resources such as ICX.CA

Another article on why a Commercial Realtor is important to the process.

If you thought selling a home was a complex process, try selling a business.
Still, some commercial owners attempt to sell their own properties because they think
they can do it themselves and save on commission.

The fact is, the complexities of a commercial real estate transaction are even greater than those
of residential real estate, and going it alone is simply not wise.
“Commercial real estate practice differs greatly from residential real estate. There are financial,
ownership, and other issues pertaining to the environment, structure, and legal matters that need to
be addressed for both the buyer and the seller,” says Azizali Kanjee, Broker of Record and president
of Inprobus Realty Corporation. “Every commercial transaction will be different in several aspects
and it is important to have someone with the knowledge and professionalism in commercial real estate
to navigate the transaction for the client and ensure that it completes smoothly and efficiently.”

These same sentiments are echoed by Brian Walker, Broker of Record for NRS Select Ltd., who likened the
complexities of commercial real estate to a minefield.
“The requirements and intricacies of a commercial real estate transaction have become so complex that it’s
essential to have the guidance and oversight of a professional commercial REALTOR®,” says Brian. “Standards
continually evolve and different issues emerge. A commercial REALTOR® is best positioned to understand and
navigate through the minefield of challenges one faces when dealing with commercial real estate.”
In case you need more convincing, following are some more reasons why it is advisable to use a
commercial REALTOR® when selling – or buying – commercial real estate:

Private sellers do not have the same marketing ability as commercial REALTORS®. Through their brokerages,
commercial REALTORS®
have access to a large pool of motivated buyers. For example, commercial REALTORS® can market property to
other REALTORS® on the Commercial Property Database. And, the greater the buyer pool, the more likely the
property will be sold quickly and at a better price.

Commercial REALTORS® can help seller clients locate and market different types of commercial real estate,
such as office investment, leasing, and franchise and business opportunities.
Many commercial REALTORS® have specialized knowledge that could prove invaluable when negotiating a
transaction, such as space planning, zoning, environmental issues, appraisals, and financing.

SOURCES: The Commercial Real Estate Transaction, 2012; Get Results with a Commercial REALTOR® brochure