For Sale By Owner Canada - Homes for Sale Canada Homes / Houses for Sale Canada

For Sale By Owner - FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

About our Services

Using our Website (Sellers)

Using our Website (Buyers)

For Sale by Owner Real Estate - General Questions

About our Realtor Referral Network (For Users)

About our Realtor Referral Network (For Realtors)

ABOUT OUR SERVICES

  • Is this site really free? If so, how do you make money?
    Yes, this site is completely free to use. Private sellers and realtors can sign up for a free account and are allowed to list their real estate properties on our website to help gain maximum exposure. The realtors can also join our Realtor Referral Network to be featured throughout our website, which is one of the ways we make money.

    We also feature local and national banks, mortgage companies, lawyers, and other real estate related businesses throughout the site. This gives our users access to relevant services while they are using our web site. This is the other way we make money on the site.

    Buyers and sellers use the site for free. Totally free!

  • How many listings can I post?
    As many as you like! There are no limits, as long as each listing is for a different property. Duplicated listings that are active will be deleted by an administrator.

  • How many photos can I upload to my listing?
    Currently, you can upload a maximum of 24 photos per listing.

  • Do you provide "For Sale" signs?
    For now, your best bet is to go to your local hardware store and purchase one of their generic "For Sale" signs. We supplied them in the past, but are now looking into more cost-effective options in order to bring them back.

USING OUR WEBSITE (SELLERS)

  • How do I add a listing?
    1. Create your account at the registration page.
    2. Once you create your account, an email confirmation will be sent to you. Follow the instructions in your email to confirm your account.
    3. Log in, then click on the "Add Free Listing" link in the light brown bar. This page walks you through how to add your property, then your listing is instantly live on our site.

  • How do I edit my listing?
    1. Please log in to your account by using the login page.
    2. Click on the "My Listings" link in the sub-navigation near the top of the screen in the light brown bar. (You can also access this page by clicking on the "My Listings" link in the dropdown menu under "My Account" in the top navigation.)
    3. Select the listing you wish to edit by clicking on the "Edit" button next to it.
    4. You will be presented with a screen showing all the areas that are editable. Go ahead and make the changes directly in these areas.
    5. When you're done, click on the green "Submit" button in the bottom right corner to instantly save your changes.

  • My Google Map pointer is incorrect. How do I fix it?
    By default, the Google Map pointer is positioned according to the postal code used in your listing. In most cases, this method is quite accurate. However, the map has trouble recognizing certain postal codes and may not find the approximate area that the pointer should be in. You have a few options to try:

    1. Please log in to your account by using the login page.
    2. Click on the "My Listings" link in the sub-navigation near the top of the screen in the light brown bar. (You can also access this page by clicking on the "My Listings" link in the dropdown menu under "My Account" in the top navigation.)
    3. Select the listing you wish to edit by clicking on the "Edit" button next to it.
    4. Go to the section called "Interactive Map Settings" near the bottom right corner.
      • By default, it will be selected as "Use Postal Code".
      • Option A) You can try selecting "Use Address", which will pull the street address and province you have already entered in your listing, if available.
      • Option B) You can try selecting "Use Custom Override", and then input a complete address in the "Custom Address Override" field. This address will not show up anywhere on your listing as it is solely used for the map. TIP: Try opening up Google Maps separately and test out various addresses or postal codes to see if they show up correctly. If you find a combination that works for your listing, simply copy and paste that address into your "Custom Address Override" field.
      • Option C) You can select "No Map" if the above 2 options still do not give you the results you're looking for.
    5. When you're done, click on the green "Submit" button in the bottom right corner to instantly save your changes.

    TIP: Alternative solutions include uploading your own map image to your photo gallery, and/or including an external link to a different map in your description area.

    IMPORTANT NOTE: We just recently launched our Map Search system which uses your postal code first, and from there, generates latitude and longtitude coordinates. Currently, the options in your profile to change the Google Map pointer ONLY apply to the map on your listing page. Please stay tuned for updates on integrating this with both maps, or contact us if you need help right away.

  • I have a property listed in an area that is close to another city. Can I show up in searches for that nearby city?
    Yes - simply select up to 5 cities in the field called "Nearby Cities" when adding or editing your listing. Not only will your listing show up in search results for the location you posted it in, but you will equally show up in search results for those nearby cities. Please note that searchers have the option to disable results from nearby cities, but this is always enabled by default.

  • When will my listing expire?
    Currently, your listing will remain on our website for 1 year from the date you posted it. If you decide to renew your listing for free, it will be good for another year. However, if your listing expires, it is permanently deleted from our system and cannot be recovered.

  • How do I renew my listing?
    You will be notified by email 2 weeks ahead of time when your listing is about to expire. During this time period, you can instantly renew your listing with the click of a button, as explained in the notification email. (Please note that you will only get the email if your listing status is set to "Active".)

  • How do I delete my listing or mark it as "Sold" before it expires?
    1. Please log in to your account by using the login page.
    2. Click on the "My Listings" link in the sub-navigation near the top of the screen in the light brown bar. (You can also access this page by clicking on the "My Listings" link in the dropdown menu under "My Account" in the top navigation.)
    3. Select the listing you wish to delete by clicking on the "X" button next to it.
    4. You are now on the listing status page - use the dropdown menu to change the status to "Sold", "Rented", or "Inactive".
    5. When you're done, click on the green "Submit" button to instantly save your status change.

  • When I reply to a listing inquiry with my Blackberry phone, the reply-to address is not the sender's. What's going on?
    This is an issue with certain Blackberry devices not being able to correctly process the email headers. These devices omit the "reply-to" address, which is the sender's email address. If you have one of these devices and press "Reply", it will go to "no-reply@forsalebyowner.ca", which is where the website sent the email from. This will not directly go to the sender, but a site administrator will forward this off to the correct person when they see the email come through.

    As a temporary solution, you'll see the sender's actual email address in the body of the email. Simply click on that to send a new email to them. A better solution would be to keep your Blackberry device up-to-date to see if a newer version can correctly indentify the "reply-to" address.

  • Why do my photos appear pixelated or blurry on my listing page?
    This usually means you uploaded photos that are much too small for proper viewing on your listing page, most likely thumbnails or photos from a mobile device with a low resolution. The photo slideshow needs a minimum size of 460px wide or 345px high, otherwise any smaller photos will be enlarged to fit the area.

USING OUR WEBSITE (BUYERS)

  • Do I need to sign up in order to search for properties?
    Not at all. Anyone can search properties on our website whether they have an account with us or not.

  • Do I need to sign up in order to email sellers about their listings?
    No - you can go right ahead and email sellers without needing to sign up or log in first.

  • What are the benefits of signing up for a free account as a buyer?
    Even though you can search for properties and email sellers without an account, signing up is very handy if you wish to mark certain listings as your "Favorites". You can then review your favorite listings in one area of your account instead of trying to find the listings again that caught your attention.

  • When searching for properties in a specific city, the checkbox for "Include Nearby Cities" doesn't always include everything close by. How come?
    Sellers have the option to specify up to 5 additional cities that are close to the location of their property. If they do not choose a nearby city, they will not show up for any city other than the one their property resides in. Also, this feature was added to the site at a later date which means that several sellers may not have recently logged in and noticed this addition.

FOR SALE BY OWNER REAL ESTATE - GENERAL QUESTIONS

  • Do I need a lawyer to buy or sell a property?
    Yes - you need a lawyer in order to complete any kind of property transaction, whether you are the buyer or the seller.

ABOUT OUR REALTOR REFERRAL NETWORK (FOR USERS)

  • Why does this site allow realtors to post listings and promote themselves?
    We've implemented this area to provide both our buyers and sellers with access to relevant services while they are using our web site.

    Buyers are looking for properties that best suit their needs, and are usually open to buying from an owner or a realtor because they do not pay commission. Allowing both owners and realtors to post their listings creates more inventory for our buyers to look at.

    On the selling side, owners are encouraged to list their properties themselves, but should they decide to hire a professional, they have full access to realtor services if they need it.

  • Is this site owned by a Real Estate agency?
    No - For Sale By Owner Inc. is not a real estate agency, and we are not owned by any Realtors or Real Estate companies in any way. We are an independent marketing company whose sole purpose is to provide an easy to use online forum where buyers and sellers can get together for the purpose of discussing Real Estate transactions of all kinds.

  • How do I know which listings are by realtors?
    Above the photo gallery of every listing's brochure page is a dark gray box that says, "This Listing is Presented by" and then either the name of the realtor will appear next to it if it's a realtor listing, or "the Owner" if it's an owner listing.

  • When searching for realtors in a specific city, the checkbox for "Include Nearby Cities" doesn't always include everything close by. How come?
    Realtors have the option to specify one additional city that is close to their office location. If they do not choose a nearby city, they will not show up for any city other than the first one they selected. Also, this feature was added to the site at a later date which means that several realtors may not have recently logged in and noticed this addition.

ABOUT OUR REALTOR REFERRAL NETWORK (FOR REALTORS)

  • Which factors determine the realtors that show up in the featured showcases?
    For map search results, realtors with full memberships appear in the featured showcase according to their geographical location and the coordinates that are currently being viewed on the map. The featured realtors will update as the map gets interacted with. If, for example, someone is currently zoomed in over British Columbia, the nearest BC realtors will automatically appear. If you zoom in to Vancouver, the realtors nearest Vancouver will show up.

    For the above reason, it is very important that your postal code is valid on your profile, otherwise you will not show up in the showcase.

    For list view search results and listing brochure pages, realtors with full memberships appear in the featured showcase according to their geographical location, and are ordered randomly. If, for instance, someone is looking for a property in Toronto, a random selection of Toronto realtors will appear in the featured showcase. If there are no Toronto realtors with full memberships, it will fall back to Ontario realtors, and then to realtors across Canada, if needed.

  • My office location is in an area that is close to another city. Can I show up in realtor searches for that nearby city?
    Yes - simply select the city in the field called "Nearby City" when adding or editing your profile. Not only will your full membership profile show up in search results for the location you posted it in, but you will equally show up in search results for that nearby city. Please note that searchers have the option to disable results from nearby cities, but this is always enabled by default. This also only affects results from our Realtor Locator, not the "Featured Realtor" showcases.