Seller's Guide
The Real Cost of Selling a House in Quebec
Most sellers calculate their net proceeds like this: sale price, minus the mortgage balance, minus broker …
Choosing a real estate broker is one of the most consequential decisions in a transaction, and most people give it less thought than buying a phone. The broker affects the price you pay or receive, the conditions you accept, and the quality of advice you get in a process involving hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Here are the five questions to ask before signing anything, and what a good and a bad answer sound like.
Before the questions: check the licence
Thirty seconds, free. The OACIQ maintains a public register of licence holders. You will find the broker’s name, their agency, whether the licence is valid, and any disciplinary sanctions.
A broker in good standing has no problem with you checking. It is the minimum before handing someone the sale of your largest asset.
1. “How do you determine a property’s value?”
This question separates brokers who work from data from those who work on instinct, or worse, who tell you what you want to hear.
A strong answer describes a process: pull comparable sales in the sector, adjust for size, condition, year built, renovations and timing, then arrive at a defensible range. The broker should be able to show you that analysis, not just announce the conclusion. They should also look at properties withdrawn without selling, because those show the price buyers refused.
A weak answer stops at “I know the sector well”, with no document, or gives you a number that matches exactly what you were hoping for. The broker who inflates the price to win the listing, then proposes a reduction three weeks later, is a known pattern in this business. A property overpriced at the start almost always sells for less and more slowly, because the first weeks of exposure, the most valuable ones, were wasted.
2. “What is your specific plan for this property?”
For a seller, this is the most revealing question. Not a vague commitment to “maximum exposure”, but a precise description:
- Who takes the photos, a professional or a phone?
- Is there a floor plan, a virtual tour?
- What preparation or staging do you recommend, and at what cost?
- What is the pricing strategy, and why that one?
- How do you handle showing requests and open houses?
- How often will you update me, and through which channel?
A broker who cannot describe this before you sign will not do it better afterward. Execution always resembles the promise.
3. “Can you show me your recent transactions in this area?”
Experience in a specific market matters, but it has to be verifiable. Ask for real transactions, in your neighbourhood or price range, and ask three questions about each:
- What was the initial list price and the final sale price?
- How many days on market?
- Were there multiple offers, and how were they handled?
The gap between asking price and final price is the most telling indicator. A broker who cannot or will not show you this is asking you to believe claims they cannot support.
If you are a buyer, the question becomes: how many buyers have you guided in this sector this year, and how many of their offers were accepted?
4. “How do you handle conflicts of interest?”
This is where the Quebec framework changed and many people still carry outdated information. Since June 2022, dual representation is prohibited in Quebec. A broker can no longer represent both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction.
What remains possible: the broker represents one party and “treats” the other without representing them, owing that party fairness and accurate information, but no duty of advice or loyalty.
So the concrete question is: what happens if a buyer you know becomes interested in my property? Who advises me at that moment? The answer should be clear and immediate. A broker who hesitates on this, or still talks about dual representation as routine, is not following their own regulatory framework.
5. “What happens if I am not satisfied?”
A confident broker has a crisp answer. Before signing, get clear on three parts of the brokerage contract:
The length. It is negotiable. A short contract forces early performance and leaves you a way out.
The termination terms. What is possible, within what timeframe, with what consequences.
The protection clause. It provides that commission remains payable if you sell, shortly after the contract ends, to a buyer introduced during it. It is normal. Just check its duration.
A broker who dodges this question, or makes you feel it is rude to ask, is already telling you how they will react the day something goes wrong.
The questions behind the questions
What you are really trying to learn with these five questions:
Does this person work from analysis or from impressions? Do they communicate precisely or in slogans? Can they support what they claim? Do they understand that they have a legal obligation to represent your interest, not simply to close a deal?
The answers to those underlying questions tell you more than any brochure.
Two more checks
Call a reference, for real. Not a name on a list, an actual conversation. One question is enough: “What was the hardest moment in the transaction, and how did the broker handle it?” Nobody has a prepared answer for that one, and it gets you to the real information.
Look at the quality of their current listings. Open three of their listings online. Are the photos professional? Are the descriptions careful or rushed? The work a broker does for current clients is exactly the work you will get.
The signals that should stop you
- A valuation far above the others, with no comparables to support it
- Pressure to sign on the spot, at the first meeting
- Refusal to put in writing what is included in the service
- Evasive answers about contract length or termination
- No questions about you: your timeline, your situation, your plan. A broker who asks no questions cannot advise you.
What to prepare for the meeting
For a seller: the municipal tax bill, the certificate of location, the list of renovations with years and, if you have them, the invoices. For a buyer: your mortgage pre approval, or at least an honest picture of your capacity, which the affordability calculator gives you in minutes.
A well prepared first meeting saves you weeks.
Want to ask me these five questions directly? That conversation is welcome, and it commits you to nothing.
Georges Matar
Residential Real Estate Broker · RE/MAX DU CARTIER INC.
Contact Georges
