Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about real estate brokerage in Quebec
How to choose a broker, what it costs, which documents to gather to sell, the steps to buy: clear answers to the questions we’re asked most often.
Ernso Cléus, residential and commercial real estate broker — RE/MAX Crystal
First check that the broker holds a valid OACIQ licence — you can confirm it free of charge in the Organization’s register of licence holders. Then look at their experience, their knowledge of your area, and how they communicate: a good broker clearly explains each step and prepares your file before listing. Ernso Cléus holds the OACIQ residential and commercial brokerage licences, knows the North Shore and Laval, and works in French, English and Creole.
Since the Real Estate Brokerage Act came into force, the official title in Quebec is “real estate broker.” The term “real estate agent,” still common in everyday language, no longer has legal standing. If you are looking for a real estate agent, you are in fact consulting a broker licensed by the OACIQ — like Ernso Cléus, residential and commercial real estate broker at RE/MAX Crystal.
A broker’s pay is called the remuneration (in French, rétribution). In everyday language people say “the commission” — but the word in the Real Estate Brokerage Act is remuneration, and that’s the one we use. It is negotiated and written into the brokerage contract; in Quebec, it is generally the seller who assumes it. For a buyer, using a broker usually costs nothing extra. The simplest is to discuss it in a meeting, based on your project — contact us.
You need, among others, the up-to-date certificate of location, the title of ownership, the municipal and school tax bills, the invoices for major work, and the Seller’s Declaration filled out and signed. Gathering these documents before listing speeds up the sale and avoids delays during the promise to purchase. The topic is explained in full in our videos for sellers.
First, a mortgage pre-approval to know your real budget. Then come the search and the visits, the offer to purchase — often conditional on inspection and financing —, the inspection, then the signing at the notary. A broker supports you at every step and defends your interests in the negotiation. See our buyer support page.
It depends on the area, the price and the preparation. On the North Shore, a well-prepared property listed at the right price often sells in less than a month (Q2 2026 data). A poorly prepared property, on the other hand, can sit for months — which is why our marketing always begins with a value analysis and a verification, not with a sign.
Before your property reaches the market, we recommend a check by a building inspector independent of the transaction. You then know your property’s condition in advance — and you have time to have verified what needs to be, before a buyer uses it to negotiate. It’s the heart of preparing your seller’s file.
It is not mandatory, but it is often advantageous. A check by an independent building inspector, before listing, gives you time to correct or document what needs to be — rather than discovering it at the same time as the buyer, when they can use it to negotiate.
Yes. Ernso Cléus holds an OACIQ residential and commercial brokerage licence. He supports the sale of a home as well as that of a plex, an income property or a commercial property. See the commercial brokerage and income property for sale pages.
Greater Montreal, mainly the North Shore and Laval: Terrebonne, Blainville, Rosemère, Lorraine, Mascouche, Repentigny, Saint-Eustache, L’Assomption, Charlemagne, as well as the Laval districts — Sainte-Rose, Vimont, Auteuil, Chomedey, Sainte-Dorothée, Duvernay and Fabreville. Each area has its page in the “Areas” menu.
Your question isn’t here?
Write to us or schedule a meeting — to sell or to buy, we answer plainly, with no obligation.
