Step 1: Preparing Your Home
You cannot change the location of your home or change the market, but you can make your house stand ‘head and shoulders’ above the competition and sell your house for the highest price and in the shortest amount of time.
Exterior:
In real estate, it’s called “curb appeal” what people see when they first drive up to your home. An inviting exterior compels buyers to view the interior… is the “Must buy” to a “drive by”. Chipping or cracking paint around doors, windows or anywhere on your house will reduce the likelihood of a successful home sale. A freshly painted front door can make a home more attractive, and a potential buyer will be more likely to feel the house has been well maintained.
Interior:
Are the carpets clean? Is the paint un-chipped and in good shape? At the very least, the property should be clean, freshly painted and free of clutter. A fresh coat of paint is considered one of the best returns on investment a seller can make – a clean, freshly painted house will sell for a higher price and nothing makes a home look newer faster. Neutral colors such as beige, white, off-white, and gray have a broad appeal to prospective buyers. These colors suggest newness and cleanliness. Repair any cracks or holes in the walls and ceilings and strip outdated wallpaper.
Step 2: Preparing You and Your Family
To prepare yourself and your family for the selling process, you must disassociate yourself with your home. You must make the mental choice to let go of the emotional attachments. The best thing to remember is soon the home will no longer be yours, essentially it’s just a house and not your home anymore.
To continue the disassociation process, you should remove all personal effects. Personal effects are family photographs, memorabilia and nick-knacks. When potential buyers enter the home, you want them to be able to imagine themselves living there. Seeing your personal effects will only do a disservice to your main goal — selling your home.
Step 3: Setting the Price
When setting a price, the most important thing is to be realistic. If the price is too high you may not find a buyer. Too low and you cheat yourself out of money
Appraisal
Regardless of what you originally paid for your house and the cost of improvement you have made, the only price that matters is what the market will bear at the time you decide to sell. You may consider hiring a appraiser with specialized training an experience. Don’t rely on assessed valuation made for tax purposes. Such valuations may no be reliable indicators of value, as they are usually made using mass appraisal techniques.
Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)
Whether or not you get an appraisal, I will develop a comparative market analysis, this analysis will describe home in your area that have recent sold, of put for sale and may compare specific features of your home to others. The value of a corner lot, a city view, extra bedroom or a family room, for example the analysis may also point out market fluctuations causes by the opening of a new schools or business, as well as long term trends.
Net proceeds
Once you’ve decided on a prince range, I can help you calculate an estimated amount you might net from the sale. If you have owned your house for several years, you may have built up sizable equity. Equity is the difference between the value of your home and the balance on your mortgage. After subtracting what you owe on your mortgage, I will give you an idea of what costs you will incur in closing. These may include title fees, taxes, a penalty for prepaying your mortgage, brokerage commission, attorney fees and charges for preparing and recording documents. Finally, ask our tax advisor or attorney about the tax implications of your proposed sale.
Step 4: The Listing
After setting the price, you have to sign a listing agreement in which you give me the authorization to sell your house during a specific amount of time. Along with the listing agreement you will need to sign the following documents:
Data Information Sheet:
A form that provides me the information and details about the property. This is the information that will be used to add the listing on MLS.
Working with the Realtor:
A form that helps you understand the different possible forms of agency relationship.
FINTRAC Form:
REALTORS® across Canada are now required to collect personal identification information from their clients in order to comply with federal legislation. These new federal laws and regulations took effect June 23, 2008 and are aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing activities. As part of the federal Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA), financial institutions and REALTORS®, among other professionals, must identify customers who conduct financial transactions.
The regulations are enforced by the federal agency known as the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, or FINTRAC.
Under the new rules, REALTORS® must obtain, record, and retain the personal information of their clients, including their full legal name, address, date of birth and occupation. To do this, they require a government-issued identification document such as a driver’s licence, passport, or residency card.
REALTORS® are to track the amounts and source of funds received during the course of a real estate transaction. The Act also requires these identification records and FINTRAC reports be kept for five years.
The public needs to be aware that REALTORS® are asking for this personal information to comply with the new federal laws.
Length of the Listing:
The listing agreement will specify for how long you are agree to list your house, three months is the markets minimum amount of time to advertise your real estate and respond to buyers.
EXCLUSIVE Listing:
Is when you give to me the exclusive right to sell your home. The listing agreement is a contract. You will get a copy for you
Step 5: Marketing
Marketing of homes is one of the main areas of the real estate business that has evolved alongside the education of the average buyer. These two things are closely related as buyers become ever more vigilant and choosy about their purchases. This had led them to seek more and more information in regards to their new homes and the Internet has been able to provide this. In fact the agent website has become one of the single most important tools in a Realtor®’s arsenal.
However, there is more to marketing a home than simply posting it online and hoping for the best. There is a variety of secondary marketing that ensures a home will achieve maximum coverage on a given real estate market.
Here some of our marketing tools:
1. Photographs
Most home buyers begin a home search online, so good photos are essential. Listings without a photo or with only an exterior shot are often passed over and ignored. Remember buyers are visual. With the help of a professional photographer, our team will ensure the best pictures of the property are used to showcase your home’s full potential to prospective buyers.
2. Signage
Some homeowner think the “for sale” sign is a way to promote the agent himself, it’s true, but the signage encourages home shoppers to immediately call. It’s an excellent form of advertising! If your home is a corner lot, I will put up two signs.
3. Virtual Tours
Virtual tours aren’t just to showcase million-dollar homes anymore. Every home should have a virtual tour, Buyers love, love, love virtual tours. A good virtual tour will grab your buyers by the hand and lead them from room to room, showing a 360-degree view. We give the opportunity to the buyer to see the house in detail with a virtual tour exclusive for your home.
4. Print and online Advertising
“Everywhere the buyers look, they have to see your home advertised”. Print advertising reaches buyers who read newspaper, magazines, online advertisements, etc.
5. Direct Mail
We have direct mail program. Every 15 days, we send a print color brochure to your local postal code (your neighbourhood) because everybody has friends and relatives who might want to move near them, to the agents who represent buyers in your neighbourhood as well as buyers who live in other areas and want to relocate to your neighbourhood.
6. Electronic Flyers
Technology has made it very easy to create and send electronic flyers; we take advantage of this new technology. We have a database with hundreds of potential buyers and real estate agents who sell in different areas.
7. Open Houses
We hold 2 open houses per month. We place open house signage throughout the area directing buyers to the house. We advertise the open house in the newspaper, online and we send invitations to your neighbours.
Note: Not every home is suitable for an Open House due to location or other factors.
8. Agent Tours
Since most buyers are represented by an agent, it’s a good idea to draw as many agents and brokers as possible to view your home. Some agents go to the house for a preview/pre-inspection appointment. These agents are looking for specific houses according to their buyer’s needs and wants.
Step 6: Staging Your Home
Home staging is the process of preparing the home’s interior prior to going up for sale and improving the properties appearance. The main goal of home staging is to sell the home quickly and for the highest possible price. This is done by furniture and accessory placement and transforming it into a warm, appealing and attractive home. Staging also makes the home look brighter and larger. Staging also involves reducing the home’s flaws, depersonalizing, decluttering, cleaning, improving condition items, and landscaping.
Step 7: Offer Counter Offer
The offer counter offer process is one of the most exciting parts of buying and selling real estate. It can also be one of the most costly aspects if you don’t make informed decisions or let outside factors such as emotions cloud your judgment. I have been on both sides of property transactions, as a Realtor® and private investor. When you use me as your real estate agent, you can be sure you will be provided with honest, informed and intelligent advice.
Step 8: The Pre-Closing
The Title Search and Title Insurance
This is the process to ensure that you have the ownership rights to the home and that the title is free of any major defects. In essence, it is a report to prove to the buyer that you title is marketable. Defects can be things such as unpaid taxes or legal claim of ownership. Title Insurance will protect you from any of these defects.
The Home Inspection
Once a buyer makes an offer and you accept it, you have a contract. One of the most common conditions of that contract is the home inspection. The buyer is going to have a professional home inspector go through your house and notify the buyer of any repairs that need to be made and to make sure there aren’t any hidden problems.
The last thing that you want is to have your deal fall through because of an unknown problem uncovered by the buyer’s building inspector. This is especially true if it is a minor problem and could easily have been repaired ahead of time — if only you had known about it.
The buyer now has three options:
Option 1: The buyer will then ask you to fix the problems found by their inspector – or no deal.
Option 2: The buyer will ask for a reduction in price or a cash credit at closing if the repairs aren’t fixed before closing – or no deal.
Option 3: The buyer may find the inspection results unsatisfactory and cancel the purchase entirely, not giving you a chance to make any corrections.
The Appraisal
Your buyer’s lender (financial institution) will require an appraisal appointment before the closing of the property. The lender wants to make sure that the property will sell for at least the amount of money they are being loaned (their mortgage).
The Final Walk-Through
After all the remaining conditions have been removed (waived or fulfilled) from the contract, all that’s left before the closing/completion date is the buyer’s final walk-through. Depending on the contract they may be able to view the property one or two more times.
Step 9: The Closing
Usually a few days before the closing date you will meet with your lawyer to discuss the closing procedures and to make sure that they keys to the home are exchanged. At this time your lawyer will discuss how the proceeds of the sale will be distributed and will ensure the taxes, title searches and other closing costs are paid.
During this meeting please make sure you bring your keys, garage door openers and personal ID with you.
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