You’ve decided to sell your home and are wondering how to prepare your home for sale. In my previous blog post I went over the basics of what needs to be done to your property before it’s ready to hit the market. If you missed this post, no problem, just click Preparing Your Home For Sale – The Property. Now we are going to go over the basic sale process to selling your home!
The Process:
- Decide if you want to sell first or buy first this well depend on the state of the current real estate market
- Hire me and sign all the necessary paperwork, ensure all parties that are on title of the property are present to sign and will be present again to sign when the offer comes in
- Check the outstanding balance of your mortgage and any penalties associated with the discharge so you know the upfront costs
- Choose a lawyer to close the deal
- Have any unpaid property taxes and water bills either paid off or sent to your lawyer so they can pay it off for you when the deal closes
- Find any surveys or sketches of surveys you may have for your property
- Be prepared to have a “For Sale” sign on your property and people gawking at your home every time they walk or drive by, I promise they are not stalking you
- If you live in a condo, condo townhouse or loft, order the status certificate ahead of time as it usually takes 10 days to arrive, you want to be prepared as soon as an offer comes in, as the majority of offers will be conditional upon the review of the status certificate…..That’s another cost I cover
- Get a pre list home inspection done, especially in a hot market, something that I pay for too
- Be flexible for showings, try to confirm ALL appointments and leave the property during a showing, remember, more buyers coming through your house means better price, terms and conditions for you
- Direct any questions about the property to your realtor, that’s what your paying us to do, we are working in your best interest, always!
- Be realistic about the price of your home, we all think we live in castles, but unfortunately that’s not the case, market value dictates property value, and not your current outstanding debts and potential profit, allowing your property to sit on the market because you’re over priced will make buyers believe there is something wrong with your property
- Emotionally detach yourself, I know it’s easier said then done, but by not doing so, it may impede the sale process by preventing yourself from being realistic about the price and conditions of the offer
- Be prepared to have an open house, meaning the house has to sparkle and you need to find something to do for a couple of hours on the weekend
- On offer night, try to remain calm and let your Realtor do their job by negotiating the best offer for you, if you have something to say, pull your Realtor aside and say it, don’t do it in front of the Buyer’s agent, implement a speak only when your spoken to rule
- Have fun, although this is a stressful time, a drink or two usually helps
- Last but not least……TRUST YOUR REALTOR, you hired them to get the job done, so let them do their job!
Always keep this in the back of your mind……the faster the sale, the less it costs to sell!
Want to know what your home is worth and how I can help get it ready for sale?
If you missed Part 1, just click, Preparing Your Home For Sale – The Property
Want to know sold prices in your Toronto neighbourhood, just click Toronto Sold Stats
