Selling Your Home

Things to consider when selling your home

The list price

The market value of a house is the price that a willing and knowledgeable buyer and seller will agree upon. Only the market value is of importance to the buyer!

Serious buyers with money and motivation quickly learn the market value of homes that meet their needs. They don’t waste time bidding and will look at overpriced properties.

Benefits of competitive pricing

A more attractive price yields better exposure to serious buyers.
There’s less inconvenience for you.
It yields a better response to advertising, signage, ads, etc.
Competitive pricing can attract a faster sale with fewer conditions.
A competitive price will attracts higher offers and is one of the best ways to attract competing offers, either directly or indirectly.

When a property is priced too high and does not sell right away, the seller will reduce the price to promote a sale. As time goes by, the seller will continue to reduce the price. However, because less interest is generated the longer a property remains on the market, the price can drop until the house finally sells at a price below market value.

For best results, research indicates listing at a price within 2 to 3% of the market value.

Prepare your home for showing

The first five minutes are critical in selling your home! It’s been said that buyers make up their minds in fewer than 5 minutes and then spend the rest of their time rationalizing their decision. Their first impressions begin with the yard, the driveway and the front door.

Here are a lot of things you can do to make your house ready for viewing. These can make a difference of literally thousands of dollars in the market value of the property. Remember your stiffest competition is the brand new “model” home your buyer has just seen.

Give your home the best market exposure

After you have showcased and priced your home, it’s ready to take to market. There are a series of steps an experienced REALTOR® will take to give your house the maximum exposure in the first few days and weeks.

This includes:

Listing your property on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), to notify the agent network who will bring you specific buyers for your property
Putting a FOR SALE sign on your property
Putting a lock box on your door for easy accessibility for other REALTORS®
Making “feature sheets” to highlight the strengths of your property
Networking with their networking referral system
Distributing “just listed” cards in your neighbourhood
Posting ads in various advertising methods
Conducting an open house for REALTORS®, real estate sales representatives, agents, brokers and the public
Creating a virtual open house tour
- Caravan Bus Tour
- Special invitation to be mailed to REALTORS® with current listings in your area
- Upload information on the internet
- Contacting homes in the surrounding area

The final terms of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale…”the Offer”

Even when a buyer and a seller come close to agreeing on the final price of the property, the successful completion of the sale can rest on many factors which must be included in the agreement of purchase and sale.

Some of the more common items that may receive attention, and therefore be items for negotiation between the two parties are:

Conditional on financing. If the buyer needs to find financing to finalize the agreement or the buyer is already approved for financing and the bank requires a satisfactory appraisal of the property, this condition is included in the agreement. The condition must be met within a set timeframe.
Conditional on the sale of the buyer’s home. Sometimes the buyer, whose home is on the market, but not yet sold, wants to agree that the sale is subject to the sale of their property. In other words, the buyer agrees to buy your home as long as they can sell their home within a set period of time.
Conditional upon home inspection by a qualified home inspector. The buyer arranges and pays for an inspection of the home by a qualified inspector.
Conditional upon satisfactory home insurance. Older homes that have had few mechanical improvements can experience huge rate increases. Unfortunately, these increases have made some properties too expensive to own.
Closing dates. Some may want or need an earlier or later closing date than you would like. Be prepared for flexibility.
What equipment, fixtures and chattels of yours are included in the sale price?
Condition of the house. Repairs the buyer may want or need to have done.
How the mortgages are dealt with (sometimes the buyer asks a seller to hold a mortgage).