Selling Guides For Real Estate In Canada

We offer many services to make your selling process easier, faster, and help you keep more of your investment. One of our local Real Estate Agents would be happy to meet with you to provide a free home evaluation. Please refer to one of our local offices for further information.

Major mistakes made by sellers

From incorrect financing to lack of preparation, there are countless mistakes that a seller can make when putting their house on the market. This report covers some of the most common mistakes made by sellers during the property selling process.

If you’re serious about selling your house, it’s important that you know the facts. It seems like a simple prospect – just put your house on the market, show it to a few buyers, and make the sale – but as many sellers find out, selling a home can be a difficult, expensive and long prospect. By knowing some valuable information about the real estate industry, as well as some tips and tricks about selling your property, you’ll be able to more effectively tackle today’s real estate market. This report will tell you how you can:

• Avoid making mistakes when selling your home
• Make you aware of the most common mistakes home sellers make

10 Biggest Mistakes that Sellers Make

Selling your home can be a difficult job, especially since you’re competing against hundreds of other properties. It’s vital that you be aware of what works and doesn’t work when it comes to home selling. Consider the following list of the most common mistakes made by home sellers:

28 Home-Selling Tips

“…discover how to protect and capitalize on your most important investment..”

Because your home may well be your largest asset, selling it is probably one of the most important decisions you will make in your life. To better understand the home selling process, a guide has been prepared from current industry insider reports. Through these 27 tips you will discover how to protect and capitalize on your most important investment, reduce stress, be in control of your situation, and make the most profit possible.

Home Improvements

“… an 80% recovery at resale is still a 20% loss…”

Whether you’re considering remodelling worn-out surroundings, enlarging your home for a growing family or rebelling against yesterday’s standards, you have important investment choices to make. You’ll want to choose home improvements that not only pay off in recovery of the money you spend, but also help you get a better price for your home when and if you sell it. Keep in mind that, considering today’s market, it may be a smarter move to sell and buy again rather than endure a major construction project. After all, even an 80% recovery at resale is still a 20% loss.

Your Reasons for Home Improvement

The first piece of advice is never, ever try and renovate a part of your home, simply for the purpose of selling. You are incurring a huge risk here. The housing market can be volatile, and you never know which amenities are going to pay-off. If you renovate for yourself, you at least know you will get value simply by the enjoyment of the change. Your potential buyer may walk into the improved room, declare they don’t like it, and then change it immediately. They won’t care if you just sunk $30,000 into it. If you are looking to spruce up your home a little bit, before you sell, just make minor cosmetic changes, like painting. They are fast, inexpensive and there is little risk. If you know that you will be living in a home for some time, but you also know that in the future (perhaps when all of your children move out) you’ll be selling it. You should try and balance, which home improvements will pay-off the most, and which ones you would most like to enjoy. For instance, there is little point in renovating the basement, if you never go down there. It’s better just to leave it a blank slate for the next homeowner.

The following is a list projecting which home improvement initiatives often produce the best results upon resale value. Naturally these numbers are not rock solid. There are many factors including your local housing market and what kind of improvements you undertake.

• Kitchen Remodel (minor) – 125%
• Basement Remodel – 98%
• Bathroom Addition – 96%
• Kitchen Remodel (major) – 92%
• Bathroom Remodel – 90%
• Exterior Paint – 90%
• Master Bedroom – 86%

So, here you can see that home improvements to kitchens and bathrooms, pay excellent dividends. Not only that but they are often the most enjoyable changes for your everyday living.

Home Improvements with a Low Return:

Generally improvement of attics and basements yield a very low return, unless of course you do something radical. Then the risk is very high, but the return could be enormous. For instance, a tranquility tank is not going to appeal to many people, but if you find a buyer that is all about tranquility, you’ll make your money back, and more.

Your House Didn’t Sell – Now What?

“… The first thing to do is take a step back and analyze the situation…”

You put your home up for sale and it simply didn’t sell. Undoubtedly, this has created a lot of stress, inconvenience and anxiety for you and your family. Perhaps you already bought another home. Maybe you needed this home sold because of a job change. Regardless of the reason, it’s certainly a burden! What Should You Do?

The first thing to do is to take a step back and analyze the situation. Try to assess what factors led to your home not selling. Below are the top four reasons why homes tend to languish on the market.

How to Sell Your Home Yourself

If you ask anyone who has ever tried to sell their home themselves, they’ll tell you that from the moment the “For Sale by Owner” sign goes up, the phone begins to ring. Unfortunately, many of those calls will not be from prospective buyers but rather from real estate agents looking to obtain your listing.

Obviously the idea of not having to pay a commission to a real estate agent is attractive to any home seller. But because of all the issues involved in the process, selling a home on one’s own can be as challenging as many home sellers will attest to. The key is to be properly prepared. If you are not, your home could remain on the market longer than you expect because you are not attracting and getting offers from qualified buyers. This can be the point where many homeowners become frustrated and consider giving up their dream of selling their home themselves.

However, there are sellers who successfully accomplish selling their own homes. You can be one of them. This industry report has been especially prepared to assist home sellers, such as yourself, understand the elements involved so you, on your own, can sell your home quickly for the most amount of profit.

To help you prepare, here are 10 inside tips that you should be aware of before you make the decision as to whether or not this is the right approach for you.

Why It Is So Important That Your Home Is Correctly Priced and Marketed Properly

“… Your home is your castle–even when it’s for sale…”
Let’s say your terms are competitive: your timing’s clearly set. Now, what about your asking price? Without question, price is your most important sales tool. Here’s why:

The period of best opportunity for selling a home at a reasonable price is the first four weeks after it is put on the market. Buyers who have seen most available listings are waiting for just the right house to come on the market. If your house is priced right from the beginning, you are in the best position to attract the maximum number of buyers able to pay the price your home is worth – and to sell your home within your timetable.
If your house is under priced, you may be swamped with lookers and perhaps get many offers. But you could lose thousands on one of your family’s largest investments.
If your house is overpriced, lookers are apt to be few and far between, with little chance of any offers to pay your unrealistic price. You may lower your price later, but by that time you will have missed many of the most interested buyers.

Passing the Home Inspection – What Buyers Are Looking For

When you put your home up for sale you place it directly under the scrutiny of buyers. Superficial changes, such as new paint and resurfaced floors can do a lot to enhance your home’s appeal, but when it comes to an offer, most serious buyers will seek the assistance of a professional home inspector to ensure that the house is sound beneath the surface.

During most home inspections there are over forty problem areas that will be examined for correct function and condition. It is important that you are aware of what areas buyers will examine, and what you can do to ensure that these are in proper working order. In most cases you’ll be able to conduct a reasonable inspection yourself, if you know what to look for. This report will elaborate on some of the more important home inspection points, and will include information on:

• Home Inspection areas and what to look for
• How to make sure your home is as good beneath the surface as it is above

When Smaller is Sweeter – How to Take the Money and Run

Your house is quiet except for the hum of the refrigerator or the voices from the TV. The rooms are filled with pictures and memories, but the children have grown and gone. You spend hours each week cleaning rooms you never use. Are you an “empty nester” who needs a house for the future? Is it time to downsize or to move into another home more suitable for your retirement years? Here are some tell tale signs:

Your current home is too large for your lifestyle. Rather than close off the extra rooms or rent out the excess space, you may opt to move to a smaller home.
You are retired and your income is lower than it was during your prime working years. You may want or need to sell your current home and move to one with a smaller mortgage payment or less upkeep. Maybe you could live more comfortably in a lower cost-of-living area. If you have loaded up a home equity loan, selling the home could give you welcome cash to eliminate those payments.
As you approach your golden years, your wish is to have a home with hew, if any, stairs, or one which could easily converted to be handicap-accessible if the need arises.
You prefer a location where the weather is more to your year-round liking and where there are activities you like – golf, tennis, boating, or socializing with seniors – during your leisure time.
There is no capital gains tax on the sale of your principal residence. The profit on the sale of your home is tax free, which can provide you with an additional nest egg amount to use for your pleasure and leisure.

Getting it Sold

Once you have decided to sell and move, take a critical look at your current home. Even the best-maintained homes begin to show age.

Before you list your home for sale, be sure it’s in “move-in” condition. Make needed repairs and replacements so the house will show at its best.

Remember, homes that sell fastest and for top dollar show like a model home and are merchandised like a model, too. How does your home compare with other homes for sale, including new homes? Do you want to undergo major renovations, or would you prefer to make price concessions to help your home compete?

Here are some specific questions to ask yourself:

• Are kitchen appliances up to date and in good working order? Does the kitchen have popular features like a microwave, or and island?
• Up-to-date homes often have a master bedroom suite. Does yours? Does the master bathroom have a spa or soaking tub or dual-shower heads?
• Do you have a home office? Is telephone wiring adequate to support an office phone, computer modem, fax machine?
• Have you built any additions – a deck, patio, carport, sunroom – without first obtaining a building permit or without passing inspection?
• Do carpets and tile need to be replaced? Will a professional cleaning make them look like new?
• What do the walls look like? Do they suffer from puppy-bite or kitty-scratch? Should old, tired wallpaper be removed? Do walls and woodwork need repainting?
• Can you make closets and counters look larger? Are there items you can pack away and do without until after you move?
• Are shrubs and trees neat and does the yard look well kept and attractive?
• How does your home compare to others currently for sale now? What can you do to make it say, “Buy me!”

Price is one answer. If you’ve owned your home for years, chances are good you’ve got some serious equity. Perhaps you can afford to be flexible on price in order to get it sold. After all, to get the best possible sale today, a house must be in tip-top condition in every way: price, condition, terms and exposure. That’s where we come in. Give us a call.

How You Know it’s Time to Move

Reason #10: When you first bought the house, you were out in the country, but now that same house is part of the city scene.
Reason #9: You can’t get anything repaired because “they stopped making those parts years ago.”
Reason #8: The swing set out in the backyard has grown roots.
Reason #7: The plumber’s phone number is on your speed dial.
Reason #6: You’re on a first-name basis with the handyman.
Reason #5: The children’s rooms have all been turned into guest bedrooms.
Reason #4: The newspaper lining the guest room dresser is dated July 4th, 1976.
Reason #3: You have to move the furniture to see the carpet’s original colour.
Reason #2: You can’t do anything to the exterior of your home without getting approval from the “Board of Historic Places”.
Reason #1: You haven’t visited half the house in the last six months.