Every seller likely has one thing in common. It's the desire to get as much money as possible from selling their home as quickly and as hassle-free as possible. Before you begin the selling process, really evaluate why you're moving. Do you have too few rooms, or too many? Relocation because your job moved to another city? Are the neighbours driving you away? Or are you simply looking for a change? A complete analysis of your current position will set a good foundation for your next home hunt.
Selling Your Home
Attractive to Buyers
While we all believe that our home is our castle, our personal tastes may not appeal to everyone. Your REALTOR® will work with you to give you an impartial analysis of your home. How does it compare to other "competing" homes on the market? How does your home reflects current design and style trends? They'll also take a good look at the general condition and upkeep of your home. They may suggest staging to appeal to more buyers or upgrades.
Overall, your REALTOR® will work with you to position your home on the market so that your home sells as quickly as possible.
Advertise Your Home On MLS®
This service is only available to REALTORS®. It is a database of all the homes for sale through real estate boards and brokerages. Details about your home will be available to other REALTORS® and their buyers searching for homes in your area, in the range of your asking price.
Arrange Showings
First order of business is giving your home the once over with a mop and dust cloth. Your REALTOR® will prepare a home feature sheet. This is a synopsis of your home that highlights lot size, room dimensions, features and upgrades as well as utility costs and taxes. Prospective buyers will take a sheet and refer to it while viewing your home. Plus, it makes for a great reference sheet when the buyers are comparing properties.
The Open House: Many buyers enjoy visiting open houses including some neighbours who perhaps have friends or family interested in the area. You may need to hold open houses over a few weeks, with people poking through all areas of your home. It also means you'll have the constant pressure of keeping your home looking its best.
The Showing: The brokerage office or REALTOR® will call to make an appointment for a showing when there is an interested buyer. If you're lucky, you'll have time for the last-minute tidying. Of course, you can say no if the prospective purchaser wishes to come at an inconvenient time. The Buyers will likely pick up a feature sheet and their REALTOR® will leave their business card. It's usually best the Seller is not at home during showing. This will allow buyers to freely wander around the home and ask questions or make comments to their REALTOR®.
Buy Or Sell First?
Buy or sell first? It's not a straight forward answer. After all, if you find a purchaser for your existing home, before you've found a new one, you may find yourself living out of a suitcase if convenient closing dates cannot be negotiated. On the other hand, if you find your dream home before you've unloaded your old one, you may be faced with carrying two mortgages for a time.
So how do you manage? Easy. Do your homework and have a good idea about the neighbourhood and type of home you're looking for. Do an honest evaluation of your family's needs and budget.
Speak to your REALTOR® and start your new home search as soon as your existing home hits the market or even before.
If you've found a home, before you've sold your existing one, use "sale of your existing home" as a condition on your offer. If you don't sell your house within a fixed period of time, you can choose not to go through with the offer. This, however, is a difficult condition for many sellers to agree upon and you may find that you have to forgo your price negotiating power. It also depends on the market and how competitive it is.
Purchasing a home before you sell could be a risky strategy if you're counting on the proceeds from the sale.
If you've found a purchaser before you've found your next home, use "purchase of a new home" as a condition when you sign back the agreement. Again, it will only be for a fixed time. Even if you have not found the ideal next house by the time the deal closes, you may still wish to proceed with the offer. As a buyer with a "sold house" you will be in a better position to negotiate price.