A GUIDE FOR SELLING REAL ESTATE:
Selling your property can seem stressful and difficult when getting started. Here are useful points which will give you a step by step guide on what to expect in the process.
With the right help and a solid plan you can sell your house fast and for top dollar!
1-DECIDING TO SELL:
Deciding to sell and where to move next is one of the most critical steps in the whole process. There can be a lot of emotional attachment to your current home, it is also possible that the reason
you are selling is due to a massive life change that can be positive or negative like Marriage, Kids, Divorce, Death… These are all emotional factors which can play very important aspects in
directing your needs or wants to sell.
It is essential when you are deciding to pick a Real Estate Agent, you work with a realtor who is very knowledgeable , empathetic to the situation and has experience in dealing with sensitive circumstances & information. You should keep in mind that the realtor representing you must consider your well-being, and protection at the forefront of others.
2-CHOOSE AN SKILLED REAL ESTATE AGENT:
With everyone knowing multiple realtors there is no lack of choice when it comes to selecting a real estate agent to represent you.
Few crucial Factors that can set a great real estate agent apart include:
–ETHICS– The first and the most important responsibility of a realtor is acting to the best interest of you all the time. Your agent must consider you legally benefitting the most and preventing you from any possible loss during the process .
–EXPERIENCE – Knowing the area you are selling, particularly the segment your property is located in, will help your agent to act with more confidence for an incredible sale.
-EDUCATION – Having a valid real estate trading service licence and obtaining all updated courses regarding current real estate market and regulations. Actively attending most of the available local real estate seminars.
-PEER REFERRAL– With so much information available on the web you want to see what other members of the public have to say about the agent you are deciding to represent you.
-MARKETING STRATEGY– Your agent should be familiar with all different marketing strategies to advise you choosing the best option in presenting your property for an optimum outcome.
Your agent should have an excellent & smart plan and broad reach to get your home showing perfectly in front of as many people as possible (hitting the market sharp and right to the most serious buyers)
An amazing Real Estate Agent will be able to assist you with every step of the process from the very beginning, so it is a perfect practice to make this selection as early as possible… the more help the better!!!
3-EVALUATE & REVIEW THE MARKET TO SET A LIST PRICE:
Whether you are selling a luxury house or a small condo a qualified realtor will be able to provide you with all the information needed to set an appropriate list price.
There are many questions and factors to consider when pricing your home: MLS recently sold homes, market trends, home pricing index, inventory levels, time of year, active listings in MLS on the market, your time-frame to sell, and so much more.
With the help of your qualified realtor, you can answer all the pertinent questions and review all the relevant information and come up with your pricing strategy. There is definitely a science and facts to determine local Real Estate prices.
With the right help and a solid plan you can sell your house fast and for top dollar!
4-GET YOUR HOME READY:
Getting the home ready for sale involves some hard work and some elbow grease. The items that give the largest return on investment when preparing the home include:
Deep Cleaning – Seems obvious but needs proper attention.
De-Cluttering – Nothing gets a Buyer’s mind in a bad place then chaos and clutter.
De-Personalizing – Buyer’s don’t want to think about who is living there, they want to picture themselves the home viewing.
Fixing anything that’s broken – The loose door handle, or burnt out light needs to be fixed
Staging/setting up the home – Staging for photos and staging for showings should be different (symmetry vs flow)
Painting/touch-ups if needed – no one forgets the house with the pink wall, don’t be remembered for the wrong reason.
Beyond that people are always concerned about renovations. 9 times out of 10 the renovation will not give the return needed to cover the costs, but this should be discussed with your realtor as there are some improvements that can be done to increase the value.
Now that home is perfectly set up… quick go get that camera so the kids don’t wreck the place! Most people’s homes never look better than when they get it ready to sell, the extra effort in the prep will go a long way in finding a qualified buyer quickly who will pay top dollar.
A successful real estate agent will provide detailed marketing strategy during the initial meeting with sellers. Most marketing strategies include:
-Professional Photography
-High Quality Videos
-Floorplans with accurate measurements
-A Ton of Online Marketing (organic and ads)
-Mail-Outs
-High Quality Handouts
And Much More!
All the materials created should be used properly with a right plan in order to target the most active buyers in the market. It is important to follow a schedule of how your home is marketed… like a football play that must all be executed in the correct order and in a timely fashion to be successful.
What day will your home go to market (is it better on a Monday, Tuesday etc)? What marketing should be prepared and released before we go to MLS? Should we hold Open Houses (what time, public events, realtor events)? Should we entertain offers anytime (or should we set a date?).
Don’t just be an MLS listing… you want your property to shine!
6-SHOWINGS & OPEN HOUSES:
Now that you have thousands of eyes on your property’s beautiful photos via the mail-outs, the web advertising & websites now you must show it in real life! When creating the showing schedule with your realtor, it is important to be completely flexible and open especially during the 1st couple weeks your home is on the market.
A Top Realtor will be ready to take an incoming showing request at any time.. being accessible and available should be a top priority when selecting your real estate agent. Have your home available to show on short notice as sometimes the 1st calls you get from those keen buyers and their agents are the liveliest prospects.
It is good to ask your realtor who will be conducting the showings. If they operate a large team, is a junior going to be showing your home? Will they know how to romance it properly? Will they be able to answer specific questions and touch on the details that make your home fantastic?
Open Houses are also a good source of traffic. On many of my listings I will hold 4 open houses… 1 realtor open house (this timing varies on the area of Vancouver but will be on a weekday from 10am to 12pm), 1 sneak peek evening event (normally on a Thursday early evening), and a pair of public open houses on the weekend.
After all the marketing exposure as well as the series of private showings as well as the open houses you are then keen to receive an offer… maybe 2… maybe more!
7-OFFER PRESENTATION & NEGOTIATIONS & ACCEPTANCE:
The offer presentation can be a very different process depending on what is happening in your specific market at any given time. In a hot market, if your property listed at a reasonable price is sure to receive multiple offers, and how that is handled is very different from the “more traditional” single offer.
In a multiple offer situation you are reviewing the offers received and comparing them on price, dates, subjects (if any), deposit, included items and a handful of other factors that will help dictate how you will formulate a response…Handling this type of situation requires the utmost care and professionalism and you definitely want an experienced Realtor in your corner to help. In a multiple offer situation the seller holds all the cards as all of the potential home Buyers know that they must put their best foot forward if they want an opportunity to buy your home.
In a single offer situation it generally involves more negotiating as the Buyer will not come to the table with their best offer (even if they say they are). Negotiating the term of the offer is a skillful art.
A smart agent will love trying to get everything possible for you using pretty much any means necessary. Once the offer has been negotiated and all parties have agreed and signed off , you now have an accepted offer!
8-SUBJECT CONDITION PERIOD & SUBJECT REMOVAL:
Once the offer has been accepted the Buyer will have a set amount of time (as negotiated in the offer) to work through their subject conditions. Depending on the type of property & the current market the subject conditions could include, the buyer receiving financing approval, the buyer obtaining a home inspection report, the buyer reviewing strata documents, the buyer scanning for an underground oil storage tank, subject to the buyer selling their current home etc… in some cases their may even be clauses to the sellers benefit for example subject to the seller clearing probate (when dealing with an estate sale). It is important to fully understand what all these subjects mean to you and the possible sale of your property before you agree to them in the previous step of negotiating the offer.
If all goes well the Buyer will remove their subject conditions and in most instances this is when the deposit (roughly 5% of the purchase price in most cases) becomes due and is paid to the Buyers agent’s trust account (in most cases). You now have a firm and binding offer and can tell the world your home is sold!
9-DOCUMENT CONVEYANCING & TRANSFER AT LAND TITLE OFFICE:
Once we have the firm and binding contract in place we will hand it off to a lawyer or notary of your choice who will prepare the necessary documents to discharge and pay out any mortgage and transfer ownership from yourself to the Buyer.
Other documents to review with the lawyer will include the statement of adjustments, which will break down to the penny the cost born by each party (who owes who for property taxes outstanding? Are the strata fees prorated for your mid month completion? Did you get the tenants’ damage deposit transferred over to you? And everyone’s favourite… How much Property Transfer Tax do you owe?). The cost of your lawyer or notary will vary slightly based on the complexity and the number of charges on title that need to addressed… for a simple straight forward transaction you can budget roughly $1000 and go up from there.
You will need to meet with the lawyer a few business days prior to the completion date (the actual day the home will transfer ownership). On the possession date which occurs after the completion date (sometimes later the same day, sometimes a few days later – very important to understand and negotiate this when the offer is being discussed) you will hand over the keys to your clean and empty home and start the next chapter!
**This is a very simplistic overview of all things involved, I would be more than happy to discuss any of these points or how I could assist you in the sale process!**
As a knowledgeable Realtor, I pride myself in providing the highest level of service possible. I would love the opportunity to sit down with you and discuss what your home is worth, and how we can achieve the highest price possible, with the least amount of stress to you!