Are you a homeowner in Canada and ready to sell your property? If you are wondering what are the first steps to selling your home, bingo! You’ve landed on the right page. Stay with us as we walk you through the process.
Clearly put everything in black and white:
When homeowners decide to sell, the first smart thing to do is to jot down the home selling plan on a notepad. Making a mental note is not going to suffice because when you want to put up your home for sale, there will be many chores for you to complete. In case you leave things in mutual understanding and take it for granted, as a home seller you might be at a disadvantage.
Once there is a rough plan on paper, you can take the next logical step in selling your home.
Everyone is looking to get the best sales price possible, but in your zeal to sell your house quickly, homeowners often make costly mistakes that can be avoided if you put everything on paper clearly in black and white.
Analyze the right time to market your home:
Is it pertinent that you put your home on the block? Consider the pros and cons of waiting for a bit. Do you have the time and the inclination to be committed to deep cleaning? Will you be able to manage an open house to show your home amidst your busy schedules? A good look at the real estate value and your home’s fetching price may tell you that the market conditions are most ideal in the present.
Hire a professional real estate agent:
Never rule out taking steps to hire a real estate agent. Talking to professionals in the field who are doing this work day in and day out is the best way to gather opinions. Do not settle down with one specialist. Try talking to at least three of them. You may even hire a listing agent and ask for a concise marketing plan from them on how they will attract potential buyers to the home.
Preparing a comparative chart with market values of the homes in your area will be very useful when you want to determine the closing cost of your property.
Prepare Your Home:
Once you have collected all the suggestions, go slow with considering the sound advice. Overall, you will have a good idea of what needs to be done to draw home buyers’ attention or improve the house’s curb appeal. Remove all the excess furniture that is worn-out or bulky, or out of fashion. Think of incorporating a storage unit in the kitchen or the garage or furnishing some contemporary and new furniture that looks good when the home buyers drop by for a home inspection.
Deep cleaning is in order, and do not cut corners on this one. You must hire a deep cleaning professional if the work generated is expected to be way beyond your physical capacity or the time and commitment that you can give to it.
Make repairs or not?
Before you finish this guide on the first steps to selling your home, you must be convinced that not every repair you will undertake after you decide to sell will give you back excellent returns.
Calculating the return on investment must never be overlooked when a house is out for sale by owner. There is little doubt that as a homeowner wanting to put your best foot forward in the home resale market, you will be unnecessarily tempted to overspend on repairs and to furnish it anew.
If this is the case, do not take steps before consulting with the professionals in the field. Experts in the home resale market often agree that money spent on kitchen and bathroom improvements are the best bet for getting a fair sales price. It is a tightrope to walk; you want to repair everything that needs fixing and, at the same time, not end up spending a fortune on improvements that will not improve the curb appeal nor fetch you your expectant price of your home.
Show off your home:
Have you heard of the adage “first impressions are the best impressions”? When it comes to selling your home, nothing is truer than this. The best way to home stage is to make extra effort to present your home so that the prospective home buyers fall in love with it at first sight. It must give warm and positive vibes to them.
It is possible to create this fuzzy environment by hiring a professional home stager. Real estate agents know all and everything, these are the right people who can do a great job out promoting your asset as a true professional. Of course, you could also do the home staging yourself if you are confident that you can create the right environment that you know your deal is almost through at the end of the home inspection.
Here are a few pointers if you like home staging yourself:
– Move out the bulky furniture to make the place look larger
– Use rugs, pillows, and art in positive hues and colors
– Get the lighting right
– Work on the façade. Add plants, de-weed the garden, and lay down fresh mulch.
Spread the good word:
Do not forget to take great pictures of your home when it is ready for staging. Hire professional photographers who can click high-quality pictures. Use these photographs to spread the word about your home for sale on the right platforms. You will be surprised how this trick does wonders in having buyers flock to you to see the place in real.
Deciding the price:
If there is one thing that is really difficult for the first steps to selling your home, it is pricing the house correctly. This is a crucial step, and you don’t want to scare the home buyers away with your asking price.
Remember that homes that are overpriced at a sale by the owner proverbially do very badly on the market. They are challenging to go, and even if they do, they sell much below the prevailing market rate.
Critically review the price of the nearby homes that are on the block. You can hire a professional appraisal expert who will generate an unbiased value of your estate.
Final note:
If your idea is to buy a new home, do not do it before selling the current one. Find out your pay-off price from the lending institution and check out the offers waiting for you. Compare the rate of interest and servicing fees. Ask around for referrals before zeroing on the mortgage brokers.
If you are not making a net profit on your home selling, consider renting it out, even if it is for some time. You could put it on the block when the market conditions seem right to you again to put up with the sale.