Things to Avoid Doing Before Putting Your Home on the Market

Things to Avoid Doing Before Putting Your Home on the Market

Buying and selling a home can be a highly time-consuming process with a myriad of intricacies that influence the length and scope of the deal. Thus, for first-time sellers, mistakes are bound to happen—especially if they lack the know-how and experience surrounding the process.

Every homeowner would want to sell their house for the most money possible, which typically results in a back and forth dialogue between sellers and buyers. However, if a first-time seller doesn’t understand the numerous intricacies that go into selling a home, they might end up with a few regrets.

Here are some of the most important things that first-time home sellers should avoid doing before listing their home:

• Listing without doing research
• Not getting an appraisal
• Prioritizing open houses over showings
• Not tidying up

Listing without research

You should never jump into a decision head-first—even more so when it comes to a decision as big as selling a house. Properties and real estate are huge investments, so you should take as many precautions as you can when dealing with such a transaction.

Be it the job or the housing market—always research the current state of the market. Determine if now is an opportune moment to sell. Figure out the past and current market value within your area to develop an understanding of how well the market is doing. 

Look at past housing prices and compare them to now. Ask yourself: are they worth more now than they were a few months or years ago? Looking at housing prices within the past decade will help you understand if the market is falling or rising. Get advice from real estate agents to aid in your decision.

If you choose to sell your house when the market is falling, then you might lose out on a lot of money compared to if you waited a year when housing prices went up. Sellers should always do as much research as they can to make a well-informed decision regarding the timing of their listing.

Not getting an appraisal

While an appraisal might set you back a couple hundred dollars, choosing to not get one may result in you overpricing your house. If your house is overpriced, then you might have trouble finding buyers and receiving offers.

A potential buyer might like your house, but it sits well outside of their price range. If it seems like they can’t afford it, then they will probably move on to another property.

Alternatively, with an overpriced house, you might attract a group of buyers with a much higher budget and higher expectations. While you may justify the price of your home, these types of buyers might disagree. They can be put off from placing a bid as they feel that your house does not justify its price.

Sellers that overprice their home often fall victim to these problems. Many home-sellers would want to sell their home as soon as possible—no one wants their house to be constantly overlooked and receive little to no offers. Thus, an appraisal is an absolute must for sellers, as it provides sellers with a ballpark-range of a property’s worth, allowing them to list their home at a reasonable price.

Prioritizing open houses over showings

While first-time home-sellers may think that open houses are prime opportunities to efficiently showcase your house to multiple buyers at once, open houses are not as advantageous as these people think.

Despite open houses being an opportunity for home buyers to view the house, serious buyers would much rather have a more intimate time with the house. This is why many buyers schedule showings for the houses they want.

Showings are imperative to selling your house. They provide buyers with an opportunity to explore the house on their own time and form a decision by themselves. Buyers might find it inconvenient or difficult to freely explore a potential home if they have three other buyers around the house doing the same thing. Some buyers want a more private viewing of something that they might live in one day. This level of intimacy allows prospective buyers to freely envision a potential life in your home.

Every showing is an opportunity for buyers to inspect your house and see if it’s something they want. Thus, you should never turn one down. Potential buyers are sometimes hard to come by, so you need to capitalize on every opportunity that may lead to getting your house sold.

Not cleaning their home

When you put your house up for sale, your house needs to look at its best. In doing so, you appeal to much more buyers and receive more bids. No buyer is going to place an offer on a house after attending a showing and seeing a messy house.

A house needs to be clean and things need to work. Wash the dishes, make the beds, sweep the floors, and fix the lights. As an agent shows prospective buyers around the house, ensure that all the lightbulbs throughout the house are working. Make sure that all the rooms are tidy, and everything works as it should. Turn your home into a model house.

While some sellers might do it out of security, the lack of personal items within a house can provide buyers with an idea of how they, personally, live in the house. Many personal items in a house can evoke a high level of your own personality within a home. If you’re trying to get the house to appeal to someone else, then you should do your best to allow them the opportunity to picture themselves in it.

Create a welcoming atmosphere for buyers attending a showing. Provide them with the opportunity to really see themselves in the house. Don’t give buyers a chance to be put off by your home—give them a reason to stay and make an offer.

Sources:

https://www.canadianliving.com/life-and-relationships/money-and-career/article/best-advice-and-biggest-mistakes-in-a-hot-housing-market

https://realtytimes.com/advicefromtheexpert/item/1025367-9-things-not-to-do-when-putting-your-house-on-the-market

https://www.moving.com/tips/how-to-get-your-house-ready-to-sell/

Gelderman.ca Real Estate Team
RE/MAX Aldercenter Realty

Visit our TEAM web site HERE www.gelderman.ca

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7 Things To Consider Before Buying A House With A Pool

7 Things To Consider Before Buying A House With A Pool

Between hosting neighbourhood pool parties, the convenience of cooling off when the mercury rises, and having a solid excuse to buy cute, doughnut-shaped air mattresses, there are plenty of reasons why buying a property with a pool may seem like a no-brainer. But despite all the pros, consider the cons before you dive into a pool purchase.

Inspector Gadgets

If you’ve fallen in love with a house that has a pool, book an appointment with a certified pool company to conduct a full inspection. The water lines should be leak-free, the pump pressure tested and the heater in top-notch condition. The equipment, such as the cover and safety fencing, need to be looked over too. Problems begin to arise as pools age, so ask the sellers for installation dates and any repairs that have been done over the years.

Search and Employ

When it comes to pools, knowledge is key. Find out what the municipal bylaws are around private pools — there may be restrictions that need to be taken into consideration. Talk to a reliable pool company about maintenance and annual repairs costs, and think about who will clean it and treat the water. It’s also smart to look at recent, in-the-neighbourhood sales of properties with and without pools to see if their investments of time and money paid off when it came time to resell.

High Flyer

Cannonball competitions are super fun, but they aren’t going to fund the pool’s heating bill or yearly maintenance costs (unless you charge admission). Get an idea of what the sellers spend so that you have a clear picture of what your financial commitments would be. Also, protect yourself from unexpected water-related costs by putting a condition in the offer for a full pool inspection.

Time Management

Beyond the financial commitment, think through how much time you’re realistically able to spend cleaning, treating, covering, uncovering, draining, scraping and scrubbing that pool. If you go on extended yearly vacations or head up to cottage country every weekend, will you actually have time to enjoy the pool? Look at your life and see if there’s room to really use this backyard investment to its fullest.

Safety First

An outdoor pool can be the fun, family-friendly focal point of a backyard…but only if you feel safe having it. Secure pool fencing and locking gates are a must to protect kids — and pets — from getting into deep water. Taking out liability insurance is something to consider too, especially if you plan on hosting summertime pool parties or have friends (and their friends) use the pool, particularly when you’re out of town.

Value Added

To figure out if a pool will increase or decrease the resale value of your new property, take a good look around you. Is it in a good location? Does it get plenty of light? Survey the other properties in the area to determine if there are a plethora of pools; not having one could affect future pricing because it’s an expected asset. But if the house is perfect and a pool is still not for you, don’t be deterred — there are economical ways to fill it in.

Weather the Storms

You love the idea of having an outdoor pool — evening dips with daiquiris, kids splashing about, and morning workouts — but do you live in a part of Canada where it makes sense? You need to get six months use out of a pool to make it cost efficient, so be realistic about the climate or else your investment will be under three feet of snow for half the year.

With all the cons neatly listed for your consideration, all that’s left to do now is figure out what’s best for your family. Sure, there are costs involved, but no one can deny that having a backyard pool is loads of fun for a family and can be a backyard memory maker. Decisions, decisions…

Gelderman.ca Real Estate Team
RE/MAX Aldercenter Realty

Visit out Team web site HERE www.gelderman.ca

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How to Find and Pick the Right Buyer

How to Find and Pick the Right Buyer

When you finally decide to sell your home, you must find a buyer that is willing to purchase your house. However, a lot of things can happen between finding a buyer and closing the sale. Sales often fall through with buyers getting cold feet, making low offers, or ultimately deciding to go for another property.

There are numerous things that affect a buyer’s decision—be it the price of the house, location, and the timing of the purchase itself. Here are a couple of tips to help you find and pick the right buyer:

• Price attracts specific buyers
• Consider the offer
• Take notice of their enthusiasm

Price attracts specific buyers

All homebuyers have a specific budget they need to adhere to. When you list your home at a specific price, buyers that can afford that price are sure to place bids and make offers. As a house is listed for sale, sellers often encounter difficulties in finding the right buyer for their home. This can be due to several things; whether it be a bad job market, the current state of the local housing market, or the economy—the list goes on.

All home-sellers want to make the most of their long-time investment and would try to avoid a short sale as much as possible. However, the process of buying and selling a home can be an incredibly grueling task, which is why many sellers get desperate at points as the process continues to drag on.

It’s important to understand the market and consider making some sacrifices to appeal to more buyers. While the market price in your area may be affordable for some, your actual listing price may not. If you’re having trouble finding more buyers, it might be better for you to lower your asking price or broaden your house’s price range in hopes of appealing to a wider market.

The broader your range, the more buyers you can appeal to which may potentially result in more bids placed on your home. In doing so, you’re able to narrow down the purchase to a few select buyers before you eventually land on the one who is fully willing to buy. Therefore, by changing your price range, you broaden your search for the right buyer which will provide you with more potential buyers and opportunities to sell your house.

Consider the offer

With your price range broadened to accommodate more buyers, you have a higher chance to receive more offers on your home. Some offers may be very close to your asking price while others might be on the lower side.

However, it’s crucial to consider all the offers that you receive. Just because an offer that is placed on your home is close to what you want, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the deal is said and done.

The process of buying and selling a home can be a long one, and a lot can change before the deal is closed—potential buyers often require house inspections before making a final decision, or they might have realized that they offered too much than they’re able to pay.

Thus, it’s critical for all home-sellers to keep multiple offers in mind rather than focusing on a single great offer. Many sellers typically have a shortlist of their most appealing offers so that they’re able to negotiate with multiple buyers and figure out which ones are the most serious about buying the property.

Take notice of their enthusiasm

When it comes down to negotiating with buyers and trying to close the deal, a buyer’s enthusiasm is a great sign to determine whether you’ve found the right buyer or not. All homebuyers look for the house best suited for them. Thus, depending on the amount of enthusiasm they show with regards to the purchase of your home, you’re able to gauge how serious they are about buying.

Enthusiasm can be shown in a myriad of ways, including:

• Transparency
• Response
• Overall excitement

With regards to transparency, if a buyer showcases a lack of transparency, you should be a little concerned. This isn’t to say that they’re not going to buy your home; they could, but it’s never a great sign. Buyers that seem very hesitant to provide information to you and your real estate agent can mean that they’re having second thoughts, but it could also mean that they’re currently unable to provide you with the information until a later time.

A buyer’s response time also shows their enthusiasm towards the purchase. If a buyer is highly responsive, then it usually means that they’re willing and eager to buy your home. If they take quite a bit of time with each response, it might mean the opposite. This can drag out a house deal for a while which can add some unneeded pressure on an already stressful process.

As for overall excitement, buyers that express a high level of enthusiasm towards the prospect of purchasing your home is always a great sign. However, it’s important to note the excitement among everyone within the buyer’s party.

For example, a newlywed couple might be looking to purchase a house in your area. One partner might express a lot of enthusiasm at the idea of owning your home while the other might not be as thrilled. These couples that share conflicting opinions on a property are huge red flags, since it might mean that they won’t purchase a house until they find one that they both like.

Enthusiasm is an incredibly significant component to finding the right buyer for your house. Purchasing a home is a gigantic and momentous investment in everyone’s life, so it’s understandable that buyers won’t invest in a house that everyone isn’t completely sold on.

Therefore, you should always take note of the enthusiasm among potential buyers. Be on the lookout for buyers showcasing a unified sense of excitement, eagerness, and transparency towards your home and the purchase. Buyers expressing these traits can end up becoming the new owners of your home.

Sources:

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/mortgage-real-estate/09/buy-house-emotion-free.asp

https://www.housesimple.com/blog/how-to-choose-the-perfect-buyer

Gelderman.ca Real Estate Team
RE/MAX Aldercenter Realty

Visit our Team web site HERE www.gelderman.ca

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Five Things to Know About FSBOs

Five Things to Know About FSBOs

With technology always on hand and information literally at their fingertips, the hyper-connected Millennial generation has taken a do-it-yourself approach when it comes to consumables, including everything from products and services, to purchases of every kind – including real estate. Generation Y might as well be called Generation DIY. The appeal in DIY lies in the flexibility, customization and let’s face it, the cost-effectiveness. As a consumer, job one is educating yourself, weighing your options, and making an informed decision. When it comes to real estate, an FSBO could be the right decision for those who want to save the commission fee and take the reigns when it comes to all aspects of their transaction. But buyer and seller beware – an FSBO has some drawbacks as well. Here are five things to know about FSBO.

5 Facts About FSBOs

What is an FSBO, anyway?

FSBO is an acronym for “For Sale By Owner,” meaning the seller hasn’t retained the services of a professional agent to assist with the sale of their home. By doing all the legwork in selling your property yourself, the seller will save on the commission fees he or she would be required to pay to both the selling agent and the buyer’s agent.

Selling a home is a full-time job.

Now, we’re not saying you can’t sell your home yourself, because you can. There are plenty of resources out there to help you DIY. We’re just saying that a professional, experienced real estate agent can do a better job of it, and get you more money too. While saving on the agent’s commission might be tempting, consider what you get as part of the price you pay, including (but not limited to!):

• Setting the right asking price
• Preparing your home for sale
• Marketing the listing
• Showing the home
• Reviewing and negotiating offers
• ALL THAT PAPERWORK!

All this takes know-how and time. And you likely already have a full-time job, right? And remember that for avid home hunters, listings get stale fast. If you home’s been on the market for an extended period, due to delays related to home staging, marketing and showing, prospective buyers will lose interest fast. Remember: you only have one chance to make a first impression.

Some hard stats:

While Canadian statistics on FSBOs are limited, the US-based National Association of Realtors has done some research on the subject:

• FSBOs represented 7% of home sales in 2017.

• The typical FSBO home sold for $200,000, versus to $265,500 for agent-assisted transactions.

• FSBO methods used to market a listing:
          Yard sign: 22%
          Friends, relatives, or neighbours: 18%
          Online classified advertisements: 6%
          Open house: 10%
          FSBO websites: 5%
          Social media: 12%
          Multiple Listing Service (MLS) website: 4%
          Print newspaper advertisement: 2%
          Direct mail (flyers, postcards, etc.): 2%
          Video: 1%
          No advertising: 49%

• Most difficult tasks reported by FSBO sellers:
          Getting the right price: 17%
          Understanding and performing paperwork: 12%
          Selling within the planned length of time: 5%
          Preparing/fixing up the home for sale: 8%
          Having enough time to devote to all aspects of the sale: 3%

Risks and rewards

For novices, the FSBO transaction can be tricky. As with all things, the more you do something, the better you’ll be at it. Experienced real estate agents can be worth their weight in gold. Again, we’re not saying you can’t sell your home yourself, and in fact, many people do. But there are risks that can be mitigated by working with someone who’s been there, done that. Potential pitfalls include:

• Pricing that could turn off prospective buyers.
• Misunderstood legal matters disclosed in writing.
• Safety concerns with showing your own home.
• Poor negotiation that leaves money on the table.
• Unrealistic promises as part of the deal.

Your agent is a Boy Scout: always prepared.

As a seller, how do you get the phone to ring? Generating interest from potential buyers is the key objective of listing agents. Especially in a buyer’s market, yard signs won’t cut it. If you’re not a real estate agent, or a marketing or advertising professional, you likely don’t know where to start – and who could blame you? Marketing through yard signs, brochures, and online and print advertising can help spread the word. How does a virtual tour sound? Do you plan to host an open house for buyers? What about an open house for agents and brokers? Beyond marketing, an FSBO means you get to juggle third parties such as a home stager, photographer, appraiser, the buyer’s agent (or if they’re DYI-ing it as well, the buyers), then throw in a pile of paperwork, just for fun – NOT.

Then there’s the legal stuff…

Once you have a buyer who is interested in purchasing your home, consider the legal side of things. The buyer will submit an offer, and when you’re confident that you have a good deal on the table (you are confident that it’s a good offer, right?), a contract will need to be signed by yourself and your buyer. Remember, if it’s not written in the contract and signed, then it doesn’t count. An Agreement of Purchase and Sale will include details about the buyer, the seller and the property. It will outline the purchase price, the deposit, fixtures and chattels, title searches, closing arrangements, conditions and clauses. A real estate lawyer can help with this step of the process. The benefit of working with an agent is that oftentimes, they already have a lawyer they regularly work with, to ensure all legal matters are handled correctly and in a timely manner.

Your home is likely your biggest asset. When you’re ready to sell the place, ensure you’re well-represented – whether you represent yourself, or are backed by a professional real estate agent. A “minor” mistake can mean the difference between a lucrative sale, or tens of thousands of dollars left on the table. As the consumer, do your due diligence and make an informed decision before you start the selling process.

Gelderman.ca Real Estate Team
RE/MAX Aldercenter Realty

Visit our Team Web Site HERE www.gelderman.ca

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4 Tips to Help Sell Your Home Faster

4 Tips to Help Sell Your Home Faster

If your goal is sell your home faster, renovations can help move the needle. Buyers are attracted to a space that feels new and modern, so even small upgrades can go a long way – especially if it’s been decades since the last home update.

If you plan to put your house on the market, consider making these small but impactful updates before you list.

Fresh paint: A fresh coat of paint, both inside and outside the home, can brighten up the space and make it feel new again. Avoid dark paint as it can make the home feel smaller. Instead, opt for a neutral colour. It shows nicely and allows potential buyers to better picture their own furniture and style imprint in the space.

Kitchen facelift: Upgrading the appliances, countertops, cabinets and floors can help make your home feel new. Sticking to a budget? Consider updating existing cabinetry with a fresh coat of paint. Alternatively, if you’re looking to splurge on something that will give you a good return on your investment, upgrade to modern appliances.

Open concept: This is a huge trend in new homes, and many older homes have too many walls. Find where an open-concept floor plan makes sense and if possible, tear down a wall or two to open up the area. Blending the family room and kitchen is a great option, especially for prospective homebuyers who love to entertain.

Smart technology: Installing smart technology can be a huge selling point for potential buyers, as it helps with maintenance and security. Consider installing smart lights, thermostat, security cameras or a doorbell.

These small changes can go a long way in terms of sprucing up your home to attract buyers. It could even lead to significant gains – so now that you’re a renovation pro, you can buy yourself a fixer upper!

Gelderman.ca Real Estate Team
RE/MAX Aldercenter Realty

Visit out Team web site HERE www.gelderman.ca

Know someone moving ANYWHERE in the WORLD? Call us today--We know the BEST agents everywhere!!

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Office Phone: 604-743-7653