Selling your home

house for sale ;

Selling your home can be a very emotional experience. After all, a home is more than just a building. It not only holds a lot of precious memories, it is also in some ways an expression of your personality-- a part of who you are. Whether you are moving up or downsizing, it can be difficult to sell something that you have spent years putting your stamp on. Here are a few suggestions to help the sale of your house go smoothly.

Preparing your house for sale

1. Declutter
Reduce the amount of "stuff" in the house. Pack up the knick-knacks. Keep enough furniture for the rooms to remain functional, but get rid of the other things that are unnecessary. Maximizing the space makes the house feel larger. Invest in storage. You will be able to clutter up your new house after you move.

2. De-personalize
This goes hand-in-hand with decluttering. Family pictures, kids' artwork, and those decorations and knick-knacks that make your house uniquely yours should be packed up. This means ridding your house of "theme" rooms. You want your potential buyers to see themselves in the house, which is easier if they see less of your personality.

3. Neutralize
Repainting is an inexpensive way to renew and revitalize the house. Neutral colours, while boring, are best, giving your potential buyers a blank slate. Light, neutral colours make rooms feel larger, and also give the buyer the ability to "just move in" without having to do extensive redecorating.

4. Clean like you've never cleaned before
Again, potential buyers may be deterred by the perception of having a lot of work to do when they move in. A clean house gives the impression that it has been looked after. A dirty house, on the other hand, gives the impression that it has been neglected.

5. Take care of unfinished DIY
That loose tile that you never got around to fixing-- now is the time to fix it. Go through the entire house and make a list of all those little weekend projects you never had time to complete and either take care of them yourself or hire someone you can. You will be surprised at how many things you stopped noticing over the years.

6. Curb appeal
Clean the yard. Trim the shrubs. Get rid of the weeds. Pack up the garden gnomes and pink flamingos. A neglected yard gives the impression that the rest of the house has been neglected as well A bad first impression could deter a potential buyer from even getting out of the car.

7. Curb appeal, part 2
The first thing a buyer sees when they walk through your front door is....your front door. A fresh coat of paint and a new entry set go a long way to create a favourable first impression. The safest colours for a front door are blue, red, black or green (according to decorating and renovating experts Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan).

8. Storage
A house can never have too much storage, especially in the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and study. Find creative ways to add storage. Any storage should only be half full, otherwise it will appear that there is not enough room.

Sell first, or buy first?

There is no hard and fast rule, although I once got into a heated debate with an agent at an open house who seemed to think there was. There are advantages and disadvantages with either choice. The right choice for you will depend on your unique situation.

Sell first, then go house-hunting

Advantages

With an offer in hand, you will know your house hunting budget and avoid over-extending yourself.
You will be able to make an offer to purchase with fewer conditions (financing, condition to sell), which will be more attractive to the seller.

Disadvantages

If you are not able to find a new house, you could potentially end up homeless.. You could make the sale of your house conditional on finding a suitable house within a certain price range within a certain time period, but such a condition can potentially turn a buyer off.
You may be more likely to make a rushed decision to purchase a less than ideal house.
About that homeless thing: even if you find a house quickly, you will need to secure living arrangements if your purchase closes later than your sale. Some buyers might be willing to rent the house back to you for a month or two, allowing you to stay until your purchase closes. Otherwise, be prepared to put your stuff in storage and shack up with relatives.

Find your dream home before you sell

Advantages

You don't have to rush into a home purchase. You have time to find your ideal house without making concessions.
Once you find your ideal house, you can make the offer conditional on the sale of your current property. If you are not able to sell within a certain period of time, the offer will die, but you won't lose anything. You still have your current house.

Disadvantages

The condition to sell your house can be very unnattractive to a seller.
If you make an offer without the condition to sell your house, you run the risk of having to carry two mortgages-- one on the property you are buying and one on the property you are trying to sell.
You will be more likely to accept a lower price for the house you are selling, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It's about weighing the pluses and minuses and determining just how much it is worth to you to make the move to your next house. However, if you do not get as much for your house as you anticipated, you may face a cash crunch or perhaps even a greater financial hardship.

A real estate agent has the knowledge of the market place and can help you determine your best course of action. Working with an agent can help you minimize the risk of homelessness or carrying two mortgages.

Hire an agent, or FSBO?

It is tempting to sell your house on your own (For Sale By Owner) as you can potentially save thousands of dollars in commissions. Selling a house yourself requires a huge time commitment on your part. It can be tough marketing your house while working at your day job. A real estate agent on the other hand has contact with other agents and that networking can result in a faster sale for you.

Know the market

A real estate agent will be able to determine where your property fits within the current real estate market. But there are a few things you can do on your own. After all, nobody knows your house better than you do. Keep in mind that there are two kinds of buyers: those that are looking for a house in a specific neighbourhood and those looking for a specific style of house.

1. Research comparables
The key to knowing the value of your house is to understand how it compares to similar houses in similar neighbourhoods. A real estate agent will be able to provide you with this information. Location is key and differences in neighbourhood, proximity to amenities and proximity to sources of noise or air pollution can affect a house's value.

2. Research your neighbourhood
A buyer looking for a house in a specific neighbourhood may not be as concerned about the style of the house as its location. How does your house stack up against other houses in your neighbourhood? A less expensive house in an upscale neighbourhood is going to be easier to sell than an upscale house in a less expensive neighbourhood. Knowing how much your neighbours' homes have sold for recently will help you price yours right. A real estate agent will be able to provide you with this information.

3. Know your competition
When your house is on the market, it is competing against other houses that are on the market at the same time. Market conditions change, and the price that a house commanded a month ago is not necessarily the same price it could command this month. Attend open houses in your area so you can see your competition first-hand. This will also allow you to open a dialogue with other agents who may have clients looking for a house such as yours.

Preparing for viewings

Let in the natural light by opening curtains and blinds. Banish darkness from every corner of the house by turning lights on. On nice days, open some windows to let in the breeze. Make the house feel as bright and airy and welcoming as possible. Adjust these suggestions depending on traffic and other noise, and condition of neighbouring properties. No one wants to see or smell the neighbour's compost pile.

Speaking of funky smells, send the pets away if possible until the house is sold. Some people simply don't like pets and even those that do will not necessarily like yours, or their associated odours.

To help mask some of Fido's smells, an scent free odour neutralizer such as Febreze works well. Flowery scents are too obvious. Other strategies include baking bread or cookies, or brewing coffee prior to showings, depending on the time of day.

Similarily, avoid cooking fish or other foods with unappealing odours that may linger for several hours.

Prepare an information sheet
This is something that your real estate agent will probably do. A good information sheet will contain the following:

Indicate the proximity to schools, shopping, mass transit and other amenities. Sell your location.
List recent improvements, renovations and maintenance that you have performed on the house.
List the age of the roof, furnace, air conditioner and other mechanicals. A home inspector will find out this information anyway, so providing it upfront will show that you are not trying to hide anything from the buyer.
Indicate any warranty information that is transferrable to the buyer. Example: windows replaced last year, 10 year warranty.
Convey to the potential buyer what it was that made you fall in love with the house in the first place. What is it that makes your house special?
List the rooms and their sizes.
Keep it simple: don't overwhelm the buyer with too much information. Everything should fit neatly on a single page.

The negotiations

You know the drill: the buyer wants to pay as little as possible while you want to sell your house for as much as possible. Try not to be offended by the first offer. Be prepared to counter. Expect the negotiations to go back and forth a couple of times. Remember that this is not personal. It's a business transaction.

The first offer is often the best offer

Real estate can be a gamble, and it can be difficult to negotiate with someone whose first offer is a lot less than your asking price. However, most real estate agents will tell you that the first offer is often the best offer. Rather than being insulted and rejecting the offer outright, it may be in your best interest to negotiate with the potential buyer. There are other factors to consider than just the price, and how you move forward will depend on your reasons for selling and how long you can wait until you receive another offer. When your house is on the market, you will still have to pay the mortgage, utilities and other carrying costs. If you are spending, for example, $2000 a month on your housing expenses, is it really worth waiting another six months for an offer that may only be $10,000 higher than the first offer? The $10,000 looks good on paper, but not when you realize that you spent $12,000 while you were waiting for that offer.

The longer you wait, hoping for a better offer, the greater the chance that the market will change. But will it change in your favour or not? Will there be more competition? How stable are property values? As we saw with the Great Recession of 2008-2009, property values don't always increase? Will your house be worth more or less in six months?

Your real estate agent can advise you as to the fairness of that first offer. Remember, the agent's commission is based on the selling price, so it is in his/her best interest for you to get the top dollar for your house.

Congratulations, you have sold your house....or have you?

Unless the buyer comes in with an unconditional offer, the sale is not final until conditions are removed. Conditions typically include a home inspection and financing approval. This will be a period of high anxiety for you, the seller. Fortunately, you can continue marketing your house until the conditions are removed. If another buyer comes in with an offer, you can put the first buyer on notice, giving them a period of time (usually three days) to remove their conditions. If they do so, then you are obligated to sell to them. Otherwise, their offer becomes null and void and you are free to sell to the second buyer.

The walk-through

Some buyers may request a walk-through. For other buyers, the home inspection will provide them with enough information. As a couirtesy to the buyer, once the sale is final, you may wish to provide additional information to make their transition into your former house easier, especially if there are high tech or unique features that may not be readily understood. Similarily, simple things like letting them know that the upstairs toilet tends to run if you don't jiggle the handle will reduce the likelihood of their frustration. Think of the things that you would want to know if you were buying the house.

Letting go

A lot of memories are tied up in our homes-- family, holidays, various milestones in our lives. Sometimes it can be difficult letting go. Remember that your home, once it is sold, is just a house and your memories will be moving with you.