People decide to sell their homes for a variety of reasons. For some, it’s a job relocation. For others, it’s the need to upsize or downsize.  There are numerous other motivations too. However, one of the toughest for many homeowners to deal with is the idea of selling simply because they want a change. Why is that so difficult to understand?

It may be that homeowners feel “a change” isn’t a good enough reason to make such a significant decision. It may even seem impulsive or selfish to sell your home and find another one for no other reason than your desire to move.

However, desiring a change in surroundings is actually a very good reason to sell. In fact, it may be one of the best.

Why? Your home is the foundation of your daily lifestyle. It’s where you live, relax, spend time with your family, entertain guests, celebrate special occasions, and more. It makes sense to maximize the enjoyment of those experiences as much as possible. If that means finding a new home, then it’s likely going to be worth the move!

Did you know that 65% of potential buyers will do a drive-by prior to a formal viewing to decide if they like a home?

Curb appeal is key and we take pride in helping our clients prep their home for the market. Check out part one of our video series where we walk you through a soon-to-be-listed home and all the work we're doing with our seller to get it ready.  

Now, let me show you around the inside of this gorgeous ranch style bungalow. We'll first take you through the main floor and then, we'll do a quick tour of the finished lower level.

MAIN FLOOR:

LOWER LEVEL:

Last stop: the backyard! A backyard can be an outdoor sanctuary where people enjoy some R&R or share a great meal with family & friends. When potential buyers step into your backyard, they are looking for an inviting & comfortable outdoor space. Tons of elements can be incorporated in your design in order to create a sanctuary but carving out dedicated space and creating privacy are the first steps into that direction.

And here it is! The finished product. Months of careful planning, energy efficiency considerations, luxury selections and here we are: a home that only a builder could dream up!

On moving day, you'll have a big task. You’ll need to get your possessions from your old property to your new one — ideally without delays or damage! Surprisingly, many people underestimate the time and costs involved in doing that. Careful planning and budgeting are crucial to ensuring moving day goes smoothly. You basically have three options:

1. Hire a moving company to handle everything.

2. Hire a truck and crew, while doing some of the work yourself. For example, you can pack and help with loading.

3. Do it all yourself by renting a moving van and getting friends and family to help.

If you're going with option one, get quotations as early in the buying/selling process as possible. Services, costs and quality vary widely among full- service moving companies.

If you're going to do some or all of the move yourself, the best place to start is by making a list of what you'll need. In addition to renting a moving van, or hiring a truck and crew, there are many supplies you may require. For example, you’ll need boxes, protective fill and/or wrapping (i.e. bubble wrap), markers for labeling boxes, packing tape, and more.

You may decide to rely on friends to help load the truck on moving day. That's fine. Just be sure you have enough people to do the job within a reasonable timeframe, and confirm everyone's attendance at least a couple of days before.

You've probably heard the expression, "The early-bird gets the worm." It refers, of course, to those who get in early and reap the rewards. For example, if you arrive early to a retail store for a big blowout sale, you're likely to get the deals before the inventory runs out. The stragglers who come later miss out.

Well, this same wisdom can be applied to selling your home. Starting the process early — even if that means simply doing some initial planning — gives you the edge in several ways.

First of all, you get extra time for preparation. That means you can get your home cleaned, uncluttered and staged without feeling rushed. You also get more time to find out how much your property will likely sell for on today's market. That's important information, especially if you're also looking to finance a new home.

Secondly, there's less stress. You'll have more time to make the right decisions. The last thing you want is to be scrambling around, last minute, trying to get your home ready for sale.

Finally, with your initial preparations done, you'll be able to put your home on the market at a moment's notice. That's a huge advantage that's likely to lead to selling your property more quickly and for the best price.

In fact, by getting an early start on the process, you might even find that right now is the best time to list -- and you'll be able to do so, with confidence.

Want help getting an early start on selling your home? Call me.

You’ve probably heard of “staging”. It involves setting up each room of your home in a way that maximizes its appeal to buyers. You’ve probably also heard that this strategy can help sell your home faster – and for a higher price.

That’s true. However, if you’re like many homeowners, you’re worried about the time, energy and cost involved in staging your home properly. After all, don’t professional stagers bring in special furniture and de´cor? Will you have to do the same thing?

Not necessarily. Staging doesn’t have to be a big imposition. In fact, there are many staging techniques that most homeowners can easily do on their own. Among the simplest are: cleaning, decluttering, fixing, and painting.

Rearranging furniture can also improve the look of a room, while putting some furniture into storage can make the room look more spacious.

A helpful technique is to think of each room in your home as a product for sale. Then, explore ways to make it the kind of room buyers would want to buy. When it comes to effective staging, that’s a good mindset to get you started.

When the time comes to sell your house, you’ll want to determine roughly how much you can expect to net after the sale. To figure that out, you’ll not only need to know how much your house will likely sell for, but also the selling costs you are likely to incur in the process.

The costs of selling vary depending on a number of factors. Here’s a general rundown of what to consider:

• Repairs. You will want your house to look its best to buyers. That may require you to get any needed repairs done before listing. You don’t want a buyer to see a dent in the wall or a dripping faucet.

• Renovations. It might make sense to get a few improvements done to make the house more attractive. For example, replacing old and worn kitchen countertops.

• Legal fees. Selling a house requires a lot of legal paperwork. You’ll need a good real estate lawyer to take care of that for you.

• Commissions. This is usually calculated as a percentage of the sale price.

• Moving costs. Once you sell, you’ll obviously need to move! So, factoring in this expense is a smart idea.

Although this may seem like a long list, selling costs are actually fairly easy to estimate. Once you have that number, it’s a simple calculation to determine how much money you’ll have available to put towards your next dream home. That’s information worth knowing!

If you own a stock, you can probably go online and quickly look up its current value.

What about your home? That, too, is an important investment and probably your most valuable one. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could “look up” its current value in just a few minutes online?

Well, despite all the real estate data available on the internet these days, there is no site that will calculate your home’s true market value – at least not accurately. So, if you were to put your home up for sale tomorrow, how would you determine what it would likely sell for?

Your home’s probable selling price is influenced by the following factors.

• The type and style of your home.
• The condition of your home. (Is it “move in” ready?)
• How well your home shows? (Is it staged?)
• The desirability of the neighbourhood.
• Recent selling prices of similar homes in the area.
• The current demand for a home like yours.

All these factors, especially recent solds in the area, need to be considered in order to come up with the price range within which your property will likely sell. Why is this information important? If you plan on listing soon, the benefits of knowing the probable selling price is obvious. But even if your plans to move are far down the road, it’s still a good idea to know what your home is worth – today. That information enables you to plan ahead and make better decisions. It’s something worth thinking about.

Why do people decide to move? Unless it’s a requirement, such as a job relocation, the research tells us that many homeowners decide to sell for one or more of the following reasons:

• Your home is no longer a good fit. You may have outgrown your house and need something bigger, maybe with an additional bedroom. Or, the opposite may be true. You may want to downsize into something smaller – and cash in some of the home equity you’ve built up.

• You’ve got your eye on a different neighbourhood. Have you ever driven through an area and thought, “I’d love to live here”? You might think that it’s out-of-reach for you at this time. But is it? You never know until you work the numbers. You might, in fact, qualify for a home in that neighbourhood today!

• You want to be closer to something. Many homeowners would love to live closer to work, family, favourite hobbies, downtown, the country, etc. Moving to a house that’s near to one of these “somethings” can have a positive impact on your lifestyle.

• It’s time for a change. Sometimes a homeowner just wants a change: new surroundings, a fresh start. Who says you need a “practical” reason to sell? If you’re looking to get into a new home just because you feel like it, that’s your choice. In fact, that may be the best reason of all to sell. You may simply want to move.

Do any of these reasons resonate for you? If so, now is the time to start preparing. Even if you don’t anticipate moving for several months, start the process today.

For some people, the thought of listing their home for sale is stressful. They worry about all the things they have to do — and all the things that might go wrong.

Luckily, it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some tips for making your home sale go smoothly:

• Give yourself time to prepare. If you’re thinking of selling six months from now, start preparing your property now. Do any necessary staging, and get it looking its best. Avoid doing these tasks at the last minute.

• Set the right price. Pricing your property too high will likely result in few, if any, buyers coming to see it. You might end up having to lower your price later, causing your home to linger even longer on the market. That’s stress you don’t need!

• Have a flexible viewing schedule. If you make it too difficult for buyers to see your property, they might lose interest or simply choose to buy another home. Be as flexible as possible when a buyer wants to view your property.

• Plan get-away activities. When a buyer comes for a scheduled viewing, don’t be home. Instead, plan some fun activities for your family. Think: playground, shopping, cycling, the zoo, etc.

• Accept the ups and downs. Prospective buyers might say they love your home and plan to make an offer. Then you don’t hear from them again! It happens! Accept the inevitable ups and downs of selling your home.
• Get help with repairs. You’ll probably have things that need to be fixed around the home, like a dripping faucet that needs repair or a room that needs painting. If possible, hire a professional to do some of that work.

• Finally, work with a great real estate agent. That will make the biggest difference in ensuring your move goes smoothly and stress-free.

Looking for a real estate agent like that? Call me!

The top retail store chains invest heavily in creating just the right lighting to make their products look great. Why? They know that lighting makes a measureable difference in sales.

The same is true when you sell your home. Lighting can make a big difference in the impression your home has on buyers.

There are two types of light sources, manufactured and natural. You need to consider both when staging your home for sale.

Think about the mood you want to create in each room. For example, you might want the kitchen to seem bright and alive. If yours isn’t quite like that, check whether you are using the highest wattage light bulbs suitable for your fixtures. Also, look for ways to bring in more sunshine. Switching curtains for blinds might do the trick.

In the living room, you might want a cozier feel. That can be accomplished by using lamps that cast a softer and gentler light than more imposing overhead lighting.

Pay particular attention to dimly lit rooms in your home, including nooks and crannies. Even adding small track lighting to a pantry cupboard can make the space seem brighter and more inviting. Check that lighting is adequate in the garage and walk-in closets too.

Finally, make sure all lights in your home work during viewings. Have spare bulbs available in case of a burn-out. You don’t want a buyer to try to turn on a light and discover it’s not working!

“Staging” is about setting up and decorating each room of your home so that it looks as attractive as possible to potential buyers. Studies show that a property is more likely to sell quickly and for a better price if it is effectively staged.

Even if you haven’t heard of staging before, you probably already know the basics, such as eliminating clutter and making sure everything is clean and “guest ready”. However, there are also some home staging “secrets” staging professionals use that you may not know.

Here are a few examples:

Increase horizontal surface space. Make sure desks, countertops, coffee tables, end tables, etc. are as free of items as possible. Give the impression that there’s lots of room available on horizontal surfaces.

Flowers. Fresh flowers or flowering plants placed in a couple of rooms, such as the kitchen and living room, can have a dramatic impact on how inviting that room looks. Just don’t overdo it.

Don’t be daring when you paint. You may love the idea of a bright yellow and green combination in the family room, but not everyone will share your daring sense of style. If you paint, stick to neutral colours.

Less is more. Be brutally honest about the amount of furniture you have in each room – including wall hangings. Is there a desk, side table or other piece you can put away in storage? Think about ways to make each room more spacious. Space is king!

Ultimately, the best staging advice is to use your common sense. Put yourself in the shoes of a potential buyer as you walk through your home. Ask yourself, “What changes will make this room even more attractive?” Want more staging tips? Call today.

If you’re thinking of selling, you probably have a myriad of questions.

- What’s my home worth?
- Should I use an agent or go at it alone?
- How do I make my home attractive to buyers?

And, of course, the big one: How do I get the most for my home?

Because selling your home is a journey, and the more informed you are about what to do and expect, the more successful your home sale will be.

Ideally, you want that journey to end with your property selling quickly and for the best price possible.

I can help get you there.

If you have any questions, just ask. I’d love to be part of your journey!

Do you ever buy products that say, “some assembly required”? If you’re like most people, that statement makes you worry that you’ll end up spending hours struggling to put the item together. In some cases, you might even decide not to buy it, just to avoid the frustration!

As a homeowner, you might have a similar concern when it comes to selling your home. You may be thinking of selling, but the process of getting your property ready and putting it on the market seems overwhelming. It may even make you hesitate.

Those listing jitters are understandable. Fortunately, there’s a cure. You simply need to get informed about the process. You need to get the facts about:

• Exactly what you need to do, to prepare your home for sale. • What your home is worth on today’s market.
• How long it will likely take to sell your property.
• How viewings and possible open houses will be handled.
• What the ideal strategy is for selling your home quickly and for the best price.

Once you have all this information, you’ll know what to expect and the selling process will be easier and less stressful. If you need help finding this information, call today.

When you’re having a garage sale, one of the toughest tasks is pricing your items. If you put a price tag on your old golf clubs that’s too high, no one will buy them. If you make the price too low, they might sell quickly, but you’ll spend the rest of the day wondering if you could have gotten more!

It’s similar to selling your home — except with your home, the stakes are much higher. You want to price your property to sell, but you don’t want to leave any money on the table.

How do you accomplish that?

Setting the right list price for your home requires a combination of skilled calculation and industry savvy.

Let’s start with the “calculation” part...

When you work with me, I’ll review recently sold properties that are similar to yours in type, size, features and location. Then, using that data, we’ll calculate a range that represents your property’s “current market value.”

For example, consider a spacious 15-year-old detached home in a nice neighbourhood. If similar homes in the area have sold for $750,000-$850,000 in the last six months, then a list price above or below that range would be in the danger zone.

But skilled calculation is only half the task.

Setting your list price also requires expertise in the local market, which comes from being on the front lines of many property transactions.

That’s why working with a good real estate salesperson is so important, when you’re deciding on the list price for your home.

Want to discuss selling your home? Call me.

It’s interesting to note how so many things have their “season.” Hockey in the winter. Vacations in the summer. Gardening in the spring. Even retirement reportedly occurs more often in the fall than any other time of year.

To some extent, even real estate seems to have a season. The spring is traditionally an active time for home sales. But, does that mean you should wait until spring to list your home?

Here’s the reality...

Properties sell all year round. There are buyers actively looking for homes at all times of the year. In fact, there are bound to be buyers interested in your home if you were to list it this month. While it’s true that the market may fluctuate throughout the year, with some months featuring higher or lower prices than others, those variations are nearly impossible to predict. So, it doesn’t make much sense to wait for the “perfect” month to sell, because that perfect month is just as likely to be this month!

Here’s something else to think about...

If you try to sell your home during a month when prices are up a little, you may need to buy another home in that same market. So, you’re really not gaining. The same holds true if you sell during a month when prices have softened.

So, if you’re considering selling your home, don’t be concerned about picking the right month or season to list. Focus your efforts, instead, on selling your home for the best price and finding and moving into your next dream home. You can make that happen in any season!