Top Tips to Sell a Home Quickly and Effectively

Posted by Justin Havre on Tuesday, March 13th, 2018 at 10:42am.

4 Tips to Sell a Home in CanadaWhen selling a home, homeowners generally want to sell a home quickly and for optimal value. As languishing homes on the market may result in a homeowner having to reduce the price of a property to get an offer, an agent may make a number of suggestions for to help homeowners before listing and during the home selling process. What should Canadian homeowners realize about selling their Bearspaw home to increase their chances of attracting the right buyer and easily get through a closing?

Understand more about how to get a home ready to sell and what to expect from Canadian buyers after an offer is accepted.

Prep a House before Listing

Agents may offer a number of suggestions for homeowners looking to sell a home. In a buyer's market, sellers may have to go beyond the usual updates in order to attract the right buyer. Easy changes that can make a home more inviting include freshening exterior doors with a new paint job, adding seasonal plants and addressing any minor exterior issues that may be obvious as potential buyers walk to the front entrance of a home. Take steps to make a home appear well-maintained and eliminate possible red flags before listing. In addition, make sure to address serious issues that may decrease a home's value and be obvious during a home inspection.

Compare to Comps

Those who want to potentially boost their home value may want to look at recent comps in the area and understand more about buyer expectations. It may be necessary to make improvements or change the listed price based on what value and features are available in similar homes in the market. Upgrades may be necessary in high-end communities which would not offer much of a return in other communities. Speak with an agent to understand more about local buyer expectations prior to selling a home.

Understand Real Estate Clauses

Once an offer is made on a home, it is often contingent on certain clauses. If certain conditions are not met within a certain timeframe, either buyer or seller may often back out of the contract without legal repercussions. For sellers, this may mean that a home that was within negotiations may go back on the market and the process repeated when a contingency is not met. Three common clauses in home contract negotiations in Canada are:

  • Subject to financing;
  • Subject to inspection; and
  • Subject to sale.

A buyer needs to be approved for a home mortgage in many instances and often cannot proceed as expected if their application is denied. Sellers may want to work with those who are pre-approved to reduce the possibility that a potential will be denied. Sellers may also want to perform their own inspection prior to listing and make sure there are no significant red flags that could decrease their home's value or otherwise put off buyers. Sellers may want to include a “time” clause in their subject to sale clause so that they may have more negotiating room and potentially accept a competing offer.

Pick an Experienced Local Agent

An agent needs to be committed to the sale of a home. A reliable agent is communicative, can provide details on recent comps and similar properties, and give actionable advice to Canadian sellers. In addition, such individuals are often experienced in the latest technology to sell a home, including professional photography of a staged home and the possibility of online video tours. Take time to select the right agent who has a reputation of working closely with homeowners to sell homes quickly.

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