FAQ – Sellers

Selling your home is an involved process that affects your family and your future. Before you begin this process, ensure that you have the most up-to-date information. When should you sell? How do you get the best price? What kinds of renovations should be made prior to the sale?

I will assist you in answering important questions like these that arise during the home selling process. When you’re armed with the right information, and accompanied on the journey by an experienced Halifax real estate professional, you will be closer to reaching your goal: selling your home fast, and for the best price.

Please contact me if you have any questions about selling your HRM home.

When selecting a real estate agent to sell your property, make sure they’re experienced in selling homes in your area. Ask them questions about how they plan on marketing your property, what their commission is, what they expect of you and any other questions that may cross your mind. Make sure to choose an agent you’re comfortable with, who understands your needs and you have confidence in.

Prospective buyers who’ve been holding off because of the uncertain economy are deciding it’s time to enter the market before the announced Shipyard ramps up hiring. Buyers are also keen to take advantage of low interest rates that may not be available as the economy improves.

Simply put, the correct selling price of a home is the highest price that the market will bear. To assist you in determining the correct asking price, we provide you with a comprehensive market analysis of comparable properties sold and those offered for sale in your neighbourhood.

For an even more detailed Comparative Market Analysis, we can assess your listing in person, bringing our extensive knowledge and experience to bear on the results.

Setting the right price for your home is the key to selling it rapidly. As the seller, you provide the asking price, but the buyer, and the market of buyers, ultimately determines the value of the home. A strategy to try is to list a bit more than the price of properties recently sold and slightly under the price of the current competition. If you overprice your home, you risk fewer showings, losing potential buyers, reducing advertising responses, etc.

The listing agreement is contract document between the seller (you) and the listing agent (me, Johnny Dulong of Exit Realty Metro). The listing describes the property being sold and the terms under which it is to be sold. The listing agreement also allows Exit Realty to set up our agency relationship and sets in motion the duties and responsibilities governed by law as well as the agency. This contract is a standard form provided to us by our local real estate board and we must abide by their rules.

Think “First Impressions”. Remember what first attracted you to your house when you bought it? What excited you about its most appealing features? Now that you’re selling your home, you’ll need to look at it as if you were buying it all over again.

A spruced up house makes a great first impression on potential buyers. An attractive property grabs their attention and makes them excited about finding a house that looks and feels well-cared for. Because buyers know they’ll encounter fewer problems if they buy it, your house becomes more appealing and stands out from the competition. So if you prepare your home correctly, you’ll save time selling it when it’s on the market.

A good first impression makes an impact on a number of levels. It’s not just the way your house looks to potential buyers, but how it feels and smells to them, how their friends and family will react, how they imagine it would be to live there.

With simple improvements throughout your house, you can grab the attention of potential buyers and help them see why your house is right for them.

It is important to have your property looking the best it can. This is your responsibility but I can provide you with advice and guidance. Naturally, it should be clean, tidy, and odour-free. Be sure to pull your curtains back during day showings and in the evenings/night, close the curtains and have the lights on.

Ideally, it is best if you are out of the house at the time of any showings to allow the agent to show the property with no distractions or interruptions. Any pets or children should not be present when potential buyers go through.

Showings are always conducted in the presence of the agent and are done by appointment only, which we will keep track of.

When the buyer’s agent makes an offer on your property, the agent contacts me and from there I will contact you to inform you of the offer. We then make an appointment to meet with you in person or via electronic means and provide you with the offer information.

Together, we would read through the offer and I would explain to you the terms and conditions. Feel free to ask any questions as I clarify the offer with you.

The offer lists the buyers, sellers, the price the buyer is willing to pay and under what conditions. There is an irrevocable date on the offer which means if you do not accept the offer by that date, then the purchaser may decline or revoke it. When you have discussed and understood the offer, you may accept it as is, reject it, or make a counter offer, and send it back to the buyers to see if they are agreeable to your counter offer. By countering the buyer’s offer, it means you have accepted everything in the original offer except the changes you put in the counter offer. The buyer then has the right to accept or reject your counter offer.

Once the offer is approved, the purchaser will submit a deposit including the offer to the listing broker. The deposit will be held in a trust account and it will be used towards the purchase price on the closing date. Finally, after an agreement is reached and any conditions are waived, your lawyer receives the documents and subsequently prepares the transfer papers, deals with any adjustments and then meets with the buyer’s lawyer on the closing date to exchange the keys for the property.

Mistake #1 — Placing the Wrong Price on Your Property

Naturally every seller wants to get the most money for his or her home. Ironically, the best way to do this is NOT to list your property at an excessively high price! A high listing price will cause some prospective buyers to lose interest before even seeing your property. Also, it may lead other buyers to expect more than what you have to offer. As a result, overpriced properties tend to take an unusually long time to sell, and they end up being sold at a lower price eventually.

Mistake #2 — Mistaking Re-finance Appraisals for the Market Value

Unfortunately, a re-finance appraisal may have been stated at an untruthfully high price. Often, lenders estimate the value of your property to be higher than it actually is in order to encourage re-financing. The market value of your home could actually be lower. Your best bet is to ask your realtor for the most recent information regarding property sales in your community. This will give you an up-to-date and factually accurate estimate of your property value.