Hire a Professional

Selling your home isn’t a simple procedure. It involves large sums of money, stringent legal requirements and the potential for costly mistakes. Here at Kindred Homes we will spend the time it takes to help you sell your home in the least amount of time and for the best possible price.

The Listing Agreement

A listing agreement is a contract between you and Kindred Homes Realty Inc. It provides a framework for subsequent forms and negotiations. It’s most important the agreement accurately reflects your property details and clearly spells out the rights and obligations of all parties. The listing agreement will outline:

  • The duration of the agreement
  • Our compensation
  • The listing price and an accurate description of the property
  • Information about property taxes
  • Any easements, rights of way, liens or charges against the property

Disclosure

Ask us about disclosure, which is a seller’s obligation to disclose facts about property for sale. The buyers will need to know material facts about the property; that is, anything that could materially affect the sale price or influence a buyer’s decision to buy it. A major cause of post-sale disputes and lawsuits relate to defects and disclosure, but most disputes can be avoided if proper disclosures are made. Intentionally withholding information about a property when selling it can have serious legal consequences.

Getting Your Home Ready to Sell

Getting ready to sell? Move your property fast – and for the highest selling price possible, with these easy, affordable staging tricks. These deal sealing changes will make your home attractive to the largest pool of potential buyers, and the best part is, you can start at any stage in the game.

  1. Paint- Dollar for dollar a fresh coat of paint gives you more bang for your decorating buck than anything else. Even if your current palette is relatively new, any scuffs or wear marks will channel an unkempt vibe. So break out that roller and slap on a couple coats of crowd pleasing paint.
  2. Improve the lighting- Replace any dated light fixtures ASAP. How can you tell if it has to go? If it’s over 15 years old replace it
  3. De-clutter- Take the collectibles off the mantel, put the mismatched armchair into storage. Remove all items in the closet that are not in season. The more stuff you keep in the storage areas the more cluttered and small your home appears.
  4. Give dated bathrooms a facelift- A nice bath helps sell a house but, don’t invest in a total renovation. Reno’s are costly and you may not recoup your costs right away. Bring the bathroom up to date with gleaming white walls whether via a fresh coat of paint, new lighting. Buy neutral shower curtains, a simple new bath mat and vanity set, and fresh flowers can go a long way.
  5. Take down curtains- Dated window treatments need to come down, pronto ( if its over 10 years old get rid of it) Just leave most windows bare and open to allow natural light to filter in.

Setting Your Price

How much is your property worth? Although you may have an idea of how much your house is worth, it’s important to have your home valued on its own merits by us. Be careful not to price your property too high or too low. If it’s too high, there’s no sale and too low you lose on your investment. At Kindred Homes Realty we have the information and expertise to assess at what prices similar properties in your area have sold for. We can also provide information on market history, such as the number of properties sold in your community the previous month or year.

Listing and Marketing Your Property

If your listing is an MLS listing, we will place your listing on a Real Estate board’s MLS system. Through the board’s MLS system, all other Realtors that are members of that board can find and view information about your property, and all have the opportunity to sell your property. Your property gains more exposure, because it reaches the majority of the Real Estate professionals in your community. Through REALTOR.CA the national property website that gets over one million hits per month, your property is advertized to potential buyers across Canada and around the world.

Open Houses

We may recommend an open house, where members of the public are invited to view your home. It’s an efficient way to show your home to many potential buyers at once. We will act as a host answering any and all questions. Do open houses work? Yes, think of it this way. If an open house brings threw 10 potential buyers, it’s like having 10 showings in one day. Not bad odds.

Waiting for The Right Opportunity

Sometimes a home doesn’t sell right away. Avoid the urge to pull your home off the market. Be persistent! Generally, there are three reasons why a home may not sell as fast as others: location, condition; and asking price.

Obviously, you can’t change your homes location. However, you can improve the condition of your home and you can, of course, adjust the price. Throughout the listing process, you need to be constantly comparing your asking price against those of similar properties in your area. Review your selling strategy regularly with your listing agent, who may help you answer the following questions.

  • Is your house being shown regularly?
  • Are you receiving the feedback from prospective buyers?
  • Are you in touch with the marketplace?
  • Is your property competing well? If not, what else can you do?

Accepting and Offer

Once a buyer is found, you’ll receive an offer that will:

  • Detail the buyer’s price
  • Specify any conditions that may apply or be attached
  • State desired date of possession
  • The date the offer expires

As an act of good faith, the buyer will make a deposit with the offer. You don’t have to accept the offer as is. You may wish to make a counter offer that meets the original offer partway. The counter offer is one more step along the way to negotiating the final terms and conditions of the sale.

The offer, once signed by everyone, is a binding contract. Make sure you understand and agree to all terms in the document.

Understand How to Get Ready For The Close

While your home has sold, there are several items to take care of, including: adjustments, net proceeds, closing costs and possession date. Realize that a string of buyers and sellers need to close on the same day. Talk to your lender about “bridge financing” should you decide that it’s better to pay the costs (plus a few days interest) after the closing day to avoid those headaches.