First-Time Seller’s Guide
Selling your home is a complex, multi-step process that calls for the expertise of a REALTOR®. Find out how you can prepare your home for the listings with my thorough guide.
Let's sit down and understand your needs
The key to having a low stress transaction is building good communication methods between you (the Seller) and the Agent.
Let's Discuss:
- Where do you want to move to?
- Why are you moving?
- How long do you have to sell your home?
- What is your budget?
It is important to first understand your needs so we know what you are looking for at the time. As your Realtor , I will help you achieve your goals in selling your home.
Discussing Your Home
When presenting your home to prospective Buyers, first impressions are crucial.
It is important to put your property in its best light and create a buzz regarding your home.
This can be achieved by improving your home to impress buyers.
Exterior:
- Fix or replace anything damaged or worn
- New paint or pressure wash
- Fix doorbells & motion lights
- Clean and/or paint front door
- Create curb appeal; freshly cut green grass, trimmed trees/shrubs & add new flowers/plants
Interior:
- Fresh coat of new paint
- New flooring
- Kitchen appliances
- Light switches
- Upgrade lighting & plumbing fixtures
- Fix or replace cracked molding or floor tiles, leaking taps and toilets, loose door knobs, squeaky door hinges & closets or screen doors that are off their tracks.
- Fix or touch up walls, ceilings, windows, etc.
- Shampoo carpets and rugs, replace if necessary
There are 3 types of improvements that will impress buyers and help sell your home:
1. Cost effective improvements
2. Upgrades and repairs
3. Organization, cleaning & maintenance
Get a Comparative Market Anaylsis (CMA)
A Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) is a document drawn from a local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) database.
To create a CMA, a REALTOR® considers the average price of recently sold, active and expired listings that are comparable to the subject property (known in the industry as “comps”). While most often used by Selling Agents to determine a listing price for a home, CMAs can also be used by Buyer Agents as well.
Comparable properties incorporated into your CMA include:
- Homes That Have Sold, Expired, are Pending, or Been Listed in the Past 6 Months.
- Homes That Are in the Same Neighbourhood - Homes Within Roughly 300 sqft of Yours
- Homes With or Without Garages
- Homes with a Similar Number of Bedrooms & Baths
- Homes with a Similar Style as Yours (Bungalow, Split Level, 2-Storey, etc.)
- Homes That Have Similar Amenities as Yours
Pricing
Benefits of Proper Pricing
Faster Sale: The proper price gets a faster sale, which means you save on mortgage payments, real estate taxes, insurances, utilities, condo fees and other carrying costs.
Less Inconvenience: As you may know, it takes a lot of time and energy to prepare your home for showings, keep the property clean, make arrangements for children and pets, and generally alter your lifestyle. Proper pricing shortens market time.
Increased Salesperson Response: When salespeople are excited about a property and its price, they make special efforts to contact all their potential buyers and show the property whenever possible.
Exposure to More Prospects: Pricing at market value will open your home up to more people who can afford it.
Better Response from Advertising: Buyer inquiry calls are more readily converted into showing appointments when the price is not deterrent.
Higher Offers: When a property is priced right, buyers are much less likely to make a low offer, for fear of losing out on a great value.
More Money to Sellers: When a property is priced right, the excitement of the market produces a higher sales price in less time. You NET more due to the higher sales price and lower carrying costs.
Drawbacks of Over Pricing
Reduces Activity: Agents won't show the property if they feel its priced too high
Lower Advertising Response: Buyer excitement will be with other properties that offer better value.
Loss of Interested Buyers: The property will seem inferior to other properties in the same price range that are correctly priced.
Attracts the Wrong Prospects: Serious buyers will feel that they should be getting more for their money.
Helps the Competition: The high price makes the others look like a good deal.
Eliminates Offers: Since a fair priced offer will be lower than asking price and may insult the seller, many buyers will just move on to another property.
Causes Appraisal Concerns: Appraisers must base their value on what comparable properties have sold for.
Lower Net Proceeds: Most of the time an overpriced property will eventually end up selling for less than if it had been properly priced to begin with, not to mention the extra carrying costs.
Professional Staging Consulation
Our Professional Stager will arrange a time with you to go through your entire property and provide recommendations. These suggestions are to help make your home appear at its best and gain interest to the vast majority of Buyers.
If needed, they will arrange to get furniture & decor from a local staging agency & coordinate the staging of the furniture.
Tips for Reorganization & Maintenance
EXTERIOR:
- Mow and rake the lawn. Trim hedges and shrubs, weed and edge gardens.
- Clean sidewalks and driveway. Remove any litter.
- Power wash the porch, deck and patio.
- Clear out the garage of everything but cars. If yours has become a two-car attic, throw out all unnecessary items, and then thoroughly organize and clean everything that remains. Any remains should be organized on shelving or in boxes.
INTERIOR:
- Clean and tidy the "money rooms", these include the kitchen, master bedroom, bathrooms and family room. These rooms are what buyers mainly look at and can help sell your home. You really want people to be able to see how they can utilize the space your house has to offer.
- Create space by storing all excess furniture and clothing. Anything seasonal that is not in use needs to be hidden.
-Remove all odours and add light fresheners such as citrus throughout.
Schedule Professional Photos and Measurements
A high quality, professional photographer is essential for selling every home. Buyers can be turned off by not using professional photos which will cause them to lean towards homes with better pictures.
If you're unsure when the best time to sell is, we can schedule our photographer to capture your homes exterior when the curb appeal is at its best! These are usually scheduled in the Summer when the yard is in full bloom or in the Fall when the leaves are changing colours.
Having your home professionally measured is crucial for being accurate on our listings and it provides Buyers a sense of security they know what they are buying.
Lockbox & Sign
I make sure to keep your home safe with a professional grade lockbox. Only licensed Realtors of our association have access to these Bluetooth lockboxes.
When a Realtor enters the property we will be notified.
In addition you will be able to approve and deny showings once the Realtor has requested the showing online.
I will also place a sign in front of your home to display. This is typically installed 1-1.5 weeks prior with a sign rider stating "Listing Soon" as part of our pre-marketing package.
Pre-Marketing
Everyone wants what they can't have! This is also true for homes that are about to be listed.
To get the momentum going on our listings, we have a variety of pre-marketing strategies to spike additional Buyer interest.
Listing Soon Sign - This goes on top of the For Sale Sign in front of your home.
Attention to Realtors Email - This email is sent out to all Realtors in our eXp Office, Agents who have sold in the community recently, Agents that are well known in the area & to the exclusive Million Dollar Club our office is apart of.
Private Realtors Facebook & Workplace Groups - We notify fellow Realtors of your upcoming listings on these groups.
Listing Soon Flyer - We hand deliver these flyers to your surrounding neighbours. Some may be tenants looking to buy in the same area they live.
Creating the Best Listing Description
When creating the listing description for the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), I love having Sellers complete my Property Features Sheet.
This is used for multiple purposes:
1. Help me create the best listing description for your property. I know the stats of your home, but you know all the special reasons potential Buyers will love the home.
2. Placing it in the welcome presentation for Buyers to see what you love most about your home is always beneficial. It's emotional for Buyers purchasing their new home, and we want to give them all the reasons why your home is special.
Your Home with be Featured on 100+ Websites / Platforms
The buying process has been completely redefined from the past. In today's age looking for homes has become heavily dependent on the internet. This is why we hire the best photographers in Calgary to showcase your home. Once your professional pictures are taken we can upload them to our MLS and other platforms to make sure the home gets as much exposure as possible!
When you list with me, your property will be featured on all of our teams social media platforms to ensure the property receives even more exposure.
In today's age, social media is used with almost everybody! This is why we believe it is crucial to do proper social media marketing to sell your home. A good social media presence for your home can drastically change the way potential buyers look at it.
Property Flyers
My marketing efforts don't just stop online. I'll create beautiful flyers, customized to the detail of your home, market it to neighbours, and reach out to neighbouring communities to land the perfect Buyer. Whether we sell to someone local, or someone moving here from out of province/country, I will take the steps to get as many eyes on your home as possible.
The more interest your home gets, the better the sales price and contract details can end up being more negotiable.
In addition, I like to have a welcome presentation in the home for potential Buyers. This presentation includes the MLS listing for reference & all the upgrades/features of the home.
When it comes to listing with me, you're not just partnering with a Real Estate Agent, you're partnering with a marketing professional. I've taken the courses, undergone the proper coaching, and completed the education necessary to ensure your home gets the best exposure in front of hundreds of thousands of people.
With an expertise in social media marketing, we can ensure your home is viewed by all of the right candidates to bring you a Buyer on your terms.
Open House
Open houses are a phenomenal way to generate foot traffic into your home, to give potential Buyers an overview of all its unique features, and give them the opportunity to fall in love with it in person.
Here are some tips to make sure your house can shine at its Open House:
- Ideally, pets should be unseen. Pet areas should be clean and odour-free; not everyone may share your love for animals and some may be allergic to them.
- Bake cookies or put a pan of cinnamon in the oven to create a warm and inviting aroma.
- Lock away and hide all cash, jewelry, small valuables and prescription drugs, if applicable.
- You should be absent so Buyers feel comfortable making comments & speaking freely.
Once the property is LIVE we will prepare an open house for potential Buyers. Our feedback forms allow us to capture the info of each potential Buyer and gain insight into what they think of your home. I can then follow up with each visitor to see if they are ready to make an offer, and we can get your home sold!
Couple Things to Expect After Going Under Contract
Supply all Condo Documents to Buyers
It is the Sellers responsibility to provide the Buyers with all appropriate Condo Documents. I will draft up a list of all documents required and request that you order them right away. To help save you funds, we will reach out to other Realtors that have sold units in your building to see if they are willing to share the documents with us.
Reviewing Inspection Requests
-After the Buyer has an inspection done, if they are requesting repairs they will present to us a repair request form usually accompanied by the Home Inspection Report.
- They will either send in a request for certain items to be repaired or suggest a credit at closing. This will be applied towards their closing costs and/or down payment.
- These items need to be completed & typically re-inspected prior to closing. This can be at the Sellers expense.
- Written into our Purchase Contract is a 1-14 day Home Inspection contingency period.
- The Buyers have that entire timeframe to complete the inspection with a Licensed Home Inspector.
