Selling

• Buyers want to buy your home for as little as possible! Through detailed comparisons between your home and recently sold homes and other properties currently on the market, together we can determine what your home is really worth in the current market. In the industry this is called a Comparative Market Analysis or CMA. The 519 Real Estate Team will do this for you, for free.
• Buyers have their own timelines, which might not be yours! We make sure they don’t waste your time by qualifying them as to their real ability to afford your home.
• More buyers interested in your home means more money in your pocket when it is sold. Our extensive marketing of your home assures you the maximum value. For example, this web site will market your property all across the web.
• When the marketing of your home begins, we will immediately notify all the buyers that are relying on us to help find their home. And we will also notify all the other realtors in this area that we work with, and they’ll tell all their buyers. It is a powerful way to jump-start the sale of your home!
• Our professional staging consultant will stage your home for free.  Staging is the art of creating moods.  Staging makes your house look bigger, brighter, cleaner, warmer, more loving and best of all, it makes buyers want to buy it.

We will also advise you on how to present your property to maximize its selling price. Some improvements are worth it, and some are not! Be careful.

• Sale contracts are complicated, and intimidating. You don’t want to go to a closing with some doubts! You will have the full benefit of our real estate experience and knowledge for a smooth and successful closing. Don’t sign on any dotted lines without asking us first!
• We will inform you of any inspections that you should consider having done ahead of time to smooth the negotiating process with buyers, and to ensure a successful closing.

You pay no up-front costs for our services! So you can bet that we will work hard to get your home sold, for as much as this market will possibly bear. We will also work within your time frame and your needs. For example, sometimes it can be hard to sell and move out of your current home, and buy and move into a new home, all at the same time! We can help smooth this out.

Call us for a free phone consultation. We are very happy to take your call. Ask for a free listings presentation. Our Listing Consultant will come to your home or office and present you with a plan that details exactly how we will market your home. There is absolutely no obligation, so don’t miss out!

Or, fill out the form below. Tell us a bit about your house, and your particular needs, and we’ll get right back to you.

Getting Top Dollar for Your Home

When it comes to the real estate market, your home’s value is relative to many different factors, such as location, comparable home values, age and condition of the home.   Here are some of the best ideas for your consideration to help your home stand out in the market and command a higher value.

Depersonalize.   The first thing you should do is detach yourself from the home and start thinking of it as an investment for sale.  It is best to remove personal items such as photographs, trophies, knick-knacks and collectibles so that potential buyers can start imagining the house as their own.

De-clutter.   Get rid of anything that makes a room look junkie or disorganized.   Throw things out or store them off premises.

Do minor cosmetic work.  Paint where necessary, change carpets, repair mouldings and walls.  All new coverings should be in neutral colours.  If you have hardwood floors, consider sanding and refinishing them.

Highlight kitchen and bathrooms.  These are the most important rooms to a buyer and they need to be impeccable.  Plumbing fixtures should work properly and look like new or be replaced.  Showers, tubs and sinks need to be spotless.   Vanities need to be uncluttered.   Kitchen cabinets and drawers need to be orderly, with doors that open properly.

Check doors and windows.  The first and last thing a buyer sees when coming in to your home is the front door.  Make sure it is cleaned up or painted and that it opens and closes properly.  Windows should be clean and working properly if someone wants to open or close them.

Turn your attention outdoors.  Buyers want to see curb appeal.  Remove ornaments from the yard and flower beds.  Consider the landscaping.  Outdoor living space is increasingly in demand and people are looking for decks, patios and outdoor kitchens that are conducive to entertaining and relaxation.

Don’t forget the garage and workshop.  The garage needs to be de-cluttered and accessible so that a car can be parked in it.   A workshop should be organized so a prospective buyer can appreciate what they can do with it.

Attend to pet odours.  When you walk in to a house with dogs and cats you can immediately smell them – especially if you don’t have your own.  Vinegar and water is good for cleaning pet areas, topped off with air fresheners if needed.  Carpets should be vacuumed frequently with carpet fresh powders.

Certain renovations can add value.  Traditionally, kitchen and bathroom renovations result in the best return.  If your kitchen is very outdated or not functional, you can recoup up to 80% of the cost if you sell your home within 5 to 7 years.    As more and more people focus on energy efficiency, replacing major mechanical systems, such as furnace, air conditioning, windows, water heaters and roofs will add instant value to a home.

Price competitively.  Price is the most important factor in determining whether your home sells or not.  You must compare your price to recently sold homes.  Compare the features and amenities of your home with other homes that have sold to determine what you should sell your home for.   In fact if your home is the best priced one on the market you may actually get full price or more!

Certain renovations  are considered to add value to a home, such as modernizing a kitchen,  updating a bathroom, creating an en-suite or walk-in closet in a master bedroom, and adding or remodeling a family room (especially on the main floor).   On the other hand, value neutral renovations will not result in much payback.

These include adding a swimming pool, sauna or hot tub, installing paving stones in the driveway, or reducing the number of bedrooms to less than three.   Finally, excessive landscaping will rarely generate as much money in return as what you put into it.

The following is a list of home improvement projects that add value to your home and the estimated percentage of payback that you should receive on the subsequent sale of your home.

1. Painting.  Choose tasteful, current, neutral colours and ensure the work is very professional.  Estimated payback: up to 300%
2. Kitchen remodeling.  This can get very expensive.  Keep the project in line with the style and quality of the rest of the house.  Estimated payback: 68 – 120%
3. Bathroom addition.  A house meant for more than one person should have more than one bathroom.  If most homes in you r neighbourhood have two, three or more bathrooms and yours has only one-and-a half, you will increase your property value by adding a bathroom.  Estimated payback:  80-130%
4. Bathroom remodeling.  Upgrading an old bathroom will increase the value and add to you comfort and enjoyment.  Estimated payback : 65-120%
5. Finishing unfinished space such as an attic or basement.  This will increase your square footage without having to build on to your home.  Estimated payback: 50-90%
6. Window/door replacement.  This will increase energy efficiency and appearance.  Payback: 50-90%.
7. Deck addition/improvement/expansion.  This exterior improvement will yield significant return.  Estimated payback: 65-90%
8. Additions of rooms (eg. bedrooms, family rooms, sunrooms, garages, etc).  Increasing the square footage is always beneficial.  Estimated payback: 50-83%
9. Home office remodeling.  Be sure to plan for sufficient electrical and cable outlets.  Estimated payback: 60-73%
10. Energy Efficient retrofits.  Better insulation and high efficiency furnaces pay for themselves relatively quickly.  Others may take years to pay for themselves (eg. solar panels, heat recovery ventilators and tankless water heaters).  Payback: highly variable.

There’s more to selling a home than a For Sale sign

Even if a simple sign in your yard did produce a buyer knocking on your door, how will you handle the following questions?

“How does your home compare to others like it on the market?”

“How did you determine the fair market value of this property?”

“What about financing? Can you help?”

“If I make an offer, who will draw up the paperwork?”

“Why aren’t you using a realtor? Is there something wrong with the property?”

“Since you aren’t using a realtor, we can take their fee right off the top, right?”

Selling your home is one of the most important financial transactions you will make in your life. Don’t take risks. Selling your home is nothing like selling a car. Every home is different. How do your determine the real market value?

The great majority of all homes are sold using a realtor. As professionals, it is our job to help you negotiate with all those buyers who want to offer you as little as possible for your home -not to mention preparing your home for sale, marketing it, and guiding you through the entire process. Make sure you are really ready to handle all of that before placing that sign in your front yard!

Remember: Buyers want to offer you as close to nothing as possible! While that “For Sale By Owner” sign might sound like a good idea, it usually means a different thing to buyers: “Try to steal this one!”

If you must sell your own home, at least let us give you a sense of its true market value. Tell us a bit about your home, and we’ll do a quick Comparative Market Analysis and let you know what we feel it is worth. We’ll also describe how we would market your property to get you top dollar. This is free, with no strings attached. Simply fill out the form below and we will help you get started.

Buyers want your home for as little as possible!!

Are you thinking of selling your home? You should know exactly what it is worth before making such an important decision.

Let The 519 Real Estate Team do a quick “Comparative Market Analysis” for you, for free, and with no obligation. Also known as a CMA, this analysis compares your home to others that are currently on the market and to those that have recently sold.

As realtors, we determine the value of homes in your area daily. Using the information you provide below, we can perform a quick market analysis, and let you know what your home is worth in today’s market.

Remember, market conditions can be different, even from one neighbourhood to the next. We know how to take all these factors into account when determining the true market value of your home.

This service is completely free and without obligation. There are absolutely no strings attached. Why? We want the chance to show you our professionalism as the top real estate team in the 519 area. Award winning real estate at its best, working for you!

Please provide us with some basic information on your home. We’ll get back to you quickly!

Before signing a contract with any realtor, make sure you know EXACTLY how your home will be marketed. There is a vast range in skills, experience, and track records!

A “Listing Presentation” is an industry term for the formal presentation that a realtor makes to prospective home sellers, trying to earn their trust and business. Don’t list your home with a realtor without it! The 519 Real Estate Team would love the opportunity to make such a presentation to you.

We will visit your home, and together we will walk through it, considering the positives and negatives (if any!). You will then see exactly how we would propose to sell your home, for as much as the market will bear, and within your time frame. We will tell you where The 519 Real Estate Team will advertise your home, both in print and on the web. With the dramatic growth in home buyer usage of the web, you MUST have a realtor that can extensively market your home online!

And you’ll find out what your home is worth, too, because part of our presentation will include a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) of your home. We’ll compare your home to others like it that have recently sold, and also to others that are currently for sale. This is a very important way of determining the fair market value of your home.

We make Listings Presentations and prepares CMAs for prospective home sellers every day. We have literally done hundreds, and know exactly what puts a SOLD sign in your front yard.

We would love the chance to make a Listing Presentation for you. It is totally free and without any obligation.

Call us for an immediate appointment! 519-744-7133. Or, fill out this form and we will contact you at your convenience…