Selling your home is a big decision. In addition to having to understand the market and potential value of your home, it often involves saying goodbye to a property that’s wrapped up in years of family memories. But that doesn’t mean the home-selling experience has to be a difficult one.
With the right professional advice, the home selling process can be smooth and straightforward. Our Home Seller’s Guide will help guide you through the most important details in selling your home. For any other questions you may have, get in touch. We would love to talk about your home, your unique situation, and how we can help.
If you’re thinking about selling your home, there are a few things to consider. Do you know the value of your property? The state of the local real estate market? Have you thought about why you want to sell your home, or how you might get it in front of potential buyers?
This is a big milestone in your life, and we want to help you make it as stress-free as possible. Our Home Seller’s Guide contains tips, advice, and insight gained from 12+ years of helping our Ottawa-based clients sell more than $135,000,000 worth of real estate.
We hope you find it helpful as you begin the home selling process. Once you are ready to sell, or if you would like a free evaluation of the value of your property, please feel free to contact us. We would be delighted to help you sell your home.
At this stage, you’ve likely already decided that it’s time to sell your home. However, before moving on any further, it’s important to get clear on your reasons for selling. This is also an excellent time to figure out the ideal timeline for your home selling process.
We recommend asking yourself these questions:
While you can try to sell your home on your own, it’s important to remember that the home-selling process will have a significant impact on your life, family, and finances. You don’t have to do it all alone.
Working with an experienced REALTOR ® can help take the stress out of that situation, dealing with the fine details, extensive paperwork, and other responsibilities, so you don’t have to.
What To Look For In A REALTOR®
You shouldn’t necessarily choose the REALTOR ® who gives you the highest suggested asking price. Instead, shop around for candidates and choose the one who fits all your requirements.
When considering your options, here are some things to look for in a real estate agent:
We pride ourselves on meeting all these needs and more. Over more than a decade of helping people sell their Ottawa homes, we have what it takes you make the selling process simple and stress-free. Click here to learn more about our approach.
Now that you’ve found a REALTOR ® to help you through the home selling process, it’s time to prepare to list and sell your home. The most important thing to do at this stage is to ensure your property is presented in an attractive way to potential buyers.
There are many changes you can make to enhance your property’s appeal without spending much time or money. The most important areas to consider are:
You may want to consider staging your home with extra furniture or lights to accentuate the property, especially if you’ve already removed your own furniture. We can put you in touch with an expert staging consultant, who can let you know what changes need to be made to make your home as appealing as possible.
Remember that a buyer may ask to look at your home at any time. Ensuring everything is in order well ahead of time – that your home is always clean, well-lit, and at a comfortable temperature – will help make the whole process as stress-free as possible.
Also, be sure to have a plan to go somewhere when your REALTOR ® calls to let you know a potential buyer wants to drop in. Most buyers prefer to have an honest chat with the agent when the current homeowner isn’t around.
The first step in listing your home is to get an accurate home value estimate. Nick Labrosse Real Estate provides free home value evaluations, ensuring you price your home fairly in a way that gets you the most money without scaring away potential buyers.
Once you’ve decided on a fair listing price, your real estate agent will ask you to sign a listing agreement so he/she can start selling your home. Such an agreement defines your working relationship in legal terms, outlines all the necessary information about your property, and becomes the foundation for any offers you’ll receive. It also outlines the official asking price, the agent’s commission, the completion date (the amount of time you have after a sale to move out of your home), and any other relevant legal and financial information.
Your listing agreement will be one of two types:
How a REALTOR® can market your home
Once your home is listed, there are several ways that your listing agent can get your home in front of potential buyers:
If a buyer decides they want your property, they’ll put in an official offer. Your listing agent can help you go over all the terms in the offer to make sure you understand everything before giving their professional opinion on what to do next. You may even receive multiple offers at one time, in which case your agent will help you evaluate them and weigh your options.
While you will immediately want to look at the price on the offer, there will be other relevant terms and conditions detailed that may even be more important. For example, your buyer may want to negotiate based on aspects like financing, closing costs, decorations, necessary repairs, furnishings, closing date, and more.
You can respond to the offer by accepting it, rejecting it, or providing a counteroffer. It’s completely normal for offers to go back and forth a few times, in a process called the “signback.” If your agent is experienced, he or she will have the right negotiation skills to make this part of the process as easy as possible while looking out for your best interests.
Negotiating is key to ensuring the best deal for all parties involved. Having an experienced professional in your corner can not only help you get a higher final price but also secure the most favorable conditions. At Nick Labrosse Real Estate, we do our negotiations in a way that protects everyone involved. We can help you negotiate all terms so you can make a well-informed, suitable decision for you and your family.
Out top negotiating tips
CLOSING THE PURCHASE
The Conditional Period
The offer that you ultimately accept will detail agreed-upon conditions, which must be finalised during the conditional period. This period begins once you accept an offer, and ends once all conditions have been met and the appropriate paperwork is signed.
Typical conditions include:
You may also come across a Sale of Purchasers Property (SPP) condition if your buyers need to sell their current property before buying. Your real estate agent can help you decide whether to accept an SPP-conditional offer based on your personal needs and timeline.
Depending on what is found during the conditional period, particularly during the home inspection, the offer may be renegotiated. Once again, working with an experienced REALTOR ® ensures that your best interests are protected throughout this process.
Congratulations! It’s now about time to finally close the deal on the sale of your home. However, there are a handful of steps to take before you can completely move on, including:
It’s important to realize that your closing date and your buyer’s moving date aren’t the same thing. The buyers must wait for the property title to be transferred before they can move in and then must wait to collect the keys to their new home.
However, you must vacate the property as soon as the title has been transferred. So, please pack well in advance and be prepared to move out early in the day on closing day.
Now, it’s time to celebrate! You’ve officially sold your home — congratulations!
Labrosse Real Estate Group
4366 Innes Road
Ottawa, ON, K4A 3W3
Direct: 613-227-6409
Email: Hello@LabrosseRealEstate.com
Office: 613-590-3000
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Nicholas Labrosse Courtier Immobilier Inc
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