Prince George Real Estate

Before you start making repairs, before selling your home or marking dates on your calendar for an open house, it’s smart to prepare a home selling plan. Of course, you want top dollar, but you could make costly home selling mistakes along the way if your enthusiasm for quickly selling causes you to run out and stick a for sale sign in the yard before you’re fully prepared to sell.

Motivation for Selling

Explore your reasons for selling. Everybody has a reason to sell. If you aren’t truly motivated or committed to selling — if it just struck you one morning that you should move to the other side of town and you haven’t completely thought through the process — you could be setting yourself up for disappointment.

Buying a New Home

Most people who sell do so to buy another home. Put together a list of neighborhoods where you may want to live and drive them. Go to open houses. Check out pricing between newer homes vs. older homes. Weigh your options. You might find you prefer to stay where you are.

Call Real Estate Agents

Interview real estate agents, talk to at least three neighborhood specialists. Ask each listing agent to give you a marketing plan that explains what they will do to market your home. In addition, ask the agents to prepare a comparative market analysis for you and ask each for advice about:

• Preparing Your Home for Sale
  Compare suggestions and consider accepting the most sound advice. Generally, you will want to move out bulky and excess furniture.
• Repairs Before Selling
  Not all resale repairs will pay off. You don’t want to spend a lot of money making improvements but you do want to repair obvious maintenance issues, if any have been neglected.
• Home Staging
  You can hire a professional stager, ask your agent to help stage or stage it yourself. You will get more for your home if it is staged.
• Home Pricing
  Do not select an agent based on suggested sales price. Some will overbid each other to get the listing. But do not overprice. Homes that are overpriced often sell for less than market value.
• Net Profits from Selling
  I always prepare two net sheets for sellers, each with a low price and a high price. This way, sellers can be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. If the lowest net price will let you buy the home you want, it’s time to find financing.

Find a Lender

First, call your existing lender to find out exactly how much you need to pay off. You should order a beneficiary statement. Then check out new financing offers from your own lending institutions and credit unions. Ask for a Good Faith Estimate – GFE. Compare rates and fees. Also, ask for referrals to mortgage brokers from agents. Often, mortgage brokers have more flexibility to discount rates and are more competitive.

• Get a loan preapproval letter, so you know how much of a mortgage you will qualify to obtain.
• You don’t need to apply for the maximum mortgage, and a lower mortgage payment might make you more comfortable in the long run.
• Compare mortgage loan types and choose wisely.

Sell Before Buying

The moment your home goes on the market, you might be tempted to bounce around online looking at homes on the web. Next thing you know, you’ll want to make an appointment to view a few homes. Don’t get carried away by virtual tours and beautiful photographs of your dream home. It is almost always more profitable to sell before buying.

  

Home Selling Plan

Here are the steps for selling a home:

1- Choose a Listing Agent

• A listing agent will represent you and have a fiduciary responsibility to look out for your best interests.
• Interview agents and meet with at least three neighborhood specialists.
• Negotiate your listing agreement, including term.

2- Get Home Ready for Sale

• Prepare your home for sale by cleaning, decluttering and improving curb appeal.
• Hire a professional stager to stage your home, or ask your real estate agent for help in staging.
• Make repairs before selling.
• Protect your privacy while your home is on the market.
• If you’re selling a home where pets live, make alternate plans for your pets.

3- Figure Out How Much Your Home is Worth

• A seller’s biggest mistake is to overprice.
• Price your home in line with sold homes identified in a comparative market analysis report.
• Consider whether your market is hot, cold or neutral, and price according to the market temperature.

4- Market Your Home

• You or your agent should identify the sizzling selling points and choose advertising words to sell.
• Approve your agent’s marketing campaign or figure out how to advertise your house for sale yourself.
• Follow the top 10 home marketing tips for selling your home.
• Hire a virtual tour company to take quality photographs and put a 360-degree virtual tour online.
• Tweak marketing to increase traffic and showings.
• Post internet listings online. Your agent or you should saturate the internet with photographs and description of your home.

5- Show Your Home

• If you’re wondering about lockbox vs. appointments, you’ll get more showings if you let agents use a lockbox.
• Your home will show better if you are selling in spring than selling in winter.
• Selling during the holidays will likely result in a lower sales price, regardless of what agents tell you.
• Follow the top 10 home showing tips. You’ve got only one chance — and sometimes only 3 seconds — to make a good first impression.
• Prepare for an open house and use the approach sparingly.
• Ask for buyer feedback so you can adjust your price, condition or marketing campaigns accordingly.

6- Receive Purchase Offers and Negotiate

• Make certain that buyers use the right form for writing a purchase offer.
• Even if you receive a lowball offer, negotiate by issuing a counter offer. Don’t ignore offers.
• Ask for a kickout clause or first right of refusal if the buyer’s offer is contingent on selling a home.
• Consider making a counter offer contingent on buying a home, if market conditions warrant.
• Don’t be afraid to make a full-price counter offer, if you are priced competitively.
• If you are priced right, prepare yourself for multiple offers.

7- Open Escrow / Order Title

• Your agent or transaction coordinator will open escrow and order a title policy.
• Write down the contact information for the closing agent.
• Select a date to close based on when the buyer’s loan will fund.
• Ask for a receipt for the buyer’s earnest money deposit.

8- Schedule Appraiser Appointment

• Clean the house the day before the appraiser arrives.
• If you receive a low appraisal, ask your agent about alternatives.
• You are not entitled to receive a copy of the appraisal because you did not pay for it.
• If the buyer decides to cancel the contract based on an appraisal, ask your agent or lawyer about your rights.

9- Cooperate with Home Inspection

• Get ready for the home inspector.
• Ask your agent to provide you with a home inspection checklist so you will know which items an inspector will want to see.
• Expect that the inspector will want access for an attic inspection and will look for a wet basement; prepare those areas for inspection.
• Prepare as well for the final walk-through inspection.

10- Obtain Seller-Required Inspections

• If your contract calls for a roof certification, hire a reputable company to conduct the inspection.
• States that allow for termite / pest inspections make these reports public records.
• The fees for all inspection reports, even if seller-mandated, are negotiable.
• If your home was built before 1950, a sewer inspection might call for a new sewer line, but trenchless sewers are less expensive to install.

11- Delivery Seller Disclosures

• All homes in the Canada are subject to lead-based paint disclosures.
• If you are aware of material facts, disclose them.
• Your title company should provide CC&Rs, but if you belong to a homeowner association, additional documentation will be required.

12- Negotiate Request for Repair

• Ordinarily, sellers do not need to accept a buyer’s request for repair; however, buyers can generally then cancel.
• You are entitled to a copy of the home inspection report, if the buyers request repairs.
• If you do not choose to make repairs, a buyer might instead accept a closing cost credit.

13- Ask Buyer to Release Contingencies

• Contracts default to 17 days, at which time, the buyer must release contingencies.
• If you do not demand a release, buyers are not obligated to provide it.
• If buyers do not provide a release, sellers have the right to cancel.

14- Sign Title / Escrow Documents

• Bring a valid picture ID.

15- Close Escrow

• Your property deed, reconveyance and deed of trust will record in the public records.
• Title will notify you and your agent when it records.
• Depending on buyer’s possession rights specified in the contract, you may be required to move on the day it closes.