The Home Selling Process in Vaughan Ontario -  An Overview of the Selling Process.

1. Preliminary Planning
2. Selecting a Realtor
3. The Listing Agreement
4. Pricing your Home
5. Showing your Home
6. Dealing with Offers

1. Preliminary Planning

You will need to get together any pertinent information on you property such as the deed, survey, tax bill, mortgage statement, utility bills, information on upgrades and improvements etc.

Attend to minor repairs; loose doorknobs, leaky faucets etc. Ensure that the doorbell and all electrical fixtures work and replace any burned out light bulbs. Read a complete list of Ideas and Suggestions to get you more money when you sell.

Have the house cleaned. Kitchens and bathrooms should sparkle and clean windows are impressive. Watch for and remove cobwebs on the ceilings.   

Closets should not be overcrowded. If necessary, rent a storage locker temporarily or give away items you no longer use. 

 
2. Select a Realtor

Interview one or two agents who are experienced within your neighbourhood and make sure they are full time agents.

Get answers to any questions or concerns. Read the questions to ask your agent first.

Find out how they would market your property, discuss commissions and how much they offer to the selling agent and ask what they expect of you. Do they charge additional marketing costs to the selling agent?

Do not be taken in by an agent who suggests the highest price but may not be able to deliver. Watch out for "The high price tactic"

Read Agency Relationships Explained provided by the Toronto Real Estate Board or Working with a Realtor published by the Ontario Real Estate Association and discuss agency issues with your realtor. Make sure you understand it.

Choose a realtor with whom you have rapport, who listens to you and understands your needs and in whom you have confidence.

The Canadian Real Estate Association website has excellent information too.

Have me in after you have interviewed your other prospective agents and you will be able to see and compare all of my services to the others. You will see that what I offer is far superior to the others and that you will benefit the most with my strong marketing and negotiation skills.

3. The Listing Agreement

 The listing agreement is a contract between the you (the seller) and the listing broker (RE/MAX West Realty Inc.). Did you know that your agent (me) is legally an extension and representative of the Broker (RE/MAX). The listing describes the property to be sold and the terms under which it is to be sold. This document also sets up our agency relationship and sets in motion all the duties and obligations that come with the law and Agency.

The listing agreement is on a standard form provided by our local real estate board (for us, it's TREB - which stands for Toronto Real Estate Board) and we must comply with their rules and regulations. For example: a TREB rule is that 60 days is the minimum number of days on an MLS listing

You are appointing us to market your for a specified length of time and agree to pay us a commission (usually a percentage of the sale price) for bringing about an acceptable offer and successful completion of the transaction.

On the MLS listing the listing broker agrees to share the commission with the co-operating broker (i.e.: the agent who brings the offer from the buyer). You should discuss with your agent how the commission will be split and how much they offer to the selling agent and whether they deduct marketing fees. This practice is growing but is considered unprofessional.

Commissions are negotiable and in Woodbridge (members of the Toronto Real Estate Board) only the amount paid to the selling agent is published on the MLS listing. The total commission is kept confidential so no one knows for sure what the listing agent is paid and this can be subject to negotiation.

You must also indicate whether you want the property to be advertised either by only by the listing broker or whether to allow other agents to advertise it as well. Whether your address is published on the internet mls sites is also a decision you have to make.

There is a holdover clause stating that if a buyer who was introduced to the property during the active listing period and that buyer ends up buying the property within a stipulated time period (the holdover period) after the expiry of the listing you will still have to pay commission to the realtor. This is to protect the realtor from the situation where the buyer and seller make a private deal to wait until the listing expires to avoid paying the realtor who introduced the buyer to the property.

     4. Pricing your Home

Pricing your home right is the key to selling it quickly and for the best price.

Obviously, you, the seller, sets the asking price for your home but ultimately the buyer determines the value.

Homes sell quickly and usually for the most money when they are priced properly from the beginning. See a pricing versus time graph that represents this important part of the process.

I will provide you with all the information about similar properties which sold recently and properties currently for sale in your neighbourhood.

A good strategy is to list slightly more than the price of properties recently sold and slightly less than the current competition on the market.

Highest prices are obtained when there are multiple offers which often generate a "bidding war". This occurs when a property is perceived to be a good buy. Pricing it right can result in a sale price higher than the asking price. Read some Negotiating Guidelines to help you at this critical stage.

A buyer will pay a price similar to what he would have to pay for similar properties. The buyer will compare your home with other similar properties on the market and then decide which one meets their needs "best" and the one that is also a "fair" price to pay.

Things that don't affect value are your original cost, the cost to rebuild it today, your investment in improvements, personal attachment, what you need, certain types of improvements.

The dangers of overpricing are: reduces the number of showings, reduces advertising response, loses potential buyers, eliminates offers, helps sell the competition, can cause appraisal problems, extends market time.

To help you at this early stage I can provide you with a quick 'No Obligation Over the Internet' Evaluation of your home?

The Majority of prospect activity on a new listing occurs in the early period of marketing. This happens because real estate agents maintain an inventory of active prospects that have been cultivated over time.

When a home is newly listed, real estate agents will arrange for the buyers to see it. Once this "actively looking" group has seen the property, showing activity decreases to only those buyers that are new to the market.

For this reason it is important that sellers have their home in the best condition and at the best price at first exposure to the market.

Real Estate, Homes for sale, Agents, Realtors, Houses, Residential in Castlemore, Brampton.

If you are thinking of selling your real estate and/or have a home you need to sell or need the servieces of a a professional agent, calling Realtors on their houses and residential listings, do you require a single family, condominium, townhouse listing search through the multiple listings database, then you have come to the right place!

How to establish an effective List Price

When you sell, let's do it in order, First Things First.

 

 

The first step is to help you establish a list price that is the TOP market value. This value should not be too high, as your home will not sell. We do this by having a thorough understanding of the market value. What is the Market Value of your home? This is critical and I will prepare a personal market analysis on your home, as the first step. I can prepare this analysis similar to a certified appraisal. This ensures your comfort and confidence in working together to achieve this important first goal.

How much higher than average market value depends on my efforts placed on marketing and promotion, accessibility of your home, the current state of the market and motivating the buyers.

My clients are his top priority. I am willing to go that extra mile and do whatever it takes to help you get top dollar. Even after your home is sold, Pankaj Sandhu does not "drop the ball" and continues to treat you like the valuable customer you are.

I am committed to offering you the highest standards of professional service and advice. You will see that I thoroughly enjoy working with people and dedicate myself to getting you the best possible price through strong marketing and professional negotiation skills.

You will find me professional, reliable and enthusiastic in my endeavor to serve you well.

E-mail me or call me at the my direct line 647-282-2222 You can always ask for your free quick market analysis over the Internet.

 
5. Showing Your Home

We may want to hold an open house for agents on the appropriate day or the day the listing appears to allow all agents at once to preview your home with the least inconvenience to you.

It is your responsibility to have the house looking good for showings. It should be clean, tidy and odour-free, and pets and children should be out of the way. Curtains should be open in daytime and closed at night with lights turned on.

You should try to be out of the house or at least as inconspicuous as possible. Allow the agent to show the property without interfering. Do not get involved in a long and drawn out conversation with the purchaser as it may end up being used against us during the negotiations.

Showings are by appointment only and buyers will always be accompanied by an agent. We will keep a record of all the appointments.

It is standard practice to provide a lockbox which makes a key accessible for agents to show your property when you are not home.

Sometimes we may want to hold open house for the public on weekends. This is a marketing strategy which is advisable in some situations but not always necessary.

6. Dealing with Offers

When an agent prepares an offer on your home they advise me of this fact. I will then tell you we have an offer and make an appointment to present it to you at a convenient time and place. Often we fax offers back and forth to save time.

Sometimes both myself (the listing agent) and agent representing the buyer meet with you to present the offer. We would read through the offer, I would explain the terms and conditions to you. You can ask for clarification of any questions of concern to you.

You can request that the selling agent leave the room so you we can discuss the offer confidentially and go over all of the terms and price.

I will thoroughly explain any clauses and conditions and advise you what is normal wording and what is unusual or items that may be of concern.

Offers are on standard forms provided by our local real estate board (either TREB or OREA standard forms are used) with many standard clauses to satisfy the lawyers.

Besides identifying the parties and properties, the offer lists all the items the purchaser wants included in the sale and any fixtures to be excluded. Read some Negotiating Guidelines to help you.

There is an irrevocable date and if you don't accept the offer by that time the purchaser may revoke it.

You may either accept the offer as is, reject it, or make changes and sign it back to the purchaser to see if they are willing to accept your changes. If you make changes to it, this means you have rejected the original offer and they are no longer bound by their original offer. It is the buyers option to either accept your counter-offer with the changes, reject it or come back with another counter-offer. This process continues until either you can reach agreement or the negotiations terminate.

The purchaser submits a deposit with the offer which is turned over to the listing broker once the offer is accepted. The deposit is held in our trust account to be applied to the purchase price on the closing date. The total commission is usually deducted from this deposit on the closing date and if there is a deficiency your lawyer is instructed to pay the balance of the commission owing from the proceeds of the sale.

Once agreement is reached and any conditions are waived, the documents are handed over to your lawyer who prepares the transfer papers, deals with any adjustments, and meets with the purchaser's lawyer on the closing date to exchange the keys for the payment.

 

 

 

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