So you've decided to sell your
home. Let's take a look at all the things you
can do to increase your chances of success. First
of all, You've come to the right place. Your CENTURY
21® sales associate is a dedicated, hard working
real estate professional who will do his/her utmost
to help sell your property fast and at the right
price.
Now, it helps to understand
the mindset of the typical home buyer. Most buyers
have certain priorities in mind when they shop
for a house. By the time they finally make an
offer to purchase, they have probably visited
several places that meet their basic needs.
What makes
them choose one home above the others? Experience tells us
that, once the basic requirements have been met,
choosing a home becomes an emotional decision for
many buyers. They may weigh the pros and cons carefully,
but in the end they'll often choose the one that
"feels" right. So how do you make your
house feel like the perfect home? The trick is to
communicate subconsciously by appealing to the five
senses. Try these special tactics practiced to tip
the scales in your favour:
• Greet your visitors with the scent of fresh
flowers or the aroma of freshly-baked bread
or cookies
• have pleasant music playing softly in the
background
• give the impression of spaciousness and
airiness - remove bulky furniture, open the
curtains, turn on extra lights
• display colour photos of outdoor views during
different seasons near the front and
back doors
• build a homey atmosphere - have family photographs
tastefully arranged here and
there, but don't overdo it!
• add warmth whenever possible - turn on lamps
rather than overhead lights, close
curtains at night
These tactics are especially effective if you've
decided with your CENTURY 21® sales associate
on holding an open house - an occasion when it's
in your best interests to pull out all the stops.
Price
It To Sell Your CENTURY 21®
sales associate is a well-trained professional.
He/she will help you determine the best possible
price you can get for your property. Ask about
our Free home evaluation.
Negotiating The Sale Now that we have an interested
buyer, you may wonder what happens next. If you
accept the offer, what can go wrong? And what
measures should you take to protect yourself legally?
How is the sale finalized legally? When do the
new owners move in? What expenses are you responsible
for? Once everything is paid, how much will you
net from the sale? Again, your CENTURY 21®
sales associate will help answer all of these
questions and more. However, you should understand
that there is no "average" length of
time that you can expect your home to be on the
market before it sells. It depends on many factors
- the condition of your home, the number of similar
homes available in your neighborhood, the season,
local economic conditions, etc. In a buyer's market,
for instance, the period of time between listing
and closing may be significantly longer than that
enjoyed in a seller's market. Be sure to factor
this into your timing and plans.
The
Offer To Purchase After several visits,
a buyer may make an offer to purchase your home.
Usually presented by your CENTURY 21® associate
directly to you - this offer sets forth the terms
under which the buyer is prepared to purchase.
It includes such details as offered price, proposed
closing date, deposit amount, conditions such
as financing and chattels and fixtures to be included
in the purchase. A serious offer should be accompanied
by a deposit - often in the 5% to 10% range. If
the offer is accepted, the deposit is held until
closing day. It is then applied to the purchase
price. An offer also generally carries a time
limit. If you fail to respond within the specified
time frame, the offer expires. Depending on the
buyer's strategy, the time limit could be as long
as a week or two, or as short as a few hours.
The Counter Offer As the seller,
you must respond within the specified time period
in order to keep the offer alive. You have three
options. You can:
1. Accept the
offer as is
2. Submit a counter-offer
3. Reject the offer entirely
If the buyer has made a serious
offer, most vendors usually try to negotiate the
terms by submitting a counter-offer. In your counter-offer,
you can propose a new price, a different closing
date, or the inclusion or exclusion of chattels
or fixtures that may or may not have been listed
in the original offer. Like the buyer's offer
to purchase, you may also stipulate an expiry
time and date. Once the counter offer is made,
now your buyer has the same options - to accept
your counter-offer, to submit his or her own counter-offer,
or to reject it entirely and walk away. Both you
and your buyer can submit as many counter-offers
as you wish until agreement is reached or one
party chooses to end the negotiations.
The
Conditional Offer While you might strike
a deal in principle with a buyer, loose ends -
in the form of "conditions" - may have
to be tidied up before the sale can be completed.
A conditional offer is one in which the sale of
the property is agreed to by both buyer and seller,
subject to outstanding conditions being met by
the appropriate party. A buyer's ability to successfully
obtain mortgage financing, a satisfactory home
inspection or the sale of the buyer's current
home within a prescribed period of time are all
conditions which might affect the final outcome
of the sale. If the conditions are satisfied within
the allotted time frame, the offer becomes "firm
and binding". If not, the deal is off, and
the deposit is returned to the buyer. As the seller,
don't put yourself in the position of facing a
lengthy period of legal limbo. Add an escape clause
to your counter-offer - if another acceptable
offer is presented while you're waiting for conditions
to be met, the first buyer must either waive the
condition and close the sale, or forfeit the deal.
What's Included and
What's Excluded? Make a checklist.
Complete the one below, for your convenience Use
this checklist to itemize what you will include
when you sell your house. You can print a few
copies to give prospective buyers once your home
is on the market.
Closing
Day Mutually agreed between
buyer and seller and recorded in the offer, closing
day is the day when money, title and (usually)
keys change hands.
The possession date - or the day that you are
actually required to vacate the premises and hand
your keys over to the new owners - may not always
coincide with your closing date, and should also
be written into the off.
Planning Your Move Moving can be hectic at
the best of times. But with a little bit of planning,
you can avoid much of the trauma! Here are some
pointers to keep in mind:
• Contact two or three movers for estimates
and details of what is included in their service.
A mover may have to visit your current home to
discuss special problems which may arise in moving
your furnishings.
• Be precise in contracting for the various
services a mover may offer. Make sure that everything
is clearly written into the offer.
• Find out whether the mover's insurance
covers your furnishings while in transit. If not,
check your own insurance coverage.
• If you live in an apartment building,
reserve the elevator for the day and time of your
move
• Send change of address notices to your
service suppliers, magazines and newspapers,
doctor and dentist, friends and relatives
• If you are moving to a different city,
collect important records from schools, doctors,
dentists, lawyers and your safe deposit box.
