1. MAKE THE DECISION TO SELL YOUR HOME

This is a major decision, consider all the variables and set a timeline for when you want your home listed, sold by and when you think you can realistically move into your next home, wherever that may be. This doesn’t have to be set in stone, but a rough idea.

2. CHOOSE YOUR REALTOR

Often overlooked is the actual process of choosing the right Realtor! Just because they have a license to sell real estate doesn’t mean they are any good at it…or good at selling a home like yours.

Most people already know a Realtor, but if the agent you know is the king of selling condos and you have a 5 acre, rural property with a well and septic field, its unlikely they will do the best job advertising your home. Interview a few agents and settle on the one you are most comfortable with and who has the right expertise to make your sale a success.

3. PREP YOUR HOME FOR SALE

This is a massive part of selling your home and will often be the deciding factor in the sales overall success or failure. Even with the best Realtor working for you, if your home is not properly prepped for showings and exposure to the tens of thousands of people who will view its photos and videos, your listing will not generate its maximum return.

• De-clutter and de-personalize every room

• Clean like the Queen is coming for a sleep over

• Consider re-arranging (or removing) the furniture in each room to maximize its space

• Complete any repairs that are needed and finish any outstanding jobs that you have been putting off (the baseboards from that reno 3 years ago need to go on the wall now.)

4. MARKETING

One your home has been prepped your Realtor can get to work on preparing the marketing for your home. Each agent will have a different approach to this crucial step, so make sure you hire a Realtor who has a strong marketing strategy, after all its one of the main reasons you are hiring them. Consider the lighting in each room, replace lightbulbs so that they are bright and consistent throughout. We recommend a nice warm color temperature bulb as opposed to fluorescent or harsh blue-light colored bulbs. Don’t assume photos and video can be touched up to hide any issues, there is no hiding them during showings and faking the marketing only leads to a poor showing experience for buyers.

5. CONSIDERING OFFERS & NEGOTIATING

Once a buyer decides your home is the one for them, they will make you an offer. This will come on a proper Offer to Purchase document and this is a legal and binding document. Your Realtor will present the offer, or if you’re lucky, offers to you and explain the pros and cons of each as well as your options. From there the negotiating starts.

In scenarios where there are multiple offers, there is a common misconception that the process resembles that of an auction where bids are placed and they just keep going higher and higher. This is not true.
In Manitoba, we have a blind bid system. Each buyer prepares their offer at the most they are willing to offer on the home, all of the offers are presented at the same time and the seller chooses the one they like best. There is often little negotiation in these scenarios as the winning bid will commonly have little to no conditions and the purchase price will likely be above list price.

If you only receive one offer, it is likely that the purchase price will come in below your list price and the two parties will have to negotiate to meet on a final number. Its not always about price either, possession date, inclusions and exclusions as well as conditions play a huge part in the overall deal.

When negotiating and considering offers, its best to check your emotions at the door and remember that this is a business transaction. Your Realtor will guide you through the process. Make decisions based on getting the transaction to the closing desk rather than trying to win the deal. In our experience, the best deals (and the ones that are most likely to close) are the ones where both parties feel like they’ve won.

6. CLOSING THE DEAL

Once you have an accepted offer, you are closer to selling your home. The property is considered SOLD after the buyer removes all of their conditions (if they had any). We consider this a FIRM deal in the industry. While your home is sold, you may still end up living in it for several weeks or months before it transfers to the new owners.

This is a critical time period where you must follow certain rules. The offer to purchase that you signed states that the home is to be in the same condition on possession as it was when the buyers made their offer. In order to hold up your end of the deal you must follow certain rules:

• No renovating, painting or changing the home in any way (unless agreed upon in the offer)

• No swapping of appliances or mechanical equipment (unless agreed upon in the offer)

• No selling of items listed to be left behind as inclusions

• If the property is damaged in anyway, it must be repaired and the buyer Realtor should be notified.

• No entertaining of other offers. (You’d think this would be obvious)

Roughly a week or so prior to possession your lawyer will have you meet with them at their office where you will “close” the deal. This is where all the necessary documents to transfer title are completed, you’ll pay out any rental contracts (ie: Hot Water Tank, Alarms etc.) and you will leave a set of keys with the lawyer. At this point you’re basically done. Ensure you are our of the home prior to the buyers possession and lock up on your way out.

If you’re ready to get to work on making your sale a success, let’s meet and see if we can be the right Realtor for you!