I hear it all the time, "We want to wait until Spring to sell our home." Yes the flowers are blooming, your grass is coming in nicely and starting to green up, the sun is shining and the birds are chirping, great time to sell your house right? Partially right! This is when EVERYONE wants to sell their home, in Calgary it is the busiest time in Real Estate, which means a ton of COMPETITION. Off peak season buyers tend to be a little more serious and with fewer homes on the market means less competition.
Mistake #9: Misunderstanding Your Contract
Entering into a real estate contract can sometimes be confusing and scary, that is why it pays to have professional representation by a Calgary REALTOR®. As a REALTOR® I am here to help you understand what the buyer is requesting in the contract, from purchase price to terms or condtions to what is included for example the fridge, stove, dishwasher, dryer, washing machine etc. Make sure to read the fine print and know what your rights are as a seller.
Mistake #8: Going it Alone Without Reasearching the Process
It is a hard decision to make,"Do I sell my home myself and save the commission or do I go with a REALTOR® and pay those hefty fees?" I can tell you that I asked myself that exact question before I was a REALTOR®. We went the FSBO(for sale by owner) route and we put up with our neighbors coming into our home and going through our closets, we had open houses and put up the money ourselves to market the home. After 2 months of trying we enlisted the help of a REALTOR® and our house sold in 6 days. It is a daunting task, selling a Calgary house, we did the research beforehand and still didn't realize all of the work that goes into not only the marketing but also the contracts, negotiation and after sales service. Do your homework and make sure you can handle not only the stress of selling on your own but all of the leagalites that are involved as well.
Mistake #7: Not countering the "Lowball" Offer
During the offer phase, it is most Sellers' first impulse to reject the first offer outright and say NO especially if it is a "Lowball Offer". A lowball offer is a matter of opinion, some might think 10k off the asking is a lowball where another seller might think 50k off asking is a lowball. All I can say is that it is all relative and it is a matter of perception. We do NOT want to reject the lowball offer outright, we will want to submit a counter offer. The goal is to get the buyer to recognize that what they are buying has good value. If the buyer and the buyers agent do not recognize the value of your home, do not be pressured to accept the offer, for you the seller, it is about being comfortable with the price and the terms and understanding your own motivation.
Mistake #6: Wasting Time-Unqualified Buyers
Part of my business plan is not wasting my time or my sellers time working with buyers that are not pre approved to make a purchase. With the stricter lending rules, it is now more important than ever to make sure that the buyer for your home is pre approved, not just "pre qualified". Anyone can get "pre qualified" over the phone with their bank by telling the banker how much money they make and how much debt they have. The banker will input this info into a program and it will spit out a number based on income and your Total Debt Service Ratio or TDS. You are NOT pre approved! If you go through the pre approval process you will be required to submit T4 slips, pay stubs, record of employment, letter from you employer, bank account number, credit card statements and to sign a release allowing the lender to check your credit. If you have not done any of these things, then you are not approved to make a purchase. If you as the seller are going it alone it is up to you to make sure the buyer is pre approved, you can do this by asking them for a "pre approval letter" from their lender, if they refuse to do this, that is a huge "Red Flag". As a Calgary REALTOR® I ensure that all of my buyers are pre approved BEFORE I start working with them.
Mistake #5: Going "Cheap" on Marketing
Before the internet and our MLS® system it was easy just to put a sign in your front lawn and run ads in the newspaper because this is the way it was done. Now with REALTOR.ca being our biggest marketing tool, it is imperative that the photos that your REALTOR® takes of your home are of high quality and give an accurate visual representation of your home, inside and out. With 90% of all buyers beginning their search on the internet why wouldn't you want to put your best foot forward? If there is only 1 picture online, most potential purchasers will skip right over your listing.
Mistake #4: Sabotaging the Viewing
If you have a someone that wants to look at your home, it is important that you allow that person to have a look without you following their every move. If you are worried about valuables, put them away so that noone knows they are there. The buyer needs an opportunity to examine your home to see if it will fit their families needs, they are also making sure that each room will accomodate the furniture that they have. They need to be allowed to put themselves in the house mentally, to see if it is a fit. This will not work if you are behind them every step of the way pointing things out and trying to make small talk. Invite them in, tell them to have a look aroundthe house and if they have any questions or comments to let you know.
Mistake #3: Not Getting Your House in "Show Home" Condition
If your home does not show like a show home, you could be in for a rough ride. You will need to DECLUTTER, DECLUTTER, DECLUTTER and CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN! That means, shampooing carpets if need be, touching up paint, making sure most of your family photos are off the walls(you are moving any way right??), move excess furniture into the basement or garage, everything off the kitchen counters etc. You need to allow the buyer to have a "blank canvas", something to work with when they first walk into your home. If your home is not clean or cluttered and they are not able to see the space in the home, then you may either not get an offer or might get something a lot lower than you were expecting.
Mistake #2: Over Renovating
This can be a very costly mistake! Make sure that when you are planning a renovation that the houses in the area are comparable to what you are planning. What I mean by this is, if you are going to reno a kitchen and most of the houses have a laminate counter top, with ceramic tile floors and nice but not overly dramatic cupboards then you should try to follow this lead. If you over spend on things like granite, travertine tile, upgraded cabinetry, and most of all appliances, you may not see the return you were expecting. The same can be said for the reverse, if you are in a higher end neighborhood where these types of upgrades are expected then you will need to "keep up with the Jones'".
Mistake #1: OVERPRICING!!!
There are two sayings in Real Estate that have been around forever, Location and Price! If you are overpriced, you will know it in one of two ways, first if you have a ton of viewings but no offers and second if you have NO viewings at all! Pricing is everything in selling your home, if the buyer thinks that your asking price is too high they may not want to waste their time making an offer that you may not accept. Two pieces of advice, do NOT get greedy and leave some on the table for the next guy!