Few things have more impact on your life than going through a divorce. For many people, this is one of the most traumatizing events you can ever experience. When it’s amicable, it’s difficult enough. 

When there’s bad blood, it can be a nightmare. In the midst of the mediations and the heartbreaks, there is one big obstacle looming in the back of everyone’s mind. What do you do with the family home? 

Often, the simplest solution is to sell it and split the proceeds so that everyone can go their separate ways. Unfortunately, selling a house isn’t always easy at the best of times, and selling during the middle of a divorce can be even more challenging. What can you do? In this post, we’ll go over a few guidelines that will help streamline the process so you can move forward with the least amount of stress possible.

Legal and Practical Challenges

When a marriage disintegrates, the battle over the marital home can be stressful for both parties. It is highly recommended to work with an experienced attorney who can navigate the legalities while representing your best interests. This is true during an amicable split, and goes double for when things are less than cooperative. 

The problem with selling a family home is that both names are typically on the title. You can’t list it without the other spouse’s permission. The final decision only comes after many smaller agreements fall into place. For example, you must decide on a timeline, a price and what renovations you will do before putting your listing on the market. 

Reaching a resolution quickly is the best-case scenario. Otherwise, the courts may be involved, which can be an expensive and time-consuming process for both of you. 

Expert guidance has never been more essential when selling during a challenging market. The posts below will help you decide:

• Fact Vs Fiction About Working With A Real Estate Agent
• FSBO vs Real Estate Agent Assisted Sales: What’s Better?
• What’s in Your Listing Agreement?

Understanding Your Options

What happens if one spouse wants to leave the home and the other wants to stay? In this case, it will depend on your financial situation. If finances allow, you can sell your share of the property to your spouse or vice versa. 

If neither party can come to an agreement or has the ability to buy out the other spouse, the best course of action is likely to sell the home. The sooner the transaction closes, the sooner each of you can move on with your lives. This makes a seamless and successful sale a worthy goal to focus on.

Choose Your Expert Wisely

A divorce adds many complications, and you will want the help of a Realtor® to make your transaction as stress-free as possible. However, this raises another question. Do you both use the same real estate agent or should you each have your own? Generally, using one agent is more straightforward. If you can’t agree on who to work with, you have more decisions ahead.

Working with two different professionals from the same brokerage is the next best thing to having the same agent. It also helps to provide a united front to potential buyers who can view and consider your home without being distracted by any conflict or negativity.

You could retain separate brokerages where you’ll each have a designated agent working on your behalf. This arrangement is called a co-listing or co-brokerage agreement. If there is a lot of discord between you and your former spouse, this can be a way to sell your home while minimizing your contact with each other.

Preparing Your Home During a Divorce

During a standard transaction, we focus extensively on preparing the home for sale through deep cleaning, decluttering and making minor updates. Anything that makes the property more appealing to potential buyers can increase your final selling price. 

However, divorce changes everything. We are often working within a very short time constraint and need to sell quickly. There simply may not be enough time to perform as many upgrades as we would normally like. When the divorce is contentious, preparing the home can be even more challenging. 

Do you need more help to prepare and price your home effectively? The resources below will give you some ideas:

• What’s Your House Really Worth?
• A Back to Basics Guide to Maximizing Your Sale
• Our Full-Service Real Estate Team’s Guide to Marketing Your Home

Making the Most Out of Your Situation

In the event that you can not renovate and prepare your home, you will rely even more on a skilled real estate agent. The good news is that as important as presentation is, there are other tools to help you sell your home faster and at the highest amount under the circumstances:

• Setting an effective price point will allow you to capture maximum buyer interest, greatly increasing your chances of earning top dollar from your sale. Overpricing even a little can cause potential buyers to pass you by. Underpricing can mean you will earn less than you deserve. Your agent will help you determine the precise price range that will help maximize the value of your home.
• Promoting your listing to the highest number of qualified buyers is essential. When multiple parties are interested, you are more likely to receive better offers. Your real estate agent should have a built-in marketing system that exposes your home to a wide audience, both online and offline.
• Networking can often turn up a buyer quickly. An established Realtor® usually has a vast number of contacts, including other real estate professionals with their own lists of interested buyers. 

Full renovations may be out of the picture, but you can still make your home show well by keeping it tidy and maintained and by cleaning up around the exterior. If you work with a full-service team like Woolcott Real Estate, effective staging is one more tool that can help you maximize your results. With the sale of your home behind you, both of you can take the next step toward healing and move on to the next chapter of your lives. 

Do you have questions about selling your home in a challenging situation? Our compassionate experts are here to help. Reach out today or call (905) 332-9223 to begin the conversation.

Owning a house with income potential can be a solid investment for your future, allowing you to build equity and enjoy a passive stream of income every month. On paper, few things sound better. However, being a landlord isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.

Even if you don’t run into headaches, you may want to move on with your life or cash out of your investment to pursue other goals. Then the question arises, can you sell a house that you’re currently renting out? 

The obvious answer is yes. It is your property, and you can do as you wish with it. That said, having tenants can complicate your transaction. In this post, we’ll talk about the implications of selling a tenanted property and how to handle any challenges that may arise.

The Lease Still Stands

As a landlord, no one has to tell you that your tenant has a lot of rights. One of these is that you can’t evict them unless it’s for one of the reasons approved by the LTB (Landlord Tenant Board.) These reasons include persistent non-payment of rent, illegal activities, property damage or for personal use of the landlord. 

You may notice something missing from this list. It may surprise you, but selling the property is not considered a valid reason for eviction. The new owner must abide by the rules of the lease right through to its expiry date, which could limit the number of potential buyers for your home.

• If you’re selling your home to an investor, a built-in tenant adds to the appeal. The new landlord saves time and money on advertising. Plus, there is no vacancy period without income coming in. That alone can make your property more desirable. 
• However, if the new owner wants the house for themselves, having a tenant can be a liability. They will have to wait until the lease expires, then give the tenant 60 days’ notice before they can move in. If the lease is relatively new, the potential buyer may lose interest in your property and move on to the next listing. 

Do you want to know more about your rights and responsibilities as a landlord? Read our Guide to the Residential Tenancies Act for New Landlords.

Preparing the House for Sale

Customary preparations like a deep clean and declutter, minor updates and staging can all help you sell a house faster and for more money. However, one of your tenant’s rights is to reasonable enjoyment of the property. That applies throughout the selling process. As such, you can’t demand that your tenant remove their family photos or clean or stage the home. If you plan to take photos for marketing purposes, be sure to give your tenant advanced notice as they may not want their personal belongings photographed. 

You can make minor repairs and arrange to clean and paint the home yourself, as long as you provide 24 hours’ notice anytime you enter the premises. Major overhauls can be difficult with a tenant, but are fortunately not necessary most of the time.

Selling a home with tenants can be challenging, but the posts below will help you get results:

• A Back to Basics Guide to Maximizing Your Sale
• Worth It or Not? What Renovations Really Help When Selling Your Home
• Our Full-Service Real Estate Team’s Guide to Marketing Your Home

Can You Ask Nicely for Your Tenant to Leave?

Legally, you can’t evict your tenant unless you have grounds to do so. If your tenant is agreeable, you might be able to negotiate for them to leave early. Otherwise, there are circumstances where you can ask them to leave before the lease expires as long as you provide sufficient notice.

One example is if you plan significant renovations that require a building permit and for the property to be vacant. But there is a catch. That tenant has the right to return to the unit once the renovations are complete at the same cost as when they left.

You can evict a tenant should you decide to move into the home yourself or need the space for a family member or caregiver.

Always Act in Good Faith

Is it ever a good idea to get creative and evict a tenant under the guise of personal use or renovation? Some have tried, citing that they have changed their mind after the fact. However, this is dangerous territory to be in. If your tenant believes that you acted in bad faith, they can file a complaint with the LTB.

The penalties can be severe if they rule against you. In the best-case scenario, your tenant will be permitted to move back in. You could also face financial penalties, including compensating your tenant for up to one year of rent paid. Since this is not a position you ever want to find yourself in, it always pays to be honest and act in good faith.

Showing a Home With Tenants

Once your tenanted home is ready for viewing, presenting it to potential buyers is another challenge. Typically, we never want the homeowner present when buyers come through. Visitors feel more comfortable with just the real estate agent. They can take their time and ask plenty of questions without worrying about offending the current residents. 

However, you can’t ask your tenant to leave every time a potential buyer wants to visit. They might not want to be there, but it’s certainly not something you can enforce. On the other hand, your tenant can’t insist on being present when a buyer comes through. All showings must take place between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. unless you and your tenant come to an agreement. Once again, your tenant has the right to 24-hour notice whenever you enter their home.

Looking for more resources before listing your home for sale? Here is some related reading you may find helpful:

• FSBO vs Real Estate Agent Assisted Sales: What’s Better?
• Should You Sell Your House or Rent It?
• Selling a Home for Someone Else? Here’s What You Need to Know

Maintaining a Positive Relationship Throughout the Selling Process

Both you and your tenant have certain rights and protections when selling your home. That said, the process will be more successful when you have a positive relationship with your tenant. There are many ways your tenant could go over and beyond their normal obligations to help you enjoy an easier transaction. For example:

• Your tenant must allow you to bring buyers through from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. But if you have a good relationship, they may allow for greater flexibility.
• Your tenant is under no obligation to clean or prepare the house before a showing. However, just think of how much better the property will look if they care and take the time to present the home well.
• Your tenant doesn’t have to inform you of any issues with the property, but it will save you a lot of time and trouble if they do.

By acting with integrity and treating your tenant with respect, you don’t just have the best chance of a faster and more profitable sale. You’ll come through the process with your reputation intact and just may make a lasting friendship along the way.

Do you have more questions about selling a property with tenants? We are here to help you through every challenge you’ll face along the way. Reach out today or give us a call at (905) 332-9223 for more information.

The current real estate market is complicated, and it seems to be getting more unpredictable day by day. On the one hand, demand is unprecedented. Increased immigration and a growing population mean there are more people than ever who want to buy a home. 

By all accounts, this looks like great news for sellers. But no matter how favourable the market appears, not every home sells. As a result, some homeowners are perplexed that their listing hasn’t received any offers at all. Why is this happening, and more importantly, what can we do about it? In this post, we’ll examine some of the reasons buyers may pass you by and how to generate more interest in your home.

How Economic Factors Are Affecting the Housing Market

Basic economics dictate that high demand and low supply should result in a robust market with fast sales. In real estate, every listing should generate massive amounts of interest and multiple offers. However, a key component is missing from this equation. When listing your home, you must take into account a buyer’s ability to buy. 

As we mentioned, there are many people out there who want to purchase your house. But with the high prices of housing, the pool of potential buyers who have the means to buy is much smaller. Even in a high-demand market, you can’t take anything for granted. You must still prepare your house for maximum appeal and market your listing extensively to an ever-shrinking group of qualified buyers. What are some of the other reasons you may not be getting offers?

A compelling price point and comprehensive marketing strategy are essential to a successful sale. The posts below will help you with everything you need to know:

• What’s Your House Really Worth?
• A Back to Basics Guide to Maximizing Your Sale
• Our Full-Service Real Estate Team’s Guide to Marketing Your Home

Inaccurate Pricing

When offers fail to materialize, it could be due to the size, location, features of your home or outside factors. However, more often than not, it comes down to price. Over or underpricing your home are common mistakes that can prevent you from selling successfully. 

• One outdated strategy that is still prevalent is to set your price above market value in the hopes that buyers will negotiate with you. However, in this day and age of fast information via the Internet, this approach generally does not work anymore. You may get a lot of showings, while offers are few and far between as qualified buyers pass you by.
• Underpricing your home is another misguided strategy. At best, you’ll sell your home for less than it’s worth. Buyers may also try to lowball you, believing that you are selling out of necessity. At worst, the most qualified buyers may worry that your low price reflects a problem with the home that they don’t want to deal with. The end result of over and underpricing your home is the same. The people who are most qualified to place an offer lose interest and move on.

How do you know what the optimum price is for your home? A local real estate agent can perform a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) based on up-to-date information and accurate statistics. The right price is the one that generates the most interest from qualified buyers in the market right now.

Are you curious to know how much your house is worth in today’s market? There is no reason to guess. You can book a free home evaluation right here.

Under Promoting

More than ever, advertising and marketing your listing to the largest pool of qualified buyers is essential. And it isn’t just about reaching the most people. It’s about reaching the right people, the ones who are pre-approved, highly motivated and ready to act. 

A lack of promotion is one of the reasons FSBO (For Sale By Owner) listings often fail. A qualified and experienced real estate agent ensures your listing gets advertised on the MLS® and Realtor.com, as well as being promoted through various real estate boards. Many brokerages also come with lists of buyers who have already been vetted and are just waiting to find the right home. This extensive networking and comprehensive marketing exposure can help to bring in the offers even when facing challenging conditions.

Skipping Steps

When demand is high and buyers are frantically searching, it’s easy to become complacent during the selling process. It’s understandable, especially if you believe your home will sell regardless.

Getting your house ready for the market can be expensive, not to mention a lot of work. There’s the cleaning, decluttering and minor repairs. And let’s not forget the yard work to make your house appear beautiful right from the beginning. And if you really want to get results, you might consider staging your home in a way that instantly captivates your buyer’s imagination. All of these pieces come together to help your listing stand out from other homes in your area. If any competing sellers decide to skip any of these steps, you will have the advantage!

What should you do to get your home ready for results? The posts below will give you some ideas:

• The Power of Staging When Selling Your Home
• Minor Upgrades, Maximum Results
• Worth It or Not? What Renovations Really Help When Selling Your Home

Realistic Expectations Are Essential

Is it possible to do everything right and sell your house successfully but still feel like you did something wrong? Selling during a shifting market can make even the best results feel disappointing if you don’t know what to expect. 

Many transactions simply cannot live up to what homeowners have come to expect after the last few years of a hectic seller’s market. Resetting these expectations to align with the current reality will make the entire process more enjoyable and less stressful. 

Taking longer to sell than you had initially hoped isn’t always because of a mistake or failure to advertise. Some houses just sell faster than others. Even with up-to-date statistics, no one can predict how long it will take until the offers come pouring in. 

But at the end of the day, what matters most is finding the right buyer and achieving the highest amount possible from your sale that the current market will allow. Even if it doesn’t happen as quickly as you thought, expert guidance and following all of the steps without fail gives you the best chance of receiving favourable offers on your home.

Do you have questions about selling your home in a challenging market? We are here to help every step of the way. Reach out right here or call 905-332-9223 for more information or to get started today. 

Buying a home is a big decision – whether it’s your first home or your fifth. To help you make the right decisions as you move through the process, we at Woolcott Real Estate have developed tips to follow to make a smart home purchase when you’re in the market to buy.

Keep Budget In Mind

When moving, there are a number of expenses beyond the purchase price of a home. Don’t forget to factor in Land Transfer Taxes, legal fees, mortgage insurance, home inspections and moving expenses.

Determine Wants vs. Needs

It can be easy to forget some of the necessities in the excitement of looking at properties. List out your must-haves, such as number of washrooms, kitchen size and backyard needs before setting out.

Buying a home isn’t getting any easier in this fast-paced market. The following resources will help you stack the odds in your favour:

• Hidden Costs of Buying a Home You Need to Know Now
• How To Win In A Multiple Offer Scenario
• 7 Amazing Benefits of Working with a Real Estate Agent

Ask Questions

Your real estate agent is an expert – so don’t be afraid to ask questions! Buying a home can be confusing, but as it’s often the biggest purchase people make, it’s not the time to be shy.

Get Your Pre-Approval

In a competitive market, time is of the essence. Your real estate agent can help negotiate a better deal on your dream home if you have a mortgage preapproval in hand.

Tip: If you want some recommendations for some tested and true mortgage brokers, speak with our team of realtors at Woolcott Real Estate today. We have a great list of local mortgage brokers.

Be Open to New Areas

Though you may have your heart set on one neighbourhood, your real estate agent has a wealth of knowledge – including up-and-coming areas you might not be aware of, and where the best spots are for your investment.

Woolcott Real Estate

Are you looking for the best real estate agent in Hamilton, Burlington or Waterdown? Woolcott Real Estate might have the solution you’ve been looking for. Our team of local realtors has years of experience under their belts, making them the experts in local real estate. To get started, contact us today or browse through our buyer’s resources!

Canadians truly have a love/hate relationship with the winter. For some people, plunging temperatures and snow and ice can not come fast enough. The colder, the better! It means prime conditions for skiing, ice skating and crisp hikes on the frozen trails. Some people love the frigid weather so much that even shovelling the snow doesn’t faze them! 

Others are willing to settle down to grin and bear it for the season, consoling themselves with cozy nights in watching movies and sipping hot chocolate. All the while, they’re counting the days until spring arrives. 

Then you have the snowbirds who take off for the entire season to bask in the warmth and sunshine somewhere in the tropics or overseas. This was once something only the wealthy could afford to do. However, if you’re a homeowner in the current market, chances are that you are more financially abundant than you realize. High housing prices here and the affordability of many other countries open up many possibilities. The question becomes, should you cash out and sell your house to live elsewhere?

Signs the Snowbird Life Is for You

It’s one thing to not look forward to the slush and snow. Many of us wish we could hit the fast-forward button until the grass grows and buds begin to bloom. However, you might be ready for a change if you find the dread of winter kicks in earlier and earlier each year. Here are some other signs that you are destined to head to warmer climates before the cold temperatures hit:

• Your house feels big and empty, and you no longer need so much space.
• You feel like there are a million other things you’d rather do than take care of a large property. All the same, you don’t feel the call to apartment or condo life, either.
• You’ve owned your home for a long time and have built significant equity.

Above all, you spend your days dreaming of the warm sun on your skin and the feel of sand under your feet. If you are currently retired or getting close, the possibility of a whole new way of life could be just around the corner. Or, with the current trend of remote work, you could become a snowbird during the prime of your career. Wherever you’re coming from, the first step to making your vision a reality is to sell your house at the highest amount the market will allow. If the price is right, your retirement and globetrotting adventures can begin sooner than you may have thought possible.

Looking for simple ways to improve your results when selling your home? The posts below will give you some ideas:

• A Back to Basics Guide to Maximizing Your Sale
• The Power of Staging When Selling Your Home
• Minor Upgrades, Maximum Results

Preparing for a Successful Sale

Getting your house ready for the market often seems like a monumental task, but it doesn’t have to be. Massive upgrades are not necessary for most listings. Instead, you can focus all of your efforts on a single principle: the better your house looks, the more it’s likely to earn. And you might be astounded at what a few minor tweaks and upgrades can do.

• Cleaning from top to bottom provides the foundation for a complete home makeover, especially when you pay attention to areas that don’t get cleaned as often. Wipe down the baseboards, shine the mirrors, scrub the bathrooms and don’t forget about the insides of closets and cupboards. The transformation, along with a higher selling price, will be well worth the time and effort it takes!
• Focus on the outside of your home. Most homeowners spend all of their attention on the interior when they really should be sprucing up the yard and entranceway. If you only get one chance to make a first impression, the time to do it is before a potential buyer even opens the door. Mowing the lawn, cleaning up any debris and storing garbage and recycling bins are a must. To enhance the effect, consider adding a garden or seasonal decor.
• Take a few days to paint and perform minor repairs. These can go a long way towards making your home appear modern and well looked after. Your local real estate agent can recommend professional contractors if you don’t want to do the work yourself.

Once you’ve completed all of these background steps, consider staging your home. Done right, this entices buyers by encouraging them to see your home as their home. Studies indicate that staging can help you enjoy a faster and more profitable sale, and these extra funds will come in handy during your travels in the sun!

When Is the Best Time to List Your House?

When to sell a home is one of the most frequently asked questions we get from homeowners. Should you wait for the spring or fall markets, which are traditionally the busiest? Or should you jump into the market right now while competition and prices are high? When you’re looking at outside factors, this is a tough question to answer. Real estate is unpredictable, and even the experts can’t say what direction the market will go.

Fortunately, even a volatile market can hold many advantages if you know how to position your home and negotiate. That’s just one more reason to have an experienced real estate team by your side. When you can feel confident of the outcome regardless of current conditions, you can sell your home when the time is right for you.

Want to know more about how an experienced real estate team can help you? Check out some of our related reading below:

• Fact Vs Fiction About Working With A Real Estate Agent
• FSBO vs Real Estate Agent Assisted Sales: What’s Better?
• Our Full-Service Real Estate Team’s Guide to Marketing Your Home

Why Enlist the Help of a Real Estate Team?

When houses are selling quickly at unprecedented prices, it can be tempting to try to list without a real estate agent. Well-meaning friends and family members often encourage this route because it allows you to save on commissions. But be sure to factor in the expense and effort of preparing your home, analyzing the market, advertising your listing, negotiating with buyers and evaluating offers. 

The services of a concierge real estate team are well worth it in the end. Studies show that agent-assisted sales typically earn far more than owner sales, which is critical when you’re depending on those results to plan and fund your next journey. You’ll enjoy a transaction that is less stressful and requires far less hard work on your part. 

With the help of a local expert, you’ll be ready to handle anything this challenging market can throw at you so you can be on the plane well before the snow flies.

Do you want to know more about selling your home in today’s fast-moving market? Reach out today or call 905-332-9223 for more information or to start your next adventure.

Chances are, if you’ve so much as glanced at the news lately, you might be feeling slightly apprehensive about the real estate market. 

And who can blame you? The market seems to be in constant flux, with changes happening every month. If it’s not interest rate hikes, it’s something else. Things seem more complicated than ever for anyone looking to buy or sell a home in Canada. 

However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Even throughout the toughest real estate markets, it is possible to reach your goals and come out on top. How? Keep reading to find out! 

Thinking about selling your home? Find out what your property is worth with a free home evaluation right here.

How the Pandemic Changed Real Estate 

Don’t get us wrong, before the pandemic the real estate market certainly had its ups and downs. However, things advanced at a more predictable pace before 2020. Slow summers and winters bookended by busy fall and spring markets were the norm. 

But then 2020 hit, and our world was turned upside down. The Bank of Canada reducing the overnight interest rate to almost nothing, combined with an entire workforce moving to WFH arrangements led to a massive spike in demand. More than ever, people wanted to buy homes. 

Prices went up, and it caused our housing market and the economy to overheat. 

The recent Bank of Canada interest rate hiking campaign has all been in an effort to cool the economy post-pandemic. 

With such a massive shift in the market, the old rules kind of went out the window. For several years we saw unprecedented trends in the real estate market. 

This brings us to the present day. 

What Does This Mean for Home Sellers? 

Although it would be nice to “time the market” and make home buying or selling decisions at the exact best economic opportunity, that’s now how life works. Timing the market is a myth and despite all the changes happening across the country, buying or selling a home is still a very personal decision. 

No matter what’s going on in the world, there will always be people wanting to buy or sell homes. Life goes on. People get married and have children. Others see their children grow up and move out, the property ladder is intrinsically tied to the lives of individuals. 

So how can you sell a home in a tough market? 

Do you have questions about selling your home? Read these articles next:

• What Everyone Needs to Know About Selling Your First Home
• What Offer Should You Accept?
• What Renovations Really Matter When Selling Your Home

How to Read the Real Estate Market 

So far, we’ve mentioned the ‘challenging’ and ‘unpredictable’ real estate market, but is it really all that unpredictable? 

Although we’ve seen a lot over the past few years, we can still glean plenty of information from market reports and housing trends. However, these trends are more useful for setting expectations rather than picking the perfect time to sell. 

Here are a couple of market stats to consider: 

• Time on market: Statistics like average days on market tell us, on average, how long properties are staying on the market before selling. During the pandemic, it was ‘normal’ to see this in the 10-day range, but in a balanced market, it’s also ‘normal’ to see 20-30 days. The point here is to understand the trend and adjust your expectations accordingly.
• Months of inventory: This stat is a measure showing how long it would take for the current inventory of homes to sell off completely, supposing no new listings come to the market. It might seem like an obscure thing to measure, but it is often used to determine what type of market we are currently in. Three months of inventory or more would be considered a “Buyer’s Market” while anything below would be considered a “Seller’s Market”

It’s also important to note that market reports are typically released one month behind, so what’s going on in the market any particular moment, might be different than what’s reflected in a market report. 

Looking for more advice on the best time to sell your home? Read our blog about it right here.

How Your Agent Can Help You in a Tough Market 

Choosing the right agent to sell your home can make all of the difference in your sale. An experienced, savvy and tenacious agent can help you come out on top no matter what is going on in the market. 

When choosing an agent to sell your home in a tough market, take a look at:

• Preparation: Does the agent have any advice for preparing your home? Do they recommend any repairs or staging? Selling in a difficult market might require more preparation to make the home ready for buyers. 
• Marketing: How does the agent plan to market your home? Do they have a plan to make sure your home gets maximum exposure to the right audience? Learn more about our full-service marketing for sellers right here.
• Negotiation: Will the agent advocate for you and negotiate strongly on your behalf? This is more of an art than a science, and you should feel confident that your agent is ready to negotiate for you.
• Transparency: Communication between the agent and seller is also critical during the selling process. Will the agent keep you updated? Are they honest and forthcoming?

Selling your home is a big decision. Make sure you’re fully prepared with our back-to-basics guide to maximize your home sale. Read more here.

Dos and Don’ts for Selling When the Market Seems Unpredictable

As a home seller, your goals likely have less to do with the stock market and more to do with what is going on in your life. Consider these do’s and don’ts when planning your sale:

Don’t

Take Casual Advice As Gospel: Most of us have at least one acquaintance who thinks they are a real estate expert. Whether they bought a home several years ago or they have a ‘friend’ who works in the business. Be wary of non-professionals offering advice on the current market. 

Do

Disregard the Old Rules: The market is not what it used to be, and as such, using outdated real estate logic or following advice from a casual non-real estate agent acquaintance could actually hurt you in the long run. 

Don’t 

Work with a Friend Who Just Got Their Licence: Obviously, this piece of advice should be handled delicately, but consider this: someone who just got their license in the past couple of years has only really worked in a market where all homes are selling fast and for top dollar. They may have the best intentions, but they do not necessarily have the experience to market, negotiate and sell when the market is more challenging. 

Do

Trust an Experienced Team: Longevity and experience are two key factors to look for in a real estate team when selling your home. The team you choose to work with should have a breadth of knowledge and experience dealing with every situation under the sun. When the market is challenging or unpredictable, you will find value in working with a team who has been through it before.

Do you still have questions about selling your home? Here are some more articles to help: 

• Should You Use the Same Agent to Buy and Sell?
• What’s in Your Listing Agreement?
• FSBO Vs. Real Estate Agent Assisted Sales: Which is Best?

Do you have questions about selling your home? Get in touch with us directly by calling 905-332-9223 or getting in contact with us right here.