Step by step through the sale of your home!

When you’re selling real estate, there is a consistent pattern that you can follow to help keep everything in line. Selling your home in real estate is not easy but it doesn’t have to be complex either. Following the guidelines below should give you a good handle on how the process will unfold.

Pre-inspection

The pre-inspection consists of walking through a home and identifying all its benefits and its disadvantages. The more clearly you can define the house and its features the more clearly you can market the home to potential buyers. The pre-inspection also gives you an opportunity to identify areas of opportunity where you can see potential capital Investments that may bring investment gains

Preparation

During the preparation phase you have the opportunity to improve the property by fixing any deficiencies and preparing your marketing materials. It Is vital to allow enough time to prepare for the sale. Without proper preparation, you run the risk of poor quality marketing materials and an unfinished product.

Pre-sale ramp-up

The pre-sale ramp-up is the time to develop hype for yourself. It’s allowing you the opportunity to get to a small audience and get feedback on the property and marketing materials. The pre-sale ramp-up allows you time to adjust before you go live to the open market. So often we find properties are not marketed correctly because they never tested the materials against the target market they have selected.

Live listing

The live listing phase can be one of the most stressful steps of all. During this phase your home gets judged by the open market. You often have to vacate your property for hours on end and you have to keep a pristine home at all times. At times, it can feel like you’re living in a museum. While this phase can be stressful, it’s extremely important that the home is maintained in a high show manor.

Offer phase

During the offer phase you are presented with documentation that represents a buyers interest in purchasing the property. While this phase is exciting, it also poses the greatest opportunity to lose focus. During the offer phase we run the risk of feeling like it’s just about over. This feeling can jeopardize your position for negotiation. During the offer phase you are negotiating terms and conditions both you and the buyer will be satisfied with. It is important to understand that not all offers will produce a firm contract. Therefore, while you are in the offer phase you need to be extremely due diligent so that you don’t lose your focus and your negotiation position.

Pending sale

During the pending sale phase you may feel there’s not a lot to do but wait. This phase actually allows you the opportunity to take a much needed breather. It’s your opportunity to start packing and preparing for your new move. During this phase it is also important that you approach your lawyer and financial institution to make sure that they are on board and ready to receive your documents to finalize the deal. It’s also important that you contact your utilities and the tax department, as well as any company with a rental contract within the home to inform them of the date you will no longer be responsible for the bills.

Closing week

During the closing week you may feel you have no time. Your lawyer will reach out to you to set up a day for final signings and to review the accounts. Once you’ve gone through everything with your lawyer you now have a chance to finalize your packing and prepare for your final move.

Closing day

On closing day the lawyers will be involved with transferring title from you to the new buyer. This can happen anytime throughout the day. Oftentimes we see this happening later in the afternoon. While most transactions are completed on the expected closing date, it’s important to note problems do arise at the last minute. There’s always a chance that the home won’t close on time. If this is the case for you, you should be in constant communication with your lawyer.

If you would like specific details and strategies on any phase within the real estate transaction feel free to call me at anytime at 905- 541-8196.

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