FOR SELLERS

Where to Start

Now that you’ve decided you want to sell your home there are a number of things to consider not the least of which is who will be your agent. Since you are already at my site let’s assume that you want me to represent you in the sale of your home.

Before we begin you should discuss and decide some or all of the following questions:

  1. What do you think is a realistic price range for your home?
  2. When would you like your property to go on the market?
  3. When would you like to close on the sale of your home (conclude the sale and move out)?
  4. What are the features of your home and its neighbourhood that you think will help sell it?
  5. What aspects of your home might be a detriment to the sale?
  6. Do you have a survey of your property?
  7. What upgrades have you done to the property since you bought it?
  8. Have there been any disasters in the history of the home – fires, floods, etc?
  9. Make a list of the major dates in the maintenance of the home – last time roof done, plumbing upgraded, wiring redone, etc.
  10. Get your deed and property description ready for when you will need it.

Now you are ready to talk to a realtor.

Give me a call or drop me a line and we can set up a preliminary appointment. There is a great deal more you should know before listing your home but it is much better to discuss face to face at your home.

Get an Appraisal

It’s only natural that we all have ideas about what our home is worth. It is probably our biggest single investment and it is normal for it to be a focus of our attention.

You hear anecdotal information all the time from friends and neighbours and this forms the basis of your opinion. However there are a number of factors which you don’t have the chance to examine that affect the value of your home and this is where a real estate professional comes in.

It is important to get a professional appraisal from a realtor to ensure that your home is presented in the best possible light. This will ensure that when you do list your property it is at a realistic price considering the current market conditions, the features of your home, the comparable homes that you will be competing with in the market and the speed you wish to sell your home in.

An appraisal will not cost you anything but it must be done properly and will take time for me to do a complete and through job. Cutting corners at this stage can lead to major mistakes that may make the difference between a sale and no sale.

Call me at your convenience so we can get together and discuss your thoughts.

Effective Marketing

Marketing your home is the key to my success and your happiness with my services. I’m sure you are familiar with the old standard method that real estate agents have used for years – sign in the lawn, ad in the newspaper, a few Open Houses and that’s it – the house is sold within a month or so.

Well times have changed and the Internet is the reason.

The Internet has changed the world.

Buyers are now a different type of animal. They are much more informed than in the past and they are usually much more computer literate than in the past.

They expect the selling agent to be able to provide them with information that they can’t get quickly and easily on the Net. They want Video or Virtual Tours, comprehensive feature sheets, neighbourhood demographic data, historical information on prices, market conditions, neighbourhood amenities, shopping and public transit data – and they want it all presented to them quickly and easily on the Net.

This means that I now employ a team of technical people to support my marketing efforts just to ensure that my listings get the maximum exposure with as much information as these discerning buyers need to see.

This means that I approach the marketing of your property with a well planned Internet strategy which will ensure that your home achieves maximum exposure on the Net. Among the many things my team can do are:

  • build a web site for your home under a unique URL that is linked to my web site, signs and all advertising
  • employ a full SEO (Search Engine Optimization) plan which makes sure that all the search engines are aware of your listing and that it is highly ranked on the results pages
  • using email, tap into my two major databases (Northumberland County and Toronto) to ensure that all my partner’s and my clients know of your listing
  • use Google’s sophisticated tools to analyze and report on web site activity to discovery the strengths and weaknesses – thus enabling us to improve the offering
  • with my Toronto partner’s assistance reach all the agents in two major brokerage firms in Toronto as well as Collingwood, Muskoka, Haliburton, Lake of Bays, King, Erin, Caledon, Markham, Unionville, and Prince Edward County

More complex – yes, but it works.

Let me tell you more about how I would market your home. Call me or drop me a line and we can set up an appointment

and in the end …

it’s EXPOSURE that counts.