The process of buying and selling a home is a financial as well as emotional process for both the seller and the buyer, so if you have decided to sell your home, the look and feel of the house is a critical factor in attracting potential buyers. It’s important to keep in mind that first impressions count, so your property must have curbside appeal, including a clean and well maintained lawn and house exterior. Along with having the ideal curb appeal, here are 7 other ways to make your Toronto home attractive for buyers.

Clear the Clutter

When selling your house, it should feel like home to potential buyers, which means they want to “picture” their belongings in the space. Removing the clutter, including oversized furniture and personal items, such as photos, magazines and mail will make the house appear larger and allow them to picture themselves in the house.

Paint the Walls

Painting the walls with a neutral shade will not only help it look clean and fresh, but it will make the rooms appear more spacious. Freshly painted, open walls also gives potential buyers a blank canvas, so they can visualize what they can do with the rooms. Remember to apply a coat of paint to the baseboards and stain or paint the doors as well.

Give the House a Good Scrubbing

The quickest way to turn off potential buyers is by showing a dirty house. Even small things, such as dishes in the sink and dusty tables can be a distraction to a potential buyer. It’s essential that you give your home a good scrubbing. Along with cleaning the tub and toilet, some of the most overlooked things that need cleaned are the carpets, cabinet fronts, and ceiling fans.

Do Minor Repairs

Small problems that you have gotten used to can stand out to potential buyers. Most buyers don’t want to spend money or time making repairs to a house they have just bought. Before you put your home on the market, walk through the house and take note of any minor problems, such as broken tiles, holes in the walls and scratches on a wood floor. Making minor repairs will help your home appear well-maintained and the fewer problems your house has, the more appealing it will be to buyers.

Take a Close Look at the Kitchen

When it comes to ways to make your Toronto home attractive for buyers, keep in mind that kitchens sell houses. So, if you only have a small amount of money for improvements, spend it on the kitchen. You don’t have to completely remodel the kitchen, but a few upgrades and repairs can make a big difference when it comes to offers. Some things to consider may include upgrading the counter tops, painting or re-facing the cabinets. If the appliances are old and worn, consider renting appliances to use until the house sells.

Improve the Lighting

One of the best ways to make your Toronto home attractive for buyers is by brightening it up. The more natural light there is the better. Remove old blinds and curtains and replace them linen or cotton ones that are tied back to allow natural light in. Replace all burnt out light bulbs and use lamps to add light to dark spaces, such as in the corners.

Address Pet Issues

Everybody loves their pet, but it’s important to keep in mind that many people may not be used to animals, or they may have allergies. If you have pets, there is a good chance your home has odors, stains or both that you may not be aware of. These issues can be a deal breaker for some buyers, so make sure to get rid of stains and odors before showing the house and you should make sure your pets aren’t in the home during a showing.

It may seem overwhelming, but taking the time to do a few things around the house can make a big difference when it comes to getting potential buyers. If you aren’t sure exactly what changes to make or need advise on ways to make your Toronto home attractive to buyers, be sure to talk with your real estate agent for suggestions.

People who are part of the millennial generation were born between 1980 and 2000. That means they are now 19 to 39 years old. Many millennials are just now thinking about buying their first home. If you are a millennial who is selling their home, you are a rare breed, unless you got the property from an inheritance.

This guide will help any first-time sellers to know what to expect from the process of selling a home and gives some tips for millennial home sellers in Toronto.

Tips for Millennial Home Sellers in Toronto

1. Work with a Real Estate Agent

2. How to Price a Home for Sale

3. Stage a Home Properly

4. Allow Plenty of Time

5. Conduct Due Diligence on Offers

6. Be Willing to Negotiate

Work with a Real Estate Agent

It is possible to sell a home without using a real estate agent; however, for first-time sellers, this may not be the most effective method. A professional real estate agent knows how to market a home and understands the process of closing the sale. It is probably better to ask a bit more for the home, to help pay for the help of a professional, than trying to do everything without one.

How to Price a Home for Sale

Research the prices of homes that are similar to the one that will be sold to help figure out a fair price. Look up the records for the actual recorded sales prices because those will be the actual prices paid, which are usually lower than the asking prices. Those are the two figures that are very useful for a seller to know. What to ask for and what to settle for in the negotiations with a buyer.

Stage a Home Properly

Staging is getting the home in the best possible condition that makes it very attractive to buyers. Staging includes cleaning, repairing, removing many things, and adding others to make the house look its best. Work with your real estate agent to get help with staging.

Allow Plenty of Time

If you want to get a good price for the sale, do not be in a rush. Price the home for sale at the average price for a similar home. Do not sell the home at a price that is very low unless you have an emergency need to sell the home quickly.

Conduct Due Diligence on Offers

Offers are more than just the dollar figure for the purchase. An offer’s strength also depends on the ability of the buyer to secure financing. A buyer who has a pre-approved loan commitment is stronger than one without a lending commitment. A pre-approval based on credit history and score of the buyer is the next best thing but is not as strong as a lender’s written commitment to lend.

Be Willing to Negotiate

By knowing what similar homes sell for and the ultimate prices paid by the buyers, give the negotiation room. If an offer comes in that is too low make a counteroffer that is less than the listing price but not your final price. Save your last price for the second round of negotiations with a motivated buyer.

Summary

By following these tips for Millennial home sellers in Toronto you will become a seasoned home seller and ready to do this again. Not only can you buy another home, when you sell one for a profit, if you are clever you can build up a real estate portfolio that is made of quality investment properties.

Selling a home comes with mixed emotions. Change can be both exciting and intimidating, and there’s certainly a lot of work that goes into the selling process. Regardless, no one wants to have a home on the market indefinitely. That’s why you need these six tips for a fast sale of your Toronto home.

Change the Layout

Staging is often considered one of the best techniques for selling a home. If you’re still living in yours, that makes staging a little more complicated. It’s common for people to move furniture against the walls and do unique configurations that accommodate your lifestyle. When it’s time to show the house, presentation is everything (you’ll hear this again). Try to conform to modern layout trends. Put some furniture in storage if you must. An open, pretty staging is your best friend.

Clean it Again

Obviously. You clean your house to show it. But, since presentation is everything, you should clean it again. Make the place sparkle. Or, in less ambiguous terms, you need to remove every aesthetic decorator possible. This means no pet hair. Stubborn stains that have plagued you for years have to be managed. The place needs to look like an absolute showroom.

Make the Cheap Improvements

Not every problem can be scrubbed into submission. In some cases, a fresh coat of paint, new carpet, a new rug or a little landscaping can do what cleaning can’t. You don’t have to spend thousands on upgrading the home, but spending a few hundred on major aesthetic upgrades will pay for itself very easily.

Learn Some Marketing

People shop for houses online. Sure, you’ll have pictures and online listings, but that’s where this begins. Use social media for all it’s worth. More importantly, build your online marketing around mobile users. For the most part, potential buyers will see your house for the first time on their phones. Cater to that. A good mobile experience is how you get people to your house. It’s the first step.

Learn the Market

So far, we haven’t mentioned the listing price. There’s a lot you can do to sell a home quickly without slashing your listing, but there are limits. You have to do your homework and know the value of your home in your neighborhood. The price you want to get for your home and what it’s worth today won’t always agree. This is the hard part, but there’s no getting around it.

Get Help

By all means, real estate agents have a lot to offer. More than that, you can get feedback all the time. Start with friends and family. They’ll help you notice small things you can change to improve how you show and market the house. Don’t stop there. Plenty of people should be looking at your house. Only one will buy it. All of those non-buyers have reasons for their decision. You should ask about those reasons. Plenty of them won’t lead to changes you make, but some will.

Follow these tips and your Toronto home is sure to sell faster without you having to slash the asking price.

Are you looking to buy a home in Toronto? That’s exciting! There are a lot of things you can enjoy about the process, but there will also be issues that test your patience. Never is that more true than during escrow. These six best practices for being patient during escrow will help you avoid some common mistakes and get you into your new house a little faster.

Make a Checklist

The worst way to delay escrow is to miss something easy and set back the whole process. A thorough checklist will keep on point, up to date with your paperwork and focused on the next step instead of the final step. Work with your realtor or bank to make sure you get everything you need in the list. Just a few items to get you started are an insurance timeline and an inspection schedule. 

Cram the Inspections

It’s not always possible, but when it is, cram as many inspections into a single day as possible. It might feel gruelling in the moment, but you accelerate one of the biggest holdups in escrow. If you spread out the inspections, you may find yourself renegotiating after each. That’s painfully slow and keeps you out of your new house.

Budget

You did great saving up your down payment. You did even better searching for a mortgage that you can reasonably afford. You have a great budget. But, you’re not done yet. The closing process has plenty of

unexpected expenses. Do you know how much your title fees will be? What about escrow property taxes? There are lots of hidden expenses. When you make your checklist, ask about hidden costs to help with your budget. This way, you won’t hold up the process waiting for the next paycheck to get through a closing fee.

Don’t Marry Your Closing Date

Most of these tips are practical. This is the hard one, and it’s possibly the most important. Things will happen that throw off your initial closing date. It’s inevitable. Maybe inspections find something that has to be fixed before you can close. Maybe it’s something else. The thing to remember is that the initial closing date is there to push things along. It is very likely to ultimately change, and anticipating that can save you some hair-pulling frustration.

Stay on Top of Contingencies

If you aren’t familiar with the term, contingencies are conditions written into the contract. Some of them will come from you; some will come from the seller. You want to make sure you’re on top of any contingencies that require something of you. It’s easy to agree to something minor during negotiation and then forget about it later. You know what? Make sure your contingencies are in that checklist. That should do it.

Triple Check Paperwork

Home sales require some intense paperwork. There’s plenty of legalese mixed in there, and it’s easy to make a seemingly innocuous mistake that stalls escrow. If you need a lawyer, get one. Then, triple check everything. That will remove the final barriers to closing, and you can get into your new house.

These best practices for being patient during escrow are sure to remove a few headaches and obstacles during the process. Still, your best friend is experience. If you aren’t an expert homebuyer, take advantage of a professional who is.