Here is a video I did for sellers who are thinking about selling their houses in Waterloo Region. Please check out the video and if you have any questions or comments please let us know…
Hi There, I am Warren McNeil from Team McNeil at Re/Max Twin City Realty in Kitchener
Today I am going to talk to you about a few things you need to do before selling your house. Selling your home can be a simple and straightforward process if you follow the right steps. In order to get top dollar and avoid headaches, it is important to do a few things beforehand.
Here are 5 things you can do before selling your house.
Number 5 – Get a Market Evaluation
The first thing you should do is get a market evaluation on your house so you know exactly how much you house is worth before you do any work. A realtor will advise you on things you should do and not do when preparing the house for sale. We will make recommendations on things such as updating, repairs, decluttering or staging.. You might not need to spend as much money as you think to get your house ready.
Number 4 – Mortgage information
If you have a mortgage on your house, you should find out if there is a penalty to pay out your mortgage early. We recommend calling your lender to find this information out.
Number 3 – Make repairs and perform other maintenance items
It s a good idea to do any necessary repairs around the house. We also recommend that you replace furnace filters, fill the water softener with salt, replace burnt out light bulbs, fix broken door handles and replace any cracked or broken windows. Consider hiring a home inspector before you sell your house so that you can find out if there are any unknown issues. If you fix the issues beforehand, then you can avoid surprises later when the buyer does their home inspection. The money you spend now on repairs, maintenance and home inspection could help you get more money later. Contact us if you would like us to recommend a good Waterloo area home inspector or other skilled professional.
Number 2 – Declutter, Depersonalize, Paint, Clean and Stage
- Decluttering: Decluttering will allow the buyer to visualize how big and spacious the rooms are in the house. People who are selling their houses often use their garages to store items from the house. Other options are offsite storage or storage pods.
- Depersonalizing: You should also consider depersonalizing your house. This is a touchy area and all I am going to say is just put yourself in the buyer shoes and try to view the house through their eyes. Keep an open mind and remember that the goal is to sell the house for the most money.
- Cleaning: One of the cheapest things you can do is clean. Buyers love looking at clean houses. If you are unable to clean on your own, consider hiring a cleaning service to help you. It will be the best money you ever spend.
- Painting: Painting is one of the best things you can do to make a house feel fresh and clean and to add more appeal. If you are unable to do a good job yourself, consider hiring someone to do it for you.
- Staging: Hire a staging profession to stage your home. It is amazing what a professional stager can do to help you get more money for you house.
Contact us if you’d like a recommendation for a professional organizer, a professional stager, a painter or a cleaning service.
And the Number 1 thing to do before selling your house is: Determine the best possible price
Pricing is the single most important thing to consider before selling your house. Your house will be worth a certain value based on its location, updates, condition and the recent sold comparables. When you hire an agent, don’t list your home with the agent who wants to overprice your property just so they can get the listing. List your house with the agent who takes the time to go through the comparables and provides valid reasons for their price recommendation. Homes that are overpriced often sell for less.
Whether you are a move-up buyer, relocating or downsizing, selling you house can be a smooth process if you follow these steps.
If you are thinking about selling your house in Waterloo Region and you would like to get started with a free online market evaluation of your Waterloo area home, please visit our website at www.clickthathouse.com or call us at 519-498-8118. Thanks for watching and see you next time!
We are a full-time real estate team in Waterloo Region, Woolwich & Wellesley Townships. We enjoy assisting buyers and sellers with the purchase or sale of real estate in the Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Elmira, Wellesley, Wilmot, Drayton and everywhere in between. If you would like us to help you with your home search, please check out our brand-newfree search website or if you are thinking of selling, get a free market evaluation.
Many people are getting ready to sell their houses this year and some will be deciding whether to sell privately or with a real estate agent. The purpose of this blog is to let sellers know their options. My goal here is not to slam any particular method. Just to point out the options.
Here are 4 options for selling your house:
FSBO or for sale by owner. There are many people who head to Canadian Tire, pick up the black and orange sign and put it on the front lawn. This way could work if the timing is right or you already know someone who might want to buy your house. People do successfully sell there house this way but is not for everyone.
Using private for sale companies. This is a step up from selling totally on your own. There are two popular private for sale companies in our area. They are Property Guys - www.propertyguys.com and By The Owner – www.bytheowner.com. These private for sale companies help sellers by providing them with a sign, a website where they can showcase all the information about their house along with providing potential buyers with easy access to contact the seller. These sites give the private seller an added advantage over going at it completely alone. I think these services work well for people who want to do it themselves but just need a little bit of an edge.
Discount brokerages. These types of services are similar to the FSBO service providers. The big difference between them is that they are licensed brokerages registered with the Canadian Real Estate Association. Sellers are able to work with these brokerages to help them sell their house. With some plans, you can even get MLS services. This will allow you to have your house showcased on realtor.ca. This is an option for people looking for a alternative to the private for sale companies. This will also give you an edge over going at it completely alone.
Full Service real estate brokerages such as Re/Max.. This is where our team falls into the mix. The majority of homes sell though this method. Full service real estate brokerages offer a full range of valuable services to home sellers. Sellers can benefit by having licensed, skilled and motivated professionals to help them through this sometimes challenging and tedious process.
These services will appeal to the following types of people:
-people who don’t want to be involved in the process at all
- people who lack the ability to negoitate or don’t like to negotiate
- people who live out of the area
- investors that don’t want to be involved in the sale of property
- divorce
- power of sales
- distress sales
- estate sales
The list goes on and on. This is a really good option if you are afraid to go at it alone or don’t see the value in using a discount brokerage.
I also want to add that buyers are better off working with a realtor when buying a house. Especially first time home buyers who know nothing about the process. Buyers are able to benefit by the knowledge of a good realtor. Buying a house without knowing market knowledge could lead to over paying for a house or worst then that buying a money pit.
I want to reiterate that this blog is not intended to alienate any one method. It’s main purpose is to show sellers that they have options. They should choose wisely when choosing which one will give them the greatest result. There will always be people who want to sell privately and those who want to work with a real estate agent. There is room for both…
Good luck and happy selling!
Take care and thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading!
Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil RE/MAX Twin City Realty, Brokerage ( 519.579.4110 | 519-498-8118
People relocate for a variety of reasons. Maybe you are looking for a new job, better quality of life or your are just looking for a change. Waterloo Region has alot to offer and is a wonderful area to move into. Here are the top 5 reasons to move to Waterloo Region.
Number 5:
We have a very low crime rate compared to other cities in Canada. In a study done in 2007, Waterloo Region was ranked the fourth lowest crime rate in Canada. So if you are looking for a safe place to live, look no further. (source http://www.techtriangle.com/invest)
Number 4
We have some of the best Universities and Colleges in the world here. University of Waterloo, Wilfred Laurier and Conestogo College.. A lot of very successful companies were formed by alumni who went to these schools. Companies such as Research in Motion makers of the world reknowned Blackberry, MKS and QNX to name a few.According to Wikipedia, University of Waterloo is also known as the Silicon Valley of the North.
Number 2
Easily accessible. This is one of my favourite reasons. KItchener-Waterloo and Cambridge are extremely accessible. The highways travel down the middle of each city which makes getting around the cities very convenient. If you work in Toronto or London, we are only one hour away. Late last year, GO busses started offering their services here from Toronto.
And the number 1 reason to relocation to the area is:
The cost of living here is very affordable. House prices are about 1/3 less then Toronto. The average house price for a single detached home year-to-date was approximately 297,000 for 2009. We have a very strong real estate market with a good selection of different home styles. If you work in Toronto, you can drive a little to save alot.
There are so many more reasons. These were just a few that I thought were worth mentioning. Let me know what you think. If you live in the area, tell us what you like best about Waterloo Region.
Thanks for reading!
We are a full-time real estate team in Waterloo Region, Woolwich & Wellesley Townships. We enjoy assisting buyers and sellers with the purchase or sale of real estate in the Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Elmira, Wellesley, Wilmot, Drayton and everywhere in between. If you would like us to help you with your home search, please check out our brand-newfree search website or if you are thinking of selling, get a free market evaluation.
I put together another video that will be helpful for people who are thinking about selling their house. I give you 5 good reasons why you should hire a realtor to sell your house. If you have any questions or comments please leave them below. I hope you enjoy it!
Hello again, I’m Warren McNeil. Real Estate Agent with Re/Max Twin City Realty in Kitchener
Today I am going to talk about the “Top 5 Reasons to Sell Your House with a Realtor”. I know there are many sellers out there right now getting ready to sell their house this year. The primary goal when selling you house is to get the most money possible. And having a good realtor on your side will make sure this process is successful. Here are the “Top 5 Reasons to sell Your House with a Realtor”.
Number 5
Pricing: We know the real estate market and can recommend a price based on recent sales in the area. We also take into consideration the condition of the home and its location. Properly pricing your house could mean the difference between your house selling quickly or sitting on the market forever. The question you need to ask yourself is, do you want to sell your house or do you want to just put it on the market?
Number 4
Market Exposure: A good realtor will market your home to the fullest so that it gets the best exposure possible. The effectiveness of various marketing is always changing, therefore we must remain cutting edge and research what works and stay on top of current trends. In addition to the traditional marketing methods such as print advertising or direct mail we also utilize the internet and social media such as Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube to name a few.
Number 3
Experience: A good agent who sells lots of homes will be able to provide a high level of experience that will ensure that you get top dollar for you home and will also make sure that the process goes as smoothly as possible. Our experience will help reduce your stress!
Number 2
MLS and realtor.ca. MLS or multiple listing service is a database created by realtors which keeps track of all the homes that are currently for sale and those that have sold. The data in this database is very valuable and provides the realtor, sellers and buyers with information about the local real estate market. Realtor.ca is the main interface to this database and is searchable. Having your house listed in the MLS database will ensure that your house gets the maximum exposure to all prospective buyers anywhere in the world. There could be a buyer in China right now looking to relocate and is using realtor.ca to search the MLS for homes for sale in Waterloo.
And the #1 reason to hire a realtor is to minimize risk and shift the responsibility. To act as a buffer between you and the buyer to ensure that emotions don’t get in the way. To protect your best interests and seek out qualified buyers. Dealing only with licensed realtors instead of complete strangers who may not have your best interests at heart. Shouldn’t you use a trusted professional to protect your single largest asset.
Thanks for reading!
We are a full-time real estate team in Kitchener Waterloo area. We enjoy assisting buyers and sellers with the purchase or sale of real estate in the Kitchener-Waterloo or Cambridge areas. If you would like us to help you with your home search, please check out our brand-newfree search website.
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Video Blogs — Tags: accurate evaluation, buying a house, decluttering, full service real estate, full time real estate, home inspection, home inspector, hot real estate market, house for sale, Houses For Sale, Inspection, kitchener home search mls, kitchener realtor, kitchener waterloo average days on market, Kitchener Waterloo home sellers, kitchener waterloo unit sales, Kitchener-Waterloo, kitchener-waterloo real estate agent, low interest rates, market evaluation, melanie mcneil, mls services, Real Estate, real estate agent, Real estate broker, real estate team, realtor, Regional Municipality of Waterloo, selling your home, team mcneil, tips for selling your house, twin city realty, video blog, vlog, warren mcneil, waterloo area, waterloo real estate statistics, Waterloo Region —
wmcneil @ March 11, 2010 8:37 am
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