The housing market in the GTA is booming. You may have been watching your home’s value skyrocket in recent months, and you may now be ready to cash in on your equity. The traditional sales process involves listing your home on the market through an agent, and you will pay a sizable sum of money for your real estate agent’s services at closing. The last thing you want to do is to give away your proceeds, and the good news is that a more affordable option is available. When you sell your home as for sale by owner, or FSBO, you can avoid paying a hefty real estate agent commission at closing. However, there are many steps to follow when selling a house in Toronto. What should you know before you start looking for a house buyer?
Prepare Your Home to Sell
Whether you decide to list your home as an FSBO or hire a real estate agent, your home will directly compete against others in a tight housing market. This means that it must be well-positioned to attract the attention of house buyers. To make your home ready to sell, you should complete a thorough spring cleaning session. Remove all signs of clutter and personalization so that a prospective home buyer can envision himself or herself living in the space. Staging is also necessary because it helps you to present the home in its best light. Altogether, it may take several weeks or even months to get your home ready-to-list condition.
Set a Sales Price
The next step to take when selling a house in Toronto is to arrive at a reasonable sales price. A smart idea is to walk through open houses in your area. Look for homes that are similar to yours in terms of size and condition. The appraiser will use comparable listings or sold homes that are located within a few miles of your home. With this in mind, your home should be priced closely to those comps. If you are still unsure about the right price to list your home, you can order an appraisal to learn its true value.
Take Great Photos and Videos
In most cases, a prospective home buyer in the GTA will initially come across a listing online. This means that your online listing needs to shine. In addition to writing captivating, descriptive text, take great photos and videos of the home. If you have the budget available to do so, hiring a professional to complete this step may be worth the cost. This is because many prospective buyers will base their decision about whether to tour a home or to discard the listing based almost entirely on a listing’s photos and videos. Ensure that your photos and videos capture your home’s most desirable qualities while downplaying features that may not be appealing to some buyers.
Consider Paid Marketing Methods
There are both paid and free marketing opportunities available for you to use. Your ability to sell your home quickly and for top dollar directly hinges on how visible your listing is online. With this in mind, taking advantage of as many opportunities to market your listing as possible makes sense. Some of the leading paid options are Facebook Ads, YouTube and others. You can also create postcards of your listing and distribute them to renters in the area. In addition, some brokerages will list your home on the MLS on your behalf for a fee.
Take Advantage of Free Marketing
You understandably may have a limited marketing budget to work with, so you need to optimize the power of free marketing methods. There are a variety of free marketing methods that you can consider, such as posting a free ad on Craigslist or on the Facebook Marketplace. You can and should also print out flyers or brochures for your listing. These can be mounted on the “for sale” sign in your front yard. Through this critical step, you can take full advantage of drive-by traffic. Another great idea is to host a few open houses. While hosting an open house is free, you may want to advertise the open house through social media and classified ads to get more foot traffic through your home.
Schedule Home Showings
Once your home is officially on the market and marketing is in place, you will start to receive calls and emails requesting a showing. It makes sense to screen prospective buyers before opening your house up for showings. For example, you could ask prospective buyers if they have already been prequalified for a mortgage before scheduling a showing. This will ensure that your time is not wasted on people who are simply window shopping. When you schedule a showing, ensure the home is perfectly clean. Put pets away, and make arrangements for your kids to stay with a neighbor or friend for that short period of time. You should make the entire home accessible to a prospective home buyer.
Negotiate the Sales Contract
Because of how hot the GTA housing market is, you may receive one or multiple offers within a relatively short period of time if your home is adequately staged and priced to sell. Some sellers may want to accept an offer as-is initially presented to them, but many contracts are heavily negotiated before a final offer is accepted. It can be difficult for homeowners to emotionally distance themselves from their homes, and this could interfere with the negotiation process. Keep in mind that a negotiation process requires you to define what you need to accomplish and separate those factors from goals you would like to achieve through the sale of the home. Stay true to your must-haves, and be willing to negotiate on other aspects of the contract.
Learn More Today
At first glance, it may seem as though selling a house in Toronto would save you a sizable amount of money. In reality, there are many costs associated with listing a home, such as marketing, an appraisal, professional photos and more. At the same time, you may run the risk of leaving money on the table through poor negotiation techniques. There is another option available. At Happy Door, we are ready to make a cash offer on your house today in its current condition. You do not need to fix the house up, pay for marketing, endure the hassle of showings or take other special steps. You simply need to contact Happy Door today, and we will make a fair offer on your home. Reach out to us today to discover how easy it can be to sell your house in Toronto.