There are common mistakes when selling your home in Toronto. After all, when there are 70,000 real estate agents at the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB,) your chance of getting a lesser-skilled agent is high. Here is a list of what happens regularly in real estate. It cannot be stressed enough a professional, insightful, hardworking and creative solving real estate agent is essential to the successful sale of your home, no matter what the market conditions are! Here is a selection of pitfalls to avoid when selling your home
Mistakes When Selling Your Home:
Aesthetics Of The Home & Property
Take a step back, and depersonalize your living space. Follow the guidance of an excellent realtor, stager and interior designer. Major overhauls to the home may be cost and time prohibitive. However, a coat of paint, a few items to brighten up a space, cleaning of windows etc., may be needed to get an additional offer and more money for your home or condo. What you perceive as unnecessary work or, on the flip side, what you think everyone will notice may not be an issue.
Hire people you trust. Then trust them to give you the information you need to maximize your home or condo value. In some cases, $5-10K can return you $20-50K+++ I’m not kidding. Who wouldn’t want an ROI (return on investment) of multiple proportions?!? It’s a no-brainer.
Poor Photos & Marketing
Have you ever noticed toilet seats up in MLS pictures? No? I can assure you now that I have mentioned that you will see this regularly! Sideways pictures? Yes, this happens, too. Poor and unlit photos from a realtor’s camera phone? Happens all the time. Please don’t do this, as it’s one of the biggest mistakes when selling your home. Humans are visual. We want to be inspired, drawn into the space, and envision ourselves there. The above examples get in the way of this. Don’t believe this? Have a look at the popularity of Instagram versus Facebook. Instagram is a visual medium. Your realtor must know the demographic and marketplace. If you do not target your buyer’s property, then you can be assured that you have fallen short of selling for the maximum value if you are able to sell.
Print as a medium is on life support, there are some exceptions, but for the most part, it is too costly and no way to quantify its effectiveness. Digital is where more than 80% of all buyers begin their search. However, not all digital/social media is created equally. Again, the target market is everything! One of the great things about social media is that the specific demographic can be targeted and tracked for effectiveness (if the realtor has taken the time to educate themselves). Marketing is essential to the successful sale of a home or condo.
➤ Every good investment needs a well-planned strategy. Start preparing with the following:
- Are Condos A Good Investment?
- How To Submit A Winning Offer On A Home
- The Most Undervalued Condos In Toronto
- Condo vs House Investment
- Why Parents Should Invest In Toronto Condos For Their Children
- Millennial Home Buying Trends
Judging A Realtor Based On Commission
Not all realtors are the same. Realtors are not a commodity. More importantly, it is to review what that agent offers from a business perspective. Do you trust them? Does the agent have a good reputation amongst other realtors? The truth is you don’t know what you don’t know about the specific ins and outs behind the scenes. This is one of the biggest mistakes when selling your home and can hurt your sale. The little details and efforts of an excellent realtor will make you more money. In many cases, the additional effort and professionalism will pay for the entire commission by squeezing more value out of the sale. As the saying goes, don’t cut your nose off to spite your face. Many Realtors are what we call “transaction,” in other words, they want to sell your property or =get you to buy and do not honour a long-term relationship. That real estate agent is only looking out for themselves. Stay clear. They will take their commission, and you will be left disappointed; in some cases, a client doesn’t even know what they lost out on. Sometimes these clients discover years down the road when they go to sell again – realizing that their investment did not do nearly as well as if they had a consummate professional as a real estate agent guiding them every step of the way and the subsequent years.
Pressure To Use A Friend Or Family Member Who Is A Realtor
This is a common one. We can all appreciate that there are times when you feel obliged to work with a friend, even if it may not be the best decision for your friendship. Or maybe that realtor isn’t as active in the marketplace as you may assume. Again, choosing a trustworthy professional realtor who will handle the deal smoothly is essential. Trust your gut, and if necessary, have the tough conversation with your friend or family member before going into business with them.
It’s better to be truthful and honest with your concerns ahead of time than to run into more significant issues. Frankly, you may never know there were issues; however, you may have unknowingly left money on the table. This is your finances. Be sure to hire a professional realtor who runs a business so you can be assured of success!
Sellers Present For Showings
This is a significant no-no. The amount of times I have shown a home or condo with at least one of the owners present is countless. The issue is that the buyers are uncomfortable exploring the space and speaking openly. Talk about not depersonalizing a space. This will raise numerous objections for the buyers. Step out of the home for a little while. It will help you sell your home for maximum value!
