Whether you are willing to list your home for sale as is, or after a renovation, we would like to get you the maximum amount of money. Please go through these selling tips before you make this big decision.
Resale tips
When putting house on listing or when reaching out to a real estate agent, your main concern is to get the house sold for as much as possible, isn’t it? You want the best offers to reach your house.
With changing times, houses are not just as an abode. They have evolved into an investment. An important facet of this is getting the most, and possibly more than the house’s worth.
But why, after so many years, would your house get a decent price?
Well, like most of the things, there’s several trick to it. It’s not some cosmetic changes here and there. Above all, it requires meticulous planning and perfect execution.
Here are 5 cool and simple tips to increase the resale value of your house.
1. Upgrade the exterior look of the house
They say first impression is the last impression. Have the pathway to the house cleaned. Add greenery. Taking care of those tiny plants is not easy. It would be better if you fix it with drought resistant plants.
Only when you have a good first impression, you can strengthen it with the interiors.
2. Get a flawless kitchen
A kitchen is one of the most, if not the most, special part the house. It holds a different place in the minds of the buyers. For any prospect to walk in and see even the simplest of the flaws could have significant negative impact.
Make sure your kitchen is flawless before you bring in a prospect to see it. See if the electric fitting is in place and plumbing is absolutely fine. Replace that sink if it comprises with the aesthetics. Get new varnish on the wooden cabinets.
3. The dream washroom
After the kitchen, washroom is a place of interest. You do not need to splurge money. You simply need to create a vision that the prospect won’t be able to avoid imagining himself in it.
Invest in some premium fittings and make the place shine. Like kitchen, a washroom must remain on the mind of the buyers for a long time after they have taken the leave.
4. A storage space
It’s something which most houses avoid. But it is something that almost every person in a house needs.
If you are able to carve out a storage space in your house, you already have an edge over your competitors. And a few dollars above the general price could be easily justified.
Just make sure the storage space doesn’t look like a stunt. It should be a genuine and usable and must look like of a great importance to the buyer.
5. Ensure general cleanliness
Even if everything is in right shape, you would not be able to make an impression without cleanliness of the house. This inhibits the user imagination to look house in a clean context.
You must ensure that when a buyer steps in, your house must speak for itself. Make sure the curtains and windows are clean and free from dust. Remove those old carpets and rugs.
And most importantly, make the floor shine!
Selling Tips
Selling a house as it is, is challenging. You don’t know where to start from, or how to approach this whole new scenario. It is an adventure into the unknown, and of course, a frightening one. It is unsurprising that people often end up making mistakes. There are a lot of pitfalls, and you can easily forget an important parameter and make everything look bad. That’s why we have come up with advice again.
You should always keep these 4 things in your mind when you ever plan to sell your house as it is:
1. Targeted customer; First of all, your home is not for everyone. Since the product is different (as it is), the targeted audience will also be different. Not everyone will be interested in your house, and you don’t want them to be either. Find someone who is in need of your home within that price range.
2. Define your lowest price limit; Of course, you are not expecting high ball offers. But that doesn’t mean you should settle for any price—yes, even if you are not getting the right offers. The best strategy is to start by fixing the lowest price you think is genuine for your house. Then choose (realistically) how much profit you would want, and stick to it.
3. Legal disclosures; Yes, it is equally important. You need to make complete disclosures. Even though it is understood that you’re selling as it is, you don’t want anything to be used against you. Who knows? The buyer may want compensation for the disclosures you didn’t make or you simply forgot.
4. Code violations; Code violations are things often overlooked by sellers which sellers. If the buyer is using a mortgage loan, the house will be checked for the structural strength, condition, and every other thing that influences its value. If the property fails on these checks, the buyer might not get the loan. The deal will break then and there. So, it is extremely important that your property clears these code minimums.
Evaluate Property
Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted. – Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Do I have to tell you that Albert Einstein was a German-born American theoretical physicist? Yes. He was. But he was certainly not thinking about real estate or property valuation for that matter. The statement, however, as you can see, has a lot of implications if you are planning to deal with property valuation. How to value your property? How much? Is it less than it should be? Or is it more? Will buyers be interested? These are the questions that become difficult to answer even if you have an expert at your disposal. Even the buyers are often lost. No one wants to buy a house whose value is not justified. You must have heard about Malcolm Cox who wanted to sell his 6-bedroom house which he had built himself. Of the eight agents they consulted, the prices varied from £2.45m to £3.5m. Of course, the couple had to choose a different way, but not all of you can do that. So here are a few tips that will help you decide how to value your property:
1. The comparable sales method; There is no industry in the world that doesn’t rely on comparative analysis. This is probably the easiest way to fix the price of your house. Or check if you have set the right price. The idea is to find a house that looks exactly like yours. If that house is valued at X dollars, there are good chances that your house should be valued at a price somewhere near it. Of course, there can be variations due to property conditions, age, view, location, etc. But this will surely give you an idea of the price and even better still if you find a house that is exactly similar to yours.
2. The income method; The income methodology for real estate property appraisal relies on converting the income of a property into an approximate value of that property. Mathematically, it is described as: Net operating income (NOI) ÷ Capitalization Rate (CR) = Value (V) NOI is calculated using the income and expense statements of the subject and the similar buildings. These figures, however, have to be annual. Subtract the total expenses from the potential gross income to get NOI. The next step is to calculate the Capitalization Rate (CR). It is more or less a rate of return—the percentage you can get out of the property. All you need are some comparable sales—buildings similar to the subject property being appraised that have sold recently.
3. The cost approach; Let’s understand this with an example. Suppose you have a house to sell (or buy). Identify the price of the land without the building. Then add the cost of all the other big and relevant components like building, furniture, etc. Find the depreciation or appreciation over the years. Add them up. And you have the value of the property. The idea is to unveil the value of each of the components of the property. It is easier to calculate the price of the parts rather than the whole.
Finance Management
Canada is going through a series of the financial crisis and it is impacting the self-employed chunk of Canada, along with other areas, big time. Can real estate provide them with the navigation to move ahead in the maze of financial challenges? Let’s explore the financial challenges faced by the Self-Employed. The number of people opting for self-employment in Canada is on a historic high. In 2014, there were 2.75 million self-employed workers in Canada. It was also found that women aged between 25 and 54 formed the largest growth of new independent entrepreneurs. The next high was seen in the growth of men, who were over the age of 55, stepping in the field of self-employment. When it comes to the industrial sectors, most self-employed people were found to be in the professional and scientific services, the health care industry, and in construction work. According to the latest labour force survey, which was published by Statistics Canada in January 2015, approximately 41 percent of individuals wanted to go out on their own and were planning to move into self-employment. This represented a 2.2 percent increase and was the biggest increase since December 2011. Being self-employed does seem promising in terms of freedom and independence, but there are also many downsides to being your own boss:
#1 No savings; One TD Retail Savings and Investing study has shown that the Canadians are either underprepared or not at all prepared for retirement. The survey also showed that one-tenth of those surveyed wants to open a small business. But the problem is they are not saving for it. According to Statistics Canada, in 2012 just 23.7 percent of Canadian tax filers contributed to an RRSP.
#2 Increasing healthcare costs and Higher tax rates are taking a toll on independent business owners. Over a quarter of small business owners say that rising healthcare taxes and bills have affected their ability to save. More than a third of these say that the raised costs have already hurt their businesses. According to the latest report given by the right-leaning Fraser Institute, an average Canadian family will have to contribute $11,735 in taxes for public health insurance in 2015.
#3 Income inconsistencies; This is the most common problem that is shared by all the self-employed ones. Even some of the top guns of this field have to phase through a quarter of multi-million dollars, followed by a quarter with a dry-spell.
#4 Lack of business development and marketing; The biggest challenge that the self-employed entrepreneurs in the professional-services sector face are that they don’t understand the importance of development and marketing of their businesses.
As a sole proprietor, it is not easy to work in the business, manage the business, and find the business. Real estate investment provides an effective solution for many of the self-employed facing financial challenges.
#1 Easy mortgage loans; Thankfully, mortgage loans are still there for the self-employed if they know where to look. Though under the new B-20, there is a decrease of 10 percent in the borrowing amount, however, fortunately, there are still some options. Self-employed workers can still borrow 65 percent of the purchase value through a stated income mortgage at some banks. They don’t even require default insurance from a Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation like Genworth Canada or Canada Guaranty in order to apply for this mortgage.
#2 Steady flow of income; You can keep producing a steady flow of cash and build a nest egg by making passive income investments in real estate. This cash can keep you on your feet when your business is slow-moving. You can even invest in business property, which can be used as a premise and a means to build equity, steady cash flow, and to eliminate business overhead.
#3 Tax relaxations; With investing in real estate, you can get various kinds of tax exceptions and reductions. Real estate taxes are deductible when corporate tax liabilities are calculated.
Right Agent
"What" and "If" are two of the most non-threatening words there are. But put them together, side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life: What if? What if? What if...” That’s what Lise Friedman writes in Letters to Juliet. She couldn’t be more correct, could she? When dealing in real estate, the scope for “what ifs” is wide. And yes, they have the potential to haunt you for a long, long time, if not the rest of your life. What if I had quoted a better price? What if I had waited for another 6 months? What if I had waited for more customers to come in? What if I had hired another real estate agent? But another much overlooked “what if” while trying to sell your house is this: what if my real estate fails me? Or this: what if my listing expires? If you have ever served in the military, you would know the importance of contingency plans. You must have a contingency plan ready, in case you get to ask “what if my real estate agent fails me”. In this blog post, we will try to develop some contingencies and see what to do, or what not to do when your listing expires. DO NOT rush! I repeat “DO NOT rush!” Once your listing expires, you will be approached by a myriad of real estate agents with a myriad of lies. “I specialize in your area”. “I have a client who might be interested in buying a house like yours.” “A house like yours can be sold for much more.” When you hear such words, simply hang up your phone. They are not what you need. Do not commit the same mistake again which caused you an expired listing. Wait, watch, and improve. Now that you are not rushing, it is time to learn from your mistakes. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson. That’s the whole idea. Try to unveil the reasons which resulted in an expired listing. Was the price too high? A high price is one of the biggest reasons that cause a house to go unsold. Try to figure out how and at what price were the other houses in your area were sold. That will give you an idea of whether you would want to reconsider your price or not. You cannot change your house location, but remember words will always retain their power, make your description sound more alive. Tidying up your house and adding some greenery to the porch can be the difference between a sold and an unsold house. Once you have considered all of it, it is time to enter the market again with your new look. Market, market, and market! Let me be a little frank. There are good chances that the reason for your expired listing can be poor marketing efforts. The world’s biggest brand, Coca Cola, spends millions of dollars in its marketing efforts, even the best of the products need marketing. And here, we are talking about a house! Yeah! Your house needs a good marketing plan. This time when you go on to sell your house, make sure you have a marketing plan ready in your mind. Keep investing your efforts into marketing, and I’m sure your house will never have to come off the list.