Ready to Sell?
We understand how hard this can be
Your home is where you’ve made memories. You’ve laughed, cried, and maybe even raised children or animals there. It’s your biggest investment, so you want to make sure that who you trust to sell it will have your best interests at heart.
At HJ Real Estate Group, we understand how emotional and difficult selling your home can be, and we’re here to guide you, every step of the way.
Below is some advice on preparing your home for sale. If you have a question, or you want to learn more about what is involved with selling your home, please don’t hesitate to connect with us.
Questions
Our Process
When you trust us with the sale of your home, we will guide you through the following steps:
- Meet with you, either virtually or in person, to learn more about your needs and goals.
- Identify any roadblocks that might be in the way of achieving your needs and goals. For example, identifying any home maintenance that needs to be completed prior to listing, decluttering, etc.
If needed, we will help you to break through these roadblocks with referrals to some of our trusted partners, including professional cleaners, contractors, and lawyers. - Establish a timeline for how long long is needed to complete any maintenance or repairs or otherwise combat the roadblocks.
- Stay in touch so you can contact us at any time with questions or concerns. We will watch the market in your areas of interest and keep you posted on any market fluctuations.
- Once you’re ready to put your house on the market, we will confirm list price strategies with you and stage your home in preparation for listing photos.
- Prepare and review the documents for electronic signatures.
- List your house on MLS, showcasing all of the property’s great features.
- Present all offers to you, and be ready for negotiations.
- SOLD! Secure the sale of your home once you accept an offer.
Preparing Your Home for Sale with Staging
Staging helps sell your home faster—and closer to the asking price— than non-staged homes.
In today’s competitive market, you must make a stunning first impression with buyers because your first impression may also be your last. Staging will optimize your home’s appeal, so buyers can actually see themselves living in and owning the home. By creating that emotional connection, you will have a significant advantage over other homes in the market.
Preparing your home to sell is key to attracting the right buyer. It’s a highly competitive market, and 90% of home buyers cannot visualize the potential of a home.
That’s where Antonella comes in. She is an accredited Professional Home Stager, and can help make sure you get the value of your home in this competitive market. This value-added staging service is offered to HJ Real Estate Group clients.
Here are a few helpful hints on how to prepare your home:
1. Start with a change of mind
Too often, investors/home owners become either too emotionally attached or not attached at all. Antonella has seen home owners who were renovating a property and blew their budget on some obscenely expensive tile they “had to have” and had nothing left for furnishing the place. On the other hand, she has worked with homeowners who did not see the value in painting a place that had gone through three tenants. Looking at a property from a buyer’s perspective is key.
Tour your property with Antonella to get advice on what areas you should focus your dollars on, and what’s needed to get the maximum offers.
2. Maximize curb appeal
The outside should draw people inside. Neatly trimmed bushes, mulched beds, and weeded lawns all help make that crucial “first impression”. Freshly painted front doors with new mailboxes and house numbers are easy ways to create maximum impact without breaking the bank. Adding seasonal urns by the front door for some colour are another way to brighten up concrete steps or boring brick.
3. Choose neutral colour palettes
Bold colours are great for living, but not for selling. Light and Bright should be your motto! Stick with a warm, neutral palette like tans, taupes and greys. Avoid dark colours, especially in small spaces (like powder rooms). Keep the ceilings white to keep walls looking tall. Rule of thumb, if the walls haven’t been painted in over two years, now is the time!
Return on investment: 109%*
4. Let there be light
Lighting plays a vital role and is often overlooked when getting a property ready for sale. Dark hallways, rooms with little natural light, basements and bathrooms should be addressed. A minimum of a 2-bulb overhead fixture with maximum watt bulbs can transform a dingy area. There should be NO overhead receptacles without a light fixture! Consider adding pendant fixtures in dining rooms and eating areas. Big box stores offer affordable options in brushed nickel or silver fittings.
Adding ambient lighting is essential, especially in areas where there are no overhead outlets. Adding table lamps and floor lamps will help brighten up any room and help your property appear as “light-filled” as possible.
Return on investment: 303 per cent*
5. Flooring
This is the other main area that always increases the value of a home. It will ALWAYS cost you less to replace worn carpet or add new flooring then to leave it to the new home owners.
Most purchasers are looking for reasons to discount their offers. Flooring is one of the first things buyers see when they walk in. If their first thought is “I will need to replace these floors”, it’s a guarantee they are discounting their offers $5,000–$10,000 for condos, and $7,000–$15,000 for houses. Doing the work yourself will cost you a fraction of that amount.
Return on investment: 107 per cent*
6. It’s all in the details
Replace all burnt out bulbs, touch up any nicks and dents in high traffic areas, replace torn screens, and fix leaking faucets. Once the fix-ups are done, it’s time to focus on the pretty stuff. Fresh linens in the bathrooms, a bowl of fresh green apples on a kitchen island, fresh flowers on a dining table or in the entrance way.
Adding live or silk greenery to bathrooms and adding a new crisp bedding set to the master all help create the impression of a well-cared for home.
7. Clean, clean, clean
This may seem like common sense, but unfortunately it’s still the one area owners tend to try to shortcut. This is the time to hire a professional cleaning company. Special attention should be placed on appliances, inside and outside of cupboards, baseboards and windows. Bathrooms should be scoured, and if necessary, use grout cleaner to get the tiles looking spotless!
8. Highlight best use of the space
Return all rooms to what they were originally made for. Giving a room more than one function (i.e. guest room and office) is a great way to effectively show the space. In condos, this becomes essential when space is at a premium. All bedrooms should be bedrooms, not offices. The front living room should be a front living room, not a home gym.
Using small glass desks with a stool you can tuck in can creatively introduce a “work space” where one wouldn’t think possible. Adding a daybed to a den/office creates extra sleeping space. Determine what adds the most value to potential buyers in your neighbourhood and showcase the space accordingly.
9. Kitchens and bathrooms are what sell the home
If you have dated cabinetry, cracked and worn laminate counters, chipped or broken tiles, consider investing in repairing and upgrading these rooms.
If your budget is limited, changing cabinetry hardware to brushed nickel or silver knobs and handles will give it an immediate appeal. Consider painting cabinetry instead of replacing them.
Depending on the price point of your property, it is often worthwhile to install stone counters. This immediately adds value and is very durable for long term use. If stone is not in the budget, consider a “stone-like” laminate counter. Recaulking around sinks and bathtubs is a simple improvement that can greatly improve the look of a bathroom.
Return on investment: 172 per cent*
10. Vacant properties sit, staged properties sell
Staged homes sell 2–3 times faster and up to 6 per cent more than unstaged ones. People perceive staged units that are well decorated as worth more. Professional stagers know how to highlight the features of the unit and distract from any “not so desirable” features.
If your budget is limited, consider focusing on the main living areas and at least one bedroom. If you can’t borrow furniture and artwork, rental companies carry everything from furniture to linens. Just keep in mind that the goal is to show people how to use the space effectively.
Return on investment: 299 per cent*
Remember that 79% of buyers have already viewed your property on the MLS, so make sure that your property stands out among the competition! Staging is your key to getting noticed and getting SOLD.
A General Guideline to Home Improvements
1. Give your kitchen a mini facelift prior to listing.
The kitchen is the heart of the home. Potential home buyers make a beeline for this room when they first view a home for sale, so make sure your kitchen looks clean and reasonably updated.
For a few hundred dollars, you can replace the kitchen faucet set, add new cabinet door handles and update old lighting fixtures with brighter, more energy-efficient ones.
With a slightly larger budget, you can give the cabinets themselves a makeover. Rather than spring for a whole new cabinet system, which can be expensive, look into hiring a refacing company. Many companies can remove cabinet doors and drawers, refinish the cabinet boxes, then add brand-new doors and drawers. With a fresh coat of paint over the whole set, your cabinets will look like new. If you’re handy, you can order your own replacement cabinet doors and door fronts from retailers like Lowe’s Home Improvement or The Home Depot and install them yourself.
2. Give appliances a facelift.
If your kitchen appliances don’t match, order new doors or face panels for them. Hint: Many dishwasher panels are white on one side and black on the other. Switch it up for a more modern look! A more cohesive-looking kitchen makes a big difference in the buyer’s mind — and in the home’s resale price.
3. Buff up the bathroom
Next to the kitchen, bathrooms are often the most important rooms to update. They, too, can be improved without a lot of cash. Even simple things like a new toilet seat and a pedestal sink are pretty easy for homeowners to install, and they make a big difference in the look of the bathroom.
Try replacing an old, discoloured bathroom floor with easy-to-apply vinyl tiles or a small piece of sheet vinyl. You may not even need to take up the old floor. You can install the new floor right over the old one. If your tub and shower are looking dingy, consider re-grouting the tile and replacing any chipped tiles. A more complete cover-up is a prefabricated tub and shower surround. These one-piece units may require professional installation, but can still be cheaper than paying to re-tile walls and refinish a worn tub.
This information is from a national real estate marketing publication and should be used only as a general guide to ranking the importance of the home improvements. Many factors will affect the appraiser’s opinion of these improvements including, location, value range of home, market trends, age of the home and quality of the home improvement.
Is there a best time to sell?
Most properties sell all year around. It is mostly a function of supply and demand in the marketplace, as well as other economic factors. The time of year you choose to sell can make a difference in the amount of time it takes to sell and the final selling price. Weather conditions are often a factor. Generally, the real estate market picks up in the early spring and slows down toward the end of the summer months. The end of July and August are most often slower months for real estate sales.
After the summer slow down, real estate normally picks up again for a second time during the year, although less vigorously, and lasts until about November. The market slows down again for the month of December, as most buyers and sellers turn their attention to the holidays.
The supply of homes on the market diminish because sellers often wonder whether or not they should take their homes off the market for the holidays. There are still buyers in the market place, but now those buyers have fewer homes to choose from. Those homes on the market at that time have considerably less competition. Generally speaking, you’ll have the best results if your house is still available to show to prospective buyers continuously until it sells.
Questions
Preparing Your Home for Sale with Staging
Staging helps sell your home faster—and closer to the asking price— than non-staged homes.
In today’s competitive market, you must make a stunning first impression with buyers because your first impression may also be your last. Staging will optimize your home’s appeal, so buyers can actually see themselves living in and owning the home. By creating that emotional connection, you will have a significant advantage over other homes in the market.
Preparing your home to sell is key to attracting the right buyer. It’s a highly competitive market, and 90% of home buyers cannot visualize the potential of a home.
That’s where Antonella comes in. She is an accredited Professional Home Stager, and can help make sure you get the value of your home in this competitive market. This value-added staging service is offered to HJ Real Estate Group clients.
Here are a few helpful hints on how to prepare your home:
1. Start with a change of mind
Too often, investors/home owners become either too emotionally attached or not attached at all. Antonella has seen home owners who were renovating a property and blew their budget on some obscenely expensive tile they “had to have” and had nothing left for furnishing the place. On the other hand, she has worked with homeowners who did not see the value in painting a place that had gone through three tenants. Looking at a property from a buyer’s perspective is key.
Tour your property with Antonella to get advice on what areas you should focus your dollars on, and what’s needed to get the maximum offers.
2. Maximize curb appeal
The outside should draw people inside. Neatly trimmed bushes, mulched beds, and weeded lawns all help make that crucial “first impression”. Freshly painted front doors with new mailboxes and house numbers are easy ways to create maximum impact without breaking the bank. Adding seasonal urns by the front door for some colour are another way to brighten up concrete steps or boring brick.
3. Choose neutral colour palettes
Bold colours are great for living, but not for selling. Light and Bright should be your motto! Stick with a warm, neutral palette like tans, taupes and greys. Avoid dark colours, especially in small spaces (like powder rooms). Keep the ceilings white to keep walls looking tall. Rule of thumb, if the walls haven’t been painted in over two years, now is the time!
Return on investment: 109%*
4. Let there be light
Lighting plays a vital role and is often overlooked when getting a property ready for sale. Dark hallways, rooms with little natural light, basements and bathrooms should be addressed. A minimum of a 2-bulb overhead fixture with maximum watt bulbs can transform a dingy area. There should be NO overhead receptacles without a light fixture! Consider adding pendant fixtures in dining rooms and eating areas. Big box stores offer affordable options in brushed nickel or silver fittings.
Adding ambient lighting is essential, especially in areas where there are no overhead outlets. Adding table lamps and floor lamps will help brighten up any room and help your property appear as “light-filled” as possible.
Return on investment: 303 per cent*
5. Flooring
This is the other main area that always increases the value of a home. It will ALWAYS cost you less to replace worn carpet or add new flooring then to leave it to the new home owners.
Most purchasers are looking for reasons to discount their offers. Flooring is one of the first things buyers see when they walk in. If their first thought is “I will need to replace these floors”, it’s a guarantee they are discounting their offers $5,000–$10,000 for condos, and $7,000–$15,000 for houses. Doing the work yourself will cost you a fraction of that amount.
Return on investment: 107 per cent*
6. It’s all in the details
Replace all burnt out bulbs, touch up any nicks and dents in high traffic areas, replace torn screens, and fix leaking faucets. Once the fix-ups are done, it’s time to focus on the pretty stuff. Fresh linens in the bathrooms, a bowl of fresh green apples on a kitchen island, fresh flowers on a dining table or in the entrance way.
Adding live or silk greenery to bathrooms and adding a new crisp bedding set to the master all help create the impression of a well-cared for home.
7. Clean, clean, clean
This may seem like common sense, but unfortunately it’s still the one area owners tend to try to shortcut. This is the time to hire a professional cleaning company. Special attention should be placed on appliances, inside and outside of cupboards, baseboards and windows. Bathrooms should be scoured, and if necessary, use grout cleaner to get the tiles looking spotless!
8. Highlight best use of the space
Return all rooms to what they were originally made for. Giving a room more than one function (i.e. guest room and office) is a great way to effectively show the space. In condos, this becomes essential when space is at a premium. All bedrooms should be bedrooms, not offices. The front living room should be a front living room, not a home gym.
Using small glass desks with a stool you can tuck in can creatively introduce a “work space” where one wouldn’t think possible. Adding a daybed to a den/office creates extra sleeping space. Determine what adds the most value to potential buyers in your neighbourhood and showcase the space accordingly.
9. Kitchens and bathrooms are what sell the home
If you have dated cabinetry, cracked and worn laminate counters, chipped or broken tiles, consider investing in repairing and upgrading these rooms.
If your budget is limited, changing cabinetry hardware to brushed nickel or silver knobs and handles will give it an immediate appeal. Consider painting cabinetry instead of replacing them.
Depending on the price point of your property, it is often worthwhile to install stone counters. This immediately adds value and is very durable for long term use. If stone is not in the budget, consider a “stone-like” laminate counter. Recaulking around sinks and bathtubs is a simple improvement that can greatly improve the look of a bathroom.
Return on investment: 172 per cent*
10. Vacant properties sit, staged properties sell
Staged homes sell 2–3 times faster and up to 6 per cent more than unstaged ones. People perceive staged units that are well decorated as worth more. Professional stagers know how to highlight the features of the unit and distract from any “not so desirable” features.
If your budget is limited, consider focusing on the main living areas and at least one bedroom. If you can’t borrow furniture and artwork, rental companies carry everything from furniture to linens. Just keep in mind that the goal is to show people how to use the space effectively.
Return on investment: 299 per cent*
Remember that 79% of buyers have already viewed your property on the MLS, so make sure that your property stands out among the competition! Staging is your key to getting noticed and getting SOLD.
A General Guideline to Home Improvements
1. Give your kitchen a mini facelift prior to listing.
The kitchen is the heart of the home. Potential home buyers make a beeline for this room when they first view a home for sale, so make sure your kitchen looks clean and reasonably updated.
For a few hundred dollars, you can replace the kitchen faucet set, add new cabinet door handles and update old lighting fixtures with brighter, more energy-efficient ones.
With a slightly larger budget, you can give the cabinets themselves a makeover. Rather than spring for a whole new cabinet system, which can be expensive, look into hiring a refacing company. Many companies can remove cabinet doors and drawers, refinish the cabinet boxes, then add brand-new doors and drawers. With a fresh coat of paint over the whole set, your cabinets will look like new. If you’re handy, you can order your own replacement cabinet doors and door fronts from retailers like Lowe’s Home Improvement or The Home Depot and install them yourself.
2. Give appliances a facelift.
If your kitchen appliances don’t match, order new doors or face panels for them. Hint: Many dishwasher panels are white on one side and black on the other. Switch it up for a more modern look! A more cohesive-looking kitchen makes a big difference in the buyer’s mind — and in the home’s resale price.
3. Buff up the bathroom
Next to the kitchen, bathrooms are often the most important rooms to update. They, too, can be improved without a lot of cash. Even simple things like a new toilet seat and a pedestal sink are pretty easy for homeowners to install, and they make a big difference in the look of the bathroom.
Try replacing an old, discoloured bathroom floor with easy-to-apply vinyl tiles or a small piece of sheet vinyl. You may not even need to take up the old floor. You can install the new floor right over the old one. If your tub and shower are looking dingy, consider re-grouting the tile and replacing any chipped tiles. A more complete cover-up is a prefabricated tub and shower surround. These one-piece units may require professional installation, but can still be cheaper than paying to re-tile walls and refinish a worn tub.
This information is from a national real estate marketing publication and should be used only as a general guide to ranking the importance of the home improvements. Many factors will affect the appraiser’s opinion of these improvements including, location, value range of home, market trends, age of the home and quality of the home improvement.
Is there a best time to sell?
Most properties sell all year around. It is mostly a function of supply and demand in the marketplace, as well as other economic factors. The time of year you choose to sell can make a difference in the amount of time it takes to sell and the final selling price. Weather conditions are often a factor. Generally, the real estate market picks up in the early spring and slows down toward the end of the summer months. The end of July and August are most often slower months for real estate sales.
After the summer slow down, real estate normally picks up again for a second time during the year, although less vigorously, and lasts until about November. The market slows down again for the month of December, as most buyers and sellers turn their attention to the holidays.
The supply of homes on the market diminish because sellers often wonder whether or not they should take their homes off the market for the holidays. There are still buyers in the market place, but now those buyers have fewer homes to choose from. Those homes on the market at that time have considerably less competition. Generally speaking, you’ll have the best results if your house is still available to show to prospective buyers continuously until it sells.
To Help
Are you considering upsizing, downsizing or relocating? Then contact us today to get your questions answered, discuss your options, and get expert advice, so you can feel confident in whatever you decide.
"*" indicates required fields
To Help
Are you considering upsizing, downsizing or relocating? Then contact us today to get your questions answered, discuss your options, and get expert advice, so you can feel confident in whatever you decide.
"*" indicates required fields