You’ve decided to sell your home. How can you help to recession-proof its value and ensure the top sale price – especially in an economic downturn?
“Do some big-picture thinking before you put your home on the market,” says Chartered Accountant Robin Taub, Founder, Robin Taub Financial Coaching in Toronto.
“With more homes for sale than buyers, as well as tight credit conditions, make sure that selling now is the right move for you. While this may be a good time to move up to a more expensive neighbourhood, the current credit crunch also calls for different financing and marketing strategies.”
Taub advises developing a plan based on the following factors:
Budgeting and Financing
Prepare a budget and ask key questions. Is your job secure? Can you afford to move? Do you qualify for a mortgage? How much equity do you have? How much financing will you need?
With financial institutions more reluctant to lend, you may need a higher down payment to qualify for a mortgage.
Be creative with your financing. Consider negotiating a vendor take-back mortgage (VTB) to fill the gap between the equity you have and what financial institutions are prepared to lend.
Be Realistic
The market determines the selling price – base your expectations on the comparative value of homes in your neighbourhood, not on how much you paid or spent on improvements.
To determine value, check current listings, recent sales, number of days on the market and expired listings (to gain a sense of over-priced or poorly marketed homes).
Gauge the return-on-investment of key renovations: bathrooms and kitchens return 75 to100 per cent, while interior and exterior painting returns 50 to 100 per cent of the cost.
Remember - “location, location, location” – the proximity to transit, schools, parks and shopping boosts selling price in any market.
Dealing with a Real Estate Agent
Make sure you like and can work with the agent, on your schedule.
Ensure the agent specializes in your neighbourhood and deals in your price range.
Interview three agents and check their references.
Ask how your home will be marketed.
Review the agent’s commission and listing agreement before you sign it.
Staging your Home
Remember that first impressions count.
Look through a buyer’s eyes and detach yourself emotionally.
Depersonalize your home by removing family photographs and eclectic décor.
“Brighten and lighten” – determine what needs to be cleaned, organized, repaired, painted (inside and out), and de-cluttered. This can add thousands of dollars to the sale price.
Choose neutral colours if you are repainting.
Create a welcoming atmosphere with fresh flowers, a fire in the fireplace, or cookies baking in the oven.
Think curb appeal – clean up your yard, trim bushes, and shovel the walk in winter.
Consider hiring a professional stager, especially if your home is empty.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario is the qualifying and regulatory body of Ontario’s 33,000 Chartered Accountants and 5,000 CA students. Since 1879, the Institute has protected the public interest through the CA profession’s high standards of qualification and the enforcement of its rules of professional conduct. The Institute works in partnership with the other provincial Institutes of Chartered Accountants and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants to provide national standards and programs that are used as examples around the world. </em>
