# Advice for first time seller



## Maybe Later (Feb 19, 2011)

My wife and I are selling our acreage. It is our first house, so we have not done this before. We are not expecting a quick sale, but I’m trying to get an idea of what else we should be doing once it is listed. We’ve decided to go with a realtor we are comfortable with.

We will be looking to buy a similar priced house, in town, much closer to school and work. If the right house is not available as we need to give up possession we will rent and consider buying later, or building new, likely with the same home builder that we worked with on our current home.

Our current mortgage is a variable rate ( prime - 0.75%, currently at 2.25%), but unfortunately we cannot port it to a new property. 

This is our first time selling, so what else should we be considering?

-	I plan to go to our current mortgage provider for a rate hold (should have done so a week or two ago). What else should we expect from them to keep our business? What charges might I expect them to waive if we were to sign a new mortgage with them and who do I need to talk to that can make those decisions (mortgage specialist? Branch manager? Faceless person in TO?)

-	Do I need to contact our lawyer in advance of any offer? Should a satisfactory legal opinion be a condition of a contract on either side?

-	What else might we not have thought about?

Your advice is appreciated.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

All the hard decisions like offering price and listing broker have been made. I would offer that you can only accept conditional offer so make sure it is a good one. Also such offers come with a certified cheque that the broker holds "in escrow". Make sure it is large enough to make sure the potential buyer is serious.

(When we sold our first house, the offer came in with a tiny cheque as a conditional offer. There was also another offer. We told both prospects to make the cheques significant and to remove the conditions. One of them did.)


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

In addition to kcowan's comments, if the realtor uses the standard fill-in-the-blank form used in your province, and there are no oddball provisions/clauses added, there is no need to have a lawyer look at either side on the contract as a condition of contract (I have bought/sold about 12 properties in the last 30 years without a lawyer looking at the Offer). 

You have not said whether the acreage is primarily residential, or agricultural with a residence on it, but I am assuming the former (smallish amount of land). If so, depending on the province you are in, this is a standard form residential contract. If the latter (agricultural), there may be a different standard form. Your realtor should know when to apply which one. In Alberta, I recently sold 2 residential properties, and one raw land (agriculture) property. Different forms and concerns.

Your realtor will likely pull a copy of Title as part of his/her due diligence when listing your property to be sure there are no surprises on caveats or ownership. You should also have a recent copy of survey (provinces vary on this) because if I was a buyer, I would insist on a recent survey to be sure property lines are accurage and would require that as a condition of purchase. Standard conditions imposed by buyers are usually: 1) financing, and 2) home inspection... both typically requiring 5-10 business days to complete.

On a more casual note, Google information on how to prepare your home for sale. Lots of such information available and your realtor may have selling tips. At the very least, the property should be tidy and clean and look like the owner took pride in ownership. Fix all the little maintenance issue like leaking taps, squeaky doors, loose handles, etc.


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## NotMe (Jan 10, 2011)

+1 for all comments above - with a minor side story. So when my wife and I were buying, we were in a bidding war and quite frankly the house we both wanted came up for bidding faster than we were ready. So while we had $15000 in an ing account, there's no way we could get it in our regular account and certified in time for Friday night. This is in Toronto. Initially the sellers were wary of our little $5000 cheque, and so I said ok fine, if you accept our offer within a week you'll get a cheque for $15,000 and we can put that right in the offer. All good 

Second point is though I'm not sure if you're asking for advice on actually preparing your home for sale, but I'd say the biggest thing you can do to make your house sell faster is declutter. Declutter, declutter, declutter. We were told to set goals: 50% of ALL closets, kitchen cabinets, drawers, book shelves, etc. We got rid of so much stuff it started us thinking that maybe our place was big enough for the two of us plus an impending baby (it wouldn't have been). But decluttering was a big big job but very helpful.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I should add that the major condition to avoid is the sale of the buyers current property. Home inspections are OK. Although they represent a loophole, the inspection can be done in a short time.


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## MRT (Apr 8, 2013)

great advice so far. 

I would just add that in the absence of a recent survey, the buyer(s) can usually obtain title insurance, so don't go out and pay for a new survey if one is not available.

I would still recommend having your lawyer review any offer before making it firm. They will not charge extra (usually they have a flat fee for a sale transaction, plus disbursements like courier and photocopy fees), and it takes them little time to quickly verify that there is nothing unusual. Relying on the realtor alone is an unnecessary risk, IMHO. 

I would also be hesitant to accept a conditional offer that permits the buyers to sell their own home first, UNLESS your agent inserts a clause whereby you may still market the property while the buyers try to sell their home. Such a clause typically provides that if you receive an unconditional offer from a new buyer, then the initial buyer has a period of time (usually 48-72 hours) to remove all of their conditions or you are able to sell to the new buyer. Otherwise, your home would come off the market and the initial buyer may walk away after a period of time if they can't sell their place, which results in your time being wasted, having to re-list, etc. This is particularly important if you anticipate that it may take some time to sell...you don't want to miss any potential buyers.

Is there a reason why your lender will not port your mortgage to a new property? It is common to allow it, and I would check your Cost of Borrowing Disclosure to ensure that there is no portability option included. If they will not port it, it is in your interest to shop around through a broker...but NEVER pay a fee to a mortgage broker. They are directly compensated by the lender for sourcing new business, which does NOT impact the best rate the lender and broker can provide. Any 'fee' a broker charges on the side is simply them padding their profit margin. 

I would also carefully look at the market valuation your realtor provides to you. From looking at literally hundreds of appraisals over the years, I've seen sometimes significant disparities between appraisals of the same property, prepared by two different appraisers or agents. Make sure the comparable sales they are using are truly comparable, local, and recent.

Good luck!


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

What you really need is the ability to accept multiple conditional offers. Then the first buyer to remove the conditions wins.


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

This is what we did when we sold...

-we hired an interior decorator ($200) to come in and tell us how to prepare our house for sale...paint colours, what to take away, etc. We had decided to paint throughout.

-we interviewed 2 real estate agents. We negotiated the commission down with the agent we selected-NOT the selling agent commission but the listing agent commission

-the real estate agent gave us very good instructions on how to prepare from what not to cook to how to decorate (in addition to what the decorator advised). She was very, very good. Knew the area, the completion, the pricing, the lot. Great professional photographs.

-when it came time to getting a lawyer for the sale we called the law firm that did our will. They wanted $1000. The lawyer recommended by the real estate agent quoted a charge of $600. so we went with him (and were very satisfied with the service).

-be careful when getting an inspector for your new property. Some real estate agent have 'tame' inspectors who are not really that great. Ask around prior to purchase and line up a good home inspector. The one your RE agent recommends may be very good but do not rely on this one reference alone.

Good luck


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## Cal (Jun 17, 2009)

Maybe Later said:


> I’m trying to get an idea of what else we should be doing once it is listed.


Have you asked this question to your realtor, they should be helpful to you in this regard as well.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Stay on top of your agent, communicate regularly, view your listing, have them re-take photos or re-list on MLS if need be & most of all be prepared to lower your price. Get a listing of sold comparable houses in your area to determine the right sale price and be competitive. Also might want to consider staging if you want your place to look better than the rest. Worst of all, don't sit back and take a passive approach to selling. Call your agent and have them work for the commission you just gave them by signing with them.


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## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

I'd say verify any mortgage breaking fees you might encounter and get said information in writing, a friend of mine had some very large penalties to pay. At the end of the day he had nothing left after commissions and mortgage breaking fees.


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## Maybe Later (Feb 19, 2011)

All the advice is appreciated. Without responding directly to each point, in general most of it is already done or underway, though you've given me a couple things to think about.


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