The winter season is finally here in full force. With cooler temperatures and snow to look forward to, it can be hard to believe that warmer weather is just around the corner. However, the busy spring market will be here before we know it. The expression “time flies” is particularly true when it comes to real estate!
That’s why it’s never too early to start preparing if you want to sell your home while experiencing a peaceful and seamless transaction with the maximum profit. With all of the groundwork out of the way, you’ll have a substantial advantage over competing sellers who are just getting started. In this post, we’ll show you how to hit the ground running and capitalize on all of the early excitement of the spring market.
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Think About Your Next Steps
Selling your home is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to your transition. You’ll need to consider where you want to go next. Do you want to stay in the same city and just move to a new neighbourhood? Or are you heading to a different part of the province altogether?
There are also logistics that will affect what you do and when. For example, should you consider buying a new house before even putting yours on the market? Or should you wait until you’ve accepted an offer before beginning your search? These are all decisions you want to make well in advance of selling your house. As such, they’re an essential part of preparing, not just your home, but yourself and anyone in your family, for the big move.
Depending on the market, some sellers will even decide to rent for a time before purchasing a new home of their own. Our team will happily sit down with you to discuss your goals and challenges and help you decide the best course of action.
The posts below can help you clarify your vision for your next chapter:
Should You Rent Or Buy In Today’s Market?
A Guide To Moving Up In The West GTA
What Do Luxury Buyers Look for in a Home?
Hire Your Real Estate Agent
Beginning early to prepare for a spring sale early means planning everything out at a high level. Taking care of the big picture now will help all of the smaller details fall into place later. The best way to ensure you do everything right (and at the right time) depends on having expert guidance from the start.
Not just any real estate agent will do; you want an experienced professional with a track record of achieving superior results for each client during any market conditions. At The Tanya Crepulja Team, we commit to the highest level of boutique service so you can proceed with confidence, knowing every detail is on point.
- You will know precisely what repairs to make to have the maximum impact on your bottom line while avoiding any unnecessary tasks.
- We will provide guidance to prepare your home, with cost effective recommendations that will yield the best return on investment. The goal is to focus on the minor repairs and updates that ultimately result in a higher selling price while spending the least amount of time on the market.
- Your pricing strategy will be compelling and competitive while reflecting the true value of your home. This is one of the most essential parts of a successful sale.
- If you need someone to perform updates and renovations to a high standard, we can also recommend an expert from our vast network. At your discretion, a reputable professional can step in to take the hard work of miscellaneous repairs, cleaning, painting your home off of your list of tasks.
- Our bespoke services include complimentary staging to pique the interest of potential buyers visiting your home online and in person.
How should you choose a real estate agent to represent you? The posts below can help:
- Questions To Ask Your Realtor®
- Is it a Good Idea to Work with a Discount Real Estate Agent?
- What Are The Benefits Of Working With A Boutique Real Estate Team?
- Realtor® Negotiation Red Flags You Don’t Want To Ignore
Begin Decluttering
Impressing potential buyers always begins with a clean and meticulous home. Decluttering is the foundation of all of this. If you’ve lived in your home for several years, it’s easy to accumulate a lot of belongings. You will eventually need to sort through it all before putting your home on the market. This is yet another benefit of getting an early head start on the spring market.
Since it’s normal to spend more time indoors during colder weather, winter is the perfect time to start getting organized. Begin with the easier steps first. These will be the items you’ve held onto that don’t have a strong emotional connection. If you haven’t needed them in six months or more, it’s likely safe to donate or discard them.
Your belongings with sentimental value will take more thought and consideration to sort through. Sometimes, you just need a minute to reflect before letting a cherished keepsake go. Other times, you may be able to find someone else who will love those items as much as you do, which makes it easier to part with them.
As you proceed, you’ll undoubtedly come across precious belongings that you will want to keep. They should still be stored away neatly out of sight before buyers start coming through.
Your house should be like a clean slate so your potential buyers can imagine creating memories of their own. The fewer photos, souvenirs, and memorabilia lying around, the easier it will be for them to envision living in your space, and the more likely they’ll form an emotional connection to your home.
Decide on Any Repairs
Once your home is tidy and organized, you can take another look at each room with fresh eyes. No matter how well you’ve maintained your space over the years, it’s normal to see a few areas of improvement that could enhance its value in the current market.
Even something as simple as a fresh coat of paint in a neutral colour could add to your final selling price. If you really want to instill a sense of confidence in potential buyers, you might decide to arrange for a pre-listing inspection. This is an extra step that can give you a competitive advantage over other sellers in your area.
A pre-listing inspection can pull up any minor issues before they ever have to reach a buyer’s awareness. For example, your furnace may need cleaning or minor service to ensure its efficiency. A small repair is an inexpensive update, but a perceived problem with the HVAC system can be off-putting to a potential buyer. Taking care of it in advance means they never need to worry about it in the first place.
Countless small details like these can have a significant impact on the perceived value of your home. Booking your pre-inspection now makes sense as licensed inspectors will be very busy once spring arrives.
Looking for more specific guidance on what repairs and upgrades to make before selling your home? The posts below will give you some ideas:
- How To Make Your Home Stand Out in a High-Inventory Market
- 5 Essential Steps When Preparing Your Home For A Spring Sale
- How To Prepare Your Home Like A Luxury Listing
List at Exactly the Right Time
When to list your home for sale is one of the first questions clients ask us. Often, it’s market related. Many people want to strike when the iron is hot so they make the absolute most of the sale. That said, some of our most successful home sellers don’t even take market factors into consideration when the “For Sale” sign goes up.
It’s almost impossible to get your timing absolutely perfect when selling your home. The real trick is to ensure you buy and sell in the same market. This, more than anything, protects your equity and allows for a seamless transition.
In other words, if you sell your house at a high price, you may need to also pay a higher price for your next home. If you sell during a softer market and prices are low, your next house will be more affordable. As an added benefit, you may also have multiple options to choose from.
Ultimately, you want to make your decisions based on your personal goals and what you want to do next. Once again, we at the Tanya Crepulja Team will offer our expert guidance to help you plan early and get the best outcome on both sides of the transaction, regardless of what the market is doing.
It’s never too early to start planning for a successful sale of your home. If a move is coming up for your family, reach out to us today at tanya@tcteam.ca or call 647-293-3785 for a complimentary consultation.
