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As the Spring market gets started and more and more properties come on line “For Sale”, you’re bound to start seeing a growing number of “Coming Soon” signs or banners on these homes. It’s suppose to get buyers excited and move fast. It lets the buyer believe that once this property hits the market it will go fast as demand must be building!
In order to have a “For Sale” sign on a property that is on the MLS® system, there must be a listing agreement between the seller and agent. This simply means that the home is listed under contract but the seller has decided to not allow the public in for various reasons. There can be legitimate reasons for not wanting buyers through your home just yet. Maybe the home isn’t ready and needs repairs of painting. maybe new carpeting or hardwood floors have been ordered but not yet installed. OR, maybe the listing agent has his/her own motive.
AGENT MOTIVE
A few months ago, CBC’s Market Place did a story on the real estate industry and the subject of “Coming Soon” and other tactics like this were explored. Buyers, using their own agents to represent them would try to get into a listed property only to be told that there were no showings yet or the property was “Coming Soon”. It turns out that the listing agent actually sold the property to someone he was working with and “double Ended” the sale (meaning he was able to collect both the listing and the selling side of the commission). The other buyer was shocked. Not only did the sale take place during the “Coming Soon” period but sold for less that the buyer, who really wanted that home, was willing to pay. This is not an isolated incident. Many of the agents secretly interviewed by Market Place boasted that they double end up to 80% of their listings. We’ve been in the industry for almost 30 years and we can tell you that even 50% of sales by one agent (the listing agent) is a staggering number. In the hotter markets such as Toronto, it seems to happen often but this practise is catching on in other markets including Ottawa.
WHO BENEFITS?
Who benefits really is the key. The client, in this case the Seller, should benefit fist and foremost. We believe that the agents should not benefit at all except for the commission that the seller and agent have agreed to in a written listing contract. One primary pillar of our industry is to work in the best interest of our clients. Another is to be fair to all whether they are our client, another agent’s client or just members of the public.
The benefit of “Coming Soon” can benefit the seller by creating excitement and potentially multiple offers but does that out-way the benefit of exposing the seller’s property to hundreds of potential buyers and their agents? The evidence is no! Keeping a property on the QT offers no benefit to the seller. Why? Because without MLS® exposure, the number of prospective buyer who will see that a specific property is available will be extremely limited to the listing agent’s own contacts. The more exposure, the more viewings, the more activity the better the results. This is why the MLS® system was developed, to give access to all buyers and agents in order to create the highest demand.
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ARE ALL AGENTS ALIKE?
The simple and clear answer is no. Just because an agent uses “Coming Soon” does not mean that there intentions are questionable. They may believe that this tactic works, and in some cases it does. The seller may request that the agent use this tactic and as long as it’s done properly, legally and within our Board’s rules, we have no issue with it. But be cautious when hiring an agent that pushes this tactic on you. Make sure that the representative explains exactly how the tactic works and what he or she is and is not allowed to do. Make sure they explain the pros and cons. In other words, make a smart and informed decision.
We are always here to answer your questions on this or any other subject. Please write us at homesbyhartman@realtyagent.com
* Get your mind in the gutters. Inspect and clean gutters and downspouts.
* Button up your overcoat. Seal gaps and cracks around windows and doors with weather-stripping and caulk.
* Get on top of roof problems. Inspect your roof for damaged or curled shingles, corroded flashing, or leaky vents.
* Walks the walks (and drives). Take steps to repair damaged sidewalks, driveways, and steps.
* Chill out. Drain and winterize outdoor faucets and irrigation systems.
* Freshen your filter. Clean or replace dirty furnace filters.
* Give your furnace a physical. Have a professional inspect your heating system and do a hot water heater repair if necessary.
* Gather round the hearth. Check fireplaces for soot or creosote build-up. Better yet, schedule a visit from a reputable chimney sweep.
* Keep the humidifier humming. Clean the plates or pads to ensure efficient operation.
* Head-off gas problems. If you have a gas-fired room heater, have it inspected by a pro. Otherwise get the new item installed, there are plenty of offers discounted at HVAC Direct now. Also, perform any routine maintenance recommended by the maker.
* Keep the wood fires burning brightly. Wood stoves are making a comeback. To avoid a deadly situation, be sure to inspect yours before firing it up.
* Keep your family safe at home. A home safety check should be an annual ritual in every household. Test smoke and CO monitors, inspect (or install) fire extinguishers, review fire escape plans, and rid your home of old newspapers and other fire hazards.
The numbers don’t lie; often well-staged homes can see quicker sales and higher offers than their messy counterparts. The key is getting an early start on the process of getting ready. By beginning the huge task of removing the clutter and doing a pre-pack now, you can reduce the stress of preparing for showings and make it easier to move when your home sells when you are already part way done.
Try these five staging and organizing tips to help you reach a faster sale.
Purge From Top to Bottom — Do a proper sort and purge, getting rid of outdated clothing, duplicate items and rarely used gadgets. To keep this task from turning into a source of serious frustration, tackle one room (or even one drawer) at a time. Go at it steadily.
Pack Up Everything but the Essentials — Start pre-packing your home, storing non-essentials or out-of-season gear in the garage or off-site. Garages and unfinished areas are great for this extra storage. The idea is to give potential buyers a sense of space, which can’t be done if your home is overloaded with clutter.
Fix Glaring Problems — Remove out-of-style wallpaper, replace broken light fixtures, update cabinet and drawer pulls, and refresh dated window treatments. Simple fixes like these can make your home stand out from the competition.
Depersonalize — Remove family pictures and personal collections, and replace them with neutral artwork and simple accessories. The idea is to give potential buyers a neutral canvas so they can imagine their belongings in your home.
Go for Polished — Research the latest design trends and stage your house to match. Professional stagers recommend tailoring the design style to your target demographic. For example, if you’re in a family neighbourhood, style the bedrooms for children, even if none live in your home.
A professional stager is a nice to have but not necessary. It can add to your cost of selling. If you follow other simple steps outlined above, you home will look much better and be ready to sell. We often do staging for our clients by arranging furniture, helping pick new flooring and paint when necessary or bringing in professional trades people when needed. Call us and we’ll show you what selling real estate through truly professional REALTORS® is like. (more…)
If you want to sell your home in Ottawa this spring, prepare for pent-up buyer demand.
Spring might be an even livelier home-selling season this year because home-buyers want to act before interest rates or home prices rise.
Even so, buyers insist on good deals. Even in a seller’s markets, where the supply of homes for sale can’t meet demand from buyers, the overpriced homes are at a disadvantage. We see competing offers for some homes, but houses with too-high asking prices don’t selling at all.
Three things sell a home in any season: location, condition and price. If one of those three is not good, a home may not sell, but you can always compensate for a less-than-perfect location with a better price.
It is important to have a professional that helps you but you should do thorough research when looking at hiring property management companies or an agency to manage your block. Property owners hire property management firms for various reasons. Some owners may have many rental properties in their portfolios but lack the time or expertise to maintain the properties and deal with tenants. Some owners only have an interest in owning rental properties and earning profits from them. When this is the case, they hire professional property managers. Absentee landlords also make use of property management services.</p>
Here are five tips to sell your home this spring.
1) Buyers decide within 60 seconds of seeing a home whether they want to consider buying it.
People know immediately if they are interested, so you need to make sure you don’t turn them off before they get in the door. We recommend trimming trees and bushes so buyers can see the house, pressure-washing the driveway, front walk, house and patio, clean and paint the front door because buyers will linger at the door while they wait for the agent to open the lockbox.
2) Go through all of your furniture and closets with a discerning eye to eliminate clutter and then go back again. Pare down your clothing to as minimal as possible so your closets look bigger. Pack up anything you want to keep, and put it off-site in a pod or a storage unit because you want your home to look like it always has plenty of space in all the closets.
3) Be mindful of your senses, especially sight and smell. If you have dark corners in the house, get rid of clutter in those areas, paint them a light colour and reflect the colour with lighting. If you have a pet, clean the carpets and open the windows to air out the house. If you give your pets a shower or bath in you bathroom and have custom glass shower enclosures, it is important check those areas thoroughly. Clean or get rid of your draperies and window coverings if they carry a pet odours.
4) If you know a home inspector is going to find something wrong with your house, go ahead and fix it! If you haven’t maintained your home, you may want to hire your own home inspector before your home goes on the market so that you can make appropriate repairs before you try to sell it. It usually costs less to fix things before a home inspection than to deal with an issue at the last minute and under stress. It makes more sense to do the repairs ahead of time rather than wait for a buyer to request it. Buyers may end up asking you to spend $300 on what should cost $100.
5) Even though prices are rising in some areas, sellers need to be reasonable and compare their homes to similar properties that have recently sold that are best compared. If you price too low, they’ll think something is wrong with your home. If you price it too high and have to lower your price, it will hurt you more than if you price it right the first time. Overpriced homes that stay on the market above the average, are extremely difficult to sell. Never hire a REALTOR® who guesses at a price. Genuine Realtors such as Alex Buys Vegas Houses make sure that he or she has done extensive research, finding homes as close of a match to your home that has recently sold and those that are presently on the market. This way you’ll have a complete picture of the market.
WOW! Our vacation plans have gone out the window! Too busy to leave town now! This summer has been unusually busy and we think we have the long hard winter and the short cold spring to thank for that.
Most years, the summer is a time that slows down for real estate sales. Not to the point of November and December, but slow considering April through June are normally very hectic. All this just goes to say that the experts seem to have gotten this one right! Most of our associates in the business have said that the market was delayed this year in the 45 to 60 day range and that is what we are seeing.
If you are thinking about selling, it should remain a good market for the rest of the summer. One warning though. Make sure your home is in tip top shape from roof to basement and all points in between. The buyers have lots of choice and many average and below average homes are being past over. Check your roof, windows, furnace, air conditioning and plumbing. These are areas most home owners don’t pay attention to until it’s either too late or a building inspection reveals problems that can cause the sale of your home to fall through. ExpertConstructionGuys.com | C&D Brooklyn Roofers can make all necessary repair to roof, windows and siding. BE PROACTIVE! Stay ahead of the game!
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