CONSIDER IT SOLD.

The first step is to get connected. Preferably in person but I know that with everyone’s busy schedule this is not always possible, so I stay as flexible as I can. We can connect over the phone, a zoom call or even simple text message. The goal here is for me to get to know a bit about you and your current situation. This is a great time to share a bit about your home and it’s location so I can start diving into market data for your specific neighbourhood.

After we connect we can schedule your home evaluation. Sometimes this step is combined with the Meet & Greet and we get acquainted at your home. Either way, the goal here is for me to see your home first hand so that I can complete my market assessment accurately. Your home evaluation is a digital (or printed if requested) PDF that outlines your property and includes information on comparable sold homes in your area. You will have a complete understanding of your properties estimated value in the current market conditions.

This evaluation is free of charge and commitment.

This step is crucial, as there is a lot going on. Here we will establish timelines, and complete all of the necessary paperwork to bring your home to market. We will also build your “To-Do List”.

Sometimes this list is very short and other times it can be a bit longer. It all depends on your goals of the sale. The list can contain anything from standard cleaning and de-cluttering all the way to minor (or even major) renovations if your situation allows. Basically, we want to prepare your home to make sure that we are presenting it to the market in the best light possible.

Remember, you only get one chance at a first impression!

This step is optional and is completely dependent on our timeline.

If scheduling permits I prefer to have a coming to market period where we begin to advertise that the home is coming up for sale before it hits the MLS and before we permit showings.

This helps generate buzz and excitement. This period generally covers the week while we prepare the home for sale. I will also have specific marketing that will go out during this time, such as a “Choose Your Neighbour” campaign.

After the listing hits the MLS, showings will begin to book. They will book for all hours of the day (which you do have a say in) so we need to make sure the home stays looking its absolute best!

(I like to pretend like my in-laws are visiting every morning, every afternoon and every evening). The ability to keep the home in tip-top shape will have a direct impact on the quality of offers you will receive.

Due to Covid-19 showings are limited to 30 minutes and only one group is allowed in the home at a time. All attendees must complete a health disclosure prior to entering the home.

Depending on our strategy we may or may not have an offers date.

An offers date is when we permit showings for a certain amount of time (usually 6 days) and then we ask that all offers be presented on one particular day.
We would then sit down review all of the offers that are written and select the one that best suits you and your goals.

If we don’t have an offers day, it’s “offers as received” in Realtor terms, meaning we will deal with each offer as it is submitted. This means you could have an offer a few hours after the home hits the market! Offers have deadlines so with this strategy we may have to meet quickly with less notice. If you choose not to accept an offer the home remains open for showings until you do.

After you accept an offer on your home, the listing will either be considered “sold” or “conditionally sold”. It is important to understand the differences between the two.

“Sold” this means the deal is firm and both parties have entered into a legal contract to transfer the title of your home, however no money is transferred until that happens. The selling brokerage will retain the buyers deposit in trust until closing. The transfer of the funds normally takes place a couple of weeks after the new owners take possession and is handled by a Real Estate Lawyer like Sara Castellano.

If your home is considered to be “conditionally sold” you’ve still entered into a legal contract to sell your home but your listing will enter a state called pending. This means the offer is conditional on the buyers fulfilling specific conditions before the deal is firm. Things like arranging mortgage financing or obtaining a home inspection. Once these conditions are satisfied, they will be removed and when there are no remaining conditions your home will move from conditionally sold to sold. If a condition cannot be satisfied the buyer is able to leave the deal without penalty and your home would need to go back on the market.

This is one reason why hiring a good, invested Realtor is VERY IMPORTANT. We can help drastically minimize the risk of your offer falling apart.

While your home is in pending, and the buyers are working on removing their conditions typically no showings will take place and your home is not available to receive offers, but this is circumstantial.

After the sale is firm, life goes back to normal until possession. During this period it is VERY IMPORTANT that you do not alter the home. The buyers bought it as they saw it and they should receive it in the same condition. Do not paint, do not update the bathroom, do not put down new carpet (it has happened). The home is to be in the same condition on possession day as it was when the buyers wrote their offer.

A few weeks prior to possession the transaction leaves the hands of me, your Realtor and is transferred to your real estate lawyer and mortgage specialist for the transfer of title and funds. If you’re using my 360° Solution then you’ll likely be working with Paul Dueck for your Mortgage and Sara Castellano for your legal needs. You’re in amazing hands.

Once title has been transferred to the new owners and funds are released by the bank Sara (or your lawyer of choice) will provide you will a breakdown of the funds required to close the transaction (In most cases it is Realtor and legal fee’s for the Seller, the buyer will pay for Manitoba’s land transfer tax and other closing costs) and provide you with a cheque for the net proceeds of your sale.

At this point, your journey officially comes to a close.

The process of selling your home is a very complex one and is definitely not one that I would recommend anyone try to handle on their own. While it is possible to sell your home yourself, why would you? 9 times out of 10 the risk is not worth the reward. Would you pull your own teeth? Perform surgery on yourself? Not likely, you’d hire a professional to make sure that everything goes right. It’s too risky.

We live in a world where you can snap a photo of pretty much anything, put it on a marketplace and people will show up with cash in hand to buy it. Transferring the title on a piece of land is not the same of selling your old couch. There are encroachments, caveats on title, conditions, legal disclosures and dozens of other things that can create a real mess of your deal if you don’t know what you’re doing, and if you are not a Realtor, the title of your home, like your teeth, should be left to a professional to transfer.

I’ve been called upon many times by people who were in the middle of selling their homes privately and have asked me if I thought they were getting a good deal. I’ve never been able to give good news to a seller. The buyer almost always gets the better deal in a private sale. Of course they do, or else why would go through with it? It’s free for a buyer to use a Realtor, so unless there was a massive benefit why would they turn down professional help? Or perhaps they didn’t? When you’re selling your home privately there is a very high chance that you will get an interested buyer who is working with a Realtor. This offer WILL come with a commission attached to it. Most of the time, when sellers want to sell on their own it is done in an effort to save money on commission. These perceived savings come at the cost of a lower sale price paired with having to pay a buyers commission anyway. The net number is almost always lower than that of what a properly marketed property could bring.

The net number is what is most important. That is the number you have left at the end of the deal. Let’s say your home is worth $300,000, A typical commission would be aprox $15,000 (5%).

You decide to sell privately. You get your list price of $300,000. Sweet! You saved $15,000 in commission. You’re up $15,000. The buyer was working with a Realtor so you have to pay them the standard 2% buyers commission ($6,000). Your NET number is $294,000 before closing costs.

If you had decided to sell with a Realtor, right off the bat you get a ton of time back because you don’t have to deal with responding to messages, organizing showings, qualifying people, drafting up paperwork, understanding their conditions etc. Secondly your home is going to be properly marketed and exposed to THOUSANDS more than would be possible on your own. The exposure creates demand, demand creates competition and competition creates multiple offers, which creates leverage. Your transaction could look like this.

List Price is $300,000, we receive five offers, based on typical sales in Winnipeg, our best offer is for $325,000, after paying a typical commission of 5% ($16,250) your NET number is $308,750.

You now have an EXTRA $14,750 by using a Realtor and you didn’t have to do any of the work!

DIY will not produce professional results.

Okay, so you don’t want to sell privately, but you can save some money by hiring a company that does what I do for a reduced commission or flat rate, right?

But do they?

There are discount agents and companies out there that promise results but rarely deliver. One of the benefits of hiring a Realtor who works for a commission is our vested interest in selling your home. We don’t get paid anything until your home sells. If we can’t sell it you don’t owe us a dime. You are paying for performance.

Other companies that don’t work for a commission will charge you to list the home and then that is about it. They don’t have a vested interest in the sale. If it takes 60, 90 or 100+ days, no big deal, they are often paid a salary so it is no skin off their back. They’re on to the next listing.

These types of listings (even in this heavy sellers market) tend to under perform. The list price is not often strategic, the marketing is sub-par and the results are the same. It’s rare for them to sell quickly, and when they do sell it’s often for below list price. So all that money you’ve saved in commission you have now lost on your sale price.

Even if you list this way and then switch to a Realtor, you’re fighting an uphill battle as the home has already been exposed to the market and buyers have already made their decision on the home. Unless you present the home at a massively reduced price it will be very difficult to complete a successful sale.

Don’t get caught up in gimmicks. There is no substitute for hard work.

No agent will work harder to sell your home than I will.
I earn every dollar of commission I make.