Sell Your Home in Canada

by Geraldine Santiago

Overview

If you are thinking about selling your home, this is the book for you. Whether you plan to work with a real estate agent or do all the work yourself, Sell Your Home in Canada will show you how to get the best deal possible. It's an easy-to-understand and well-rounded look at selling your home, written specifically for the Canadian real estate market.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781770407824
Publisher:	Self-Counsel Press, Inc.
Publication date:	04/15/2012
Series:	Reference Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	132
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Geraldine Santiago is a licensed realtor based in Vancouver, BC, where she also conducts regular seminars on buying and selling homes. She hosts her own home-buying and -selling website. Santiago is a member of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association (GVHBA), and the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV). She is also the author of Complete Home-Buyer’s Guide for Canadians and Sell Your Home in Canada, both published by Self-Counsel Press.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION xi PART 1: WHERE SHOULD I BEGIN? 1 1 WHAT TYPE OF MARKET IS IT? 3 Buyer’s Market 3 Seller’s Market 4 Balanced Market 4 When Is the Best Time to Sell? 4 2 WHO WILL BUY YOUR HOME? 5 3 KNOWING YOUR HOME IS THE KEY 7 Types of Homes 7 Title and Ownership 8 Co-ownership 8 Strata title 8 Co-operative 9 Timeshares 9 CONTENTS Freehold 9 Leasehold 9 Positive and Negative Aspects of Your Property 10 Selling the Neighbourhood and the Community 11 Selling a Condo 11 Selling a Rental Property 12 Selling an Older Home 12 4 GATHERING DATA AND LEGAL DOCUMENTATION 15 Title Search 16 Survey Certificate 17 New Home Warranty Information 17 Property Condition Disclosure Statement (PCDS) 19 Oil Tank Removal 22 Zoning Information 23 City Assessment 23 Other Information for Strata Property 24 Other Documentation 25 Measuring Your Property 25 Pre-Sale Building Inspection 27 5 SELLING YOUR HOME: WHAT IS IT WORTH? 33 Why Are You Selling? 33 What Is Your Home Worth? 33 What is a comparative market analysis (CMA)? 34 Increasing or decreasing your price 39 Pricing land only 40 Renovation value 40 What If You Have a Mortgage? 41 Getting a new mortgage 41 Bridge loans 42 Portable mortgage 42 Vendor take-back mortgage 43 Assumable mortgage 43 iv Sell your home in Canada Contents v PART 2: SHOULD I SELL MY OWN HOME OR GET HELP? 51 6 SELLING ON YOUR OWN OR WITH A REAL ESTATE AGENT 53 What Are the Costs of Selling a Property? 53 Do You Have What It Takes to Sell Your Own Home? 54 What Are the Pitfalls of Selling without an Agent? 55 What Are the Benefits of Going with an Agent? 57 Should you get a full-service agent or do you want to be involved? 58 Choosing the right agent for you 59 What about a team of agents? 60 Types of listings 60 The listing agreement 61 Responsibilities of listing agents 62 Legal and professional requirements for agents 62 The Agent’s Commission 65 Full commission on a quick sale 66 How can you save on commission? 66 Bonuses and other incentives for agents 67 What Is the MLS System and What Can It Do for Sellers? 67 PART 3: HOW DO I GO FROM MARKETING TO 69 COMPLETING THE SALE? 7 MARKETING YOUR HOME 71 What Do You Do to Market a Property? 71 Print advertising and websites 72 Signage and tools of the trade 73 Marketing to friends, relatives, and neighbours 73 Advertising 74 8 SHOWING YOUR HOME 77 Protecting Yourself and Your Family 78 Showcasing Made Simple 78 Showing a Rental Property 80 Showing a Vacation Home 81 Open Houses and Agent Tours 81 9 THE OFFER 85 The Buyer 86 Separating qualified buyers from the lookers 86 Who can be legally bound by a contract? 87 When You Receive an Offer 87 Condition precedents 87 Time clauses 88 Financing 88 When You Receive Multiple Offers, Low-ball Offers, or Agent Offers 89 Competing offers, multiple offers, and back-up offers 90 Identical or nearly identical offers 90 Low-ball offers 91 Offers from salespeople to purchase for themselves 91 Negotiating a Sale 92 What to negotiate 93 Selling your furniture 93 When You Reach an Agreement 94 Deposits and down payments 94 What if the building does not pass inspection? 95 Showing after accepting an offer 96 When Condition Precedents Are Met 96 10 CLOSING, COMPLETION, AND POSSESSION 103 The Closing Procedure 103 What Happens at Completion? 104 Completion must be done on a weekday 105 Hiccups at completion 107 Possession 107 When do you hand over the keys? 107 What should you leave behind on possession day? 108 What should you not leave behind? 108 Doing a walk-through with the buyer or buyer’s agent 109 A special touch 109 vi Sell your home in Canada Contents vii CONCLUSION 111 APPENDIX 1 — REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATIONS AND BOARDS 113 APPENDIX 2 — RESOURCE LIST FOR OIL TANK SAFETY 117 APPENDIX 3 — PROVINCIAL MINISTRIES AND DEPARTMENTS 121 OF HOUSING APPENDIX 4 — CANADIAN ASSOCIATIONS OF HOME AND 125 PROPERTY INSPECTORS GLOSSARY 127 CHECKLISTS 1 Documents and Information 30 2 The Contract 97 3 Service Arrangements 110 SAMPLES 1 Title Search 18 2 Property Condition Disclosure Statement 20 3 Inspection Summary 28 4 Summary Appraisal Report 35 5 Comparative Market Analysis 44 6 Listing Agreement 63 7 Agreement of Purchase and Sale 99 8 Addendum 101 9 Seller’s Statement of Adjustments 106 TABLES 1 Types of Buyers and How to Target Them 6 2 Provincial Associations of Home and Property Inspectors 29