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Am I Ready To Sell
Ask yourself why you are thinking about selling your house. Here are a few answers you may come up with:
- To Upgrade – What can I afford to move up into? What do I owe on my mortgage? Will I be able to get financing? Where do I want to move to?
- To Make Money – Where will I move to? What are the prices of houses there? Am I downsizing? Retiring? You can only sell one home per year to avoid paying capital gains tax on your profits.
- Relocation – Does the new company have a relocation program to help me sell my house? What are houses worth there?
- To Save Money – Are you house poor? Can you pay off your mortgage from the proceeds of the house?
Once you know why you are thinking of selling, you can determine if the reason(s) are valid enough to proceed with selling.
How much is owed on the mortgage?
Make sure you know how much you owe on your house before you list it for sale. Many homeowners need to pay off an existing mortgage through the proceeds of the sale of their home. Remember to include realtor fees, lawyer fees, etc. in your calculations.
What costs are involved in selling my house?
The costs may include but are not limited to:
- Real estate sales commission + HST
- Lawyer’s fee + HST
- Land registry transfer fee if not on land titles
- Discharge of mortgage registration fee
- Balance of mortgage loan
- Lender penalties for closing mortgage early
- Interest on tax arrears
Your real estate agent, banker, or lawyer can help you understand and estimate these costs.
Where will I go after I sell?
Make sure you know what type of house you want to move into and where you want to live. Become familiar with the existing market conditions and the price of homes you are interested in. Even if you have a lot of equity in your home, make sure you visit your financial institution or a mortgage broker to determine if you can afford to sell your home and move into a more expensive one.
Ask Mr. Realtor!
Recent Questions & Answers
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A conditional offer is an offer to purchase a property which has a clause that requires the buyer to sell another property before they can purchase this one. These can be quite confusing with many details so ask your realtor to fully explain how conditional offers work.
If you just need to upgrade the electrical panel to 200 amps, about $1200 should cover it. However, if you also have to upgrade the entrance to the house, you would be looking at quite a bit more cost.
The most important thing about an exclusive listing is that it can't be found on MLS. It is a listing through one company and has to be sold through that company. It can be advertised in newspapers, personal websites, etc. but won't be found on the largest website of all-MLS. Since over 80% of homes for sale are found on MLS, it's not a good idea for sellers to list exclusively because your listing won't be seen by nearly as many potential buyers.
If you built a home today, your septic tank will likely be concrete with a field. If build properly, they can be zero maintenance and may not ever have to be pumped out. In the past, you could put any type of septic tank in including: steel tanks, fiberglass tanks, pressure treated wood, or even just a barrel in the ground with a pipe going into a ditch instead of a proper drainage field. Contact the Dept. of Health regarding new construction septic systems.
This depends on the realtor who lists your home. The most important advertising is on MLS (multiple listing service) which is where most buyers look for homes. Most buyers look for homes on the internet these days. There are many other websites used to advertise homes for sale as well such as: the company's website, personal websites, Kijiji, etc. However, many properties are still advertised in local newspapers, real estate guides, etc. When interviewing realtors, ask them how they will advertise your home for sale.