Depending on the value of your home, the cost of doing little or no preparation before you sell can cost you upwards of $100,000.00

A recent survey by Kijiji Canada reveals that Canadians do not do “what’s necessary to sell their homes”.

Their survey showed:

Nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of those who believe decluttering is important didn’t actually purge their home of many items before selling.

Potential loss if above work is not done:  $20,000 to $40,000

A large majority (86 per cent) of those who believe conducting renovations is important before selling a home didn’t do any when selling their home.

Potential loss if above work is not done:  $40,000 to $100,000

A large majority (86 per cent) believe staging is important, but 61% of those who think it’s important didn’t do it.

Potential loss if above work is not done:  $15,000 to $50,000

Above figures are based on a home valued at $800,000

Janette Ewen is a staging specialist, and she says “Getting important pre-sale preparations done when selling a home can often be a challenge simply due to personal finances and time restraints.”Pre-sale home improvements usually come down to time and money”.

Today’s homebuyers come better prepared than in the past.  They simply have more information available through the internet.  These buyers have little time available and will generally look at homes in a move-in-condition.

If your home needs work, such as decluttering, fixing leaky faucets or staging, you are well advised to have all these things done before opening the door to potential buyers.

Toronto Home Owners Lose Thousands of Dollars, Survey – Real Estate in Toronto is a post from: Toronto Real Estate-Toronto Homes For Sale

The Beauchamps lived in their London, Ontario home for six years and during that time they renovated the basement which they used as a playroom and as a guest room.

They sold their home in 2007 and their basement flooded one week before the closing of the sale to Adam and Yogi Soboczynski.

The Beauchamps fix the problem and because their basement had never flooded before they decided not to pass this information to the buyers.

Basement floods again

The problem arose a week later when the basement flooded again and it cost the new owners $20,000 to have it fixed.

The matter ended up in court.

The buyers hired an engineer who testified that flooding had probably occurred during the previous seven years, based on his findings.

Who is a more credible witness, the engineer or the sellers’  relatives?

As a defense, the Beauchamps brought some of their relatives to testify. They had stayed in the basement and there was never any indication of water problems. The Beauchamps had filled a Seller Property Information Statement (SPIS) but the form was not attached to the accepted offer.

The judge preferred the evidence of the relatives over the engineers’ report. He agreed the flooding was a one-off incident and did not have to be disclosed to the buyers.

Important lessons for would-be sellers!

• Disclose all problems you know about. If you are not sure, err on the side of disclosure.

• If you as a seller sign a Seller Property Information Statement, to be safe, do not attach it to the agreement of purchase and sale.  That way, you will be protected if you made a mistake in completing it.

Lessons for home-buyers

• Do not rely on the SPIS because it is not supposed to be a warranty; it is just to be used for information purposes.

• If something matters, always include it in your Agreement of Purchase and Sale. As a home buyer you should never rely on verbal promises or advertisements.

Court Sides with Sellers Who Did Not Disclose Their Basement Had Flooded – Real Estate in Toronto is a post from: Toronto Real Estate-Toronto Homes For Sale

If you are looking for seed money for your next ‘great idea’, the CBC’s Dragon’s Den might be your ticket to riches, fame and fortune. Five wealthy Canadian entrepreneurs will listen to your presentation and will make you an offer or send you packing.

Most every person who comes on the show has an ‘inflated idea’ of the value of their business.

The Dragons do not pull any punches and will either make the presenter a realistic offer or he goes home empty-handed.

When you are about to hire an agent to sell your home, you will discover that the good agents will let you know quickly if your price is overly ambitious.

Unlike the CBC’s Dragons, some agents will go along with you and list your home at your price.

Beware! These agents have a little intention of putting any effort into selling your home, and some are using your home as nothing more than bait to attract home buyers for other properly priced homes.

Have an accurate opinion of the value of your home delivered by email. No salesperson will call or visit.

Enter your home information in the form below.

Dragon’s Den and Selling Your Toronto Home – Toronto Real Estate is a post from: Toronto Real Estate-Toronto Homes For Sale

In spite of continued brisk home sales this year, it appears the Toronto real estate market has begun to lose momentum. The two major factors for the slowdown point to home buyer exhaustion, and the ever-growing financial threat caused by defaulting European countries and a stubborn U.S recession.

All real estate cycles come to an end
As in any other market, selling and buying opportunities come and go. In Toronto we have had a sellers market for more than 10 years!

That fact alone should be concern enough for anyone considering the sale of their home. However, Baby Boomers seem unfazed by all that is happening in the real estate market and we find that many are still patiently waiting for the right time to make their move.

Markets do not wait
Should we suddenly be faced with a painful downturn of our economy, home prices can easily drop by 10 to 15 percent, plus the real estate fees.

If your current home is worth $800,000 dollars, you stand to lose $80,000 to $120,000 in a few months.

This happened at the peak of the previous financial crisis in 2008.

Back in 1990, the drop in home prices was even more severe. Canadian home prices fell by as much as 33 percent. It took more than 13 years for home prices to increase to the same level they reached in 1989.

If moving is in your horizon, now is a good time for you to get most money for your Toronto home.

Not only are there many buyers waiting for that special home to come on the market; interest rates are still are historical lows.

Would you like to have a confidential discussion about your future housing needs?

Tell us a bit about your particular situation in the form below, and we will give you several options for you to consider.

Toronto Boomers – Cash in On the Last Home Sellers Market Now is a post from: Toronto Real Estate-Toronto Homes For Sale

According to new research commissioned by Kijiji Canada, “61 per cent of Canadians would consider selling their home on their own”. It goes without saying that the reason for going alone is to save the agent’s real estate commission.

If you needed change for a five dollar bill and I told you that you could have my three 2 dollar coins for your bill, would there be a cost to you?

Selling your own home is pretty much the same thing.

Your home is worth $500,000. Most agents in Ontario will charge a 5 percent fee of $25,000.

After paying your agent and not including any other miscellaneous fees, you will receive $475,000 for the sale of your home.

On paper, paying an agent that amount of money does not appeal to you, so you decide to try to sell your home on a For Sale by Owner basis.

The rational is that even after spending a few thousand dollars on a For Sale by Owner company that can ‘guide’ you through the selling process, plus lawyer fees, you’ll end up way ahead of the game.

What happens in reality though?

1. Buyers love going to see For Sale by Owner homes. They know they are not dealing with a professional and may be able to negotiate a better deal for themselves.
2. The main attraction for those buyers is also to save that same commission … those same dollars they know you are not paying to a real estate agent! Once you go For Sale by Owner, you will soon find out that most home buyers are not so inclined to be good neighbours or model citizens and let you pocket that commission.
   
3. For over 50 years, The National Association of Realtors survey shows consistently that when For Sale by Owners do succeed in selling their homes without a real estate agent, they net between 13% to 24% less than comparable homes that were sold through the MLS system.

The only two questions are …what is the cost of hiring an agent?

The other question is, when you go For Sale By Owner… what are the savings?

Would you like to receive a professional and honest opinion of the value of your home?

Give us a few details about your home and we will send you an accurate opinion of value by email.

No salesperson will call or visit!

Canadians Ready to Kiss Realtors Goodbye – Homes in Toronto is a post from: Toronto Real Estate-Toronto Homes For Sale

Will you receive a higher sale price for your home when you offer it for sale for one dollar?

The answer is no.

This Oakville home was originally listed for more than one million dollars.

The owners received no offers, so they decided to offer it for sale for one dollar. They hope that by pricing so low they could create a bidding war.

What the owners apparently did not know was that trying to fool the public is not a good strategy and generally doesn’t work.

What is the secret to getting the highest price possible for your home? It turns out that the secret is no secret at all. Sadly, too many sellers decide to ignore what has been proven to work in the past.

By using either of these 2 strategies you will receive a lower price for your home:

• Pricing your home 10% to 30% below market value. Most of today’s buyers come better informed about the right price for your home. The internet allows them to learn as much as they want before setting out to find their dream home. If you under price your home, buyers will see through it and move on to the next home.
• Testing the market. The sellers tell the real estate agent, ‘Let’s ask 10 to 20% more than market value and see what happens. We can always reduce the price later’. No harm done, right? Not quite. Some real estate agents will love you when you do this. By asking a much higher price than other similar homes in your neighbourhood, you are in fact helping those agents sell other homes. Many of the agents will bring buyers to your home and then show the buyers similar homes listed at a “much better price”.

Get your full asking price or more

List your home at market value and home buyers will reward you by paying you the full asking price or above.

Our Toronto real estate market is constantly changing. You can have a professional opinion of the value of your home by simply telling us a few facts about your home in the form below.

We will send you a full report by email.

No salesperson will call or visit.

Get a Higher Price for Your Toronto Home – Toronto Homes for Sale is a post from: Toronto Real Estate-Toronto Homes For Sale

There are truly very few experts who can accurately foretell the real estate market. This is what David Foot (author of the book Boom, Bust & Echo and professor emeritus of economics at the University of Toronto) said in a recent Globe and Mail article.

“Home-owning baby boomers should consider ‘for-sale’ signs“. There’s this idea that when the kids leave home, boomers will downsize. Well, that doesn’t happen. You hold on to the family house, probably into your 70s because you want grand-kids to come and visit.”

However, this what he said back in 2002, click here

“The boomers will not need the homes they have now, and many will eventually be looking to sell their homes to downsize. This will result in a flood of homes on the market, driving down real estate prices”.

The trouble with making predictions is that the future keeps arriving faster and faster.

Toronto home buyers are anxiously waiting for the so called “flood of homes for sale” to arrive and they will welcome that surplus of homes for sale with open arms.

Aside from the impact low interest rates have had on the never-ending rise of Toronto home prices, home buyers have had to deal with a marked shortage of listed homes for sale.

Many of the homes some of these buyers would like to buy are in the hands of baby boomers. Sadly for many home buyers wanting to raise families in central Toronto, it appears those baby boomers are prepared to stay and enjoy their homes for as long as they can.

Want to know what your home will really sell for in today’s market?

Give us a few details about your home in the form below and we will send you a professional opinion of the value of your home including full descriptions and photos by email.

No salesperson will visit.

Why Baby Boomers Should Sell Their Toronto Homes Now! – Toronto Homes for Sale is a post from: Toronto Real Estate-Toronto Homes For Sale

The value of your Toronto Home is constantly changing. Employment numbers drop, mortgages rates go up and down, economic conditions change on a minute by minute basis.

All of these factors influence the value of your home and how much buyers are willing to pay on any given day. Here is a light-hearted view of your home’s value in the eyes of five different people.

Want to know the value of your Toronto home today? Just fill in the form below.

No need for us to visit your home!

Toronto Home Values – Do You Know Your Home Value Today? is a post from: Toronto Real Estate-Toronto Homes For Sale

Do you know what home improvement will increase the value of your Toronto home the most? Painting! No other project will reward your time and effort more handsomely than a professional painting and decorating job.

As long as you select tasteful, current neutral colours, a complete paint job will give you as much as three hundred percent return on your money.

Kitchen

The next best renovation project for your home is having a new kitchen. Home buyers will pay 60 to 120 percent of the cost of your kitchen renovation.

Bathroom

A new bathroom is also a top priority on the ‘must haves’ for most buyers. You can expect to receive 80 to 130 percent of your investment when you sell your home.

Family Room

In most neighbourhoods in central Toronto, having a family room addition will greatly increase the saleability of your home. If this room addition includes a basement, your return on the total cost will run 70 to 120 percent of your renovation cost.

Unfinished Basement

Should you decide to turn that dark and musty basement area into a bright and liveable space, your buyers will gladly pay 50 to 90 percent of your cost.

Pools and Landscaping

Adding a swimming pool will generally add value to your home. The exception is when the buyer has very small children and they are concerned about safety.

Landscaping is something you should do for your own enjoyment. Most buyers are going to have a difficult time justifying a fifty thousand dollar investment because of your nice garden.

Five Home Improvements that Add Value to Your Toronto Home (Video) is a post from: Toronto Real Estate-Toronto Homes For Sale

Homeowner: I hear what you are telling me but I want to list the house at my price first. We can always change the price later.  

Agent: If you do that and your house does not sell the first time, we will have to give this information to any buyer who asks. The trouble with that is most buyers will assume that there must be something wrong with your house and this is why it did not sell. Therefore, your price better be right, or the buyers may just want to make you a lower offer later on. 

Competition Bureau favours homebuyers

So we wanted the government to protect homebuyers and sellers from every possible risk when buying our dream home. What none of us suspected though was that a government agency such as the Competition Bureau, would take sides on the matter. Looking at several recent court cases, the law seems to be in favour of buyers (click here). 

Now the Competition Bureaus wants to undermine a home seller’s position even further by forcing real estate agents to reveal all previous listing activity including how much you paid for your home. Today, passing on this information to the buyer is done on a voluntary basis. Melanie Aitken, the Competition Commissioner, wants to turn it into law (click here). 

Seller’s privacy at risk

The Toronto Real Estate Board’s position is that this is an infringement of seller’s privacy. Say for example you are selling your home through the MLS system. You do not agree with the valuation your agent has given you, which by the way, is not at all unusual. Your listing period comes to an end and you re-list your home at a lower price, but your asking price is still above what your agent has suggested.

The listing runs its course and expires unsold once more. You finally begin to see the light and reduce your listing price to where it should have been initially.

Your selling ambition may end up costing you dearly

Ms. Aitken wants buyers to be able to know your history and that you have been trying to sell your home for months, thereby putting you at a competitive disadvantage.

Sure, this is great information for the buyer to know, but is it good for you the seller?

The challenge with all these home buying regulations is that they attempt to make a single rule that applies to all parties. The trouble is that the parties keep changing sides from being a buyer to being a seller, which will always have opposing interests.

Conclusion: Today more than ever, you are well advised to seek expert counsel from a qualified real estate professional before deciding to sign on the dotted line. The consequences of not doing so may end up costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Home Sellers Beware; Competition Bureau Wants You to Give Your House Away! – Homes in Toronto is a post from: Toronto Real Estate-Toronto Homes For Sale