The spring/summer real estate sales season has arrived and if you’re in the market to buy or sell, we’ve got some great tips for you.
If you’re selling, there are a couple of things that are non-negotiables if you want to get the best sale price:
- De-clutter and de-personalise your home. Look at it from a stranger’s point of view and remove, clean up, throw away or store anything that isn’t necessary. You want your home to look as big and spacious as you can and you also want the potential buyer to imagine themselves living in your home, so your family photos, whilst lovely, are unnecessary.
- Interview agents. Find one that you are very comfortable with, has great reviews and has sold similar properties in your area. Remember, they are professional sales people so try to look past their sales pitch to their actual results.
- Research the market – what’s selling, how quickly is it selling, what price is it getting. You want to set real expectations for yourself and the best way to do this is to study the market.
If you’re buying:
- Write a list of what you want – what are your “must haves” versus “nice to haves”?
- What is the time frame for you to live in this next home and how will your life possibly change during that time?
- What is the marketing doing in the area you’re looking at? What are comparable properties selling for? What’s available? Are there any big development projects coming up that could change the value of the properties closely?
- Get pre-approval if finance is required so that you know the figures you’re working with.
Whether you’re buying, selling or staying put, we hope you enjoy spring and the changes the season brings.
Anything finance related, we’re here to help as always.
