First Time Home Seller? Tips and Things to Know!
Today’s topic we’re going to cover is first time home sellers. I know there’s a lot of information out there about first time home buyers. No one really talks about the first time you sell a property because there is a lot of differences in there and there may be a couple of wake up calls in there for the person selling the home.
The Seller Pays the Realtor Fees!
The number one thing that we always tell you is now that you’re the seller, you’re actually paying all the fees. You’re paying the buying and selling agents’ realtor fees. That’s the largest cost when it comes to selling. You want to be prepared for that. Ask your agent what they charge or check out the industry standards because everyone charges a little bit different these days. That is the largest cost you’re going to pay.
Secondly, check into capital gains. You’ll want to understand what capital gains are, and that is the tax on the profit you’ve made on the home. Double check into that.
There’s going to be lawyer’s fees. That’s all cost related.
The biggest thing that’s going to catch you off guard is that you do pay all the fees to both agents, and that is the largest one.
Preparing Your Home For Sale
Preparing your home for sale is not as easy as it sounds. If you live in a perfect home and it’s always staged, that’s awesome. That’s great! It’s going to be a lot easier. But what we find is getting your home ready to sell is a huge process and you want to take that time to get it ready because the better you come to market, the better chance you’re going to have at selling fast for more money. You can get stagers in there just to give you ideas, things like that. I’ve got different vlogs about getting your home ready, but preparation for your home to go on the market is key.
Showing Your Home
Don’t forget, you’re going to have to show your home. There’s going to be open houses. You’re going to have to clear out of your home many, many, many times. If your home’s on the market for a few months, it’s going to get very, very tedious. It’s just going to keep happening and happening. As a result of this, you have got to keep it clean and decluttered. You’ve got to make it available. Do you have dogs? Do you have kids? Those things are all going to come into play here. We really want to structure it so it works for you. But also, as far as letting people see your home, know that it’s going to be something that you’re going to have to commit to. I get requests at Friday, 8:30 P.M. sometimes to see homes, be ready for things like that. We always try to get 24 hours notice.
Mortgage Costs
Know your numbers going into the mortgage brokers. Talk to your mortgage broker and ask if you’re going to have a penalty for breaking the mortgage. Can you port it if you’re buying again? There’s a whole world of things like that.
In Summary
This little informational bit here about first time selling, get the costs from your realtor, what it’s going to cost you, check if you’re going to have to pay any capital gains, talk to your mortgage broker about mortgage fees or mortgage penalties for breaking the mortgage, and then staging costs, things like that. Commit to a time of the year you want to go on the market. Maybe you’re leaving town for a couple of weeks. That’s usually great for us, because you can get it ready once, and then you clear out, and we can show it as much as we can and hopefully get you an offer while you’re out of town. You don’t have to go back and forth for a whole lot.
If you have any questions on selling your home for the first time, always reach out to us. It’s a whole new world when it comes to that, and a lot to discuss.
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For more information on real estate market in Vancouver, current trends, buying a home or selling a home, contact Leo Wilk – Your Top Vancouver Realtor.
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