Welcome back!
Embedded in the Toronto home-selling process is the mistaken tendency of homeowners to align reason with emotion. There several levels to drawing in potential homebuyers: initially attracting their attention to the property through successful marketing and then favourably presenting the home.
A homeowner should make use of his or her realtor in order to discover which marketing methods attract prospects. Interestingly, open houses and print advertising, the most common and obvious techniques used, are not very effective. Only one percent of homes are sold through open houses and three percent of Torontonians purchased their homes after seeing a print advertisement. Other methods for marketing a home can and should be detailed by the realtor.
Once the home has potential buyers, presentation is of paramount importance. An unclean or badly maintained property suggests to prospective buyers that the home has hidden defects and problems that would increase the total cost of ownership, thus dissuading potential buyers from making an offer. Should an offer still be made, the price is likely to be reduced, as homebuyers will leave themselves a larger margin of error for the cost of repairs.
Over-improving and overselling are the overbearing banes of the Toronto real estate selling process. A careful balance must be struck between attending to the needs of the prospective buyer and not losing out financially. While certain repairs are sometimes necessary to increase the worth and appeal of a property, homeowners must be cautious before plunging into the fray of home improvement and risking over-improving their homes with the sole intention of attracting a high-paying buyer.
The right realtor will function as a mediator between the home seller and the homebuyer and as a translator who will fully explain and be transparent when dealing with the complexities of the contract, a legally binding document.