Sell Your Home in Canada (eBook)

INTRODUCTION xi
PART 1: WHERE SHOULD I BEGIN? 1
1 WHAT TYPE OF MARKET IS IT? 3
Buyer’s Market 3
Seller’s Market 4
Balanced Market 4
When Is the Best Time to Sell? 4
2 WHO WILL BUY YOUR HOME? 5
3 KNOWING YOUR HOME IS THE KEY 7
Types of Homes 7
Title and Ownership 8
Co-ownership 8
Strata title 8
Co-operative 9
Timeshares 9
CONTENTS
Freehold 9
Leasehold 9
Positive and Negative Aspects of Your Property 10
Selling the Neighbourhood and the Community 11
Selling a Condo 11
Selling a Rental Property 12
Selling an Older Home 12
4 GATHERING DATA AND LEGAL DOCUMENTATION 15
Title Search 16
Survey Certificate 17
New Home Warranty Information 17
Property Condition Disclosure Statement (PCDS) 19
Oil Tank Removal 22
Zoning Information 23
City Assessment 23
Other Information for Strata Property 24
Other Documentation 25
Measuring Your Property 25
Pre-Sale Building Inspection 27
5 SELLING YOUR HOME: WHAT IS IT WORTH? 33
Why Are You Selling? 33
What Is Your Home Worth? 33
What is a comparative market analysis (CMA)? 34
Increasing or decreasing your price 39
Pricing land only 40
Renovation value 40
What If You Have a Mortgage? 41
Getting a new mortgage 41
Bridge loans 42
Portable mortgage 42
Vendor take-back mortgage 43
Assumable mortgage 43
iv Sell your home in Canada
Contents v
PART 2: SHOULD I SELL MY OWN HOME OR GET HELP? 51
6 SELLING ON YOUR OWN OR WITH A REAL ESTATE AGENT 53
What Are the Costs of Selling a Property? 53
Do You Have What It Takes to Sell Your Own Home? 54
What Are the Pitfalls of Selling without an Agent? 55
What Are the Benefits of Going with an Agent? 57
Should you get a full-service agent or do you want to be involved? 58
Choosing the right agent for you 59
What about a team of agents? 60
Types of listings 60
The listing agreement 61
Responsibilities of listing agents 62
Legal and professional requirements for agents 62
The Agent’s Commission 65
Full commission on a quick sale 66
How can you save on commission? 66
Bonuses and other incentives for agents 67
What Is the MLS System and What Can It Do for Sellers? 67
PART 3: HOW DO I GO FROM MARKETING TO 69
COMPLETING THE SALE?
7 MARKETING YOUR HOME 71
What Do You Do to Market a Property? 71
Print advertising and websites 72
Signage and tools of the trade 73
Marketing to friends, relatives, and neighbours 73
Advertising 74
8 SHOWING YOUR HOME 77
Protecting Yourself and Your Family 78
Showcasing Made Simple 78
Showing a Rental Property 80
Showing a Vacation Home 81
Open Houses and Agent Tours 81
9 THE OFFER 85
The Buyer 86
Separating qualified buyers from the lookers 86
Who can be legally bound by a contract? 87
When You Receive an Offer 87
Condition precedents 87
Time clauses 88
Financing 88
When You Receive Multiple Offers, Low-ball Offers, or Agent Offers 89
Competing offers, multiple offers, and back-up offers 90
Identical or nearly identical offers 90
Low-ball offers 91
Offers from salespeople to purchase for themselves 91
Negotiating a Sale 92
What to negotiate 93
Selling your furniture 93
When You Reach an Agreement 94
Deposits and down payments 94
What if the building does not pass inspection? 95
Showing after accepting an offer 96
When Condition Precedents Are Met 96
10 CLOSING, COMPLETION, AND POSSESSION 103
The Closing Procedure 103
What Happens at Completion? 104
Completion must be done on a weekday 105
Hiccups at completion 107
Possession 107
When do you hand over the keys? 107
What should you leave behind on possession day? 108
What should you not leave behind? 108
Doing a walk-through with the buyer or buyer’s agent 109
A special touch 109
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Contents vii
CONCLUSION 111
APPENDIX 1 — REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATIONS AND BOARDS 113
APPENDIX 2 — RESOURCE LIST FOR OIL TANK SAFETY 117
APPENDIX 3 — PROVINCIAL MINISTRIES AND DEPARTMENTS 121
OF HOUSING
APPENDIX 4 — CANADIAN ASSOCIATIONS OF HOME AND 125
PROPERTY INSPECTORS
GLOSSARY 127
CHECKLISTS
1 Documents and Information 30
2 The Contract 97
3 Service Arrangements 110
SAMPLES
1 Title Search 18
2 Property Condition Disclosure Statement 20
3 Inspection Summary 28
4 Summary Appraisal Report 35
5 Comparative Market Analysis 44
6 Listing Agreement 63
7 Agreement of Purchase and Sale 99
8 Addendum 101
9 Seller’s Statement of Adjustments 106
TABLES
1 Types of Buyers and How to Target Them 6
2 Provincial Associations of Home and Property Inspectors 29