Now that you’ve bought a house you probably are under the assumption that selling a house cannot be that difficult. You clean it up, you have it staged and photographed, you set a list price, and a few buyers put an offer in for it. Easy right?
 
Wrong. Selling a house can be difficult and overwhelming at times. The home selling process has a long list of steps and boxes to check, including buying a new home to move to. We believe that it is always better to be mentally prepared for what lies up ahead. Here are 5 things you can expect when selling your home.
 
Decluttering Takes More Time Than You Think
 
To get your house ready to be staged you need to declutter and clean your house. Now you might think your house isn’t that bad or that you really don’t need to put too much stuff away but you’d be wrong. A stager and a potential buyer want to see next to nothing on your shelves, counters and tables.
 
Decluttering will help your rooms feel bigger and help buyers imagine themselves in your house and not you. As hard as it is to imagine you need to turn your home into a blank space. You will also need to declutter the backyard of any garbage bins, tools or decorations.
 
While decluttering takes time, creating a blank space for buyers to imagine their lives there could increase your home’s value.
 
You Won’t See A Full Return On Investments For All Your Upgrades
 
It’s a sad truth, especially if you have specifically made renovations hoping that it would greatly improve the value of your home. Unfortunately, home improvements or additions rarely yield a full return. However, some renovations can get you close.
 
For example, installing hardwood floors, redesigning your landscape, replacing garage doors, adding vinyl windows or undergoing a small kitchen remodel are all renovations that will get you close to recouping your investment.
 
The one renovation you should not make if you are looking to recoup your spending is to install an in-ground pool. Pools are expensive and have been shown on average to only earn you back about half of what you spent on it.  
 
You Need To Plan Your Move Ahead Of Time
 
Once you have accepted an offer it might take a bit of time to finalize the sale and hand the keys over to the new owners. Depending on the contingency timelines and the agreed-upon terms of sale, your home might not close for a few months after you sell.
 
But as soon as your house has sold firm, sellers you need to start planning how you are going to move and when. If there is a period of time before you get the keys to your new property you need to arrange where you’re going to sleep and where you are going to keep your stuff. And if you have pets or children you need to arrange for what they will be doing the day of the move as well.
 
You Might Get Cold Feet
 
Selling your first home is hard. You have built a life here and it holds a lot of memories. Not to mention to date it’s probably one of your biggest assets. After decluttering it and having someone stage it you might be looking at it with new eyes and falling in love with it all over again.
 
If that happens you need to remind yourself why you are selling in the first place. Is your home too small for your family? Is your new job in a different town? Were you looking for somewhere closer to your parents? Remember what the future holds and what lies ahead and ask yourself, is this home going to get me there?
 
When it comes time to sell your greatest asset will be a real estate agent who you trust and who listens to your needs. You need someone who helps you stay on track and on budget, and who will remind you of all the little things that you might have missed. Most importantly they are there to help you, so if you have any questions ask them.

At Knowledge Broker, our goal is to create an open-source of information for all our clients. At the end of the day, they get exactly what they want and what they need. If you know someone who could use our help or services please put them in touch with us or send us their details using the contact information below.
  

JOSHUA CAMPBELL (@knowledgebrkr)
Real Estate Broker
Coldwell Banker The Real Estate Centre, Brokerage
joshua@knowledgebroker.ca
249 Avenue Road • Newmarket, ON L3Y 1N8
289.210.6007