The Home Sellers’ Most Frequently Asked Questions (Full Answers)

Buying or selling a house is usually your most important financial investment. You are spending a lot of money, so try not to mess up your capital. Here, the critical step is to choose the best Toronto Real Estate Agent to protect you from making any mistake and wasting your money.

The house sellers have many questions in their mind before they sign a contract with a real estate agent. This article answers some of the most frequently asked questions of house sellers from their real estate agents.

1.Why should we hire a real estate agent?

Hiring an experienced real estate agent means you will have a professional guidance in all your future steps through the listing and selling processes. You can use their experience to make more profit and avoid making any mistakes to risk your benefits.

Besides, it takes longer if you decide to sell a house by yourself. You must know when is the best time to sell your house, and spend so much time on marketing, listing and answering the potential buyers.

This process also needs a thorough knowledge of legal terms and contracts. So, it is recommended to hire a full-time real estate agent who can spend all his/her time on selling your house.

2.Are you a part-time or full-time real estate agent?

One of the important issues to consider about hiring a real estate agent is that the part-time agents won’t spend enough time for you. They probably are not fully aware of what’s happening in the market. Selling your house should be the top priority of the real estate agent. So the best choice would be hiring a full-time real estate agent who can get the highest price for your home and sell it quickly.

3.How many homes have you listed or sold in the past year?

Another important issue in hiring the real estate agents is the length and depth of their experience and also their quality and success. Those agents who sell just a few homes in a year do not have enough knowledge to best represent you.

Besides, if the agents’ experience is mostly focused on working with buyers, they may not be able to act properly in the selling process. An experienced and successful real estate agent should be familiar with pricing and marketing strategies.

4.Why are list price and sale price different?

The list price is how much you list your home for sale. But the sale price is the final price that you sold your house at, after all the negotiations.

The best real estate agent is the one who can suggest a list price that would be very close to the sale price. Search the previous cases of your agent. This difference between their list price and sale price will show you the effectiveness of their professional work.

5.Should I price my home high and leave a room for negotiation?

Pricing your house higher and hoping for negotiation will have many risks in future. You may suppose that a higher price has more financial advantage for you. But the fact is it will probably push away the potential buyers.

In most cases, homes listed at high price are not even looked at by buyers, and this is one of the reasons that some listings don’t get offers. Then your house stays longer on the market and the stigma of overpriced homes develops. If you relist it on a lower price, then the buyers will certainly think there is a problem. So, use your agent’s help and set the perfect price.

Read More : Important Tips to Increase Your Home Value Before Selling

6.When is the best time to sell my home?

This is the most frequent question asked by sellers which has no general answer. It depends on some different factors such as your target market. An experienced real estate agent will tell you the best times to sell your home with the best price.

The same applies to the buyers as well. Buyers also usually ask their real estate agents that when’s the best time to buy a house. You should also consult with your realtor about the best timing for selling your house.

Typically, spring is considered as an ideal time.  But it doesn’t mean that in summer, fall or winter you will get the worst results. Undoubtedly, the best time to sell is when you can be ready. And generally each season has its own advantages. Even spring results are different in every real estate market.

Besides, each home and home owner has a different situation, so you should ask your real estate agent to suggest the best timing.  The agent will consider your local market and estimate when it would be better to list your house to sell it as quickly as possible.

7.How much does it cost to sell a house?

You may suppose that selling a house is just about listing your home, taking the money and giving the keys to the buyer. But it is not a simple process and it generates additional costs for you as a seller too. You should know exactly about the costs which includes staging, legal papers and redecoration. So it is recommended to talk to your real estate agent to be aware of costs of the selling a house. Then you can figure out when and how to sell your house.

8.How will you make me informed about the selling process?

The proper way to communicate is an important issue when hiring a real estate agent. The contact method should be specified based on the special condition of each client. Your agent should be flexible on how you prefer to be in touch with.

They can use phone calls, email, sending text messages or face-to-face interaction. You can also choose how often you like to receive the new information, on a daily or weekly basis. Since it is your important investment, it is your agent’s responsibility to keep you informed about any progress.

9.How much is the real estate agent’s commission for selling my house?

The fees and commission of your real estate agent is negotiable. But remember! lower commission does not always mean it is better for you. Sometimes those agents who charge you less may not work as hard as they should and you leave money on the table. That might happen when sellers go with discount agents.

Your advantage is related to their experience and services. The higher commission might mean more experienced agents who can provide more benefits to you. The lower commission might also mean spending less time, effort and money on selling your house. Pay attention to their merits. Average real estate commission in a city like Toronto, would vary on the services you receive.

10.Can I use the real estate websites for estimating the perfect house price?

Although there are many real estate websites providing pricing options, it is not a reasonable assessment tool. They can just be useful to have a general idea of your home’s value in your mind. But you should know that pricing a home for sale needs updated knowledge of the local market.

Such a general database can’t compare your house to other similar houses in your specific neighborhood or any renovations or upgrades. You can never replace the skills and experience of a real estate agent by a website algorithm. Your agent has a proper understanding of current market conditions. He/she knows how to use special strategies resulting in the best price for you.

11.How do you assess the value of my house?

The best tool for assessing a house value is the comparative market analysis (CMA). In fact, your real estate agent uses closest similar homes which have been sold recently. The most important point here is using the data of sold houses, not the ones which have remained in the market for a long time.

The comparative market analysis does exactly the same assessment. It compares the value of recently sold similar homes within the past 6 months or a year. The real estate agents can combine the results of CMA with their knowledge of the current market to narrow the price range.

12.How will you plan on marketing my house?

There are many tools available for real estate agents for marketing your house. Some of these tools include the Multiple Listing Service, advertising, Internet, virtual tours or personal networking. They use all the online, offline and sometimes traditional marketing methods if it requires.

Top agents never use the same marketing plan for all their clients. They are fully aware that yesterday’s results cannot be useful in today’s market. Each client has his/her personal needs and each house has its special condition in the market.

13.What happens if I want to cancel the real estate agent’s contract?

This is another most frequently asked question of house sellers. The important point to consider here is that cancelling your contract might possibly have some expenses for you depending on the listing agreement.

Generally speaking, there is no obstacle on your way. If you are not pleased with your agent’s results, you can terminate the contract, but you should review your listing agreement for potential expenses or holdover period, etc.

14.What should I do to prepare my home to sell?

Sometimes doing some simple and basic improvements can create the best effects on buyers. Top 10 improvements that add value to your house, will help you to sell faster as well.

You can’t skip this step, because prepared houses are more probable to sell faster. You can start with cleaning or fixing the minor mechanical issues. Also, keeping the front-yard maintained and removing all the clutters can give your house a better view.

Make sure to use the natural sunlight in the day and turn on all the lights at night showings. Your house should be presented in the best possible light available.  Before listing your home, make sure to paint the rooms or install new carpeting if necessary. No one likes to buy a dirty sloppy house.

Also, a Toronto real estate agent should give the ideas about the positive areas of your home, and suggest how to improve the negative areas.

15.Do you have any contractor for work needed on the house?

Most of the real estate agents refer sellers to some contractors for preparing their house. You can use the help of painters, carpenters, handymen, electricians or plumbers for the house staging process. Those agents who have been working in this market for a long time can offer you the best vendors.

16.How much should I disclose to buyers?

As a seller, you better disclose all the material issues about your house honestly. There are some disclosure laws that compel you to share every important issue which cannot be seen. If the problems reveal after the disclosure, the buyer can go after you for not being honest.

You don’t have to mention a list of minor problems. But the major problems will be your responsibility ( also called material defects). So, the best solution is to repair every possible and potential problem before listing your house. And remember, honesty is the best policy!