Close Navigation

| Re/Max

Selling Your Home

Everybody has their own reasons for selling their home. It’s important that you keep yours confidential. You never know who may be listening as you tell your co-workers that you’ve already purchased another home and you need to sell your current one. Inadvertently divulging your motivation to the wrong person, could prove to be detrimental to your negotiating power.

Keep Your Motivation for Selling Confidential

If you happen to be home during a viewing (which you should try to never be), do not engage in any conversation related to your move with the potential buyer and especially the realtor. Realtors are skilled in getting you to say more than you should, and a simple, casual conversation where you’re sharing your excitement about the fact that your new house you just bought has a large pond in the front yard, and a tremendous view from the back deck, just gave the other party all the ammunition in negotiations. 

Pricing Your Home

Like most people, you probably have an emotional connection to your home, and whether you do or not, you certainly have a financial connection to it. Because of these 2 factors, you obviously want top dollar for it. And you should. However, it’s important to understand the market. Your home, just like every other home, is at the mercy of the market. Just like you will when it’s time to go shopping for a new one, buyers for your home want the best bang for their buck.

This is where I can provide you with a realistic picture of what buyers are likely to pay for your home. I use a multi-level evaluation method that takes a lot of the guess work out of the equation. Now, it’s still far from an exact science, but the overwhelming majority of the time, I’m able to sell my client homes for what they agree is top dollar with reasonably little inconvenience to them.

When your house first hits the market, there are a number of qualified, motivated buyers ready to view, and hopefully offer on it. After that initial 2 week period comes and goes, you’re relying on new buyers entering the market in the price range and location that you’re in. Inevitably, the activity and interest will slow down considerably. You need to capitalize on the initial launch by pricing it correctly. 9.9 times out of 10, that’s the best way to get the most money for it.

Required
Required
Required
Required

Negotiating an offer

You may have heard the phrase “your first offer is often your best offer”. I’ve found this to be more or less true. As noted above, the longer your house remains on the market, the more it becomes discounted in the buyers mind. Just like it will for you when you go shopping for one. The flip side to the above point, occurs when you have a high demand home in a hot market, and you may be in a position to attract multiple offers. This is the best case scenario, as it will cause buyers to negotiate with each other instead of you. You’ll see them adding to the price, dropping conditions, and doing whatever it takes to give you your preferred closing date. This usually leads to ear-to-ear smiles and lots of high fives at the kitchen table, something that never gets old for me.

Either way, whether it’s a bidding war, or a conventional single offer, rest assured that every single detail will be taken care of by me to fully protect your best interests.

Do I buy first, or do I sell first?

Well…that very much depends on your situation. First, let’s tackle the best case scenario…buying with a condition of selling your home. If you can convince a seller to work with you under this condition, it’s by far the safest way to go. You won’t be homeless, you won’t own 2 homes, you won’t settle for a home you don’t love, you won’t be forced to sell your home for less than you were hoping to. Sounds great doesn’t it?! One problem…most sellers don’t want to work with you, and you won’t get access to the best deals. They will sell right away to a firm buyer. The time where this tends to work the easiest, if you’re buying a house that’s worth around double your markets average, and you’re selling a house that is around or below your markets average.

However, that rarely happens, so let’s look at the most common scenarios. All of these assume you don’t have the cash to buy the next house without selling your current one. If you do, hats off, well done, you’re free to do as you please in any sequence you choose.

Own a high priced and want to downsize to an average home.

This is the toughest move to make, both emotionally and logistically. Nobody is going to want to accept a conditional offer from you, so you’re almost always going to have to sell first. As long as you’re certain that you want to, or perhaps you need to downsize, you’ll make this work…provided that what you want exists in abundance. I can help you determine that with a detailed look at the market and how it projects out in the short term based on past performance. There are some scenarios where even if you don’t have all the cash to buy the next one, you can still buy first if you’re financially sound. Obviously every situation is different, so nothing is absolute.

Own an average home (with lots of equity) and want to upgrade to a larger home.

The key here is the equity. If you do have a lot, you’ll be able to buy first. This is because you’ll have a large buffer. Let’s assume you’re buying a house for $700,000 and your house is worth around $550,000. If you need every dollar of the $550k to qualify for or comfortably afford the next one, you shouldn’t buy first. If however, you could comfortably make the move if you were to get $520k or $530k, you’re going to be in fine shape. It’s really a matter of your risk tolerance. I’ve seen this scenario play out with so many people, and rarely if ever do they get anywhere close to the low end number we prepare for. They will almost always get really close to or above the high number. A lot of this is market dependant though. In a hot market, it’s relatively safe and predictable, in a slow market, it could cause some serious anxiety and unease. Again, your risk tolerance plays a key role in whether or not you can handle it.

Own an average home (with little equity) and want to upgrade to a larger home.

If you can’t get a conditional offer accepted in this case, I’m going to have to advise you to sell first. There is just too much that can go wrong here. Using the above example, if you need to the entire $550,000, there are just no guarantees that you’ll get it. It’s tough, because you probably will, so it’s tempting, but ultimately, the risk is too high and you could get yourself into some trouble.

Making a lateral move.

Size and price don’t always drive a move, sometimes you need to move to a different location for whatever reason and the price will stay the same. In these cases, I would revert back to your level of equity and risk tolerance.

Whatever move you’re trying to make, understand why you’re making it, and use that as a GPS to keep you on track and block out the many distractions and twists and turns that will inevitably creep into the process.

I Sold My House! Now What?

Congratulations, you’ve sold your house! Amid all the excitement, there is still some work to do.

Here is your to do list!

  • My office will send all of the required paperwork to your lawyer. You’re welcome to call the lawyer to touch base if you wish, otherwise, they will contact you as the closing date approaches. You’ll likely be asked to visit your lawyer’s office to sign all documents approximately 3 – 5 days prior to closing.
  • Notify mortgage and insurance companies to arrange both for your new home.
  • Cancel utilities and services to your existing home and arrange them to commence at your new home on the possession date. Such as: gas, hydro, water (you’ll need to call the township office), phone, cable/satellite, internet.
  • Change address with MTO.
  • Set up mail forwarding service with post office. You should do this for at least 6 months or even up to a year.
  • Notify children’s school.
  • Arrange movers.
  • If you’re selling a house with an oil or propane tank, you will need to have it filled prior to closing. The buyer will then reimburse you for a full tank on closing. This is all done via the lawyer in the adjustments.
  • Tom Brady. Michael Jordan. Tiger Woods. Wayne Gretzky. Ted Tesseris. Scott & Kristine Graham
  • Ted was very helpful in my pursuit of buying a home. He was above my expectations through the whole process, and I found him to be well equipped with answers to all my questions. I felt I was in good hands with him, and would recommend Ted to anyone searching for a new home. John Petro
  • Ted Tesseris is extremely professional and is always looking out for what is in his clients best interest. We were thrilled that Ted was able to sell our home in just two days. Thank you Ted for being the best you can be in your profession and for always providing 100% for your clients. - Darrin & Fausta Payne
  • We have bought and sold two times with Ted and we couldn't be happier! Ted gives well researched and realistic advice, responds immediately to any and all inquiries, and is working hard at all hours, everyday of the week. We highly recommend Ted's superior service to anyone who is serious about real estate. He has made both of our experiences easy, fast, efficient and accurate. Ted is a pleasure to work with! He is a true professional! - Alison & Craig Morton
  • It is refreshing to deal with stand-up professionals like yourself! Unfortunately not the norm - Jason & Shannon Ogilvie
  • Used Ted’s services many times. Hard working, dedicated and will do what he can to ensure you’re satisfied and the job is done right. Always had great success and sold our houses quickly - Joe & Tammy Brincat
  • Ted helped us sell our house. So honest, direct, and effective. We will use Ted again and again! - Mike & Claudia Porter
  • With many acquaintances in the real estate industry, my wife and I trusted our intuitions and used Teddy T to sell our home in Alliston. And boy did he ever deliver! He was prompt in replying to our many requests and made the entire experience smooth and stress free. - Sean & Melissa Thompson
  • We selected Ted to represent us in the sale of our country home. While other similar homes sat on the market, ours sold in 4 days for full asking price! Ted has a really down to earth approach which was greatly appreciated - Raoul & Carol Hunt
  • Ted is a guy you can count on. No nonsense, no empty promises. He just shows up, delivers on his word, and gets the job done. A true pro - Chris & Paulina Wright
  • Ted was an absolute pleasure to work with! He always went above and beyond to make sure we were comfortable and highly informed of all our options. He was always attentive to our needs and on top of everything from beginning to end! We would highly recommend Ted! Terri-Lynn Nimmons & Andrew Legge