Tips For Seller's
The Five Step Method To Selling A Home
Step 1: Know why you are selling.
Your motivations play an important role in the process of selling your property. They affect everything from setting a price to deciding how much time and money you'll invest in getting your home ready for selling. For example, what is more important to you: the money you walk away with or the length of time your property is on the market?
Step 2: Find a good real estate agent.
While you can sell your home yourself, selling a home eats up more time and effort than you might expect. A good real estate agent knows the market in your neighborhood. They will supply you with information on past sales, current listings, a marketing plan, and a lot of hard work.
A real estate agent will assist you in making decisions effectively and efficiently. Fill out the Get Help Selling questionnaire and Tina will guide you through the entire process. After receiving the questionnaire, Tina will meet with you, answer your questions, and perform an online market-evaluation of your home, using her laptop, right from the comfort of your living room.
Take advantage of Tina Mak's free special reports: Squeezing Every Last Dollar From Your Home Sale and 29 Essential Tips That Get Homes Sold Fast (And For Top Dollar). These reports provide valuable information and strategies to assist you when you decide to sell your home. Even if you are not planning to sell currently, you should know what's in these reports. They will guide you when making improvements to your property and help you plan ahead for when you eventually do decide to sell your home.
Step 3: Determine the initial offering price.
Settling on an offering price should not be done lightly. Once you've set your price, you've told the buyer the absolute maximum they have to pay for your home. The trick for the seller is to get a selling price as close to the offering price as possible. If you start out by pricing too high, you might not be taken seriously by prospective buyers and their agents. A price too low can result in selling for much less than you had hoped for. The most common way to set a value is to look at homes that have sold in your neighborhood within the last twelve months, as well as those now on the market. This is how prospective buyers will assess the worth of your home.
Step 4: Negotiate an offer.
You will enjoy the negotiation process a lot more if you let go of the emotions you've built up around your home and approach negotiations in a detached, businesslike manner. An unacceptably low offer should not be taken personally or seriously. Instead, just counter the offer and let the buyer know that their first offer isn't seen as a very serious one.
Once you've negotiated an offer, the best way to avoid problems is to make sure that all terms, costs, and responsibilities are spelled out in the contract of sale. A contract should include the date it was made, the names of the parties involved in the transaction, the address of the property being sold, the purchase price, where deposit monies will be held, the date for loan approval, the date and place of closing, type of deed, any contingencies that remain to be settled, and whether there is any personal property to be included (or not included) in the sale.
Step 5: Congratulate yourself!
Once the buyer removes all subject clauses (such as mortgage approval, building inspection, etc.), your house is sold. Congratulations on a job well done!
Buying a home is first and foremost an emotional commitmen t, especially for first time buyers. You may have a long list of logical reasons your home is a good buy, but a buyer is reacting emotionally to what he or she is seeing.
Unless your home is in mint condition (or you are selling it as a "fixer-upper"), there is probably a long list of repair or remodeling projects to consider. Whatever you do, the key lies in doing it well. A job done poorly can do more harm than good and can actually reduce the value of your home.
There are three critical areas in which you can make improvements to your home that have significant impact on how buyers perceive the quality of your property. These are:
- Landscaping and Curbs
Many buyers form their first opinions about your home before they step out of their car. Take a good, hard look at the landscaping and curbs around your home. If you can improve the attractiveness of these two areas without spending a lot of money, you can easily add five to ten percent to the value of your home.
- Paint
Put simply, a coat of paint can literally make the difference between a sale or no sale.
- Kitchen and Bathroom
Two rooms consistently make and break sales: kitchen and bathroom. If you can update your kitchen and make your bathrooms sparkle you've gone a long way towards selling your home at a better price.
Selling a Tenanted Residential Property
When a rental property is being sold, both the landlord and tenant have rights and responsibilities under the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA).
Showing the property
s. 29 RTA
Before showing the rental unit, the landlord must have the tenant’s agreement or give the tenant proper written notice that states the date, time and reason for entry. The tenant must receive the notice at least 24 hours, and not more than 30 days, before the time of entry.
Ideally, a tenant and landlord agree on a schedule of viewing times to include in a single notice. Otherwise, the landlord must give the tenant notice each time before showing the rental unit. When notice has been given, the landlord can show the rental unit even if the tenant is not home. A landlord may enter common areas of the property at any time without giving the tenant notice.
The landlord must keep in mind that a tenant is entitled to reasonable privacy and freedom from unreasonable disturbance. A notice indicating showings will take place daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for a three-week period would be unreasonable.
A lockbox cannot be used without the tenant’s permission.
Purchaser wants to live in the unit
When the new owner, or a close family member of the new owner, intends to live in the rental unit, the Two-Month Notice to End Tenancy can be served before the purchaser takes possession of the property, but only after all the conditions of sale have been removed (service of the notice should not be a condition of sale). The new owner must make the request in writing to the landlord before notice can be served. A “close family member” is defined in the RTA and includes the father, mother or child of the landlord or the landlord’s spouse. If a family corporation owns the rental unit, then a close family member would include an individual who owns, or whose close family member owns, all the voting shares.
Purchaser wants to use the rental unit for another purpose
The tenant can be served a 2-Month Notice to End Tenancy after the title of the property has been transferred and all required government permits and approvals are in place when the purchaser intends to:
- Demolish the rental unit or do major repairs or renovations that require the building or rental unit be empty.
- Convert the rental unit to a strata property unit, a non-profit co-operative or society, or a not-for-profit housing co-operative under the Cooperative Association Act.
- Convert the rental unit to non-residential use, such as a shop.
- Convert the rental unit into a caretaker’s premises.
Giving notice on a periodic tenancy
For a month-to-month tenancy, or a periodic tenancy with a different period, the landlord must give the tenant a Two-Month Notice to End Tenancy. The tenant is also entitled to financial compensation equal to one-month’s rent (s. 51, RTA).
A tenant can end the tenancy earlier by giving the landlord at least 10-days written notice and paying the rent up to, and including, the planned move-out date.
If the tenant has already paid a full month’s rent, the landlord must rebate a pro-rated portion of the rent. The tenant is also still entitled to the full compensation (s.50, 51 RTA).
The property seller (or landlord) must pay the tenant compensation equal to one month’s rent on or before the last day of the tenancy. This requirement applies whether the tenant vacates before or after transfer of the property title. RTA s. 51 gives the tenant the option to withhold the last month’s rent. If the tenant has already paid the last month’s rent and chooses to give 10-days written notice and vacate the premises early, the landlord must pay the tenant a pro-rated amount and ensure the tenant receives compensation equal to one-month’s rent.
Fixed term tenancies
If the tenancy agreement requires the tenant to move out at the end of a fixed term, the landlord does not need to give the tenant any notice to end the tenancy. The tenant must vacate the premises on the end date and is not entitled to any financial compensation. The landlord cannot require the tenant to move before the end date.
Where the tenancy is for a fixed length of time, the Notice to End Tenancy cannot take effect before the end date specified in the tenancy agreement. The tenant also cannot end the tenancy earlier than the end date. However, the landlord and tenant can come to an agreement to end the tenancy earlier.
If the tenant is not required to vacate at the end of the fixed-term, the landlord must give a full two-month’s notice. The tenant is also entitled to financial compensation equal to one-month’s rent.
If the two-month notice takes effect after the end of the fixed term and the tenancy converts to a month-to-month tenancy, the tenant can give a 10-day notice that is effective after the fixed term’s end date. The tenant is also entitled to financial compensation once the tenancy is month-to-month.
Additional compensation
If the purchaser does not use the rental unit within a reasonable period or for the reasons given in the Notice to End Tenancy, the tenant may apply for dispute resolution asking for additional compensation equal to two months’ rent. At the hearing, the purchaser may have a valid defence if they can demonstrate there was an honest intent to occupy, renovate, convert or demolish at the time the notice was issued. The purchaser, rather than the seller, must pay the tenant this additional compensation if the two-month’s notice was given at the purchaser’s written request, even if the tenancy ended before title was transferred.
Security & Pet Damage Deposits
The purchaser becomes responsible for a tenant’s security deposit or pet damage deposit, even though the deposits were being held in trust by the seller. The purchaser and seller may wish to address the transfer of deposit monies in the contract of sale or the closing settlement.
Debts associated with residential property are important. Parties should ensure that their lawyer consider such matters carefully and address them fully in the contract of sale and purchase, or deal with them fully at closing.
If a person is acting on behalf of another as a power of attorney, whenever they sign title transfer documents they must sign in the exact name(s) as registered in the existing title search documents. If they do not, the Vancouver Land Title Office will reject the transfer and the sale cannot be completed. This will delay you taking possession of the property and can cause additional expenses and penalties. Always consult your lawyer when dealing with persons acting through a power of attorney.
In order to avoid money being held by Revenue Canada after completing the sale of your property, a T2062 Clearance Certificate is required. To apply to Revenue Canada for a T2062 Clearance Certificate, the information required is as follows:
- Personal information including date of birth, overseas address, last Canadian personal income tax return filed, and the date you left Canada (if applicable).
- Costs and additions to the property. This is best supported by the statement of adjustments at the time of purchase.
- Use of the property since purchase. If used personally, be prepared to provide information proving your occupancy. (Ex. hydro bills, phone bills, etc.)
- If the property was used for rental, you will need to provide the Revenue Canada withholding tax account number and NR6 undertaking account number. If you have a property manager, they
 should be able to provide this information for you. Additionally, you will need the most recently filed tax return on the property.
- Interim agreement showing the purchaser's personal information, the completion date of the sale, and the agreed price.
- If there is a mortgage on the property, you will need to provide the balance owing.
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