Looking to Sell Your House in Ottawa, Orleans or Rockland?
Ottawa is home to the seat of the federal government and a good portion of Canada’s high tech industry. As such, its population enjoys a fairly secure income which provides a solid tax base. Thus the region has had a steady growth over the past seven decades.
It is anticipated that Ottawa will add 400,000 new residents within the next 25 years and the city’s growth plan aims to fill the need for additional housing through a combination of urban core population intensification and controlled urban expansion.
Despite the long-term projections in the need for more housing in the Ottawa area and a limited supply on hand the current pandemic is forecast to decrease the value of homes here by as much as 20 percent by 2021. It would seem to be a good time to sell a home with the mortgage rates being low at the moment but the number of available buyers has decreased due to the surge in unemployment numbers and the concern over the recessionary period we are projected to go through while the economy sluggishly recovers.
In addition to this there is a risk that the housing sales market may be flooded in the months ahead by home owners defaulting on mortgages when stimulus packages offered by the government run out.
That’s just a heads-up that limited number of prospective buyers still in the game are expected to do some aggressive bargaining. So let’s see the six-step approach to selling your house in Ottawa today:
-
SELECTING A SALES REP WITH A PROVEN RECORD
RE/MAX Hallmark Excellence Group Realty Incorporated, Brokerage, is a small dynamic team that operates under the RE/MAX flag ship. Our particular group has been recognized as Canada’s Top Elite 1% RE/MAX Team in Ottawa based on our total annual sales for each of the past six years. We offer a fully bilingual service and have a respectable number of satisfied clients who, as repeat clients, can attest to our proven record.
We will do all the legwork for you in selling your home while offering invaluable advice.
-
GIVING YOUR PROPERTY EXPOSURE
In putting your home on the market we will help you to establish a fair market value and design a sales strategy dependent on the current sales climate. Your property will be showcased with all of its selling points highlighted and given the most effective listing coverage including multiple listing service and print media promotion.
We can even arrange for full virtual tours through video and live tours that incorporate the safety measures which may be established provincially with respect to the pandemic situation.
-
DRESSING UP THE PRODUCT
To showcase its appeal we will look at the interior of the home with a set designer’s eye and recommend ways for you to enliven each room through cleaning, touching up, de-cluttering and furniture re-arrangement. The buyer has to see each room’s potential as the place where they can make it theirs with their own personal belongings and not be distracted by things that are familiar to the owner.
If there are touch-up repairs to walls, floors, fixtures or trim that can be done at minor cost but mat be recouped in adjusting the home price, we will recommend if they should be made.
Similarly the whole home will be viewed from the exterior for its curb appeal by ensuring a well-kept yard with mowed lawn, trimmed shrubs and tidy flower beds. All exterior finish such as paint and trim should also be attended to where warranted.
We can provide expert advice in home staging from our experience in using the approaches we have found to be most effective.
-
REVIEWING THE OFFERS
A prospective buyer can make you a Firm Offer which means that they’re willing to buy the home exactly as it is, or they can make it Conditional; dependent on a home inspection, approval of financing or the sale of their existing home.
Some may ask for an adjustment to the closing date or the inclusion of add-on features which you may be willing to include as part and parcel of the home.
We will go through the terms clause by clause with you and offer our recommendations based on our experience and careful assessment of the impact of each proposal. If you are satisfied after a review then you can indicate that you are willing to accept the offer as presented. If not, then you can present a counter offer.
-
NEGOTIATING THE COUNTER OFFER
When making a counter offer we will help you to estimate the cost of adjustments you are willing to make or not make in order arrive at a sale price that is satisfying to you. You must decide what level of compromise you are willing to make. If all or part of the suggested adjustments are deemed not worth the expense or time to arrive at an equitable settlement then you may simply reject the offer and wait for other offers.
This is a time for patience. Who knows? A prospective buyer may have a hidden time constraint because of the sale of their previous home, or realize that they are in a bidding war with other buyers and suddenly be willing to remove conditional clauses from their offer.
-
CLOSING THE SALE
Upon acceptance of an offer there will be some additional paperwork to be taken care of with our assistance as your chosen realtor, such as the settlement of such fees where necessary for: mortgage application, home inspection, legal fees, insurance, or ownership registration.
If you are planning on selling your home but haven’t come to a firm decision yet, you should be constantly tracking the home values in the area while the economy is going into the recessionary period. The changes will very likely affect your decision.