Selling Your Home in Vancouver

In the Greater Vancouver Region, thousands of single-family homes, townhouses, and condominiums go on the market for sell each year. On the surface, these real estate sale transactions might seem similar; however, each deal has its own dynamics.

Compared to a decade ago, today’s home sellers must deal with more paperwork and other requirements. Another important change in the marketplace concerns the number of Vancouver home buyers represented by a buyer’s agent whose sole aim centres on protecting the interest of the buyer and getting the best deal for the client.

All sellers of Vancouver real estate want to maximize the value they can receive for their home and close their transaction with minimal stress and frustration.

Careful planning helps you achieve your goals.

Creating a plan to sell your home saves you time and money, and it also ensures that you meet your objectives. The key lies in making your home appeal to a broad spectrum of buyers and maximizing the final sale price.

To reach your goal, you must “start off right,” which increases your chances of “ending up right.”

Our guide to selling your home in Vancouver functions as a source you can use to plan and execute a strategy to sell your home successfully.

Determine Your Reason for Selling

The factors that prompt a homeowner to sell vary. You might have simply outgrown your present home. This often occurs with many first-time home buyers who purchased a Vancouver condominium, town home, or starter home several years ago and who now find it necessary to move to a larger space to raise their growing families.

Some first-time home buyers have the desire to upgrade. Maybe you earn significantly more than when you purchased your home, so you want to experience a more luxurious home. Some other common reasons for selling include:

• Retirement
• Health issues
• Need for repairs in current home
• Neighbourhood changes
• Desire to be closer to (or farther from) family

A sizeable number of home owners no longer have an interest in owning a home and prefer to live a different lifestyle. Therefore, they sell their home, rent an apartment, and spend their time travelling or pursuing other dreams.

In hot real estate market like the one here in Vancouver from time to time, homeowners simply want to cash in and claim the equity they’ve built up in their property.

Preparing for the Sale

Selling a home in Vancouver involves a myriad of tasks that might overwhelm you at first. Nonetheless, there is nothing etched in stone that says that stress must come with selling your home.

Make it easy on yourself. Once you have made the decision to sell your home, start looking at the process from a buyer’s perspective.

De-personalize Your Home: As much as possible, remove all signs of personal effects in the home. Pack up family photographs and valued heirlooms because you want to avoid your personal artifacts or smiling face distracting prospective buyers. Create an environment for buyers’ imaginations to run wild, as they imagine themselves and their favourite heirlooms occupying the home.

Buyers need to see themselves as living in the home.

Get Rid of Clutter: It is easy to accumulate many things after you’ve lived in a space for several years. Selling your home presents you with the perfect opportunity to get rid of items that have gone unused for a year or two. You can donate items you believe other people can use and throw away junk. Pull your books from the bookcases, and pack up ornaments and other things. Remove everything from the kitchen counters.

Put basic items in a container and store them away. This helps the space to appear larger —especially in condominiums and town homes. Approach this aspect of selling your home with a mindset of getting a good start on packing.

Remove Favoured Items: Remove any items you do not want to sell as part of the deal, which might include drapery, blinds, built-in appliances, or light fixtures. Remove anything of sentimental value to prevent potential buyers from including the object as a part of the negotiations. You might have to replace certain items you remove, like light fixtures or appliances.

Organize Closets and Cabinets: Expect buyers to open drawers and cabinets and to look in closets. Stack dishes and clean out drawers. Line up shoes in the closet and hang clothes properly. The last thing you want to have is items falling off the shelf when a buyer opens the door.

Remove Some Furniture: Homes with minimal furniture show better. Leave only enough pieces to showcase the space. Allow plenty of space in which buyers can manoeuvre. Start with furniture that no longer serves a purpose (empty bookcases) or distracts from the space. Leave enough furniture for buyers to know the function of a room.

Quick Repairs: Replace damaged or shabby flooring, such as cracked tiles or worn carpeting. Make sure drawers and doors open and close properly. Replace burnt-out light bulbs. Repair chipped plaster or damaged drywall. Paint the walls and ceiling a neutral colour.

Make Your Home Sparkle and Shine

Clean the windows on the interior and exterior. Rent a pressure washer to clean the siding and wash down the porch, deck, or sidewalk. Clean the cobwebs out of the corners, and replace worn rugs or other flooring.

Here are some other tips for making your home attractive to potential buyers:

• wax the floor
• vacuum carpets daily
• scrub grout
• re-caulk sinks, tubs, and showers
• clean the refrigerator
• hang fresh towels in the bathroom and kitchen
• clean and deodorize stale areas
• polish fixtures and hardware

After you complete your repairs and otherwise spruce up the property, go outside and enter again through the front door. Pay attention to your first impressions upon entering. Do you notice any odours?

Look at the floors, walls, window treatments, and furniture arrangement. Does anything seem out of place? Have your real estate agent, a family member, or friend perform a walk-through to obtain a more objective opinion.