Buying a home • 25 September 2021

What to Look for when Watching a Walk-Through Video

by Andrew Shevtsov

Realtors can film professional walkthrough videos themselves in COVID-19 era

Walk-through videos are becoming increasingly popular. The seller’s agent simply films a tour of a home, often including commentary, and then makes the video available to prospects.

When you’re shopping for a new home, you want to get the most out of watching this type of video, especially if you’re relying on it to help you decide whether or not to make a viewing appointment.

Consider these suggestions:

Remember, it’s a video. So take advantage of the ability to pause, go back and forth, and take screenshots you can review later.
When you’re watching, look for everyday items that can give you perspective, such as a lamp, sofa or chair. These items will help you gain a more accurate sense of room sizes.
Although that previous tip will help, it’s still difficult to judge room size on a video. So, don’t be quick to dismiss a listing because you think the rooms might be too small.
Pay attention to what is not shown. Did the agent leave the ensuite bathroom out of the video? That may indicate an issue.
When viewing the main rooms, such as the living room and kitchen, try to get a sense of how your furniture will fit.
Make a list of features and characteristics you want in your next home. Have that list handy as you watch the video. You can use it as a checklist.
While you’re watching, jot down any questions you have about the property.

After watching the video, if you like what you see, take the next step. Schedule a viewing appointment.

Selling a home • 16 September 2021

Should You Accept the Highest Offer for your Home?

by Andrew Shevtsov

250 Giving Canadian Money Stock Photos, Pictures & Royalty-Free Images - iStock
Imagine a kid running a lemonade stand. He’s selling his product for 25 cents a cup. He’s doing okay. Sales are good. Then someone comes up to his stand and says, “I’ll give you 50 cents for a cup. But, I don’t have the money right now. Give me the lemonade and I’ll pay you later.”

Should he take the deal?

Chances are, you’d advise against it. After all, just because the price is high — in this case, double — doesn’t mean the offer is a good one. There’s a chance the customer won’t come back with the promised 50 cents!

That’s a simple example but applicable when considering multiple offers for your home. Yes, the offer with the highest price is often the one to accept, but there are situations when that’s not the case.

For example, you should be careful when considering the highest offer if the buyers’ financial situation is uncertain. Have they attached an appropriate deposit? Have they secured a prearranged mortgage from a reputable lender? Has their current home been sold, or is it at least listed for sale?

It may turn out that the offer is fine, but these are questions that should
be considered.

Another scenario involves conditions. The highest offer might have conditions such as your property passing a home inspection or the buyers selling their current home. That would make the second-highest offer with no conditions more attractive — especially if the price isn’t far off that of the highest offer.

Keep in mind that you can ask to have conditions dropped in your
counter-offer.

As you can see, deciding which offer to accept is not as straight-forward as it may seem, especially if you anticipate getting multiple offers.

Pulling Together the Records you Need when Selling

by Andrew Shevtsov

Imagine you’re viewing a home for sale. You venture to the basement, check out the furnace room, and notice the water heater. Is it owned or rented? As a potential buyer, you’d want to know.Now imagine a property you’re viewing has a brand-new gas fireplace. Nice! Is it under warranty? Is that warranty transferrable to you if you buy the home? Again, you’d want to know.

So, when you’re selling, it’s important to pull together all the necessary records you will need in order to answer these types of buyer questions. After all, if a particular warranty transfers to the new owner, that’s a selling point.

Take the time to find receipts, warranty certificates, and other documents related to:

Renovations (such as a bathroom makeover)
Major repairs or replacements (such as a new air conditioner)
Service prepayments (such as a lawncare service paid annually)
Purchases of major appliances and other items

Keep in mind that you may have purchased extended warranties or maintenance agreements at the time of purchase. Those may transfer to the new owner.

Also note that some guarantees or service agreements transfer automatically while others require the new owner to initiate that transfer.

These documents could potentially add a few more benefits to buying your home. So, it’s worth the time it takes to dig them out!

4 August 2021

Easy Ways to Keep your Home “Show Ready” when Selling

by Andrew Shevtsov

After your home has been cleaned from top to bottom, it’s natural to want it to stay that way. Don’t you wish you could just wave a magic wand and the place would clean itself? Unfortunately, even Harry Potter can’t manage that!

However, when you’re preparing your property for sale, you really do need to keep it clean and ready for showings. There are several ways you can make doing that a bit easier.

Try these tips:

The one-minute rule. If a cleaning or tidying task takes you less than a minute, consider doing it right away. For example, keeping the foyer clear of clutter.
One room a day. After you’ve cleaned and tidied your home, maintain it by focusing on just one room a day. That’s manageable for most people.
Prioritize the floors. If you can keep the floors clean, everything else will tend to fall into place. Consider a routine where you do a quick sweep or vacuum of the floors each evening.
Declutter as much as possible. Clutter is the enemy of cleaning! When a room is free of clutter, it’s easier to keep it clean, tidy and looking great.
Get extras. Buy an extra mop or broom so other household members can help with the cleaning. Also, be sure to stock up on cleaning supplies so you don’t run short just before a viewing appointment.
Hire a cleaning service. Having a professional cleaning service come once a week—or twice a week when you’re showing your property frequently—can take a lot off your shoulders. Think of it as an investment in selling your home.

Keeping your home looking “guest-ready” makes your home show better and gets more buyers interested. But, the task doesn’t need to be daunting. Try these tips to make it easier!

7 July 2021

When You Can’t Paint Them All: Prioritizing Rooms

by Andrew Shevtsov

As you may know, a fresh coat of paint is an inexpensive way to make your home look great to buyers. But, what if you don’t have time to paint the entire place? Here are three areas you should prioritize—and one you can potentially ignore.

1. Rooms with bold colours

A red bedroom and orange walk-in closet likely won’t appeal to everyone! Replacing personalized colours with a neutral colour scheme will present buyers with a “blank canvas” to which they can add their own personal touch.

2. Kitchen

When buyers view your home they linger in the kitchen, which makes it a key selling point. A new paint job will instantly make the space look cleaner and more inviting.

3. Interior doors

These become worn due to being touched multiple times a day, yet are often overlooked when painting. A new coat of paint on key doors, such as those for bedrooms and washrooms, can make a significant impact on the look of your home.

By the way, you may be able to pass on painting exterior doors. They’re often coated with a durable weather-resistant enamel and don’t usually need more than a good wash.

30 June 2021

Will You Need to Lower your Price to Sell your Home Quickly?

by Andrew Shevtsov

If you want to sell an item quickly—say, a couch—you can post it online, stick a super-low price tag on it and, chances are, it will be gone by the end of the day.

So it’s understandable that some people think the same thing applies when selling a home. Indeed, if you need to sell your property quickly, you might assume that setting a low listing price is the best way to make that happen.

But that isn’t necessarily true.

The fact is, the list price is only one of many factors that determine how quickly your home will sell—and for how much.

For example, if your home is in high demand at the moment—given its characteristics, neighbourhood, move-in readiness, and overall desirability—then it may sell quickly at its current market value or even a little higher.

On the other hand, if the market is more of a buyer’s market, setting a list price that will attract qualified buyers to your home, and away from comparable listings, may be important. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to low-ball the price.

Keep in mind there are many other things that can help get your property sold quickly, such as how skillfully your listing is promoted and marketed, how well your home shows to buyers, and how flexible you are with your closing date.

Selling a home • Selling a home • Selling a home • Selling a home • Selling a home • 29 May 2021

How Important are Good Listing Photos?

by Andrew Shevtsov

There are two trends impacting real estate photography that you should know about if you’re thinking of selling this year.

First, more than ever before, buyers are relying on pictures to decide whether or not to schedule a viewing. They expect to be able to go online and “tour” your home via the photography. If they don’t form a good impression of your home from the pictures, they may quickly lose interest in your listing.

Second, everyone is a photographer these days! Most people have phones with cameras, and many think they can take a decent picture.

Unfortunately, taking a “decent picture” isn’t good enough.

Your listing photos need to accomplish a lot. They must:

give buyers the information they need: room sizes, layout, views, property details, etc;
showcase the most enticing features of your home;
communicate the functionality, spaciousness and style of each room;
provide a sense of what it’s going to be like to live there; and, much more.

In short, listing photos need to help sell your property. When you consider that these pictures are often the first look-see buyers get of your home, you can appreciate how important they are.

So, don’t leave listing photos to chance. There is an art and science to taking them.

Think of it this way. If better listing photos encourage just five percent more buyers to schedule a viewing, that could result in a faster sale at a higher price.

By the way, I’m well-versed in the best practices of taking great listing photos. Call me for more information.