Sellers often feel that, once they sign an agreement with an agent to sell their home, everything is then out of their hands.  Some Sellers seem to give up and think that the agent will – should – could do it all without them being concerned or involved.  When would these same people pay tens of thousands of dollars to a contractor for a task in their home and not want to have some say?  I think ……. NEVER.  So, why do Sellers seem to give up control on the sale of their home? 

I believe Sellers do not know what they can expect from an agent.  They get overwhelmed when they meet to discuss selling their home and just do not get pen to paper on what they want and what they expect.  For example, if the listing has spelling mistakes and errors, why are Sellers not calling their agent to get these fixed?  If Sellers expect the agent (and not the team) to be available throughout the sale, why don’t they put this in writing? 

As you would with a contractor doing a $25,000 to $50,000 job in your home, set out what you want and expect and have a frank and open discussion with your potential agent …. before signing the listing contract.  If you have some very specific requirements, then make sure that these form part of the contract so that, if these are not done, you have recourse to discuss this with the agency.  Every agent that I worked with was willing to do their best to get a home sold.  Things went awry when the Seller and the agent differed in what they assumed to be components of the sale.  Good communications will resolve so many problems BEFORE they occur.  At the end of the day

Who is driving the sale?  My hope is that it is the Sellers.

Photo credit:  Lourmanir – Namaste – three whelled vehicle

Buyers want to be able to see themselves or their better selves in a new home.  Do you have a cupboard full of chips and chocolate bars, dust on your treadmill and a stack of Harlequin Romances on your night table?  Even if the can says cheese, there is none in those tasty little treats.  

Clean up your act.  Stage it so that Buyers think that your home is for healthy, active and intellectually stimulated people.  You know, people who eat brie on an apple slice while doing their cardio on the elliptical machine in front of a television playing the BBC.  

It may be an illusion that is worth the effort.  

Photo credit: cheese

This makes me think of The Man of La Mancha - The Impossible Dream.  While condo dwelling is highly unlikely to be as unpalatable as living in Don Quixote’s dungeon, itmay not live up to the expectations of the carefree living the Boomer is hoping to obtain. 

When retirement finally arrives, many Boomers have plans to spend time traveling, reading, relaxing by a pool, maybe fishing and spending weeks every year at a cottage.  Having the big suburban home AND having the freedom to live the nomadic life may not be compatible objectives.  This is when the Boomer starts dreaming of moving to a condo.  Boomers were brought up to be owners.  Condos are a type if shared ownership.  Just remember, condos were not likely in existence when the Boomer was an apartment renter and just starting out on his or her own.  Some things are going to be a surprise. 

In life, there are always trade-offs and compromises.  The attraction of a condo is to have the freedom to close your door and take off for months without worrying about your home, to never have to mow the lawn or water the flowers, to have the exterior of your home maintained and to share in the costs of the common parts of the property.  The downside is:

• You do not have complete control on the costs.  The condo board and members (of which each owner is a member) vote on the expenditures.  So, if you decide you no longer will be using the pool and you know that it cost a lot of money to insure and maintain, you do not have the sole right to close the pool.  When the roof needs immediate replacing, SURPRISE, unless there is an adequate reserve fund, you too will be have to pay for the roof through a special assessment. 
• You do not get to pick your neighbours.  What happens if they are loud or play the drums, or have parties every Friday night, or cook weird smelling food?  Those neighbours are owners like you so the dispute is between the two (there is no landlord to impose rules and resolve issues).
• You do not make all the rules.  Some condos won’t allow pets or smoking or Christmas lights or hardwood floors or renovation work after 4:00PM or……  etc etc.  Those rules are written in the by-laws.  Check those rules before buying BUT also be prepared for new rules to be voted in at the Annual General Meeting.
• You do not have a landlord to check your unit when you are away.  In fact, there is no one to let you in if you have lost your keys.  Who is the property manager?  Can you get ahold of them at 1:00AM when you are locked out?  Do you have friends who will look in your unit while you are away?  Check your insurance, a vacated unit still needs to be checked to keep the insurance active. 
• You do not have control over the common elements. If family and friends come to visit, where are they going to park?  You only have so many assigned / purchased parking spots and the visitor parking will, in all likelihood, have limitations of who can park and for how long.  Hate the decorating in the lobby?  This is not something you can take over.  Want more outdoor seating?  Take it to the Board. 
• You cannot control the value of the condo.    Not only are condos subject to market forces but the value of your building or complex is going to be based on the condition of the property – inside the unit (which you control) and outside (which the owners control).  Buyers are going to look at special assessments, the engineering reports and the condition of the roof, windows, HVAC, etc.  These have not all been within our control. 

After living in a suburban home with the independence of total ownership, condo living trades some of this for additional freedoms and peace of mind for not having to be personally responsible for the property. 

Don’t tilt at the windmills.  Make sure that you see the windmill and not your dreams   

Photo credit:  Windmill

This is a story that is being repeated all over the country.  Boomers want to downsize.  This is hardly a surprise.   The surprise or even shock is that it is going to cost them money to live in less space.  To some, it is so appalling that they have decided to stay in their current home.  

Boomers own their home in the suburbs.  Most are mortgage free.  The home has four bedrooms, three baths, a family room, a rec room in the basement, two or three car garage and a huge yard full of trees and shrubs and maybe a pool.  Okay, there may be variations of this but the essence is – the boomers own family friendly property.  Now……  The kids have finished school and left the nest.  The Boomers are rattling around a big house and find that they live in the kitchen – family room space and their bedroom.  It seems that it is time to move to something smaller.

Here is the rub.  The new home or condo may cost more than the proceeds from the sale of the big home in the suburbs. What?  

1. The market has reacted to the demand for large condos and retirement homes by placing a premium on the sales price.  Remember, the Boomers are a tidal wave moving through demographic data.  If you, a Boomer, are thinking of downsizing then so are millions of your fellow 1946-1964 birthday buddies. Simple supply and demand economics at work.
2. Your lovely home is a wee bit tired.  Forty plus years of the same kitchen, with the wrought iron railings, pink carpet, parquet flooring and paneled rec room is telling the story.  Although you have house size you have a house waiting for updating and renovations.  Your home is not competitive.  It is not giving Buyers what they want in updates.
3. You want to move but you are certainly not going to settle for apples to apples.  Your tastes are now refined and you want granite and a bungalow backing on a golf course with grounds keepers or the whole top floor of a condo in the downtown area.  You are selling a MacIntosh apple to buy an organically grown Star Fruit.   Would you be happy buying the little bungalow down the block from your current home with the need for the same updates as your current home?  Would you be happy with the location?   No?  

After finding out that their home is not the gold mine that they hoped for, many potential Boomer Sellers make the decision to stay in their current home. In some cases, the Boomer will update the family home, adjust the buying expectations and make the move at a later time.  

Photo Credit:  UK Baby Boom and Bust by David Willets

December is the perfect month in Ontario and most of Canada for cutting back trees.  It is cold and the leaves have fallen so the crew can see all of the branches that need trimming. The sap flow has slowed so the branches are denser and easier on the chain saw.  It is hard physical labour so the crew is not at risk of passing out from the heat and not so cold that they need to wear their heaviest and warmest clothes. 

Our neighbour has a wonderful yard full of trees.  One tree has a limb that seriously overhangs the roof of our house.  We have discussed what to do about that limb.  The neighbour is a great guy, very responsible and very neighbourly.  Today, a whole crew showed up to trim back his trees and remove the huge branch that overhangs our roof.  Apparently a crane will be coming this afternoon to do the proper job of removing the big branches.  Right now, there are three guys, a chipper and their equipment truck.  I cannot wait for the real action this afternoon when the crane arrives. 

Doing this work is not cheap.  We have also asked this company to trim the branches of two small trees in our backyard.  No cranes needed and it can be done by hand.  This will cost just over $100,  I can only imagine that the work our neighbour is having done will be in the thousands. What is the cost of peace of mind – for us – with that huge branch removed.  Immeasurable. 

If you are thinking of selling your home in the next 12 to 24 months and have trees that need some work, now is the perfect time to get the job done.  

Good fences make good neighbours as do well trimmed trees. 

This work was done by:  Joe Trudeau, Premier-Treeservice.com   Cell:  613-880-5233 

Photo Credit:  Taken from the second floor window, Nikon D90

 Some Sellers are so surprised when their real estate agent asks them to get out of their home during showings.  First there is the concern that every viewing Buyer has light fingers, then the concern that they will touch the Sellers’ stuff and finally, the concern that the other agent does not have the same skills to sell the house as they so – the owners.  Be not afraid Sellers.  These, while slight concerns, do not outweigh the benefits of you not being in the house.  Get out and don’t come back until the Buyers have left.

Now the question is – what can you do or where can you go.  Here are five ideas.

1. Pull out of the driveway and park, facing the house, a half block away with the visor down and the window open a crack (so that you can breath and listen at the same time).  You may feel a need to know who is going in your house.  Maybe your neighbours have begged you to sell only to a small family and you are just doing community service by being a spy.  Ha ha.  If you can see them, they can see you.  Surprise!!!!
2. Drop in on the neighbours with your kids in tow.  Bring a bucket of cookies and toys.  You may be there for an hour or longer.  You might want to bring your camera so that you can take photos of the Buyers entering your home.  Why?  Who knows?  Oh yes, don’t forget that now is a good time to test your baby monitor to listen in on the Buyers.  Remember, if you can hear the Buyers then your neighbour can hear you when you go home.  Kinda scary, isn’t it?  What did you say at supper last night about their barking dog?
3. Go to the Mall.  When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.  Remember to take your credit card and your cell phone.  The former so that you can help the economy and the latter in case your agent calls to ask questions or tell you that there is an offer on your house.  Put that credit card away – you are going to need money to decorate your new place. 
4. Take a day trip to the beach or a theme park.  Again, bring a bucket or basket of food and drinks and your cell phone.  You still need to be in contact – just in case.  Oh, if you have your kids in tow, don’t forget your credit card.  You are going to need to buy their good will with all of those trips and nothing stops whining as much as money.
5. Finally, go to your mom’s house.  You know your mom has to take you in and yes, those cupboards are loaded with food that surely must be just for you, for your and your spouse, for you, your spouse and all of your children.  Lucky mom that your house is for sale and you get to grace her with your presence several times a week.  Maybe you just want to leave the kids and run to the mall (see #3).  If you are good, you will bring back a lunch or supper and a few flowers to show your mom that your consuming $200 worth of her groceries was appreciated.  How that woman suffers!!!!

Seriously, getting out of the house is not always convenient.  Don’t accept a booking if your child is sick or the flu epidemic has hit your home.  Make every attempt to be reasonable.  You are trying to sell your most valuable asset.

While these are tongue in cheek ideas, think of some things that you can do that are cheap, interesting and will take at least an hour such as a walk in the park, a visit to the library or a visit to the zoo.  Don’t spy.  You may see or hear things that make no difference to the sale of your home but for which you will take offense.  Who needs to hear strangers commenting on their home?  It can be insulting.

  Let the agents to their job and the job will get done.   

Photo credit: Adapted from  Spy

This is a housecleaning story. 

There are some scents that evoke wonderful memories.  When I smell White Linen perfume, it is as though my mother was standing right beside me.  That is an example of a good memory.  Smells tell stories.

Yesterday was ‘Scrub the Bathrooms Day’.  We have four bathrooms so the job takes a bit of time.  I have gone back to doing my own housecleaning.  I think I am doing an okay job but I am no expert.  In my bucket are cleaning rags, micro fibre clothes for the mirrors, products for the tub and toilet and, my new favourite, Pine-Sol.  I use it for everything that does not require the other two cleaners and I could use it as my all purpose cleaner for everything, if I wasn’t such a product princess. 

In any case, Pine-Sol has one of those smells that can instantly evoke memories.  After cleaning just one bathroom, the whole house smells of the stuff.  No, it does not smell like a pine forest on a sunny afternoon with birds chirping and fall leaves rustling.  It smells like disinfectant, strong disinfectant, powerful disinfectant.  A smell from which germs will run instantly. 

When I was half way through the work, a friend popped by for a couple of minutes.  The instant she stepped in the house she said…  “Your house smells like my mother’s home did on a Saturday morning.”  Later in the afternoon, another friend came over and she said  “Wow, your house smells so clean.”  When my husband came home (and it was after I had had a shower using lavender soap and smelly hair care products), he said “The house smells like a toxic waste site.  Is the dog still alive?”  Hmmm.  I bet you know what I said back and it rhymes with dastard. 

Who buys homes?  Women.  For women, Pine-Sol with the strong smell means clean.  Who wants to buy a clean, disinfected home, free from germs and bugs and dirt?  Who knows that one bottle of Pine-Sol will last weeks, nay maybe months?  Women.  When selling your home, there is no need to scrub for hours.  If the doorbell rings and the Buyers are on the stoop, put a cotton ball loaded with Pine-Sol in the bathroom.  Dab it behind your ears.  One quick swipe of the counters and – voila – instant clean kitchen. 

Be scent sensitive.  Save your cents for your new home.  Use Pine-Sol to sell your home.   A little dab will do you.   

 Photo credit: Pine Sol Ad

Most residential property is purchased by people who anticipate living in the home.  Unlike commercial purchases where the buyer is looking at the bottom line for profit, home buyers are going to be influences by their emtions in making the buying decision.  It will be their emotions that will affect their motivation to make the buy.  

How can a seller influence the emotions of Buyers to get them to the contract stage.  Of course the buying triangle of price, location and condition all play a role but after being happy about the price and location, the Buyer will now be looking at the condition of the home – does it suit their needs and do they WANT to live in the home.  Our five senses all play a significant role in how we feel.  They evoke emotions.  Sellers can ’awaken’ those senses.

Smell:  Nothing beats the smell of clean - no heavy perfumes, no room fresheners.  Sellers can consider a bowl of lavender in the bath area, the cedar blocks in the clothes closet and maybe a bowl of lemons in the kitchen.

Taste:   A Seller could leave some wrapped candy at the door or by the Feature Sheets.  However, there are some foods that make you salivate just from the smell when they are just out of the oven - like baking bread and apple pie. 

Sound:  The sounds of a school yard at recess, trains/planes and automobiles will distract and annoy a Buyer.  They do not realize that those sounds will disappear after they have lived in the home for awhile.  Sellers can play a soft background music playlist on the sound system .  In the exterior, nothing beats the sound of a trickling fountain.

Sight:  Well, we all know the horrors of clutter, bad wallpaper, too many pictures.  Minimal is best. 

Touch:  Every buyer I have ever taken through a home touches things – walls, railings, furniture.  We feel through our fingers and those feelings bring up good feelings when there is a variety of textures.  Of course, stay away from the feeling of crumbs and dirt on the floors – buyers are usually in their sox and this is just awful. 

When you go to sell, think of ways to appeal to Buyers senses.  You want those good feelings to turn into a motivation to buy. 

  Photo credit:  Lavender

Yesterday was glorious with nice warm temperatures and hardly any wind.   The only sounds were the maple leaves drifting down from the trees and the honking of geese.   Oh darn, I digress. 

On our long list of things to do around the house, yesterday was the day we finally took down all the screens,  placed in the the back yard and one by one they were gently washed with a soft brush and a bit of dish soap and then hosed off.   While the screens were being washed, I washed all the windows.   Good for us.

What did we discover?   With all of the window blinds up and drapes pulled back, with all the screens off and windows cleaned – the house looked so bright that we almost needed sunglasses.   My husband must have commented on this four times during the day.   I told him that when the day comes for us to sell, we want the house looking the same way.   We will: 

• Take off all of the screens
• Fix any screens that have holes
• Store them in the garage / basement or shed. Buyers will want to see that there are screens.
• Wash the windows until they sparkle
• Pull back the window treatments or take off the blinds and repair the holes in the frame.
• If a nice day, we will open up the windows and let the good air in.

It is amazing the amount of light that is reduced just by the screens on the windows (okay, and the dirt).

Photo credit: Snow on the window screen

Halloween comes only once a year.Why would you leave squeaky doors and drafty windows for Buyers to see and experience the other 364 days?   If your doors slowly close themselves or don’t close even when you pull them shut, it will look like a haunting. This is likely a level problem and not the intervention of the spirit world.  Adjust the doors and seal the frames around the windows. If you think your home has shifted, you may want to get a structural engineer in to take a look and provide an assessment before your home is on the market.

I love homes that are decorated for the seasons.  However, when you home is for sale, it may be prudent to reduce your decorations to a door wreath and pumpkins or vases of seasonal greenery.  Leave the For Sale sign on your lawn as the most important decoration.     

Don’t frighten a Buyer away.

Photo credit:  Halloween house