Downsizing and Selling Your Toronto Home
For Downsizers Preparing Their Houses for Sale in the GTA or Southern Ontario
Your active, healthy third age of life awaits! Are you ready to use the equity in your home to fund your life’s next chapter?
Selling your home before rightsizing to a new home is one of the most critical parts of your downsizing journey. At Transitions, our experienced and licensed Realtors® will help you prepare your Toronto or GTA home for sale and get it listed on the market.
Because your home’s sale will fund your retirement nest egg, you’ll want to sell the house for the highest possible price. Our job is to get the right buyers to see your house, fall in love with it, and make you an offer you’ll find irresistible.
When you go through the Transitions Downsizing Done Right program, in our exclusive 3-step process we’ll ask you for details about your home. As Realtors®, we’ll also walk through your home with you and do a comprehensive analysis of its interior and exterior while asking you more questions.
Next, you’ll receive an estimate of your home’s value, based on current market conditions as well as recent sales of similar houses in your neighbourhood.
Your customized transition plan will include the specific steps we’ll take together to prepare your home for sale and put it on the market. Selling your home starts long before the “For Sale” sign goes up on your lawn.
Staging Your House for Sale
First impressions count! After you’ve decluttered, the next step in selling your home is to pretty it up. At Transitions, our Certified Home Stager knows how to present your home in the loveliest light possible and showcase the features that buyers will find most desirable.
Staging makes a house feel like a home. When your home is beautifully staged, buyers will feel an emotional connection and imagine themselves living there. Well-staged homes sell faster and for more money.
Our staging process starts with an in-home consultation. As we tour your home and yard with you, we’ll note the features that will appeal most to buyers and discuss possible enhancements to increase both interior attractiveness and curb appeal.
Once you approve our proposal*, we’ll set a date to begin staging. The process includes fixing, cleaning, and styling the property; neutralizing the space by reducing the visibility of your most personal items; and moving furniture and accessories in and out as needed to make your home look cozy and inviting.
Staging typically takes one or two days, though it depends on the scope of the work we agree on. Once we have finished selling your home, we will de-stage it.
Here are some of the enhancements* we’ve helped our clients with:
Landscaping
Your lawns and gardens should be beautifully manicured, and your trees and shrubs nicely trimmed.
Repairs
Examples are leaky faucets, burnt-out light bulbs, cracked windows, and bathtubs that need recaulking, to name a few. You may want to make repairs yourself, or if needed, we can call in a handyman*.
Painting
A striking new shade on your front door can dramatically boost your home’s curb appeal. To modernize your home’s interior, we might want to replace dated-looking flowered wallpaper with a fresh coat of paint in a neutral colour.
Professional Cleaning
Inside and out, your home needs to sparkle! Washing the windows can make a stunning difference, as can pressure-cleaning your sidewalk, driveway, and patio.
Furniture, Accessories, and Lighting
We take care of the finishing touches that will make your home pop. This includes deciding which items in your home’s current collection will stay or go and sourcing additional pieces as needed. We’ll lay out furniture for optimal functionality and flow, make good use of colour and texture to add warmth and sizzle, and accent each room with eye-catching artwork and décor. Getting the lighting just right is very important, as homes show better when they are brilliantly lit.
With your home’s best features highlighted and inferior ones hidden, we can then put your home on the market!
Marketing and Listing Your House for Sale
With your home’s best features highlighted and inferior ones hidden, we can then put your home on the market!
When selling your home with Transitions, you’ll receive a Customized Marketing Plan that we design with attention to detail to showcase the features that make your home unique and special.
Spreading the word about your home begins with the listing. To broaden your exposure, we’ll publish your home’s information on the real estate industry’s Multiple Listings Service (MLS®) and other platforms as needed.
A typical marketing plan includes advertising both online and in print. For example, we may print feature sheets, “Just Listed” or “Coming Soon” postcards, or a sign to go in your front yard. Online (or digital) marketing is increasingly common in real estate and may include high-quality photography and videography, virtual open houses, virtual slideshows, email marketing, and custom websites specifically about your property.
Showings and Open Houses
When can buyers come and see your home? With you, we’ll determine the best days and times for showings. The more flexible you can be, the better.
To get ready for a showing, you’ll need to do two things. One is to leave your home, if possible, so buyers and their agents can feel more at ease. The other is to do a last-minute cleaning and tidying to make your home look its very best. Polish those faucets, and wipe down those mirrors! Also, turn on all the lights, and hide any valuables, documents, and personal effects. We’ll give you a checklist so you’ll know what to do.
We also may want to host an open house. Traditional open houses let many buyers see your home at once, often over refreshments. They’re a great way to maximize your home’s exposure and get buyers bidding. Recently, many home sellers have switched to doing virtual open houses instead. A virtual open house can be a narrated property video online.
Negotiating Your
Sale
Congratulations! You’ve received an offer—maybe even several. We’ll review every offer with you carefully so you understand its strengths and limitations.
Did you know price is only one of several considerations? You also need to factor in the buyer’s preferred closing date, the desired inclusions, the amount of the deposit the buyer is willing to put down, and the conditions attached to the offer. Examples of conditions are a satisfactorily completed home inspection report and the buyer’s success in securing financing. The deal is firm once all conditions have been met.
When you receive an offer, you can accept it as is, reject it, or reply with a counteroffer—for example, one that has better terms and conditions for you. We’re here to help you make the smartest choice when selling your home. After all, your sale’s proceeds will fund not only the next exciting chapter of your life, but also the purchase of your third-age home.
Selling your home to fund your retirement nest egg—it’s a major step in your downsizing journey! Are you ready to put your home up for sale?
6 PROVEN WAYS to Advertise Your House for Sale
If you’re thinking of using your home’s equity to fund your active, healthy third age, let’s book a time for a friendly conversation
NO OBLIGATION. This is a complimentary chat to get to know each other and see whether we might be a good fit for you.
* Fees may apply for services provided by third-party providers such as financial planners, retirement coaches, movers, cleaners, professional organizers, new home builders, home inspectors, designers, lawyers, stagers, and more.