Call A Broker First

by Darrin DeRoches November 7 - 13, 2013

If you are considering selling your property in the near future, consider calling your real estate broker first. Sellers think they may have to do extensive renovations and spend a lot of money with the belief that they will make more money when selling. This may be true in some instances, but most of the time less can be more. An experienced broker can help you make the right decisions on which renovations you should do to increase your selling price.     The easiest and cheapest is a professional cleaning team who will do all the little things which will show your property in the best light. Painting is the next best thing a seller should do and brings the biggest bang for your buck. Carpeting is the last and most economical facelift to your property. These three things are the cheapest and easiest things that will make a huge difference when selling any property. If you bring in an agent and they start rhyming off a huge list of things to do, you should maybe consider doing nothing. Every property has its price and sometimes the best thing to do is nothing.     Some agents think that they know everything and want the seller to invest a lot of money to sell their home when the real answer is to market the property as a “fixer upper” or “updates required”. These properties may be more appealing to the market depending on timing and price. A lot of agents want you to do everything under the sun to make it easier for them to sell the house when the right answer is to do nothing and sell it ‘as is’ and make more money. A properly marketed property will sell in any condition.     Calling your broker first can save you a lot of time and money. A good broker will be more than happy to advise you on what work should and should not be done. They should even know what colours to paint to be “on trend” and help sell the house. A good broker should be able to suggest a painter, carpet company, and plumber etc. who will do the work right and for a good price. Again, if an agent comes in and gives you a huge list of improvements and does not help with the process then maybe you should call a different agent and get their opinion. Brokers go into hundreds of homes every year and they should know what is working to help sell a property. You may think that you need to spend thousands of dollars when all you need to spend is a couple of hundred on new outlets and a thorough cleaning. I have waited over a year for some clients to get their property ready and then sold it within a week. I have walked into a property that was in terrible shape and sold it within a week. Listen to a broker who has the experience and can help you make the right decisions and in the end make you the most money. V     Darrin DeRoches is a local real estate and mortgage broker. He can be reached to answer questions, comments or stories about real estate experiences through this weekly column at sold@uniquerealty.ca.