2024 SELLERS GUIDE

Marketing Your Home 24/7

The Calgary Dream Homes Team will walk you through the process of selling your home, we have an investment in your home, and provide a proven marketing plan.

Once we agree on a list price for your Calgary home and the timeline to sell, we will advise on getting it ready to list. When we list your Calgary residential or Rural home, our investment includes (but is not restricted to):

1. Professional Photographs
2. Professionally measured (Creb RMS measurements & Plan) 
3. Glossy 4 page brochures
4. Yard signage
5. Lockbox for showings
6. MLS loading
7. Affiliate sites loading Resaas Global, Homes & Land, Real Estate Professionals Inc. All Calgary Realtor IDX Website feeds.
8. Walkthrough video produced
9. Social media blasts Facebook, Pintrest & Instagram
10. Loading to our Youtube channel
11. Brokerage Realtor announcement
12. Realtor email blast
13. Database email blast
14. Newsletter featured home
15. Calgary Dream Homes featured home
16. Loaded to Calgary Showing Time

Our Sellers Guide is exactly that - a guide, we are happy to meet and with a marketing consultation. We go through your comparable competition for sale and recently sold in your area, plus any questions you may have. There are many reasons why people choose to sell their homes, but every seller has one thing in common: They want to sell their home for the highest amount - in the shortest possible time. And that's our mission!

When Should You Sell?

Everyone wants to take advantage of the housing market when it comes to selling your home. Unless you are buying and selling strategically for investment, the best time to sell is when your existing home does not meet your current or future needs.

A key factor to consider is the economy. The economic health of a country affects many factors related to real estate. Mortgage rates are often influenced by the state of the economy. A higher interest rate may encourage you to stay with your current home as the increase in mortgage payments may change your financial situation. A lower interest rate may mean that you can upgrade to a larger home with a minimal impact to your current mortgage.

Chat with us – Find a time when you are free
Keep in mind that public holidays and the weather may impact the sale of your home. Winter holidays and the peak summer season keep many potential buyers busy and not looking for homes. Buyers with school-aged children often choose to move during the summer to minimise the challenges with changing schools in the middle of the year.

Costs involved with selling your home include (but are not restricted to)

Home Evaluation

There are costs involved with selling your Calgary home. Extra costs could be minor repairs and upgrades that can make your home more attractive to potential buyers.
Here are some costs to consider with selling your home:

• A professional pre-home inspection (for discussion)
• Closing costs (lawyers' fees or possible unpaid taxes)
• Mortgage discharge (fees may be levied by your lending institution)
• Sales commissions as agreed in the contract
• On- going Staging based on recommendations from us (for discussion)

Choose an experienced realtor!

Realtor Stu Lowe Biog

The purpose of this Sellers Guide is to help you with the steps you need to consider before listing. We have extensive knowledge of your neighbourhood and experienced enough to negotiate the sale of your home. Experience in the market means we are able to answer questions from potential buyers about the area. One of our main objectives is to attract QUALIFIED buyers to your home and give them an excellent idea of what your home and it's location have to offer.  

Are they Designated?

Luxury Real Estate Professionals achieve GUILD recognition after having completed the luxury home sales and marketing training, becoming an Institute Member, earning the Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist™ designation, and have documented performance in the million dollar and above residential market. 

A good agent doesn’t just open doors, they also know which doors to open. With so many agents out there, how can you be confident that you’ve selected an expert in working with successful people like you? This is why you need to look for an agent who holds a designation. Designations in the luxury market, such as the Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist TM (CLHMS)

Designations require that agents complete specialised training as well as demonstrate a high-level of performance in their market that has been verified by an independent third party.  Stewart has been a Guild Member of the Institute since 2010.

^{Exclusive and Non-Exclusive Listing Arrangements}

An exclusive listing arrangement means that you are granting us exclusive access to find a buyer for your home.

With this type of agreement, no other agent will bring potential buyers to your home, because only the listing agent is entitled to the commission. You can arrange an agreement with us and then have your listing posted to the MLS after an agreed period of time.

A non-exclusive listing arrangement means that your listing will be posted to the MLS system and other real estate agents have the ability to bring potential buyers to your home. Today Social Media coverage is huge and we use to our advantage all today's technology.  Your home is also syndicated to various websites. Non- exclusive listings are the most common type of agreements in the Canadian real estate market. 

Market Conditions

Local Calgary market conditions can affect the sale of your home, so understanding the current real estate trends and data that can assist you in making decisions while selling your home. We can set up an email showing you relevant activity in your neighbourhood with our complimentary Market Snapshot. There are three market conditions:

The Buyers Market

When there are more homes on the market than there are buyers.

In this type of market, buyers will spend more time looking for homes. There are more homes on the market, giving the small number of potential buyers more to choose from. The prices of homes can be stable or perhaps dropping. Seller's will find that buyers have stronger leverage when negotiating.

The Sellers Market

There are more buyers than there are homes for sale.

With fewer homes on the market and more buyers, homes sell quickly in a seller's market. Prices of homes are likely to increase, and there are more likely to be multiple offers on a home. Multiple offers give the sellers negotiating power, and conditional offers may be rejected. 

The Balanced Market

There are about the same amount of homes for buyers & sellers.

There is equal competition between buyers and sellers. This means that there are reasonable offers given by buyers, and homes sell within a reasonable time. With less tension between buyer and seller the prices of homes remain stable. 

Are You Ready to List?

Contact us Today

We will draft a listing agreement with the details of your home. This will give a comprehensive insight of your home for prospective buyers. At the listing we will offer acceptable conditions and closing dates. Plus if you have any additional terms that you want to discuss, we will go over them. Our experience will help us work with a potential buyers's agent to create an offer with conditions and price that will be acceptable to you.

Room sizes and the age of the home are just some details required to list your home. With this information we can list your home, and begin to post the information to various websites and our database as previously mentioned, and provide maximum exposure for your property!

The Condition of Your Home

With our professional help and our optional in-house stager we will examine your home inside and out. Together we will determine if there are any small repairs or underlying problems that you need to address.  Any small repairs that you are able to complete will help negotiate with buyers, remember a buyer see’s a quick fix as far more expensive than it actually is.  If there are any major repairs, please bring them to our attention.

Kitchen & Bathroom

Put extra emphasis on your kitchen and bathroom. Replace mouldy shower curtains and clean mold and mildew off of bathroom tiles. Caulk if necessary. Repair leaky faucets and replace cracked toilet seats. Ensure that the toilet flushes properly. Make certain that the drains are unclogged. Everything should sparkle - faucets, floors, counters, mirrors. What can be cleaned should be!

In the kitchen, clean the stove and refrigerator, organise the cupboards and wash the floor.

Make certain your appliances work. Wipe the walls, touch-up paint or re-stick wall paper if necessary. Clean the sink and ensure that it drains properly and the faucet doesn't leak or drip.

Check your floors and stairs for anything that needs to be repaired or replaced. You are able to remove and replace damaged tiles individually, and there are plenty of DIY fixes available at your local hardware store.

Doors & Windows

Exterior windows and doors quickly get a weathered look from exposure to the Canadian climate. Consider repainting any surfaces that appear faded or damaged. Also, review your interior window trim to see if a quick coat of paint can resolve any scuffs and smudges.

Basement / Walkout

If your basement is finished, present it in the same manner as the rest of your home. An unfinished basement is an opportunity for you to showcase the potential your home has to a buyer. If you currently use your basement as a storage area, organise any clutter and store boxes neatly to best showcase your home. Show the potential buyer lots of space!

Part of our service to you

Before our professional photographer takes the photo’s of your home, we will give you an impartial analysis of your home, and give advice on how the buyer will see it. We give you our professional opinion on how your home relates to "competing" homes for sale in your area.

To assist in selling your home we market your home using a variety of tools. A search of the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) is the primary tool for all Calgary Real Estate agents. The MLS® system allows all buyers and their agents to view your listing. On the new Matrix system the MLS is able to display 50 photos and extensive remarks on the features of the home.

Realtor Showings & Open Houses

Your home as a new listing will be announced to Calgary Realtors in your neighbourhood. The buyers agent will arrange a time with us and we will confirm the time with you, that will be convenient. Before showings begin a lock-box is placed on your home which requires an agent to pre-call us to get the CBS (Call before showing) private code, and then use their own code to open it. We know at all times who has pre-booked and then accessed our lock-box to show your home

We receive an email as soon as the Realtor opens the lock-box, and we ask for “Day before notice“ to show your home. Open Houses are discussed with you at the listing appointment to see if you would like them or not. Today they are becoming more popular because a buyer is able to be “arms length” to view the home, before bringing in their Realtor. We will act as their guide through the home, while informing them about the neighbourhood, and attributes of your home.

Feedback

If buyers are interested in your home they will not always provide “feedback” because they do not want you to know what they really think in case they submit an offer!

The Offer

In the event of an offer we inform you immediately and will review the offer with you to ensure that you understand, and are good with all the conditions. We then counter the offer especially if the price is low and we negotiate what is acceptable, usually within a time frame.

The Offer will contain (but is not restricted to)

• The names of the purchasers
• The Sellers names (Those on Title)
• What is to be included in the purchase (Chatels)
• The Conditions within the offer
• Condition period
• Initial offer Price
• Usual conditions - Finance and Home Inspection (But not restricted to) 
• Proposed possession date
• Finance approval from buyers lender
• Home inspection date

* Rural Acreages can have more conditions to include (but are not restricted to)  - Well Test, Septic Test, Water Analysis, Real Property Report Review etc.

*Remember that out of the purchase price agreed, you will be responsible for (but not restricted to:) On Your Side: Your lawyer services, Real Estate commission, the balance of your mortgage and outstanding taxes. Some utilities and taxes will have been prepaid, meaning you may have some additional funds at adjustment day. *Call to change over utilities for possession day.

Evaluating the offer

Decide on the lowest acceptable price before you receive the first offer. When you receive the offer you will be able to take into consideration the price, as well as the other terms that the purchaser is requesting. We will carefully look over all terms and conditions with you to ensure that the offer is understood. Any questions about the proposed offer can be clarified with the buyers realtor.

Accepting the offer

Once you're satisfied with the terms and conditions of the offer, you can accept it. The purchaser will pay a deposit to solidify the agreement. The deposit will be held in a Trust account with our Brokerage and when the deal is closed it will be applied to the commission owed.
The lawyers part of the purchase (but not restricted to)

• Review the purchase agreement
• Review Real Property Report, send copy to buyers lawyer
• Prepare transfer of title documents and inform the purchaser's lawyer
• Review mortgage transactions
• Close the transaction
• Pay out the appropriate commissions
• Pay any outstanding claims against the property
• Arrange for the mortgage to be paid (if necessary)
• Complete statement reporting all of the transaction
• ** Meet with your lawyer and sign over title etc usually the week before possession

Congratulations! The closing of your home means that you’ll be busy packing up your belongings and ensuring that you have all your arrangements made to move into your new home. Anything you agreed to sell in the offer you accepted must be left behind in the same condition as it was at the time of sale.

*If there is any major change in the state of the home or other items agreed upon, you are responsible to disclose it, immediately tell your lawyer, he will then discuss the outcome with the buyers lawyer and explain the liabilities and implications to you.  Do not make any repairs without talking to your lawyer and taking legal advice.

The Closing

Once the agreement is signed you and the purchaser are under legal obligation to close. If you decided not to sell your home and the buyer has sent you the waiver on time, the purchaser has the right to sue.
If the purchaser decides to walk away from the deal, you can claim the purchaser’s deposit or sue for damages.

Chances are you’ve already bought your new home, or are in the process of looking for one. If you need assistance with the home buying process, check out the Buyer’s Guide for more details on finding your next home!