10 Toronto Real Estate Life Hacks for Home Sellers

Thinking about selling real estate in Toronto? Knowing a few life hacks for sellers will make it a whole lot easier to get the most out of it. From watching the weather to watching the calendar, there’s a bunch of little tricks that’ll save you time and make selling your home more appealing to buyers. Here are 10 of them:

 

10. Tell your neighbours that you’re selling.

There will probably be a lot of people driving by and walking around your home. Hopefully, a heads up will get your neighbours giving them friendly smiles instead of dirty looks.

9. Pay attention to school breaks and holidays.

Selling while schools out will allow less people to see your place since they’ll have plans for travelling with the family.

8. If you have tenants, pick up some gift cards.

Your tenants will need to leave during showings and open houses. Giving them a $25 gift card to a local coffee shop or movie theatre will make it easier and give them more incentive to leave.

7. Timing is everything.

Having a closing date in the Summer is more appealing for buyers as they can plan their move while the kids are out of school and things are generally less hectic.

6. Care about the weather.

As much as is possible, pay attention to the weather. Listing your home the weekend of a lightning storm, ice storm, or blizzard doesn’t make any sense at all for obvious reasons.

5. Deal with pests.

Have a rodent problem? Ignoring it is probably the worst thing you could do. Call this person from HomeStars. I’ve used him for listings before, and he is inexpensive, really nice, and most importantly, very effective.

4. Have things to do.

You’re going to have to leave the house often and sometimes without much notice, so it’s a good idea to already have somewhere in mind that you can go to.

3. Fix the things you’ve gotten used to.

You know that slightly leaky faucet in the bathroom or the garage door that doesn’t open all the way? You may not think it’s a big deal anymore, but people looking at your house might.

2. Don’t take it personally.

You love your family, your kids, and Jesus. That’s great, but if you want to get more interest, you have to depersonalize the home as much as possible. That means taking down photos and religious items.

1. Make sure your keys actually work.

Jiggling it a little to the left isn’t going to cut it. I’ve actually walked away from homes without looking at them after spending 10 or 15 minutes trying to get the key to unlock the door.

 

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Did I miss any life hacks for buyers that you’d recommend? Let me know in the comments below.

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