You are about to embark on the exciting journey of selling your home. Whether youʼre selling your first home, tenth home or investment property, we will make your home selling journey a great experience. We can help you sell your home with the least amount of hassle, and we are devoted to using our expertise and the full resources of our team to achieve these results!
Selling your home is a very important decision and a big undertaking in your life. In fact, most people only choose a few homes in their entire lifetime. We are going to make sure that you are well-equipped and armed with up-to-date information for your big decision.
We will work with you to understand your unique needs and do our best to eliminate most of the stress and uncertainty that comes with selling your home. We do this with upfront clear expectations and a defined plan that has been proven effective. We plan to be your realtors for life. Ours at least…
When you hire Team Cook to sell your home, you get more than the average real estate experience. You gain access to a large network, a dedicated team, cutting edge tech, and expert transaction coordination.
We work to get the job done so well that you will want to tell your friends and associates about your experience with us. That’s why so much of our business comes from repeat clients and their referrals: good service speak for itself.
We work with you to understand your unique selling needs and develop a sales plan that is prove and effective. All of this helps you get what you need and reduces the stress and uncertainty that comes with selling your home.
At our “Seller Consultation”, we will review our process for selling your home, better understand your goals and dreams, and set appropriate expectations based on the current market conditions. Our team will take all of this information and develop a realistic sales timeline so that the process is clear and simple.
Pricing your home correctly at the start is a criticial factor in getting your home sold. Considerations for a pricing strategy include determining accurate market value to generate higher buyer interest, capitalizing on higher levels of activity when the property is new to the market, and viewing the home through the lens of the buyer. Location, market, age, condition, improvements and neighbourhood are all factors that are considered and our team will do the heavy lifting to price it right.
To make sure your home has the best chance of a fast sale, we provide lots of guidance that will help get your home in top shape.
This is guidance around things like decluttering, what’s worth/not worth fixing, how to maximize the curb appeal, and getting professional photography to show it off beautifully!
On game day, we take your listing live and launch our customized marketing campaign specifically for your home.
This can include open houses, targeting reach-outs, social media campaigns, Google advertising, features on our website, listing live on MLS, and so so much more.
We do whatever it takes to get your home sold and know how critical the early days on the market are.
We will be in your corner, leading you through the entire home-selling process – especially through offers and negotiations.
This includes handling offers, reviews, rejections, counter-offers, and negotiations around inspections, contracts, appraisals, and subject removals.
Our trained team is continuously refining their skills so that you get what you want.
This is where we celebrate the fact that your home is sold, closing dates are set, and you get to enjoy moving on to the next stage of your journey.
But know our job does not stop at closing. We stay in regular contact to make sure your transition is seamless.
We want to be your realtors for life!
Fix anything that’s broken. Generally, Buyers will overvalue the cost of fixing problems or finishing projects. If you need support getting this done, check with our team to lend some tools, advice, or refer a contractor.
Clutter can take a 10/10 home and make it a 7/10. Buyers will forgive a garage full of boxes and extra furniture but they won’t forgive it in the home. Start packing for your new home by packing away the extra things we all accumulate. Your property will sell faster and for more money.
The more welcome a Buyer feels, the longer they’ll stay. Perhaps, they’ll give a second look at the room they didn’t immediately love or spend more time in your beautiful kitchen; warm people move slower. A cold house will get a quick and often unfair showing.
Make nice with your neighbours. Explain or “apologize” for the extra traffic and inconvenience of people inevitably parking where they shouldn’t. Annoyed neighbours at the end of showings can ruin a deal before it ever finds paper. Likewise, a friendly, talkative neighbour can say too much and hurt your position.
Replace lightbulbs, batteries, and other expendables. A dark hall or a beeping smoke detector can be a false clue to the Buyer that your home is uncared for.
As the Seller, you have a legal obligation to disclose any known material or latent defect about the property that could be harmful to the Buyer or affect their intended use of the property. These are defects which cannot be discerned through a reasonable inspection of the property. Potential issues may include hidden mould, asbestos, unauthorized renovations, moisture problems, drug production-related usage and heritage site designations.
A property Disclosure Statement can assist with this disclosure. The Property Disclosure Statement is a good starting point for buyers to begin their due diligence. While Sellers can be held liable for damages if they conceal such problems, the Property Disclosure Statement is not a warranty on the property.
The preparation to sell a home is unique for each situation.
With some homes, a small renovation could bring value to your sale, and in other situations, you may not see a profit from renovations. In most cases, we recommend finishing any ongoing renovations and discussing the pending ones with your realtor.
Before photos, we suggest tidying up the exterior of your home, mowing the lawn, cleaning the windows and powering-washing the driveway if necessary. For the interior, de-clutter the rooms and have a cleaner give a deep clean. Even if your home is clean, we still recommend having a professional cleaner come through to make sure it sparkles for pictures!
When you sell your home, the Buyer will require a document supplied by the Seller called a property disclosure statement (PDS). The PDS is a series of questions that allow the seller to disclose the current condition of the property. As well as the PDS, the Seller should disclose any latent defects with the home. A latent defect is a concealed defect that wouldn’t be visible on a reasonable inspection.
Many people use their assessed value to keep an eye on their property value, but often the assessed value is wildly different from its actual value. BC Assessment evaluates property at scale based on size, age and location every August. An appraiser never visits your property, so these assessments can’t factor in current market conditions, recent sales, or the unique factors that make your property great or awful.
The list price is set by the Seller. It is considered “an invitation to treat” which means it is not a legally bound offer to the Buyer to sell the Seller’s home but should be considered as an expression of interest to invite an offer or a willingness to negotiate.
The sale price is the price the home was sold to the Buyer for.
Most residential homes are evaluated using a comparative market analysis (CMA) which uses the past sales of similar homes to give a baseline value. The most recent sales carry more credence, but we can use past sales if we consider the differences in market conditions.
Some websites offer immediate home evaluations, but accurate evaluations take time, experience, and a visit.
Listing agreements are negotiated with your realtor, but the minimum listing agreement is for three months. Unique and high-end homes are traditionally more challenging to sell, so many realtors will require longer agreements to offset marketing costs.
Selling your property without your cooperation is impossible and a waste of time for everyone involved. If we fall out of love, our team will provide you with a cancellation form without delay.
In real estate, you will hear the terms “completion date” and “possession date.” These dates can easily be confused, but it’s important to distinguish the difference so you can plan the best strategy for completion.
The completion date is when the Buyer’s money is transferred to the Seller, and the Seller’s name is removed from the title and replaced with the Buyer’s name. The Buyer becomes the new legal owner of the property
The possession date is the date when the Seller must vacate the property, and the Buyer gets their new keys!
Generally, the possession date will take place one or two days after the completion date. In theory, you could have matching dates, but you could end up in a situation with the Buyers waiting for the title to transfer while they sit in their moving truck. That’s why the best practice is generally a few days to allow for Murphy’s law.
As the Seller, it is most likely in your best interest to have a large gap between the dates. This gives the Seller time to complete their next purchase and move without the time pressure.
After completion (transfer of funds & registration of title), the legal liability of the property shifts from the Seller to the Buyer. This is why it’s important for the Buyer’s insurance to commence at completion, not possession.
Some types of upgrades to your home do not require a permit. Upgrades that require permits should have been applied before the renovation commenced. However, the Seller can disclose the lack of permits as a material latent defect through a form called “Seller’s Disclosure Of Material Latent Defects” and move forward legally selling the property.
Seller concessions are closing costs (lawyer, strata fees, etc) that the Seller has offered to pay for the Buyer to entice an offer. Seller concessions are uncommon in British Columbia.
Lowball offers should be dealt with with respect. More often than not, an initial offer that seems low ends up turning into something more reasonable through negotiation. However, each situation is different and should be dealt with accordingly.
The best time to sell your home is situational. Generally, there are two to three months between a firm deal and completion dates. This timing makes Spring ideal, as many completions will take place in the summer when kids are out of school, and people have holidays. Spring isn’t always the best season to get top dollar because with more volume comes more competition.
Our goal is to become your realtors for life, and we aim to do this by ensuring your complete satisfaction. We work to get the job done so well that you will want to tell your friends and associates about your experience with us. That’s why so much of our business comes from repeat clients and their referrals: good service speaks for itself.
That means getting to know you, your unique needs and wishes, and getting the job done so well you can’t go anywhere else.
That’s why we’ve built Team Cook to be in your corner.
We focus on getting you exactly what you need.
