| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 995.1 | Try it, but it can be alot of work. | POLAR::ROBINSONP | Waiting for the Sun | Thu Jun 13 1996 14:21 | 39 |
|
In my case, I sold through an agent, but bought the next through
a private sale. Selling through an agent was great, third couple
to visit the house gave us a great offer close to asking, and no
open houses.
Buying privately was a relative pain, as I was dealing with a
strong willed European who had lost his job in Canada and subsquently
his visa, and the Mark was dropping day by day, causing him to
lose focus on my offer while he tried to hedge against currency
fluctuations with his stockbroker. My lawyer told me several times
to walk away from the deal, and let him flounder. He tended to stick
on small details while i am a bottom line person. Eventually he called
me back and we compromised, sealing the deal over a bottle of wine with
our spouses. They have visited a couple of times since '89, and don't
agree with our decor, but we all just laugh about it now.
My strongest competitor was a well known Kanata lawyer who wanted to
flip the house for a quick profit.
Make sure your lawyer examines the agreement of purchase and sale and
that you know the details of what's expected in terms of chattels and
discharge of any existing mortgage and taxes. You might possibly meet
some unsavoury characters, so try to politely qualify propective
buyers, looking for ideally ones with houses already sold, or
alternatively with no attachements and at least prequalified for
a mortgage. You may strike a deal about property evaluation, but don't
go ahead and have it evaluated ahead of time, as most banks are
contracted to specific firms for this and there is the possibility your
evaluation will not be recognized.
Also consider the discount brokers, they will handle the advertising
but it may not be MLS.
I would do it again, but at this point I shouldn't have to, ever again.
/Pat
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| 995.2 | OOPS! | POLAR::ROBINSONP | Waiting for the Sun | Thu Jun 13 1996 14:24 | 5 |
|
OOPS I meant to say the dollar was dropping vs the MARK in the
previous note.
/Pat
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| 995.3 | Go for it! | KANATA::ZUTRAUEN | always lookin' to learn | Thu Jun 13 1996 15:57 | 34 |
| Been there, did that, got the T-shirt (twice).
Up here in Ottawa, I have sold two townhouse condos privately, and
while worth it to save the commission, be prepared to give up many an
open hose weekend to get the job done. In addition, don't skimp on
advertising, and prepare the house by sprucing it up to the "T", and
removing all clutter (we did this by moving much of our junk into
storage). One has to make up for the less-than ideal advertising
coverage with a good first-impression to those that do wander through.
As far as advertising goes, I would suggest the "Buy-and Sell" or (the
penny-saver up here), and the toronto star. My luck with the ottwawa
sun was dismal. In addition, up here we had two different "for sale by
owner" advertisers. Also, don't skimp on the sign. We purchased a
quality looking sign and post from a sign co. for about $80.
The first place was sold with the sign (a drive-by) and the second via
the ottawa citizen (equivalent to the Toronto Star).
Last notes: you can get the "official real-estate assoc." offer forms
from your lawyer. No need to wonder if those stationary store forms are
adequate.
The actual transaction is handled by the lawyers anyway...the agents
add no value there.
Good luck! Remember, all it takes is that one customer.....and they
_do_ eventually show up.
Pete
glad-i-never-have-to-do-that-again (i hope)
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| 995.4 | more memories coming back.... | KANATA::ZUTRAUEN | always lookin' to learn | Thu Jun 13 1996 17:13 | 42 |
| Oh ya, A couple of more things come to mind....
-You'll find as soon as you put that sign out, that the first folks
dropping by are agents (of course). My standard line was "shure i'll
sell the house through you....the amount I require from the sale is
x-dollars. You bring me a buyer and get me my price (you can mark the
price up to whatever you want), and the sale is yours." In fact I did
almost sell the first place that way. All you have to do is list with
the agent for a short (eg: 3 day) period from the day he brings the
purchaser to the table. Seems that not many agents come back though.
They enjoy having you at their mercy for their entire 3 month listing
period.
-Also, it helps greatly if there are other agent for-sale signs up on
the street...good for customer traffic.
-Visit the local real-estate agent and get price listings for houses on
your street to ensure that you price your house just under the
published listings (as a future browsing perspective customer of
course).
-My houses both sold (1 and 2 years ago- in a slooow market), while the
agent listed houses on the street didn't - even 2 months later!. Keep in
mind though that I was selling in a low-end market, one in which the agent
doesn't make all that much...so they give it a bit of effort for a couple
of weeks and then move their efforts to their more lucractive listings
(while you are stuck with them for the full 3 months).
-Don't forget there are also a couple internet house advertising listing
services as well....check it out through alta-vista.
Would I do it again? Absolutely. I hate having to wonder if the agent
is *really* getting me the best deal...or just getting a quick
commission (my parents dished out big bucks to an agent who listed
their house for a whole 1 week). But then I'm not moving ever again ;^)
Happy Selling,
Pete
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| 995.5 | | POLAR::RICHARDSON | Person to person contact laughing. | Thu Jun 13 1996 17:15 | 1 |
| Open hose weekends, eh? This grievously troubles me.
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| 995.6 | good for the grass! | KANATA::ZUTRAUEN | always lookin' to learn | Thu Jun 13 1996 17:19 | 3 |
| Gees....I was waiting to how long it would take for the peanut gallery
to catch that one! You mean You've never had an open hose weekend? You
don't know what your missing!
|
| 995.7 | HOUSE IS NOW SOLD | TROOA::MILTON | | Fri Jun 28 1996 13:59 | 18 |
| Here is an update to my original note. Put the house up for sale
privately on June 15. Put two ads in the paper, one in Toronto Star
and one in local paper. Put a sign on our lawn and at end of street.
This was good because our neighbours had a lawn sales and the house
received a lot of exposure.
We received a couple of low offers in first few days. On day 5
received a conditional offer at 97% of our asking price. House is
now sold. I believe we found that one unique buyer. Also our
location in Toronto is very good. All those that viewed the house
had been looking for quite some time in the area.
I'd like to thank the people who responded and I would recommend
to anyone to try selling privately first.
Have a nice long weekend!
Laura
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