Selling your home

Step 1: It starts with a conversation

Before anything goes on the market, we sit down and talk. Why are you moving, and by when? What has worked about living here, and what hasn’t? This first conversation costs you nothing and commits you to nothing.

Step 2: Preparing your home to shine

Staging and professional photography are part of what I do for you, not something to budget for separately.

Step 3: Pricing it right

Price is where a sale is quietly won or lost. Set it too high and the right buyers never come through the door; set it too low and you leave value behind that you can’t get back.

The list price rests on recent comparable sales and current conditions, not guesswork, and you set it with your REALTOR®. What’s my home worth? explains why your BC Assessment notice and an online estimate rarely match a real comparative market analysis, and what actually moves the number.

Step 4: Going live

Once you are ready, your home goes on the market, on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and the major search sites, and a little paperwork comes with it. There’s a listing agreement that sets out how we’ll work together, a privacy and consent form, and the Property Disclosure Statement (PDS).

On the PDS you share what you know about the home, honestly and in writing. Disclosing what you know up front is both the right thing to do and the simplest way to keep a small issue from becoming a problem later.

Step 5: Showings

You might host ten showings that go nowhere, and then the right buyer walks in, so the home has to be ready every time. Keep it tidy, clean and well lit for each one.

You do not need to be home for showings; I handle every one.

Step 6: When the offers come in

The highest number isn’t always the best offer. Price matters, of course, but so do the terms. Weigh each offer on four things:

• The deposit. How much, and how soon: a larger, prompt deposit signals a committed buyer.
• The conditions. Which “subjects” the buyer is asking for (financing, inspection, document review) and how long they need. Fewer, cleaner conditions mean more certainty.
• The dates. Whether the completion and possession dates line up with your own plans.
• The strength behind it. A solid pre-approval and a serious buyer matter as much as the headline price.

A first offer can come in lower than you hoped. It is a starting point, not a verdict on your home.

Step 7: Firming up the deal

Most accepted offers come with a few conditions the buyer needs to satisfy: arranging financing, a home inspection, a review of strata documents. The contract sets how long they have to do this. Once those conditions are removed, the deal is firm and the deposit is committed. After an inspection a buyer may ask for a repair or a small credit, which is usually a modest negotiation.

If you’re buying as well as selling, the timing of the two deals needs its own plan. The moving calculator shows both sides at once: what the sale leaves you, and what the next place needs.

Step 8: Completion day

In the final stretch, a lawyer or notary handles the legal mechanics: confirming the mortgage payout, preparing the statement of adjustments, and registering the transfer. On completion day the sale funds come in, your mortgage is paid off, and the balance (your proceeds) comes to you. Possession follows on the date in the contract.

What comes off the top

A seller’s cheque is not simply the sale price minus the mortgage. These come off the top, and you see every line before you sign:

And for most people selling the home they live in, there’s no capital-gains tax to worry about: the Principal Residence Exemption generally covers it. If your home was a rental or second property, or you bought it within the last couple of years, it’s worth a quick word with a CPA before listing.