If you're thinking about selling your home in Forest Hill but you're not quite sure where to start, Katy Torabi can give you some home-selling tips. These tips, which include how to price your home, enhance the condition of your home, and stage your home, will help you sell your home conveniently and at a price that you and potential buyers will be comfortable with.
Price your home appropriately
Let's say your townhouse in Forest Hill has four bedrooms, five bathrooms, and is about 3,500 to 5,000 sq ft. You have hardwood floors, recessed lights, and a bay window in the living room. The family room contains a built-in bookcase, a fireplace, and a walk-out door to the terrace. You have other great features, such as a two-car garage, elevator access to all the floors, and strategically placed radiant flooring.
You noticed that another home for sale in the same area, which is a single-family home, is about the same size, has the same number of bedrooms and baths, and has about the same features and amenities. This home has been priced at approximately $6,000,000. Does that mean you should price your home at $6,000,000?
The idea is that you need to price your home based on the features and amenities of the market you're in. One difference you might see between your house and the other house is that they may have a pool, and you may not. The absence of a pool can cause a five to eight percent difference in the value of your home compared to the other one.
Another difference is that your home is a townhouse, while the other is a single-family home. In the real estate market, townhouses usually sell for less than free-standing homes because of some disadvantages, including:
- Sharing a wall with neighbors, which can contribute to reduced privacy.
- Sharing common outdoor spaces, such as a pool or driveway.
- Appreciation and resale values may not increase, reducing investment potential.
In this case, buyers who appreciate the value of owning a townhouse expect to pay less for your townhouse than the single-family home you were comparing it to.
Prepare your home to be in the best possible condition
Declutter and organize spaces so that when potential buyers visit your home, they can see that it is spacious enough to accommodate their belongings, and they will be able to see every nook and cranny to effectively evaluate the actual condition of the house. Not only will it increase the appeal of buying your home, but it will also help facilitate your moving process should your house sell.
Keeping surfaces spotless, windows sparkling, and floors polished will enhance interest in buying your house. Consider hiring professional cleaners to make sure every part of the house, from baseboards to grout lines, is presentable for showings.
Touching up paint chips or applying a fresh coat of neutral-toned paint and new hardware may significantly improve the home's condition. Minor repairs may be needed here and there. Look for defects, such as leaky faucets or broken light fixtures.
And don't forget about the outside. The first thing that potential buyers see is the exterior of your home. Make sure the yard is always maintained, bushes are trimmed, fresh mulch is applied, and flowers are planted.
Stage your home for curb and inside home appeal
Staging your home or arranging and decorating spaces so potential buyers can envision themselves living there will also hasten the selling of your home. Making this effort will help your home stand out and make a difference in attracting potential buyers. Arrange the furniture to maximize the space, making it appear bigger and highlighting the flow and purpose of a room. You can arrange the furniture in a room in a way that makes the room inviting and doesn't deter a potential buyer from entering.
You'll want to arrange the furniture so that there is a focal point in each room to enhance the positive features of the space while providing accessible pathways and flow. For example, be aware of doorway locations. You'll not want to give the impression of a blocked doorway by placing the back of a couch toward it, so place seating on either side of the entrance and a sofa against the longest wall.
The furniture placement in this configuration will make the couch the focal point of the room and an inviting space to walk into. If a couch is placed away from the wall, make sure it has at least three feet of walking space behind it. Remove any excess furniture that could be an obstacle when someone attempts to move through the room.
Natural and artificial lighting used strategically can provide a focal point for the best features of each room. Remove family photos and excessive decorations to create a neutral and inviting ambiance for any potential buyer. Add decor elements such as fresh flowers, candles, and soft textiles in the form of drapery, throw rugs, pillows, and throws.
Hire the right real estate agent to help sell your home
You'll need to hire an experienced real estate agent like Katy Torabi, who is familiar with the Forest Hill, Toronto, real estate market and has closed many listings in this particular luxury market. She can help market your home and calculate the perfect price point that your home should sell for, not too low or too high.
She will do a comparative market analysis of similar homes that are currently listed, under contract, or recently sold in your area. An experienced real estate agent considers this analysis, market trends, and competition evaluations to get an accurate picture of what buyers are willing to pay for a home in the Forest Hill neighborhood.
Once the price is established, Katy can begin marketing your home, announcing that your home is available for purchase. She may have high-quality, professional photos taken to highlight the best features and create a visual appeal so potential buyers will want to see more. Other methods of marketing she might employ to sell your home include:
- Detailed, accurate, and illustrative listing descriptions.
- Virtual tours and videos.
- Popular real estate websites and social media platforms.
- Open houses and showings.
An experienced and well-connected real estate agent like Katy Torabi can use her influence to network and spread the word to other real estate agents who have clients looking to purchase houses in your Forest Hill neighborhood. These marketing skills, combined with your efforts to stage and enhance the house's condition, should have your home sold in no time.
Rely on Katy Torabi to Sell Your Home in Forest Hill
Now that you know some home selling tips that will help you sell your home in Forest Hill expediently and at a price that you and a buyer will be pleased about, you can contact Katy Torabi to start the process. She can give you more tips on selling your house that are unique to your situation and get potential buyers excited about buying your house.
