Natalie from the Albion area of Maple Ridge asks: Is there a way to turn what is a sometimes stressful experience when selling your home to be a more positive one?   

 

Things that can create stress when selling your home are largely centered on feeling unprepared, having to make major decisions on the spot, encountering surprises, and of course the inconvenience of showings.  The good news is that there are ways to alleviate these stressors and that you can work with your team of professionals to ensure that the process is a more positive one.

 

In my experience, when people feel out of control in a situation, they are more easily stressed.  Drawing upon my experience teaching, I really believe that proper planning and knowledge create confidence and that confident people can handle stressful situations with more ease.  I also believe that people do not actually like surprises, especially in regards to real estate transactions.  Lastly, as much as I promote having a plan, I don't think that it should be set in stone.

 

In regards to becoming more knowledgeable , I am specifically talking about what is going on in your local market.  Ask your REALTOR ® to show you the listings that will be your competition and listen to their opinions on price and current market trends.  If there is an opportunity to physically go and see some current listings, I highly reccomend it.  Some of these listings will soon be sold and when faced with an offer likely based on these comparable sales, you can have first hand knowledge of how they compare to yours.  

 

In regards to planning for making quick decisions, an idea would be to ask your REALTOR ® to walk you through some scenarios you might encounter and plan for how you will make necessary decisions ahead of time. Also, it would be ideal to speak to your mortgage broker about what the numbers look like, giving you a clear idea of what price you can go to for your sale and how it will affect your next step.

 

Another element of planning ahead would be to know who your lawyer/notary, insurance broker, and home inspector will be.  These are all professionals that you will soon need to be hiring, so why not figure it out while you still have plenty of time?  You could also visit these professionals and get an idea of how their processes work and things that you will need to know to make things run smoothly on their end.  

 

One thing to consider that can elmimnate a great deal of potential stress is to have a pre-inspection done on your home, depending somewhat on the age. This way you can either remediate items that could affect marketability or simply price accordingly for someone else to come in and do the work.  Eleventh hour home inspection surprises are, as a general rule, never a positive experience and they are very avoidable.

 

The inconveniences of showings are a part of selling your home. You need a Buyer and they unfortunately rarely like buying something sight unseen. Use the professional resources that allow you to have your home show and sale ready, and ideally it is sold before you know it.

 

Being prepared and having a REALTOR ®  that embraces this idea should make the process of selling your home run more smoothly, however there are things you simply cannot plan for. My only advice here is to keep an open mind and a level head and think about the big picture. Don't let your emotions get the best of you and always communicate with your team.

Thanks again Natalie for this great question!  It was a pleasure to answer it.  

Carla

If you have questions about real estate email them to carla@sellingmapleridge.com.  All questions will be answered and one will be chosen each month to be published in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News and/or What's On Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows magazine with the author being given a $25 Gift Certificate to a local business.  

*The information in this post is not intended to solicit people or properties currently under contract.