Tag Archives: how to choose a realtor

3 Common Mistakes First-Time Home Sellers Make


Selling your first home can be daunting.

It often feels as though there is an incentive to getting your home sold as quickly as possible. But like any rush-job, this can open up a bunch of mistakes that can end up costing you a lot of money.

You don’t want that.

Here are three of the most common mistakes that people make when selling their homes and what you can do to avoid them:

Avoiding the Professionals

Many people believe that they can save money when selling their homes by doing it themselves. Big mistake. (Click to Tweet)

Without the assistance of a real estate professional, you avoid paying real estate agent commissions. But you may also end up paying a lot more to find a buyer.

When you don’t have the power of an experienced real estate agency behind you, you can have difficulty letting prospective buyers know that your property is for sale. This results in less competition to buy your property.

So you end up with less negotiating power and may have to settle for a lower price than you had hoped for.

Pricing Incorrectly

Too high or too low – either one has problems.

Some people believe that setting a low sale price for their home can help it to sell quickly, but people often wonder what’s wrong with it.

Of course, if you set a low price you also end up reducing the amount you receive for one of your biggest assets.

If you over-price your home you risk pushing buyers away and making it more difficult to sell. Frustrating isn’t it?

This is why it’s best to have a professional set the value for your home. Homeowners usually have sentimental attachments to their properties and tend to fall into the trap of over-pricing.

Prospective buyers are more clinical and consider the merits of the property itself, not the fact that your three children grew up in those rooms.

Skipping the Inspection

Foregoing the inspection seems like an easy way to save a few hundred dollars during the sales process, but it could potentially cost you thousands down the line. A thorough property inspection before you list your home for sale alerts you to any potential problems.

Buyers will always conduct an inspection and often use the results to drive down the offer you’ve accepted. So it’s better to know beforehand what that inspection will reveal.

Then your agent has the opportunity to price accordingly, depending on whether you choose to address the issues before listing.

These are just a few of the many potential pitfalls you may run into when selling your home. Let the experts at Residencity guide you through the process to minimize your risk and maximize your profits.

When it comes to selling your home, you want to do everything in your power to get the highest selling price you can for it. It’s likely to be your most valuable asset, and you’ve worked for it.

Call us on 604.288.9166 today to learn more about our services and to get your home sale started.

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Does the real estate brokerage matter when selecting an agent? (And what you should be looking for)


If you ask any of us here at Residencity whether the real estate brokerage matters when you are looking to hire, we’re going to tell you that it’s the real estate agent that matters, as they are going to be the ones doing the job, not the brokerage they work for.

A real estate agent should not be selected depending on the size of brokerage or how well known it is. A large firm demonstrates how well they recruit and keep agents, perhaps better training and support services, but this is not indicative of the quality of work that the firm does, as well as the agents. Each agent will have different accomplishments and methods of selling properties and it is important to find one whose style matches yours.

Choosing a real estate agent is similar to selecting a post-secondary institution. As a recent graduate out of high school you plan to study at UBC.  Are you choosing UBC just because it’s a well-known university or because of the degrees and programs offered?

In the end, the name of the real estate brokerage does matter to an extent, but should not be a major deciding factor when selecting your agent. Upon selling a house, real estate agents are the ones that the sellers thank, have a lasting connection with and recommend to their friends, not the real estate brokerage. It is important to keep in mind that there will be good brokerages, satisfactory brokerages and that it is important to do your homework on the real estate agent and assess what they have done, and are willing to do for you.

This brings us back to Residencity. We are a small team that values service above everything. We do a pre-inspection, staging, high quality photos and video as those are the things that are going to make your house stand out beyond the others. Call us at 604.288.9166 or email us for a consultation to see what we can do for you.

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