• Anytime! Whether you’re pre-approved or not, ready to start looking or not, ready to sell or not, it’s never too early to start. Giving yourself more time to learn and prepare for when you’re ready to jump into the housing market sets you up for success, and helps me learn how to best help you.

Fill out the “Contact Me” form and I’ll take care of the rest!

I like to begin by meeting with you to get to know you and understand your situation. From there, we’ll go over the whole process from start to finish, so you get an understanding of how everything works and what you can expect. We’ll discuss what you’re looking for and what the next steps are. By the end of the initial meeting, I aim to have taught you the basics of what it will take to buy your first home, and set a clear path for you to make that happen.

• From the time your offer gets accepted to the time you take possession, you’re likely looking at anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months (although it can be longer in some cases). Prior to writing an offer, we’ll do our initial meeting, get you pre-approved, do some showings. That part of the process can take as short or as long as you need it to - completely depends on your needs and timeline.

• Generally the prep work to get the house ready for market takes longer than the sale. Making sure the house is clean, touched up, staged well and showing at its best helps your house sell as quickly as possible. Depending on a few factors, homes can sell in as little as a day. More commonly though, your home will be on the market for a week or so to maximize the number of offers you get.

• No! The deposit is provided generally within 24 hours of an accepted offer and acts as a credit towards your down payment. The deposit acts as security for the sellers, because the deposit amount will become non-refundable when you’re able to satisfy any conditions on your offer. However, if you’re unable to satisfy conditions on your offer, that deposit will be refunded to you.

• As a buyer, you won’t pay me anything! My commission gets paid out by the seller of the house that you purchase. 

• As a seller, yes! When we meet to go through the house and come up with a listing plan, we’ll talk more about pricing structures and decide on something that works for everybody.

• For Buyers, closing costs are the fees you pay your lawyer to finalize and close the purchase, the land transfer tax, and anything the lawyer has to pay on your behalf (for example: prorated property taxes). Closing costs can vary depending on a few factors, but generally they will add up to approximately 2% of the purchase price, and will be paid at the lawyer’s office at the same time that you pay the remainder of the down payment. As a safeguard, I always tell people to expect to pay 2%, but budget for 3%.

Short answer - there is no worst time!

Pricing the home correctly, prepping the house to show at its best, and hiring a REALTOR® with a well laid-out plan will ensure that regardless of what time of year you’re listing your home, you will maximize the interest in it.
While the winter can tend to be a slower market, the buyers who will visit your home will be much more serious in general (because who wants to do showings in -30 degrees unless they have to?). You may get fewer showings in the dead of winter, but those showings will generally be more competitive buyers.

Trying to time the market is never advisable - list your home when it makes sense for you! It might mean adjusting your marketing plan, but that’s what your REALTOR® is for!

There is no right or wrong answer here. The answer is highly dependent on your situation, needs, wants, and timeline.

Selling your home first means you’ll know your exact budget prior to buying a new home, however you’ll be on a strict timeline when it comes to finding that home.

Buying a home before selling your current home means that you can be a bit more patient with the purchase, and wait to find the home that fits exactly what you’re looking for. However, you may need to act quickly to get your current home on the market and be a bit more conservative with your asking price to make sure it sells in the timeline that fits your purchase.
Give me a call if you want to discuss what method would work best for you!