Everything You Need To Know About Selling Your House Fast in Canada

Are you looking to sell your house fast in Canada? Then you’re in the right place. In this ultimate guide, we take you step-by-step through the process. Plus, we give you online resources that will help get your home sold… fast!

Find your realtor to sell a house fast

The first step to selling your house fast is to decide if you want to sell privately vs. selling with a licensed realtor. To fully understand the differences between selling your home privately or selling with a realtor, keep reading as there are many pros and cons to consider with each approach:

Selling privately – For Sale By Owner (FSBO)

Pros: Lower fees, more control during the selling process

Cons: May take longer to sell, time-consuming, increased lawyer fees from additional paperwork the agent would have handled, negotiating required, poor quality photography/videography leading to less interest from buyers, no help with staging, buyer agents may be hesitant to show your FSBO listing to their clients, more stressful sales process

Selling with a licensed realtor

Pros: The possibility of a faster sale due to experience, trusted vendor recommendations, consistently good photos & video, negotiation on your behalf, assistance with staging, less stressful sales process

Cons: Average commission can be anywhere from 4-6% of the sale price of your home (commissions are negotiable), less control over the sales process

Based on the above criteria, if you’re looking to sell your house faster, it’s likely in your best interest to work with a trusted realtor. The first step to finding the right real estate agent to work with is reading client reviews.

You can check out Google, Facebook, REW.ca and RankMyAgent.com for local Canadian real estate agent reviews. You should also ask friends & family for personal recommendations of stand-out agents they’ve worked with in the past.

Just because a real estate agent seems to be the biggest in an area doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be the best fit for your needs. Don’t discount smaller, more boutique brokerages and agents. They may be ready to give you more of their time and effort than a busier agent.

Understand the costs required to sell a house fast

There are many varied costs to consider when listing your home for sale in Canada. For example, realtor commissions can range anywhere from 4 to 6% on average and can legally be negotiated by the seller.

Chat with your lender’s mortgage representative to find out if you’ll be hit with any fees associated with the early prepayment of your mortgage loan . If you can instead port your mortgage to your next property, prepayment fees won’t apply.

Additionally, you should also get quotes from local moving companies. Be sure to check reviews of moving services on Google and Facebook before hiring anyone.

Hiring the wrong moving company can seriously throw off your moving plans, so do your research first and don’t hire the first company you find in the phone book. Again, friends and family are the best way to learn about movers that go the extra distance for their clients.

Be sure to consider any applicable Land Transfer Tax or municipal taxes that may be applicable to the sale of your home. For example, the city of Toronto has a Municipal Land Transfer Tax you’ll need to budget for, but outside of the city line, there isn’t an additional municipal tax. Always check directly with your municipality to understand applicable taxes.

Also, be aware if you’re selling a commercial property that is not your primary residence that a portion of your sale may be subject to capital gains tax. Finally, there are costs for getting your home ready for sale. They can include but are not limited to cleaning, painting & repairs.

Gather important documents to sell house fast

Collect any important documents including builder layouts, home improvement permits and receipts, land tax receipts, utility bills and warranties.

Compile any and all rental contracts. For example, many people are renting their hot water heater, water softener or furnace. These contracts can often be transferred to the new homeowner. But this isn’t always the case.

You should take the time to investigate whether the contract can be transferred. If it’s untransferable, you’ll most likely need to pay out the remaining term on the contract before closing.

Looking to make your sale as smooth as possible? A little planning ahead can go a long way. Taking the time to invest in an updated land survey & pre-listing home inspection report will give your buyers peace of mind and information about your home.

An informed buyer is more likely to become a serious buyer. You should also consider whether or not to include fixtures and other movables in the sale (anything that’s not permanently affixed to the house). These include kitchen appliances or a washer and dryer. Appliances are usually included in the sale of a home, but not always. Don’t forget to consider common items that buyers often like to include in the deal, such as a hot tub, gazebo, patio furniture and BBQ.

If you have a pool, be sure to provide information about what company you hire annually to open and close your pool.

If it’s winter when you sell your house and the pool is closed, the buyer’s agent may call the pool company and ask them what the condition of the pool was when it was last seen by a professional. Providing this information ahead of time will speed up the process of receiving offers from interested buyers and will lead to fewer conditions in any offers.

Clean, declutter and repair your home to sell a house fast

Your home should first be decluttered as this will make the listing process significantly easier. Consider hiring a junk removal company to help you get rid of extra stuff taking up precious space in your home.

A bin rental service may also be helpful when completing any necessary decluttering of your home. Local junk bin companies will deliver a large trash container to your property and after a set amount of days pick up the container and bring it to the dump as part of their service.

Don’t love cleaning yourself? Hire a local home cleaning company to do a deep cleaning of your house, including the shampooing of any rugs. The company should pay attention to small details throughout your home, such as wiping down light switch plates and scrubbing the grout in your shower.

A great way to freshen your home is with a new paint job. It’s a relatively affordable and easy update to make when preparing to sell your house quickly. Fresh paint not only looks great but once dry, new paint helps a house smell fresher too.

Even if you’re rushing to sell your house fast, you should take the time to make any necessary updates or repairs such as replacing damaged baseboards, fixtures and burnt-out lightbulbs.?

This article is the shortened version of an article originally published on Hardbacon.ca by Arthur Dubois under the title "The Ultimate Guide To Sell Your House Fast in Canada".