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Are you planning to sell your home in the near future? Regardless of season or market conditions, remember that you only have one chance to make a good first impression. Make it memorable for all the right reasons. Before listing your home, commit to these five New Year’s Resolutions to help ensure the quickest sale for the highest price.

Repair And Replace

When planning to sell your home, assess its condition and make repairs before listing. Cracked drywall, stained carpets, burned-out light bulbs and other minor damage is easy to fix and won’t break the bank, but left unrepaired, could impact offers. TIP: It can be tough to evaluate your own home. Have your For Sale On Georgian Bay agent or a friend tour your home and offer constructive criticism.

Get Comparable’s

Three to six months before your home hits the market, ask your For Sale On Georgian Bay agent to start scanning comparable listings to get a ballpark price estimate. Keep in mind that a variety of factors may affect your home’s selling price, like lot size; landscaping and interior finishes; proximity to busy streets, public transit, schools and parks; or supply and demand in the marketplace. Your For Sale On Georgian Bay agent will assess your home just prior to listing, to ensure you set the right price to attract serious buyers.

Cut The Clutter

A cluttered home can suggest lack of space, which can impact offers. Depending on lifestyle and length of time spent in the home, this can be a big undertaking. Take it step by step, room by room, and you’ll get through it. Be honest about what you want, need and love, and what you can do without. The bonus? You won’t have to pack, move and clutter your new home with stuff you don’t want.

Stage To Sell

When it’s time to sell your home, stage it to show it in the best possible light. This includes packing up family photos and personal items (prospective buyers want to picture themselves in the home, not you!), putting the non-essential items into storage (or the donation bin!). Your For Sale On Georgian Bay agent may offer Digital Staging staging as part of their suite of services, or will be able to put you in touch with a professional stager to help get the job done.

The New Year always brings around feelings of change and new beginnings – are you thinking about making a move in 2023? If so, here are 4 tips to help you. These New Year’s resolutions all relate to finances because a Home is the biggest investment most of us will make in our lifetime. 

Check Your Credit Rating

This is one of the most important initial steps you can take because you can guarantee that your potential mortgage lender will be doing the same. A credit score is a number between 300 and 900 that rates your credit-worthiness. According to credit-rating company Equifax, a score of 690 or higher is considered “good”. Lenders will use this score in tandem with other factors, such as your debt-to-income ratio, to determine mortgage eligibility. 

Credit Clean-Up

Remember that phone bill you forgot to pay a couple of years ago? It can come back to haunt you. Even a one-day-late payment is still considered “late,” and can negatively affect your credit rating – and your potential to qualify for a favourable mortgage. If you’re not happy with your credit score, take some time to bring it up to par before you start the pre-qualification process.

Get Pre-Approved For A Mortgage

It’s no secret that there was a lot of media attention surrounding the rising interest rates of 2022. As we move into 2023 we hope to see some reductions over the course of the year. It’s imperative to get expert advice to understand the changes and how the mortgage horizon looks. A mortgage pre-approval is not an obligation to purchase in this time frame, nor are you committed to that particular lender. It’s just a written confirmation of the approved amount and the promised rate, so you can shop with confidence within a budget you know you can afford.

Start Shopping

Online is a good place to start your search, but nothing beats first-hand experience. With budget in mind, bundle up and hit the streets to explore different neighbourhoods and the amenities you’ll have access to. Do you rely on public transit? Is an active nightlife important to you? Daycares and schools? Parks and rec? Highway access? How close (or far!) do you want to be from family and your workplace? Think about your day-to-day needs, and anticipate how they might change over time.

Most importantly, work with a For Sale On Georgian Bay Agent who has experience in the area and the type of home you plan to purchase. They will make setting up viewings easy and be ready and on your side to negotiate the best price when it comes to finally making an offer.