Today, homes aren't sold, homes are marketed. At Remax Eastern Real Estate, our role is not to sell your home; our role is to cause your home to sell.

To manage the home selling process we use exclusive programs and tools from Remax Eastern. We then mobilize coordinate and facilitate the efforts of the entire real estate community, using all the sales professionals to sell your home not just Grant and Jay.

No real estate company has a better plan for selling homes than the process laid out by Remax Eastern. We start marketing your home before it's on the market.

Our commitment to you is more than finding a buyer for your home. Our job is to cause your home to be sold to find the best buyer for your home.

You're an important part of our Home Marketing System. We depend on your knowledge of your home and neighborhood to help us attract the right buyers.

We start by reviewing the features of your home with you. Then we discuss special characteristics that make your home stand out to the buyers looking for homes like yours.

It really doesn't matter who brings you the right buyer. What matters is, the right buyer gets to your home. That's where our Home Marketing System shines. We make sure your home is known to real estate professionals in your local market and across the world. www.mls.ca as well as www.homesinpeterborough.com and don't forget www.relocate-canada.com

As a part of the Home Marketing System, our Home Market Analysis will also help establish a realistic price range for your home, but you determine the actual listing price. To get the best price possible for your home, some of the things we need to know include:

• · What you feel a buyer will pay for your property
• · How soon you need the property to sell
• · How you want to position your home by the asking price

It takes more than a yard sign and a smile to sell a home. We need to:

• · Obtain the best possible price for your home
• · Get the most favorable terms
• · Sell in the shortest period of time
• · Do it with the least inconvenience to you

Traditional marketing is no longer enough. We help you:

• · Select the right marketing strategies for selling your home
• · Define your selling goals and priorities
• · Take advantage of the upgraded home selling services
• · Merchandise your home to enhance its perceived value and marketability
• · Market your home to the people who control buyers as well as the buyers themselves

The Home Market Analysis shows what's happening in the local real estate market (what buyers are willing to pay for a home similar to yours, what they won't pay and which homes are competing with yours for the buyers' attention.)

Making it easier on yourself

Grant and Jay are sales professionals that can help you sell your home more quickly and easily by:
• · Implementing the proven Home Marketing System
• · Accessing an established local network and the Remax Eastern Relocation Services
• · Helping you set the right price on your home to attract the right buyers and the sales professionals who work with them.
• · Gathering data that will present your house and neighborhood in the best light
• · Targeting the market where the most likely buyers will be
• · Handling calls from people who may be more curious than serious about buying
• · Showing your home to the best prospects
• · Representing you during the offer process
• · Doing the necessary paperwork and legwork.
• · Guiding you through settlement

Starting with you
Before the yard sign goes up, together we must do some homework and it makes all the difference. We'll combine your knowledge of your home with the expertise of our sales professionalism to make sure we attract the best buyer.

Gather the facts
Buyers want to know details; having the answers is a powerful sales tool.

Grant and Jay will use the information you provide to answer questions, create an advantageous listing and create an exciting marketing campaign that targets the right kind of buyer.

Help us, Grant and Jay, by collecting or providing the following information:

• · The legal description of the property
• · The number of rooms and their sizes
• · A list of things not attached to the house that you're offering for sale, such as window treatments, carpet, fixtures, swing seat, etc.
• · Past utility bills, property taxes and insurance
• · Information about your mortgage, including the type, terms and suability.
• · Financing assistance, potentially through your own lender
• · Any liens against the property
• · If you live in a condominium or townhouse, include a copy of the association's declaration, bylaws, and financial statement, monthly fees and special assessments.
• · Special items or improvements about the house. (Point out things that may not be apparent on a walk-through.)
• · The positive points about your neighborhood, such as demographic information and proximity to services, shopping, schools and other areas.
• · And defects that aren't apparent. (You should inform us about defects so a buyer can be informed.) We usually ask you to complete a Seller Property Information Statement.

Setting the price
Before you set an asking price for your home. We as sales professionals will complete a Home Market Analysis. Using this process, we will establish a realistic and ambitious listing price and increase the percentage of qualified buyers who look at your property. When setting a realistic fair market value of your home, you'll want to consider a few points:

• · Don't base your asking price simply on what you paid for the home. You may be asking too little or too much
• · Determine how much time you have in which to sell your home. If you must sell quickly, we may suggest a more competitive price; if you have some flexibility, you may choose a slightly higher price
• · We will provide you information on recent sales of comparable homes in your area.
• · Don't price your home too high as a means of making more profit. You will lose a large pool of eligible buyers who won't even look at your house because they can't afford the price. Likewise, you'll disappoint those buyers who can find more house for their money elsewhere.
• · The value of your home is based on the buyer's perception of that value, rather than the amount you originally paid for the house. Perhaps we can offer tips on how to make your home even more appealing to buyers.

An offer to buy
· Carefully review the offer to purchase submitted by the buyer. You may wish to consult an attorney to assist in this review. It tells you the price the buyer is willing to pay and under what conditions. This offer is the most important document of the sale. Once you and the buyers sign it, it becomes the contract sale, a binding agreement signed under seal.

· Grant and Jay, together with you, will be present when the offer is presented. In our area this is customary; in others the real estate sales professional acts as your representative.

Your Options
• · Accept the terms with no changes and sign the offer.
• · Make a counteroffer to the buyer by making some changes. Many counteroffers may take place before the final agreement is signed.
• · Reject the offer entirely.
• · Sign a binder, if applicable in your province. The binder is a more detailed contract that sets forth the major terms and is signed by both parties.
• · Once you've signed an offer, you may accept a backup offer if the buyer clearly understands the house is already under contract.

Price
• · Decide on a price. Together, we can estimate your proceeds - the sale price minus fees, taxes and insurance.
• · Don't be concerned if the offer is your asking price. It does not mean you under priced your home, but rather that you priced it right.
• · If the price is less than you wanted, look at the contract as a whole. Perhaps the buyer is assuming some of the closing expenses you expected to pay.
• · Consider splitting the difference if you and the buyer come within a reasonable amount of each other. Remember time on the market is an additional expense.

Earnest money
· An earnest money or deposit will be held by a third party, usually the real estate office trust fund, until an agreement is reached between you and the buyer. At that time, the money is usually credited to the buyer and applied to the down payment. Until you accept his or her offer, the buyer may withdraw the offer and get the earnest money back. Also, if the buyer fails to follow through with the contract once it's accepted because of a failed home inspection, not approved for the mortgage or a number of reasons that the buyer could not meet the conditions of the offer, the earnest money or deposit is returned to the buyer. If the buyer fails to meet the conditions of the offer for lack of trying, the seller can ask for the deposit to be released to the seller.

Property title
As part of the contract process, you must prove to the buyer that you have a clear title on the house - which you own the property, and there are no legal claims against it. Through a title search, proof is provided. The buyer's lawyer before closing searches this.

• · The insurance company may search the title through the owner's policy of title insurance. Either the buyer's insurance company or your own may conduct this, depending on the buyer's preference of company.
• · The abstract of title is a condensed history of a title to a property and a certification by the abstractor that the history is complete and accurate.
• · The certificate of title is reviewed by an attorney who searches the title and issues an opinion that the title is clear.

Property deed
· Be prepared to convey the property with a deed - a legal document that transfers the title (or ownership rights) of the property to the new owner. Most buyers will require a general warranty deed, in which you guarantee that no one will bring a claim against the title. Your lawyer looks after this detail too.

Conditions
· Review the contract for the special conditions under which the buyer is offering to buy your home. A common condition is one in which the purchase of your home is contingent on the buyer selling his or her old home. The conditions may also be more specific, such as asking you to provide a survey of the property.

Provisions
· Read the fine print in your contract to understand the provisions (or ground rules) of who pays for what in the context of the sale. For instance, the contract should explain who is responsible if there's damage to the house after the contract is signed. The responsible party will want to insure the property through the transition. You or the buyer may add special provisions to the standard ones. In Ontario, the contract clearly states the seller is responsible for any damages to the property up and including date of closing.

Sales specifics
· Double-check the list of everything you intend to sell that is included in the contract and make sure it is accurate. This list may include items such as fixtures, window treatments or appliances.

Closing and possession

• · The buyer and their sales professional arrange the settlement agent, with your approval. The person who handles the closing may be a broker, lender, title insurance company, escrow company or attorney.
• · Frequently, closing is dictated by the necessity of the buyer in arranging financing, usually a period of 30 to 60 days.
• · Look over any terms in the contract that state when the buyer will take possession. If you aren't moved out by that date, you are often obligated to pay rent to the buyer. Here in Peterborough, the contracts usually state you must be out of the premises on or before 6 pm unless different arrangements have been made in the body of the offer.
• · Your attorney can help you line up any of the paperwork that the contract has called for you to supply, such as the title insurance or a survey.
• · Expect the buyer's lender to send an appraiser and a surveyor to check you home.
• · Notify your lender that you will be paying off the mortgage and ask for a statement of what you owe. Actually, your attorney usually makes this call for you unless you have instructed them otherwise. Your outstanding balance will be subtracted from the amount you'd receive from the seller. (Any penalty for paying off the mortgage early will also be subtracted.) This penalty is a BIG check.
• · Have fix-up work done according to the contract so that final inspections may take place.
• · Gather all warranties and instructions books for your home's appliances or major systems to give to the buyer.
• · Once you have a closing date, notify the utility, telephone, water, trash, and other services to advise them of your final billing date. Utility companies should make final meter readings on the day of closing.

Settling up

• · Prior to closing, your buyer may wish to make a final inspection (or walk-through) to see that the home is still in good condition.
• · Ask you lawyer for a copy of the closing costs before closing. This document is known as the closing statement or settlement sheet and will contain most of the changes you will be asked to pay.
• · Depending on your area and your negotiations, you might pay for charges related to the title such as title insurance or attorney's fees.
• · The buyer will likely pay the fee for recording the mortgage, while you may be asked to pay the transfer fee and the deed-recording fee, document preparation, notary services or warranty covered, are charged for preparing of closing. Discuss which fees you will be responsible for with your attorney.
• · Typically, you as the seller will pay the real estate company's fee. If two brokers are involved, the fee is divided between them. Your listing agreement will spell this out.
• · After the balance you owe on your mortgage is subtracted from the proceeds, as well as any early payment penalties if applicable, you also may pay a small charge to have the title cleared.
• · You will typically be responsible for paying your prorated share of property taxes and hazard insurance until the date of settlement. If these charges have been paid from an escrow account, or, if the charges have already been paid in advance, you may receive money back from your lender.

Closing activities

• - Usually a day or two prior to closing, we make arrangements to bring over one of our moving trailers to leave in your driveway so you can start packing it.
• · Usually the day prior to closing, you sit down with your attorney and sign all the paperwork involved with the sale of your house.
• · Any issues or questions should be resolved by this time so that both parties can simply review and sign each document.
• · You will sign over the deed to the buyer to convey the title to the property. You should also review the final version of the settlement statement to be sure its in order.
• · Finally- it's the moment you've waited for! At the settlement meeting shortly thereafter, you'll turn over the keys to your house- and be given a cheque you can take right to the bank.

Terms to know

• Abstract of title: A history of ownership of a property and nay documents that affect the title during that ownership.
• Appraisal: An opinion by a licensed real estate appraiser about fair market value of a home.
• Broker: A person who has a real estates broker's license, who not only makes real estate transactions for others in exchange for a fee (or other consideration,) bit also operates a real estate business and employs sales professionals and other brokers.
• Clear or marketable title: A title that does not have any liens or claims against it that would keep it from being transferred, put the buyer in a position to sue for property rights or obligated for claims.
• Closing Settlement: Money deposited by a potential buyer to show his or her seriousness about buying.
• Equity: The amount of ownership that one has in a home. Equity is the sale price minus selling cost and the remaining mortgage principal.
• General warranty deed: The type of deed considered to provide the most protection to an owner, since the seller guarantees that he or she is the true owner of the property and that no claim will be brought against the property.
• Listing contract: A contract with the broker or firm you hire to represent you in the sale of your home, according to the terms of the sale that you specify. In exchange for producing a ready, willing and able buyer for you, the sales professional is paid a buyer commission.
• Multiple Listing Service (MLS): A networking system, frequently on computer, in which a number of real estate firms share information about their clients' houses that are for sale.
• Offer to purchase/purchase offer/earnest money agreement/contract of purchase/deposit receipt: A document that lists the price, conditions and terms under which the buyer is willing to purchase the property.
• Offer to purchase and acceptance/contract of sale/sales contract: An offer of purchase that has been signed by both buyer and seller. A firm contract that outlines all details of the property transaction.
• Realtor: An active member of a local board of realtors. Local brands are affiliated with the National Association of Realtors.
• Title: The right to ownership in real estate, which is transferred by a deed.
• Title search: checking all the records related to the title.
• Title insurance: Insurance, usually paid through a single premium at closing that insures the owner against loss because of a claim against the title that was not found in the title search.