Homes are more than places that provide us with shelter and warmth; they are capsules that hold years of memories. It is rarely easy to walk away from a home you love, but when you are ready to sell there are some things you should know. Hiring an experienced closing lawyers to help complete the sale of your house is a great way for you to reduce the stresses involved and be sure that you do not leave any loose ends. Here are some frequently asked questions to know about!
The best time to sell is when there is a seller’s market. This means that the number of qualified homebuyers exceeds the amount of available homes for sale. There are many other factors that affect the best timing to sell your home, including seasonality, availability of comparable homes for sale, new by-laws, and the weather depending on the time of year. By consulting a real estate agent and lawyer, you will get great advice on when you should sell your home.
There are few things you should know and do to prepare for selling your house. First of all, you need to remove your personal attachment to your home. Think of it as a business transaction. When you change your mindset, you will be better able to do what it takes to make it stand out among the competition. You should also choose a reputable real estate lawyer to help you with the buying or selling process. You will need to find and put together any paperwork and documents that have to do with your property. If you are missing your title documents your lawyer can usually find these for you, do not worry. If you already have a new home, you should move your personal items out of your old home, and spend some time organizing, cleaning, upgrading, repairing, and making it look ready to sell. This includes boosting your curb appeal, staging furniture, and adding flowers to impress visitors.
Selling your home in Ontario can be complicated when you consider renovations, costs, checking the mortgage, and other responsibilities. A real estate lawyer can help you handle the selling process carefully and thoroughly, so you don’t miss a beat. Also, in Ontario, only a lawyer can act to transfer title so you will need to hire a lawyer to complete the transaction.
At Zinati Kay – Real Estate Lawyers, we charge a fixed closing cost of $799, plus HST and the $75 Law Society Transaction Levy for typical transactions. This approach gives our clients the true total cost of selling and certainty as they make their budgets.
In most cases, you will need to move out of the home on the closing date. Upon the date of closing, the home will have been transferred in title and possession will belong to the new homebuyer, not you. This usually takes place between 3 and 6 PM on the closing date. After closing, you will no longer have the legal right to be there. You might wish to consider being out of the home at least one day before closing and be sure that you have all your items out of the house before you deliver the key.
It is common to sell a property while still owing money to the lender. Typically, you will have some time and a balance left on your mortgage. Be careful to check ahead of time if there will be a penalty on you paying out your mortgage. Your lawyer will take care of ordering the discharge statement required to pay off the mortgage from your bank. Your lawyer will then direct some of the proceeds of sale to the bank to pay off the mortgage and later make sure that the bank discharges the mortgage from title.
Cleaning your home before selling is a very good idea and should not be forgotten. It will help you get a better price for your home. Your home should be pristine and beautiful for buyers if you can make it so, or you may not get a sale at all. The experience of a potential buyer as they explore your property is important for you to be able to sell your home as close to your asking price as possible. In some cases, your home will need to be inspected for any issues with plumbing or rodents before a buyer will close on the purchase. After the deal is signed and between the actual closing date, legally speaking, the property must stay in substantially the same condition as it would is in when you saw it.
Fundamentally, whether you will pay tax depends on the use you made of the home. In Canada, there is generally entitlement to one principal residence for which a full exemption from paying capital gains tax can be obtained. Investment properties are subject to capital gains taxes though . The amount of tax you pay on investment properties fundamentally depends on the difference in price between what you paid for the property and what you sold it for, after expenses are counted. A good accountant will help you with this.
You can find the worth of your home in a few different ways. You can contact your agent, which is what most people do. Otherwise, you can try to use an online comparative valuation tool, run a comparative market analysis on your property, get your home appraised by a professional, check the sale prices of recently sold properties in your area, or contact your local taxing authority to ask for a copy of the property tax assessment for your home.
A pre-sale home inspection is paid for by you or your listing agent and it provides a written report as to the condition of the property. If there are any concerns that could compromise the sale, it would be listed on this report. The idea is to have the report available to the potential buyer for review to make it more straightforward to purchase the property.
Although it is not mandatory that you have a “For Sale” sign on your lawn, it is often a good idea. Without a sign, it is difficult for buyers travelling through the area to know if your home is for sale. As the seller, you can promote the sale of your property online, but including a physical sign on your lawn will also work in your favour.
If you need assistance as you prepare to sell your home, getting help from the professionals is your best option. Zinati Kay – Real Estate Lawyers is a full service residential real estate law firm that provides fixed closing costs to buyers and sellers when they buy, sell, mortgage, or title transfer their property.
Over the past 25 years, we have closed over 21,000 real estate transactions. We have three lawyers to service our clients and were one of the first firms to provide fixed closing costs. We provide professional service and reasonable real estate lawyer fees and have thousands of satisfied clients to prove it. If you need any assistance, contact us at 416-321-8766 for more information about our services.