Discussions

Hi, good evening. I am planning to sell my house privately through ebrandon and by putting up an ad in Brandon Sun. If you have some experience or even if you don't have kindly advise and send some tips. Your suggestions will be appreciated.

We sold our house privately first we got an apprassal and asked $5000. more, we got a certified cheque for down payment and took it all to lawyer, it worked very well

Sold privately a couple of times, takes some work but saves you thousands in realtor fees. Price it right, find a lawyer to draw up contract.

We had 2 realtors come and do appraisals. No charge. They both had very similar prices. We posted on ebrandon and had 3 showings first day. Sold first day for asking price. Ad cost $100. Post nice pictures. Make sure house is declutered and spotlessly clean. Clean the sidewalks and yard. First impression is important. Lawyers will give you the forms for "offer to purchase". Get both parties to sign and the lawyers will take of the rest. Saved ourselves a pile of money net and it was painless.

Thanks a lot.

I bought privately, and I wouldn't again. It seemed if something could go wrong with our deal it did.  
 
The sale took forever. Our house had to be appraised twice, once for the mortgage company, and once for CMHC. I only had to pay for one of them though.  
 
You can get your house appraised, but other than giving you a price point it's not good for much else. The buyers mortgage company probably won't accept your appraisal. Maybe if it's a local lender they might, but a mortgage broker arranged lender wouldn't.  
 
Having said all that, knowing the potential hoops a buyer would have to jump through, and the extra time my sale could take, I would still consider selling privately. Because I'm cheap haha.

I worked for comfree in Winnipeg for about 8 years. It can be very simple to sell privately.  
 
Getting your house ready, with an appraisal for market value is just as important as cleaning up, de clutter and keeping it bright and sweet smelling.  
A good example of this was a retiring couple who took a few months to clean the house. They purged. They went one room a week. empty it what really needs to go back, what are we taking with us that we don't need it can get packed. What we do need can go back. Give away and throw away the rest. The emptied the garage collecting ting there for a garage sale.Their house was clean, clutter free. Moving boxes in the basement were numbered. a 3-ring binder held an inventory of each box's contents. NO one looking at the house minded the moving boxes because the house sold in 24 hours of it being on the market.  
 
I always suggested keeping control of viewings by having a calendar. Mark down the family activities then highlight the remaining days that are FREE. ensure that you can have the house clean, and then book showings in clusters on the day.  
 
WHen showing the home walking through with the potential buys is usually a good thing. not telling them the obvious is helpfull too....this is the bathroom. Rather here we have a 3 piece bath go on in have a look.... bathrooms are small don't every one try to get in there. Take your time go slow and be specific. Tell them what you did, not what you want to do. Tell the potential buyers the important recent upgrades and improvements. When you walk through larger rooms try to get them to walk in and around so then can get a look in and a look out, The whole view not just a peek in the doorway.  
 
Pricing is important to sell quickly. Comfree always suggested looking at the free appraisals from the real estate. Add to what you know your neighbours may have recently sold for. Keep in mind what is different about your two properties. What did you pay for it, What have you invested into it. Accept that you may not get that back and sometimes the fresh coat of paint just helps it sell faster.  
 
Never agree to anything verbally. If you are given an offer, poker face and protect yourself with something like,"put that in writing and I will look at it." They may offer you what yo want but a really inconvenient possession date or perhaps too many conditions.You want to know and understand what the package is.  
 
Your real estate lawyer will be able to provide you with some advice as well. Check online for sales helps as the MLS paper often has an article about preparing yourself and your family for selling your home.  
 
Hope this helps and does not confuse. I am fully confident with private real estate sales. I purchased 2 homes and a recreation property privately over the years and much preferred the experience to the one private sale of the house that I now live in that I have had.  
 
 
 

We have done both and has been relatively easy not to mention the money saved in real estate fees. Ebrandon is a great place to advertise, even some real estate agents use it.