WITH GARY MACRAE · ETOBICOKE REAL ESTATE BROKER & REALTOR®.
How do I choose the best REALTOR® in Etobicoke to sell my home?
The best REALTOR® for selling your Etobicoke home is not necessarily the one with the most signs, the biggest team or the loudest marketing. Look for someone who understands the local market, can explain how they would position your particular property, has a clear preparation and pricing strategy, and communicates honestly.
They should also have enough experience to know what to do when the sale doesn’t go exactly according to plan.
Because sometimes it doesn’t.
After nearly 30 years in Toronto real estate, I can tell you that selling a home successfully involves much more than putting it on MLS® and waiting for an offer.
1. What should I look for in an Etobicoke REALTOR®?
Start with the questions that actually affect your sale.
Does the REALTOR® understand your type of home and your part of Etobicoke? Can they explain recent comparable sales and, more importantly, which ones are genuinely relevant to your property?
Ask how they would prepare your home, how they would determine the asking price, who they believe the likely buyer will be and how they plan to reach that buyer.
You should also understand who will actually be looking after you. Will you deal with the person you hired or be handed off to someone else once the listing agreement is signed?
A good listing presentation shouldn’t leave you impressed but confused. You should come away understanding the strategy.
2. Does local Etobicoke experience really matter?
Yes, but “local” should mean more than knowing where the neighbourhood is.
Etobicoke isn’t one uniform real estate market. A detached home in Princess-Rosethorn can behave very differently from a bungalow farther west, a condo near Islington or a house closer to the lake.
Lot size, school areas, renovation level, street location, access to transit, housing style and even the expectations of buyers looking in a particular pocket can affect how a property should be positioned.
Local knowledge becomes particularly valuable when deciding which sales actually tell us something about your home’s value.
The house around the corner may have sold yesterday. That doesn’t automatically make it a good comparable.
3. Should I choose the REALTOR® who gives me the highest home value?
Be careful.
A REALTOR®’s opinion doesn’t determine what your house is worth. Buyers ultimately do.
When I prepare a market analysis, I look at the evidence and explain what I believe it tells us. Sometimes that’s exactly what a homeowner hoped to hear. Sometimes it isn’t.
I’d rather have an uncomfortable conversation with you before your house goes on the market than a much more uncomfortable one several weeks later.
Ask any REALTOR® recommending a price to show you the evidence behind it and explain the strategy.
4. How important is preparing my home before selling?
Very important, but preparation does not automatically mean renovation.
One of the first things I help sellers determine is what is worth doing and, just as importantly, what isn’t.
For one Etobicoke house, painting, decluttering and some relatively minor repairs might make a significant difference. Another property may need more work. And sometimes I will recommend that a homeowner stop spending money and let the next owner renovate it to their taste.
The question isn’t:
“How much can we do to this house?”
It’s:
“What will help us sell this particular house well?”
Those are very different questions.
5. What if I’ve lived in my Etobicoke home for decades?
Then choosing a REALTOR® may involve considerably more than choosing someone to sell the house.
You may be deciding whether you want to move at all.
You may have decades of belongings to deal with, repairs you’ve been putting off, adult children offering different opinions and absolutely no desire to spend the next six months turning your life upside down.
This is particularly common with longtime homeowners and people considering downsizing.
My approach is to determine what needs to happen, in what order, and what can be delegated. Through our concierge service, Gary and I can also help co-ordinate trusted professionals for repairs, cleaning, contents, staging and moving when required.
You don’t have to solve everything before calling a REALTOR®.
In fact, if you don’t know where to start, that’s a perfectly good time to call.
6. What questions should I ask before hiring an Etobicoke REALTOR®?
Ask questions that reveal how the REALTOR® thinks, not simply what they have sold.
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How would you determine the value of my home?
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Which recent Etobicoke sales are actually comparable to mine, and why?
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What would you recommend I do before listing?
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What would you tell me not to spend money on?
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Who is the likely buyer for my property?
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How will you market specifically to that buyer?
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How will you communicate showing activity and buyer feedback to me?
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What happens if the house doesn’t sell as expected?
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Who will I actually deal with throughout the process?
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How do you handle offers and negotiation?
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What other professionals might I need before closing?
And ask yourself one more question after the meeting:
Did I feel comfortable asking questions and disagreeing?
You’re hiring an adviser for a major financial decision. You should never feel that you’ve surrendered control of it.
How do I know who the best Etobicoke REALTOR® is for me?
There isn’t one REALTOR® who is automatically the best choice for every homeowner in Etobicoke.
The better question is:
Who is best equipped to handle my property, my circumstances and the decisions I need to make?
If yours is a straightforward sale, your priorities may be pricing, marketing and negotiation.
If you’ve lived in your house for 30 or 40 years, haven’t sold a home recently, are downsizing or are helping a parent sell, you may need considerably more planning and support before a For Sale sign ever appears.
That’s the part of real estate I particularly enjoy.
We figure out where you are, what is getting in the way and what needs to happen next.
Then we go at your pace.
How many REALTORS® should I interview before selling my Etobicoke home?
There is no magic number. Interview enough REALTORS® to understand the differences in their approach, service and strategy. Two or three thoughtful conversations may tell you far more than collecting six listing presentations.
Should I hire the Etobicoke REALTOR® who sells the most houses?
Sales volume is one piece of information, but it doesn’t tell you what your experience will be. Ask who will personally advise you, how your property will be positioned and how the REALTOR® handles problems when a sale becomes more complicated than expected.
When should I contact a REALTOR® if I’m thinking of selling?
Earlier than many homeowners think. You don’t need to be ready to list. An early conversation can help you determine what should be repaired, what isn’t worth doing, how much preparation may be involved and whether selling now makes sense at all.
Thinking about selling your Etobicoke home?
You don’t have to know when you’re moving. You don’t have to have the house ready. And you certainly don’t need to have figured out what to do with everything in the basement first.
If you’re considering selling, downsizing or simply wondering what your Etobicoke home may be worth, let’s have a conversation.
Gary and I will help you understand your options and what the first step would look like.
No pressure. No need to have all the answers before you call.