This page is about selling your Salt Spring Island home.

Are you about to list your Salt Spring home for sale? Here is some information from a Salt Spring REALTOR® on how to sell Salt Spring island real estate.

1. Price your house right
2. Clean up all the stuff
3. Get a home inspection done
4. Get a survey and have it available
5. Historic photos
6. Permits for various renovations and or projects
7. Construction plans
8. Put out Cookies or Muffins
9. Have a suggestion box
10. Use a Lock Box for your key to make access easy 
11. Compare commissions - why pay extra to sell your home

1. Ask yourself why you are selling? Do you really want to sell or are you just fishing for a sky high price. If you over price your Salt Spring house you will know it in the first couple of weeks. The buyers are like fishermen, fishing for houses, when one comes on the market the buyers will give it a quick once over. If it is priced right they will view it and put in an offer. If it is over priced they will throw it back like a dog fish. Overpricing will leave your house on the market for a long time. Then the buyers will think that there is something wrong with your house and it will just not sell. The listing information will not go away once you overprice even if you re-list. The information about your home is out there in cyberland. If you under price a house you will know because you will get multiple offers within the first week or so and it will sell fast. Don't list your house with the Realtor that tells you your house is worth x+ when you know it is only worth x. Do your own research and figure out com parables on your own. You can use my enhanced search engine for this purpose.

 2. Very few Salt Spring homes are staged. Last week on the home tour I went to a $900,000 home and it was empty! It was hard to envision it as a home it looked like a warehouse. It is not rocket science it is just basic common sense. The more clutter you remove the bigger your house looks. Rent a storage locker and fill it. Hire a real home stag-er , get me to help you or do it yourself but just do it. 

3. Hire a home inspector and get a home inspection. Now this may sound strange but in my opinion this is money well spent. The customers may still want to hire their own inspector but it shows that you are serious about selling. If the home inspector finds any thing wrong get it fixed right away and but save your receipts. If you have to hire someone as a contractor and they are going to hire someone hold back 10% until the 60 days are up then you will know that the contractor has payed all the sub trades and you will not get a builder's lien on your house.

4. Get a survey done and have the property flagged with surveyor's tape. I don't know how may times I have been asked where the property lines are. If I knew that for all 250 listings on Salt Spring I would have some memory.

5. If you have photo's of your house before you moved in or during a re-no put them in an album and leave them out. Show pride in your renovation and workmanship. You are selling - this is your time to show what a great job you have done building or maintaining your home.

6. Permits, Permits and Permits. Put them in a folder with a copy of your fire insurance and tax notice or put it all in the photo album.

7. Everyone like to see the blue prints or plans for the house. Even if they are twenty years old it may help someone envision a addition or upgrade.

8. Chances are when the buyers, show up for a viewing your house will be empty and quiet. Leave it warm and cozy, a cold house is just hard to sell. If you have a fireplace have a fire going before you leave and cookies or muffins do help make people feel good. It is surprising how few people ever do these simple things.

9. If you would like feedback set up a small suggestion box, with a pen and paper, it can be anonymous it is just a way for you to find out what the buyers think.

10. If I could get you to do one thing ask your listing agents for a Lock Box. Salt Spring is about the only place on the world without Lock Boxes. It makes showing your house hard. Think about it if a customer comes over from Vancouver and wants to see 5 places I would have to make 5 trips to town just to get the keys. Try doing this on a Saturday in the summer. If I can't get in I can't show it and your house won't sell. Lock Boxes just make it easier to show your house. They are secure and not anyone can get in. It is up to you to insist on a Lock Box.  

11. Dare to compare commissions charged by agents. There are different business models some agent charge more some less. 

What you save if you list your home with One Percent Realty   

Your House		Typical MLS® Broker	Savings
$ 200,000	$ 5,000+adm*	$ 10,000	$ 4,200
$ 300,000	$ 5,000+adm*	$ 13,000	$ 7,200
$ 400,000	$ 5,000+adm*	$ 16,000	$ 10,200
$ 500,000	$ 5,000+adm*	$ 19,000	$ 13,200
$ 600,000	$ 6,000+adm*	$ 22,000	$ 16,200
$ 700,000	$ 7,000+adm*	$ 25,000	$ 19,200
$ 800,000	$ 8,000+adm*	$ 28,000	$ 22,200
$ 900,000	$ 9,000+adm*	$ 31,000	$ 25,200
$ 1,000,000	$ 10,000+adm*	$ 34,000	$ 28,200
* Administration charge is $800

Call Scott if you have any other questions before you list with a other selling agent. Once you sign up with a selling agent I can't talk to you. 

Scott Simmons

Scott Simmons
Salt Spring Island and Gulf Islands real estate agent for 
One Percent Realty Vancouver Island
2541 A Empire Street
Victoria, B.C. Canada V8T 3M3
Tel 250-220-8600
Fax 250-388-7382

Salt Spring Island, Mayne Island, Pender Island, Galiano Island and Saturna Island REALTOR®

 SSI has very poor cell phone coverage, call answering on my cell phone does not work.
To leave me a message please use text messaging. 
Cell 250-538-8316
fax number 866-778-6376

This site is a DIY by Scott Simmons, who apologizes for any spelling or grammatical errors. If you can think of anything that would make it easier to use send me a note. Thanks Scott.