Relocating And Need To Sell My House In Calgary?
When relocating from one house to another it is always a hectic and complicated process. You have to worry about booking movers, listing with a realtor, and getting all of your information to your mortgage broker. This is something we have all been through and it requires a dreaded amount of coordination. On a regular basis we get local Calgary home sellers calling us or submitting their house info on this website that say “I’m relocating and need to sell my house in Calgary“. The good news is that we are able to help the majority of those folks sell their house quickly (because we are active home buyers buying houses in Calgary Alberta right now!). No realtor listing your house and setting up multiple disruptive showings, just a clean real estate transaction in as little a 7 days. Northgate House Buyers is a real estate investment company specializing in flipping houses and developing rental properties. If you are relocating and need to sell your house in Calgary we can help!
My name is Andrew Smith, you can learn more about me here. Personally I have moved 13 times from 2008 to 2022. This includes moves from coast to coast. Three different provinces, and 5 different cities. I can sympathize with the stress and anxiety that comes with the insane amount of details to keep together. It takes a lot of planning and there are serious costs involved. In addition to this, you have to deal with the added stress of whatever is making you move in the first place. At Northgate House Buyers we often see folks relocating because of a new job, a sick family member, divorce, or some other challenging life event. It’s not always bad though, thankfully I’ve also seen people move because they want to travel, met the love of their life in another province, or they want to cash in on the equity from their property. Regardless of your situation please keep reading for some thoughts on how to handle the sale of your home while navigating the challenges that arise during a relocation.
So how do you make the most out of a difficult situation?
Don’t Agonize – Organize.
The main pitfall to avoid is a situation where you end up paying to own your new house and your vacant house for an extended period of time. Property taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance, and of course your mortgage payment will add up quickly. Especially when you consider you have to pay all of those expenses (or some of them depending on your new living situation) at your new residence. Either way, that gets expensive and it doesn’t have to be that way.
Although the market is on fire right now in Calgary, things can change in the blink of an eye. That is the way it works in Alberta. We’ve all heard the serious horror stories over the past couple of decades. The reality is unless you are set up financially to weather that potential storm, you probably can’t afford to wait it out. Are you willing to take that risk?
So how do you make the right choices when you’re thinking “I’m relocating and need to sell my house in Calgary?“
Relocating And Need To Sell My House Fast In Calgary… Your Options And Steps
First…
- Find out what your house is worth: In order to do this you can reach out to a reputable realtor in your area or you can reach out to a company that buys houses professionally, such as Northgate House Buyers! As always, we would be happy to give you a no cost, no obligation, valuation on your property. Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page and you will see a section titled “How do you determine the price to offer on my house?” This will give you more information on our real estate valuation process. Once you know the price your house could sell for in the current market you have the ability to plan your next move. Ask questions like how long can I hold onto this property and still get a good return from the sale? Am I willing to sell at this time for this price? We are here to strategize with you should you want another opinion from a real estate professional, we buy houses in [market city] on a regular basis so we can tell you what it is worth! You could also consult a professional mortgage broker or realtor.
- Decide how fast you need to sell your house after you relocate: This one is critical. In the past I’ve worked with professionals who moved out of province for an exciting new job opportunity. In a matter of days they found out that they are relocating and need to sell their house. Immediately they began the process of listing their property with a realtor. They had their house on the market for over a month and in the end they were forced to sell for a much lower amount then they had hoped. This is much less common in Calgary’s current real estate market, but depending on the condition and location of your property, and how much you want for it, this is something to be aware of. The bottom line is you need to decide how fast you need to sell your house… and how long you’re willing to keep making two mortgage payments, insurance payments, property tax payments, etc.
- BEFORE you start packing boxes find a solid real estate agent: In order to not waste time on your relocation, start this process right away. Utilize Google, local ads, and recommendations from friends and family. Get the ball rolling early because finding the right agent can be very time consuming! The clock is ticking and each month that passes in order to sell your house is costing you a lot of money. If selling the traditional way with a real estate agent is something you want to avoid then please reach out… we are a reputable local home buyers and we’d love to make you a fast-fair all cash offer. Just fill out the form through this link to get started >>
- Calculate the value of selling your house fast vs. “waiting it out” for a dream price: When it comes to selling our homes of course we all want to get as much as possible. There is nothing wrong with this, but don’t forget to look at the overall transaction. One aspect of the home sale that is often overlooked is the amount of money it costs you to hold onto the property. As previously mentioned, holding costs include: Mortgage payments (if you are selling in the first 10 years or so of a 25 – 30 year mortgage a lot of this is interest payments with little principal pay down), insurance, taxes, maintenance, etc. Let’s say you WANT to sell your house for $750,000… You have a variable rate mortgage that has come up and your mortgage payment is $3,300/mo, taxes $360/mo, $195/mo for insurance, and $200/mo for maintenance (lawn maintenance, repairs, etc.)Those expenses add up to $4,055/mo in “non equity building” expenses. If it takes you 7 months to sell that house through a real estate agent for that $750,000… it cost you $28,385 in DIRECT “holding costs” + you had to pay $27,825 in real estate agent fees (assuming 7% on the first $100,000 and 3% on the remaining balance of the sale price). Totaling $56,210 in LOST money. That doesn’t even account for the value of your time, your stress in thinking about that property sitting on the market, the opportunity cost of what you could have been doing with that extra money during those 7 months, etc. So the real cost to you could be even higher depending on the dollar value you assign to your own time and well being. But, what if you were to sell your house next week and avoid all of that? Even if you sold for a discount below the retail price (let’s say… $695,000) you’re still ahead of the game by selling the house NOW at a discount to a home buyer like NGHB vs. 7 months later at full price (and paying holding costs and real estate agent fees). Make sense? Relocating and selling your home is easier when you sell to a company that buys houses.
- Take action: Whatever you decide… Act on it! Either way, you are relocating. If you want to go the real estate agent route, great! We can even help you find a reputable local Calgary Alberta realtor. If you’d rather not wait and avoid paying those pesky realtor commissions and holding costs.. then a viable option may be to sell your house to us :0)
If you have time on your side, the funds to hold the property, and a really great listing in a solid location then we typically recommend you test the market by offering it out at a higher price. In today’s market there is a great chance someone will fall in love and be willing to pay top dollar – people do crazy things for love. If this doesn’t sound like the property you have, selling to us might be the better path!
When push comes to shove, most properties are pretty average. Let’s be honest they tend to be like the other houses around them. Similar layout, square footage, and style. So, unless your property is truly exceptional, and boasts specific upgrades that will make it stand out, you are less likely to capture the most money in the market by pricing at the highest point.
Rent Out Your Old Property
Another option is to become a landlord. You can market your property for rent and sale at the same time, and see what happens first. This will depend on the fundamentals because unless there is a secondary suite in the property it can be hard to cash flow with today’s interest rates. No one wants a rental property that loses money every month. Secondary suites are quite expensive, but an option nonetheless. You have to maintain control of the process.
In certain situations, we may partner with property owners to help secure rent to own agreements where highly qualified purchasers rent the property for an agreed time before buying. In other cases, we may offer to assume mortgage payments on the property.
At Northgate House Buyers we love helping good people solve complicated problems!
Often times it is these creative solutions that can bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be.
Who Is Northgate House Buyers And How Can We Help You If You’re Relocating And Need To Sell In Calgary?
We’re investors. Our primary income is created by flipping houses. This is how we make our living. We beautify neighborhoods by buying houses from Calgary homeowners who need to sell fast for one reason or another.
The types of sellers who tend to work with us include people who…
- Need to sell fast (we can close in as little as 7 days if you need us to)
- Don’t want the hassle of listing a property with an realtor
- Don’t want to pay real estate agent fees and commissions
- Can’t sell their house for one reason or another (we buy houses in as-is condition)
- … or a variety of other reasons
But we’re passionate people, and we believe in the Calgary community.
We’re honest, fair, and straightforward.
So if you are saying to yourself: “I am relocating and need to sell my house in Calgary!” then we’ll quote you a fair price, and we can close fast with cash!
We’re happy to help you find answers to your toughest questions about Calgary real estate, Another option, if you are relocating and need to sell your home, is managing the sale of your property from a distance. You will need to hire professional help, and it can take longer which makes it more of a risk, but at the same time can be a solid option. In certain circumstances that risk can pay off. In most situations this seems daunting to those who don’t have experience with long distance property management, but by no means is it impossible. so please feel free to call us at (403) 383-6592 and chat with us anytime.