Your Home is Sold… Now What!?
Congratulations! You’ve made it from listing to SOLD! But now what? I’m going to cover some points that I often go through with my clients once their home sale firms up.
In my opinion, the hardest part is over. You have triumphed through showing-after-showing, multiple open houses, some harsh feedback, along with all of the other stresses that come with the sale. Or perhaps you consider the physical packing and moving of your items to be the most stressful. Either way, things are moving forward and it is best to be mentally prepared!
All of the paperwork that you need to sign with me is now complete. That's right, you no longer have to see my face. Unless of course you want to. Then the feeling is mutual! But I will not be needing any more signatures on anything at this point, unless you and the buyers agree to amend something in the contract, for instance a possession date.
What you will still need to sign are the land transfer and mortgage discharge documents, etc. usually done with your lawyer a few days prior to possession. I will have already forwarded all of the paperwork on to your lawyer, so they should have everything they need for your file, apart from your signing hands (and survey certificates if you have them and keys)! The lawyers will usually get in touch with you about a week prior to possession. So do not be alarmed if you don’t hear from them immediately after the sale. You only need to give your lawyer one set of keys. The remainder of the keys can be in the home for the new owners. The purchasers just need to be able access the home on the date of possession.
The lawyer will also ask for final meter readings, particularly the water meter reading. This should be done the day prior to possession. The lawyer will usually give you instruction on this. If you do not provide the water meter reading, sometimes the lawyers will do a holdback of funds (usually around $1000), until they receive confirmation from the City that your usage has been confirmed and paid. So it is important to get this reading done prior to possession. You should also read the hydro and gas meters as well. For any meter reading, I encourage you to take pictures of the meters, especially with something that shows a date. The purchasers are instructed to take their own meter readings upon possession as well, and then Hydro tends to take the average of your reading and their reading to arrive at a number they feel is fair for final billing. So far, I have only encountered honest buyers and sellers, but I'm sure there are some that lack scruples and may report inaccurately (hence the picture recommendation).
Other items to keep in mind: It is time now to cancel your insurance. BUT I would cancel it effective a few days AFTER possession. Just to be safe. I've heard horror stories of people showing up for possession and the house having burned down and there being some dispute over when the fire started. So better safe than sorry. The extra cost for a few extra days is worth the peace of mind, in my opinion.
Make sure to change your address on everything (Credit Cards, Schools, Bank Institutions, etc). You may want to look into mail forwarding with Canada Post. They have options for mail forwarding for several months up until a year. I have found that there is always some mail that may slip through the cracks (Costco rebate cheques that only 
come once a year!). So if you are feeling paranoid that there is something you may miss, I recommend setting yourself up for mail forwarding. The Canada Post Website can be found here: https://www.canadapost.ca/cpc/en/personal/receiving/manage-mail/mail-forwarding.page
And my last instructions are to go celebrate. This one was tough on you guys, but you championed through and you deserve some time to celebrate! CONGRATS!
#AgentJen
Jennifer Queen
Phone: (204) 797-7945
Email: Jennifer@JenniferQueen.com
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