The detached home seller's guide

1. Start with your own street

Buyers and their agents will compare your home with the last few sales of similar detached homes on your street and in your neighbourhood. Know those numbers before you pick a price: the sold price, the lot size and frontage, the style and square footage, and whether it had a garage, a finished basement or a separate entrance. Our free detached home evaluation pulls them together for you.

2. Get your paperwork ready early

Gather the ages of the roof, furnace, air conditioner and windows, your survey, and receipts for major work. If the basement was finished or a second unit was added, find the permits. List any rented equipment, such as a hot water tank or furnace, because the buyer will ask whether it stays and what it costs each month.

3. Prepare the home

Detached homes sell on photos, and the outside counts as much as the inside. Declutter, repair the small things, repaint if the walls are tired, and book a professional photographer. Tidy the front garden, clear out the garage, and make the backyard look like a place to spend the summer.

4. Price it to the market

The lot, the garage and driveway, a finished or walk-out basement, a separate entrance and recent updates all move the number. A home priced in line with recent sales on the street gets showings in the first week, which is when the strongest offers arrive.

5. Plan the showings

If you live in the home, keep it show-ready and be flexible on times. If it is tenanted, the tenant must be given at least 24 hours' written notice before each showing, so plan your schedule around that and keep them on side.

6. Compare offers on more than price

Look at the deposit, the closing date, and the conditions. A slightly lower offer with a short home inspection condition and firm financing can be the better one.

7. Close

Your lawyer handles the transfer, pays out your mortgage and settles adjustments for property taxes and utilities. You hand over the keys and the garage door remotes on closing day.