When it comes time to sell your home one of the best possible outcomes is to have a member of the Canadian Armed Forces purchase it. This is for a variety of reasons. First, they want to make a deal done quickly, they are only in town for a few days to find a home. So they move quickly and don’t waste time. Their relocation fees are covered by the government and its always nice to know your home is going to good people like members of the military!
With that being said, you want to set your home up to appeal to the military buyer. So how can you do do that?
Flexible
Members of the Military come into town on their House Hunting Trip (HHT) and have 7 days to find a home, negotiate a deal, arrange financing, and do a home inspection. That means they have to move very fast to get a deal done on time. So you need to know that during “military season” you have to keep your home show ready at all times and be available to act quickly.
They want to see your home in the first day or two, spend another day negotiating at most so that they can then can get straight to getting approvals on financing and doing the home inspection.
The more flexible and available you can be the better chance you have of getting deal done.
Keep them Informed
Since their timetable is tight they don’t want to waste time with homes that don’t match their criteria. So make all the information about your home available. Make sure the agent you hire is going to have a lot of photos and videos available so that they can see what the home will be like.
If you arm them with all the information ahead of time then when they come to see your property it should more be about them just checking it out to confirm they like it. It will make their lives and yours a lot better. So give out all the information you have so they can add it to the list of potentials.
Do the Little Things
Members of the military not having a lot of time means they also don’t want to get hung up on little details. So do all the little maintenance things ahead of time. Touch up the paint, do some landscaping, and get the home move in ready. Members of the military, on average, prefer a move-in ready home. So do the little maintenance things and you’ll find yourself appealing to them more than if potential buyers had to put work into the home.
No Games
When you’re making a deal with members of the armed forces its important to remember they are on a deadline and need to make quick decisions. So don’t play any games with them. Stop the stalling negotiation tactics, they’ll probably backfire and force them to just move on to their second choice. If they make an offer and its not to your liking just send them the best counter that you’d be willing to accept. Don’t waste their time or you’ll find yourself on the outside of a deal as they’ll buy another home.
Members of the military, when posted to a new base, are not looking for their “forever dream home”, you won’t be able to have leverage with the threat of them missing out on their forever home. They likely won’t have the home for more than a couple years before moving again. They just want a hassle free home to live in during their time at the base.
It’s always nice when your home is bought by member of the military but you want to make sure you are making it appealing to them. If you aren’t sure then look for local agents who are IRP/DND Brookfield approved real estate agents. They are the ones helping the members of the armed forces buy and they are best suited to help you get your home ready to appeal to them.
