Craig Johnston Personal Real Estate Corporation · Brokerage: Royal LePage Elite West
A 17-page preparation guide for Coquitlam sellers who want to list with confidence, price accurately, and walk into closing knowing every number. Three pricing postures. Room-by-room checklist. 60-day countdown. The IRD-penalty trap most sellers miss. The honest closing-cost stack. Built from the conversations I have with seller clients every week.
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Instant delivery. No sales call. After the PDF, monthly Tri-Cities market updates — the same one I send my office.
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What's actually in the Seller's Starter Kit?
Eight sections, 17 pages, every one built from real Coquitlam deals. Pricing anchors and the three pricing postures. Pre-listing room-by-room checklist. Staging keep/box/replace matrix. The 60-day countdown. Timing decision tree (14/21/30/60-day strategies). Negotiation primer — the five terms that actually matter. Seller closing-cost stack including the IRD-penalty trap. Next-step sequence from offer accepted to keys handed over. No filler, no generic advice.
No filler, no generic advice you've read ten times. Every section pulls from conversations I have with seller clients every week.
Comparable sales, market-level pricing, strategic posture — how to choose between below-market tactical, at-market, and above-market ceiling test.
Exterior first impression, kitchen showcase, bathroom refresh, living room presentation. Priority order so limited budget goes where it counts.
Room-by-room matrix. What to leave as-is, what to remove, what's worth investing in before listing. The 80/20 of staging spend.
Days 60–45 (prep), 44–30 (photos + listing prep), 29–14 (on-market), 13–0 (offers + subjects + completion). Week-by-week so nothing gets rushed.
14-day, 21-day, 30-day, and 60-day listing strategies. Which minimizes time on market. Which protects your price. Which fits your situation.
The five terms that actually matter — price, completion date, subjects, deposits, inclusions. Plus how to evaluate a multi-offer situation cold.
Commission, legal, mortgage IRD penalty (with the trap explained), strata move-out fees, capital gains if applicable. The honest number.
After sale accepted: subject-removal period, completion-day logistics, possession, keys, and the "gotchas" sellers miss in the final 14 days.
Picking the wrong pricing posture for the current market is the single most expensive listing mistake. Sellers who over-price in a buyer-favouring window often give up more than they gained by the time a price drop forces the sale. Sellers who under-price in a seller-favouring window leave money on the table. Here are the three postures and when each one fits:
Wins when buyers are competing — pressure pushes price up, often above comp-supported levels. Risky when buyers are scarce: you'll get the low number you advertised.
The safe default. Works in seller's markets and on standard inventory. The home sells in the typical window at a fair price. No tactical play, no premium pressure — clean, predictable.
Works only when the home is genuinely better than its comp set — rare layout, view, lot, condition. Wrong-posture risk: stale listing, price drop forced, final sale below at-market.
The kit walks through how to read the current Coquitlam market and which posture fits your specific property, catchment, and timeline.
Here's exactly what lands in your inbox over the next month — and what doesn't.
Confirmation email arrives within a minute with a direct download link. The PDF is yours, no strings attached. Read it, share it, use it.
A brief email asking if anything in the guide raised a question. Reply if it did. Ignore it if it didn't. That's the entire sequence.
First of each month. Current inventory, pricing by neighbourhood, DOM trends, plain-English commentary. Unsubscribe one-click, any time.
No phone calls unless you ask. No 30-day drip with urgency tactics. No list-rental or shared-with-partners. No "are you ready to sell?" emails every week. This is a signup, not a sales funnel.
4.9 stars across 36+ verified Google reviews. Three below from real Tri-Cities seller clients on pricing strategy, marketing reach, and protecting the sale price.
“Craig assisted in every aspect of the purchase of my Bowen Island home, including the building inspection, the follow-up inspection, and ensuring deficiencies were repaired. He was thorough and protected my position every step of the way.”Roberta Shaw
“Craig was patient throughout the entire process. He never pushed us to buy something we weren't sure about, and when we decided to wait six months and save more, he just said ‘good call’ and stayed in touch. When we did finally buy, the math was so much cleaner.”Susie & Hans
“He is a professional who is guided by integrity, honesty, and punctuality. When faced with challenges, Craig has shown his dedication to proactively navigate the issue on hand towards our goal.”Jaeyoung Joo
A 20-minute strategy call, no pressure — or start with a free Equity Map showing what your home is likely worth in today’s market and what you’d net after costs.
4.9 across 36+ Google reviews Top 1% Team — Greater Vancouver REALTORS®, 2023–2025 47+ years in the Tri-CitiesOr call direct: 604-202-6092
The PDF answers the questions every seller has in common. The 20-minute Strategy Call answers the questions specific to your property, neighbourhood, timeline, and next-home plan. You leave with a written one-page plan. No pitch, no pressure.
4.9 across 36+ Google reviews Top 1% Team — Greater Vancouver REALTORS®, 2023–2025 47+ years in the Tri-CitiesOr call direct: 604-202-6092
A 17-page guide covering eight sections: three pricing anchors and three pricing postures (below-market tactical, at-market, above-market test), pre-listing room-by-room checklist, staging playbook (keep / box / replace matrix), 60-day countdown from 'we should sell' to completion, timing decision tree (14/21/30/60-day strategies), negotiation primer (the five terms that matter), seller closing-cost stack (commission, legal, IRD mortgage penalty, capital gains), and the next-step sequence from offer accepted to keys handed over.
Yes. No charge, no credit card, no paywall. Enter your email, get the PDF instantly. We also email you the download link right away, then send monthly Tri-Cities market updates. No phone calls unless you ask. No 30-email drip. Unsubscribe honoured immediately on any email.
The two windows Coquitlam sellers most often target are mid-March through early May, and mid-September through early November. Spring usually brings the most buyer activity; fall often brings buyers working to a year-end deadline for school or financial reasons. Summer and the winter holidays can be quieter, so check current days-on-market before you pick a date. The kit walks through which window fits your specific situation.
Well-prepared, correctly-priced detached homes in strong catchments tend to sell fastest. In September 2026, Coquitlam detached homes averaged 50 days on market (GVR REALTOR® Report). Over-priced or poorly-prepared listings can sit for weeks before a price drop forces a sale. Preparation and pricing posture are the two largest controllable inputs.
Costs on a Coquitlam sale: a negotiated commission (split between listing and buyer brokerages) plus GST, legal/notary fees (get a written quote), any mortgage pre-payment penalty (which can run to tens of thousands of dollars on a fixed-term mortgage with time remaining — the IRD trap that catches many sellers), and any pre-listing prep you choose to do. The kit shows the full stack with worked examples.
Depends on three inputs. 1) Whether your home is listing-ready (paint, declutter, small repairs, staging). 2) Whether your block's 90-day comp set is strong enough for buyer agents to underwrite confident offers. 3) Whether your next-home plan is in place. When all three are green, list into the next seasonal window. When any is red, waiting usually nets more. The decision tree in the kit walks through this with concrete signals.
Below-market tactical: list 2-5% below market to draw multiple offers and pressure the price up. Works in seller-favouring conditions; risky when buyers are scarce. At-market: list at the comp-supported number — the safe default. Above-market test: list 3-7% above market to test the ceiling on a unique property. Works only when the home is genuinely better than its comp set. Picking the wrong posture for your market is the single most expensive listing mistake — and it shows up in the final price.
Interest Rate Differential. If you break a fixed-term mortgage early, lenders charge the greater of three months' interest or the IRD — the difference between your contract rate and the rate they could re-lend at, multiplied by remaining months. With years left on a large fixed-rate mortgage, the IRD penalty can run to tens of thousands of dollars. It is one of the most overlooked seller closing costs. Pull your mortgage statement and call your lender for the exact figure before listing.
About the numbers on this page: market statistics come from Greater Vancouver REALTORS® data. Price premiums, discounts and ranges are estimates based on recent local sales and Craig’s experience. They’re a guide for planning, not a guarantee — every home and every sale is different.