There are a lot of things to consider when buying your first home. How long do you plan on living there? What kind of lifestyle are you looking for? What do you really need? The average Canadian moves every three to five years; keep this in mind when shopping for a home as it may be true for you. For example, a one bedroom loft may be perfect for a young couple without children. They could live there for several years enjoying the benefits of home ownership in an affordable home, with a carefree lifestyle. Someone else who is planning a family could quickly outgrow the space and may need to rethink the loft. If the near future looks very different for you then find a home that will allow for the lifestyle change. On the other hand, there’s no need to get an expensive two- or three-bedroom home if you don’t need the extra rooms.
When it comes to borrowing money some say that you shouldn’t borrow as much as you qualify for and the other school of thought says you should buy as much home as you can afford. It may be true that with regular pay raises and increased earning potential, the big payment today will seem like a drop in the bucket later on. This is a decision only you can make and you should calculate the carrying costs and be realistic about your budget. Make sure that whatever you do is within your comfort zone.
You should check your own credit on a regular basis to ensure that the information posted is accurate and up to date, and to ensure that you are not a victim of identity theft. When it happened to me I was able to thwart the efforts of the criminal by putting a notation on my bureau. You will spend a lot of time and will have to do the leg-work yourself, but in the end you’ll be spared the trauma and scars that identity theft can leave behind. A good credit score could get you better interest rates. If you have more than a couple of blemishes on your report you may qualify for a smaller loan or you may just have to pay a higher interest rate and fees. A good option is to work out a plan with your mortgage specialist to actively improve your credit and increase your borrowing power in as little as a few months.
Mortgage specialists will assess your debt load and virtually create a mortgage solution for you based on your assets, credit history, income, job potential and other factors.
If you are still unsure if you should buy a home after making these considerations, you may want to consult with an accountant or financial planner to help you assess how a home purchase fits into your overall financial goals.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Who's buying condos these days?
Recent polls have proven what I’ve noticed all along, that more and more Canadians are choosing condominiums for their home. In some cities 35% of those polled said they were likely to purchase a condo, which is similar to my own client statistics.
What demographic is looking at condos as their new home? Just about all walks of life are inclined to do so. First-time home buyers are attracted to condos as a more affordable option that allows them to start building equity and use that capital to move up into a single family home when the time comes. They often don't have the expendable cash to spend on repairs and maintenance that comes with a freehold, like a new furnace in the middle of a cold February night.
Then there are the young professionals, men and women alike that need a maintenance-free property that won't make their lives a drudgery of working at their careers and then working on their homes, leaving little or no time to pursue their favourite past times. Condos allow them time to relax or partake in sports and socials that would normally be time spent mowing lawns, weeding, shoveling snow and repairing fences……and the list goes on! This demographic tends to need less room and is willing to live in the now.
We all know that Baby Boomers are a huge demographic in Canada and a lot of them are opting out of their big labour intensive homes and into condo life. Many own multiple properties, including vacation homes that they like to visit often and for long periods of time. The luxury of leaving behind a home that will be protected and maintained without any effort on their part is very attractive, especially to "snowbirds"—Canadian retirees who winter in the southern United States. Aging men, women and couples have also opted for homes that require less work and fewer stairs than a traditional one out of necessity.
As a realtor, I am always concerned about the potential resale value of the properties my clients purchase. Like condos, any property that has a growing buyer pool is likely to hold its value well
What demographic is looking at condos as their new home? Just about all walks of life are inclined to do so. First-time home buyers are attracted to condos as a more affordable option that allows them to start building equity and use that capital to move up into a single family home when the time comes. They often don't have the expendable cash to spend on repairs and maintenance that comes with a freehold, like a new furnace in the middle of a cold February night.
Then there are the young professionals, men and women alike that need a maintenance-free property that won't make their lives a drudgery of working at their careers and then working on their homes, leaving little or no time to pursue their favourite past times. Condos allow them time to relax or partake in sports and socials that would normally be time spent mowing lawns, weeding, shoveling snow and repairing fences……and the list goes on! This demographic tends to need less room and is willing to live in the now.
We all know that Baby Boomers are a huge demographic in Canada and a lot of them are opting out of their big labour intensive homes and into condo life. Many own multiple properties, including vacation homes that they like to visit often and for long periods of time. The luxury of leaving behind a home that will be protected and maintained without any effort on their part is very attractive, especially to "snowbirds"—Canadian retirees who winter in the southern United States. Aging men, women and couples have also opted for homes that require less work and fewer stairs than a traditional one out of necessity.
As a realtor, I am always concerned about the potential resale value of the properties my clients purchase. Like condos, any property that has a growing buyer pool is likely to hold its value well
Monday, June 10, 2013
Support Your Locals
Today's post will not be about real estate. Instead today we would like to support a local musician who is reaching out to people. Introducing Scotty James, to learn more about him and his most recent campaign please watch this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwmnb0UG4us
As Scotty is asking for people from his community to support him, we would also like to ask for your support to us. We appreciate you rreferrals and testimonials and we'd like to thank you for choosing to deal with us and allowing us to help you with real estate in any way for over ten years!
As Scotty is asking for people from his community to support him, we would also like to ask for your support to us. We appreciate you rreferrals and testimonials and we'd like to thank you for choosing to deal with us and allowing us to help you with real estate in any way for over ten years!
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Working with real estate agents
Did you know all realtors work on behalf of the seller of a home and not the buyer?
By law, all realtors—even the one showing the home, listening to your housing dreams and your financial details—work in the best interest of the seller. That is, unless a savvy home buyer signs a Buyer Representation Agreement with a realtor who will work exclusively on their behalf during a home purchase. Without it, under the law of the agency, realtors must pass on any information that may influence the home-buying negotiations to the sellers of the home that their customers are bidding on; even how much they would pay for the home or their motivation.
Canadians now have two choices: customer relationship or client relationship.
A customer service agreement is a disclosure form that states that the realtor is NOT working for you as a buyer, but is providing customer service (fair and honest treatment, factual information about the property that is not visibly evident and to answer any questions you ask about the condition of the property) to you.
With customer status you are virtually "unrepresented" and in a "buyer beware" situation.
On the other hand, Buyer Representation Agreements state that the realtor is working for you and that you are bound to that realtor for the term of the agreement with a holdover period. In this case, your realtor is bound to you with fiduciary duties, (loyalty, obedience, full disclosure, duty to use skill, care and diligence, duty to account for all monies) and protects your information. A clincher for me is that it also allows the realtor to share his/her expert opinions, giving you full advantage of their knowledge and expertise. Furthermore, it then becomes their duty to answer questions that you may not even know to ask and their accountability is much higher.
There is nothing in the Buyer Representation Agreement that states that you have to buy anything. It only states that if you do that you will use this particular brokerage and that they will be compensated for the service provided.
The best part is that there is no special fee to the client. Instead the realtor gets paid via commission that comes from the seller’s listing agent, just the way it has always been. Yes, that’s right, all that hard work for FREE!
How do you become a client? It’s easy—homebuyers sign an exclusive Buyer’s Representation Agreement with a realtor. Usually, the buyer agrees to work with the realtor for a specified period of time and the realtor agrees to represent the buyer’s interests to the fullest. That’s it!
Why not protect your interests? Hire the person with the most knowledge to work on your behalf and to do it at no extra cost.
By law, all realtors—even the one showing the home, listening to your housing dreams and your financial details—work in the best interest of the seller. That is, unless a savvy home buyer signs a Buyer Representation Agreement with a realtor who will work exclusively on their behalf during a home purchase. Without it, under the law of the agency, realtors must pass on any information that may influence the home-buying negotiations to the sellers of the home that their customers are bidding on; even how much they would pay for the home or their motivation.
Canadians now have two choices: customer relationship or client relationship.
A customer service agreement is a disclosure form that states that the realtor is NOT working for you as a buyer, but is providing customer service (fair and honest treatment, factual information about the property that is not visibly evident and to answer any questions you ask about the condition of the property) to you.
With customer status you are virtually "unrepresented" and in a "buyer beware" situation.
On the other hand, Buyer Representation Agreements state that the realtor is working for you and that you are bound to that realtor for the term of the agreement with a holdover period. In this case, your realtor is bound to you with fiduciary duties, (loyalty, obedience, full disclosure, duty to use skill, care and diligence, duty to account for all monies) and protects your information. A clincher for me is that it also allows the realtor to share his/her expert opinions, giving you full advantage of their knowledge and expertise. Furthermore, it then becomes their duty to answer questions that you may not even know to ask and their accountability is much higher.
There is nothing in the Buyer Representation Agreement that states that you have to buy anything. It only states that if you do that you will use this particular brokerage and that they will be compensated for the service provided.
The best part is that there is no special fee to the client. Instead the realtor gets paid via commission that comes from the seller’s listing agent, just the way it has always been. Yes, that’s right, all that hard work for FREE!
How do you become a client? It’s easy—homebuyers sign an exclusive Buyer’s Representation Agreement with a realtor. Usually, the buyer agrees to work with the realtor for a specified period of time and the realtor agrees to represent the buyer’s interests to the fullest. That’s it!
Why not protect your interests? Hire the person with the most knowledge to work on your behalf and to do it at no extra cost.
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