Real Estate Facts
Just a few things you might not have known, like ...
- My service to buyers is always free.
- The selling party is usually the only one who pays a commission to the Real Estate Agency.
- In most cases using the Multiple Listing Service will allow you to acheive a higher sale price on your home.
- You need a down payment of 5%.
- 20% down will save you from having to buy mortgage insurance (CMHC).
- A Real Estate Agent can set up a computer search that will track down all listing in your price
range and area you want to live in. This search finds and sends listings right to your e-mail
address by using a link to the MLS. It even has full addresses and a map to show the locations.
No more long hours on the computer! Simply check your e-mail!
Please Email me with some of the neighbourhoods you want to live in and find listings
appearing in your inbox today.
RandyLeopold@remax.net
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Top 5 Home Buying Mistakes...
1. Choosing the wrong agent. Lack of experience or conflicts of interest in the person who's supposed to be your guide can make home-shopping a frustrating experience. As Rob Johnstone, a ReMax agent in Calgary, points out, "In the real estate business, an agent with many successfully closed transaction costs no more than someone who is inexperienced." Interview several and ask for a list of properties they recently sold or helped clients buy. How did they do on sale prices? How long did it take? Have they worked a lot in your chosen neighbourhoods? A good agent will listen carefully to what you're looking for, preview homes on your behalf and show you only those that fit your parameters. Tino Sequeira, a representative with Homelife Response Reality Inc. in Mississauga, Ont., suggests requesting a "plan of action" from the realtor that outlines his strategy for finding your home.
2. Choosing the wrong location. There's a lot more to evaluating the location than proximity to parks and your workplace. According to David Weekley, author of How to Buy a Home Without Getting Hammered, "Even within a neighbourhood, location matters. Is it on the busiest street? Is there a shopping centre out the back window?" You should check traffic at different times of the week and of the day—perhaps your quiet street is used as a shortcut by morning commuters. If you have kids, find out about the schools in the area by talking to local parents and looking up the schools' provincial scores. Find out if there are major developments planned for the neighbourhood: it could be a pleasant surprise, like a new playground, or a nasty one, like a major construction. Finally, and this one's important, ask the police for local crime statistics.
3. Offering the wrong price. Many home-buyers forget that the market value of a house is affected a great deal by its neighbours. The best way to gauge a fair offer price to get your agent to pull prices that comparable homes nearby recently fetched. The listings will show not just the amounts but how long the house sat on the market and its condition and size. Note that the character of nearby homes will affect your home's value. That means the most expensive house on the street may be pulled down in value by its cheaper neighbours, while a low-end one will benefit from posher surroundings.
4. Choosing the wrong house. You walk in, get entranced by the charming decor and are ready to bid, forgetting the house only has one bathroom and lacks the family room you wanted. Peter Kunz, a Toronto broker, cautions against falling in love with "the wrong house"—one that's too big or small for future needs or a fixer-upper if you're not handy. Weekley points out that people often swoon over curb appeal and ignore inferior floor plans. "You don't live on the lawn. How do you really live? Do you really need a formal dining room and living room? Would you be happier with an eat-in kitchen and a great room?" Before you head out on home tours, agents suggest making a list of your priorities, and only going to houses that have those features. Then go see the homes you liked again, this time getting past the love at first sight to consider what it'd really be like to live there.
5. Buying more home than you can afford. Many buyers wisely get pre-approved for a mortgage before they head out into the market. "When you are pre-approved, you are effectively a cash buyer," notes Bill Pettinger, a realtor in Victoria. "This makes it much easier to negotiate." But the mortgage isn't the only cost to consider when figuring out a price tag you can swing. Are you planning to have kids, how many and how soon? Do you like to travel a lot? And will you have cash to support home ownership going forward? Beyond mortgage payments, there'll be costs like insurance, maintenance and landscaping. You don't want your home to deprive you of your lifestyle.
Consider a green renovation this spring
If you're undertaking a home renewal project, don't forget to factor the environment into your plans.
It's been a long, harsh winter in Canada and having spent so much time indoors, many of us are approaching the spring with just one thought: home renovation.
Even before the frost is out of the ground, plans to improve all the things in your home that have driven you crazy all winter can be drawn. Furthermore, given the emphasis on "green" issues recently, early planning provides the opportunity to incorporate some environmental improvements into your design.
Think about ways to incorporate recycled building materials - including ones that might otherwise be discarded during the renovation. If you're making structural changes to an older home, you might be able to re-use any wood that you're removing to frame new stair or window openings. Bricks can be used to pave a walkway or build planters.
You might also want to investigate donating anything you're discarding to organizations that recycle building supplies or those that use them, like Habitat for Humanity.
There are also all sorts of new "low toxicity" products on the market including carpeting, floor coverings and water-based paints, adhesives and finishes that produce little or greatly-reduced chemical "off-gassing." For example, ceramic tiles, cork and bamboo, are all eco-friendly options.
Increasingly, suppliers identify goods that are sustainably harvested and it's also good to source as many of the supplies as locally as possible to cut down on long-distance transportation - and emissions.