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Free
Reports
To
educate yourself on the purchase or sale of a home,
Trevor invites you to view these valuable free
reports! To educate yourself on the purchase or sale
of a home, Trevor invites you to view these valuable
free reports!
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As
a homeowner, you can play an important part in the
timely sale of your property. When you take the
following steps, you'll help your RE/MAX Sales
Associate sell your home faster, at the best
possible price.
- Make
the Most of that First Impression
- A
well-manicured lawn, neatly trimmed shrubs and a
clutter-free porch welcome prospects. So does a
freshly painted - or at least freshly scrubbed -
front door. If it's autumn, rake the leaves. If
it's winter, shovel the walkways. The fewer
obstacles between prospects and the true appeal
of your home, the better.
Invest
a Few Hours for Future Dividends
Here's
your chance to clean up in real estate. Clean up
in the living room, the bathroom, the kitchen.
If your woodwork is scuffed or the paint is
fading, consider some minor redecoration. Fresh
wallpaper adds charm and value to your property.
Prospects would rather see how great your home
really looks than hear how great it could look,
"with a little work."
Check
Faucets and Bulbs
Dripping
water rattles the nerves, discolors sinks and
suggests faulty or worn-out plumbing. Burned out
bulbs leave prospects in the dark. Don't let
little problems detract from what's right with
your home.
Don't
Shut Out a Sale
If
cabinets or closet doors stick in your home, you
can be sure they will also stick in a prospect's
mind. Don't try to explain away sticky
situations when you can easily fix them. A
little effort on your part can smooth the way
toward a closing.
Think
Safety
Homeowners
learn to live with all kinds of self-setbooby
traps: roller skates on the stairs, festooned
extension cords, slippery throw rugs and low
hanging overhead lights. Make your residence as
non-perilous as possible for visitors.
Make
Room for Space
Remember,
potential buyers are looking for more than just
comfortable living space. They're looking for
storage space, too. Make sure your attic and
basement are clean and free of unnecessary
items.
Consider
Your Closets
The
better organized a closet, the larger it
appears. Now's the time to box up those unwanted
clothes and donate them to charity.
Make
Your Bathrooms Sparkle
- Bathrooms
sell homes, so let them shine. Check and repair
damaged or unsightly caulking in the tubs and
showers. For added allure, display your best
towels, mats and shower curtains.
Create
Dream Bedrooms
- Wake
up prospects to the cozy comforts of your
bedrooms. For a spacious look, get rid of excess
furniture. Colorful bedspreads and fresh
curtains are a must.
Open
Up in the Daytime
- Let
the sun shine in! Pull back your curtains and
drapes so prospects can see how bright and
cheery your home is.
Lighten
Up at Night
- Turn
on the excitement by turning on all your lights
- both inside and outside - when showing your
home in the evening. Lights add color and
warmth, and make prospects feel welcome.
Avoid
Crowd Scenes
- Potential
buyers often feel like intruders when they enter
a home filled with people. Rather than giving
your house the attention it deserves, they're
likely to hurry through. Keep the company
present to a minimum.
Watch
Your Pets
- Dogs
and cats are great companions, but not when
you're showing your home. Pets have a talent for
getting underfoot. So do everybody a favor: Keep
Kitty and Spot outside, or at least out of the
way.
Think
Volume
- Rock-and-roll
will never die. But it might kill a real estate
transaction. When it's time to show your home,
it's time to turn down the stereo or TV.
Relax
- Be
friendly, but don't try to force conversation.
Prospects want to view your home with a minimum
of distraction.
Don't
Apologize
- No
matter how humble your abode, never apologize
for its shortcomings. If a prospect volunteers a
derogatory comment about your home's appearance,
let your experienced RE/MAX Associate handle the
situation.
Keep
a Low Profile
- Nobody
knows your home as well as you do. But your
realtor know buyers - what they need and what
they want. Your realtor will have an easier time
articulating the virtues of your home if you
stay in the background.
Don't
Turn Your Home into a Second-Hand Store
- When
prospects come to view your home, don't distract
them with offers to sell those furnishings you
no longer need. You may lose the biggest sale of
all.
Defer
to Experience
- When
prospects want to talk price, terms, or other
real estate matters, let them speak to an expert
- your realtor.
Help
Your Agent
- Your
realtor will have an easier time selling your
home if showings are scheduled through her
office. You'll appreciate the results!
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Once
you’ve been given an estimate of market value, you
can get a rough idea of how much cash you might walk
away with when the sale is completed. This can be
particularly useful as you start looking for another
home to buy.
From
the estimated sales price, subtract:
- Payoff
figure on your present mortgage(s);
- Broker's
commission;
- Any
prepayment penalty on your mortgage;
- Attorney's
fees, if any; and
- Unpaid
property taxes.
In
addition, we can tell you whether local customs or
rules expects the buyer or seller to pay for the
following items:
- Goods
& Services Tax;
- Property
Purchase Tax;
- Survey
Fees;
- Inspections
and repairs;
- Recording
Fees Searching Title, Drafting documents;
- Costs
of clearing title;
- Appraisal
Fee
- Home
Insurance.
As
far as closing costs are concerned, you and your
eventual buyer may agree on any arrangement that
suits you, no matter what local practice dictates. Your
REALTOR® will assist you in estimating what your
final closing costs will be. It is difficult to
predict what the exact closing costs will be when
you negotiate with a particular buyer.
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For
First-Time Buyers
You've
picked a great time to buy your first home. Despite
steady appreciation of home prices, relatively low
interest rates have kept the costs of home ownership
at near historic lows. You can enjoy peace of mind
working with Trevor Inglis, the industry leader in
experience and service.
Here
are some tips to help you with the process of
becoming your own landlord.
Prequalify
for a mortgage
Being prequalified for a mortgage determines how
much house you can afford. It also allows you to
move more swiftly when you find the right house,
especially when you aren't the only interested
buyer.
Shop
for mortgage rates and terms
A difference of even half a percentage point can
make a huge difference in how much you pay over the
life of a loan. For example, the difference in the
monthly payment on a $100,000 mortgage at 8 percent
vs. 7.5 percent is about $35 per month. Over 25
years, that's $10,500.
Using
a Buyer's Agent
A buyer agent is legally responsible for
representing the buyer's interest in a real estate
transaction. Generally, the buyer agent is
compensated by the seller at the time you purchase a
new home. There are some limitations to using a
buyer agent, however. Before you decide, have your
Realtor explain the advantages and disadvantages of
using a buyer agent.
Features
that help or hurt resale value
In some areas, a swimming pool actually detracts
from a home's value and makes the home harder to
sell. In neighborhoods with two-car, attached
garages, a single-car or detached garage may impact
the home sale and future value. Your Realtor can
point out features that hurt, as well as those which
help, resale value.
Rate
the houses you tour
After touring each home, write down what you liked
and didn't like. Develop a rating system which will
help you narrow the field down to the house that's
the best for you.
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Incentives
for the First-Time Buyer
There
are many incentives to help out the first-time
buyer. While a typical down payment is 20% of the
purchase price of the home, there are now loans that allow
you to finance your purchase with as little as five-percent
down. This type of financing, called a high-ratio
mortgage, requires you to purchase
insurance from Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corporation (CMHC) or Genworth. You can pay the
associated application fee and premium upfront or
add it in to your overall mortgage. Premium varies
depending on Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio and
amortization.
Another
option is the Home Buyers Plan. (HBP) In short, it
allows the first-time buyer to withdraw from their
RRSP funds up to $20,000 (without immediate
taxation) to help with their down
payment. It is to be paid back over a fifteen-year
period. For more information, see Revenue
Canada's HBP site.
The
Property Purchase Tax Exemption protects the
first-time buyer from paying the one percent on the
first $200,000 and two percent on the balance. As of
February 20, 2007, the
maximum purchase price in this program for Greater
Vancouver is $375,000. Additional information can be
found at the BC
Government's site or contact Trevor for more information as he
will be happy to help explain them to you.
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Is
Condo Life for You?
You
want to begin investing your money into a home, but
without the responsibilities of yardwork. So you set
your sights on a condominium.
You
select an upstairs unit and after the usual process
of paperwork, credit checks and obligatory
waiting-and-nail-biting period, you're approved and
move into your new home. The first night you spend
in your new domestic bliss, however, you meet the
little old lady downstairs and without a formal
introduction. Actually, her television is what gets
you acquainted on intimate terms. The decibel level
emanating from tonight's episode of “Diagnosis
Murder” is more than you can stand, so you head
downstairs and introduce yourself formally to your
neighbor, whose hearing is on its way out (thus, the
high volume on the TV set). It's the beginning of a
beautiful relationship ... and it's just part of
life in a condominium. Isn't communal living great?
Wait,
don't jump to conclusions just yet. Condominium life
can, in fact, be great with the right mix of
residents and if your property is well-maintained.
Admittedly, it's not for everyone. But the
advantages of condo ownership seem to be winning
over a growing legion of homeowners across the
country. In cities like Vancouver and Toronto,
developers are building luxury condominium
properties with asking prices of $200,000, $300,000
and higher and they're attracting homeowners who
sign on the dotted line without so much as a blink
of an eye. In fact, many of these properties are
filling up before construction has even been
completed.
Before
you jump into condo ownership, you'll want to
consider the pros and cons of such a lifestyle.
Contrary to the picture painted by the above
example, there are in fact many pros to condominium
ownership. Provided you have considerate neighbors,
a condominium can provide an excellent first
purchase for a twenty-something, a scale-down for an
empty-nester couple or anyone between those two life
stages. Condominiums can be more affordable than
single-family homes with plenty of exceptions.
Monthly association fees can add substantially to
your payments. And within many regions of Canada,
particularly within major cities, where healthy
economies, low unemployment rates and a
revitalization of the downtown sector has inspired
developers to build more luxurious and subsequently
more expensive condominium properties condo
ownership can be just as expensive if not more
pricey than single-family homeownership.
Ultimately,
the decision about whether or not a condo is right
for you all comes down to your individual
preferences and tolerance levels.
First,
some clarification on what “condominium”
actually means. When you purchase a condo, you're
actually purchasing the rights to the space inside
your walls, and partial ownership in the common
grounds, including the parking lots, the pool,
sidewalks and stairs, balconies, elevators, common
hallways and so forth.
How
do you determine if a condo is the best choice for
your lifestyle? Consider how much the following
“pros” appeal to you.
As
mentioned earlier, condominiums require their
residents to assume far less responsibility for
maintenance than single-family homes. Chores such as
mowing the lawn outside, watering and maintaining
the landscaping, bagging leaves, cleaning the pool
of debris, painting the trim on buildings, and
unclogging the gutters all fall within the realm of
the property management company. Sure, you're paying
for their services with your monthly association
fees, but you don't have to take off work to wait
for the repairmen to show up. Your condo association
should have in writing all of the repairwork covered
by your monthly fee. Don't make assumptions about
what those fees will cover; different associations
cover different areas of maintenance, and not all of
them will perform them in a satisfactory manner. So
walk around the property before you buy, and ask
residents for their insight.
If
you've always dreamed of owning a pool but can't
afford one, or if you enjoy having access to a
tennis court or fitness center, many condominium
properties across the United States offer these
recreational amenities and more -- including walking
and biking trails, manmade lakes and clubhouse
facilities. You may also have easy access to nearby
golf courses, country clubs, lakes or other
recreational opportunities. That means that the area
surrounding your own condominium complex is probably
prime land on which single-family homes are being
sold for high prices. So you'll be in good company
living in a neighborhood in which property values
stand a good chance of increasing or at least
remaining steady.
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Preparing
Your Home For Sale
A
house that "sparkles" on the surface will
sell faster than its shabby neighbor, even though
both are structurally well-maintained. From
experience, REALTORS® also know that a
"well-polished" house appeals to more
buyers and will sell faster and for a higher price.
Additionally, buyers feel more comfortable
purchasing a well-cared for home because if what
they can see is maintained, what they can't see has
probably also been maintained.
In
readying your house for sale, consider:
How
Much Should You Spend?
In
preparing your home for the market, spend as little
money as possible. Buyers will be impressed by a
brand new roof, but they aren't likely to give you
enough extra money to pay for it. There is a big
difference between making minor and inexpensive
"polishes" and "touch-ups" to
your house, such as putting new knobs on cabinets
and a fresh coat of neutral paint in the living
room, and doing extensive and costly renovations,
like installing a new kitchen. Your REALTOR®, who
is familiar with buyers' expectations in your
neighborhood, can advise you specifically on what
improvements need to be made.
Don't
hesitate to ask for advice.
The
Exterior "Curb Appeal"
Before putting your house on the market, take as
much time as necessary (and as little money as
possible) to maximize its exterior and interior
appeal.
Enhance
your home’s exterior and curb appeal by:
- Keeping
the lawn edged, cut and watered regularly;
- Trimming
hedges, weeding lawns and flowerbeds, and
pruning trees regularly;
- Checking
the foundation, steps, walkways, walls and
patios for cracks and crumbling;
- Inspecting
doors and windows for peeling paint;
- Cleaning
and aligning gutters;
- Inspecting
and cleaning the chimney;
- Repairing
and replacing loose or damaged roof shingles;
- Repairing
and repainting loose siding and caulking;
- During
winter keep all walks neatly cleared of snow and
ice;
- During
spring and summer months consider adding a few
showy annuals, perhaps in pots, near your front
entrance;
- Re-sealing
an asphalt driveway;
- Keeping
your garage door closed;
- Storing
RVs or old and beaten up teens' cars elsewhere
while the house is on the market; and
- Applying
a fresh coat of paint to the front door.
Preparing
the Interior
Enhance
your home’s interior by:
- Giving
every room in the house a thorough cleaning, as
well as removing all clutter. This alone will
make your house appear bigger and brighter. Some
homeowners with crowded rooms have actually
rented storage garages and moved half of their
furniture out, creating a sleeker, more spacious
look.
- Hiring
a professional cleaning service, once every few
weeks while the house is on the market. This may
be a good investment for owners who are busy
elsewhere.
- Removing
the less frequently used, even daily used items
from kitchen counters, closets, and attics,
making these areas much more inviting. Since
you're anticipating a move anyhow, holding a
garage sale at this point is a great idea.
- If
necessary, repainting dingy, soiled or strongly
colored walls with a neutral shade of paint,
such as off-white or beige. The same neutral
scheme can be applied to carpets and linoleum.
- Checking
for cracks, leaks and signs of dampness in the
attic and basement.
- Repairing
cracks, holes or damage to plaster, wallboard,
wallpaper, paint, and tiles.
- Replacing
broken or cracked windowpanes, moldings, and
other woodwork.
- Inspecting
and repairing the plumbing, heating , cooling,
and alarm systems.
- Repairing
dripping faucets and showerheads.
- Buying
showy new towels for the bathroom, to be brought
out only when prospective buyers are on the way.
- Sprucing
up a kitchen in need of more major remodeling by
investing in new cabinet knobs, new curtains, or
a coat of neutral paint.
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Should
You Buy a New or Existing Home?
The
tight housing market is forcing many buyers to
compromise when it comes to purchasing a home.
Because so many people are choosing from properties
they would not have ordinarily considered, developer
Kaufman and Broad offers several tips on the
differences between new and resale homes.
Many
buyers who believe that an old home will offer charm
and character often find that these properties
require a great deal of work to take on the look and
feel of the new owners.
Those
who do not mind doing the grunt work required to
transform a resale property into a dream home will
do well to purchase an existing house. However,
those wanting instant gratification should probably
focus on new construction.
When
it comes to maintenance and repair, new homes also
have the advantage “hands down” since new
products are less likely to need repair.
Additionally, the cost of operating a new home is
generally lower than that of an existing one,
especially since new houses have more
energy-efficient features that save on utility
expenses.
Buyers
often favor resale homes because of the mature
landscaping; but for those who want to create their
own landscape, many developers of new homes will
offer options to accommodate them.
When
it comes to warranties, new homes are the way to go.
Kaufman and Broad, for example, has a 10-year
warranty on the structural integrity of its homes
plus a two-year systems warranty and a one-year
appliance warranty. Buyers of resale homes, by
comparison, usually purchase a warranty that lasts
for only one year.
One
of the advantages to purchasing an existing home is
that buyers will be able to learn a lot about the
established neighborhood, whereas the buyers of new
houses will need to do more research to figure out
how the developing neighborhood will look once it is
completed.
Finally,
consumers should know that resale values are
contingent upon a number of factors. A new home
could appreciate faster or slower than a resale
home. To get the most out of a home purchase, buyers
should be confident in the quality of the area's
school district, housing stock, and economy.
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The
Value of a Home Inspection
A home inspection
is a comprehensive visual examination of the home's
structure and working systems. It should cover the
exterior building envelope, all accessible
structural components from the foundations to
rooftop and includes basic testing of the bathrooms,
plumbing, heating, electrical and ventilation
systems. A home inspection will reduce the risk of
having to deal with unexpected defects in a house.
You will gain knowledge and familiarity with the
house and determine whether or not it meets your
expectations.
A home inspection
should cover the following:
- Foundations,
crawl space
- Structure
- Garage or
Carport
- Exterior walls
and windows
- Doors, porches
and decks
- Roofing,
gutters and skylights
- Chimneys and
masonry
- Attic,
ventilation and insulation
- Interiors
- Kitchen and
bathrooms
- Plumbing and
domestic hot water systems
- Heating systems
- Electrical
system
- Abandoned fuel
oil tanks
You and the seller
should be present, at least for part of the home
inspection review any observations, and to answer
any resulting questions or concerns.
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Whether
or not to Remodel
Spring
is one of the most popular times of year for both
remodeling and moving. For homeowners who cannot
decide which of these options they should choose,
the Financial Planning Association suggests a number
of factors that must be considered.
For
example, avoid deciding to move simply because of a
profitable housing market; rather, the reasons for
moving should be more personal. The owners should
also look at the neighborhood where their home is
located and decide whether it has enough to offer
them and if they are happy with their neighbors and
amenities.
If
they are leaning toward staying put and remodeling,
consumers must decide what type of change in the
house would be most appealing and profitable. In
this regard, kitchen and bathroom renovations tend
to yield the highest investment return. The return
will be even higher if the home is already worth
less than comparable homes in the neighborhood.
If
the homeowners are still straddling the fence, they
can make direct comparisons between remodeling and
moving. One of the most important comparable factors
is cost, which must be calculated considering every
possible expense: buying and selling costs,
commissions, appraisals, document fees, moving
expenses, property taxes, etc. The cost of
remodeling will vary depending on the contractor,
which means the homeowner should review at least
three different bids.
Another
comparable factor is the cost per square foot of
remodeling or moving. Finally, the homeowners should
determine exactly how much work needs to be done on
their existing home and decide whether it is worth
the price.
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