Buyers Toolkit – Springtime Spring is in the air, and the real-estate market is ramping up for the beginning of buyers’ season. Things tend to move faster in the spring and houses for sale are often sold shortly after they are listed. As a potential home buyer, it is important to be prepared as possible before you start looking at potential homes – that way, the chance of losing your “dream home” to another buyer is greatly decreased. You may be wondering … “What are some of the important things that can help you stay on-top of, and ahead of
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Archives for Housing tips
Is it time to invest in a second “nest”?
College students, and living options If you’re the parent of a college/university age student, and you haven’t considered it yet, perhaps now is the time you will. As spring is just around the corner, it’s time to think about what investments you can make, and an investment that shouldn’t be overlooked is buying a home. More specifically, buying a home for your college-aged student to live in during school. Should you purchase a home in your students’ university/college town for them to live in during their schooling? What are the benefits, and drawbacks of investing in a second home?
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6 Spring Maintenance Tips for Homeowners
As the snow finally melts after what has seemed like a never-ending winter, it’s time to start thinking about all the spring maintenance tasks that you will need to around your home. Spring always feels like a fresh start so use that as motivation as you work around your yard and home! Here are 6 spring maintenance tasks for homeowners: Check the roof There is no need to pull out a ladder at this point; stand back from your home and do a visual inspection: “with binoculars and a keen eye, you can probably spot trouble.” Winter snow and
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Pets and Real Estate
Pets are a very important part of many Canadians lives. In 2014, it was estimated that 57% of Canadians owned pets which equates to approximately 7.5 million households. In many cases, our pets become part of our families to the point where terms like “pet parent” and “fur baby” are used to define this unique relationship. But what impact do pets have when it comes to real estate? Buying a Home with our Pets in Mind Pets affect our choices in real estate. When we buy a home, we consider the needs of our family, which often enough includes our
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Getting Your Home Ready to Sell in the Spring Market
Selling your Home in Spring The spring real estate market is quickly approaching and if you’re selling your home, now is the time to start getting ready! It may seem like a daunting task but there are things that you can do to make sure that your house is prepared for the droves of spring buyers this upcoming season. Remember, there will be many houses on the market at the same time as yours so you want to make sure that your property is ready and sticks out for buyers! Contact a Realtor®. Real estate agents are professionals. A great
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Why Move? A Look into Canada’s Homebuyers
How many times have you moved (so far) in your lifetime? Once? Twice? For a brief time while in school? Work? Or have you moved far too many times to even count? What about those times that you have moved from one place to another, were they on your own? Were they with your family? Your partner? A few friends? And did you live in these homes for long enough to consider it a home? Sure, the vast majority of us may answer differently to each of these questions, but we do share one common factor: the overall experience. Truth
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Housing Trends in 2017
The New Year is officially underway and we are ready to reflect on the year that has passed, as well as plan for the year that’s to come. With the housing market being consistently ever-changing, new trends tend to surface as old ones seem to fade. 2016 was a big year for the housing market and, as a result, we saw some pretty impressive reports, results, and trends. This year, the housing forecast and its trends will predictably be as follows: The Canadian Real Estate Association has released recent information on Canada’s housing trends and how they’ve evolved since
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New Year Reno-Resolutions
A new year tends to go hand in hand with a New Year’s resolution (or two). We’ve all been there: eat healthier, get healthier, save more, sleep more etc. etc. So what about the expansions, the over-hauls, and/or the restorations of our current homes? Typically, there are a large handful of us who include home renovations in their list of New Year’s to-dos, and we’re not necessarily talking about the sporadic spring clean and/or the occasional winter prep; but, instead, the opportunity to really do something for the structural improvement and/or visual well-being of our homes. So where do you
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Your Home and Winter Travels
January is often a time to make travel plans. In fact, the winter months are quite possibly the most traveled; holiday visits to family members aside, some of us just simply need to get away and enjoy a little warmth in the sunny south. So if all the shoveling, ice scraping and bundling has got you down, it might be time for you to pack those bags! With all the excitement of travel plans, we mustn’t forget to consider the safety of our homes. Especially for “snowbirds”, there are periods of time where we might not be home for weeks
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Homeowners Can Earn Extra Income Using Airbnb
Congratulations, you’re a homeowner! With all of the joys of home-ownership also comes the task of paying off your mortgage, paying property taxes and keeping up with regular maintenance as required. While you’ve purchased a home within your means, paying off a mortgage can be daunting; however, there are ways in which you can make your payments a little more manageable. If you’ve decided to purchase a home, you’ve put down a certain percentage as a down payment, and you’ve agreed to pay into a mortgage (over the course of x-amount of years with an interest rate of x-percent). You
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