Regardless of whether the overall housing market is up or down, there can be fierce competition when it comes to buying a home in a desirable neighbourhood. So, if you want to live in such an area, how do you gain an advantage?

Here are some tips:

• Schedule viewings of homes for sale in the neighbourhood as soon as they go on the market. Have you ever heard the expression, “The early bird gets the worm”? It’s often true.

• Arrange to get alerted, via email or text, to brand new listings the moment they happen.

• Make sure you have your financing pre-approved, so you can make a quick and credible offer right away.

• Prepare your current home for sale, so you can list it quickly (if it isn’t already listed.)

• Know how to make an enticing offer that a buyer will take seriously. It’s not always the highest price that wins the deal.

Even in a competitive market, you don’t want to end up overpaying. That’s why savvy offer preparation, presentation and negotiation are also keys to getting the home you want.

Imagine finding a home that is perfect in every way, except for one nagging thing. That “thing” might be a smaller kitchen than you want, fewer closets than you need, or flooring that you dislike. Should you buy it anyway? How do you know if you should take a pass? It’s not an easy decision to make and depends on a number of factors.

Trying to answer these questions might help:

• How likely is it that you’ll find another home that better meets your needs?

• How soon do you want to move? (If you’re in a time- crunch, you may need to adjust your expectations.)

• Is the “except for...” something that can be fixed, perhaps with a renovation? For example, there are many ways to expand a small kitchen.

• If the home’s shortcoming is fixable, approximately how much will that cost? It might turn out that the improvement is a good investment.

• Can you live with the nagging “thing”, especially when the home is otherwise perfect?

It can be tough to work through a decision like this, especially if you’re in a situation where you need to make an offer quickly. Call today for help.

A burst water-supply pipe can cause enormous damage to a home, so it’s wise to be aware of conditions that may trigger such a disaster.

For example, some plastic or aluminum plumbing systems installed in previous decades have a history of failing without warning. They have triggered class-action law suits across North America. Another type of household plumbing system that can run the risk of failure is one that links supply pipes made of different materials (e.g. lead, copper, plastic, etc.).

As a homeowner, you have the responsibility to ensure the infrastructure of your property is sound and well-maintained. To that end, it’s a good idea to do an annual visual check of your plumbing system, from your main shut-off to each branch and every faucet, outlet or appliance connection, to ensure it is functioning reliably.

If you have any doubts about the integrity of your plumbing, it’s wise to arrange for an inspection by a professional who can give you a clear and objective review of your plumbing supply system.

Have you ever shopped for a gift and had no idea what to buy? You may have gone from store to store hoping for inspiration, only to discover you wasted hours. Obviously, if you had a clear idea of what you wanted to find, you’d find it faster.

The same holds true when looking for a home. The clearer you are about the kind of home you want, the more likely you are to find it – and get it!

The best way to get clarity is to start big and then go small. That simply means you start by identifying the biggest thing – the area in which you want to live. What are the characteristics of the ideal neighbourhood for you? Make a list.

Next, go from biggest down one notch and think about the type of home you want. Size? Features?

Finally, think about the inside of your next dream home. Consider the number of bedrooms, size of the kitchen or living room, and any special features you might want.

Have fun imagining the next perfect home for you. You may discover it’s available on the market now – or maybe it will be soon.

If you're thinking ahead to your next dream home, the road you need to take to get there may seem confusing. Do you search for listings online? Drop by Open Houses on the weekends? Call the number on For Sale signs? Let's break it all down!

Here are the specific steps you need to take to ensure you find a home that fits your wants, needs and budget.

1. Find out how much your current property will likely sell for on today’s market.

2. Arrange for financing, so you know what you can afford.

3. Select neighbourhoods you'd love to live in. (That may involve some fun exploring!)

4. Decide on the type of home you want to buy. (For example: detached, three-bedroom, etc.)

5. Prioritize the property features you want most, so you can be flexible if a feature is missing from a home listed on the market that is otherwise ideal.

6. View properties on the market that closely fit your criteria, particularly new listings that may not yet be posted online. (Tip: Arrange to be immediately notified of new listings that are a good fit for you.)

7. When you find a home you want, make an offer designed to get the property — without overpaying.

8. Negotiate until you secure the deal. This may involve counter-offers.

9. If the negotiation is skillfully done and all goes well, the home is yours! 

As you can see, there isn't a lot of mystery in finding your next dream home. You just need to take the steps and get the professional help you need along the way.

Looking for a real estate agent that can get you to the finish line? Call today!

You’ve probably heard of “staging”. It involves setting up each room of your home in a way that maximizes its appeal to buyers. You’ve probably also heard that this strategy can help sell your home faster – and for a higher price.

That’s true. However, if you’re like many homeowners, you’re worried about the time, energy and cost involved in staging your home properly. After all, don’t professional stagers bring in special furniture and de´cor? Will you have to do the same thing?

Not necessarily. Staging doesn’t have to be a big imposition. In fact, there are many staging techniques that most homeowners can easily do on their own. Among the simplest are: cleaning, decluttering, fixing, and painting.

Rearranging furniture can also improve the look of a room, while putting some furniture into storage can make the room look more spacious.

A helpful technique is to think of each room in your home as a product for sale. Then, explore ways to make it the kind of room buyers would want to buy. When it comes to effective staging, that’s a good mindset to get you started.

When the time comes to sell your house, you’ll want to determine roughly how much you can expect to net after the sale. To figure that out, you’ll not only need to know how much your house will likely sell for, but also the selling costs you are likely to incur in the process.

The costs of selling vary depending on a number of factors. Here’s a general rundown of what to consider:

• Repairs. You will want your house to look its best to buyers. That may require you to get any needed repairs done before listing. You don’t want a buyer to see a dent in the wall or a dripping faucet.

• Renovations. It might make sense to get a few improvements done to make the house more attractive. For example, replacing old and worn kitchen countertops.

• Legal fees. Selling a house requires a lot of legal paperwork. You’ll need a good real estate lawyer to take care of that for you.

• Commissions. This is usually calculated as a percentage of the sale price.

• Moving costs. Once you sell, you’ll obviously need to move! So, factoring in this expense is a smart idea.

Although this may seem like a long list, selling costs are actually fairly easy to estimate. Once you have that number, it’s a simple calculation to determine how much money you’ll have available to put towards your next dream home. That’s information worth knowing!

With the availability of more and more powerful mobile technology, it’s reasonable to presume that there is less need to dedicate time and space to a permanent home office. However, we also know that, from time to time, we need the opportunity to isolate ourselves at home, in order to get certain tasks accomplished.

Getting “down to business” is a part of life, whether it’s for a student cramming for exams or a homeowner budgeting for a new mortgage. Getting these tasks done can require much less time if they’re easily accommodated.

Fortunately, thanks to new modern furnishings that are flexible and adaptable, it’s no longer necessary to create a space that is uniquely dedicated to work.

Nowadays, a homeowner can create a convertible workspace that allows a room to serve a dual role. By installing shelving that can fold out to a desktop, a worktable with an adjustable height, or a bed that folds up into the wall, any room can have the flexibility to serve as a quiet place to read, study or pay monthly bills, and convert into a cozy, welcoming guest room.

So, the truth is, we all need a home office – but we don’t necessarily need it to be a dedicated single-use space.

Imagine going to a restaurant with your family for dinner. You're planning on ordering a nice pasta and salad. Your heart is set on it. But, after you go to the trouble of driving there and getting a table, you discover that pasta is not on the menu.

That’s disappointing!

Of course, it’s only a meal. You can go somewhere else next time. But, what if the same scenario played out once you had moved into a new neighbourhood? Imagine you were counting on public transit being in easy walking distance, but discovered the nearest stop is four blocks away. Argh!

That's why it's important to ensure a neighbourhood has the characteristics you want — before you make an offer on a home you like.

Think about what you want most in a neighbourhood. Consider work, commuting, schools, playgrounds, noise level, walking and cycling, hobbies, shopping, entertainment, etc.

If there is a neighbourhood feature that is very important to you, check it out for yourself. For example, if easy access to a main highway is desirable for commuting, take the route for a test drive.

You can get a lot of information on a neighbourhood through the listed property's description and MLS listing.

Want more in-depth insights into an area you're considering? I have that information. Call today. 

If you own a stock, you can probably go online and quickly look up its current value.

What about your home? That, too, is an important investment and probably your most valuable one. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could “look up” its current value in just a few minutes online?

Well, despite all the real estate data available on the internet these days, there is no site that will calculate your home’s true market value – at least not accurately. So, if you were to put your home up for sale tomorrow, how would you determine what it would likely sell for?

Your home’s probable selling price is influenced by the following factors.

• The type and style of your home.
• The condition of your home. (Is it “move in” ready?)
• How well your home shows? (Is it staged?)
• The desirability of the neighbourhood.
• Recent selling prices of similar homes in the area.
• The current demand for a home like yours.

All these factors, especially recent solds in the area, need to be considered in order to come up with the price range within which your property will likely sell. Why is this information important? If you plan on listing soon, the benefits of knowing the probable selling price is obvious. But even if your plans to move are far down the road, it’s still a good idea to know what your home is worth – today. That information enables you to plan ahead and make better decisions. It’s something worth thinking about.

Even if you’re not thinking about selling your home, you might be wondering how much of a new home you can afford. You might see a house for sale in a nice neighbourhood, for example, and think, “Could I get into a house like that? Is that even possible?”

Why not find out?

It only takes a few calculations to determine how much of a new home you qualify to buy. The calculation involves estimating how much you can get for your house on today’s market, taking a look at the type of home you want and determining what a house like that is currently selling for, and then taking into consideration your income, savings and other financial resources.

Once you put it all together, you’ll have a price range within which you can confidently shop for a new home.

This exercise might surprise you. You might find out you can afford to get into a home and neighbourhood you’ve always dreamed about. It’s worth finding out!