Blog Archives
Tips for Selling Your House During the Winter
Winter isn’t the ideal time to sell a house but sometimes you have no choice. There are actually some advantages to selling a house during the winter – less competition for one. There’s also less of a buying and selling frenzy so you have more time to consider offers. Staging becomes even more important during the winter, but with a little effort, you can make your house really stand out. Here are some things that you can do to make your house sell faster and with less stress during a slow season. First and foremost, keep your driveway and sidewalk snow and ice free. People aren’t going to see your house if they have to climb over snow drifts to get to the front door. If someone slips and falls on ice, you could be liable. Keep the home warm and toasty. A warm house is inviting. Before a viewing, turn up the heat in the house to take the chill off. Turn the gas fireplace on if there is one to create a homier atmosphere. If there’s a wood burning fireplace, start a fire but only if you’ll be close at hand during the showing. Turn on all of […]
Home Staging Made Simple
Home staging is all the rage these days and a lot of people think that they have to hire a professional home stager in order to sell their home as quickly, and for the best price as possible. Although hiring a pro is always a good thing, there are a lot of things that you can easily and cheaply do to improve the sale appeal of your home. Make Minor Repairs Take the time and spend the pennies needed to replace broken or cracked outlet or switch covers. Fill nail holes in walls, especially if you’re bad at hitting studs. Paint Your daughter may have loved her pink room, but it might leave a prospective buyer mentally calculating how much time and money it will cost to repaint. If walls are dirty, paint them. Repainting doesn’t cost a lot, especially if you do the work yourself, but freshly painted walls pay off big time when a potential buyer walks through your home. Get Rid of Clutter and Give Every Room a Purpose If there’s a room in your house that serves as a catch-all for things like unused fitness equipment or furniture, clear it out and turn it into usable […]
Hiring a Home Inspector
It goes without saying that anyone who’s considering buying a home should have it checked over by a qualified home inspector before they seal the deal. However, not all home inspectors are created equal and licensing requirements vary wildly from province to province. So, what can you do to make sure that you are hiring someone who knows what they are doing, and will provide you with the information that you need to make an informed home buying decision? Here are a few things that you should look for when it’s time to hire a home inspector. It doesn’t guarantee that they’ll do a good job, but ask an inspector if they are licensed or certified. Home inspectors in Alberta must be licensed by the government. Find out what the inspection will cover and how long it will take. A thorough home inspection will take between two and three hours for one person to complete. Anything less and it’s probably not thorough enough. Ask how long the inspector has been in business and how many homes they have inspected. American Society of Home Inspection (ASHI) members are required to have 250 paid inspections under their belt before being admitted for […]
Home Renovations – Getting the Biggest Bang for your Buck
There are lots of things that you can do to increase the value of your home – some of them very expensive. However, there are also some relatively simple and inexpensive improvements that you can do to increase your home’s value and improve its livability. Here are five top renos that offer excellent ROI: Income Suite – no other renovation will do more to add value to your home than the addition of an income suite. This could mean turning your basement or attic into an apartment, or building a separate carriage house. Not only does an income suite add value to your home – it actively earns you money while you build equity. Kitchen Updates – contrary to popular belief, a kitchen reno doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg yet it provides one of the biggest returns on your investment. There’s no need to spring for expensive custom cabinetry – buying pre-built cabinets is much cheaper. While granite is still the countertop of choice, it’s very expensive and there are lots of much more affordable yet attractive and durable alternatives like laminates or composites. Bathrooms – a bathroom renovation sounds expensive, but since they’re small spaces […]
Home Shopping Checklist
Shopping for a new home can be a bewildering experience, especially if you look at a lot of properties. A simple home shopping checklist will help you to keep track of the pros and cons of each of the houses you view, and to remember key points about location, neighbourhood, asking price, and property taxes. You can create your own checklist, or you can go online and download one that’s already been created for you. If you make your own home shopping checklist, here are some useful pieces of information that it should include: Exterior features: Lot size and shape – Do you want a large lot, or something that’s smaller and easier to maintain? Orientation – You might prefer to have morning sun streaming into your windows rather than late afternoon sun. Fenced yard – If you have children or pets, or are planning a family, a fenced yard might be a necessity. Location – Is it the nicest house on a bad street, or a fixer upper on a beautiful, desirable street? Landscaping – Is the yard beautifully landscaped? Will it take a huge amount of work to maintain it? Siding and roof – Make note of the […]
Tips for First Time Home Buyers
Buying your first house can be a daunting task. There are lots of things that you have to think about that you never had to worry about when you were a renter. There are a lot of steps, and so many decisions to make. There can also be surprises like extra costs that you might not have budgeted for. Here are some things that you can think about and do to make the whole process of buying your first house less scary, confusing, and stressful. Tips for making buying a house easier Long before you start to think about buying a house, start putting money away for a down payment. The down payment for a house in Canada can be as low as 5% which is still $15,000 on a $300,000 house. There are also closing fees and legal fees that have to be paid. These will add up to at least $3000 for a typical house. Find out how much you can spend. It’s difficult to shop for houses unless you know exactly how much the banks are willing to lend you. Having a pre-approved mortgage saves you the frustration of finding a house that you love, only to […]
Flood Recovery
Flooding is the most common natural disaster that affects Canadian homes and businesses and can happen almost anywhere. A heavy rain, a broken water main, or a cracked toilet tank can all cause a home or business to flood. In light of the flooding that devastated parts of Calgary and surrounding area this spring it’s a good time to review some of the important first steps that you should take if your home has been damaged by a flood. First steps you can take after a flood: Before you attempt to enter a flooded structure, do a perimeter check for signs of structural damage. Look for supports that have been undermined by flowing water, for example, under overhangs or carports. Also look for signs of damaged or weakened floors before you enter a structure. If you smell gas, leave the premises immediately and contact your service provider. Do not use any open flames until you are sure that the gas has been turned off and the area has been ventilated. Do not enter a flooded area of a building until you are certain that the electricity has been turned off. Power should not be turned back on until the electrical […]
Top 5 Ways to Show and Sell Your Home
I often run into realtors and clients who think selling a home is as easy as posting a listing on the Multiple Listing Systems (MLS) and the home will sell instantly. While having a listing on MLS is a great start, there are a few key items that you, as the home seller, should consider in preparing your home for showing, and ultimately, selling! Top 5 Elements to Consider Before Showing Your Home 1. De-Personalize Often a difficult step, you must start thinking of your “home” as a “house” that someone else will soon be living in. Remove any personal pictures, magnets off the fridge, items that are very personal to your individual taste, etc. Simply remove any item that makes you and your home feel unique (unless it’s a built-in feature, of course). By removing anything that makes this your “home,” you are allowing potential buyers to begin visualizing their items, pictures and other personal items in the space, making them more likely to want to purchase their new home. 2. De-Clutter This goes hand-in-hand with de-personalizing your home. Another way to think of this is to get a head start on packing and purging! Remove any clutter that […]
Purchase Contracts and Unattached Goods
I can not stress enough how important it is to write a good purchase contract. Recently I helped a family purchase a beautiful new home. It’s gorgeous! They are excited! They are pleased with the price negotiated and feel it is worth every penny. There is a section in the purchase contract that provides space to write in items requested to come with the home that are not attached. It is section 1.3 of the purchase contract: “No Unattached Goods (Chattels) except for:”. The normal things that go in here are washer, dryer, refrigerator, stove, microwave oven, dishwasher, etc. You get the idea. I noticed prior to leaving the home, while writing up the contract, that the kitchen island moved. That’s right, it was not attached to the home. I promptly included the kitchen island in this section. Could you imagine how upset my clients would be upon moving into the home to find that the kitchen island they thought they were getting was gone? The seller would have no contractual obligation for it to be present unless it was specified in the contract. There are many important details to be included in a purchase contract. The difference between a good versus a bad […]