It’s always a good idea to start by getting a mortgage pre-approval. In today’s current market, houses are selling quickly and pre-approvals can take several weeks for the banks to review. Check out this link for more on Mortgage Pre-Approvals.

If you’re planning to purchase a property with less than a 20% down payment, your mortgage will need to be insured. According to the mortgage home buyers road map provided by the Canadian Real Estate Association, you will add 0.6%-3.85% to the cost of your mortgage. This is dependent on the total amount borrowed.

Mortgage default insurance allows you to purchase a home with as little as 5% down. A few major providers are Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Genworth Canada, and Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance Company. Check out more about buying a home on the CREA Home Buyers Road Map

Finding all of the new building projects for houses, townhomes, and condominiums can be difficult. One of the services I offer my buyer clients is personalized searches and listings for new builds in their area of interest. If you’re interested in learning more and would like to set up this service, please click the link below and book your appointment today.

I sell a variety of property types. Every property, house, townhouse, condo or business has their own unique set of marketing requirements. As a professional real estate agent I’m happy to assist you with any of your selling needs. I have a business marketing and sales background and I have certifications in digital advertising to help drive buyer interest. If you’re interested in discussing marketing plans and strategies, please feel free to set up a meeting. Book Today!

Selling your house in Ontario can be a daunting task, where to start is not always so obvious. Here is a step-by-step checklist that will assist you by preparing you and your home for sale.

1. Understanding the estimated value of your home or property.

In today’s market housing prices are changing at a fairly quick pace. It’s important for anyone looking to sell their home to complete a competitive market analysis. You should compare your property to other properties on the market as well as recently sold properties. Understanding the competition is key to selecting the right listing price. Select a listing price that’s too high and risk being overlooked. List your property too low and leave money on the table.

Calculating a listing price isn’t just averaging the prices of houses in the area, it involves a through review of competitive properties, square footage, livable space and upgrade considerations. For example: A property with a newly renovated kitchen can add additional value to a home, while a newly installed pool or hot tub may not increase the value of your property. For more on selling your home click the link to review the full blog. Guide to Selling Your Home in 2021.

Finding the right real estate agent is a very important choice to consider when selling your home. In Ontario there are over 79,000 realtors who belong to one of 3400+ Brokerages. Many of these relators belong to one or more of over 37 local real estate boards. When selling your house you should at least consider the following. Interview several real estate agents, each agent will have their own presentation style and marketing plans. Each agent is required to explain the level of service they are offering and clearly outline this in a representation agreement.

Before selecting your agent consider requesting references and speak to them about their experience with the real estate professional.

Prior to moving forward with any real estate agent ensure you check they are registered with RECO. You can check this link here! In Ontario all real estate agents must be registered to sell any real estate properties.

It’s great that you are thinking about what you should do prior to listing your house. However, I would suggest you consider getting the opinion of a professional before you start making any changes or start spending money on updates that could be better spent elsewhere. The Appraisal Institute of Canada suggests there are 3 ways to measure your return on renovation value.

1. The value of increasing your selling price.

2. The value of enjoying your renovated space.

3. The value of maintaining your property worth.

Within this article the Appraisal Institute of Canada suggests the following 5 renovations top the list for highest return on investment.

1. Kitchen- quality materials and workmanship

2.Bathroom- with quality materials

3.Repainting Interior/Exterior

4. Updating decor- Think lighting, floors, countertops or refinishing worn hardwoods.

5. Decluttering – removing excess items.

In my opinion decluttering is as important as staging your home properly. A prospective buyer should be able to envision themselves living in the home. Check out this link for the article written by the Canadian Appraisal Institute of Canada.

I offer professional real estate buyer, seller and leasing services to my clients and customers. As your trusted real estate advisor, I work with you to outline your requirements and goals, building individual plans by customer.

Everyone has different needs and it’s important to me that I take a holistic approach with every client or customer and identify their unique needs.

If you’re interested in having a virtual coffee to discuss selling or buying your home just click and book a time with me. I’m looking forward to getting to know you!

For more information on our seller and buyer services check it out here.