This story starts out on the Football field…

I was noticing some of the players were getting hurt while practicing their tackling drill, now I was trying to figure out why some were getting hurt and others were doing the hurting???

While watching and studying them, I noticed the difference.  Both the sides were ready, and it didn’t much matter what size the player was. Keep in mind that these are players between the ages of 7-10 year old boys.  The ones that weren’t used to hitting would stop just before contact was made, which resulted in them stopping and getting hit!  This meant that the ones that were actually hitting didn’t get hurt…  The ones that stopped, hesitated and didn’t respond to the situation because of FEAR.

What did I do???

Well, I pulled one player aside and told all the players that I would tell him a secret!  Which created curiosity, I told him exactly what he was doing and what he needed to do!  If he did this he would NOT get hurt.  Johnny did exactly what he was told and because he viewed me as the teacher or the professional or the COACH.  Whatever it was he trusted me.  This trust got him the glory that he was looking for, after he hit the last player, he was literally on top of the world!!!  At the end of the drill, he thanked me and gave me a high 5!

Now what in the world does this have to do with Real Estate???

I’ll tell you, I’ve come across so many people who want to get the results of what they’ve heard “Real Estate” can get them, but they don’t completely understand how, and what the process is…

As you know that Real Estate is a highly emotional process, the same way that the “Tackling Drill” was!  All the players had been taught how to implement a proper tackle, but the emotion of FEAR stopped them.  They actually thought they had no control over being hurt.  With the right coaching at the right time, my buyers and sellers have also achieved great results!  The emotions start as soon as you call the Real Estate Professional, the same way the player whose waiting in line for the tackle.  The emotions peak when you are actually putting pen to paper and signing your name, my advice is to get someone you trust to coach you through the entire process and let them do their job.  Once they’ve done their job, you should in turn get the results that you were looking to achieve, the same way that Johnny did on the field that day!

Keep in mind that the player that heard the secret thought that I gave him something special.

But I know better, I know that he gave me something that I couldn’t possibly give him which was the internal joy and gratification that I got as a result of him feeling like he WON!

LETS ALL WIN TOGETHER!!!

Manjit Virk
Sales Representive with Signature Service GMAC Real Estate

www.manjittorontohomes.com

For many children turning 19 is more than an important milestone in life, it’s a huge turning point!  They have graduated from high school, earned the right to vote and have begun to exercise a new found independence, everything seems to be happening at once.  Many teens start going to college or moving out and this is the first time they have ever lived away from home.

Here are a couple of tips that can make the transition from living at ‘Mom and Dad’s’ house to living ‘on your own’ less overwhelming:

Get organized – You need develop a discipline to get yourself up in time for class, eat regularly, wash your clothes – basically all the things mom and dad did for you.  By being organized it can help you manage this plus the additional workload of school and/or a job.

Make friends – You might feel homesick at first, but this the opportune time to start meeting new people or trying new things.  Be open minded and you will be surprised at what you might just learn or the friends you’ll meet.  Having a trusted circle of friends is something you’ll need at any age.

Find the balance – Partying is great, but be sure that your socializing isn’t sacrificing your studies or your job.  Monthly expenses can quickly add up and before you know it you are struggling to keep a roof over your head.

Stay health – Just with everything in life the key is moderation.  It’s easy to live off of cereal, but it’s not always the best thing for your health.  Try once a week inviting your friends over and cooking a meal, you can share the cost and have a great nutritious meal at the same time.

Start Saving – It’s not long before you will be thinking about buying your own home.  The things you do (i.e. maxing out your credit cards) and don’t do (i.e. saving money for a rainy day) at this point of your life we affect you later on. Start by putting a little bit of money away in an account that you can’t access, it will help you in the long run.

Debra Falcone
Sales Representative with Signature Service GMAC Real Estate
www.housesintohomes.ca

Buying a home is one of the most important financial decisions you will make, and although you probably have been through the process before, is can be a challenging experience, but every move is different and the variables can change. Working with a Realtor will reap benefits for you. You will be provided with all the information you need to make an informed decision, and you should be fully involved in every aspect of the purchasing process. A professional Realtor should be available to you to answer any questions you may have along the way.

Working with the right Realtor is extremely important and will enable you to reap the best possible benefit.

Your First Task … Choosing The Right Realtor For You!

The first, and most important thing in purchasing a home, is finding the right person to represent you in the purchase of your home, to find a committed and knowledgeable professional real estate representative who will listen to your needs, and work with you every step of the way. You want an agent who provides you the highest level of customer service that suits your specific needs.

Things To Consider When Choosing A Realtor

Choose A Realtor:

• Who works full time in the real estate business
• Who  keeps up with the latest market trends
• Who has high ethical standards
• Who is honest
• Who will put YOUR interests first and foremost
• Who is detail oriented in order to protect your interests
• Who has the training,knowledge and experience to assist you with a vast range of resources through the Multiple Listing Service to find the home you want for the price you can afford
• Who is thoroughly familiar with the community you want to move into
• Who know the price variables from each neighbourhood
• Who you feel personally comfortable with
• Who is Professional
• Who you can feel you trust and have confidence in
• Who listens carefully to what you say, and will respond to your specific needs
• Who has the experience… someone who will provide you with a full explanation of what to expect along the way
• Who can provide all the services you may need during the course of the buying process

A committed, professional and ethical real estate salesperson will make your real estate transaction as smooth and effortless as possible for you. Here are some of the things you should expect when working with a Realtor.

What You Should Expect From a Real Estate Professional

Through the MLS service your agent can keep you up to date on new listings that come on the market that meet your needs, as soon as they are listed. They will input your “search criteria” into their database, and you can receive emails automatically when new listings become available that fall within your search criteria. You can then preview these on a daily basis. The advantage here, is that you will receive these new listings before the general public, as the public websites extrapolate information from TREB (Toronto Real Estate Board) and are usually not visible for 24-48 hours.

Mortgage Prequalification

In order to know exactly what price range you should be searching in, pre-qualification of a mortgage is very important. If you require assistance, your agent can find financial institutions to assist you in this regard, at rates that can be fixed for up to 90 days

Attending to your needs

Your needs will be your agent’s first and foremost priority and will listen very carefully so he/she have all the background possible to assist you in fulfilling these needs.

Prepare the Offer

When you find a home that most suits your needs and are ready to proceed with an Offer, your agent will prepare the offer, review it together with you so you are familiar with, and understand each component, and guide you through the offer process, making sure all your concerns are reflected in the offer, and your best interests are addressed.

Keeping in Touch

After the offer has been accepted, your agent will stay with you until you are safely moved in. There may be little things that need attention, and he/she will always be available to resolve any of those small problems that may arise. He/she will follow up with you after moving date to ensure everything is satisfactory.

What Your Agent Needs From You …. To Give YOU The Best Service

To give you the very best service your agent needs a commitment from you to work together in a “partnership.” He/she will do all the legwork and they need you to be there when crucial decisions are required to be made.

Work Exclusively With One Agent

Without a contract the Buyer’s agent was particularly vulnerable to working without getting paid. Too often, Buyers would ask them to show them house after house, and then buy from another sales representative. One favourite Buyer trick is to attend open houses without their agent and tell the listing sales representative they aren’t working with anyone. Buyers mistakenly believe that they are learning about more homes without a sales representative at their side, or that they may possibly get a better deal. The truth is…they don’t! They usually pay more for the home than they have to when they buy from the listing sales representative directly.

Then consumer awareness dawned. Buyers began to realize that whoever represented them at the closing table was on the side of the Seller, not theirs. They realized that they deserved to have a true advocate, and the Buyer’s agent was born. The only way was to create a binding agreement that protected both parties, thus the Buyer Representation Agreement was born.

Realtors are dedicated professionals in every aspect, and are committed to your needs, as their client. Your agent will have access to ALL the listings in the area in which you are searching. Together he/she will work with you to find the home that is right for you. There are benefits when working exclusively with one agent, and entering into an Agreement with your agent, is your commitment to them, as well as theirs in providing you with the best possible level of service.

Be Accessible

There will be times, both before and after an Offer to Purchase has been signed, when your agent may have to contact you urgently. Your prompt return of calls will help them to work in your best interests.

Never Have Discussions with Listing Agent or Vendor

Many a sale has been lost because of a seemingly unimportant remark. Please direct any and all questions or concerns to your agent.. that is what he/she is there for.

Concerns, or Change of Plans

Keep your agent informed of your thoughts and concerns. He/she can resolve any problems that may arise if you talk about it to them, so keep the lines of communication flowing freely.

When You See A Property

If you happen to see a home for sale, or see a newspaper ad, that you want information about get in touch with your agent immediately. Provide him/her with the listing company name, phone number, and the street address of the property. Your agent will get the information for you and get back to you as soon as possible, and you can then decide whether you want to see the property.

Setting Up Showings

It takes time to arrange appointments for viewing properties. The Seller has to be contacted with the request, and then a confirmation given to your agent. Trying to set up appointments at the last minute often leads to 1 or 2 of the properties not being available to view due to insufficient notice given, and much too often these turn out be the ones you want to see most.

Conclusions:

Research carefully, before you select an agent to represent you. Referrals from someone who has used a particular agent and were happy with the services they provided are a good way to hire an agent to represent you. Ask the agent to provide referrals for you, and ask questions… are they available quickly to respond to your call? Are they familiar with the neighbourhood where you want to buy? Choose someone you feel comfortable with, have trust in and who you feel will act in your best interest!

Gloria Valvasori
Sales Representative with Signature Service GMAC Real Estate
www.gloriavalvasori.com

When the time comes around for you to move into your new home, you will find yourself overwhelmed at how much you own. Making a smooth move will seem impossible and it will look like you will be spending countless hours preparing for the move. That is if you wait till the last moment.To make everything easier you should try to start packing weeks ahead of time in preparation for the move. This way you will not have much left to do when the time comes for you to move. At most you will have to pack a few more personal items and clear up any last minute belongings out of your current home.

When packing your belonging for the move you should be prepared to get rid of any items you know will never see light again once it is packed away. When I first moved I packed everything I owned, no matter what it was. When time came around for me to unpack my belongings I found myself questioning why I even brought it with me.

You will find that happening when you make your move as well. I realized if I got rid of the items I would never use again I would have saved myself from carrying over 4 – 6 boxes.

For any fragile objects I recommend you buy plenty of bubble wrap. This is useful for the chine set that has been in your family for years or any other important fragile objects. For your kids it can be a great source of entertainment to hear the bubbles pop.

A great way to save money in the move is to gather up a few friends and close family to help you out. You rent a truck for the day and begin to pack your belongings one by one.

Moving is meant to be the beginning of something new, therefore do not dread the move look forward to new beginnings.

Heleen Jacobsen
Broker of Record with InfoMarket Group GMAC Real Estate
www.infomarketgroup.com

As most of you might have heard from me, flipping homes is a term where your buy a house relatively cheap then sell it back to make a profit. Now many people have the conjecture that this is an easy task and it will bring about a good bit of profit, however that is not always the case.The general idea with flipping homes is to quickly sell the home to get it off your hands and avoid paying any more money to hold onto it. Depending on the condition of the home, you might have to do plenty of changes to the house. The more changes the more it will cost you and the amount of time it will take.

When considering buying a house to flip, you have to into account the renovations you will have to do on the inside and any landscaping renovations.

Remember, everything will add up, and your profit will have to include any of the renovation costs you end up doing before selling the house.

In certain cases you will have to go through legal methods and get the permits to complete certain renovations within the home. Getting the permits will take a bit of time, and could end up making you hold onto the house much longer than you would like to.

A good method would be to hire professional contractors to do the renovations that require more technical knowledge, however getting a good contractor will require money and they will want you to go through the legal channels and get the required permits for them to do the work.

What we have so far is that depending on the house’ shape you will need to do a certain amount of renovations. Depending on the renovations, you might have to get permits to finish the work. The longer to get the permit, the longer you are holding on the house. The more money you will lose in the end when you finally sell the house.

Overall, keep in mind these few points if you ever do decide to invest in flipping a home. Remember, flipping homes is not a game; it is an investment which you should consider thoroughly.

Jeff Markewich
Broker of Record with InfoMarket Group GMAC Real Estate
www.imgrealestate.ca

When buying your first home it will be a intimidating task, however if you put forth some preparation you can ease the process. To help you ease the process I have come up with 6 mistakes first time home buyers tend to make in the buying process.

1. Not planning a budget
The biggest mistake you can make is not knowing how much you can afford. You can potentially waste countless hours searching for homes outside your price range. By figuring out your budget you can easily find a suitable home to purchase.

2. Letting your Emotions Get the Better of You
If you happen to find the “dream” home you should not let the seller’s agent become aware of it. If they do you will find yourself stuck with the lower hand in the negotiation process.

3. Failing to Find a Good Agent
Finding a good agent for you is tough nowadays, and you should interview several agents before picking one. Find an agent who will look out for your interests and not his/her alone. You might go through several but persevere through the process and you will be rewarded.

4. Not having the Home Inspection
Before you sign anything you must be sure to hire a professional home inspector. The seller will probably not let you be aware of any underlying issues which could end up becoming a large expense.

5. Assuming that your First Offer will get Accepted
Even if house prices are becoming more affordable, it does not mean anything you put out there will be accepted by the seller. Remember they have their own goal and will want to meet it.

6. Patience is a Virtue
Take your time when looking at houses and do not rush into anything. You do not want to be stuck with a house you only realize late that it is a bad purchase.

By acknowledging these 6 mistakes first time home buyers make you can be on the lookout for making them yourself. Being aware is the first step to making sure you make the right decisions down the road.

Glen Chapman
Broker of Record with Club “100″ GMAC Real Estate
www.club100realestate.com

A question that young adults will face in their lifetime is whether they are ready to buy their own home. Owning a home is a big financial move anyone can make and you should be making this sort of investment when your finances are in order.Here are a few signs that show you are ready to purchase your own home.

1. You Know How to Budget
When you own your own home there are various expenses that will come about you have never experiences before. You have to ready and have experience in managing a budget; you have to know where you are financially and where your money will be going every month.

When you have sorted out your finances you should create a mock budget which will display what you will need to support the cost of your home.

This should include the mortgage payment, utility bills, property tax, homeowner insurance, cost of living, commuting expenses, etc. The list is long but once you are finished you can easily decide what you can afford and if you are ready to buy.

2. Have a Reliable Source of Income
When you buy a home it is a long term commitment and you will need a consistent source of income to cover your mortgage and other expenses. Analyse your current job situation and determine if you will be able to cover your expenses if you decide to buy your own home.

3. Have the Down Payment
To actually be ready to buy your first home, you need to actually have money for a down payment. The only way to do this is to save and acquire the amount needed. Generally you will need a down payment worth 20% of the home price. Once you actually acquire a sizeable down you know you are ready to own your first home.

4. How Good is Your Credit
You might not need to have the perfect credit history to become a homeowner but it is still required you have a decent history to get a lower interest rate on your mortgage, not to mention a lower monthly payment. Check your credit history to make sure you are in good condition.

5. Long Term Commitments can be Done
Owning a home is a long term commitment, meaning you have to be prepared to be stuck with your home for at least 3 to 5 years to recoup your buying and selling costs. You might lose money if you sell before depending on the market but this is not the point. Do not go into buying a home thinking that no matter what happens you can always sell and recover most, if not all of you money back.

With these 5 signs you will be able to know if you are ready to own your first home, remember you may not have all of the signs in check but you can always get that sorted out in the months to come.

Heleen Jacobsen
Broker of Record with InfoMarket Group GMAC Real Estate
www.infomarketgroup.com