PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING !

Does your home have that WOW factor??

Are you maximizing your options to improve the saleability of your home?

Home Staging

Staging your home is one of the smartest decisions a seller can make. Home Staging can turn a cold and lifeless looking property into a warm, inviting home in a potential buyer’s mind. First impressions are everything and if your property is presented in the right way, it will enchant your visitors and make it irresistible.

Home staging is the process of de-personalizing a home and making it “buyer ready” so it appearls to the largest potential buyer audience possible using proven design techniques that highlight the home’s best architectural features.

Home Stating, also known as real estate staging, is not home decorating, but rather an art that utilizes a home owner’s existing furniture, lighting, and art work to draw a potential buyer’s eye to the positive aspects of your home. Home staging will address furniture layouts, paint schemes, clutter, traffice flows, focal points, lighting, accent colour, and creating that WOW factor.

Some sellers are reluctant to spend the money on home staging, but that is usually shortsighted as the cost of staging your home is minimal compared to the rewards it will produce. Study after study has shown that staged homes usually sell much faster, and for a higher selling price.

BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS

The most buyer traffic will come through a home the first two weeks it is on the market. No one gets a second chance to make a great first impression, therefore when a potential buyers steps through your front door, it is critical they have a positive reaction, as that first impression is what they will take with them when they walk back out the door, and remember. With buyers expecting move-in ready homes and becoming more aware of what to expect in a home, more sellers are turning to home staging to help them differentiate their home from the competition.

THE POTENETIAL BENEFITS OF HOME STAGING FOR THE SELLER:

Sellers who stage their properties first, also end up packing most of their belongings before the home goes on the market; this makes the move less stressful.
All the clutter is removed from your home prior to your first Open House.
The statistics show your home will sell faster because it will show better.

THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF HOME STAGING FOR THE BUYER:

The buyers can see the architectural features of the home they want to buy rather than wading through clutter and family pictures.
Potential buyers are able to envision their belongings fitting in the space because all excess furniture and clutter has been removed.
A property that has been professionally staged has optimal room layouts, which shows all potential buyers the best way to utilize the space in every room.

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

It may sound like just a dream, but for many people it can be a very real possibility: buying a home in the U.S. For instance, nearly 18% of all property sold in Florida is sold to Canadians. 500,000 Canadians travel to the U.S. every year to escape the winter, and it

is estimated that nearly a fifth of these have their own property in the U.S.

With the Canadian dollar reaching historical highs and prices in some U.S. states near rock-bottom lows, now could be the time for you.

Here are some tips for buying properties in the U.S.:

1. A lawyer is essential. Not only are there issues with taxes, but in the event of your death, your property in the U.S. might be subject to U.S. estate laws and taxes. The lawyer will help you understand the ramifications of leaving Canada for extended periods. For instance, if you are not in Ontario for more than 212 days per year, you could lose access to your health benefits. Make sure your will is prepared and up-to-date, and have an American attorney look it over to make sure it is prepared correctly.

2. For that matter, get travel insurance. Health expenses in the U.S. can be very costly, and if you are in an emergency, you won’t have time to get back to Canada for treatment.

3. Make sure you are ready at the border. Customs in the U.S. will direct more scrutiny at you if you are staying for an extended period. Bringing proof of ownership of a property in Canada (ie, that you intend to return to Canada) and evidence that you can support yourself is a good idea.

4. Some states in the U.S. don’t have income taxes – hard to believe, isn’t it? – so the tax burden tends to fall onto property taxes. Some of the most popular states for Canadians looking for U.S. property , including Florida, Texas, and Washington state do not have income taxes. In contrast, Arizona has income taxes, and its property taxes are correspondingly lower. Make sure you investigate the tax system in whatever state you are looking into before you consider buying.

5. You can make multiple offers on properties in the U.S., unlike in Canada. It might make sense to make multiple offers, but it is a very good idea to have someone you trust and who is well-versed in buying in the U.S. handling this, and to make sure you have your finances properly sorted out. You wouldn’t want to be liable for several properties at once!

Check in tomorrow, when I will offer five more tips!

Nelson Goulart
Broker of Record with Signature Service GMAC Real Estate
www.ssgmac.ca

When you are first going to look at homes to buy, one of the most nerve-wracking parts of choosing the right house is figuring out if the home you are looking at has any hidden flaws. Some places may look like palaces, but is it just plaster and paint? This is why getting a home inspection a necessary part of buying a new home. Professional home inspections will help you look behind the surfaces to see the real condition of the home.

However, before you get one done, do your homework. There are some home inspections that are essentially worthless, particularly when you read the fine print. These home inspection reports might say that because the home inspector wasn’t permitted to move the possessions of the current owner, he or she could not examine anything that might have been blocked from view. If that’s the case, let’s hope there wasn’t a chair in front of a fire hazard or a faulty electrical junction.

Bad reports might also suggest that relevant areas of the house were only inspected from a particular vantage point that would never show any defects to a home inspector (such as examining a roof from the ground).

To avoid this, look for certified home inspectors, or hire a contractor who is licensed. They will not only be able to see if there are problems – they will also be able to determine more completely if there are problems with the heating and cooling vents, the electrical systems, the foundation, whether there are issues with mould, and if the house meets fire codes.

In fact, not only will licensed contractors be able to tell you if your home meets the basic requirements, but they can also give you a general idea of what will be needed to be done to bring the house up to code. These figures can be a great tool to renegotiate the price of the home you are looking at. For instance, if you find out the roof is leaking, you can get the seller to shoulder the cost of the repairs.

If you need a home inspection, you can find one through the Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors, or by contacting a licensed contractor. A typical home inspection will cost around $300 – $500.

Remember, getting a good home inspection before you buy your house will help you avoid serious issues, could help you renegotiate a better price, and will be worth it in the long run.

Nelson Goulart
Broker of Record with Signature Service GMAC Real Estate
www.ssgmac.ca

When you are looking for investment properties, it can be difficult to sift through all of the listings to find exactly what you are looking for. This is particularly true when you are looking for an investment property. Investors don’t necessarily care if their new investment property is attractive and spacious; their primary concern is how much money it can bring in.

Too help investors in this search, and help them find the information that is really important to them, a new Internet tool has been launched called Gooplex.com.

Gooplex.com aims to give real estate investment buyers a place where they can search for properties that fit their particular criteria. For instance, on Gooplex.com, you can search by the size of the property, whether the tenants pay for electricity and hydro, the price, and what the gross revenue multiplier is.

The site also tries to be a transparent and independent source of information. Posters are not charged a commission, and the site accepts postings from U.S. real estate agents. The site works more like craigslist.org then a standard real estate service listings, and offers similar benefits and problems.

For instance, because the postings are not vetted, they may be filled with inaccuracies or misleading statements, and the photos of the properties may not be as detailed as you may like. As well, the descriptions can be a little over-the-top or just difficult to understand and read. And the site is still very new: right now there are only ten listings, and they are all in Montreal.

But the creators hope to expand the service to more markets soon, and to expand its coverage in the coming months.

As always with these informal listing tools, it is a good idea to use them as only a starting place for your search. Real estate transactions can be very problematic, and using a potentially inaccurate source of information as your primary source could lead you into difficulties. It is advisable to find a trusted and accredited real estate agent to help you in your search, and to ensure that you find exactly what you need.

Nelson Goulart
Broker of Record with Signature Service GMAC Real Estate
www.ssgmac.ca

If you are thinking of buying a house, one of the things you’ll need to do first off is to save up a down payment. But if you are already struggling to make things meet, how can you possibly do that? Here are some tips to get your finances sorted for a down payment?

1. Get your financial house in order.

You can’t save money until you figure out how much money you are spending every month. If you do a budget and find out that you are spending more than you take in, you will not save any money, no matter how hard you try. Write out a comprehensive budget that has some room for savings, and stick to it!

2. Figure out how much you need.

Most lenders ask for 20% of the home’s cost as a down payment. For the average home of around $350,000, that works out to be $70,000. Unless you are making significantly more than this, you will not be able to save this in less than two to three years. Even then, it might be a stretch (particularly if you have no partner).

You can buy a home with less than this amount as a down payment, but it will require you to buy mortgage insurance. Even then, you will need at least 5% as a bare minimum, and on a $350,000 house that works out to be a little less than $20,000.

In other words, no matter what house you want, you will need to save a substantial amount of money, and it will take a few years. Take this into account when you are setting your financial goals.

3. Get your savings working

When you do start saving, make sure the money you are putting away isn’t going in some low-interest account. Look for high-interest savings account, or for a tax-free savings account. If you know that you aren’t going to be buying a house for at least three years, you can usually find a high-yielding money market fund that requires you to lock in for that length of time. If you don’t want to expose yourself to the risk, try a GIC or a savings bond. The trick is to use the fact that you won’t be touching this money for an extended period to your advantage.

4. Your RRSPs can help you.

The Federal Government has made it possible for you to withdraw about $25,000 from your RRSPs to put toward your home, and you will not be taxed on this withdrawal amount. If you are a first-time home buyer, you likely will not have this much money in your RRSPs yet, but any little bit helps.

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

Instead of making major renovations, transform your home by rejuvenating and modernising it.  Here are 6 steps to upgrade your living space without breaking the budget

Update your furniture:

Give your favourite couch or recliner a new look.  Add some colourful throw pillows to your living room.  Reupholster your old chairs in rich looking new fabric.

De clutter and Organise:

Why not plan a thorough spring cleaning and, while you are at it, be ruthless and toss or give away items that are no longer needed.  You would be amazed how great a space looks after it has been cleared of knick knacks, paperwork and random items.  Organise what is left by investing in storage baskets or boxes from IKEA.   This will help you show off those special pieces such as coffee tables, bookshelves and cabinets.  Then rearrange books, picture frames and vases where they can be seen and enjoyed.

Paint:

Fresh paint on the walls can instantly open up and appear to enlarge a room while also creating a dramatic or even a subtle change in décor.  For that finishing touch, paint your old furniture and picture frames a bold new colour that compliments the room.

Rejuvenate the Baseboards and Walls:

Baseboards frame the whole space of your home; keep them looking fresh and bright by vacuuming and cleaning them.  Keep walls looking their best with Vim cream, which is specially formulated to removed scoffs marks, dirt and stains?

Special Treatment for windows:

Choose roman blinds in beautiful fabric, wooden plantation shutters or luxurious looking curtains, use options that will your windows look gorgeous.  Any of these affordable options gives long term value – whether you plan to stay or sell.

Restore your floors:

If your home is older, chances are there is gorgeous hardwood floors beneath the carpeting, lift a small piece of carpet close to an air vent to check.  It will be worth the work to remove any carpet adhesive, sand and finish the hardwood floors, thereby enjoying the newly restored gorgeous hardwood floors.    Rejuvenate and add a shine to existing hardwood, laminate or linoleum flooring by using Vim OXY-GEL all purpose cleaner, which leaves a fresh scent as well.

When purchasing a home, you can find yourself in one of the most stressful periods of your life.

To help ease the stress of purchasing a home, I have a few tips you may want to consider following.

1. Lock in Mortgage Rate

When you apply for a mortgage, you will be able to lock in the rate. This is generally for a maximum of 120 days. This guarantee will let you have the rate you want despite any increases made during the time period.

2. Consider Future Possibilities

With rate increases bound to happen soon, and you are worried about affordability, take into account a 1 – 3% increase in your payments. By doing this you can have peace of mind knowing the whether or not you can afford a home now or in a few years.

3. Leave “Wiggle” Room

With a pre-approved mortgage, you will know what you can afford, however do not make any rash decisions. Take into account your current lifestyle, and consider any future changes. You should purchase a house within a comfort zone, which will help if any unexpected costs come up.

I will be providing further information on those who already own a home and may want to improve their mortgage later on.

Rita Baxter
Broker of Record with Town and Country Realty
www.lloydminsterrealestate.ca/