Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some reasons why: You'll save time. A real estate agent can pinpoint homes that fit your needs and dismiss those that don't. You benefit from an experienced negotiator. Your agent will manage your offers and counter-offers, ensuring that you get the best possible price for your home. You'll get the right information. Your agent knows the neighborhood and can give you accurate information on local real estate values, taxes, utility costs, services and amenities. You can always count on great advice. Because your agent is familiar with the entire home purchasing process, he or she can advise you of your legal and financial options, and recommend appraisal, home inspection and contracting services.

Let your real estate agent do the searching for you. The best buys aren't in the newspaper ads; most great opportunities are on "hot sheets" that are available every morning to salespeople with access to MLS information. My job, as a real estate agent, is to: Provide information on the property and the area Negotiate a price and terms that are agreeable to both buyer and seller Help arrange a source of financing

Something to ask yourself is for what reason are you buying a home? When looking to buy a house as an investment, then you should look to buy from the smaller to medium sized home and only spend minimal amounts on upgrades. If you are looking at your purchase from the other perspective of making it a home, then you should select your upgrades that will make you happy and enhance your quality of life. Either way we suggest always installing new carpets.

Disclosure laws in real eprovince vary from province to province, but most provinces require that the seller discloses any problems he or she knows about, especially any problems that would influence a sale. If you receive a Transfer Disclosure provincement from the seller, then you probably live in a province that requires disclosure. For example, if the buyer asks about flooding then the seller should disclose the information.

If the infestation was discovered with enough time before closing on the transaction, a treatment can still be chosen and performed to the satisfaction of the buyer, seller, and mortgage company. Closing can also be postponed temporarily until the treatment is completed, although this is usually not preferred by the parties concerned. If after a few years termites are found it would not be considered reasonable to hold the sellers responsible for the problem. At that point, it would be your responsibility to find a best control service.

The inspector should be checking the following elements of your prospected home: Drainage Foundation Roof and water leaks Paint Plumbing Electrical Wiring Heating Fireplace Tile or wood floors

If you think that your house is worth more than other houses in your neighborhood, this could be a bad sign. Homes are more likely to maintain their value if the neighboring properties are fairly similar. It is best in this type of situation to talk to several Realtors to get their opinions. Although it is a textbook answer to hire an appraiser, appraisers are better suited for justifying a price than determining a home’s market value.

A home is an investment! When you rent your check, you will never see that money again. On the contrary, owning a home allows you to deduct the cost of your mortgage loan interest from your federal income taxes. This allows you to save a lot each year because the interest you pay will make up most of the years of your mortgage.

Even if a garage is attached to the home, it is not considered part of the home’s square footage. Only livable space is considered in the square footage calculation. Calculating the square footage of a home is difficult. Neither real estate owners nor home owners should be the ones responsible for estimating a home’s square footage. It is best to hire a licensed appraiser. They map out the house on a piece of graph paper, calculate all of the edges, and come up with “mini-areas” for each rectangle then add them all together. Also, if the owner added an addition to the home with no building permit, that section of the house may not be allowed as part of the square footage. The same goes with attic and basement conversions, lofts, and so on.

The first thing to do is make sure you put your house in the best condition possible especially in the market with few buyers and many homes for sale. You want to fix any repairs that could deter a buyer or delay a sale. Also you want to work on your home’s curb appeal. Mow the grass, clean up any debris, weed, and plant flowers, depending on your budget. Other quick fixes that don’t cost a lot of money but can help you get more money for your home are: Clean the windows and make sure the paint is not chipped. Be sure the doorbell works. Clean and freshen up rooms, furnishings, floors, walls, and ceilings. Eliminate any bad smells with air freshener and be sure your home smells inviting. Invest in a couple of vases of fresh flowers to place around house and next to any information about the house you have prepared for buyers.

This is a question that you will discuss with a real estate agent in the home buying process. You should consider the following: Is the asking price similar to other homes in the area? Is the home in good condition or will you have to spend money to make it par with your standards? How long has the home been on the market? How much in mortgage payments will you have to pay and what can you afford? How much do you really want the home? Depending on the answers to these questions, you may want to offer more than the asking price or less than the asking price. Every offer is a negotiation and a real estate agent has the experience and talent to answer your questions and help you through the difficult process.

There are many different questions to answer before making the choice between buying a bigger home or adding on to your current home. You want to take the time to ask yourself the following: How much money is available, either from cash reserves or through a home improvement loan to remodel the current house? How much additional space is required? Would the foundation support a second floor or does the lot have room to expand on ground level? What local zoning and building ordinances permit? Are there affordable properties for sale that would satisfy housing needs? Ultimate decision should what will add the most value

You can finance a home with a loan from a bank, a savings and loan, a credit union, a private mortgage company, or various province government lenders. I suggest taking time to look around before you decide who should finance your loan. Take time to look at all the interest rates and fees.

There is also the cost of your monthly utilities, such as gas, electric, and water bills. You will also have property taxes, and depending on where you live you could have city or county taxes.