A lot of Canadians don’t realize that home insurance can vary significantly from one company to another. What’s covered in your neighbour’s policy, for example, may not be covered in your own. Here are some common examples: Flood damage. Unless you have a special provision or rider in your current policy, damage from a flood…
When preparing your home for sale, you want to make it look as good as possible. The more attractive it looks to buyers, the more likely you are to get offers. However, you don’t want to make the mistake of over-doing pre-sale renovations. For example, completely gutting a reasonable kitchen to install one worth of…
As you enter different stages of your life, you have different needs from your home. Those in their early life stages who are first time buyers, are geared toward buying a home in a desirable location with great resell potential. However, as your kids leave the house, you may consider downsizing. You need less space…
Question: What do buyers normally ask themselves when searching for a new home? Answer: Where do I want to live? BINGO… LOCATION IS KEY! As a buyer you want to decide where exactly it is you want to live, where would it be convenient for you to commute to and from work and where would…
There are a number of ways to get investing in real estate, but pre-construction real estate is one of the fastest growing with some of the fastest and highest returns. There are any number of reasons why investing in pre-construction real estate is something to seriously consider. Pre-construction condominiums are some of the hottest pieces…
For those wanting a steady return on their money, houses can be a sure bet. When the baby boomers started madly buying houses in the 1980s, suddenly real estate seemed like the path to instant wealth. The real estate markets fluctuate constantly. There have been times when house prices have gone down. However if you…
Bi-weekly and weekly payments Most mortgages have the option to allow payments to be made on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. This option may be desirable for two reasons. The first is it can save you money as you can expect to pay off your mortgage about 4 years sooner. This can save you dramatically…
Curb appeal. They say you can only make one “first impression,” and people usually form their first impression within 30 seconds. The front of your house is a good place to spend a little extra time and money. Plant flowers, trim bushes, weed, pick up leaves, repaint your front door, replace tarnished house numbers or a…
1. Failure to effectively market the property. Good marketing distinguishes your home from hundreds of others on the market, selling its benefits not just its features. Open houses and print advertising (the most obvious) are only moderately effective. Only 1% of homes are sold at open houses, and just 3% of people purchased their homes…
We all know instinctively what colours we like and which we don’t. This should make choosing paint for your home easy, shouldn’t it? In fact, it is difficult to choose the right colour unless you recognize the subtle presence of undertone, the colour underlying the colour. What?!? Most colours are made up of combinations; for example,…