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Home purchasing tips 1. Pay for a home inspection A home inspection is a thorough assessment of the structure and mechanical systems. Professional inspectors look for potential problems, so you can make an informed decision about buying the property. Here are some things to keep in mind:... Standard inspections don’t test for things like radon, mold or pests. Understand what's included in the inspection and what other inspections you might need. Traditionally the buyer attends the inspection. By following the inspector around you can get a better understanding of the home and ask questions on the spot. If you can't attend the inspection, review the inspector's report carefully and ask about anything that's unclear. 2. Negotiate with the seller You may be able to save money by asking the seller to pay for repairs in advance or lower the price to cover the cost of repairs you’ll have to make later. You may also ask the seller to pay some of the closing costs. But keep in mind that lenders may limit the portion of closing costs the seller can pay. Your negotiating power will depend on the local market. It's tougher to drive a hard bargain when there are more buyers than homes for sale. Work with your real estate agent to understand the local market and strategize accordingly. 3. Buy adequate home insurance Your lender will require you to buy homeowners insurance before closing the deal. Home insurance covers the cost to repair or replace your home and belongings if they're damaged by an incident covered in the policy. It also provides liability insurance if you're held responsible for an injury or accident. Buy enough home insurance to cover the cost of rebuilding the home if it's destroyed. Reference: https://cutt.ly/Xl3sh4u #realestate #realestateagent #realestateinvestor #realestateinvesting #realestateblog #realestatestyle #realestatetips #realestatenews #realestateadvice #realestategoals #realestate

The trend of robust activity in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) housing market continued in February, with multiple-buyers competing for the available listings. As demand heated up, double-digit price growth continued, with the average price for GTA homes officially eclipsing the $1 million mark for the first time in history. Last month, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board forecast that the average selling price for a GTA home would rise about 10% this year to pass $1 milli...on dollars, though they didn’t forecast it would happen quite so quickly. The average price of a home in the region including all types of houses and condos rose 14.9% year-over-year to $1.05 million last month, according to TRREB. According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), there were 10,970 sales recorded in February a 52.5% increase compared to 7,193 sales reported during the same month in 2020. The board said buyers remained confident in their employment situations and took advantage of ultra-low borrowing costs, which helped push the average selling price of a detached house in the 905 to $1.3 million 27.8% above February 2020. Here in Toronto, detached houses sold for $1.7 million on average a 13.2% annualized increase. While market conditions were tight throughout the GTA region last month, the detached, semi-detached, and townhouse market segments in suburban areas were the drivers of average price growth, with annual rates of increase above 20% in all three cases. Condo activity also heated up last month, with transactions up 64.3% year-over-year, after 3,116 sales were recorded. The 416-area accounted for 2,167 sales (up 63.2%), while the 905-area saw 949 condos change hands, a 66.8% year-over-year increase. Condo prices also continued to climb in the 905 areas up 5.4% year-over-year to an average of $563,587, while prices for apartments continued to fall in Toronto, declining 6.4% compared to last February to an average price of $676,837. Reference: https://cutt.ly/5l3fX7C #realestate #toronto #realtor #torontocondo #torontolisting #torontorealestate #ontario

Decluttering: 5 Expert Tips to Help You Get Started Whether you’ve got way too much stuff or just a bit more than you have room for, decluttering can seem overwhelming. These 5 tips will help you find the motivation to start decluttering and give you the organized home you’ve been dreaming of.... Focus on the End Result When you’re sorting through things, it can be easy to lose sight of why you started decluttering in the first place. But if you can visualize how your space will look and feel without all the clutter, it will help you stay focused. Declutter One Thing Every journey starts with a single step. And decluttering is definitely a journey. A clutter-free home doesn’t happen all in one day. So, don’t worry about how much there is to do, and instead, start by just doing one thing. Take out the recycling, wash the dishes or put one item in a donation box. Start with the Easy Stuff Decluttering is a lot like any other exercise; it can take some practice to get your decluttering muscles in shape, but the more you do it, the easier it gets. To ease your way into it, start with areas that don’t hold many personal or meaningful items. Break It Down Is the thought of decluttering the kitchen too much? Then start with one drawer. If you can’t imagine how you’ll sort through your whole closet, start with one category of clothes instead. When that drawer or category is complete, reward yourself and make a plan to tackle the next one. Big Things Make A Big Impact Decluttering isn’t just about getting rid of all the little things that clutter up your home. If you really want to change how your home feels and functions, try removing larger items too. By getting rid of bigger things, you’ll see the results more quickly, helping you find the motivation to do more. Reference: https://cutt.ly/klE9tmo #realestate #realestateagent #realestateinvestor #realestateinvesting #realestateblog #realestatestyle #realestatetips #realestatenews #realestateadvice #realestategoals #realestateagent

How Can Fluctuating Interest Rates Affect My Mortgage? There’s a lot you need to know when navigating the world of mortgages. And, if you’re not careful, it’s quite easy to get tripped up in the lingo, the procedures, and the payments. As is the case with most things in life, when it comes to locking in your mortgage interest rates, timing is everything.... How Can Fluctuating Interest Rates Affect My Mortgage? Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock throughout the COVID pandemic, you’ve likely noticed a lot of attention being paid to interest rates over the past 12 months. Back in mid-July, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem held a press conference in which he pledged that the Bank’s overnight lending rate of 0.25% would hold until the country’s inflation rate returns to its 2% target and achieves sustainably. That ‘hold’ could end up being years long. As a result, homebuyers are enjoying access to historically-low interest rates that can easily translate into savings over hundreds of dollars per mortgage payment and thousands, if not tens of thousands, over longer fixed-terms. So, what does all this mortgage interest rate movement mean for you? Well, that depends. Fixed Rate Mortgages Historically, fixed mortgage interest rates have always tended to drop slowly but increase quickly. Traditionally, when fixed rates went up, it was normally a quick occurrence and one that came without much warning to the everyday borrower, as lenders set rates based upon the commercial bond market. Looking back just to 24 months ago, client mortgages in early 2019 were getting locked in five-year fixed rates at 3.79% and those were considered competitive rates. Variable Rate Mortgages Unlike fixed-rate mortgages, variable-rate mortgages move up and down according to the Bank of Canada rate. Variable-rate mortgages (also known as adjustable-rate mortgages) are quoted relative to a lender’s prime lending rate, which takes guidance from the Bank of Canada rate. Reference: https://cutt.ly/dlcEWa8 #realestate #realestateagent #realestateinvestor #realestateinvesting #realestateblog #realestatestyle #realestatetips #realestatenews #realestateadvice #realestategoals

Should You Insulate the Interior or Exterior of Your Home? Making sure that your house is properly insulated can significantly reduce your monthly bills, as well as increase the thermal comfort in your home. Interior insulation... You should consider insulating the interior of your home if: You have sufficient space in your home Adding interior insulation will reduce the space of your home by several inches per wall, depending on the materials chosen. If you live in a home that is large enough or is open-style, insulating the interior might be best. Your exterior walls are unsound If you live in a house where your exterior walls are unsound or can’t be repaired easily, or even if you just don’t want to alter their design, it might be best to apply insulation on the inside. You’re also redecorating the interior Applying interior insulation can be disruptive to your household, even if you chose to do one room at a time. You will need to remove door and window frames, electrical boxes, skirting boards and other fittings during the process, as well as clean the floors and tiles when you’re done. Exterior insulation It’s better to consider insulating the exterior of your home if: You live in a detached house Because your house doesn’t share any exterior walls with other buildings, you’re more likely to lose heat. If you also have an attic and basement, insulating the exterior is a must, as heat will escape both ways. You have issues with dampness Adding interior insulation makes the walls colder, which will result in condensation both inside and on the surface of the wall, causing mold and mildew. Exterior insulation is much better in this regard, as it prevents dampness from penetrating the walls, without affecting their temperature on the inside. You live in a cold area Both interior and exterior insulation will improve the energy efficiency of your home; however, if you live somewhere with cold winters, insulating the outside has more uses. Reference: https://cutt.ly/0ljj52i #realestate #realestateagent #realestateinvestor #realestateinvesting #realestateblog #realestatestyle #realestatetips #realestatenews #realestateadvice #real

3 Tips for Working From Home Everyone who works remotely has to figure out when to work, where to work, and how to create boundaries between work and personal life. What about office equipment, career development, training opportunities, and building relationships with colleagues? Working remotely, especially when working from home most of the time, means figuring out these issues and others. Here are 3 tips for leading a better and more productive remote-working life, based... on my experience and what I've learned from others. 1. Maintain Regular Hours Set a schedule, and stick to it...most of the time. Having clear guidelines for when to work and when to call it a day helps many remote workers maintain work-life balance. That said, one of the benefits of remote work is flexibility, and sometimes you need to extend your day or start early to accommodate someone else's time zone. 2. Create a Morning Routine Deciding you'll sit down at your desk and start work at a certain time is one thing. Creating a routine that guides you into the chair is another. What in your morning routine indicates you're about to start work? It might be making a cup of coffee and taking the time to actually savor it before you start looking at your to-do list. It might be returning home after a jog. It might be getting dressed . A routine can be more powerful than a clock at helping you get started each day. 3. Set Ground Rules With the People in Your Space Set ground rules with other people in your home or who share your space for when you work. If you have children who come home from school while you're still working, they need clear rules about what they can and cannot do during that time. Reference: https://cutt.ly/yk2OnbG #realestate #realestateagent #realestateinvestor #realestateinvesting #realestateblog #realestatestyle #realestatetips #realestatenews #realestateadvice #realestategoals #realestate

Decluttering: 5 Expert Tips to Help You Get Started Whether you’ve got way too much stuff or just a bit more than you have room for, decluttering can seem overwhelming. These 5 tips will help you find the motivation to start decluttering and give you the organized home you’ve been dreaming of.... Focus on the End Result When you’re sorting through things, it can be easy to lose sight of why you started decluttering in the first place. But if you can visualize how your space will look and feel without all the clutter, it will help you stay focused. Declutter One Thing Every journey starts with a single step. And decluttering is definitely a journey. A clutter-free home doesn’t happen all in one day. So, don’t worry about how much there is to do, and instead, start by just doing one thing. Take out the recycling, wash the dishes or put one item in a donation box. Start with the Easy Stuff Decluttering is a lot like any other exercise; it can take some practice to get your decluttering muscles in shape, but the more you do it, the easier it gets. To ease your way into it, start with areas that don’t hold many personal or meaningful items. Break It Down Is the thought of decluttering the kitchen too much? Then start with one drawer. If you can’t imagine how you’ll sort through your whole closet, start with one category of clothes instead. When that drawer or category is complete, reward yourself and make a plan to tackle the next one. Big Things Make A Big Impact Decluttering isn’t just about getting rid of all the little things that clutter up your home. If you really want to change how your home feels and functions, try removing larger items too. By getting rid of bigger things, you’ll see the results more quickly, helping you find the motivation to do more. Reference: https://cutt.ly/klE9tmo #realestate #realestateagent #realestateinvestor #realestateinvesting #realestateblog #realestatestyle #realestatetips #realestatenews #realestateadvice #realestategoals #realestateagent

How Can Fluctuating Interest Rates Affect My Mortgage? There’s a lot you need to know when navigating the world of mortgages. And, if you’re not careful, it’s quite easy to get tripped up in the lingo, the procedures, and the payments. As is the case with most things in life, when it comes to locking in your mortgage interest rates, timing is everything.... How Can Fluctuating Interest Rates Affect My Mortgage? Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock throughout the COVID pandemic, you’ve likely noticed a lot of attention being paid to interest rates over the past 12 months. Back in mid-July, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem held a press conference in which he pledged that the Bank’s overnight lending rate of 0.25% would hold until the country’s inflation rate returns to its 2% target and achieves sustainably. That ‘hold’ could end up being years long. As a result, homebuyers are enjoying access to historically-low interest rates that can easily translate into savings over hundreds of dollars per mortgage payment and thousands, if not tens of thousands, over longer fixed-terms. So, what does all this mortgage interest rate movement mean for you? Well, that depends. Fixed Rate Mortgages Historically, fixed mortgage interest rates have always tended to drop slowly but increase quickly. Traditionally, when fixed rates went up, it was normally a quick occurrence and one that came without much warning to the everyday borrower, as lenders set rates based upon the commercial bond market. Looking back just to 24 months ago, client mortgages in early 2019 were getting locked in five-year fixed rates at 3.79% and those were considered competitive rates. Variable Rate Mortgages Unlike fixed-rate mortgages, variable-rate mortgages move up and down according to the Bank of Canada rate. Variable-rate mortgages (also known as adjustable-rate mortgages) are quoted relative to a lender’s prime lending rate, which takes guidance from the Bank of Canada rate. Reference: https://cutt.ly/dlcEWa8 #realestate #realestateagent #realestateinvestor #realestateinvesting #realestateblog #realestatestyle #realestatetips #realestatenews #realestateadvice #realestategoals

Should You Insulate the Interior or Exterior of Your Home? Making sure that your house is properly insulated can significantly reduce your monthly bills, as well as increase the thermal comfort in your home. Interior insulation... You should consider insulating the interior of your home if: You have sufficient space in your home Adding interior insulation will reduce the space of your home by several inches per wall, depending on the materials chosen. If you live in a home that is large enough or is open-style, insulating the interior might be best. Your exterior walls are unsound If you live in a house where your exterior walls are unsound or can’t be repaired easily, or even if you just don’t want to alter their design, it might be best to apply insulation on the inside. You’re also redecorating the interior Applying interior insulation can be disruptive to your household, even if you chose to do one room at a time. You will need to remove door and window frames, electrical boxes, skirting boards and other fittings during the process, as well as clean the floors and tiles when you’re done. Exterior insulation It’s better to consider insulating the exterior of your home if: You live in a detached house Because your house doesn’t share any exterior walls with other buildings, you’re more likely to lose heat. If you also have an attic and basement, insulating the exterior is a must, as heat will escape both ways. You have issues with dampness Adding interior insulation makes the walls colder, which will result in condensation both inside and on the surface of the wall, causing mold and mildew. Exterior insulation is much better in this regard, as it prevents dampness from penetrating the walls, without affecting their temperature on the inside. You live in a cold area Both interior and exterior insulation will improve the energy efficiency of your home; however, if you live somewhere with cold winters, insulating the outside has more uses. Reference: https://cutt.ly/0ljj52i #realestate #realestateagent #realestateinvestor #realestateinvesting #realestateblog #realestatestyle #realestatetips #realestatenews #realestateadvice #real

3 Tips for Working From Home Everyone who works remotely has to figure out when to work, where to work, and how to create boundaries between work and personal life. What about office equipment, career development, training opportunities, and building relationships with colleagues? Working remotely, especially when working from home most of the time, means figuring out these issues and others. Here are 3 tips for leading a better and more productive remote-working life, based... on my experience and what I've learned from others. 1. Maintain Regular Hours Set a schedule, and stick to it...most of the time. Having clear guidelines for when to work and when to call it a day helps many remote workers maintain work-life balance. That said, one of the benefits of remote work is flexibility, and sometimes you need to extend your day or start early to accommodate someone else's time zone. 2. Create a Morning Routine Deciding you'll sit down at your desk and start work at a certain time is one thing. Creating a routine that guides you into the chair is another. What in your morning routine indicates you're about to start work? It might be making a cup of coffee and taking the time to actually savor it before you start looking at your to-do list. It might be returning home after a jog. It might be getting dressed . A routine can be more powerful than a clock at helping you get started each day. 3. Set Ground Rules With the People in Your Space Set ground rules with other people in your home or who share your space for when you work. If you have children who come home from school while you're still working, they need clear rules about what they can and cannot do during that time. Reference: https://cutt.ly/yk2OnbG #realestate #realestateagent #realestateinvestor #realestateinvesting #realestateblog #realestatestyle #realestatetips #realestatenews #realestateadvice #realestategoals #realestate

Happy Chinese new year. Wish you good health and much success in 2021!