Right now, our market is considered a low inventory market. That means that there are considerably more buyers (demand) than there are properties for sale (supply). And that means it’s a challenge to buy a home these days.

But don’t worry. With a little patience and flexibility, it’s possible! I also recommend doing the following to get a house right now:

1. Work with a buyer’s agent. A real estate agent will make your life 100% easier and it’s free to you! Sellers pay agent commissions, so you get all the support, experience, and guidance of a real estate agent at no additional cost.
2. Set up new listing alerts. If there’s an area you have your heart set on, set up listing alerts through your agent’s app. You’ll get notified as soon as new properties hit the market so you can be the first to snatch them up.
3. Look for coming soon signs. It’s worth the time to drive around your desired neighborhood and see if any properties are coming on the market soon.
4. Expand your parameters. Flexibility is key in our market right now. By expanding your criteria, you might find the perfect home that you wouldn’t have considered before when you were focused on meeting a few parameters.
5. Think about new construction. People used to think of new construction as a luxury, but now many new builds are running in the same price range as established homes. Look to see if there are any new builds going up in your area–but keep in mind that a newly constructed house will generally take longer to get into because it has to be built.
6. Check back on listings. Always save the properties you’re interested in, even when they go off the market. They might be back up later! Sometimes sales fall through and you can grab a second chance at buying the property.

Buying a home right now is doable! It just takes some perseverance, flexibility, and patience. And of course, a good agent on your side can never hurt!

If you want to jump into our market and find your next home, Let’s Connect!

Getting an inspection on a property is a standard part of the buying process so you know exactly what you’re getting into. An inspection gives you a good idea of the condition of the house and if there are any problems or big repairs needed.

Every buyer and seller hopes that the inspection will come back with a gold star and that everything will be good to go. But sometimes that doesn’t happen. Now what do you do?

If you’re the buyer, you’ll work with your agent to negotiate repairs with the seller. You’ll tell them what’s wrong and make a request for them to fix it.

While you can choose to do all the repairs yourself, sometimes lenders will require that certain repairs are completed before they’ll provide you with the mortgage. Usually, this is just for the big problems like water leaks, structural damage, and things that make the home dangerous to inhabit.

After you talk with the seller, they can agree to fix the problem or offer to reduce the purchase price so you can make the repairs yourself. (This is why you should always negotiate if repairs need to be done!) However, the seller also has the option to decline to make any fixes or offer repair credits and send back terms to the buyer.

Negotiations can go back and forth for a while, but usually the buyer and seller will come to a favourable agreement. However, sometimes the seller won’t want to do any repairs and will stall the negotiation. If there is an inspection condition in the purchase agreement, which is typical, the sale could be canceled.

Buyers, this is why it’s important to be ready to walk at any point in the buying process–you can save yourself from getting stuck in a bad deal if you remember the big picture and work through real estate decisions with logic rather than emotion.

But most of the time inspection problems are handled quickly so the sale can progress. With a great agent on your side, you’ll be able to make the most of the inspection and negotiation process so you know you’re getting a good deal on a good property.

Let’s talk about one of the most critical real estate terms out there: return on investment aka ROI. If you have any investments or you’re looking at real estate, you’ve probably heard ROI thrown around a bunch. But what does it actually mean and why should you pay attention?

ROI is the amount of money you get back on an investment you’ve made–like real estate. For example, if you buy a house for $350,000 and then, after a few years, sell it for $450,000, you’ll have made all of your money back plus $100,000. That’s a pretty good investment.

But ROI isn’t just important when you’re buying or selling a house. You should also make sure you consider ROI when you’re doing home renovations or putting money into your home.

You want to make sure that you’ll get the money you put into renovating your home back when you sell. This is why kitchen remodels are so popular—you can almost always make all of the money back and more.

On the other hand, renovating your home to include a home gym or a rose garden in the backyard might not make buyers want to pay more for your home. As a result, you could lose money by doing those renovations. Recouping costs and making a profit is the name of the game in real estate.

Whether you’re buying, selling, or renovating, ROI is important to keep in mind so you can make smart money decisions that benefit your financial future. Want to talk about finding the best ROI remodels for your home? Let’s Connect!

T or F: Getting a mortgage is impossible when you’re self-employed.

https://youtube.com/shorts/pRleOP1JEnw?feature=share

FALSE!  While being self-employed can make getting a mortgage a little more challenging, it’s doable… if you’re prepared.

Watch today’s video to find out what you should be doing to get approved for a mortgage if you’re self-employed.
Got any questions about buying a home while running your own business?  Just send me a DM or call and let’s Chat.

If you have pets, it’s hard to imagine your life without them. But when you’re selling your home, pets can make getting and keeping your home ready for sale a little challenging. When you’re staging your home for listing photos and making sure it looks perfectly buyable during showings, keep these tips in mind.

1. For listing photos, remove all pet evidence. You don’t want to bias people against your property just because you have a dog crate or cat tree hanging out in the living room.
2. Keep your home clean and fresh. Deodorize before every showing or open house and get some good-smelling candles or sprays going to keep pet odours at bay.
3. If you live in a very pet-friendly area with walkable trails or patio restaurants, showing potential buyers that your home works well for a pet could work in your favour. Show off the fact that you have a pet with cute displays rather than trying to hide it.
4. Always take your pets out of the home for showings. It will be much less stressful for your pet. Additionally, it will let buyers get the full feel for your home rather than being distracted by cute pets. And not all buyers are pet people, so taking your pets away makes your home more accessible to more buyers.

Pets can make getting your home sold a little more difficult, but they’re worth it, of course! And with a bit of preparation and planning, you’ll be able to sell your home quickly and easily. Want to get a head start on getting your home on the market this spring? Let’s Connect!

If you’re thinking about putting your house up for sale, you probably know that doing a few repairs will help you boost your home’s sale price. You’ll probably start to see all of the little things that are wrong with your property and, naturally, start fixing everything.

Stop right there!

But there are some fixes that you should definitely avoid. They either waste your time and/or your money. Let’s go over them!

1. Minor cosmetic flaws. Don’t sweat the small stuff. When you’re fixing up your home, focus your time, energy, and money on the things that will make a big difference. Because honestly? Buyers probably won’t notice that your baseboards are a little scuffed.
2. Small walkway cracks. Curb appeal can definitely help you find the right buyers. But tiny cracks in the walkway and other low-impact fixes are just not worth the time. Keep your eyes on the big things that buyers are sure to notice.
3. Repainting in trendy colors. I know, I know. It’s so hard to steer away from those fun wall colors that are everywhere right now. But if you’re planning to sell soon, keep your paint colors neutral and fresh to appeal to the most buyers.
4. Grandfathered-in building codes. If you have an older home, you might realize that a few things around the house are a bit… vintage. While cosmetic updates can freshen up your space, don’t worry about making sure that your home is up to 2022 code. Your home was built to the building codes of its time and is grandfathered into 2022.
5. Over renovating beyond neighborhood norm. You want to make your home look nice, of course. But keep it in line with the rest of the homes on the street. Look at the recent listings in your area and stay within the normal renovations. Not every house needs marble countertops to sell.
6. Partial fixes. Whatever you do to get your home ready for the market, make sure that you do it all the way. Half-done renos are big red flags to buyers, so before you start fixing anything, make sure you can finish it.

If you have any questions about which renovations your home needs, Call me, I can help you decide which updates will help you get the most bang for your buck when you sell.

When you make the decision that it’s time to sell your house, you might think that the biggest decision is over and done with. But the next choice you make has the potential to make a huge difference in the results of selling your home: whether you sell with an agent or sell your home by yourself. 

If you want to save time and get your home sold fast, you’ll definitely want an agent on your side. Your agent will take care of almost everything from listing to marketing to analyzing offers to writing up and negotiating contracts. Your agent will even give you recommendations on how to get your house ready for sale so you can spend time on the important fixes that will get your home sold for the best price. 

At first brush, selling your home might seem like the best way to save money. Sure it will be a little more work, but you won’t have to pay a seller’s agent commission, right? But it’s actually a little more complicated than that. The stats have shown time and time again that properties sold by real estate agents actually end up selling for more money than those sold by owners. That means that you could make more money off your house when you sell with an agent.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you sell by yourself, you’ll have to analyze and negotiate all offers and contracts. This is an area where most sellers don’t have a lot of experience, and it’s easy to get taken advantage of. Having professional help and experience on your side is critical to make sure you get the best deal possible. 

While working with an agent does come with a price, saving time and money while an agent takes care of everything for you is definitely worth it. Want to talk more about whether an agent is right for you or not? Let’s Connect and we’ll talk more.