MacKay & McLean provides the professional services of a large Regina law firm, with the intimate attention of a small firm. The legal process can be daunting and overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. MacKay & McLean is with you every step of the way.
MacKay & McLean are TRUSTED REGINA LAWYERS
When looking to buy, sell, or refinance a property, you need to hire somebody who is not a stranger to addressing the real estate needs of individuals and families.
How to avoid realty mistakes
If you are selling or Investing in a home can be overwhelming and stressful. It is, perhaps, one of the most important decisions you will ever need to make. It is fraught with potential pitfalls and you must do everything you can to avoid making costly mistakes. the following is list of the biggest mistakes we all make when buying and selling our homes.
Failing to Showcase Your Home and Making Small Cosmetic Changes
When you are selling your house, you have to really look at it objectively and think about it from the viewpoint of the house hunter. Make minor enhancements to the house and maybe hire a professional stager to come and arrange your furniture.
Staging is about decorating your house for the buyers' taste, not yours.
A great place to start is with the front of the home and the main entryway. Home staging is designed to increase the potential selling price and reduce the amount of time the house stays on the market.
Setting Too High of a Sale Price
As a seller, it's really important to do your research. To come up with your sale price, look up what comparable homes in your neighborhood have sold for. Figure out what the going price is and try to put yours right in the middle of that, unless you have something extra-special to offer. It's always better to price a home that way than to start too high and have to reduce. Once you reduce, it always looks like something is wrong with the home.
Overlooking the Extra and Hidden Costs
Buying a home is not just about the money that you spend upfront; it's about all the rest of the money you have to spend beyond that. Find out what the property taxes are, what your water bill might be and what a standard electric bill is in that home, especially if you have electric heat instead of gas heat. You also need to factor in furnishings you may need to purchase before you can move in.
Buying a Home Without a Professional Inspection
There are a lot of things a home inspection can reveal about a property that are not visible to the naked eye. Be sure to hire someone who comes with a good referral basis, who's been in the business a while and knows what to look for. Look up Home Inspectors and get a list of qualified home inspectors in your area.
Be sure to hire a home inspector to thoroughly check out a house you are interested in purchasing.
Once you find an inspector, insist that they compile a written report, complete with photos. Photographs are important because there are areas a home inspector will go that you might not look at.
Falling in Love With the First Property You See
Many homebuyers, particularly first-time homebuyers, fall into the trap of falling in love with the very first house that they see. You need to at least look at three more houses in the area to get an idea of what the comparables are in that price range. You want your real estate agent to show you homes comparable to what you saw. At the end of the day, re-evaluate.
Skipping the Loan Pre-Approval Step
When you are pre-approved, the bank is saying, "we will give you a mortgage of up to this amount, so now all you have to do is find your home." Some sellers only allow real estate agents to show their house if someone has a pre-approved letter. That indicates that the shopper really is serious about buying a home.
Not Hiring an Agent
There's a lot more to selling a house than just putting a sign on the front lawn. If you don't have an agent, you will not get on the multiple-listing service (MLS). That means that other agents are not going to know that your property is for sale. Another thing to consider is if you are willing to show the house each time someone wants to come by and look at it. If you do plan to sell your house on your own, be sure to have a lawyer present at the closing. It's really important to have someone on your side who understands all the complexities.
Not Thinking About Resale
When you are decorating and renovating your home, you need to think about what is going to appeal to a broad section of buyers when it comes time to sell it. Buying houses and being in the real estate market is like chess: You always want to look two or three steps ahead in the game.
Not Researching the Neighborhood
It's absolutely critical that you research the neighborhood before you buy. Check out the area, amenities and the school system to be sure that your address corresponds with the correct school district. Also attend a community meeting, if possible. You're not just buying a house, you're buying a piece of that real estate and the land around it.
Buying a House for Its Decor
Remember that you are buying the house, not the things inside it, so make sure you see beyond the decorations and look at the bones of the home. Focus on the floor plan and the square footage. You also might want to measure the dimensions and graph out how that's going to work with your belongings.
Not Providing Easy Access for Showings
Make your house easily accessible to potential buyers. If there's nowhere to park or it's difficult to get into, buyers may just skip it and look at someone else's property.
When you go about buying your home the right way, you can make it less difficult and ensure success. For more questions and help with any legal property issues consult with our Trusted Regina Real Estate Lawyer Robert MacKay
Here is a list of more consumer tips by Robert MacKay
Robert MacKay's team provides professional, personalized service and with their assistance, you can rest assured that your real estate transactions will be handled with the utmost consideration and care.
Skott Enns's goal isn’t to simply help you get a mortgage with the best mortgage rates, it is to help you figure out a plan to pay off your mortgage as quickly as possible! Has been voted Regina’s best mortgage broker for 2013, 2014, and 2015 & 2016 by Prairie Dog Magazine and named to the Summit 20 group, which means that he is in the Top 20% of all TMG Mortgage Brokers in Canada for the last two years. If you are looking for honest, unbiased advice from a mortgage broker in Regina they would love to talk with you! TMG The Mortgage Group Skott Enns is a Trusted Regina Mortgage Broker
Skott Enns sat down with CBC and explained the First Time Home Buyer Incentive program.
In a recent interview with CBC News our Trusted Regina Mortgage Broker Skott Enns sat down and explained the new features of the First Time Home Buyer Incentive Program. In addition, Skott goes on to examine some potential pros and cons of this program.
He begins by stating that:
Starting September 3rd for any homes where possession is starting in November if a potential first time home buyer has the minimum 5% down payment, CMHC will provide them with an additional loan of 5% for an existing home or an additional 10% for a new build for the down payment.
He also states that outside of being a first-time home buyer the maximum household qualifying income that they can use for mortgage approval is $120,000. per year. So if your household makes more than this you will not qualify for this program. Additionally, the largest purchase price for approval is four times the amount of your qualifying income.
Something buyers need to note is that when you do choose to sell the home the monies that CMHC provides will need to be paid back to them though the loan is interest free.
Benefits of the Program
When asked as a Regina mortgage broker what are some of the benefits you see to a program like this Skott detailed his perspective as follows:
- It allows a first time home buyer to keep their cost as low as possible when considering principle and interest payments
- The program will reduce your CMHC premium
Negatives of the program
Skott goes on to outline some potential negatives of the Program:
- People forget - If you sell your house in 10 years you may forget that you need to re pay the loan to CMHC.
- People have general concerns about being in partnership with CMHC who is part of the Federal Government on the biggest investment which is their home.
To be honest this is the first bit of good news that we have had in terms of qualifying for a mortgage.
The news coming out about mortgages and from CMHC has been about how difficult the newest changes make it for not just first-time home buyers but anybody to qualify for a mortgage. It seems that every change has been making it more and more difficult. But this bit of good news will help keep payment down for a segment of the market.
Watch the entire interview here
If you are looking for honest, unbiased advice from a mortgage broker in Regina Skott would love to talk with you!
