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        <title>The Real Estate Blog</title>
        <link>https://www.dewarrealty.com/blog/2016-06/</link>
        <description>Greg Dewar is a realtor in Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo, and Guelph. His real estate blog shares everything you need to know about buying and selling a house successfully.</description>
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    <guid>https://www.dewarrealty.com/blog/how-to-compete-for-a-home-in-a-hot-market.html</guid>
    <link>https://www.dewarrealty.com/blog/how-to-compete-for-a-home-in-a-hot-market.html</link>
        <author>greg@dewarrealty.com (Greg Dewar)</author>
        <title>How to Compete for a Home in a Hot Market</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 
Competing for the house you want is a reality you have to deal with when it comes to buying a home in 2016. This can often be a stressful process and one that makes a lot of people uneasy. The process often becomes even more stressful when you’re in a hot market.


Problems with a Hot Market


When people find themselves looking for homes in a hot market, it can be tempting to make emotional and hasty decisions which might cause you to ignore real facts about a house or neighbourhood. One thing I frequently remind my clients of is, just because you’re competing doesn’t mean you should ignore the market value of the home. It might seem like an easy solution to outbid everyone else who is interested in the home, but this might back fire on you when it comes to financing/re-financing your mortgage or down the road when you try to sell a home that you’ve overpaid for.


How to Negotiate a Hot Market


But with that said, in a hot market you do have to be more aggressive than usual to get the home you want. If you aren’t willing to get aggressive and be competitive with your offer, simply walk away, wait for another home or look for a home in a less competitive area. If you aren’t willing to jump through a few hoops for the home, it’s probably not the right home for you and you will just be fueling an already raging fire by adding extra offers to the mix…leading to people making poor purchase decisions.


Making an Offer in a Bidding War


These are the three most important things about making an offer in a bidding war:




Price – this is the most obvious factor but the one that matters most when deciding if you can afford the home. You should always be competitive &amp; justified with your purchase price in a competition. You may bid higher than similar homes have sold for in the past, but always try to keep it within reason.


Closing Date – I typically ask what date the seller wants, and I give it to them.


Conditions – this is where risk factor comes into play. Conditions cover many things, but most frequently give you the chance to secure your financing, sell your current home, or conduct a home inspection. Ultimately, it’s up to you whether or not to include these conditions in your offer. In a hot market using no conditions is not uncommon and gives you the best shot at getting the house. However, this can be risky because you will still need to personally satisfy these things before you can close on the home. 




If you don’t use an Inspection condition, you can always conduct a semi home inspection before putting the offer in.


If you don’t want to include a financing condition, make sure you are preapproved for a mortgage, have good credit history and a healthy down payment.


And if you aren’t sure what price to offer, use a LOCAL Realtor (I can’t stress this enough) to determine what price would be reasonable in the current market. If your realtor is not local, they have no clue what market value is and could unintentionally lead you astray.


Have more questions about how to compete for the home you love? Let me know and I’d be happy to help
 ]]> </description>
    <pubDate>Thu, 30 Jun 2016 08:30:00 -0400</pubDate>
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    <guid>https://www.dewarrealty.com/blog/how-to-buy-a-home-and-not-become-homeless-in-the-process.html</guid>
    <link>https://www.dewarrealty.com/blog/how-to-buy-a-home-and-not-become-homeless-in-the-process.html</link>
        <author>greg@dewarrealty.com (Greg Dewar)</author>
        <title>How to buy a home and not become homeless in the process</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 
So you’ve decided it’s time to purchase a new home and maybe you’ve even thought about putting an offer in. But now you find yourself holding back because you’re worried about the closing dates and whether or not you’ll find yourself without a place to live during that time.  


During the home buying process, many people are afraid if they sell their house they won’t have anywhere to move to. The thing I tell my clients most is that risk equals reward in a hot market. This problem also exists on the flip side too. If you sell your house before you find a house you want to buy, you’re in an even more precarious situation than you would be if you had found a home, bought it and then listed your own home.  


The best way to avoid this problem is to include a conditional offer on your home. Here are two different types of conditions that you can use in your offers: 




Conditional offer on finding a new home. This little condition isn’t as well knows as the latter. It means that an offer to purchase your home only goes through if you are able to find a new home. The length of this type of condition is generally about six weeks long. Keep in mind that the buyer can also keep looking for other homes if they want to, though once they’ve fallen in love with your home and gone through the process, this isn’t likely to happen. You will also be given the opportunity to, first, firm up the sale or put the home back on the market should this scenario arise.   


Conditional offer on selling your home. This well known condition is the most popular if you need to sell before you can buy. It stipulates that your offer to purchase a new home will only go through when you find someone to buy your current home. This condition is fairly common, but is almost impossible to use if you are competing for a home.  




If these conditions don’t work out in your favour, there are other options for how to bridge that length of time between when you move out of your old house and into your new one: 




Find a short term lease. Sure, you’ll have to sacrifice the short term rental for long-term gain, but this eliminates the stress factor of where you’ll live during that time. Most short-term rental units are furnished so all you’ll need to worry about is where to store your stuff.  


Move in with family or friends. Depending on your situation and the space that your friend or family member has, you might be able to stay with them. And if you’re lucky, you might even be able to use their basement to store some of your things 




If you don’t have somewhere to store your things, there are a few good options. Aside from renting a storage unit, many moving companies will store your stuff for you, which is very convenient when the time comes to move into your new place. Another good option is to rent a pod to store your things in. Your pod will stay on your driveway until moving day. They will then take it to their storage facility until you move into your new home, at which point it will be dropped off in your new driveway.  
 ]]> </description>
    <pubDate>Fri, 24 Jun 2016 09:44:00 -0400</pubDate>
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    <guid>https://www.dewarrealty.com/blog/how-to-find-deals-in-a-hot-market.html</guid>
    <link>https://www.dewarrealty.com/blog/how-to-find-deals-in-a-hot-market.html</link>
        <author>greg@dewarrealty.com (Greg Dewar)</author>
        <title>How to Find Deals in a Hot Market</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 
It’s no secret that Cambridge, and the rest of Ontario, is experiencing a hot housing market right now.


This means that there is more and more competition between buyers for properties in every price range which drives up house prices. It’s definitely to a seller’s advantage when listing their home in a hot market, but as for a potential buyer, how can you find a deal and avoid overpaying for the home you want? It’s not easy but there are a few key ways to identify deals in a hot market so you can have more options.




Run ads or distribute flyers. While it’s easy to look for homes online, these homes are seen by many interested realtors and home buyers. A different way to approach this is through direct marketing. This means that you either place your own ad or send out direct mail or postcards to homeowners who might not be ready to sell until they’ve been presented with an offer. Maybe you and your Realtor can even pick a neighbourhood &amp; knock on doors together...I’ve had this pay off before


Make an Unconditional Offer. Many sellers will elect for the unconditional offer over others because cash buyers are seen as more serious since they have no conditions to purchase the home. If you’ve done the proper preparation before going out to look at homes, your financing should already be secure. If you’re ready to make an offer, book a 2nd showing before the sellers begin reviewing offers. You can treat your second showing as a, short version, of a home inspection to rule out any major defects. There’s no doubt in my mind that if you are in a bidding war, at least one of the offers may be unconditional…And they will likely win the competition 


Look into Vacant Properties or Fixer Uppers. Especially if you’re looking into investing into a property or if you’re willing to put in a little extra work into the home, fixer uppers are a great way to purchase a home in a hot market. They often have issues or creditors who want to get rid of the property quickly, which is ideal for a home buyer.


Get in touch with local builders. This will allow you to find properties where owners didn’t have enough money to finish the job. This can be an excellent opportunity for you to purchase the home and finish the work that needs to be done.


Only look at homes that have been on the market for longer than a month. These homes have often been listed at more than they are worth, or have unique problems, and haven’t gotten any bids on them. After a month or so, the home owner will often be more willing to negotiate with you, whether or not they have officially dropped the price. This is a good time to speak to the seller and make them an offer before they drop the price publicly. To some extent, I have made a living off of buying homes that nobody else wanted. I find this to be one of the best ways to invest your money. You can fix the problems that others weren’t willing to overlook and there can be huge benefits from doing so. 


 ]]> </description>
    <pubDate>Tue, 14 Jun 2016 08:13:00 -0400</pubDate>
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    <guid>https://www.dewarrealty.com/blog/keeping-your-cool-making-a-smart-housing-investment.html</guid>
    <link>https://www.dewarrealty.com/blog/keeping-your-cool-making-a-smart-housing-investment.html</link>
        <author>greg@dewarrealty.com (Greg Dewar)</author>
        <title>Keeping Your Cool &amp; Making a Smart Housing Investment</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 
One of the hardest things to do when buying a home in a hot market is to keep your cool and make a smart housing investment.


The process can feel aggravating, especially if you’ve placed numerous offers that were never accepted. Right now, it’s becoming increasingly common to lose out on the house you want due to the high volume of competition. I’m sharing some advice on how to avoid getting caught up in the often stressful process of finding a home so that you can make a good investment when you decide to buy.


Pump the brakes (but hit the gas when you need to). If you find yourself getting caught up in the details and the emotions of the home buying process, you should probably step back, examine the situation and make sure you’re going in the direction you want. A good way to do this is to make a detailed list of exactly what you’re looking for in a house. That way when you get caught up in the emotions of a bidding war, you’ll be able to look at the list you made and decide to pump the brakes and hold back, or to hit the gas and move forward if the house checks every box.


Trust your Realtor®. Your Realtor should always have your best interests in mind and be able to give you the advice you need to help you get the home you want…without overpaying for it. Recently, I had a client who fell in love with a home and was willing to pay full asking price to ensure he got it, even though I told him it was likely $10 – 15,000 over priced. As his Realtor, it was my duty to tell him he was overpaying for the house and that it just wasn’t worth the value. Whether or not you decide to take my advice is up to you, but a good Realtor will always give you the facts, regardless of whether or not you want to hear them.


There are always other houses. I’ve found that a lot of people get caught up in the bidding war and often forget about another house that might be (literally) around the corner. If you’ve come across a house that is a hot deal and lots of buyers are clamouring to purchase it, you might be better off looking at another, even slightly more expensive house in the neighbourhood that is less popular. In the end, the cheaper, more popular house might create a bidding war which drives the price up, whereas you might be able to negotiate a better deal for the less popular house. Even if the house might not initially seem like a hot deal, when the dust settles, it could be a better deal after all.


Remember, you will find the house you love eventually. New houses come on the market every day and it’s important not to settle or make a poor investment just for the sake of buying a house. It’s usually inevitable that you will fall in love with the house you put an offer on, but if it falls through due to a bidding war or another reason, don’t get discouraged. I find that clients who end up with a different house are always happier than with the one they lost out on in a bidding war. You might even luck out and end up spending less money on it or putting less work into it.


Although it is easier said than done when it comes to separating yourself from the emotions of purchasing a home, it’s important to keep in mind that buying a home is a process. The best advice I can offer to anyone is to try as hard as you can to not get emotionally attached to a home until you get an accepted offer on paper.


Do you have more questions about making a smart housing decision during a hot housing market? Let me know and I’d be happy to help
 ]]> </description>
    <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jun 2016 10:17:00 -0400</pubDate>
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