The Real Estate Blog - November, 2021

What You Need to Know Before Buying Your First Home

What You Need to Know Before Buying Your First Home

If you're thinking about entering the real estate market, congratulations! Purchasing property is one of the smartest ways you can invest your money. If you're a new home buyer, the process might be foreign to you, but I'm here to help you along the way.

Determine if you are financially ready.

The most important step for any new homeowner is to make sure they can afford a home, and if so, how much home you can afford to buy. You will need to make sure your finances are in place and that you can budget for your other expenses while carrying a mortgage.

Get preapproved for a mortgage.

If you're serious about buying a home, you need to get preapproved for a mortgage. This is a very simple…

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Advantages of Buying A Home in the Winter

Advantages of Buying a Home in the Winter

Don't wait until Spring!

We've shared how to find a hot deal on a home purchase in the summer, but many clients often ask me when the best time of year is to purchase a home. Many people say that it's crucial to buy a home in the spring or summer because you have the most options to choose from but the reality is that people buy and sell homes all year. What a lot of people don't realize is that buying a home in winter can actually have a lot of advantages that you might not even have considered.

One of the biggest advantages to buying a home in the winter is avoiding competition. With most people focused on the holiday season, there is less competition for homes. In today's bidding war-centered real…

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Increase Buyer Excitement With Each Room

Increase Buyer Excitement with Each Room

When potential buyers are in your home they’re going to compare it with other homes they like. If they don’t like what they see, the showing won’t last 5 minutes, and they’ll be on to the next one.

Preparing the Interior

As buyers are viewing your home they’re making a checklist of what they do & don’t like. It’s your job to make sure the list of “Don’t likes” is a short one. You want buyers to move from room to room, gaining more and more excitement. The more you accomplish this, the quicker your home will sell and the more likely you are to receive a higher sale price.

The Minimum

Get out the magic eraser! Scuff marks on the floor or walls are a normal aspect of any home, especially if you have…

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Exploring Cambridge’s Diverse Neighbourhoods

Welcome to
Cambridge, Ontario

As a Cambridge realtor, I frequently get asked what part of Cambridge is best to live in. My answer always depends on what the asker’s lifestyle is – do they like to be in the thick of things or are they looking for a quiet spot to settle down? Do they have children or would they prefer to be in a good location to commute to Toronto?

One of the reasons why Cambridge is such an appealing place to live is because of its proximity to Toronto and also because the city itself is mature with a wide range of different styles of homes. There are four main neighbourhoods in Cambridge – each of which I’ve written about before but I think is worth tying together with an nice overview for an even easier comparison.

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Are You Financially Ready to Buy a House?

Are You Financially Ready to Buy a House?

Are you a first time home buyer? If you’re starting to think about buying a home and have peeked inside an open house or two, you'll want to keep reading.

If your employment is secure and you plan on living in the same place for a while, it might be time to consider if you are financially ready to purchase a home. Here are some important financial questions everyone should ask themselves before they buy a home:

Do you have a Down Payment?

The minimum down payment to purchase a home today is 5% of the purchase price. Obviously the more you are able to put down the better, and anything over 20% of the purchase price will also help you avoid paying fees for mortgage insurance.

More money for Other…

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Why work with a realtor when selling your home?

Selling Your Home: Why Use A REALTOR®?

One of the most common questions I get as a REALTOR® is why work with a realtor when selling your home? There are a lot of practical reasons why working with a real estate agent can benefit you when you’re selling your home – but I’ve narrowed it down to what I think are the top ten. You may already know some of the reasons why you should work with a realtor but I think you’ll discover some hidden benefits that you weren’t aware of!

Top 10 Benefits of Selling with a REALTOR®:

1. A realtor can help you decide when to sell your home so that you can make the most money. We have the market knowledge you need to make sure you are listing at the most optimal time.

2. A realtor can help you determine…

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