Save 10% to 25% on Home Heating Costs....

Do you own a home built in the 60s or 70s.....find out how to realise 10% to 25% in savings for space heating here!

Click on HOME RETROFIT

For a free Home-Buyer's Toolkit or to talk about local market conditions in your neighbourhood, contact me today.

Avoiding Buyer's Remorse When Purchasing a Home

You can be sure even in the face of uncertainty.

Pundits and professionals can't agree on the state of real estate markets and whether prices are on the way down, but if you're sure you want to become a homeowner, or to sell and move into the next "best place," go for it.

 That's not encouragement to jump in over "your financial head," or to go against obvious warning signs in your local real estate market. This is encouragement to take a close look at exactly what is more uncertain than usual, and how you can protect yourself against often-overlooked real estate problems. Part one of remorse-free buying is to search out the most knowledgeable, committed real estate professional, or real estate team, with proven experience with the location and type of real estate you want to buy and/or sell.

 Don't just Google^TM for the best online presentation. Interview a few possibilities on the phone and face to face. Dig deep into their knowledge base with your questions to see where value lies for you. Part two of remorse-avoidance is to use the professional to learn about local market and sales patterns for the past few years. With professional advice, become your own best advocate since you don't want to be a sheep led to the deal, but an active force in making an informed decision.

 Avoid Buyer's Remorse Using Foresight 

1. No one knows for sure
Whenever you, or anyone you rely on, thinks they know for sure what is happening in the real estate market, you're in trouble. Everyone is smart about real estate in hindsight. Beforehand, success with real estate is less about knowing you're right, and more about foresight - taking steps to be sure you're not proven dangerously wrong after the deal. Be reasonably sure going in - more sure, than unsure - and cover your financial vulnerability. Then, you've got a good chance things will work out and that you can recover quickly if they're off a bit.

 2. Whose market is it anyway?Online and off, economists and real estate pundits make sweeping statements about "the real estate market." Some identify the location their statistics refer to; others speak in sweeping regional or national terms. Either way, these experts speak in generalities. You must deal in specifics - a specific real estate property. In reality, the real estate market is as local as one side of the street over the other, or one end of a street over the other; one condominium building over another, or condominium floor over another. The more you learn about the specific side and end of the street you want to buy on, or about the specific condominium building or floor where you want to live, the better off you'll be. What happens to real estate prices in your preferred neighbourhood and community may be very different from what economists are generalizing about. What experts say about real estate in Victoria, Halifax, or any other city is not equally true for all properties, and may not be reflected in the selling price of the one you want to buy.

 3. Invest, Don't WinMultiple offers and bidding wars are "no win" situations for buyers. The "winning" buyers have not won, because they are not investing in real estate, they're spending on emotion. Keep your emotional distance from real estate until you own it.

4. Beyond interest ratesBefore you step into a house or condominium unit, talk to a mortgage broker about exactly how much money you can borrow and what that will cost you. Also discuss the range of contract terms, like early repayment, that are offered by various lenders in the area. Not only do you want to understand what you'll be pre-approved for, but you also want to know what that mortgage will cost you each month and each year in interest. Thanks to computers, these figures are easy to calculate. You'll also benefit from a preview of costs if interest rates double or hit double digit in the first ten years. What alternatives will you have for paying down the mortgage more quickly than the standard 25 years, and how much will that cost and save you each month? These figures will give you a clear idea of how tight to your buying maximum you can go for long-term value. Living "house poor" is not easy, but getting into this situation is. 

5. Inspect inspectors
Too often a home inspection is a last minute, "merely a formality" detail. Buyers pay for this sloppy approach after they move in and unreported problems pop up. Start your list of inspection questions now. What do you need to know to make the most of all eventualities, positive and negative? Arrange questions by room or function, so you can cover all your quandaries while you go through the inspection as the inspector's new side-kick. Be there with your measuring tape, camera, and flashlight to discover problems before they get expensive. Bring your contractor if you plan renovations, so you can get two professional points of view at once. You're paying for this. If the investigation is not thorough, you'll be paying for the errors and omissions after you move in. Check the inspection guarantee to learn if you have any recourse if the inspector is wrong (usually little). Search out a reputable, knowledgeable inspector beforehand.

6. My Must Haves
Know why you must have your "must haves." If granite counters and stainless steel appliances are in fashion, that does not make them "must haves," just current cosmetic fads. (Granite and stainless are already fading from fashion.) "Must haves" should be features and benefits of the property that withstand fashion. Location is still the prime "must have" as it cannot be changed. Know whether corner lots and swimming pools add value or not in your chosen area. What construction styles and sides of the street (South facing? West facing?) are prized? How do you intend to use the property and for how long? That knowledge dictates what must be in place when you buy, and what you can afford to do later.

7. Pro Parking
However you feel about cars, invest in real estate with parking. In most areas, parking is a valuable commodity and becoming scarce. Onsite parking makes it easier for visitors and gives you more room to spread out. Avoid mutual or shared driveways if possible as any reliance on the unknown for enjoyment of your property can get complicated. 

8. Square footage standards
Square footage is based on measurement of the exterior of houses, and cannot be accurately calculated by extrapolating inside measurements. If figures are quoted, what do they really mean to you? To give yourself a frame of reference, measure your rooms and three of your largest pieces of furniture. Now you can compare with something you understand.  

9. Once is not enough
Arrange for a second visit so you can see how accurate your first impression was. Bring a contractor or knowledgeable friend, so you can look beyond staging to see the true pros and cons of the real estate. Measure to see if your furniture will fit and to estimate replacement costs for flooring or drapes if you didn't do that earlier. You'll probably notice things you missed the first time. Hopefully, this will make you like the property more so an offer will be the next step. If problems are now visible, you've saved yourself some serious buyer's remorse. Your choice - buy with foresight or experience remorse in hindsight. Or, there's the other choice - don't get into the real estate market. Then you may remorsefully realize in hindsight how smart you would have been if you'd bought with foresight. Your choice again.

Please contact me today for a free Home Buyer's Toolkit or to find out what's happening in your neighbourhood.

Best and Worst Scents for a Real Estate Open House....

Activities for the whole family on Family Day, Feb. 18th, 2013

Looking for fun things to do with the family today?  Here are some great ideas!


#1 Family Day at Steckle Heritage Farm!
Kitchener’s very own farm within the city, Steckle Heritage Farm is hosting their Annual Family Day event on Monday February 18th, from 10am to 2pm! Whether there’s snow on the ground, or nice green grass, you’ll have a great time! The KW Sunshine Foundation is the special guest this year, running games, and accepting entries for their snow sculpture contest! Have a snack, enjoy some hot cocoa, and become a ‘Friend of Steckle Heritage Farm’ to get early registration for our spring programming!
This is a free family event and fundraiser, snacks and drinks are available to purchase!
Please visit website at www.stecklehomestead.ca for information!

#2 Winter steam is back for Family Day
Travel back in time as the newly restored steam locomotive makes its first winter appearance in many years on the Waterloo Central Railway in time for Family Day.
Steam locomotive Essex Terminal Railway No. 9, built in 1923 by the Montreal Locomotive Works, will be offering passenger service over the Family Day weekend. The train will travel from the City of Waterloo through the picturesque snow covered farms of Woolwich Township to Elmira and return.
On Feb. 16 and Feb. 18, the steam excursion will operate with steam locomotive ETR No. 9 from uptown Waterloo to Elmira and return. It departs from the Waterloo public square at 1 p.m., with the round trip to Elmira taking approximately 2.5 hours. There will be no photo run pasts or stops on these trips.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at www.waterloocentralrailway.com or at the Centre In The Square box office, 101 Queen St. N., Kitchener. An additional ticket surcharge will apply for box office purchases.
Parking is available at Waterloo Town Square as well as the nearby train station.

#3 Family Day at the Waterloo Region Museum
Monday, February 18, 2013, 9:30 am to 5 pm Take the entire family to see the Waterloo Region Museum and take part in fun family activities throughout the day. Included with regular admission.

#4 Bring on the Sunshine’ African Festival
18th February, 2013 Family Day Monday,
Location: Forest Hill United church , 121 Westmount Rd E 10 -4pm
FREE or by donation
Enjoy children’s art, music and dance workshops. Experience the riches of African cultures through music, food, artists, artisans and celebrate Black History Month with an African Style!
For more information please visit website www.bringonthesunshine.ca


Things to do at the Kitchener Public Library

10:00am	Preschool Storytime	Baby & Parent, Family Events	0-6 Years Old, Pre-School (2-5 years)	Kitchener Public Library
10:45am	One Is Fun	Baby & Parent	Toddler (12-24 months), 0-6 Years Old	Kitchener Public Library
6:00pm	Reading Buddies	Community Events, Enrichment Programs, Lessons & Classes	School Age (6-8 years), Tween (9-11 years), 6-12 Years Old	Kitchener Public Library
12:45pm	Williamsburg Community Centre Preschool	Lessons & Classes, Play & Playgroups	0-6 Years Old, Pre-School (2-5 years)	Williamsburg Community Association
1:30pm	Getting Ready for Kindergarten	Community Events, Enrichment Programs, Lessons & Classes	0-6 Years Old, Pre-School (2-5 years)	Kitchener Public Library
10:00am	Preschool Storytime	Baby & Parent, Family Events	0-6 Years Old, Pre-School (2-5 years)	Kitchener Public Library
10:45am	One Is Fun	Baby & Parent	Toddler (12-24 months), 0-6 Years Old	Kitchener Public Library

3 Tips for Insuring Your First Home

Buying your first home can be both an exciting and a scary experience. Many homeowners are appreciative of any bit of information that would help make the process less stressful and as painless as possible. Home insurance is usually a major contributor to the anxieties new homeowners’ experience. They are often confused about how much insurance they need. This post will give easy tips for choosing the best insurance for new home buyers.

Your House Should Be Fully Covered
The coverage on the insurance policy should reflect an amount that can adequately take care of the cost of rebuilding and refurbishing your entire house in the event that you lose it completely. Insurance companies may use a cost estimator to ascertain the cost replacement estimate, but you can have a home builder assess your home and furnish you with an estimate of the rebuilding cost. This should include the unique and/or expensive details of your home (if there are any). You do not want to end up being underinsured. Once you have the estimate for rebuilding, you will need to figure out which coverage to take. The choices are:

• Guaranteed Replacement Cost Coverage – The insurer bears the cost for the rebuilding your home in spite of that cost. Very few insurers are offering these policies now.
• Extended Replacement Coverage – This coverage involves the capping of the payout you would receive to approximately 125% of the insured value of your home.
• Inflation Guarantee (or Guard) – This is a feature that ensures the insured value of your home stays on par with that of the marketplace.

Strive to get a reliable appraisal and extended replacement coverage along with an inflation guarantee. These will place you in a good position.

Liability Insurance
Home owners are sometimes caught off guard by third party claims for an injury someone incurred at their house or damages they caused to their neighbor’s property. These things happen, so protect yourself by ensuring your home insurance includes a liability insurance policy. Liability insurance gives the homeowner protection against any third party claims of damages and personal injury that occur on their property or are caused by them. Someone may fall and hurt themselves while on your property, or in the case of neighbors living in close proximity, your child could be playing and accidentally cause damage to their property. Liability insurance takes the burden of paying for medical bills or damages from your pocket, as the insurance company will take care of it.

Get Additional Coverage for Your Valuables
The standard insurance policy covers you home and possessions against eventualities such as natural disasters, fires, theft and accidents, but only does so indirectly for certain assets. Homeowners are sometimes caught off guard when they suffer from a disaster and realize they will not receive full compensation for certain valuables inside the house. The standard policy takes care of the structural aspect of the house along with its contents, but there is limits the compensation for expensive possessions such as artwork and fine jewelry. You can obtain full coverage for them by paying a little extra on your policy each year.

Home insurance keeps your home safe even while you are away
on vacation. This gives homeowners a sense of protection. Make an inventory of your property, as this will save you the time and expense if the need to file a claim arises.

The Plan for the Light Rail Transit System in K-W has been Drafted - Check it out here...

Here is a link to the complete Community Building Strategy Dragt for the Light Rail Transit through Kitchener-Waterloo and linking with Cambridge.

http://issuu.com/urbanstrategiesinc/docs/cbs_issuu__jan_30__2013_?mode=window&pageNumber=1

3 Serious Mistakes Homebuyers Sometimes Make

1. The Price Drop - Many buyers are holding off on buying a home they want because they are waiting for prices to drop. As smart as you think you are, you cannot sharp shoot the real estate market. You also need to keep the interest rates in mind; for example, if you wait long enough, and average prices to come down by 10%, but interest rates go up by a half a point, your monthly payments won’t go actually decrease. Prices are already fairly low right now, and so the best thing you can do is buy when you’re ready, regardless of what you think is going to happen with the housing market.

2. Don’t settle for the wrong town. Each town has its own personality, and a specific set of demographics and themes, such as transient, stable, young, old, liberal or conservative, families or couples, and much more. That being said, it wouldn’t make much sense for a family with young children to move into an area that consists of mainly older folks. Additionally, I recommend that when you buy a home, you stay for at least five years, which will, at the very least, allow for you to recoup the costs of the actual move. Five years is a long time; you should do your best to avoid sticking yourself in the wrong town for that long. It’s important to visit the town you’re considering moving to, talking to the residents, and looking up data on schools, local events, construction plans, and more. Many real estate agents can help you with this as well.

3. Don’t buy a fixer-upper if you don’t know how to fix it up. Before you assume that you can handle the stress, costs, and actual labour of renovating a home, volunteer with a local house-building group. This will give you an idea of what it takes to fix up a home. And don’t make the mistake of underestimating how much it will cost to fix the home…a small kitchen renovation usually costs between $25,000-$40,000. A standard bathroom renovation can cost you between $15,000-$25,000. Even painting a house costs between $7,000-10,000. Many buyers find themselves overwhelmed when they buy a home that is in a state of total disrepair, and end up doubling the original sticker price.

This las one is unfortunately quite common....know what you are getting into.

Contact me today for a free Homebuyer's Toolkit or to chat about the real estate market in your area!

Winter Damage to Homes and Trees Can be Expensive...

While the best way to deal with damage resulting from winter weather conditions is to protect and prepare a home beforehand, that may not be possible. If it is too late to get ready and a home is damaged in some way, homeowners will likely want and need to take steps to remedy the situation.

Whether approaching the situation as a resident planning to live there or a homeowner planning to sell a property, it will need to be in good condition.

Home damage and trees
Homeowners’ insurance policies generally cover damage due to common winter hazards such as ice dams, burst pipes and the weight of snow or ice.

While they will need to pay their deductible, this means homeowners may not find themselves struggling as hard with the expense of potentially serious home repairs, so such coverage can be important, especially in areas with harsher winters.

The weight of snow and ice can affect a home directly, but more commonly will put too much pressure on the branch of a nearby tree, causing it to break. High winds can also break trees, so snowstorms, ice and strong windy weather can be cause for caution. If a great deal of snow is on a tree or its branches are noticeably straining,  the homeowner can use a broom or rake to remove some of the snow, easing the burden and reducing the chance of breakage.


Water and ice
Frozen pipes are a common problem. Another expert indicated that if pipes do freeze, it may be possible to thaw them with a space heater, while one source suggested a hair dryer might work. In either case, the water should be turned on at a trickle and heat then applied to the pipe, focusing on the faucet and the frozen section. If the freezing is relatively minor, this may solve the problem. More serious difficulties are likely to require a professional plumber, however.

If a home suffers water damage due to ice dams or burst pipes, physical damage from a falling branch or other serious problems, professional assistance is likely to be an unavoidable necessity.

Homeowners are likely to find such efforts time-consuming and possibly expensive, so preventive measures to protect a home are strongly advised by many experts.

Use this handy CHECKLIST to maintain your home and reduce costs resulting from damage.

Contact me today for a Free Home-buyer's Toolkit or for a market evaluation on your current home.