How Much Money Do You Need to Buy a Home? Total costs with fees....

Everyone knows you need a minimum 5% down payment to purchase a home.  There are numerous other costs involved, so be sure to check out this video clip to make sure you aren't short on closing day!

The Biggest Fear for a Home Buyer in Kitchener - Waterloo? Making a Mistake!

As a home-buyer, the last thing you want to do is make a bad decision that you'll regret for years to come!  Check out this short video for some great advice!

The Only 3 Questions You Need to Ask to Get the Best Realtor in Kitchener - Waterloo

You need to be sure that the Realtor selling your home is the best person for the job.  Here are 3 Questions you HAVE to ask to be sure.

5 Tips for Selling Your First Home

So you've decided that it’s time to let go of your first home and perhaps upgrade to a new one.

If you want to do it right, however, here are some tips for selling your first home so that you can do it with success and feel empowered.

Tips for selling your first home #1

Begin the declutter
Before you even list your home, you need to start thinking about all the things you don’t plan on taking with you to the new home – start decluttering your home now. Your objective is to show a home that is neutral enough that it allows homebuyers picture themselves and their stuff in it.

Tips for selling your first home #2

Decide if you want to sell or buy first
If you are building a new home from the ground up, then disregard this tip, but if you are not sure whether you want to shop around before selling your first home, the decision is not always an easy one to make.

If you make the decision to buy first, then you will need to sell your first home quickly, and you may end up losing some money in the deal. If you decide to sell first, then, unless you have somewhere to stay temporarily, you might end up settling for a home that doesn’t contain all the features you want.

Tips for selling your first home #3

Release your emotional attachment
 Whether you raised your children in this home, entertained your family for the first time or had your first baby shower, try to put those memories aside when selling.

Keep emotions at bay when listening to feedback about the home and negotiating an offer.  Remember, the buyers aren't emotionally invested in the home and won't attach "intangible" values to it - they are simply comparing the value of one home versus another.

Tips for selling your first home #4

Plan for visitors
Whether it’s by appointment only or an open house on weekends, you should begin making your home like more like a show home and less like a lived in one. Start packing away personal décor (pics of the family, heirlooms, etc.) and stage the home in a neutral fashion.

Not only will this facilitate the homebuyer’s ability to foresee themselves in their new home, it will also ease your packing for the move, as many items will already be packed.

Tips for selling your first home #5

Make small upgrades to the home
Whether you have months or weeks to make upgrades, it’s imperative that you make some minor changes that will ultimately help you sell your first home. Something as simple as repainting the walls in neutral colors and replacing small items for shiny, new ones could make all the difference.
And don’t forget to scrub your home clean to the point where you can literally eat off the floor.

Contact me today for a free Home Value Report and Staging Advice.

Important Considerations When Applying for a Mortgage

Most lenders won't choose to share their list of fees until you apply for a loan. That means sharing your personal information. The lender needs your personal information to decide whether to give you the loan and how much to charge you in interest. If there are any negatives in your credit history, now is the time to come clean.

Once you apply for a loan, your lender will run your credit. She will contact one or more of the two credit reporting bureaus to get your credit report and your credit score. If you have late payments, an account in collections, or a dispute with someone that has resulted in a judgment against you, you need to tell your lender before she runs your credit.

Your lender could help you fix derogatories, especially if it's going to take time for them to heal. According to a study by myfico.com, a 30-day delinquency can drop an otherwise good credit score by as much as 90 points. And only top credit scores of 740 or higher get the best interest rates.
A delinquency stays on your report for seven years, says credit reporting bureau Experian. According to MyFICO.com, the difference between a credit score of 700 and 698 can cost you more than $13,378 in interest on a $165,000 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. That's because a 700 credit score may get you a 4.5 percent interest rate, while the 698 score gets a 4.875 rate.

Your lender will know how to help you raise your scores, if your scores are too low to get a good rate, because your rate will also make your monthly payments higher. Once you repair your negative credit problem, take proof of payment or release of lien to your lender. You may have to wait a month or two or three for your credit scores to reflect your improved credit history.

Tell your lender all you can about your finances. Don't shave time off your present job or inflate your earnings if you're self-employed. Trying to reach for more home than you can truly afford can be a problem for you now and later. The lender may catch you and decline the loan, or at worst, you could be committing mortgage fraud.

Once your lender knows all the problems that could impact the loan, and all the steps you've taken to improve your credit, that's the time to make your application. From there it will take about 30 to 45 days for the loan to close.

Most homebuying advice says to apply for a loan before you do anything else, but it's a much better idea to take a few weeks or months to get your credit to the best place you can. That's the best way to afford more home.

Find out more about how to obtain your credit HERE.

Contact me today for a list of reputable lenders who provide excellent customer service.

4 New Year’s Resolutions for Your Home

Have you made your New Year’s Resolutions yet? Here are 4 commitments we should all be making to our homes this year.

 

 

Have you made your 2015 New Year’s Resolutions yet?  If you have, we hope you’re already off to a great start.

According to research conducted by the University of Scranton, 47% of people who make New Year’s resolutions make commitments to self-improvement or education related resolutions.  But, what about home improvement?  Home is so intrinsically tied to our self identity, so shouldn’t we make a few resolutions for our home, too?  Before 2015 gets away from us, here are 4 New Year’s Resolutions to make this year for your home.



1. Implement a “one in, one out” rule. A cluttered home can sometimes translate to a cluttered life. To start the year off fresh, take some time to sort through the items you’ve added to your home and vow to only hold on to those that are useful or have sentimental value. Then going forward, for each new item you add to your home, vow to donate or toss another. This will teach you to only collect items that have use or purpose.



2. Learn to be grateful for home. Answer this question: what does home mean to you? Is it a blessing? A refuge? A shelter? A place to gather? No matter the answer, home is a place that should never be taken for granted. This year, commit to remembering the true value of a home. One of the best ways to do this is to look for opportunities to share the gift of home with others. Take in a shelter pet, participate in a home build for those less fortunate, or simply share family traditions with your children.



3. Make a fix it calendar. Life gets busy. A winter project gets put off until the warmer weather arrives. And then the spring comes and we don’t want to spend the warmer days doing home projects. Take time this January to identify things around the house that could use a little TLC. Add one to-do to each month of your fix-it calendar and commit to focusing on that one project for 30 days. It’s easy to put off those home projects, but with a structured plan those honey-dos seem a little more manageable.



4. Make happiness your map. Finding a new home is a big move. Literally! Packing up and moving to a new home can sometimes be intimidating, but if a little extra room, a bigger backyard or a better neighborhood will add to your happiness at home, it’s worth revisiting the big picture. Real estate professionals are there to help throughout the home buying or selling process and with more modern home search tools at your fingertips, searching for the right home for you has never been easier.

Update of the Light Rail Transit (ION) Construction Progress in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridgge.

ION construction   ION construction continues on Caroline   In Waterloo, a base layer of asphalt was placed on Caroline, from William to Allen, on Friday, December 5. This means that construction to upgrade and replace the underground services in this area is now nearly complete. In the new year, work crews will tie-in the remaining utilities. This work may require periodic closures of Caroline and the William/Caroline intersection. Construction to upgrade underground services (i.e., water and wastewater) continues on Caroline, from William to just past Father David Bauer. A temporary asphalt base was poured in this section before Christmas. In the new year, crews will return to this section to continue work to upgrade the underground services. When work resumes, local access to businesses (for employees, customers and deliveries) and residents will be maintained, along with access for fire, police and EMS.   Work to remove vegetation along the CN railway tracks and to build the railway embankment, from Northfield to King South, in Waterloo is on-going. GrandLinq Contractors' crews are now working on the section from Columbia to Seagram. Crews are using the Columbia, University and Seagram crossings as temporary access points.   Weather permitting, in early January, crews will continue to build the embankment along the CN railway. During this time, GrandLinq will also build the Cedar Creek Culvert, which will run under the LRT tracks. In the spring, work to complete the remaining ION infrastructure (i.e., LRT trackway, poles, and overhead wires that power the train) will begin.    Work at the ION Operations, Maintenance and Storage Facility at 518 Dutton Drive in Waterloo continues. This facility will be home to the Region's LRT vehicles. Grading at the site is on-going and work required to install underground servicing is scheduled to begin this month. A tower crane is now in place to facilitate the next phase of construction.   In Kitchener, construction to relocate and upgrade underground services on Borden, from Charles to Nyberg continued until late-December, before pausing for a Christmas break. During this time, access to businesses and residences continued to be maintained.   Weather permitting, crews will return to this area early this month to tie-in the remaining services on Borden, from Charles to the CN railway. Later in 2015, work to complete the remaining ION infrastructure (i.e., final curbs and LRT trackway, poles, and overhead wires that power the train) will begin. Work to remove vegetation and build embankments along the CN railway tracks, from Borden to Hayward, in Kitchener continues. Crews are using the Hayward, Hanson, Ottawa South, Borden and Overland crossings as temporary access points.   Weather permitting, in January, GrandLinq Contractors will continue to build the embankment along the CN railway and start work on the new railway bridge over Schneider Creek. The foundation work and placement of the bridge will be performed using a crawler crane. Later in 2015, work to complete the rest of the ION infrastructure will begin (i.e., LRT trackway, poles, and overhead wires that power the train). In Cambridge, ION adapted bus rapid transit (aBRT) construction continues along Hespeler and is almost complete at the Ainslie Street transit terminal.

 

Hydro One construction update   Hydro One's work to relocate and bury a section of existing overhead transmission infrastructure is continuing along the Hydro One right-of-way in Kitchener, between Fairview Park Mall and Courtland East. In recent months, Hydro One completed construction of the duct bank system west of Wilson, which will house the new underground cables and allow them to be accessed for required repairs.   Crews have also installed additional new steel tower structures in the west end around Courtland and at the new junction in the Fairview Park Mall parking lot.   In December, crews began installing the underground cables and will be continuing this work into the new year. Hydro One is still on target to complete construction by December 2015.

 

LRT construction in 2015   All areas along the 19 kilometre ION LRT route will see some construction in 2015. With large projects such as ION, exact schedules evolve according to weather conditions and construction approvals.  Throughout 2015, ION staff will continue to meet with stakeholders, including residents, businesses and community groups, to keep them informed of construction and how road restrictions and/or road closures will impact them. Once construction details are finalized, each resident and business owner within 125 metres of ION construction will receive a written notification before work begins. Road signage, including detour information and way-finding for businesses (how customers can access stores), will go up before construction commences. Advertisements will be also placed in local newspapers and detailed information will continue to be available at www.rideION.ca as well as on the ION social media channels. Residents can also sign-up for on-going construction updates through the construction website.

 

Stay in touch: construction website       Dedicated to ION construction, www.rideION.ca features an interactive ION route map, information on ION stops as well as an opportunity to sign-up for regular construction updates.   A link to Grand River Transit (GRT) is also included in construction updates.     The latest ION Construction Updates are available at: http://bit.ly/1tpNcko   Sign-up to have the latest Construction Updates emailed directly to you at: http://www.rideion.ca/sign-up-for-updates.html

Tips at a Glance for First-Time Home Buyers

 

Contact me today for a free Home-Buyer's Toolkit

KITCHENER-WATERLOO HOME SALES FINISH STRONG IN 2014 - Average Home Sale Value Up: How does your home compare?

 

The end of 2014 brought with it a 7-year high for home sales in the Region with 6,564 residential sales processed through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) of the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of REALTORS® (KWAR), an increase of 3.0 percent compared to 2013.

Things got off to a sluggish start early in 2014, with sales lagging behind home sales in 2013 for the first five months of the year. However, home sales did ramp up again with a delayed spring market which took off in June of 2014. The year ended strong with 314 residential sales in December compared 283 the same time last year resulting in an 11.0 percent increase.

"With ice storms and polar vortexes in early 2014 the spring market started much later than usual but once it got going, home sales ramped up making last year one of the best on record" said Mark Wolle, President of the KWAR.

A total of 6,564 residential properties were sold compared to 6,371 at the end of 2013. Total residential sales in 2014 included 4,384 single detached homes (up 3.3% from 2013), 470 semi-detached (down 6.9%), 444 townhomes (up 11.3%) and 1,206 condominium units (up 4.7%).

Hot markets like Toronto and Vancouver got everyone talking about housing bubbles this past year, but real estate is very local. Locally, Waterloo Region remains a strong and stable housing market and a desirable place to live and invest.

The dollar volume of sales in 2014 increased 7.2 percent over the previous year, totalling $2,207,485,532 surpassing the "2 billion" dollar mark for only the second time in the KWAR’s history.

The average sale price of all residential sales in 2014 increased 4.0 percent to $336,302 in comparison to 2013. Single detached homes sold for an average price of $382,798 (up 4.3%), semi-detached for $256,606 (up 2.9%), townhomes for $287,951 (up to 3.4%) and condominiums sold for an average of $222,359 (up 2.5%).

Contact me today for a complimentary Home Value Report!

New Kitchener Home Listed in Prestigious Deer Ridge - 4 bed/4 bath Premium Home UNDER $800,000!

If you happened to miss this beautiful, custom-built home by Castlebrook Homes, now is your chance.

With luxurious, premium upgrades on a 60 foot lot, this home is sure to impress.

Check out the multi-media here and contact me for a private showing!

Also, open houses every Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 4 PM in January.

Check out the link HERE

Top Factors Influencing Your Credit Score

At this time of year, especially if we were extra generous with our gift giving, it’s important to review the top factors that can lower our credit scores.  Please also see “Tips to Improve Your Credit Rating” on the left in this issue of the Mortgage Financing Journal.   1.     There are too many consumer finance company accounts on your credit report.  Having too much available credit can hurt your score. If you have several consumer accounts try to consolidate those balances and close the accounts.   2.     Your account balances are too high. As a rule of thumb keep your credit card balances below 35% of the available limit. High balances ongoing will negatively affect your credit score.   3.     There is not enough recent revolving account information on your credit report. Using your credit cards regularly is an important part of building healthy credit.   4.     There have been multiple lending institutions pulling credit reports on you.  This is part of the advantage of using a Mortgage Broker; we pull one credit report and then go to several lenders vs. having several lenders each pulling your credit bureau.

Carbon Monoxide Safety

 

Know the Signs

It is important to understand what carbon monoxide is and how you can keep your home and family safe.

• Know the signs
• If detected - Call 911
• Have appliances maintained and inspected annually
• Install and maintain carbon monoxide detectors

What Carbon Monoxide (CO) is

Carbon Monoxide is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, toxic gas that enters the body through the lungs during the normal breathing process.  It replaces oxygen in the blood and prevents the flow of oxygen to the heart, brain and other vital organs. Low levels over long periods of time are dangerous, and high levels can cause unconsciousness and even death. To keep your indoor air clean and healthy, be sure that fuel-burning devices are well ventilated, maintained and inspected frequently.

What Causes CO Poisoning

Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a gas that is produced when carbon-based fuels are incompletely burned such as: wood, propane, natural gas, heating oil, coal, kerosene, charcoal, and gasoline. Regular maintenance and inspection of your appliances can help reduce the risk of carbon monoxide in your home by making sure they are safe and working efficiently.  You can read more about Carbon Monoxide by visiting http://www.cosafety.ca/

How to Detect it

A Carbon Monoxide detector is the best way to detect carbon monoxide in your home. The detector will beep loudly and quickly to let you know that carbon monoxide is present and that you should evacuate the home immediately and call 911. There are also several physical and environmental signs that suggest carbon monoxide presence.

Signs of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Symptoms

• Headache, nausea, burning eyes, fainting, confusion, drowsiness.
• Often mistaken for common ailments like the flu
• Symptoms improve when away from the home for a period of time
• Symptoms are experienced by more than one member of the household.
• Continued exposure to higher levels may result in unconscious, brain damage and death.
• The elderly, children and people with heart or respiratory conditions may be particularly sensitive to carbon monoxide.

Environment

• Air feels stale/stuffy
• Excessive moisture on windows or walls
• Sharp penetrating odour or smell of gas when furnace or other fuel burning appliance turns on
• Burning and pilot light flames are yellow/orange, not blue
• Pilot light on the furnace or water heater goes out
• Chalky white powder or soot build up occurs around exhaust vent or chimney

What to do when a leak is detected

ALWAYS REACT TO A CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR THAT HAS ALARMED! IMMEDIATELY LEAVE THE BUILDING AND CALL 911.

Prevent Carbon Monoxide in Your Home

How Can I protect myself and my Family?

• Install certified carbon monoxide detectors in your home, close to sleeping areas
• Have natural gas appliances maintained and inspected annually
•  Keep furnaces, vents, and chimneys clear of snow, ice, birds and nests
•  Never use outdoor appliances indoors

Your natural gas appliances should be inspected annually by a TSSA certified technician to ensure they are operating safely and efficiently.

Working carbon monoxide detectors save lives!

Recent changes to provincial legislation affect carbon monoxide regulations for homeowners, making CO detectors mandatory in most homes.  Many residents are wondering how the regulations affect them, when they need to act, and what they need to do.  To learn more about these new regulations visit Kitchener Fire Department.