Durham Region Real Estate Blog

So you, your spouse, three children and mother-in-law are thinking about your ideal house. Perhaps it goes something like this; four bedrooms – the mother-in-law will have the master bedroom and ensuite so that she can have a little privacy. The two boys will share one room, your little angel will have her own room and you’ll take the final room. Since you definitely wanted two bathrooms, you sacrificed a little on living space. No main floor family room, but that’s o.k., you have a finished basement, and the kitchen is small, but functional and there’s plenty of room for family dinners in the dining room. It’s not a palace, but you’re there, you’re together and you love it!

Maybe you are able to afford a few more luxuries. A four bedroom home, three and a half baths, main floor family room, large, eat-in kitchen, formal dining room and a separate suite for your mother-in-law. You are happy here. The family is close but there is a quiet nook for reading and one on one time with each of your children. Maybe even a double car garage.

Well, if you are Mukesh Ambani, the fourth richest man in the world, you definitely don’t think either of these descriptions fit your idea of the perfect house. Instead, a cute and cozy, 27 storey building, with over 400,000 sq ft of living space and room to park 168 cars is in order. When the home was completed in 2010 it was estimated to be worth as much as US$1 billion.

When looking at homes with buyers I often hear that they want an open concept home. One where the cook can see the children playing or be a part of the conversation when company drops by for dinner. But in a home with only 5 residents and 600 employees, you are more likely to run into the maintenance staff than your Mom. With more than four floors per person you could cook, eat, clean up and sleep for weeks without ever running into your family. Hmm, on some days that might be preferable!

Thankfully there is a perfect house for all of us, sometimes it just takes a little while to figure out what our “perfect” is. But once we find it, there’s nothing like going home each day.

With today’s interest rates at near record lows, many people are recognizing that a mortgage payment on a house can actually be comparable to what they would spend on renting an apartment or home.  Perhaps you’re one of them and are ready to take a step up the property ladder.

For most people, buying a home is the most significant financial investment they’ll ever make, and there’s a lot of planning that goes into a successful transition.  With that in mind, here are a few tips to help you navigate the home buying process:

Consider future needs. Look ahead and anticipate what your family may look like just a few years from now.  If you’re a single buyer, you may someday add a ‘significant other’ to your household.  If you’re a young couple, you may be planning on children.  Or you may already have children whose needs will change within just the next few years.  As they get older, perhaps your children will need a bedroom of their own, or some private play space.  Though additional space may not be needed immediately, it’s important to consider potential future plans for a home.  Keep in mind that there is no such thing as the “perfect” house. Instead, determine what’s essential for the near future – number of bedrooms, approximate square footage, community, etc.  But be cautious.  Look to future needs but don’t overextend yourself buying space you may not ever need.

Remember resale. Purchasing a home is a great long-term investment. However, there are many reasons home buyers may need to move again, such as relocating for a job or a major lifestyle change. Think about the length of time that the home may be owned and during your search, also consider the potential resale value of prospective properties you are viewing.  I can help by sharing such valuable information as the average price of resale homes in the area, how long each property has been on the market and what features increase – or detract – from a home’s value and appeal.

Plan for maintenance and repair costs. Owning a home is a rewarding experience. However, along with a set of house keys come certain responsibilities for upkeep.  A leaky faucet and unkempt lawn won’t take care of themselves, so be sure to include future repairs and maintenance in your household budget.  Keep in mind that certain properties such as condominiums and town homes require less exterior maintenance and might be a good option for those who find the idea of maintaining a yard a bit daunting.

Want to know more about the home buying and selling in the Durham Region?  Contact me so we can talk about the best options for you in today’s market.

Do you have high expectations of your real estate salesperson or are you just happy if they show up, fill in the paperwork and bring you an offer? Do you ask several questions or do you just answer some questions and hope the whole thing just goes away?

Sometimes I forget what it’s like not to know what is involved in the whole real estate process. Sure, for the first time homeowner it’s a whole new process, but it is also a confusing thing for many buyers and sellers. Most people who buy and sell a home haven’t done it in years so the things I consider routine are anything but normal. And forget about those strange circumstances that come up. You have no clue what to do about them!

So what should your REALTOR® bring to the table? A pleasant demeanor. You’re going to spend some time together during the process so you definitely want to work with someone you can get along with. Knowledgeable about the whole process. Does your REALTOR® have experience in dealing with many types of properties and buyers or sellers, or do they only know one market. Is that market a fit for your needs? Experienced. This can go a long way in getting you the results you want. An experienced REALTOR® can help you market your home in the best possible light so that you can get the most amount of money in the least amount of time. They also know how to find the house that’s going to be perfect for you. Trustworthy. The REALTOR® you choose to work with will know a lot about you and your finances, your bottom line, your motivation for selling or buying and any number of other personal details about you. Make sure you are working with someone under a contractual agreement (Buyer’s Agent or Seller’s Agent or both!). You want to make sure that your personal information is kept private so that it can’t be used against you in negotiations. And while I’m mentioning negotiations, you want to have a great negotiator on your side. Someone who can weave their way through the sales talk and fancy nonsense words to get you to the very best deal for you.

I really suggest that we sit down and have a relaxed conversation. What questions will you ask me? What do you expect from the whole experience? I’d love to hear from you!

It seems that life is adding more and more stress on our plates all the time. But how do we handle stress is what sets us apart from our neighbours. In your home stressful things are going to happen, but the place itself should be a source of great joy for you. Sure, a little face lift may be of value, but the building and the feeling you get when you walk into it should be perfect for you. If you feel stressed just pulling into the driveway, it may be time to make a move.

Just because you love where you live, or it was the perfect house when you originally purchased it, doesn’t mean the house is going to perfect forever. Life change, we get older, our families grow larger and smaller. Why shouldn’t our houses change with us? You’ll find that place that was once perfect is now stressing you out. A move to your new perfect place will help.

15 years ago Blair and I bought our perfect home. Blair called to let me know he had found a great house for sale that he thought we would love. As we drove closer to our ultimate destination in Oshawa, my mouth dropped. I knew there was no way we could afford a house in this neighbourhood. Well, afford it we did. Purchased for more than the asking price, firm, with a 20 day closing date. What were we thinking? It all worked out though and Blair could often be heard saying that he would never move from this house.

That was four houses ago. Surprised? Don’t be. The perfect house for you one day may not meet all your needs, or your lifestyle, in the future. Perhaps it is another persons perfect house. Again Blair and I find ourselves living in our perfect house. But for how long, I don’t know. What I do know is that if you find yourself stressed out by your house, forgive yourself for falling out of love with it. Clean it up, list and sell it so that you can get in to your next perfect house and let someone else form a love affair with your home.

By all accounts, the Canadian economy is humming along at a healthy pace, adding pressure on the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates. The Bank must weigh our healthy, domestic economy against a bleak global backdrop, including signs of a stagnate economy in the U.S.

The central bank’s second quarter business outlook survey shows high hiring intentions by businesses and there is an upbeat outlook on sales, investments and financing. Housing starts in June, 2011 surged well past espectations.

All this would normally point toward a rate hike by the Bank of Canada but the global situation has worsend – weak U.S. employments, rising Chinese inflation and new euro zone woes – so the Bank of Canada may rethink how sustainable our good news is.

So where will interest rates go? No one knows for sure and any answer given today could change tomorrow. That’s how volitile the market is. The safest thing you can do is this: get qualified for your mortgage at 6%. Then sign up for the lowest rate that suits you (whether it is a fixed or variable rate mortgage) and make your payments as if the interest was at 6%. You’ll pay down your mortgage much faster and if rates go up, you’ll be o.k. Since you’ll be used to making payments at the increased rate, you’ll suffer no ill effects from the changes.

Need more information? Call me today!

Advice is to be saved for my clients. Those individuals who agree that the level of service I provide is the level of service they are looking for in their REALTOR®. However, I feel so strongly about this point that I have to give you all my priceless opinion on this topic. If you had any doubts about the risks to sellers and real estate agents for using the Seller Property Information Statement (SPIS), a decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in  May, 2011 would seem to have put them to rest once and for all.

The case is Krawchuk v. Scherbak where the Ontario Court of Appeal reversed the trial decision and held the real estate agent, her employer and the sellers all liable for negligent misstatement in filling out the SPIS. Now this blog is not a note to other real estate agents to be careful with the use of the SPIS. They can use it or don’t use it, I don’t care. As big boys and girls and can make their own decisions. I’m writing this blog for all the sellers out there who are getting duped into filling out the forms.

In 2004 the Scherbaks listed their property in Sudbury with a REALTOR®. The REALTOR® helped them complete an SPIS. On the form, the question, “Are you aware of any structural problems?” was answered: “NW corner settled … to the best of our knowledge the house has settled. No further problems in 17 years.” Well, that’s where the problems started.

The listing agent also acted for the buyer (with the consent of all the parties), an agreement was reached and the house sold. After closing, the buyer discovered that the foundation walls were sinking into the ground below, resulting in the failure of proper support for the floor joists and building above. To correct the problem the buyer spent $197,000 – almost double the purchase price! $105,000 was recovered from the title insurance company and then, Krawchuk (the buyer) sued the sellers, the agent and the real estate brokerage.

The SPIS was intended to protect sellers by disclosing correct information about the property to buyers. It doesn’t always work. The trial judge found the Scherbaks liable for negligent misrepresentation and awarded Krawchuk damages of $110,000 in addition to the $105,000 she had recovered from her title insurer. He dismissed her claims against the real estate agent and broker. The Scherbaks appealed the judgment and Krawchuk cross-appealed the dismissal of her claim against the real estate agent.

A three judge panel of the court of appeal heard arguments last October and released its decision on May 6. The court awarded half of the $110,000 in damages against the sellers and half against the real estate agent. In addition, the buyer was awarded $25,000 in costs of the appeal against the sellers and a further $25,000 in costs against the real estate agent. Bad on all fronts.

Maybe you read this blog and think, “This could never happen to me. I would be totally truthful.” But how complete will your statements be? What if you interpret the form different than the courts do and therefore answer incorrectly? Do you want to be stuck in the middle of a lawsuit? Don’t fill out the form! Learn what you must disclose and protect yourself. Find great representation. And remember, if you are about to list your house and the REALTOR® of your choice pulls out the SPIS, run!

Today the Toronto Real Estate Board is changing the districts we use to search for houses in specific areas. Yesterday we could search in specific citys and towns, but in order to narrow a search you need to either use the map provided on line or use a printed may. And not just any printed map, but a specific one. Years ago it was a Pearly’s Map but more recently we had to have up to date versions of the Map Art maps. And not those little pocket ones that might be easy to carry around. Nope, we had to have the big one with the metal binding. We searched page 24, row 27, column R. Well, don’t quote me on those numbers, but you get the idea. So if I was away from my map and someone wanted a search for a specific area within the Durham Region, say the houses around Windfield Farms, I was a little stuck for my search.

But not anymore! Want to see what is for sale in Lynde Creek? How about Northwood or Stevenson? There are completely new districts for searching now that aim to move us to the 21st century. If you are interested in seeing a map of the new districts or would like me to send you some searches for homes in the areas you are considering moving into, please let me know. I’d be happy to help you find a great, new place to call home.

Now….I wonder how long it will take me to get used to the new districts!

We hope you enjoy this little newsletter!

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More diversity in our city is a good thing I think. GM has long been our claim to fame, but those of us who live here know that this city is changing. I remember a time when almost everyone I met worked at a job involving GM. Most worked in the plant (and plenty of them knew my Dad, but that’s another story!) That was then,though, and this is now. Now people who live here work in many fields and plenty of them have never stepped foot inside a GM plant!

m proud of our blue collar roots. But I’ll also we proud as we go from blue collar to a top educating town! We had the best GM plant around and we’ll have the best schools, because that’s the kind of people who live in the Durham Region. Constantly striving to be the best that we can be. Once others figure out that we know how to do things right, they’ll be banging at the door. And knowing how friendly this city, the surrounding towns and the region are, we’ll throw open the doors and welcome them with open arms!

100th posts! I don’t know how I came up with 100 things to blog about, but obviously my gift of the gab has finally come in handy. If you had asked me a few years ago if I’d be writing, about anything, I’d have laughed. Not just a polite chuckle. No, a full on, can’t breathe, tears flowing, nose snorting laugh. Me? Write? And yet, I’m writing a milestone 100th blog! In honour of this achievement I think I’ll put down a few words about homeowner milestones.

Have you purchased your first home already? Was it years ago or just recently? I bought my first place about 20 years ago now and it was a doosey! Is that even a word? Maybe not, but it sure is fun to write it into a sentence.

My first house was a 1 1/2 storey home in Oshawa with an illegal basement apartment. A power of sale that Blair and I couldn’t afford, but since the third mortgagee was so desperate to unload the house, they allowed us to assume all the mortgages and it was ours! Yep, three mortgages, with an average interest rate of 14% and a monthly payment of $1,687.32. Blair and I ate a lot of white bread (whole wheat was too expensive), no name peanut butter and spaghetti, we never ate out and I walked to and from work. Recently, because that house came on the market, I was lucky enough to get back into it for another look . Everyone should be so lucky!

Blair and I hit another milestone three houses later. This was it. The house we never thought we could afford, in a neighbourhood that was well out of reach. If you have been a homeowner for a while you know this house. It’s the one you are never moving from. Might as well have the pine box addressed here because that’s how they are getting you out of it. This house was gorgeous and we fought to own it. The listing REALTOR® wouldn’t return our phone calls to allow us into the home. Thankfully we were REALTORS® and knew a few tricks so we got in to see the house, did an offer and bought it.

We have lived in three houses since the house we were never moving from. Each one a milestone in its own right. So how about you? Tell me about your personal milestones or let me know if I can help you reach a new one!