Buying a home

Have you been pre-approved for a mortgage?

Have you started looking for your starter home and or your dream home? Maybe you are wondering what you need to know and what you should do before you begin checking out open houses.

We’ve already covered the timeline to possession in a previous blog but we thought it would be beneficial to understand house hunting etiquette in order to best understand the viewing process and in order to best utilize your time.

1) Show up on time:

We get it, life happens. No problem. If you are running you late call ahead and let your agent know you will be late. This is good etiquette for any situation in which you might be late. They might have other showings after you that they need to move back a little but to

If you have bought a house before you are most likely aware of the steps required to get pre-approved, approved, compile a deposit and the many other steps that fall into buying a home. However, if this is the first time you are buying a home you might not know where to start.

Rest Assured, I am here to help! I want to ease you through the guess work of home ownership and take off the stress of the unknown.

Let me help you get ready to buy your first home. All of the times suggested are of course dependent upon the market, time of year etc. so don't use them as a hard and fast rule.

Step One – Getting started

Timeline = 1 - 3 weeks

Sounds easy enough but there are a few steps that are required from you before you can walk into your

There’s an undeniable thrill in house hunting

After all, for most of us, a home is the most expensive and important thing we’ll ever buy. Chances are, your search will turn up a lot of properties that don’t fit into your plans at all, so the excitement of finding a potentially suitable place in your sights can certainly be overwhelming.  It’s got enough rooms, the neighbourhood seems nice, and it’s in your price range. Where do you sign – right?

Well, perhaps it is the Shangri-La it seems to be – but there’s no harm in pinching yourself a few times to make sure your dream home isn’t just a mirage. By asking a few tough questions now, you can ensure the right answers down the road.

Here are 5 ways to make sure the house you are considering has

Looking to buy or sell a home in Kamloops? Need to get a great Kamloops Realtor?

Will you be looking to sell your property in the next year? Want to know the essential qualities of a great real estate agent? Need to know how to identify agents with these qualities? If your answers to these questions is YES then read on and learn how to get the right Realtor.

When seeking real estate agents, experts agree that locating a good agent will make a difference in your real estate experience. Good inspectors, contractors, attorneys and other professionals are also important for the same reason.

No one asking a real estate agent if they are efficient, honest or knowledgeable has ever heard an agent say “No.” They will say, “Yes,” because they believe

Step 1 and 2 – Decide If You’re Ready To Buy And Hire A Realtor®

Let me start by saying there are more (way more) than nine steps to buying a house but, the purpose of this post is to give home buyers a general overview of the process. There’s no blog post or infographic in the world that can replace the expertise of a local Realtor® and once you’re decided you’re ready to buy a house the very next step is to find an agent that is highly recommended, actively representing buyers, and someone who you feel comfortable with. Talk with friends and co-workers about their buying experience and if they had a great one ask for their agents contact info. If you aren’t sure if you’re ready you can always reach out to an agent and talk with them, get your

Real estate trends vary a little from year to year

Sometimes it’s a buyer’s market, and other times sellers are favored. Knowing what is going on in financial and investment sectors can often signal you whether it’s time to buy or sell. 2016 is in it's the last quarter with some very low inventory available in Kamloops, we are seeing homes in the average price range and lower are selling fasteroften going into multiple offer situations. Millennials (born between 1982 and 2002) are finally beginning to invest in real estate in larger numbers, which should continue to rise. This is still a year that favors both buyers and sellers in various markets.

The Millennials

As more and more Millennials are considering their future retirement, eighty-percent

Toronto-Dominion is raising mortgage rates again

This time the lender is going much farther than its recent hikes.

Starting December 1, all fixed rate mortgages that take more than 25 years to pay back will cost borrowers an extra 10 basis points, or 0.1 per cent. TD is also implementing an extra cost for mortgages on rental properties, charging borrowers 25 basis points more.

The changes follow Royal Bank of Canada’s precedent-setting decision early in November to hike rates, and to also charge more for lengthy mortgages. The latter move marked the first time such a policy was implemented in Canada.

In response, TD increased its own fixed-mortgage rates a week later, but took a more measured approach. Royal Bank hiked its fixed five-year

Multiple “values” are placed on a home by a number of different parties – so who is right?

Not one is truly accurate because influences on real estate values are almost infinite and “value” is never a static figure. Home owners have opinions of value but often little basis for those opinions. There is rarely consistency between assessments, appraisals, market value and sale price…simply because the real estate market is one of the most complex entities around. It’s beneficial for owners to have an understanding of the different “values” (loosely used for convenience) placed upon their home so that when the “what’s it worth” question is posed, they have some semblance of accuracy.

Several factors affect the value of a house, and a single house may be

British Columbia home prices continued to drop sharply last month but the declines are being driven by the Vancouver market where sales continue to slump, say realtors in the province.

The British Columbia Real Estate Association, which represents about 20,000 realtors, said Tuesday that there 7,272 sales through Multiple Listing Service last month, a 16.7 per cent drop from a year ago. The total volume by dollars was $4.4 billion last month, a 24.2 per cent decline from a year ago.

The average sale price in the province was $606,787 in October, a 9.1 per cent decline from a year earlier.

“Housing demand remained mixed across the province in October,” said Cameron Muir, chief economist with the association. “Home sales across the Lower Mainland

The head of Canada's federal housing agency says regulators should explore the possibility of raising the minimum down payment required on a home as a way of easing affordability and reducing risk to the financial system.

The head of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) has opened the door to the possibility of increasing the minimum down payment needed to buy a house, though a change is not currently on the table. Evan Siddall, president and CEO of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., says that although politicians are tempted to help first-time buyers, low down payments fuel demand and lead to higher housing costs. Siddall says that ends up hurting the first-time buyers that the government wanted to help.

Last year, Ottawa raised the minimum down