When listing your home, there are a lot of things to think about. How you stage your space should definitely be at the top of that list. While you may not have the means to bring in a professional stager, you can put your best foot forward by removing the following from your space:
Family photos. While these treasures may mean the world to you, personal items like this make it difficult for a potential buyer to imagine themselves in your space. Get a jump on the process and pack these photos up now.
Odors. From a musky basement to the closet where the kitty litter box is kept, odors in your home are a huge turn off. Do whatever you need to do to keep a prospective buyer’s nose from wrinkling. This includes ripping up mildewed carpet, opening windows and lighting...
This is a tough decision, but the answer will depend on your personal situation, as well as the condition of the local housing market.
If you put your home on the market first, you may have to scramble to find another one before settlement, which could cause you to buy a home that does not meet all your requirements. If you cannot find another home, you may need to move twice, temporarily staying with relatives or in a hotel.
On the other hand, if you make an offer to buy first, you may be tempted to sell your existing home quickly, even at a lower price.
The advantage of buying first is you can shop carefully for the right home and feel comfortable with your decision before putting your existing home on the market.
On the flip side, the advantage of selling your existing...
Co-owning a property—for example, owning in partnership with a friend, family member or other acquaintance—is gaining popularity. Rising purchase prices have encouraged this, but the truth is, co-owning an investment property has many benefits. Not only do you have other people to share responsibilities and upkeep with, but splitting the costs makes investing in real estate a much more attainable goal for some people.
That being said, just like any business relationship, you need to set some boundaries and have a strategy in place first. Here are some things you should consider:
What is your end goal? There is more than one way to make money from an income property, but you both need to be on the same page in terms of strategy. Some people opt to renovate and sell in a relatively short...
With inventory still stubbornly tight, existing-home sales sank 1.7 percent, according to the June National Association of REALTORS® report, newly released. Compared to June of last year, sales underwhelmed, down 2.2 percent.
We’re in familiar territory, according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR.
“Home sales are running at a pace similar to 2015 levels—even with exceptionally low mortgage rates, a record number of jobs and a record high net worth in the country,” says Yun. “Imbalance persists for mid- to lower-priced homes with solid demand and insufficient supply, which is consequently pushing up home prices.”
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Deciding on the best price to list your home at is a tricky thing. Many factors come into play, and these can change depending on the time of year, or countless other reasons. That’s why it’s beneficial to have a real estate professional to help you figure it out. Here’s what you need to be considering when setting the price.
Going Rate in the Neighbourhood
You might think your home is worth a certain price, but that can be significantly different than what neighbouring homes are listed (and selling) for. The price of the neighbourhood is one of the best ways to know if you will or will not get the price you’re expecting. The more desirable the neighbourhood, the more it will sell for. The best way to price your home is to find a home of a similar size in the same neighbourhood...
When the day is done, nothing is more relaxing than retiring to your bedroom. Unless, of course, your bedroom isn’t a calming space. Below are several tips for designing a sleeping space that brings calm and comfort.
Cool colors. There is nothing calming about a blood red bedroom. Choose a cool hue like gentle blue, green or gray to fall asleep easier.
Window covers. Say it with us: black out shades. Make sure you can block light with opaque window coverings so your hibernation goes uninterrupted.
Tech-free. While many like to watch TV in bed, try and create a sleeping space that is for one thing: sleeping. It’s well known that the light from our devices can interrupt our sleep...
s millennials continue to have an ever-increasing impact on the luxury property market, it’s important to consider how this can affect your home’s value. Over the past few years, millennials have established that their tastes and preferences significantly differ from those of their parents. If you’re hoping that your house will appeal to this new group of luxury homebuyers, here are five features that millennials look for in real estate.
Privacy
With the rise of technology and the amount of personal information that gets put into the public sphere, millennials have placed a premium on their privacy. They want to be able to enjoy their living space without having to worry about prying eyes, whether that means being in a gated community, living in a building...
For many aspiring homeowners, finding an undervalued property, gutting it and turning it into the upscale home of their dreams is, well, a dream. Flipping a property, however, is a large-scale undertaking that’s not for the faint of heart! Here’s how to make sure the property you buy is a good option for a flip.
Opt for a smaller property. Flipping a home is not an easy job, so a small home in a great location is often the best bet. This also makes it more likely that when the home is finished, it won’t surpass the neighbourhood value, which can make it difficult to sell.
Focus on the structure, not the aesthetics. If you’re about to rip a property down to the studs, things like exterior siding or outdated kitchen features...
Keeping track of every single dollar you spend can be difficult, no matter how closely you track your spending and monitor your bank accounts. Automatic payments from your checking account to pay for a gym membership, for example, can be forgotten and leave a checkbook unbalanced.
But besides accounting for where your money goes, there are some invisible money leaks that you may not be paying attention to that can add up to wasted money. Here are four:
Unused memberships and subscriptions
A gym membership is a common example of an automatic payment that gets forgotten and is rarely used. But other things can crop up too.
An annual renewal for a magazine you no longer read, a razor subscription and a monthly subscription to a premier cable TV channel that you rarely view are some things that...
