Tips to Help You Avoid Buying the Wrong Home

Buying a home is a big investment, probably one of the biggest investments you will make in your life, therefore it is imperative that you be careful in choosing and buying one. A home purchase should not be based on what your heart desires, rather you should carefully inspect, plan and evaluate things before you decided to make the purchase. Here are some tips you may find useful to prepare for a home purchase:


Preparation: It is recommended to do some research first before starting the process of buying a new home. First and foremost, you must have the financial capability to buy a home. Speaking with a mortgage broker or with your banker is a good way of determining what you can and cannot afford.

Considering Using a REALTOR®: Another part of your initial research should include whether or not you want to work with a REALTOR®. REALTORS® have extensive connections and much experience when it comes to buying and selling homes.

Visual Inspection: Once you find a home, it is best to do an inspection of your chosen house. Not only do you need to inspect the house physically, you should also consider the surroundings. You may want to talk with the neighbours to get a feel for the neighbourhood. You may also want to return to the neighbourhood at some specific times of day in order to determine how busy the neighbourhood is at different times of the day.

To get more tips on home buying, click here, to view a great article which may be very helpful to ensure you get the best value for the money you spend on your new home.

Until next time,
Jamie

HST is coming....

I was driving to work listening to the CBC the other day, and the announcer was talking with someone about the HST. Whether we like it or not, it is coming to everyone in Ontario in about 1 week. Now for resale real estate, the only people that it will REALLY effect is Sellers, as they will have to pay HST = 13% on REALTOR'S® commission. (For new home sales, there are rebates for homes under $400,000) Please remind yourselves, that this added 13% does NOT go to the REALTOR®, but to the government of Ontario. Other places you will find added tax during the process, is on the Home Inspection and Lawyer's fees.

I've come to realize that most things will indeed be taxed through HST. To read information directly from the Government of Ontario, click here. Here is very clear chart about what we all will be experiencing.

Until next time,
Jamie