eSolds Reveals Two Benefits Of Private Home Loans

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Jesse

Buying a home in today’s real estate market is costly, and not everyone has the money to do so, but this can be alleviated with the help of a loan. For some, it is more practical to borrow from friends or family than a bank, as the interest rates are obviously lower with friends and family. That being said, dealing with friends and family with regards to money isn’t always a pleasant and easy experience.

To ask a friend or family member for money can be tricky, especially when it comes to asking for a large amount to help out with a loan to buy a home.

Having a plan in mind is key to getting a loan from a family member or friend. The home buyer should approach them as they would a bank. The home buyer should be realistic about a practical repayment plan and should ensure not to borrow more than they will be able to pay back.

A private home loan is the best approach to get a family member or friend to lend money. When dealing with an actual legally binding contract, family and friends become more inclined to lend, for obvious reasons.

A private home loan isn’t much different than a bank or credit union loan. A private home loan ensures that both the lender and borrower sign a promissory note, which states the terms of the agreement. This note established the amount loaned and the interest rate, as well as repayment dates and frequency.

With a private home loan, an arrangement between the home buyer and lender is arranged in such a way that both the lender and home buyer are legally protected, but more than that, both the home buyer, the borrower, and the lender, receive a benefit from a private home loan.

The borrower, the home buyer, receives better interest rates, ability to set up own repayment terms, and federal tax reductions. With a private home loan, the home buyer can still take the same tax deductions that they would with an institutional loan.

The lender receives better interest rates as well, and also regular income that comes from the repayment of the loan.

eSolds advises that when it comes to a private home loan, the mutual benefits received by both the borrower and lender make it desirable, but more than that, the lender, be it a family member or friend, has the added benefit of knowing that they were there to help someone close to them achieve a lifelong dream of having their own home.

Three Steps To Take When Selling A Home

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Jesse

In order to receive the best offers for a home for sale, the home seller should be aware that being prepared, just like for anything else in life, is the best route to take.

There are three key steps that a home seller should take when selling a home. These steps are preparing the home, marketing the home, and finding the right real estate brokerage.

The first step involves preparing the home, both inside and out. This is to ensure that the best possible photos are available for those looking at the home for a potential purchase. When it comes to photographs of the home, simplicity works best. Before taking any photos, home sellers should ensure that the home has been de-cluttered (that means outside as well) and also position furniture in such a manner as to make rooms appear larger. Moreover, home sellers should always remember to avoid posting pictures they have taken from their smartphone, as those can look unprofessional and can quickly turn off a potential home buyer. Home sellers should seek the aid of a professional photographer to take staged photos, and although a cost will be accrued, these professional photographs will inevitably pay for themselves when the home is actually sold.

The next step involves marketing of the home. MLS listings are of utmost importance, but to fully push a home for sale, a significant online presence is necessary.

The last step is to find the right real estate brokerage. It is important that a home seller simply doesn’t go for the cheapest agent, as a sale of a home is a potential money maker, and the home seller has a lot of money riding on that sale. The home seller must look for a brokerage that will provide a large online presence, knowledgeable agents, and excellent customer service.

FSBO – Growing Trend In Real Estate

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Jesse

For Sale By Owner is a growing trend in the real estate market which could save you thousands in real estate fees.  Going the FSBO route enables home sellers to skip out on listing agent costs and instead list and sell the home themselves.

Although you will save on listing your home, you must still be prepared to give your buyers listing agent a commission.  To take advantage of your lowered real estate fees, you should increase the commission to the buyer agent by a bit more than the average, as incentive for real estate agents to bring more buyers to your home.

Being your own agent requires you to become knowledgeable about the real estate market. Understanding fair market value is crucial for the pricing of a home for sale. The best way to establish this is to look at recently sold comparable MLS Listings. It’s important to note how much similar homes in area with common features, have been sold for in the current market.  This will help you to price your home competitively.

When you are the only point of contact for interested buyers, you will get a better sense of how your home is being perceived.  You will be there for the showings, open houses, and be the one negotiating contact.  When you have direct contact with your buyers and less agent back-and–forth negotiations, closing a deal is quicker and easier.

When you’re selling your home, you’re also in control of all the major decisions including where and how to advertise.  According to the National Association of Realtors, over 77% of home buyers use the Internet to search for homes.  There are many sites, which focus on advertising for sale by owner homes to ensure you get the most exposure.

All of the tools you need to sell your home are at your fingertips (or simply a ‘click’ of the mouse away).  Now it’s up to you to take advantage of them and start saving money.

Three Steps To Take When Selling A Home

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Jesse

In order to receive the best offers for a home for sale, the home seller should be aware that being prepared, just like for anything else in life, is the best route to take.

There are three key steps that a home seller should take when selling a home. These steps are preparing the home, marketing the home, and finding the right real estate brokerage.

The first step involves preparing the home, both inside and out. This is to ensure that the best possible photos are available for those looking at the home for a potential purchase. When it comes to photographs of the home, simplicity works best. Before taking any photos, home sellers should ensure that the home has been de-cluttered (that means outside as well) and also position furniture in such a manner as to make rooms appear larger. Moreover, home sellers should always remember to avoid posting pictures they have taken from their smartphone, as those can look unprofessional and can quickly turn off a potential home buyer. Home sellers should seek the aid of a professional photographer to take staged photos, and although a cost will be accrued, these professional photographs will inevitably pay for themselves when the home is actually sold.

The next step involves marketing of the home. MLS listings are of utmost importance, but to fully push a home for sale, a significant online presence is necessary.

The last step is to find the right real estate brokerage. It is important that a home seller simply doesn’t go for the cheapest agent, as a sale of a home is a potential money maker, and the home seller has a lot of money riding on that sale. The home seller must look for a brokerage that will provide a large online presence, knowledgeable agents, and excellent customer service.

Investing In Mississauga Homes

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Jesse

One of the biggest questions that’s on a lot of people’s minds is how long they should stay in their current home and continue to build up their Mississauga home equity before investing in a new home. In many cases, the answer is approximately 5 years. This gives you enough time to build up sufficient equity to cover the costs of closing on the home while still having extra equity available to make the purchase affordable. When you’re buying a new home there are certain expenses that will need to be covered including legal fees, moving costs, the fee to submit an application for the mortgage, the cost of hiring a home inspector etc. It’s important to make sure that you have these costs covered so that you don’t end up losing money in the transaction. Across Canada, move-up buyers make up a large proportion of the real estate sales. Here in Mississauga, our office deals with many families and individuals that are ready to take the next step forward and invest in a bigger and better property. When the timing is right, you’ll know it, and it’s best to dive right in and get started on the process right away so that you can start building up equity in your new property. Once you have gotten your feet wet in the real estate market here in Mississauga, and have made your first home purchase, it’s a lot easier to take the next step forward to buy your second. While you have been making your mortgage payments faithfully, you have also been proving yourself to be a reliable and trustworthy mortgage holder. When you first applied for a home loan you had to go through quite a process in order to prove to the lending institutions that you were worthy of one. The second time around is no problem as long as you have been making your mortgage payments on time every month. The hassle that you may have had to go through to get your first mortgage will no longer be an issue. It’s a lot easier to step up to your second home than it was to make the giant leap forward to buy your first. Timing is everything when it comes to real estate. If you need any help deciding whether now would be a good time or not to reinvest your Mississauga home equity into a new home, talk to one of our real estate experts. Sometimes it’s time to wait while at other times it’s best to make the decision to move forward into a better property.

The Benefits of MLS in Real Estate

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Jesse

A key concern of many home owners looking to sell a home is the exposure that their home will receive.  The main thing is to ensure that the maximum number of people see the property so as to get the best possible deal for the home for sale.  More importantly however is to ensure that the maximum number of people who see the property are actually qualified and motivated home buyers.

The best way to do this is to list a home for sale on MLS, which is the Multiple Listing Service.

MLS is a co-operative marketing system that maximizes exposure of properties for sale.  Most homes that are sold within the Greater Toronto Area, and most of Canada for that matter, are sold via MLS systems, which are operated by various real estate boards across the country.

MLS consists of a sophisticated computer database of properties that are indexed by a number of factors, including price, location, type of home, number of bedrooms, etc.  Fundamentally speaking, MLS contains a registry of properties that are used by realtors to match buyers with homes for sale.

The greatest benefit of MLS to homeowners and homebuyers is that it allows realtors to use their skills to the fullest.  A realtor’s job is to simply determine potential buyers ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ in a potential home, and then connect that home buyer with the ‘right’ potential home.  Basically, the realtor is there to find properties that meet the home buyer’s needs.  With the use of MLS, the realtor can quickly search the database for homes with specific ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ that the home buyer is looking for, and put together a short list of suitable homes.  This means that the realtor doesn’t have to waste the time of the homebuyer by looking at homes that don’t meet their standards, but rather only show homes to the home buyer that meet the home buyer’s specifications for a potential future home.

When it comes to the home seller, MLS is equally as important, if not more.  The main obstacle a home seller encounters is finding a qualified, motivated home buyer.  MLS overcomes this obstacle by matching the home for sale with the requirements laid out by a potential home buyer.  MLS cuts through the various complexities associated with selling a home by linking the ‘right’ homes with the ‘right’ people.  It exposes the home for sale to those most likely to purchase it, thus ensuring that no time is wasted on the home buyer’s end, nor the home seller’s end, and fully utilizing the capabilities of the realtor who is there throughout the entire process.

Esolds highly recommends that when the decision comes to sell a home, the home seller lists the home on MLS, as MLS will ensure wide exposure of the home for sale to not only the maximum number of people possible, but more importantly, to a broad range of both interested and qualified home buyers

Finding the Right Neighborhood

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Jesse

Three Easy Steps To Finding the Right Family Friendly Neighborhood

There are some great communities here in Mississauga and to find the most family-friendly ones you’ll want to use the great tips listed below. There are definitely some neighborhoods here in the city that are more suited to families while others are better for seniors or singles.

1. Making sure the price is right

As a young family you’re probably on a limited budget and need to find a home that’s between the $300,000-$400,000 price range. When you’re looking for a home it’s a good idea to find a neighborhood that has plenty of homes in this average range so that you can be sure that you’ll be landing in a neighborhood that is full of other young couples with children.

2. The amenities are going to make your life easier

Look for nice parks, schools, shopping areas and recreational facilities in the community. The closer you are to these types of amenities the less travel time you’ll have and the more you can connect with your friends and neighbors in the area. Although your children may be young right now, as they grow and become more involved in social activities you’ll be happy that you took the time to find a neighborhood that would keep your driving time down to a minimum.

3. A safe neighborhood

Of course, you’ll want to make sure that the crime rate is low in the neighborhood you’re looking at and that the community as a whole looks out for one another. There are a lot of fantastic neighborhoods in Mississauga with a crime watch in place that helps to deter thieves and criminals from the area. It’s also good to look for a well-lit community so that you can feel safe in your own home during the evening and night hours.

Follow these 3 simple tips to help you find the best family-friendly Mississauga neighborhoods. As well, you should talk to your real estate agent and let him know exactly what you’re looking for in a neighborhood if you require anything specific. Mississauga real estate agents know this city like the back of their hand and will be more than able to help you find the perfect neighborhood to raise your young family in safety, close to the amenities you need, and at the right price.

Buying A Condominium

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Jesse

Condominum sales are at an all-time high.  More and more condominums are popping up as interest in buying and even renting a condo continues to grow.  Cities such as Toronto and Vancouver are jarred with people who are interested in purchasing condos, because of the excitement of living downtown, as well as the low maintenance and easy lifestyle that goes with living in a condo.  With housing real estate prices at the high levels that they are at, a condo seems like a reasonable and affordable way into the home owner’s market.  It is especially of interest to young people, as their go-go-go lifestyles don’t heed the time required to do such tasks as cutting the grass, fixing the roof, shoveling snow.

Simply jumping into the market and grabbing a condo, isn’t necessarily the smartest move.  Like buying a home, a potential home buyer needs to be aware of what is out there, and more importantly, needs to be fully in tune with exactly what it is that they are looking for.

Esolds understands that buying a condo, and a home as well, are one of the most important purchases one will ever make.  There are a number of steps to consider when thinking about buying a condo.  One of the first key steps is to seek financial qualification, which is simply determining how much mortgage can be afforded.  The home buyer must take into account extra money needed for closing costs, moving, land transfer taxes and lawyers’ fees as well.  The next step is probably the most interesting.  It’s the hunt for the condo.  Here, Search Realtly recommends that the potential home buyer see a variety of styles of condos, from low-rise, to high-rise, with and without amenities, such as concierge services, gym facilities and pool.

ESolds would next advise the potential home buyer to consider purchasing the largest suite that they can afford.  The reasoning behind this is that studios, lofts and one-bedrooms are more difficult to re-sell.  Here, ESolds is clearly thinking long-term for the potential home buyer.

Visting the neighbourhood is also an important step.  The potential home buyer should take this opportunity to visit both during the day and at night.  The home buyer should check for schools, supermarkets, nearby malls, to ensure that travel time to these locations satisfies their needs and desires when it comes to a home.

The home buyer then needs to think about such things as purchasing a parking spot (which ESolds advises, since even if the home buyer doesn’t drive, they can rent the spot out, but have it available when they do decide to purchase a car).  ESolds also recommends that the home buyer think about purchasing a locker.  As time goes on, more and more stuff accumulates, and it is nice to have that extra space to pack things away.

One a particular condo suite has been targeted, the home buyer should find out about visitors parking, examine appliances and suite carefully, for wear and tear and damages as well.  They should aslo learn about the property taxes applicable to the suite targeted for purchase, ensuring that they have the extra money to afford it.  Sometimes it is also nice to have a chat with actual residents of the building, to get a quick feel for what it is like living there, and maybe even some tips on the best restaurants nearby.

Once all that is said and done, ESolds advises that the potential home buyer makes, at minimum, two visits to the suite, before making an offer.

Advantages Of Buying A Home Online

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Jesse

Marketing a home today is not like it was in days past. Home buyers rely less on newspapers and open houses, and more on online resources, in order to obtain valuable home buying information, which they require in order to go about purchasing a home.

Home buyers want to learn as much as possible about the home buying process by relying on online content, compared to the past, when they’d more than likely turn to friends and family to compare notes. Searching online for a home has basically become the standard, and more and more people are heading to their desktops and laptops when that thought of buying a home slips into their mind.

There are exceptions however. Those over the age of 50, looking to buy a home, are more likely to stick to older traditions, and grab a newspaper or make a quick phone call to a realtor. By contrast, those under the age of 50, especially those within their 20s and 30s, are inevitably going to begin their search for a new home online.

Online real estate has not however, sped up the home buying process. Unlike a site such as Amazon or eBay, you can’t just simply add a home to a cart and click checkout. Online search for homes is basically considered a starting point for potential home buyers, in that, an online search can help a potential home buyer get a sense for what is out there, and more importantly, narrow the list of potential homes to purchase.

But, no matter how things change, some things remain the same. Real estate agents are still the most important source of information for home buyers.

Internet home buyers were more likely to contact a real estate agent than buyers who did not use the Internet to search for homes. Thus, although searching for a home online, is the first step for a lot of home buyers, eventually, home buyers will enlist the aid of a real estate agent.

There are many advantages to purchasing a home online. It allows the home buyer quickly see a large number of homes for sale, and obtain details about each, as well as the asking price. If the home buyer has narrowed down their search to a specific neighborhood or area, the home buyer can focus a search for a home to that specific area. And finally, through searching for a home online, list details are provided and the home buyer can easily follow up once a promising home is found.

Three Things to Look at When Searching for the Perfect Neighborhood

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Jesse

When someone is dead set on buying a home, the first thing they need to do is get pre-approved for a loan, and then once that is complete, the fun part of real estate, house hunting, begins. ESolds advises all home buyers to not just think about the perfect home when looking to buy, but the perfect neighborhood as well.

The fact is that the neighborhood in which the home resides dictates more than one would initially believe. Such things as nearby parks, good schools, a nearby shopping mall, and on and on actually make a huge difference on whether the home owner ends up happy in the long run. After all, the home buyer may be buying the home to live in, but they’ll also be living in the neighborhood in which that home resides.

The quickest and easiest way to assess the neighborhood is to simply visit it. ESolds recommends not simply going there once and being satisfied. A potential home buyer should actually visit the neighborhood numerous times, in the morning, and at night, and during the heaviest traffic hours. That way the home buyer can get an overall look at how the neighborhood is during various times of the day. More importantly than just visiting is to actually mingle. The home buyer should walk around and explore, not simply observe. The home buyer should make an effort to speak with residents to get a feel for the neighborhood and the people that reside there.

In particular, when it comes to any neighborhood, ESolds advises that the home buyer assess three things before purchasing a home for sale, in order to determine if it is the ‘perfect’ neighborhood for them.

SCHOOL DISTRICT

This goes for both parents and for those without children. Buying a home in a district with good schools is actually in the best interest of the home buyer, even if they don’t have any children. If the home buyer does purchase the home, and then decides to sell in the near future, future buyers who have children will likely put that home on the top of their list, as a good school district is among the top priorities for those with children looking to buy a home. To determine if the a school is considered ‘a good school’, the home buyer is simply a mouse click away, as everything from school ratings to standardized test scores can be found on the internet. The best source for knowledge that any home buyer can tap into is a realtor, who has all this information at hand.

CRIME STATISTICS

A neighborhood low in crime is obviously attractive for many reasons. Nobody desires to live in a neighborhood that is prone to break-and-enters and burglaries. For a home buyer looking to get crime statistics on a potential neighborhood, the internet is there to help again. There are many sites that can provide stats on crime and other important information regarding particular neighborhoods. An easy way to assess crime stats while visiting the neighborhood is to look at tell-tale signs, such as bars on windows, high police presence and obviously by talking to residents.

KEEPING FAMILY IN MIND

The most important thing is to keep the family in mind when looking for that perfect neighborhood. Convenience is of utmost important to both parents and children. A school nearby could allow for savings on bus transport or allow for time saved for the parent who doesn’t have to drive a child to school everyday. For those in the family who are working, commute time is equally important, thus either having work close by, or low traffic levels or at the least, a nearby highway to cut down on travel to and from work, would be an obvious asset of a neighborhood.

The last thing is property or home values. The potential home buyer should research home values before finding a home in the neighborhood of their liking, because home values have a direct correlation with the overall vitality of the community.