What Are Bully Offers and How Do They Work? A bully offer is an offer made to purchase a property before the scheduled offer date. This type of offer is often made in order to try to get a better deal on a property than what can be expected on the offer day. It is called a bully offer because the buyer sending the bully offer has decided not to wait and work on the same terms as other interested buyers. This tactic can either be used to get ahead of competing buyers or put pressure on a seller to accept the bully offer. Bully offers do two things, they crowd out buyers if the offer is on the high end with little or no conditions, or it makes the seller reconsider the value of their property on the market. Real estate is a complex industry where selling a house is dependent on a variety of factors. The state of the market, the upkeep of the house listed, the location, and so on. Who the bully offer 'targets' depends on which side of the asking price the offer comes in, but in either case, it's up to the sellers to find out whether an offer makes sense in their given situation. Are bully offers legal? Yes. While the seller's real estate agent may schedule a meeting to discuss offers, an offer presentation date, a pre-emptive offer or bully offer can be sent to the seller's agent before the period where they are accepting offers. These offers tend to have a short offer period as well. The listing agent is required to inform a seller of all offers as they come in but there is no need to respond to any of them. What happens to the other buyers? The seller is within their rights to refuse or accept a bully offer. If a bully offer was made, then the listing agent usually informs other potential buyers. For the benefit of their clients, listing agents seek out the highest possible price or the best price with favourable conditions. Informing other buyers can lead to an early bidding war to draw out the best offer. It's not all bad for the sellers. Are bully offers a good thing? Not all pre-emptive offers are the same and because of that, who they are beneficial to is a complicated question. Here are some of the factors that affect who the bully offer benefits: What kind of market is the property in? If a home is in a hot market then a bully offer means that bidding wars are likely. A buyer's agent may send a pre-emptive offer to avoid offer night where competing offers rise and rise. On the other hand, if a seller needs to close the sale quickly for financing their own dream home, then a bully offer can be what they need. If the house is in a buyer's market then a lower price may make a dent in the seller's plans. At the same time, waiting may not lead to more buyers or a better bid at all. This is when pre-emptive offers start to feel like bully offers - they are the same thing but the two names have a markedly different effect. Is the bully offer offering a lower bid or dropping requirements for the sale? Accepting a bully offer doesn't necessarily mean accepting less money in the long run, sometimes it means that the buyer takes more risks by waiving protections afforded to them. This can help a house with some issues get off the market more easily. Bully offers that remove conditions can be of great interest to people that do not expect other offers. When should a buyer make a bully offer? A buyer should consider a bully offer if they have done their research, understand the current market and can move quickly. Generally, it's not advisable to make a bully offer when the property is in the early stages of being listed because there are too many unknown factors that prevent an accurate assessment. The best time to submit a pre-emptive offer is far enough in advance to beat the offer date without giving the seller too much time to think - or have other offers come in. This is the time before the listing agreement expires and there is no risk of losing it by making an offer. How do you make a bully offer? A bully offer can be made verbally or in writing, but most prefer text records to keep all parties in check should a problem arise. The key component of a bully offer is that it is sent to the sellers before the scheduled offer date with an offer period that ends before that scheduled date. If a buyer expects multiple offers on the property then they should work closely with their agent to decide the best course of action. All of the agents involved in the situation want what's best for their clients so confidence will often make the difference. This also applies when there is a sole bully offer, a buyer needs to show that they can pay for the house and that the offer is the best thing for the seller should the seller accept the offer. This is where working with an agent that has experience with bully offers is important because they can provide valuable insight into the sale. Is it worth forgoing things like a home inspection? Bully offers often come 'clean' meaning that there are no conditions for the sale of the house. However, this means that the buyer is willing to take on the house left unchanged or as-is. When preparing to pay property taxes for years on a house, this is not something to take lightly. Many sellers are honest and upfront about the issues of their home but if a bully offer comes in higher than the asking price and with no conditions, then the only question is sometimes what brand of champagne to buy. Still, for a buyer waiving the rights to a home inspection or other conditions means that they are left relatively defenceless should something negative about the property arise. Unfortunately, sometimes there is no real choice and a bully offer could be the only thing that helps secure a house in the constantly fluctuating real estate market. Bully offers demand strong financial health for the buyers because of the inherent risks involved.     View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

Digitization of Real Estate What is the digitization of real estate? Whether you're buying or selling, you've probably seen that the real estate industry did not escape the digital transformation but it goes beyond putting a listing online or making it significantly easier to search for specific properties. Here are three recent trends that you need to keep a lookout for; you can ask for these services from real estate agents, ask how they help attract buyers, or whether they're giving an accurate impression of the lot size. Virtual staging Photos are one of the most important things to potential buyers when they're looking at a property. They need to see themselves in the space, and it's easier for a person to see themselves in a room if there's some furniture and decorations. Still, the rule of thumb from real estate professionals is to remove personal items and show off how much space is available. The difference between a virtually staged house and one that is traditionally staged is that the sellers can still feel like they are living in their own homes. The process involves removing the items from the rooms (furniture and decorations), taking high-quality photos, and letting the professionals virtually stage the rooms. The good thing is that once the photos are taken, the furniture and decorations can be moved back into place. As a seller, being able to still live in your home the way you like to while on the path to sell is something many underestimate but it helps greatly. On the other hand, if you're already packed up or are about to be, then virtual staging can help you get things into moving trucks faster. When using that service, it may feel like you're creating an illusion but real estate professionals have more to lose than anyone else if they misrepresent a property. Virtual staging can transform the look of a house to sell it more easily but before making any investment most people will want to access the real-life location. Virtual staging is a technology many will use more and more in the future and it will apply to more locations. Drone videos Drones in real estate are becoming an increasingly important tool to use, especially if you are looking for large properties. The quality of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) drone videos is extraordinary now, the vast majority of which are now 4K quality. Drone video footage is not something you will see all across the market. Given the resources it takes in terms of money, drone video is not essential for most realtors and the properties they represent. Smaller properties or apartments make it hard to justify the cost needed to create a video. If you're interested but unsure about whether or not you would gain from using drone footage in listing your home, it's best to discuss it with your real estate professional. Just because something is a trend doesn't mean that it's guaranteed to deliver results for your house. 3D tours While this has been used more for commercial real estate in the past, 3D tours for properties have started to become more and more common for residential real estate. While 3D tours are not like a real-time physical walkthrough of a house, they are the next best thing. It's a lot easier for clients to make their minds up about a house without a visit if they can almost walk through it from the comfort of their own home by just using a website. In a market where there is a lot of competition, a realtor can suggest the use of 3D yours if the cost is worth it. The upsides of a 3D tour are massive but unless it's done for a whole building where units are similar enough, the time and money needed might be prohibitive for a listing. Possibilities and pitfalls Technology for real estate has long since moved away from a website, Facebook account, and the occasional YouTube video. The future of the industry sees the average realtor with these tools as common selling tools in their portfolio. Technologies like that can help both buyers and sellers equally and are legal as long as there's no misrepresentation. Virtual staging, drone footage, and 3D tours can help you get a better idea of a property and they make a property stand out in a market. Any element, when used properly, generates more leads and these can help the process of finding the right house exponentially faster. It's easy for people to find a video to watch for a property, but novelty is something that stimulates the human brain more than anything. We have moved from having a "for sale" sign on front yards to putting a house on an online listing service, to short videos, and now we are entering the age of almost walking into a house without having to change out of your pyjamas. This amount of digitization also has some drawbacks. Virtual staging is something that needs to be done by a professional for a few reasons. If done improperly, it can create false expectations of what a property can become. Examples of that include extending virtual furniture in ways that are not possible in real life, manipulating how light will actually spread throughout a room, or changing how the exterior of the property looks. Still, these are not things that cannot be done already with tools available for decades like Photoshop. Drones offer an amazing new perspective but unless a buyer plans on flying one around their property it can give a false sense of scale. The drone's field of view and other optical settings can make places seem bigger than they are. For a large house with a yard then an overview of the site from a mechanical bird's eye view could be extremely useful but it can also make a smaller property feel smaller than it is on the ground. 3D tours require a property to be mostly free of furniture so that the capture device can freely move around the space to give buyers a better experience. This means that unless the seller has moved out already or the property is a new build then a 3D tour might be too much of a headache. The bottom line If you're a buyer then all those tools are useful. They can help you fill in the gaps that photos leave which means that you're saving yourself some time during your search. Virtual staging, when the website allows you to flip between the empty room and the virtually staged version, is a boon that allows you to picture yourself more easily in your potential dream home. If your goal is to sell, then the temporary inconvenience of having to empty rooms for a picture could be worth it if it attracts higher bids down the line. Though a serious buyer will want to look through the property in person, they will also be able to look at the space with the comparison that the virtual staging offers in their minds. Not all realtors offer services like that but asking doesn't hurt. It's essential to keep in mind that no matter how well used these techniques are, a home inspection done by a professional is still a must. Falling in love with a house is normal but as with everything that involves love and the internet, try not to get catfished. Not to mention that things like a neighbourhood, the level of noise around the home, and more cannot be properly seen through links on a web page. The process of buying or selling a home is stressful and complex, these services won't replace walking through a property but this technology is the next best thing.   View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. 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Furniture Tricks For Small Apartments. When space is something you don't have much of, every square inch matters. The thing that takes up the most space in apartments is furniture - living on a pile of pillows and having your computer laid out on the ground is a recipe for back pain, even for the most nimble young professional trying to save. So here are some tips and tricks for using your apartment furniture in a way that saves space while still looking good. Use furniture that doubles as storage. If there is something else that's often lacking in a studio apartment or your average starter apartment, it's storage space. Instead of having furniture pieces like a table that doesn't use the space beneath it to serve as double duty for extra storage, buying a table with integrated storage is a great option. If you have the requisite tools, there are other DIY tricks for adding storage to your furniture, but it takes some effort to make this type of piece yourself. Some bedframes can also come with built-in drawers. In addition to giving your extra space in the bedroom, your bed frame can be used to store bulky items like blankets, big sweaters, and more. The extra space frees up space in your closets and prevents overcrowding. In the living room, you can find a coffee table with storage space that can be used to store things like remotes, board games, and more. The one drawback for pieces like this in a small apartment is the apartment stairs they likely will have to travel up on the way in. Get creative with your furniture placement. When you're short on space, the best way to make use of every square inch is to get creative with your furniture placement. Try these tips: Place your bed against a wall to save space. If you don't have room for a traditional bed frame, consider using a platform bed instead. This will free up floor space on two sides of the bed. Having more space to walk in your bedroom means more living space, so arrange furniture in a way that helps you get going in the morning. With less space to work with, finding the right balance is supremely important. Though you may have a small space, you can still express your preferred style whether it's your first apartment or a new apartment. Taking the time to maximize space without compromising your personal style can make a rental feel like a home. There is the other side of something we talked about just above where you can use storage pieces to double up as seating. Throw a cushy pillow on an end table that sits a little low and, there you go, extra seating. Just because you have a tiny apartment doesn't mean you can't entertain. With the right furniture, you can make a space feel much bigger than it really is and if you use an area rug to delineate space then it will naturally guide guests to spread out in a more balanced way throughout the apartment. If you have a closet, use it as much as you can. Creating dedicated areas for each type of clothing item will be such an advantage when you need to sort out clothes. Pay attention to the light. Natural light is essential both for your own physical and mental health but also for the look and functionality of your living space. Arranging furniture in a way that does not obstruct windows, or using a large mirror at a key location can make your living area feel bright, somewhere worth spending time in. If you intend to keep some blank walls, try to keep them on the walls where the light will hit them directly. The flat uninterrupted surface will reflect the light throughout the space. If you have wall art, try to place it opposite of the well-lit wall to direct the light toward it. If you use a computer or television in the hours where the light enters your apartment the most, position the screens in the room in a way to prevent glare. Watching TV can be very frustrating if sunlight is obscuring the image, especially if you gathered people to watch something together. Though you could simply close the curtains so that you can entertain guests without pulling furniture around - making it so that it's unnecessary in the first place is a better idea. Choose multifunctional furniture. Multifunctional furniture is furniture that can be used for more than one purpose. This kind of furniture saves space, allowing more room for functional items. It also makes cleaning easier by reducing the number of separate pieces to be dusted. This may save money because it is used for multiple purposes and doesn't need to be replaced as often as single-purpose furniture. It can make decorating easier because there are fewer items to choose from. It may also help the environment by saving energy and material resources during manufacturing since it can be created using smaller amounts of wood or other materials. Multifunctional furniture may be used for your home office space, being able to pack a lot of what you need in a small area is a lifesaver and prevents you from getting distracted if you need to move around your apartment to look for things. Just because you have the space for a bed and a sofa separately doesn't mean that shouldn't get a piece of apartment furniture that can do both. In a studio apartment especially, this will help you create a different mood depending on the time of day. Invest in a few key pieces of furniture. Learning how to use space in a small apartment is an exercise in boiling down the excess of your wants to get to the core of your needs. As long as you have enough seating for your day-to-day life, do you really need a coffee table? To create a living space that works doesn't just mean throwing out the furniture you won't use but instead, it means investing in the right pieces of apartment furniture. Extra counter space, for example, can be life-changing and you could get a stable bar cart with a sturdy top that you can dock to your kitchen. If this is your first apartment then it's perfect, you can start with a blank slate and not carry over anything unessential with you in the future. If there is enough light in your living room, then there is no need for table lamps that would also require their own surface to sit on. Open shelves, when used right, can make your interior decor sign with style. Since you can still see the wall behind the open shelves, the space they occupy can be used to house a variety of different items while still creating an interesting and cohesive look. Sadly, for apartments, you cannot usually make changes to the apartment itself because then these shelves would be replaced by a built-in piece that clears up even more room. Don't be afraid to get rid of furniture you don't need. Table lamps? Gone, so are the floor lamps. If you're headed in that direction why stop there? Floor lamps take up space near walls and on the floor which makes small spaces feel even smaller. Think about the uses of side tables in your bedroom, can those uses be replicated by floating shelves? Think outside the box when it comes to decorating. One of the key elements of interior design is finding a room's focal point. A focal point is a specific area in a room that is given more attention than the other areas. This could be a piece of furniture, a painting, or a TV. Focal points help to create a sense of cohesion in a room and make it feel like everything has been designed with a purpose. In small spaces, you have to use focal points in a way that makes people look upwards to create a greater sense of scale. Try to pick furniture pieces that are not too tall so that your walls don't feel crowded. Every room should have its own focal point; a TV, a painting, or some other decor piece that catches the eye. Whether you live in a studio apartment or a mansion, decorating tips always bring it back to a simple thing: your own home should reflect your sense of style. If you are having trouble figuring that out while you shop or search for the right pieces, you can get in touch with a professional organizer that will give you both tips for style and for making the most out of a small space. To conclude. First apartment, tiny apartment, studio apartment - they all need the same three things. One, maximize space; with storage spaces cannibalizing living spaces, being able to jam multiple functions into one furniture piece will let you lead a full life without verging on clutter. Two, take advantage of natural light; light is what makes any space feel more alive. Keep your rooms well lit and the rest will follow. Three, creativity; whether you are decorating or finding the right way to place an area rug to direct guests during special events, your creativity will help you make the best of any small space. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. 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Is a Haunting a Material Latent Defect? So many horror movies start the same way: a death occurs in a home and the new family moving in is now haunted. At some point, someone must have thought "Can you sue for that?" and the answer is no, as long as everyone was honest about the death before the purchase. Something else that's horrifying is a defect to a home that can end up costing thousands in repairs. Before we go any further, it's important that we all know what we're talking about when we use the word defect. First, let's make clear the difference between a patent defect and a material latent defect. What is a patent defect? A patent defect is something that's clearly visible upon inspection, like a crack in the foundation or wet rot. You'll generally find these problems listed in the Inspection Report. Patent defects are easy to understand because they're usually defined. Do you have to disclose a patent defect? No. Since a patent defect is easily visible, it is up to the buyer and their real estate agent to make note of the defect during their visits to the property. Patent defects will also be taken note of during a home inspection. As they are readily observable they are by definition not hidden (latent). What is a material latent defect? A material latent defect is a problem that the seller knows about that is not visible despite the due diligence of a home inspector and real estate professionals. The rule of thumb is that if a real estate professional, after a reasonable inspection, would not be able to see the material defect then it is classified as a material latent defect. Examples of material latent defects. This is not an exhaustive list but the following qualify as material latent defects. Structural damage, seepage problems, hazardous chemical use on the property, faulty foundations as a result of tree roots or environmental damage, former use as a grow-op leading to material damage to the home. It's important to note that these defects have to do with physical objects like a basement wall, flooring or electrical systems. They are usually potentially dangerous to the health of the buyers or would require extensive repairs. Permits and material latent defects. According to the British Columbia Real Estate Association, "any renovation or modification made to a home for which the appropriate municipal building or other permits were not obtained" can be considered material latent defects. Why doesn't a haunting qualify as a material latent defect or patent defect? Hauntings and things like the occupation of the former resident are considered things that affect the home psychologically. A psychologically impacted property may or may not have patent or material latent defects. For example, imagine a house that was formerly used as a base of operation for a criminal organization and it also had material latent defects that affect the electrical system. Only the issues affecting the electrical system can be used as a basis to sue a lack of required disclosure under common law. Potential buyers are within their rights to back out of a sale because of those reasons but they do not have grounds to sue either the seller or the real estate agents involved in the transaction. When representing the seller or the buyer, real estate agents need to follow real estate rules that outline how to deal with both patent and material latent defects. If there are no material damages to the property that can involve a great expense to fix, there is no obligation for the sellers to disclose a fact about a property. Secrecy will turn away people from the home, buyers can be skittish. What about Caveat Emptor? Buyer beware, by a common-law definition, means that the buyer needs to be aware that they are purchasing a property as it is. The liability of material latent defects kicks in when the seller fails to disclose defects that, as mentioned previously, can be costly to fix or endanger the people living in the home. Disclosure requirements are not always clear and that grey area can make a piece of real estate dangerous. It's in your best interest to get in touch with your real estate professional should you feel something is amiss. Suing is complicated. One important part when it comes to material latent defects is proving that the issues arising in the new house are because of known material latent defects. It is impossible for a seller to disclose latent defects that they were not aware of, as such it is up to the buyer and their lawyers to a local authority that the seller knew about a large crack in the basement and that they took steps to hide that from the home inspection or real estate agents. What is the obligation to disclose? When it comes to a material latent defect, a seller is obligated to disclose. Real estate professionals are bound by local government and their local real estate service rules to disclose issues that fall under the definition of material latent defects. As a client of real estate professionals, they need to give sellers a definition of material latent defects and ensure that everything is above board. If a seller is unsure of what needs to be disclosed, they should discuss it with their agent a long time before buyers come into the picture. A standard of reasonable care is expected from all parties involved but a known material latent defect discovered after a real estate transaction can spell legal trouble and involve great expense for the seller and their real estate agent. What is the difference between a latent defect and a material latent defect? The addition of the word "material" before "latent defect" is important when it comes to legal action taken by a buyer. However, it is a rather small nuance in most cases. It comes down to a difference in how the defects are seen by common law and the Real Estate Council of British Columbia but, in general, following the definition of a material latent defect established by the Council ensures a safer transaction for everyone involved. How to resolve the situation before a sale. Should a seller discover a latent defect, such as something relating to the physical property or appropriate permits respecting real estate, they should first contact their agent. The cost of a repair might be troubling but not as much as the damage made by a broken contract. Agents will usually tell sellers to disclose all the information possible to them. From that point on they can give advice with respect to what needs to be disclosed to potential buyers. Some sellers do not understand the distinction between what would constitute a psychologically impacted home and a material latent defect, for example. As clients of their agents, sellers should be properly informed and do their best to tell their agents about everything they can about the property. When sellers disclose, they can save themselves a whole world of problems. The quick version. Material latent defects cannot be discovered by a reasonable inspection. A seller is responsible for disclosing the defects to their agents and buyers. Real estate agents have an obligation to disclose defects and inform everyone involved about the fine details of material latent defects. It's best to err on the side of caution and honesty.   View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

Should I Add a Home Cinema To My House? What is a home cinema? Before the commercialization of the television, radios used to be where a family would gather and before that it would be a fireplace. Now, most living rooms have flat-screen TVs as the focal point of the living room. But what if you wanted to go one step further and recreate the experience of being at the cinema? Whether it's the surround sound or using a projection screen, home cinemas elevate your family movie nights to another level. Why would I want a home cinema? We already covered the most obvious reason above in a way: to create a movie theatre-like experience. Watching a movie at home comes is a very different experience from watching it at the theatre. Both have their pros and cons. At the movies, the sound quality is far superior with sound effects and music able to play over speakers that can give space for the full range and depth of sound that a good movie is designed with. The projector screen used also has an extremely high picture quality that even an OLED TV can have trouble replicating. Meanwhile at home, you don't have to deal with other people (that alone could be enough a reason to change). You can also pause the movie whenever you need to, never need to dress up or leave the house. The movie experience is very different and usually a much more casual affair. Another point that would go to the movie theatre would be new releases but with the pandemic normalizing releases on online services and vastly accelerating how quickly titles come to streaming services, it takes a lot less patience now to just wait to watch a movie at home. The feel of being in an actual movie theatre is also another reason why people get one, especially parents raising young children. Families typically watch movies together and with the demands of modern life, it can be difficult to find time to do so. A home cinema allows parents to have the time to create family movie nights no matter how busy they are. Unless you like the experience of the movie theatre itself, movie night under a cozy blanket with all the comforts of home does sound like a better idea. It's also a great investment if you have sports fans in the house. Surround speakers might set you back a little but enough room to run and flail during celebrations is priceless. Speaking of price, let's talk about that next. The elephant in the home theatre room: cost. A surround sound speaker system, HDMI cables, a smart tv and a large room are the basics of a home theatre setup. This does add up to a pretty dollar, that's undeniable but remember that you can gradually at to your setup over time. The best budget is one that lets you live your life without stressing out about the essentials. You may be considering something like the soon-to-be-released Samsung Freestyle - advertised as a portable home theatre system. It has a projector that adapts to your walls, its own speakers, and has the unique feature of being portable all for a price of around a thousand dollars. Compared to a traditional home theatre setup, a thousand dollars can get you a new 50" 4K HDR Smart TV and an entry-level surround sound system. On the other end of the spectrum, a top-of-the-line television with more acronyms that you would know what to do with can go up to $12,000 on its own. How much money is too much money is dependent on your budget but if you have the funds then you could move away from fiddling with an HDMI cable for a television set you just bought and invest in a full-on home theatre. Think of the home theatres you see in movies, an entire room dedicated to emulating the movie theatre experience. What would something like that cost? A custom home theatre system, on the highest end, can fetch around or above $70,000 CDN. Where can I have my home theatre experience? The best place to put your home theatre is going to be dictated by a few factors. How much space do you have? Are you living in a studio, one-bedroom or something larger? No matter where you live there are some minimum requirements of size and equipment for your home theatre to function properly. Getting a television that's wider than your wall is bad for a multitude of reasons but chief among them is audio quality. Sound needs space. A crowded surround speaker will not create the best sound. it's better to achieve a good balance for your screening room rather than go all-in on one part of the home theatre. What can you afford? Home theatres do not come cheap as we discovered above. The amount of money you want to spend is going to be a deciding factor in what you choose and how much you can experiment with your home theatre setup. A basic setup online may still be thousands of dollars. Depending on your budget, where you put your home theatre can change. Lighting When it comes to where to place your home theatre you want to make sure that all the upgrades you've made, like adding an optical cable and adding in wall scones to add to the movie-going atmosphere, don't get squandered by something as simple as light. Light coming from windows can cast a glare on your screen (projected or otherwise) and though you still need some light, it's better to invest in soft overhead lighting. Ambient light is a big part of walking in a cinema, finding the right balance of ambient light when you're planning something for movie night can elevate the entire experience. However, your primary concern when it comes to lighting as a whole is removing excess light. Your best bet will be to find a dark room, ideally with no windows. Before you take a hammer if you intend on doing things by yourself, make sure that you're not knocking out critical wall studs - that's bad news for your entire house. Are you planning to move in the near future? If you are planning to move to a different house in the near future then it may be best to wait until you are in the new home. In that future home, you may have a spare room that you can customize fully or at least plan around better. Keep in mind that one of the core components of the experience is sound and sound waves are going to behave differently in different spaces. Video components are relatively easy to deal with but to get the most out of your setup then you have to plan for things like the placement of the rear speakers, the space to move around from seat to seat and more. If you are planning to move into your dream home soon, then waiting to move is the best call. You can still stock up on things like a good AV receiver with the right HDMI inputs beforehand or use them in your living room for now. The parts of a home theatre system. The screen. Many home theatres use projector screens over televisions. The best projectors tend to have a better high contrast ratio which gives the image more accurate colours. A big screen is essential to a movie theatre experience. Good image quality from your projector or television and a minimum amount of light reflected on the screen are the basics. The sound. We talked about the importance of sound a lot but what are some of the things that can affect your acoustic experience? A good sound system will have its worth amplified with acoustic panels that help redirect the sound properly. Noise-cancelling foam can also help keep noise out of the room. AV gear isn't just about finding the right HDMI cable, there's a lot of foam involved too. A component that people tend to overlook is the centre speaker. That piece of equipment is placed in front of the big screen and is actually the most important part of your setup. It is usually a long bar and from that part of the speaker system will come the most crucial part of the dialogue and music that's a part of the movie you're watching. Additional electronics. If it's been a while since you upgraded your entertainment centre, then you might have a blu ray player lying around. Here's the thing though, blu ray players, and physical media in general, is dead. You can still buy one at a reasonable price if you have blu ray discs lying around but streaming services have taken over movies. Modern televisions also come with apps that include music streaming services as well. Given that you won't have to pay extra for wi-fi in your own home, you can hook up your home cinema with a smart speaker and use features like Google assistant to give out trivia during the quick pauses. If you add a few different systems that can use the home theatre's screen then having a universal remote control is a good idea to keep everything easily manageable. The additions. There's more to a home theatre than sound technology and a high-resolution image. You can invest in some high-end stadium-seating-like chairs to give you and your guests a more comfortable experience than typical cinema seats. Being able to lean back and sit however you want is not an option in most places. Food is also a big part of movie nights, additions to the room like a mini-fridge or a popcorn machine complete the experience and make sure that you don't have to leave the room for minor things. Also, no movie theatres will sell you a drink for the price you can get at the grocery store. Decorations If you have a custom-built home theatre room then you can decorate the space with movie posters to highlight the movies you love and enliven the atmosphere. If you invest in some dedicated lighting right outside the theatre room, you can really up the experiential aspect of a movie night. If you're having a party, you could even try to recreate the experience of being at the theatre with mock tickets or something different. During Halloween or at Christmas you can even decorate the room's wall sconces with cobwebs or Christmas decorations to create the perfect horror or Christmas ambience. You can even mix both for viewings of A Nightmare Before Christmas which are never a bad idea. When it comes to home theatre ideas, you can use the whole of film history to give you ideas. If you want to have a home theatre room, chances are that at least someone in your family likes movies. Ask them what could be a good theme for your home theatre. Here's what to keep in mind. The first thing that people think is that a home theatre is far too expensive for them. The truth is that you can get started with a surround sound system in the range of $300. Home theatre sound does improve with more money invested but you can create a great experience without creating a whole custom room with a projector screen, ambient light, and a complicated universal remote control. If you do have the budget though, be sure to invest it in things that will improve not only your image quality but also acoustic panels that will enhance your surround speakers. Beyond image and sound quality, look at adding movie posters in or on the way into the home theatre - if you can do it, might as well do it right. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

How To Create The Best Environment For Your Plants. The pandemic created a boost in the number of people that bought plants. Whether you consider yourself a plant parent or you're still wrapping your head around the full name of the ZZ plant, let's go over some tips to help your plants thrive. Choose the right plants for your environment. Unless you plan on investing in a fully functional, zoo-grade greenhouse, it's best to pick plants that live in a natural environment you can easily re-create. This is especially important if you're a beginner that thought a peace lily could last a few months outside in our brutal winter months. Everyone starts somewhere though and the best place to do so is your local plant shop. Employees at your nearby garden centre can point you to the many plants that can grow in your local climate. As resilient as some plants are, many can only thrive in the right condition. A prayer plant, for example, is relatively easy to take care of but if you enjoy the cold then any tropical plants in your home will have to be kept somewhere warm in the winter. Or you could turn up the heat to have healthy houseplants. Start with something easy like a snake plant or a spider plant - don't worry they don't grow the critters they're named after. Think of where you will place the plants as well. If you can place a plant pot by a window then get a plant appropriate for that. Some plants, called trailing plants, grow long strands that look beautiful when their pots are hung near a sunny window. Find a place in your home with plenty of sunlight. There is such a thing as too much light. This is something that will play a crucial part in the placement of your new plants. You don't just stick all your plants in direct sunlight: some plants need just enough light, others will need indirect sunlight while some will even require low light exposure. The question isn't about how to fit all your plants into a spot of bright light but rather how much light each one of them needs. Plants grown with the right amount of light will thrive because light, even indirect light, stimulates their growth and health. Water properly. Most plants like water, you might think, so more water means happier plants you might assume. And that would be how you kill extremely easy to care for plants like prayer-plants. Beginners often commit the sin of over-watering their new plants. This causes a plant's roots to rot. Commonly called root rot, the condition plagues plants in waterlogged soil. To water plants is a relatively simple exercise though and with some precautions, you can avoid root rot. Small plants will usually come with their own pots, these should have drainage holes at the bottom that let water leave the potting soil after watering. The holes allow excess water to leave the roots' area and keep the soil moist and not drenched. Now, even with drainage holes and proper potting soil, you can still overwater your plants. Root rot is the plant equivalent of a heart attack and using too much water is a triple cheeseburger with onion rings, bacon, and a side of loaded poutine. A slight exaggeration. What you want is to make sure the soil surface is moist but not wet. The amount of water for large plants can be difficult to gauge but it's better to go for a little less than to risk destroying the roots outright. With the right amount of sunlight, water, and soil nutrients your plants will grow strong. Even with these basics in mind your little green friends still need fertilizing if you want them to blossom. Fertilizer can be bought at any local plant store but you don't have to pay for something good. With some simple ingredients like coffee grounds or banana peels, you can make your own fertilizer. You save money and you know what's going into your plants; we've all seen those horror stories of what passes for soil in big box stores. Yellow leaves or brown leaf tips are a surefire sign that you are using too much fertilizer. Even with an organic fertilizer like we mentioned above, it's important to keep things in balance. A plant dying because of too much of a good thing happens with everything, it's all about balance even with easy-to-care-for plants. Plant care. Whether you're taking care of a bunch of garden plants, a solitary indoor plant, or a combination of other plants; taking care of them involves a little more than what we talked about above. A plant thrives when its needs are met and that means pruning dead leaves and branches. It's not just to keep them looking neat but it will help you get rid of parasites like spider mites. Cold drafts can also have a great effect on your plant's health. If you can find ways to improve air quality in your home around your plants then it could show itself as more plants start growing signs of increased growth. Is there something special to keep in mind about flowering plants? Most houseplants are easy to take care of, that includes flowers. Just like for other plants, it's best to start with easy flowers in the beginning. Peace lilies and African violets are very easy to take care of, some would say they are impossible to kill. Still, your goal should be plant growth. Flowering plants like the peace lily don't require a lot of bright light or direct sunlight and can survive when you accidentally use more fertilizer than you should have. Don't be too intimidated, and keep an eye out for yellow leaves, take care to not water them too much, and prune their dead leaves. Some experimentation will go a long way to figure out the best thing for every flower. What about air plants? Sproutling indoor gardeners may wonder about those small peculiar plants that don't need soil to grow. These little plants still need care, but thankfully you don't need to worry about fresh soil for them. They need water every fortnight, but instead of letting water flow over them or directly spraying their roots (don't do that), you can take a bowl and fill it with enough water to submerge the plants. Don't push them in, gently place them on the water's surface and leave them for about half an hour. Benefits of house plants. Plants in homes and offices provide a range of benefits and scientists continue to discover new ones. If you improve your indoor air quality with plants in your home, research shows that you will significantly reduce the risk of several respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and even flu. Houseplants also add oxygen to the air, which is especially beneficial for those who are feeling low or agitated. Plants are also great for stress relief. The sound of water trickling in a fountain, the rustle of leaves, even the sight of flowering plants can have a calming influence on our bodies and minds. You will sleep better at night once you understand that plants can purify and keep your air clean. To sum things up! Most plants need balance. A few plants can survive if you routinely mistreat them but at a certain point, you should be a little worried about what you let into your home if it refuses to die. When it comes to watering plants: make sure the pot's drainage holes are unobstructed and that when you water plants you are using the right amount of water for each pot. If you use too much water you run the risk of killing the plant's roots. Give your plants adequate light. Think of the light source and how much light the plants prefer, arrange your plants according to the light that's best for them. A south-facing window will give you and your plants plenty of light to play around with. Indoor plants and air plants will generally prefer shade but not complete darkness. Examine plant leaves for early signs of disease or imbalance. Most houseplants can recover if you find the source of the problem but it's best not to get to that point. Before long you will be a master of garden and indoor plants alike and will be looking into how to care for transplanted plants and where to cut the plant's stem to ensure a viable new growth. Start easy with a snake plant or a peace lily, be wary of the winter months, and soon enough you will have your own little thriving ecosystem.   View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

Should I Get a Reverse Mortgage or a Home Equity Line of Credit? Before we start, let's get the definition of a normal mortgage out of the way. Mortgages are loans given to people to purchase a property with. The money that you borrow is then repaid over several years, together with interest. To get a mortgage, you need to have a good credit score and be able to prove that you can afford the repayments. What is a reverse mortgage? A reverse mortgage is completely different from a normal home loan. With the traditional mortgage, you're borrowing money to purchase your house and then repay it over time with interest. With a reverse mortgage, as the name suggests, you're taking cash out of your property. You cannot take out the full amount of your property's value as part of a reverse mortgage. In Canada, a reverse mortgage works by looking at your age, your home's equity, and your home's location. This will determine how much of your home's value you can take out as a reserve mortgage loan. You can take out your reverse mortgage money in two ways. Either a lump sum payment or monthly payments. As opposed to a standard loan, a reverse mortgage lender will need to look at your age. Both you and your spouse need to be over the age of 55 to qualify. When do I have to pay the money back? A reverse mortgage still means that you need to pay the mortgage amount back to the lender. For a reverse mortgage though, you can borrow money and not worry about paying it back until a few specific situations. You sell your home. If you sell the home, you need to pay back the full loan amount including the interest rate accumulated to the financial institution that financed the reverse mortgage. You move out of your home. Reverse mortgages assume that the home equity is that of your primary residence. If you move out to live somewhere else then your is no longer your primary residence. The last living borrower dies. If you pass away while using a reverse mortgage then the responsibility of paying back the loan falls on your spouse if you have one. If your spouse passes then your estate has about six months to repay the loan amount. Usually, heirs will decide on what to do. It's common for heirs to sell the home to pay for the reverse mortgage but they may pay off the loan with another source of funding and keep the house. You default on the mortgage Defaulting on the reverse mortgage means breaking the agreement between you and the company providing the reverse mortgage. Defaulting on the loan can also happen if you use the money for illegal purposes or let your house fall in value by neglecting it. What are the cons of a reverse mortgage? You need to meet the requirements to qualify for the reverse mortgage. Everyone who legally owns the home is required to be 55 or above, your home must be in good condition, and you must have some equity in your home. High-interest rates. Loans work by making people repay more than they borrowed by adding an interest rate to the principal borrowed and making people repay fixed monthly payments that include a portion of the principal along with the interest rate. The interest rate for reverse mortgages is much higher than other loans or mortgage products. Risk losing your home. If you default on the mortgage, then the financial institution that provided the loan will need to get the reverser mortgage amount back. If you are unable to pay it back then it may sell the house as a way to make back the amount it loaned. This is one of the biggest cons of a reverse mortgage but defaulting on your mortgage is not something that happens easily. Be sure to check your contract carefully and talk at length with a financial advisor. Start-up costs With a setup fee and appraisal fees to get the reverse mortgage started, the cost of this personal loan can be out of reach for some people. What are the pros of a reverse mortgage? No prepayment penalty. Prepayment penalties are fees that your lender may make you pay if you do things like paying your entire mortgage before the end of its term. When you have a reverse mortgage, you can repay the full loan amount - principal and interest payments - at any time before one of the conditions outlined previously without having to worry about prepayment penalties. You can pay your reverse mortgage early with no negative repercussions. Great if you're cash poor but house rich. As opposed to a regular mortgage, the only thing that matters when taking out a reverse mortgage is your age and the condition of your home. If you need an infusion of cash, if you are on a limited income for example, then you can use the reverse mortgage to improve your cash flow. Compared to other loan options, this one allows you to cover things like healthcare expenses or living expenses and worry about making payments later down the line. You still have to pay the outstanding balance but without a monthly payment to take care of, your monthly cash flow will be vastly improved. Maintain ownership. If you do not default on your loan, reverse mortgages allow you to retain ownership of your home in circumstances where you could have lost your home. By using the money to make regular monthly payments you can get back in good financial health without losing your home. Where can I get a reverse mortgage? Two banks offer reverse mortgages in Canada. HomeEquity Bank and Equitable Bank. Both of these financial institutions have to adhere to rules imposed by the government as a reverse mortgage is seen as one of the government benefits available to older Canadians. What is a home equity line of credit? A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is a type of loan in which the borrower uses their home as collateral. They can then use home equity lines of credit to borrow money for any purpose, such as to pay for a child's college education or to make home improvements. The interest rate on a HELOC is usually lower than that on other types of loans, and the repayment terms are flexible. However, if the borrower defaults on the loan, they could lose their home. A home equity line of credit is not a standard home equity loan. Home equity loans are one-time lump sum payments on up to 80% of the home's values. A line of credit is a revolving credit product. Home equity lines of credit are complex. Some banks and lenders will offer an equity line of credit combined with a mortgage when someone purchases a home. This is not a comparable product to a reverse mortgage. There is another type of home equity line of credit that is more similar to a reverse mortgage and that is a stand-alone home equity line of credit. To put it simply, a stand-alone HELOC is like having a credit card with a balance equal to that of the equity of your home. It can go up to 65% of the current market value of your home. Like a credit card, it will require regular payments based on the amount you use. Reverse Mortgage vs Stand-alone Home Equity Line of Credit Both of these financial instruments allow you to use your home equity to use more money than what you have available in your bank account. One of the key differences between either product is the interest rates. HELOC rates tend to be lower and easier to pay back while reverse mortgages can be tough to repay, especially on a fixed income. Using either product incurs the risk of losing your home but a HELOC only requires that you pay back what you use with a small amount of interest. A reverse mortgage paid out in a lump sum payment and compounded interest payments may be far harder to pay back. Both have a long draw period - if you decide to withdraw increments out of your reverse mortgage rather than a lump sum - and can be used on an 'as needed' basis. In the end, the choice comes down to your specific situation when it comes to what product is the best for you. If you need to stabilize your income because of unforeseen expenses then a reverse mortgage is more suitable because it allows you to take your time to repay the loan. If you need to use some of your home's equity for another large purchase (like a downpayment for another house) then a home equity line of credit is the right product for you. The best course of action, before making any definitive decision is to talk to a mortgage broker to figure out if either of these products or something else can help you achieve your financial goals. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

When Do You Know That It's Time To Buy a Home and Stop Renting? Evaluate your current situation. Before you make a major decision like a home purchase, there's a lot of thinking that needs to be done. First, you need to look at your own current situation. How much are you paying monthly for rent? Your current monthly costs can actually be a lot lower than that of someone that has a home. Renting in a decent part of town can be significantly cheaper and make more sense than buying a house when you take into account all the costs. On the other hand, if you know your monthly rent is not a good deal and that your monthly housing costs would be lower when dealing with a mortgage payment then it's almost certain that it's time to start house hunting. Are you living where you want to live? Think of where you are currently living. Rent payments may not make sense based on your apartment but the neighbourhood could be worth staying in. If Keep in mind that moving costs are coming out of your own pocket and that the mental toll of committing will affect you the most. If your area is nice and close to the things that you love, will moving to a different area based on the home you want to purchase be worth it in the end? Housing costs vary vastly from place to place. At what point in your career are you? If you're in college and unsure of what your future career will be, renting a place can make more sense. It's better to get started making money and enjoying life before the responsibility of homeownership sets in. When you get settled into a career that sticks then it may be time for you to take the next step into the grown-up territory. Conversely, if you're already established in a career and have been for a while then you may be ready to commit to a housing situation. The idea of homeownership is something that can be very appealing to young professionals but if you foresee a career shift coming or a big shakeup in your industry, then it may be better to wait and see once you find yourself on more stable ground. Buying a home is a long-term investment and doing it from a position of stability is the best course of action for your financial health. Consider your long-term goals. When thinking of a home, buying is not only a matter of overall cost but it's also a matter of goals. To have your own home is to have the staging ground for the rest of your life. If that sounds daunting and scarier than any renting pros you've thought up, then it's time to do some more thinking. Are you going to get married or have children? The housing market is not exclusive to couples or families with children but first-time buyers tend to be newlywed couples or those building their own families. If you are waiting on either one of these events, then it can be a good idea to buy a house to get a headstart. However, many people do not opt to have children or get married for a myriad of reasons. Like we mentioned earlier: for a home, ownership means responsibility. Some of the other costs involved for prospective buyers are not simply material, they can be emotional too. Though it can make financial sense, you need to know if homeownership is right for you in an emotional sense as well. Do you want to get on the property ladder? If you're not too bothered about the emotional investment and you are looking at home prices and mortgage rates purely as parts of a series of financial decisions, then your worries about timing are quite different. If you're on the hunt for a primary residence for now that you can sell to turn a profit later, then what you need to consider is the state of the economy and that of interest rates. Before you start to crunch numbers, which we'll get to soon, you need to be sure that you don't lose money by being too eager. If you are going to be paying mortgage payments you have to remember that this is an investment you need to live in. You can start building equity early by taking a risk but rash financial decisions can do very much the opposite of saving money. Another thing you may think about in the 'rent or buy' equation is what you can use the property for. If you're ready to take on the challenge, you can rent out the home you bought for a specific rental period while you keep living in your apartment. The additional work could be significant but if you can afford it then the home would be a good investment to build wealth until you decide to sell the home. Crunch the numbers to see if buying a home is financially feasible Mortgage costs Unless you bring about a cash offer to the homeowner, then you will have to deal with a mortgage to afford a house. A mortgage is a type of loan that a borrower takes out to purchase real estate. The lender basically agrees to pay for 80% of the house while the buyer, you, pays a downpayment of 20% of the house's price. Depending on the terms of the mortgage, you will then have to make a monthly mortgage payment every month for the duration of your mortgage. That sounds a lot like rent. There are key differences though: rent has no end but once you finish your mortgage payments you do not have to pay the lender anymore. Rent does not have interest (though it can feel that way when the landlord decides on rent increases), but mortgage interest is part of your monthly payments. Depending on the mortgage you secured, your monthly payment is affected greatly by the interest rate at the time you secured your mortgage. Going from monthly rent to monthly payments to keep your house doesn't feel like much has changed in the beginning but the difference is that you own the property. As you pay back your mortgage, you build equity in the home. This is the market value of your home after deducting the remaining mortgage balance. You can borrow against this equity or use it in other ways to attain your financial goals. Before you get there though, you need to prove to the lender that you can be relied on for your monthly payment and come up with the down payment for the home. This gruelling process looks at your credit history, your debt-to-income ratio, and more to determine if you will be approved. Before making the decision to stop renting and looking for a house, the first thing you need to check is whether or not it will possible for you to get a good mortgage. The same home purchased with two different kinds of mortgages can mean vastly different sums of money. The key factors in determining a mortgage are also the key factors that can determine what side of the rent or buy line you currently stand on. Addtional costs Let's say your finances and personal circumstances allow you to secure a mortgage according to an online calculator, you need to think of how your disposable income will be affected by the monthly costs associated with owning a home. At first, you need to think of moving costs, legal fees, and all associated real estate fees. Renter's insurance and regular bills would become a distant memory as you need to take care of maintenance costs, property taxes, and other bills. If you buy a home that makes you part of a homeowners' association then that may also mean dues. The more your home was appraised for, the more property taxes you will have to pay as well. If you join a cohort of prospective buyers, let this be one of the key takeaways: buying a home is not always cheaper than renting. Each situation is different. Time-sensitive opportunities. The housing market is one that fluctuates a lot. It may be tempting to build equity as soon as possible but mortgage interest and maintenance costs could be prohibitive - but what if you come to a point where the stars align and rent is no longer your only option? The first thing you should do, always but especially if you feel like jumping a trend, is to talk to a real estate agent. No matter the way trends are looking, buying a home is a large purchase and not something you will forget about in a few years. Try and find out if there are tax deductions that could make your purchase easier on your bank account or allow you to shoulder the costs of home maintenance. Don't just jump in because of low interest rates. It's very tempting to get out of paying rent quickly when you can afford a down payment but if your goal is to save money in the long term then patience is the key.   View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

How To Decorate Open-Concept Spaces. Open-concept spaces are all the rage these days - but how do you decorate them correctly? First off, what is an open concept when it comes to your home? An open concept living space is one where there are no walls separating the different areas of the home. This can include the living room, kitchen, and dining room all in one space. This means more open spaces to move around in. All of these connected spaces make it easier for families to hang out together while doing different things in adjacent spaces. Open-concept design has won over hearts because it is a more convivial way of living. Fewer walls and more exposed beams however change the way decorating works. Not all open-concept homes are the same. While two homes can have open floor plans, the way they feel can be vastly different. Home decor is something that adapts to the living area and not the other way around. Some open floor plan houses have the same flooring throughout common areas whereas others have different flooring for different spaces. What do you do with a large open space? One decor element that almost feels like cheating is the use of area rugs. An area rug can help you carve out functional zones from wide-open spaces. The area rug essentially creates a room with no walls. On top of defining the sitting area and the dining area from one another, the rugs give direction and sense to a big space. You can then use thoughtful furniture arrangements to define an area. A coffee table for the family room, a long table for the dining space, and so on. Living rooms and the breakfast bar. You can be creative too. Great rooms are not the only thing you can do with open floor plans. If you rarely entertain at home, you can have a small breakfast bar to make meals more intimate while leaving a lot of space for the rest of the living room. Wall art and open concept living. With the lack of walls, you have to be more discerning with what you choose to put on them. With the natural light that open-plan rooms invite, it would be a shame not to make the most of it. Items of visual interest, like sculptures, paintings or other forms of art, anchor people's gaze. They create a focal point that people latch onto. In an open-plan living room, however, it might be more difficult to maintain said attention with a piece of wall art. The focus then goes to less obvious things. Still, having one space reserved for the important things can be How to make your open concept space feel cozy and intimate. The first step to creating intimacy is to select a colour palette. Choices of colours and tones can influence the mood we convey in our homes. Warm colours like red, orange and yellow create feelings of happiness or excitement whereas cool blue-greys or greens exude calmness and serenity. To go for an intimate vibe, you might opt for a palette of rusts and golds or muted blues. No matter what colour scheme you go with, it's important that the elements work together. Open concept spaces can feel intimidating if they are cold and can remind people of offices or waiting rooms if not done correctly. Home decor also plays a part in creating intimacy. Using dark furniture, upholstery with patterns, and décor that draws the eye inward will all add to your spaces feeling more cozy and intimate. Upholstered items can help soften hard surfaces while small, intimate spaces are best decorated with items that have a story or feeling attached to them. Add some personal touches to really make your space feel like home. Make your open-concept space feel like home by adding some personal touches. Whether it's a family photo on the wall or a vase of flowers on the side table, these are almost always necessary in any type of living space. After all, the decor is supposed to help us own the spaces we live in and only we know what makes us happy. While some open-concept homes have a fixed layout, others can be adapted to better suit various lifestyles. In the coming years, more and more open-concept houses will be built so it's best to understand how they work before you invest in one. Open floor plan design is about more than design. It's about building spaces in ways that make sense for the way we live. It's also about creating inclusivity by considering how to make all homebuyers—regardless of their age, family structure or mobility—feel at ease. Home decor is a big part of what makes homes feel like home and interior design can play a big part in making homes feel open and inviting. Creating a reading nook in an open-concept space. A reading nook is a small, private space in your home where you can relax and read. It can be a cozy corner of your living room or bedroom, or even a separate room entirely devoted to reading. How do you then create a space like that in open floor plans? While the lack of physical separation makes it difficult to separate 'work' and 'play', you can still have a reading nook. Creating a comfortable space for yourself will also help foster creativity. And with the right items, you can create an intimate space even in open-concept homes. A plush seating area covered in pillows, a small bookshelf, and a cute reading lamp are all the essentials for creating a nook of your own. Tucking the reading nook in a less populated area of the home will also help it be its own space. Designing around what you have. Sometimes it's not the lack of walls that make an open-concept home feel less intimate, but just the configuration of its floor plan or rooms that dictate how you use certain spaces. This can be especially true for homes with an open kitchen, where the only separation is a counter or bar between the cooking area and living room. The goal of decorating a home with an open floor plan is not to mimic a traditional home, this may sound obvious but it's a mistake many fall into. Use light right. One of the big advantages of open floor plans is how much light you can let in. One window can bring in enough light to illuminate the kitchen and living room at once. Open rooms with the right architectural details can help spread light throughout the open plan living area to make the living space feel even bigger. While natural light is important, you can also use ambient lighting to create different moods for different areas of the great room. Use something bright for the kitchen island, something softer for the dining table, and a dimmer for the open living room. Actually, the better idea would be to install dimmers throughout the living spaces. Since they are all connected, you can create a single mood for the entire area or create a special ambiance for the kitchen and dining space for example. As much as an open concept room is meant to feel like one room, during key moments, separating out one room from another using light is an elegant way to draw focus. Light, after all, is its own focal point. Open concept rooms are the ultimate entertaining space because of how versatile they are and how they promote an easy flow of movement from place to place. Great tips about what not to do with your open space. Don't cover up all over your wood flooring. If you are using area rugs to help give your great room more definition, don't cover up the wood flooring completely. Not only would it go against the rugs' purpose but it would also remove some contrast in both texture and colour that could add a lot to your room's colour scheme. Don't squander your home's unique architectural elements. While you may be tempted to use dividers that create semi-walls to make the large room more manageable, instead try to work around the open space and the architectural elements that make your home different. Having more space can be daunting but in an open floor plan, it's a gift. Don't neglect your light fixtures. Your light fixtures can provide you with enough light throughout your living spaces, no need to invest in floor lamps that can crowd out the space you can use in your living area. Install dimmers, use bulbs that don't consume too much energy, and you will have a brightly lit large open space. It might seem like there's too much room for the light to hit everything but if you see dark and gloomy gaps, then it's a better idea to find a permanent solution than to add more furniture to the room than it needs in the shape of a floor lamp. Don't leave your walls bare. While you don't have many of them and it's not a good idea for your living area to have a wall full to the ceiling with paintings and pictures, there's nothing wrong with a back wall with family memorabilia and family artwork. Don't obstruct the flow of traffic Open floor plans have a huge benefit over traditional homes because an open floor plan helps people move around a room with far more ease. If you add furniture that blocks people's path then it will make the living room or dining room like rest stops in a maze. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

How To Save On Your Utility Bills. Check your utility bills for accuracy. The first thing to do is check your meters. Make sure they are still accurate. The second thing to do is make sure the bill reflects your actual usage, not what you used last month or even last year. If you have an old air conditioner, for example, it might be running less efficiently than when it was installed 10 years ago. Compare rates from different providers. If you're able to change providers, then it's time to do some comparative shopping. Utility costs can make up a large portion of your expenses so if you can get a better deal for your home's energy usage, you should take it. If you're looking for ways to save money through your energy bills, this step is one you should revisit once in a while as utility companies can change over time, becoming better or worse. Sign up for a rewards program with your energy company. Many power companies are offering rewards for their customers. You might be able to get in-store gift certificates, travel vouchers, airline miles, etc. Take advantage of these programs to see if you can save some money on your bills in the long run. Many of them will reward customers for taking take of their energy efficiency by purchasing energy-efficient appliances. This is because it helps them prevent things like overloading the electrical network. Not only will you get lower electric bills or  natural gas bills - depending on where you are saving energy - you will help with energy consumption across the board. Look for appliances that have an energy star label, these are more efficient and save you more money in the long run. Install a programmable thermostat. If you haven't already, consider installing a programmable thermostat. These aren't difficult to install and they will help reduce your energy bills by allowing you to set the temperature in different areas of your house at different times. As part of your HVAC system, a programmable thermostat will help you start saving money almost as soon as it's installed. Energy savings are something you will feel year-round and your thermostat will help you figure out if there are issues in your heating system, your insulation, or your home's cooling systems. Turn off electronics when not in use. One easy thing to do when you're trying to save energy is turning off electronics. Laptops, televisions, and game consoles all draw a significant amount of power. Turning them off helps with not only your electric bill but greenhouse gas emissions as well. Many of these devices have modes where they use less energy to start up faster but if you want to save electricity, you're better off turning them off completely. Seal air leaks around doors and windows. Many homes' cooling costs would be far lower if they efficiently trapped hot air inside. Your heating and cooling bills may be far higher than they should be because of poor weathering. Heat loss during the winter means more cold air is entering your home, meaning that you need more energy to keep your home warm. Air leaks not only hurt you during cold weather but in the summer as well. Your energy costs could be a lot lower, so get to check those doors and windows to save money. Use LED light bulbs. LED light bulbs last longer than average, use far less energy, and can help you save a lot of money on your electric bill. You might find it's worth the investment to replace some of your old incandescent lights with LED bulbs. They are more expensive but they will pay for themselves within a few years depending on how much you use them. Unplug electronics. If you are leaving your home for a while, it's a good idea to go ahead and unplug all your electronics. The little red light on the devices when you turn them 'off' is to let you know that they can be turned back on quickly. Even if it's just for a day or two, you can save money on your energy bill by unplugging non-critical electronics. Plant trees for shade. Trees are great for the environment but they are also great for your energy bills. The shade that trees create helps with your cooling costs. Trees will soak up a lot of heat and CO2, which cools the area around your home. Use a smart power strip. A smart power strip has a lot going for it besides being 'smart'. It can automatically shut off power to devices that aren't being used. This helps reduce the amount of energy wasted, which will help you save money and save energy without any effort on your part. Some smart power strips also come with surge protection so that you can feel safer about your electronics during thunderstorms. Re-do the insulation to your home's walls, attic or crawlspace. Over time, insulation, like many things, takes damage. Losing heat, rising heating costs, and more aren't as noticeable when they happen over time. If you conduct an energy audit of your home, this is one area that you cannot skip. Good insulation helps protect your family not only against the cold but an exorbitant heating bill as well. Wash full loads of clothes in cold water. This tip helps you save energy and save money on your water bills. Many washing machines that are energy-efficient, meaning that they have an energy star label, are more than capable of cleaning your clothes with cold water. In fact, unless there's a specific reason, you should be using cold water for most of your clothes. Hot water can actually make some stains, like blood and sweat, harder to get out. Take shorter showers. While showers are better than baths, they still put a strain on your water heater and use up a lot of water. Take shorter showers and not only will you save money on your water bill but the overall pressure on your plumbing system could help you save money as well. Turn off the faucet when brushing teeth or shaving. This one is a simpler way to save on your utility bills and hot water. Unless you're running your toothbrush or razor under the water, you can turn the water off. There's no point for your hot water heater to eat up energy and, basically, money while the water is going straight from the faucet and into the drain. Keep blinds closed in the summer if your home is too hot. To save on your energy bill, try closing your blinds to direct sunlight if it's getting too hot. A ceiling fan can do wonders for you there if you keep the blinds closed. You will save on cooling energy costs in the long run. Open windows for ventilation instead of using a central air conditioner. This is another way to save money on your energy bill, especially if you live in an area where it gets really hot. A fan combined with an open window or two can help you keep your home comfortable without triggering the smart thermostat - but if you do notice it turn on, quickly close your windows to prevent a preventable spike on your electric bill. Clean your furnace or air conditioner once a year You don't want your furnace to break down in the middle of winter or realize that your air conditioner is only operating at half its potential when the summer is almost over. These important parts of your HVAC system need proper maintenance to make sure your energy costs are what they should be. Air conditioning filters get dirtier the more they are in use, so try not to overuse them. Setting your smart thermostat to a comfortable level that doesn't require constant operation will increase the device's lifespan. Turn off lights when leaving a room. This is a simple task, but one that does have a direct impact on your energy costs. By turning off lights when you leave a room, you can save hundreds of dollars per year by reducing your electricity usage. Add solar panels. You can use sunlight to generate your own solar power and use solar heat to warm up your water. There are a lot of uses for natural light beyond its benefits to your physical and mental health. This is one of the more involved ways to save money on your utility bills but if you use less energy coming from the power company in the long run then you can justify the investment. Install dimmer switches. For lamps and overhead lights, dimmers can be part of your energy savings plan. Not only do the dimmers let you regulate how much energy you use, they let your body adjust as the day goes on to a more natural rhythm. This makes it easier for you to go to sleep because of the softer lights. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

Porch Decorating Tips! Why would you decorate your porch? Your front porch is the first experience people will have of your home. To improve your home's curb appeal, ideas like a fresh coat of paint won't be enough. Whether you want to wow your visitors, get ready to sell your home, or spend more time in this often neglected outdoor space, your porch is the first impression of your home anyone will get. A distinct porch can help people spot your house from the street and let you soak up the sun without too much effort. An eye-catching exterior also gives your neighbours a chance to start a conversation. Keep reading to find some porch decorating ideas because your front yard deserves some extra style too. Pick a theme for your porch. Rather than swinging down to the store and taking all of their porch accessories back home, think of the theme you want for your porch decor. You could go for a natural theme, emphasizing potted plants and colourful flowers. An evergreen wreath can also add a layer of greenery that most reserve for the holidays - nothing says you can't replace it with a festive wreath instead during the holidays. A nautical theme isn't a bad idea either, if you live in a seaside town or you are decorating your beach house, think of seashells and nautical ropes to hang up mini planters. Going with a certain colour can also make your porch pop. A vibrant purple or yellow exterior would be eye-catching especially if paired with some white pillars and railing like this beautiful home. Whether you go with a rich, dark red or something more vibrant, your porch should reflect your personality and likes. If you have a great idea that will make sure yours is nothing like the neighbourhoods' porches then you may have to get in touch with local contractors but be sure to map out how far you're willing to go before committing. Try not to pick a theme that clashes with the rest of your home's exterior, front porches need to feel like a part of the whole and create or complete a harmonious whole. Often neglected detail: the front door. The front door is one of the key pieces of your porch. Many people stick with a classic front door or just use the one that came with the house. However, the entry to your home can also add interest to your home and porch. The best porch decorating ideas incorporate the front door in inventive ways. If you're going forward with a nautical theme, for example, then painting the door so it looks like it was made out of driftwood or materials that belong on a ship will bring an extra punch to your chosen style. An easy way to incorporate the front door is with a simple paint job where you use the space to create a story inviting your guests in. If your front porch is very green and full of plants, then a dark brown front door surrounded by plants can create the idea that your guests are walking into a house that's part of a forest. The front porch space. The bulk of what we're talking about. Let's face it, not everyone wants to paint a story on their front door. That doesn't mean that you can't do something nice with your home's exterior. The front porch is something that can have more room in your life as a family. If you looked at movies envious of late-night conversations by 'porch-light', then it's time to do more than slap a welcome mat and leave the cracked pot on the railing. Whether you're inspired by the movies or just want a fun space to relax with the people in your house, you need to treat the front porch a little more like other rooms in your home. Proper seating is essential. The lightly rocking chair is a classic but you can find hanging couches that can make the experience more fun. Given that chairs like that need to hook into the ceiling and affect the weight supported by your awning, it might be best to leave the installation to a local contractor - but if you or someone in your family feels confident in following the step by step instructions that come with furniture like that, give it a shot. Just be sure to test it before sitting on it. Just like you have rugs inside, investing in a good outdoor rug can help members of your household feel more comfortable. Make sure to get something that's easy to clean and that's not eye-catching when it gets slightly dirty. To create a cozy space for you and yours, adding a lot of easily cared-for plants will make the area feel more inviting. There are links between plants and mental health - that's why almost everyone knows someone who got very much into plants during the pandemic. It's important not to overdo it, no one wants to relax in a crowded space inside, and the same thing applies to the created space outside. Chimes, feeders, and ambience A staple of North American porches, chimes add a little music to the outdoors. To some, the sparkle of the chime and the clear notes they emanate remind them of home. If that sounds appealing, then make sure you are investing in chimes that create a cozy atmosphere. A lot of people, especially recently with a push toward sustainable living, have begun incorporating bird feeders in their exterior decor. The shade of a front porch can shelter small birds from the sun while giving them a comfortable area to eat. Hanging feeders are sometimes paired with chimes but most birds actually prefer the quiet. If you plan on having both chimes and bird feeders, it's best to put some room between them. Landscaping near your porch The front porch is a great part of the home's curb appeal but no porch decorating ideas would be complete without addressing the yard. A front porch is the meeting place between the green of your garden and your home. As such, look at adding planters near the porch and have flowers full of colour matching your porch decor to enhance the whole package. Don't let overgrowth take over your front porch, keeping things neat (as much as possible with a porch) will add to its inviting nature. If you have furniture on the front porch, then it's also a good idea to make sure that it isn't obstructing the lighting for some of the potted greenery you have. Your porch decor and its style can change drastically based on the time of day. Keeping your front porch well lit is a way to keep it inviting to the people in your home. A good rule of thumb is that you should feel drawn to the porch from the driveway. Good lighting is also very important if you have windows by your porch. A brightly lit porch is more than cozy, it feels safe. After all, it's still outside and the closest part of your home to the street. To make the most out of your lighting, invest in a decor that works well in low-light environments. Not too crowded, full of natural materials, and arranged in a way not to create long shadows. What not to do Here are a couple of things that you should not do when it comes to your front porch accessories, decor, and curb appeal. Hiding your house numbers Some people get overzealous with their porch decorating ideas and end up covering up critical information for mail and package delivery. Not only would this cause you to miss out on deliveries, but it can also make it hard for people to find out if they are visiting. It's also worth mentioning that it may be illegal to hide your house numbers from the street. Being too quirky It's your house but the exterior can still come under the scrutiny of your homeowners' association. If you want to make your home look like a bar from the outside with a little neon close sign, then your neighbours might have something to say about that. Make it hard to match accessibility guidelines If you need to make your home accessible for a wheelchair after an accident or a new addition to the family, then having made too many modifications to your front porch can make future changes expensive and time-consuming. The entry to your home isn't the same as the entry to a local business with regards to accessibility but curb appeal doesn't have to come at the cost of accessibility. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

Should I Add a Home Studio To My House? Is a home studio right for me and my family's lifestyle? Whether you're planning on making music or recording voiceovers, a studio makes a huge difference in the quality of your sound. Before you start shopping though, think of how your day-to-day will be affected by adding a home studio. Will it mean moving things that your family routinely uses or being distracted all the time by people around you? Before making the investment, because it is one, think of what the ability to record and create at home means. Just because you can, doesn't mean that it's the right thing. Maybe doing the beginning at home and then going to a project studio to finalize the work could be better. On the other end, if you want better control over your projects then having your own studio is the right move. What will you use the studio for? Whether you end up going for a full-blown music studio or a simple isolation booth depends on the kind of work you want done. Beyond just thinking about your lifestyle, think of the needs of the project itself. Generally, more space is better even when it comes to acoustics. Smaller rooms have more potential for sound to bounce off surfaces and you won't be able to add thick noise absorption materials either. The small booths you see in some home studios are completely filled with materials designed to lessen the noise coming from outside and change how sound behaves around the microphone. On the other hand, if you need to record a whole band, you will need a live room. The space you have available can vary wildly, so what space works for what? What to do based on the rooms you have available. Basement A basement is ideal for a few different reasons. Though you may miss windows, not having them will mean one less thing to sound-proof. Given that they are generally big, the advantage of a basement is that there is a lot of space to customize and draw out different spaces. By adding walls, creating an isolation booth, a live room and a room to master the recordings, you will have a full studio with a lot of potential. One of the biggest issues would be to pad the ceiling appropriately and buy enough noise cancelling material to cover enough surfaces. Large room A large room is the next best thing. The point of a home studio is that it should contain all the sound within and prevent a noisy exterior from interfering with the sound picked up by the microphone. All studios require lots of noise-cancelling materials to line the walls and ceiling but if this room is in the middle of a residence, or near the property line then it will need better noise-cancelling material, increasing your costs. If you use your space well, you could also add a booth. Like in a basement, you will then have to add ventilation systems without introducing an air gap. Many prebuilt booths also come with windows so that artists can see other people and not feel boxed in. Small room A small room is not the best. Even if you have room for acoustic instruments like a guitar, you will need to spend a lot of money on noise cancellation. Not only are the walls more likely to create issues with the overall sound quality but the noise from beyond the room can affect the recording in the way audio software cannot fix. What if I live in an apartment? The first thing you need to check is your rental agreement and maybe negotiate some additional terms with your landlord. Before you purchase the equipment needed, it's a good idea to listen first. If the other tenants are hardly loud and you can't hear the details of their phone calls, then you could get away with lower-cost materials. On the other hand, it's also your responsibility to check the noise ordinance of your city. Usually, that means making sure the night is relatively quiet. For musicians with day jobs that can be difficult and if you're a budding voice actor, recording from your bedroom closet is not going to work out for long. The last thing you want is a court order created problem for your landlord - rent increases won't be fun. There is a chance that your apartment building has music rooms on site but these are not meant to record music or voiceovers professionally. They work more as practice spaces. Advice for your recording studio Put rugs everywhere That also means the room above the studio. Microphones might be elevated up but sound travels everywhere. If you neglect your flooring, then there's not much a computer can do to fix the issue. This is especially important if you live in an apartment building, though you may not notice it usually, sound can travel up to your apartment, or down to your neighbours very easily. Rugs help everyone be less of a nuisance. Look at the floor before you start recording and your music recording process will be that much smoother if you take some time to create fewer opportunities for issues. Soundproof your doorframe Many people forget about the door when it comes to soundproofing on their own. Houses do not have soundproof doors. When you create your home studio, it's a good idea to pay for the cost to go the distance. Don't ignore the control room If you're lucky enough to have a control room with an audio interface panel and a big window to look at the artists as they're recording, it should also be soundproofed. Some people ignore this step because it doesn't interfere that much with the recording but creating an extra layer of insulation pays off both when you're listening and trying to record something as clean as possible. What not to do when setting up equipment in your new home studio Shelves It should be obvious but don't decorate a recording room with shelves. At least in the area where people will record, make sure that anything on the walls is helping reduce the amount of interference. Adding shelves will impair the microphone's ability to record the music or voice with accuracy. When dealing with noise, it's important to remember that noise can come from within the room itself due to sound bouncing off of things it isn't meant to. The way sounds land on a microphone creates issues that make it complicated to master a piece of music or voice recording. Recording space exists for one reason: recording. If you have a live room, don't add sofas in the live room itself. Anything you bring in will affect the way sound works. You can use that to your advantage with a piece of clothing used to muffle sound in a creative way, but the last thing you want are big bulky sofas that soak in sound in all the wrong ways. Storage for equipment Having built-in storage close to your recording room in your home studio can help keep things organized throughout the house. After all, since the building you're recording in is still part of your home, it's a good idea to have a dedicated area to store instruments to reduce how often people have to lug their gear around. How the studio fits into your family life On your property, you will have two things: a home studio and a home. Proper noise handling will mean that you and the musicians in your life can, for example, go all-in on the drums without interfering with your family watching a movie in another room. If you have small children it would also be a good idea to add locks to prevent them from going into the control room or playing with the noise-cancelling material on the walls. Boundaries are always important and for a home studio, that barrier can be invisible and ignore distance if you don't spend enough money trying to get the best audio environment. Before you get into the business of voice acting or build a big enough home studio for all your bandmates, the first step is understanding all the challenges that come with recording at home. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

The Not So Obvious Costs of a Real Estate Transaction When buying a home, there are the obvious costs, like your down payment and your mortgage but in addition to these big sums, you also have to deal with a bunch of small fees. Both the buyer and the seller need to be aware of these costs as they can have a noted impact on their budget. There's a lot more than a purchase price that's typically paid during a real estate transaction, so if you want to come armed with knowledge, read on. Appraisal fee An appraisal, in real estate, is the process of estimating the fair market value for real property. Appraisals are usually commissioned by lending institutions to protect themselves from losses should you be unable to repay your home mortgage. The appraisal fees will vary depending on the type of property. The appraisal fee is usually paid by the lender. However, in some cases, the borrower may also be required to pay the fee. Home Inspection Fee A home inspection is the process of a visual examination of the physical structure and systems of a house, from the roof to the foundation, for defects that could affect the safety, livability, or value of the property. The inspection typically takes two to four hours and focuses on major components such as foundation, framing, insulation, roofing, ventilation, electrical wiring and plumbing. A home inspection is different from a termite inspection. A home inspection is not an insurance policy, but it can help you find problems with the house before you buy it so you can ask the seller to make repairs or negotiate a lower price for the property. Also, many buyers are surprised that they will have repair costs after purchasing their new home. Most buyers, do not realize the costs of repairs until after they move in, and then it is too late. Having your house inspected gives you a clear picture of the condition of your new home before you buy it. A lack of money for repairs can also be an issue when selling one's property as well, and many times home sellers are allowed to get out of the contract. If you are selling your house, you must comply with all requests for repairs by potential buyers. The cost of repairs can be costly, but completing these repairs will help assure that you receive top dollar for your home. The home inspection fee is usually paid by the buyer, but in some cases, the seller may also be responsible for paying it. Real estate agent commission A real estate agent commission is the fee that is paid to a real estate agent for their services in brokering a real estate transaction. The commission is usually a percentage of the sale price of the property. Real estate agents facilitate transactions and keep up to date with the real estate industry to get their clients the best deal possible. They are typically paid but who hired them. The seller's realtor is sometimes identified as the listing agent and among other things sets the listing price and is responsible for marketing the home. Between staging open homes, paying a recurring multiple listing service fee to show the property to as many people as possible, and doing the leg work to make sales quick - a real estate agent does their best to be worth their commission. For a buyer, agent work looks different as it's the other side of the coin. Real estate fees are what clients pay for access to an agent's wealth of knowledge, their network, and their negotiating skills. Some people want to get through a transaction without an agent to save money but a real estate commission can be worth it. Real estate services like professional photography for a home, finding good home inspection professionals, and sniffing out homes priced fairly - these are just some of what real estate commission fees encompass. A real estate brokerage will sometimes ask its agents to have liability insurance which adds to their costs. Closing costs Closing costs are the fees and expenses that are paid when a real estate transaction is completed. They typically include the costs associated with the property appraisal, title search, and closing. This encompasses a lot of different fees and is often used as a shorthand by your licensed real estate professional. These are paid before the closing date. Homeowner's insurance Homeowner's insurance, or home insurance, is a type of property insurance that covers a homeowner's structure and personal belongings. The policy will also provide liability coverage if someone is injured on the property. Most lenders require property buyers to purchase homeowner's insurance when a mortgage is taken out on a home. Homeowner's insurance is calculated based on many factors including your replacement cost and deductible amount (the portion of a loss you will pay out of pocket before your insurer picks up the rest). Some insurers offer discounts for home safety features like smoke detectors, deadbolts on doors, and home security systems. Homeowner's insurance can be expensive for some people, but it is designed to protect the physical integrity of your home as well as its contents. Extended Coverage Insurance Extended coverage insurance is usually included in most home insurance policies. It grants the insurance holder added protection in case of things like hailstorms and earthquakes - given how these events can vary in frequency from place to place, it's important for a client to see if they're paying for earthquake insurance when they live on the east coast. Mortgage Insurance Mortgage insurance is another expense you will need to pay on top of your mortgage. It protects the lender in case you cannot make your loan repayments. The cost of mortgage insurance is usually split between yourself and the lender (if you can afford it). Mortgage insurance is not always required, but it is usually a good idea to have it. The cost of mortgage insurance is usually split between yourself and the lender, so it can be an expensive addition to your monthly payments. Depending on your mortgage amount, your credit score, and the home's asking price you can save money if the risk to the lender is relatively low. Title Insurance A title is a document that proves ownership of a property. The title is the most important document when transferring ownership of a property. It includes the name of the current owner, the legal description of the property, and any restrictions or encumbrances on the property. A bad title is a document that proves ownership of a property but has some sort of restriction or encumbrance on it. This can make it difficult - or impossible - to sell the property. Title insurance protects buyers from losses associated with a bad title. Property Taxes Property taxes in Canada are a form of taxation that is levied on the value of a property. The property tax is paid by the owner of the property and is used to fund local services like schools, roads, and firefighters. When looking at a home, buyers need to factor in more than just their mortgage and have to think of the property taxes they will have to pay over time. Land Transfer Tax Also known as a property transfer tax, this is a one-time tax that is imposed on the owner of a property at the time of purchase. This means it will be paid to the government by you. The amount of tax payable depends on the value of the home being transferred to your name. Loan Origination Fees Also known as the mortgage application fee, this is a fee required by most lenders to process mortgage applications. This applies regardless of a client's mortgage, whether they are taking on pricey high ratio mortgages or handling something more reasonable. This is not a security deposit or a guarantee. Legal and Notary Fees When dealing with a home purchase, multiple things need to happen on the legal front. The ownership needs to be transferred, large sums of money need to change hands, and so on. Legal fees in real estate are the payment that the involved lawyers receive for ensuring that the transfer of ownership is legally recognized by the completion date. Mortgage life insurance Mortgage life insurance is like a life insurance policy except that, in the event of death, the policy pays off the mortgage, not a sum of money usually involved in a life insurance policy. These policies are useful in case of a mortgage that would be hard for heirs to pay off but the premiums involved are usually very high. When talking to a lending institution about this type of policy, it's important to understand what happens to the policy after the mortgage's term is over. There are more... The above are some of the uncommon costs associated with owning a home. Security deposits, home inspection fees, real estate agent commissions can add up. Before you go forward and buy a home, make sure you can afford more than just the down payment and the mortgage. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

Decoration Tips to Make Your Home Truly Yours. Whether you just moved in or looked around and felt like it was time for a change, here are some home decorating tips to spruce up your home decor. Look at the room's purpose You're not going to decorate your home office the same way you would a kitchen or living room. The temptation to slip away from work is already there, no need to make it more enticing. When you're decorating, it's important to take into account the whole house. Even if you won't address the entire home in one go, keep in mind what you want to feel like when you move from room to room. When you decide on a theme or feel, everything else will follow. Let's take the dining area for example, what does the space feel like when you walk through it? What do you want it to feel like afterward? The art of decoration is the opposite of one-size-fits-all, but there are some concepts and design tricks that can be applied to help bring your vision to life. Let's take a look at those concepts and how they can guide your reshaping efforts. Play with focal points What is a room's focal point? It's the center or most important point in a room when it comes to decoration. Sometimes, it is a painting; other times, it is a piece of furniture. The focal point could be anything that draws someone's eyes to it. When you have a good focal point you can design the room around it. For many living rooms, people's eyes will be drawn to a large television screen or a fireplace. You can then orient the whole room toward the item. It will all seem to have a flow. In a dining room, for example, the dining room table will usually be the main attraction. Having a beautiful table and matching chairs is the best place to begin. A vase that matches the rest of the room's aesthetic can also further draw the eye toward the table. If you're unsure of what to do if your focal points seem bland is either to try to change the focal point or embellish the obvious one. Imagine a large dark wood dining table, you could add a thin piece of lighter-coloured decorative fabric and add some items of visual interest on display - vase, small sculpture, travel souvenir. The contrast in size, shape, and colour will draw eyes instantly. We'll talk about how to choose the right colours a little later. Your focal point could also be an entire wall. Decorating your home is also about telling your story. If you're wondering how you can do that, let's talk about what an accent wall is. There are different ways of doing it but usually, the wall you want to draw attention to is painted in a different colour or has a different texture than the others in the room. One room changed like that can become a great room used to tell your home's story by turning it into a gallery wall. Family photos tell a long and beautiful story and they don't need to just sit on a mantle or dressers. If you have a transitional with a wall of exposed brick, for example, you can place pictures of great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, and children in a sequence. It's a great use of wall space and if you accent the photos with some beautiful light fixtures (like hanging light bulbs) or take advantage of some architectural details unique to your home. This wall can serve double duty as both something to draw the eyes of guests and something to remind your family that your house is their safe haven. A Fresh Coat of Paint A lot of homes play it safe with white or off-white walls. If you're one of those people who'd like to add a little more life and personality into your home, simply painting the walls is a great way to do that. Decoration can be as simple as deciding on a paint colour and going with it. There are so many different shades, tones, and hues that there's no such thing as a bad colour. If you don't know where to start, perhaps the easiest thing to do is to take your cue from nature and decorate with neutral colours like green, grey, or brown. You can even add in brighter shades of blue or red if that's what you're into. Dealing With Colours Here is a free tool that can help you visualize what kind of colour goes with what. Figuring out complementary colours is something that will help you add the right mood to a room without making the room feel like a mish-mash of clashing colours. It's also important to have some cohesion throughout your home so that the guest room and the dining room don't look like they belong in completely different houses. It's not that all the rooms need to obey the same colour scheme - that would remove their individuality - but you do want some sort of unifying theme. Colours, obviously, are not limited to walls. You won't need professional interior designers to tell you that an area rug doesn't work in a room because of how it clashes with the accent colours. Why do so many people paint walls white? White reflects light better than anything except mirrors, as such it serves double duty: it creates a 'clean' look and can make a room feel bigger. White paint is not a novelty but because of how complicated it can be to clean, white furniture is not a common sight. When it comes to home decorating tips, one thing you need to keep in mind is not just how your house will look right after redecorating but how you will keep it looking like an interior designer just left the room. Between Barebones & Crowded Unless you want to make it seem like you live in the corner of an old fantasy tavern, it's a good idea to make some room so you can move around. A good rule of thumb is that you should be able to walk throughout an entire room without having to tiptoe. There's a big difference between the above and just moving everything but a few pieces of furniture to the laundry room. Balance is a core component of decorating. You can use area rugs to help you organize the space in a room. This is helpful for a small room because the rug allows you to map out the room before moving furniture in. For a larger room that doesn't have a lot of walls, area rugs can help you create mini-rooms that each have their purpose. Something else that has a strong effect on the perceived fullness of a room is whether or not you have window treatments. Curtains and other types of decorations applied to your windows from the inside (think Roman Shades, Panel Track Blinds) are things that you need to choose carefully. Big fluffy drapery can suffocate a small space but enhance a large room. Bring in Fresh Flowers & Plants Plants can do wonders for a home's decorations. If you have a yard where you garden then placing plants near windows or doors leading out (like the front door) can help create a bridge between the two spaces. Plants in good shape make a home feel alive and well-cared for. You don't need to have a garden with the same square footage as your local park or an entrance hall filled with cascading ferns; a plant on a coffee table, near a window, and in the kitchen will do wonders. Plants will also help you give your rooms some orientation and structure without feeling like things are boxed out. They do this simply by requiring light, this means that you will naturally put them closer to brighter areas. Those brighter areas will draw the eyes of your guests and there are few things more pleasing than the sight of light scattering through lush leaves and petals. Remove Clutter Wherever Possible A select few items on the end table of your bedroom will not only help you have a clearer head when you go to sleep and wake up but will also bring attention to what matters. A crowded mantle doesn't tell a story, it's a mess. Diligently choosing the best things to showcase will weave a tale for your guests and the people in your family. We use surfaces everywhere in our homes to live, a low level of clutter makes it easier to manoeuver things around whether it's items in a home office or spices on the kitchen island. You could have gorgeous colour-coordinated paint on your walls, tasteful window treatment adapted to each room's needs, and a nice well-cared-for plant, but clutter can negate all of that effort. Think of what you can store in kitchen cabinets, or under the sink in your powder room. Your well-kept furniture deserves to be seen just as much as your hardwood floors. Speaking of which, the same concept applies to items that can take up space without serving a purpose. Is a floor lamp a good idea when you already have more than enough light? Could you replace the TV stand with a built-in that could save space and turn that space into a pseudo-gallery wall? Are all the pillows necessary on the bed? Of course, don't go overboard. This is your home, not an open house with blank photo frames. No need to go with the most basic bedding you can think of either. The goal of removing clutter is something, understandably, misunderstood: the end goal is clarity. A bunch of items, no matter their value or how clean, crowded together give the idea of a mess. The harder it is for someone to quickly understand the purpose of an area, the quicker they will associate it with untidiness. To conclude... Find out what colours work for you using the free tool we pointed to, rearrange your spaces so that you can move comfortably, and make your spaces easier to 'read'. Decorating isn't just about adding pillows or looking at houses staged by real estate agents, decorating is about you feeling comfortable in your own home and feeling like your environment is resonating with you. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

How To Choose a Buyer When Selling Your Home How do I choose a buyer for my house? The answer to that question depends on how fast you want to sell the house and at what price. A house with a lower list price means a faster sale but you could be leaving money on the table. After all the trouble you went to to get buy the house and going through the selling process, do you want the final purchase price to be a steal for the buyer? The first thing you need to know then, it the market value of your home. How do I know what my house is worth? There are several sites out there to give you a good idea of what your home is worth. Sites like Zillow, Trulia and Realtor can give you an estimated value of your house. But don't take the list price at face value. The figure they come up with will include features that might not be in your house. If your house is in need of renovation, you might not be getting the true market value for your property. A good piece of advice for any piece of real estate would be to talk to a real estate agent to get a valuation on your home before you start looking for buyers. What factors affect the value of my home? Age, condition and general location are some of the factors to consider when trying to determine the value of your house. But aside from those factors, there are also market conditions to take into account. For example, if there are more buyers than sellers for your home and comparable homes, then that places you in a seller's market where you would have the advantage during negotiations. This also means that you can ask for a higher price given that buyers don't have as much choice. In the opposite scenario, a buyer's market, there are few buyers and those prospective buyers are less likely to get into a bidding war since they can find another home easily. Depending on the market you find yourself in, interested buyers may look very different. For example, a seller's market will mean more pressure on a buyer to crowd out other potential buyers quickly with a higher offer than your asking price. What are some things to look for in a potential buyer? When you know what your home is worth and had an open house or two, how do you what buyer stands out from other buyers? During open houses... If you decided to be present during an open house, the best you can do is present the home equally to everyone. Even if someone drove in in a sports car and wears nice shoes, there's no guarantee that their credit is in good enough shape to match the asking price or even come close. If you see people with real estate agents accompanying them or walking around with copies of their documentation, then it may be worth asking them some questions. Buyers who go through the process of hiring real estate agents and are already in touch with a mortgage lender are probably able to complete the sale quicker than others that are just starting to look at properties. Your listing agent could also have some contacts bringing over their clients to the house, this means that there's a good chance that these potential buyers are more serious than the average. After open houses... After a reasonable amount of time, if all goes well, an offer rolls in. Even better, multiple offers come through. At this point, both you and your agent should look over the offers together. The best deal depends on your situation and has many moving parts. For example, the highest bid might require that you make some changes to the property that would end up not getting you as much money in the end compared to a lower bid that offers to cover closing costs and includes a closing date that's more convenient for your future plans. How do I know if an offer is fair? An important thing to realize is that you're not required to accept offers. If the offer price differs far too much from the listing price and you know that your property is worth top dollar, then it makes sense to refuse. Of course, outright refusal is often not the right course of action. Here are some key terms to help you gauge an offer: Financing Contingency This is a clause that specifies that the offer is dependent on the buyer securing their financing. It prevents legal action against the buyer if they cannot secure the financial means to go through with the offer. This contingency puts some stress on the seller because it creates some uncertainty. In a more competitive market for a buyer, many buyers will opt to not have this be a part of their offer. Cash offer Most real estate transactions involve a mortgage, where a mortgage lender gives the buyer around 80% of the final price. A loan like that can be hard to secure, as the financing contingency clause explained above illustrates. What a cash offer means however is that the buyer is able to pay for the house without the need for external financing. A cash offer is especially attractive for buyers since it means that the sale can be completed faster than a sale that involves a mortgage. Offer period A buyer's offer commonly includes a time period for which the offer is valid. This means that, as the seller, you need to either accept or make a counteroffer during the specified period. If an offer has a very short offer period and you are dealing with multiple offers then it can force your hand. It's important to be in contact with your real estate brokerage, and preferably your agent, to see if the rush is worth it. Dual Agency This is something that should come up with your real estate agent when you're talking about your listing agreement. Dual Agency means that the listing agent, your agent, is also the buyer's agent, dealing with both ends of the real estate transaction. Though agents are required to put their clients' interests first, you can opt out of this if it makes you uncomfortable. What should I do if the buyer backs out after making an offer? The first thing you should try to do is to figure out why they backed out. Your listing brokerage might have done a stellar job at finding a great price point for your home but a buyer's situation can change quickly. Between a change in the interest rate that impacts their loan estimate or a more attractive offer, there are quite a few factors that have nothing to do with you. However, if the reason for the potential home buyer backing out is something to do with the property then it could be worthwhile to make some changes. It's important to have a full disclosure policy when it comes to possible defects in the home, if things come up during home inspections that you did not disclose then that could easily frighten buyers. No buyer wants to sign a contract or negotiate further if they feel like the seller may be withholding information. If there is something significant that made the buyer back out then it may be worth removing the house from local real estate boards to fix the situation before selling again. Given how many factors are involved, this is the best time to turn to your real estate agent and listen to their advice. The longer a home stays on the market, the further down goes its selling price. You can't control market conditions but you can always make it more enticing for a buyer by offering to pay for the closing costs up-front or putting in writing that you will do some repairs to a specific area of the home. Buyers don't back out for no good reason, try to suss out what you can do as a seller to prevent it from happening too long. Should I accept the first offer that comes along or wait for a better one? While it might be tempting to jump on the first offer, it's best to give yourself time to decide but also give other buyers time to decide whether or not they want to compete. When you get the first offer, it's a good idea to notify the other interested parties, that's something that your real estate agent would be in charge of. Just because the first offer seems too good to be true doesn't mean that another one isn't waiting around the corner. Notifying the potential buyers that have yet to make a move can help increase the perceived value of your property. Of course, you shouldn't lose yourself in waiting for better endlessly. Make an excel sheet with the offers' pros and cons as well as setting up automatic alarms to remind you of each offer's period. If an offer satisfies you, and you don't foresee more lucrative offers coming in, then it's time to get in touch and maybe buy some champagne. If I don't like any of the offers, what can I do? Have an honest chat with your agent. Real estate can feel cryptic and unfair but if someone is willing to invest in a down payment for your home then that means there is an opportunity waiting for you. Turning down that opportunity could be the right thing, but keep in mind that real estate moves fast. It may be time to take your house off the market and while you wait for better conditions to sell, use the time to add some features to your home to increase its value so that you can get a higher offer when you do list it again. Do not, however, leave it to linger for too long. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

What You Need To Know About Buying a Heritage Home What is a historic or heritage home? A heritage home is any house, usually more than 50 years old, that has special historical or architectural significance. That said, some states and municipalities have their definitions of “historic”; in some cases, structures less than 50 years old can be considered historic if they are exceptionally unique or significant—like Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House in Los Angeles, which was built in 1921. That house eventually became the centrepiece of an art park. Heritage status is defined by a detailed and unique process based on local history and with the participation of municipal governments. While older homes of a certain age are more likely to be designated heritage homes, most are just old houses that don't hold up to modern safety standards. Historic buildings are formally recognized as having cultural heritage value and may not even be viable as residential properties. The heritage designation often doesn't take into account what a normal property owner would consider important details like working plumbing systems, electrical systems, or insulation. Such a property may still be available for sale but historic homes are not bought and sold like your usual piece of real estate. What differentiates a heritage property from a non-heritage property? The final decision is usually decided at a city level but it all comes down to the potential heritage homes' level of "special heritage interest". Potential properties are either put forward for assessment by the property owners - for a few different reasons we will expand on later that include tax breaks or other incentives - or designated at a municipal level by government officials. Renovation limitations This should come as no surprise if you're planning to buy a heritage property but it gained its heritage designation for its historical attributes and architectural features. Buying a heritage home doesn't just mean buying a piece of history, it means you agree to preserve the heritage value or interest of the property. To some, this is an exciting proposition, to others, it means taking possession of something that needs to remain the same. This does not apply to the entirety of the house. If you decide to acquire a designated heritage property or plan to list your home as one with cultural heritage value then you will almost certainly never be able to change its exterior looks aside from repairs - repairs which could require special expertise. Exterior changes to the home will require careful consideration from your local government. However, when it comes to the interior, you can meet today's building standards without having to deal with special permits. If the heritage property is part of a heritage conservation district then things may get a little trickier. Heritage properties are deemed culturally valuable by virtue of their rich character and link to history. If you are a prospective buyer, it's very important to discuss renovation limitations to get a clear idea of what you can and cannot change. Outdated key systems A new owner shouldn't be too surprised to find that a historical home is lacking in some modern aspects. Heating and plumbing might seem obvious but other things should be diligently checked before the purchase. For example, if the home was not used in a long time then having a contractor inspect the property to find traces of asbestos or critically faulty wiring. Keep in mind that with the older materials used, faulty wiring can also lead to more dangerous home fires should they occur. A heritage house, like many older homes, will have high maintenance costs in the beginning until renovations are done. You will need to have the heritage home's structural integrity assessed to make sure that it won't crumble from just a quick trip up the stairs. From a safety perspective, there is a bigger concern than with most other homes on the market. However, if the home was lived in more recently then that can confirm heating, plumbing, and electricity are at least in a good enough condition to move in. The buying and selling process In the same way that owning a heritage home is different from owning a normal piece of real estate, the transfer of ownership is a detailed and unique process. You will need a real estate agent as well as an experienced registered salesperson to oversee the process and can give the municipality notice about the change in ownership. A home inspection in the context of a heritage house is more thorough and will come with many caveats. It's not just an old house, heritage properties may not have been easy to maintain because of costs or delays introduced by its legal protection. What is the difference between a listed heritage property and a designated heritage property? On your local municipal register, you might find that some of the homes are "listed" properties. This means that the listed property has not been evaluated by the local government yet to determine if it meets the standards of being a designated heritage property. A designated heritage property holds higher status than a listed one. The owners can receive tax breaks and incentives to preserve the important details that give it historical or cultural value. With rising property values, a designated heritage home is an invaluable asset not only because of its ties to history but because of the aforementioned incentives. If you're looking to buy a piece of history to preserve, then the designation also acts as proof of the home's special heritage interest. What is a heritage district? A Heritage Conservation District is a plan that delineates an area where the homes need to adhere to certain standards to preserve the historical attributes and the heritage value and interest of the area. For some potential buyers, the rich character of these neighbourhoods is an exciting proposition. It doesn't mean that the neighbourhood is frozen in time but rather that there are limits on what can be done in the heritage district. Each district's specific heritage district plans are usually available through the local government's websites and resources for free. Is there financial assistance for heritage homes? Yes, throughout Canada there are grants for the upkeep of historic homes. The House Grants Program in Victoria, British Columbia, for example, gives up to $16,500 per year for ten years to homeowners assisting with restoration and repairs. There is a list of grants online but do talk to both your real estate lawyer and your mortgage lender to find out about all the current programs you can benefit from. Buying a heritage home: how do I do it? The number of special considerations may make it seem like it's not worth the trouble but buying a heritage home can be a positive experience. It's not just an old house with some stringent by-laws, taking possession of such a property is buying into the history of the area you are living in. That itself is enough for many buyers. As with most real estate endeavours, one of your first steps - especially considering the possible complexities - is to contact a real estate agent. Though you may think they only work on normal residential properties, their deep network of contacts can smooth out the entire process for you. Another key part of the team you will be working with is a real estate lawyer that can keep you informed about the legal considerations you will have to keep in mind. Once you find a property deemed culturally valuable and intend to live in it, you will have to have a contractor inspect the home and talk with them to find a way to lower maintenance costs in the long run, bring up the property's safety standards, and have the home's structural integrity assessed. After you discuss renovation limitations with your real estate lawyer; confirm heating, electrical, and plumbing systems meet your standards; and secure funding by looking over the incentives and special funds available for owners of heritage properties; then it's time to put an offer forward. At this point, this is where your agent and lawyer will guide your forward. Since much of the process is very local and operates at a municipal level in many areas, a new owner will need to get familiar with their local laws - like when and how to give municipality notice if you decide to sell. Is it worth it? That is entirely dependent on you and the opportunities available around you. Many older homes that are not on your local municipal register can have heritage value or interest. These homes will not need as many hoops to jump through initially and you may even be able to classify them as designated heritage homes if you play your cards right - but there is no guarantee. Heritage homes often fail to meet today's building codes and standards and will require special expertise to get into shape which means a lot of concessions to make during the selling process as things that would normally lower the price of a property can be justified as part of preserving an invaluable asset. From a safety perspective, some issues will take careful consideration to resolve given the limits on renovations. Unless you love the property for what it is or plan on taking advantage of the grants to eventually sell the home, then it may be best to look for another type of property. If you're up for the challenge and its rewards though, time to pick up the phone. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

What You Need To Know When Building a House. Designing the house's layout One of the first things you need to do when building a house is to decide on a layout for your design. There are many different layouts, so it all depends on what you want and how much time and money you have for your project. Many homeowners like to have all the bedrooms on one floor, but that's not always possible. It's important to have a plan in place before you begin working because it will save money and time if done right. It can be helpful to hire an architect or designer for this part of the process. Before you dive further, take a look at what the differences are between open concept living and a traditional floor plan. Open Concept Vs. traditional Floorplan The open concept floor plan is more modern, with no walls separating the kitchen, dining room and living room. The traditional floor plan has separate rooms for these different spaces, which can make it feel like you are living in a maze or just a series of small spaces rather than enjoying all of your square footage. It's important to know what you want before you start working on your house plans because both options have their benefits and drawbacks. Open concept living leaves little privacy in common areas but allows you to maximize light if you're building a home facing south to capture as much sunlight as possible during the day. Open concept living is great if you're pressed for time and need to do chores while still being around your family but you will have to sacrifice some peace and quiet. The great thing about building your own home is that you can design it however you like, and not deal with the layout of an existing home. Production home vs Custom built home This is some terminology that's important to know before you embark on your journey. A production home is a house is built by a company and allows either a little customization or none at all. This isn't what most people think of when they say the words "building a home" but these are cheaper alternatives than custom homes. A custom-built home is one where you have a say in every little detail. Of course, this level of customization comes at a cost - usually involving an architect to make sure your house stays upright. To build a house from the ground up takes a lot of effort and money but if you're sold on the idea, keep reading. Planning for your needs and wants If you made the decision to get into custom home construction rather than dealing with the housing market, then that means you like having things just the way you like them. There are architectural firms that can help with your plans but before you get dazzled by what they propose, it's a good idea to have a good idea of what you will need and want. If you have a large family, for example, then a kitchen with a large island or with enough space for everyone to eat together is essential. More importantly, if you're looking at rural areas then you need to think about how to bring utilities over. Production homes bypass those considerations because of where they're usually located - in the suburbs. What you can and can't live without will affect costs because, unlike a home that's already built, you have to carefully deal with local bylaws to make sure that there are no added costs hidden down the line. There are many factors to consider on top of the cost to build because things like transportation costs can add up quickly. It's best to have a good idea of what you want in the new house before you even purchase the land. Budgeting for construction costs Whether you're building at the edge of smaller cities or erecting a single-detached home somewhere with poor road access, all of that will have a cost. It's not simply buying land and hardwood flooring, you have to factor in the unexpected costs that can arise, the average costs of hiring a land surveyor, and what local contractors can charge. According to the 2021 Canadian Cost Guide released by the Atlus Group, the average price of a square foot ranges between $115 to $265 in major Canadian cities for a single-family home. Many websites can help you calculate an estimate for the cost of building your dream home. Are there mortgages for building your own home? Yes, some mortgages provide financing for building your own home. These are not the same as a typical mortgage to buy a home that already exists though. You will need a loan to buy the land and another separate one to cover the cost of building materials. When it comes to the latter, then there are two types of construction mortgages. What is a completion mortgage? A completion mortgage is a construction loan where the builders receive their payment when you can start living in your home. Though you will do the usual song and dance when you need to borrow money like making sure your finances are in order, you will not have to put forward a downpayment until thirty days before you move in. What is a progress-draw mortgage? A draw construction mortgage is one where the home builders can retrieve portions of the total cost at specific stages of the construction. Out of the two types of construction loans, this is the one that builders tend to prefer. Keep in mind that you will have to pay for inspections along the way that ensure that project management is going smoothly. What are hard costs and soft costs? Hard costs are the material costs: all the materials that will end up in the home. From the roof tiles to the bathroom vanities and the air conditioning unit. Meanwhile, labour like that of the home construction company, the architect you may hire, or the land surveyor all form part of the soft costs associated with the house. The financial bottom line: The overall cost of a construction project is hard to determine and it needs to be figured out before construction begins. Usually, mortgage lenders can help you understand all the costs associated with your home construction project. Since it involves so many moving parts when it comes to cost, the loan usually requires a higher downpayment - from 25% to 30% usually. It's good to have a ballpark figure but don't pull the figure until you talk to a mortgage broker about your potential construction costs. Getting permits in order before building starts When you find land that is suitable for your house plans and you secure a construction loan, then you need to get building permits before you can start the building process. For many cities, this involves getting approval from the city planning to make sure that your home fits with their vision for the area. All the necessary permits are not always available in one place so it would be best to work with a realtor who has experience navigating these things on behalf of clients. If you're able to do some leg work on your own, then you can save yourself some money but be warned that land prices will be the least of your worries if you get the wrong building permit. Not proceeding carefully can mean interminable delays that raise your soft construction costs for your new home. Choosing the right contractor to build your dream home with you Start by asking a friend, a family member, or a real estate agent for a personal recommendation. Ask to see at least three sets of work they've done, and ask them what warranty policies they offer. Keep in mind that these days, even many contractors use subcontractors rather than doing the entire project themselves - so make sure you know who-is-doing-what. And it's always best to get several estimates before signing any contracts because sometimes there are cost differences between one contractor and another. This is not a renovation project, ask for competing bids from local contractors so you can get an accurate price of what building the property will mean. While choosing the right materials is important, the value of a good contractor per square foot can be the difference between creaky floorboards and rock-solid insulation. Keep in mind that it takes time, patience, and money when you build a house. To build a house, a custom-built one especially means a lot of control over the place where you will live for the foreseeable future. You will be choosing light fixtures and the material of exterior doors, trying to gauge the best value from competing contractors, and wondering if it's all worth it multiple times throughout the build. If you do your due diligence and responsibly approach the cost of building that new home, then you can find yourself with something that most other people can only dream of. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

What Are The Steps in The Home Buying Process? Seven steps from start to finish. The home buying process can be broken down into six simple steps: Look at listings to set expectations right; Get a real estate agent; Get pre-approved for a mortgage; Find the right home; Make an offer; Negotiate the offer; and Close on the home. Step 1: Set expectations. Before you start contacting a mortgage lender, figure out what the market looks like right now. House hunting is about making the right compromises. A down payment is usually 20% of a home's asking price so keep that in mind as you browse listings online. Look at how the purchase price fluctuates based on things like the neighbourhood, the size of the house, and other amenities. Knowing what you're getting into will help you a lot when it comes to talking to your real estate agent. Don't overthink too much, this step is just so you can understand what prices look like. The next step will let you get a more refined idea of what you might have missed on your own. Step 2: Getting a real estate agent. Now, some people may think this is optional but the truth of the matter is that real estate professionals have access to a vast array of tools and resources that a layperson can only dream of. They also have access to a deep network of contacts and have their fingers on the pulse of the real estate market. Prospective buyers gain a lot more negotiating power with an agent on their side. Your agent can even negotiate on your behalf. But before we get there, let's quickly look at the things you will want your real estate agent to know. How much house? This might seem like an awkward question but it encompasses more than just square footage. A home search is just that, a search for a home that means more than numbers. Tell them about your likes and dislikes, whether you would like a yard large enough to accommodate a pool in the future, or if you'd rather not have to worry much about landscaping and the outdoors. Both you and your agent don't want to go through open houses that don't interest you. Professional advice is only as good as the information you give. Another reason you may want to work with an experienced real estate agent is that they would have contacts with a mortgage broker or home inspection services. Both of these will come in a little later but they are crucial. Working with an agent can drastically cut down the time you spend looking for that perfect home and closing on it. They're also a great source of information when it comes to the discrepancies you found in your initial cursory search. They will be able to tell you about the market conditions for specific neighbourhoods; a buyer's market in an upscale part of town might be a great opportunity compared to a relatively affordable house in a seller's market if you plan to sell down the line. They will help you think two steps ahead when it comes to your real estate journey but now it's time to go to the next step. The step that causes you and other buyers a lot of stress and headaches: finding a path to secure financing. Step 3: Get Pre-approved for a Mortgage This step is a waltz of financial documents. A mortgage is asking what kind of mortgage loan your mortgage lender will approve. Whether or not you get pre-approved depends on a lot of factors like your monthly gross income, credit card and other debt, and your credit score - among other things. At this point you are not taking out a mortgage loan, you are getting a document that proves you are ready to make an offer on a house with money to back it up. When viewing a home, buyers can set themselves apart from other potential buyers by having that pre-approval. Getting pre-approved is an entire process in and of itself and worth talking to your real estate agent about - like we mentioned previously your agent can have contacts with a mortgage broker who can find you the best possible mortgage loan for your situation. In terms of personal finance, this might be your most important endeavour so look at the current interest rate, ask if an escrow account would be a good idea, and take a look at mortgage companies when you get a chance. Most sellers will look at everyone evenly, but the likelihood that a seller accepts to take the proceedings further goes up once you can show you're able to afford the purchase price and place an earnest money deposit when the time comes. Before talking about sellers though, you need to find your dream home. Step 4: Find the right home. Real estate agents' bread and butter; finding the perfect fit. Now that you took a quick look by yourself through online listings, got in touch with an agent, and have an idea of what you can comfortably afford (or not), it's time to find the right property. Home ownership is a long-term commitment, before you sign a purchase agreement you need to make sure you're going to like living in the house. If you need to put a number to it, look at your monthly payment amount for your mortgage and then the house. This stage of the process will require a lot of questing to the seller and the seller's agent if they are present. If you spot something like a broken appliance or a crack in a wall, try to get an idea of what the agreed-upon repairs are for the property. Eventually, you will ask for a home inspection if you settle on the house but you can ask questions before a sales contract comes into view. Be sure not to ask for a lower price right away as that can put you on the seller's bad side quickly. When a seller rejects a buyer early in the process, it's much harder to get back in the race. Open houses are a key part of a home sale, there's nothing like walking through the house to get a feel for what it's like. Keep in mind that a seller's agent takes a few factors in mind when setting the asking price for a property. If you can find almost the same property somewhere else at a much lower cost, then there is a reason for that. Talk to your real estate agent about what they think of the house and what a reasonable offer price would be. If your heart is set, it's time for the next step. Step 5: Make an offer. This offer is one that you need to look at carefully. We cannot stress this enough, you need to understand everything in the offer. If you don't understand the contingency clause in your contract about getting your earnest money deposit back, ask. If you're unsure of who will pay appraisal fees, ask. If there are myriad legal fees with their associated legal description, ask that they be added. If you don't know who is responsible for the closing costs or if the closing date is vague, ask. Your monthly payment for your mortgage is going to be a big part of your life but reading over your offer to see all the details of the real estate transaction is crucial. You don't want to do a final walk-through of the home only to find out you cannot move in until a later date because you didn't understand what the closing date was. If there are legal irregularities with the property, your agent may recommend a real estate attorney who specialized in those matters; from a title search to figuring out if you need title insurance, a real estate attorney can prevent many a headache in the future. When you make an offer is also the time where the home inspections should take place. You don't want your loan amount to go toward a house with bad insulation, a faulty electrical system, and a cracked foundation. If something comes up, or if you think you are in a position to do so, it's time to negotiate. Step 6: Negotiate the offer Both your real estate agent and the seller's agent are trying to get the best deal for their clients. After all, selling a home has a big impact on someone's personal finance too. If you can talk down the purchase price or find ways to shift fees to the seller, then you and your real estate agent can find a way to drive the price down. Let the seller know when the offer expires, both so that you're not waiting endlessly for a decision and so that the homeowner feels some pressure on their end too. Listen to the guidance of your real estate agent and if found comparable homes at a lower price, mention it. The worst thing you can do is alienate the seller or cause them to back off completely. Play your cards right and both of you can walk out with reasonable offers in hand. Step 7: Close on the home Closing on a home means that all the legal paperwork has been finalized and the new owner takes possession of the property. In some cases, a closing agent will be used to help with the process. The closing agent will work with both the buyer and seller to make sure that all the necessary documentation is in order and that no money is owed upon transfer of ownership. This is usually where the escrow account is used to transfer the funds from the buyer to the seller as the home is sold. During the offer phase, either the buyer or the seller agrees to pay the closing costs and by the closing date, the house is yours. Buying a home is a long, stressful journey but if you do your research and talk to real estate agents as often as you can, then you will soon find yourself in your new dream home. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

Different Homes For Different Stages of Life. The Apartment Let's face it, most of us have been there. That first tiny apartment you share with your college roommates. The one-bedroom you're "settling" for because it's all you can afford and is close to the subway line that takes you to work. The dealbreaker: You can't imagine living in that tiny space with someone else for the next 30 years. Just as you're getting your footing in this world—getting enough money together to treat yourself and maybe even a significant other; buying that first piece of furniture that's not from Ikea; learning how to cook more than ramen noodles and spaghetti sauce—real estate developers come along and snatch up all those starter homes and build a new development of townhouses and condos. Starter homes shrink while many young people's debt to income ratio rises. Housing costs when you're just starting out in the world can be rough. And so, instead of buying a house, many people in college or young professionals stick themselves in tiny apartments. Apartments are great when you're younger and are still very mobile in your career and geographically. There is enough space for you to live while making it easy to clean. It's not a forever home, but when you're saving up to enter the housing market properly, it's a rite of passage. Given the state of the economy and the real estate market though, many young adults forego house hunting to live in their parental home if its in a convenient location. Between homeowners insurance, principal and interest payments, and closing fees, it is more common for people to stay at their parents' homes to save enough for a larger down payment down the road. The Starter home What do we mean by starter home? A "starter" home is a house or apartment that a young family can afford while they save to purchase a larger, more expensive home. Though it's a step above an apartment, a starter home is not a forever home as the name implies. While an exciting part of someone's life, this is the kind of home that does not require a large mortgage payment. Home prices for starter homes can vary massively depending on the career prospects of the homeowners. For some, what is a starter home is actually the best that they will be able to afford. There is a reason why real estate agents tend to ask about not only what you look for when you want to buy a house now but also in the future. With changes in the economy and interest rates, the home buying process can end up being more affordable in the future depending on the moves that the homeowners make. People in their late twenties or early thirties, who are thinking about having children will often use starter homes to get more privacy and get a step higher on the property ladder. The main difference between starter homes and apartments are the size. With starter homes, there is more bedroom area usually with a master bedroom having its own bathroom. Starter homes most often have garages too unless they are in an urban setting where parking on the street is allowed. What is a new house now can be sold after the mortgage is paid in order to move into a bigger home. The Family Home Many buyers eventually move on to a family home, one where a growing family has enough space to spread out. When it comes to the family home, the ideal location and how much house you're getting for your monthly mortgage payment becomes significantly more important. Though people move with their children every day if they continue in their home search and find a better deal somewhere else, home buyers in the market for a family home want to invest in what will be the house their children will grow up in. The requirements from mortgage lenders, the amount of down payment, and mortgage rates all take on a whole new dimension. This time your real estate agent will go over the mortgage basics one more time and find out a purchase price that suits your goals. After all, a family home can look different from person to person and so does the home's purchase price. The drain the family home tends to place on someone's bank account is due to its proximity to education, middle and high school, typically, and the demand driving real estate prices up. The most popular type of property for a growing family is a single-family home, with no shared walls with neighbours and usually a yard. These features obviously affect the monthly payment amount but for people in the stage of their life where their lifestyle considerations shifted towards the needs of their children, they won't think about what a mortgage lender demands. This is also the point where many will start talking about this potential piece of real estate as their dream home. For that home, ownership becomes something more permanent. Many buyers will look for reasonable monthly mortgage payments while also refinancing if there are significant changes in the interest rate. Most conventional loans place a lot of stress on the family. Between insurance premiums and other fees associated with a mortgage broker, many homeowners look to refinance their mortgage to get new loans that have a more reasonable interest rate. The Vacation Home This section is not about vacation rentals, but rather we're looking at people lucky enough to afford a second or even third home. At this point in someone's life, whether or not they have a family, if they are able to afford a vacation home then their debt to income ratio needs to be very low. In that scenario, there is little to no stress associated with proving bank statements, or with dealing with closing costs. A vacation home is a luxury, one that very few can afford. With the credit crisis of 2008 and now the pandemic, many people let go of extraneous real estate. Of course, on the other hand, if the lending services provided a generous deal and all of the mortgage payments are paid then the vacation home becomes an extra source of income. People can either hold onto it if they like it enough or sell it to shore up their bank account. The Investment Property If you have the cards and play them right, you can eventually get into the real estate market not as a homeowner but as someone investing in pieces of real estate. After all, everyone needs somewhere to live. Now that the tables have turned and you're looking at home prices in terms of how much you're set to receive then working closely with a real estate agent to find the best buyers can help you climb even faster up the property ladder. The Real Estate Market is Complicated Life, also, is complicated and through hardships or strokes of luck you may find yourself moving from house to house depending on your changing circumstances. At different points in life, and in your finances, you may pay more attention to what whether or not a house has a homeowners association, a finished basement, or even if it is close enough to the subway. Whether you're thinking of children or wondering what you'll do with the empty rooms once they leave for college, there is space for you to find the perfect place to live. If you conquer the intricacies of your homeowners' insurance, the interest rate, and stay on the house hunt then there is a good chance that you can get out of your starter home or the family home you settled for and move into your forever home, your dream home. Keep in touch with your real estate agent, they can keep an eye on the housing market for you and contact you when the perfect place goes on sale. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

Is Buying a Home Stressful? Short answer: of course. It's an emotional roller coaster with lots of money involved. Preparation can however make things so much easiest. Read on for some tips on how to stay cool and find your new home. The home buying process can be stressful People say moving is one of life's most stressful situations and we'd like to count the buying process as part of it as well. The big problem many people encounter when dealing with large purchases like a house, whether it's a first home or a new one, is a lack of knowledge. Stress and anxiety are going to be part of the process, but at the end of the day, you can find yourself in your dream home without having exorbitant costs. If you are doing this for the first time, look into hiring a real estate agent. Some people think that they only add to the cost but in reality, more buyers regret not using one because they learn about how much they could have saved in the end. Buyer's remorse is a very real thing and you don't want your finances tied up in a house that you do not like. Buying a new house is a complicated process so let's take a look at what you should consider. What to keep in mind when buying? Stay flexible. While it's good to have an idea of the type of house you're looking for, you can't fully predict what will be available in your range. Be patient and take your time. The next stage of your life where your family will live is something you do not want to rush. It can add a lot of stress to the process if you remain closed off to the realities of the real estate market. Your real estate agent has undoubtedly had clients who let great deals slip away because they were too picky. Feelings are very important when it comes to houses, but wanting too much control over what your house will look like will have you waiting for perfection. It will never come. A little flexibility will go a long way. Think about the future. Are you planning to start a family in that new house or strictly want it to be a place for friends or your little oasis? Even if the neighbourhood looks great now and the property feels like a steal, try to dig up why it's cheaper than other comparable homes. Don't limit yourself to online listings. A real estate agent often knows of homes before their listings go online. It can't hurt to browse to do some research and assuage your worries about cost but wait to make a rash decision until your real estate agent shows you some gems that have yet to go on the market proper. The stress and anxiety of the home purchase process can lead you to make rash decisions, but with the sums you're paying, consult with your realtor. It's important to find the right home for you While flexibility is important, you can't get to the closing date and realize you're short one bedroom. There are plenty of homes for sale, so try to stay patient and look around until you find the house that's right for you. It's easy to get caught up in seeing all the options available but try not to let yourself burn out along the way. If there is something wrong with one of the houses you look at talk about it. Between managing the escrow account, figuring out closing costs, and keeping your agent in the loop, it better be worth it in the end. You need to be prepared for the financial commitment A word you will hear often is "mortgage," this is how people afford homes. You put down a downpayment, which is usually 20% of the house's total price and your mortgage lender will put down the rest. Your real estate agent will probably be working with a mortgage broker, someone who shops around different lenders to find you the best deal on the market. This can make a significant difference in your daily life as it determines your monthly payments for the next five years (it can last longer or be shorter but this is the most common time frame). A real estate transaction requires a lot of money but a good or great credit score can go a long way. Sellers will also be more likely to take you seriously if you have done your research. For example, if you can put down an earnest money deposit without delay or if you are pre-approved for your mortgage. What is an earnest money deposit? It is a sum of money you put down as part of the buying process, it shows the buyer you're serious about the purchase. That can help the current owner to focus on you and improve your chances of securing the house. There is usually a clause in the contract you will be signing as part of the process that allows you to get your deposit back if the house does not pass a home inspection or is valued for less than its selling price. What is pre-approval? This is a confirmation from your lender about the mortgage rates and the principal that they think you will be able to pay. Your credit score has a lot of influence on whether or not you can get pre-approved. This also shows the seller that they are not wasting their time by dealing with you. Though you may not have the total in your bank account, pre-approval means that the lender is confident enough. What is an escrow account? A borrower can ask a lender to manage the proceeds from a real estate sale until its terms have been satisfied. In real estate escrow services, the borrower appoints an escrow agent, who, with the instruction of a borrower, holds and regulates monies from a real estate sale. The escrow money is then passed on to the appropriate third party at closing - the party selling. There's a lot of paperwork and red tape to deal with. Beyond financial documents, you also need to look at the legal requirements you need to fulfill to buy the property. There is a lot of paperwork and procedure that needs to be completed, which can seem overwhelming. However, it is something that both the buyer and seller need to deal with for the sale to go through. You will get an inventory list of any items that are included in the sale (appliances, tools, etc.) and you will need to get an appraisal of the property. Your realtor should be able to tell you everything that needs to be done, but you need to have an idea about what steps are needed so you know how prepared you are. You need to pour over the inspection's details to see what costs may come up. Most people do not pay close enough attention to things like the state of the house's insulation or the last time certain appliances were replaced. It might be tempting to sign quickly so that the house does not go back on the market but real estate agents will often ask you to take your time to pay close attention to the critical things. Buying a home is a big decision - make sure you're ready for it! Just because your friends are moving into houses doesn't mean that you have to put yourself through that stress if owning a home is not the right decision at this point in your journey. It's a big commitment, not just in terms of payment. A house says that you are planting your roots for the next few years. It's not just the financial strain that can induce stress, it's the idea of being tied down. All the top tips in the world won't help you get through the ordeal that is buying a house if the root of the issue is that you're simply not ready to settle. There could be things you still wish to experience, like travelling around the world for work, that would mean buying an empty house. If you are looking at homes because you think that's what your partner wants, are you sure that that's what they want? As potential buyers, you need to be on the same page and if something feels off, then it's time to talk before you contact an agent. Then again, if you know you're ready as a buyer, then it's time to do some research. Look at the profiles of local realtors, check out the houses for sale while waiting to hear back from your pre-approval, and determine whether or not you will want an escrow account to manage the payments. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter