Solving Real Estate Problems incl. Rent 2 Own Assistance Program

Real Estate Challenges

Overcoming Home Buying and Selling Hurdles: 
When you are thinking of buying your first home, do you know the correct process involved and the steps you need to complete before you enter into the home buying project? Do you know the meaning of initial deposit, down payment, negotiating the best price, closing date, closing costs, land transfer tax, legal fees, mortgage fraud, mortgage principal and interest, property taxes, maintenance fees, monthly heating, hydro and water bills, assessed value of the home, difference between freehold and condominium townhomes, etc. etc. For more information, select here.

10 Common Mistakes that Many Home Buyers Make:

Following are ten common mistakes that many home buyers make:

• Deciding to buy a home without reviewing all their financial assets and options.
• Starting the process of buying a home, without first getting a mortgage pre-approval. This is one of the most important steps in the buying process, since if the buyer does not get mortgage pre-approval before looking for homes, the seller will not negotiate seriously since they believe that the buyer will be wasting their time.
• Looking at various newspaper ads and other postings which do not show the proper address nor give the MLS numbers. Many of these postings are either old or a "set up" by unethical realtors who practice the "fish and grab" technique. Many are not true listings of homes, but, rather pictures to entice gullible buyers to call them. Once buyers call the REALTOR®, he or she will tell the caller, that property has been sold, and a similar one is available, etc.
• Not deciding nor informing the REALTOR® on the area and type of home (i.e. freehold town home, condo town home, semi detached, or detached home, etc.) they would like to buy once they qualify.
• Not seeking a REALTOR® who has good credentials and references.
• Not asking the right questions to the REALTOR®. (For further information on asking the right questions, please check 20 Questions to ask your REALTOR®).
• Listening to the real estate advice of unlicensed people without corroborating the facts with a licensed and ethical REALTOR®.
• Not receiving a plan of action from the REALTOR® which outlines the strategy the REALTOR® will use to find the buyer their dream home sooner than later.
• Not having liquid cash in the bank to first pay the deposit that accompanies the offer and then the amount towards down payment.
• Buyers who are represented by a Buyer Agent contacting the Seller Agent directly for information on the seller's property. This ultimately goes against the interests of the buyer since the seller and the Seller's Agent realizes that the buyer is desperate to buy the seller's property and the latter will not negotiate in good faith.

The above mistakes sometimes lead to the home buyers not getting the right home or paying more than what the REALTOR® could have negotiated at the time of making the offer. They also cause wastage of time to search for properties which are not "real" since the home buyer saw the "bogus posting" on some publication which is not true. Very often, home buyers complain about unethical and "pushy" real estate agents, which could have been avoided if the home buyer had asked the right questions. Finally, to avoid the "home buying stress" it is recommended to avoid the above mistakes as much as possible.

If you too need my help or even just advice about buying or selling at this time of economic uncertainty, just complete the Ask Your Questions form and let me know how I can help you with your real estate questions.

Solutions to Home Selling Problems:
When you are thinking of selling your home, do you know the options of selling on your own and engaging the services of a licensed realtor? How would you evaluate a realtor to find out if you are dealing with a honest realtor or someone else? Do you know the process of selling your home and what are your obligations and those of the realtor? Do you know that you could be sued by the purchaser after your home is sold if there is no full disclosure and your realtor has not advised you of your rights and obligations?

In today's economic climate, many people are sceptical of selling their homes, mainly for two reasons. First they are worried that they would not get a good price and secondly the realtor's commission would be exorbitant. When dealing with a reputed and reliable realtor® you will have the satisfaction of having all your concerns and worries diminished or obliterated, by asking the right questions.

Following are common mistakes that many home sellers make:

Ø       Deciding to sell their home without reviewing all their financial assets and options.

Ø       Starting the process of selling their home, without first getting a mortgage redemption certificate. This is an important step in the initial selling process, since if the seller does not know the ramifications of porting or breaking the mortgage, the seller's agent cannot negotiate appropriately in favour of the seller.

Ø       Listening to the sales pitch of sales agents offering 1%, 2% or even no commission, and not understanding the hidden message behind those sales pitches. For ALMOST EVERY RESIDENTAIL REAL ESTATE SALES TRANSACTION IN ONTARIO, THE COOPERATING BROKER HAS TO RECEIVE 2.5% OR MORE COMMISSION, AND THE SELLING AGENTS GETS ON TOP OF THAT EITHER 1% OR 2% OR 2.5% OR MORE. So the bill boards and advertisements showing 1% commission with an *(asterisk) by the side in small print is just a gimmick to get you to call the sales agent.

Ø       Not asking the sales agent as to what service they would provide for the 1% or one and half percent commission and documenting the same.

Ø       Not asking the Realtor® as to how they can genuinely reduce the commission without discounting the service. This is a very important option which sellers are not aware to ask the Realtor®  to reduce the commission without affecting the service the Realtor® would provide to someone paying full commission. (P.S. Please ask me for the option to reduce the standard commission without affecting the standard marketing of your home).

Ø       Not seeking a REALTOR® who has good credentials and references.

Ø       Not asking the right questions to the REALTOR®. (For further information on asking the right questions, please check 20 Questions to ask your REALTOR®).

Ø       Listening to the real estate advice of unlicensed people without corroborating the facts with a licensed and ethical REALTOR®.

Ø       Not receiving a plan of action and Listing Service Tasks (LSTs) from the REALTOR® which outlines the strategy the REALTOR® will use to get offers on their home sooner than later.

Ø       Not requesting the advice of the Realtor® to improve the appearance of their home before putting it on the market.

Ø       Not spending some time and money to "uplift" the first impression of the home in order to "wow" the buyer.

Ø       Sellers who are represented by a Selling Agent contacting the Buying Agent directly for information on the buyers. This ultimately goes against the interests of the seller since the buyer and the Buyers' Agent realizes that the seller is desperate to sell their property and the former will not negotiate in good faith.

The above mistakes very often leads to the home sellers not selling their homes at the price they had been originally promised, or not having any showings or not having any offers. They also cause wastage of time for themselves to open their homes to strangers walking through their home without a genuine desire to buy. Very often, home sellers complain about unethical and "pushy" real estate agents, which could have been avoided if the home sellers had asked the right questions. Finally, to avoid the "home selling stress" it is recommended to avoid the above mistakes as much as possible.

If you too need my help or even just advice about selling at this time of economic uncertainty, just complete the Ask Your Questions form and let me know how I can help you with your real estate questions.

Select Common Mistakes that Many Home Buyers Make for tips on assisting you to buy your dream home at the best possible price.

Foreclosure / Bank Sale

Distress Sale, Bank Sale, Foreclosure, Power of Sale, etc. These are some of the terms being commonly used today due to the real estate meltdown. In this article, we will talk about Foreclosure which is the starting point for the sale under distress or bank sale, etc.

Foreclosure is the legal and professional proceeding in which a mortgagee, or other lienholder, usually a lender, obtains a court ordered termination of a mortgagor's equitable right of redemption. Usually a lender obtains a security interest from a borrower who mortgages or pledges an asset like a house to secure the loan. If the borrower defaults and the lender tries to repossess the property, courts of equity can grant the borrower the equitable right of redemption if the borrower repays the debt. While this equitable right exists, the lender cannot be sure that it can successfully repossess the property, thus the lender seeks to foreclose the equitable right of redemption. Other lienholders can also foreclose the owner's right of redemption for other debts, such as for overdue taxes, unpaid contractors' bills or overdue HOA dues or assessments.

The foreclosure process as applied to residential mortgage loans is a bank or other secured creditor selling or repossessing a parcel of real property (immovable property) after the owner has failed to comply with an agreement between the lender and borrower called a "mortgage" or "deed of trust". Commonly, the violation of the mortgage is a default in payment of a promissory note, secured by a lien on the property. When the process is complete, the lender can sell the property and keep the proceeds to pay off its mortgage and any legal costs, and it is typically said that "the lender has foreclosed its mortgage or lien". If the promissory note was made with a recourse clause then if the sale does not bring enough to pay the existing balance of principal and fees the mortgagee can file a claim for a deficiency judgement.

If you would like to receive reports on Power of Sale properties in your area, kindly select here and complete the form.

The following are some of the financial lenders involved in the mortgage business:
Bank of Montreal, Bank of America, ING, TD, FirstLine, CIBC, HSBC, Laurentian,  MCAP, Scotia, BNS, First, Royal, RBC, Maple Trust, etc.

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing. – Abraham Lincoln