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Tips for Buying a New Build Condo

Tuesday, March 15th, 2016

Tips for Buying a New Build Condo

With signs of uncertainty in the market, it has never been more important to analyze your next real estate investment. Jumping into the unknown and hoping for the best is risky business. While this tactic may have worked over the past few years during Calgary’s more lucrative real estate market it is even more risky in this economy. Real estate has never been a fool’s game and now is the time to switch strategies and become more diligent for a greater chance of success.

It’s also not a great idea to sit on the sidelines with your cash. Downward market shifts can be great because it amplifies the good, the bad, and weeds out the average. Keeping all of that in mind let’s take a look at some important factors you need to consider before buying a newly built condo, whether it’s for an investment, an upgrade, or your first home.

  1. Pricing

There’s an old saying in real estate – you make money in real estate by what you pay for your home, not when you sell it. Pricing is the easiest way to ensure that you are on the right track. If you are buying in a hot market or a popular neighborhood you may end up paying an inflated price for the location, and what if that location is no longer the hot spot when you are ready to leave? Stay away from inflated prices and trends.

  1. Developer Experience

The problem with heated markets is that it attracts amateurs that want to get in on the action. More often than not these products lack quality and design. They may look great on paper but the underlying issues will make you want out faster than the ink can dry. If you are looking to buy a newly built condo try to buy from a developer with plenty of projects already in their portfolio.

  1. Location and Neighborhood

Condo investments, resale or new, hinge on their location and the neighborhood that surrounds them. The neighborhood makes the condo and not the other way around. This doesn’t mean that the neighborhood has to be completely developed and urbanized; it just means that it has to have the foundation for resale and rental capacity.

  1. Location of Your Unit

Consider your view and location within the building. Try avoiding units near the buildings garbage area, parkade and the main lobby. A good view and location in the building will always make your living experience more enjoyable than one without. Keep in mind that a below average view has the ability to adversely affect your resale potential.

  1. Running the Numbers

Most first time buyers will know what they want to spend on a mortgage payment every month, and how much they have been pre-approved for but the numbers go so much deeper than that. Do you know what the monthly condo fees will be? Will you have to pay for your utilities? What about a parking stall? Even the closing costs vary when it comes to buying a condo versus buying a regular home. Make sure you have a good idea of what ALL of your monthly costs will be before you make your final decision.

 

Posted in Articles, Blog, Condos, Home Buyers, Property Values, Rental | Comments Closed

Keep Your Home Safe – Without Breaking the Bank

Friday, November 13th, 2015

Keeping your home SafeYou want to keep your home safe from thieves, but you don’t want to spend a fortune doing so because, frankly, you don’t have a fortune worth stealing. Technology has significantly brought down the cost of home security systems and home surveillance cameras, many of which you can install yourself. But there are also many low-tech solutions that cost little or nothing that will keep your home safer from intruders.
Use your deadbolt lock. The basic lock on your doorknob isn’t really very good, Holloway says. Many knob locks can be defeated by simply grabbing the knob with, at most, a pipe wrench or with, at the least, two hands and twisting hard. The internal locking mechanism shears and the door can be opened, and this can all happen in a matter of seconds. This is an old burglar trick. Deadbolts are harder to defeat, and a cheap deadbolt is as good as an expensive one. The lock isn’t going to break, but it’s the doorjamb and the wood around the door that’s going to break.
Secure sliding glass doors. Many older doors are easy to open from the outside. Use a broom handle lying on its side on the track to prevent the door from being opened and deter intruders.
Make sure your home is well-lighted outside. Motion detector lights are inexpensive and an easy way to illuminate anyone who approaches the house. The reason for that is because the front door is commonly the most visible part of the house, and if there’s anything would-be burglars don’t want, it’s to be visible.
Make it look as if you’re home. Lights, radio and TVs on timers create the illusion that someone is home when you’re gone on vacation. Get a neighbor to pick up mail and newspapers when you’re away.

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Building a Wish List for Home Buyers

Tuesday, September 29th, 2015

Building a WishlistThere’s a difference between what you need and what you want. We all need a place to eat, sleep and call home, but when the time comes to buy that place, there’s a lot to consider. In a dream world we could envision our perfect home and magically make it happen. But this is reality, and in reality we all have budgets and other parameters we must work within, which is why I encourage all of my clients to start with a wish-list. It helps you determine exactly what you need, want, and must-have. It lays down a blueprint for your house hunt and it keeps you in check.

Here are some suggestions to help get you started building your wish-list:

• Make a list of all the things you love and don’t want to give up in the place you’re currently – a kitchen island, a soaker tub, a fireplace – whatever gives you pleasure and makes your house feel like home.
• A wish-list can also be referred to as a “change-list” – meaning, these are all the things about my current living space that must change. So take note of all the things in your current space that you are not happy with and highlight anything that frustrates you to no end.
• Consider how long you’re going to be in this home and what you envision happening in your life during that period. If you’re finally going to get that pet dog you’ve always wanted, then you’ll have to consider that when choosing the property.
• Identify which items you must have now, and which items can be added over time. Maybe you really want a deck in your backyard and you’ve just seen a great house that has everything but. A deck is something you can add on down the road.
• Consider your wish-list a constantly changing thing. Trust me – once you start looking at properties, you’ll be adding and dropping things from your list. That’s the best part about house hunting – every place you see gives you a better sense of what you’re really looking for.

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September Market Snapshot

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015

Stay ahead of the curve by following our Monthly Market Snapshot of the Calgary Real Estate Market. This shows what’s really happening! The market is driven by supply and demand so here we show the inventory (supply) and sales (demand) and the effect on the price of Calgary Real Estate. A simple way to keep up to date and ahead of most!
Below are the details along with a few comments, all numbers were taken from the Calgary Real Estate Boards Stats package for Realtors.
Find out what your Neighbor’s home sold for – Our market report is set up based on your community! Register for our Market Report at http://www.calgaryareasolds.com/

August saw a small increase to our inventory levels and a decrease in sales numbers in all categories. Prices remained flat however our Absorption rate increased. This is somewhat typical of August with summer holidays and people away.

Inventory  July  2015 Aug   2015 Change
Detached 2728 2801 +73
Attached 1104 1130 +26
Apartment 1223 1215 -8
Total City of Calgary 5055 5146 +91

Calgary Sales:
Sales for all categories decreased this month. While the percentages look high the important thing to know is that sales in August have almost always been lower than July sales. Last year sales were down for the same period 18.1%

Sales July  2015 Aug   2015 Change % Change
Detached 1222 1000 -222 -18.2%
Attached 449 364 -85 -18.9
Apartment 324 279 -45 -13.8
Total City of Calgary 1995 1643 -352 -17.6

Calgary Real Estate Sales Prices:
Prices in all categories changed very little this month. Based on the absorption rate below my prediction is that detached homes could see small price increases, Attached homes should remain fairly flat while apartment condos should see very small price decreases.

  Sales Prices July 2015

Benchmark Price 

Aug   2015

Benchmark Price

 Change
Detached 515,300 516,000 +700
Attached 355,300 356,700 +1400
00Apartment 293,300 294,100 +800
Total City of Calgary 455,400 456,300 +900

Sales Prices “Year to Date”
Year to date prices – All categories have decreased except attached homes have gone up by $700.00

Sales Prices Dec 31, 2014   Benchmark Price  Aug   2015 Benchmark Price Change

$

% Change
Detached 518,600 516,000 -2,600 -.50%
Attached 356,200 356,700 +700 +.19%
Apartment 300,400 294,100 -6,300 -2.1%
Total City of Calgary 459,500 456,300 -3,200 .69%

Absorption Rate (Months of Inventory) (the inventory divided by the number of sales in the last month). What does this mean you might ask?

Buyer’s Market >4.0 Drives prices down
Balanced Market Between 2.8 to 4.0 Prices typically remain stable
Seller’s Market <2.8 Drives prices up

*** Absorption Rate:
In August the absorption rate increased for all categories. Inventory stayed almost the same while sales decreased meaning the number of months of supply increased. This leaves detached homes just in a seller’s market, attached homes in a balanced market while apartment condos have moved into a buyer’s market position.

Absorption Rate   July   2015 Aug  2015 Change
Detached 2.23 2.80 +.57
Attached 2.46 3.1 +.64
Apartment 3.77 4.35 +.58
Total City of Calgary 2.53 3.13 +60

**Please note that these numbers do change on a community basis and more so for towns. If you would like to find stats on your community just let me know. If you have any questions about this summary, the attached stats package or any Real Estate questions please feel free to contact us.

If you know anyone else who might enjoy seeing our monthly summary please feel free to pass this on. Gord, Eric, Brent
TSW Real Estate Group

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4 Westpoint Garden SW

Friday, August 28th, 2015

Every once and a while a truly exceptional property will be put on the market that we feel deserves a little extra attention from potential home buyers. Like this stunning two story home in West Springs. This corer lot property has a south facing back yard with tons of privacy – and as an added bonus the western sidewalk is cleared by the city so there’s not extra work! Not only is the home perfectly located but it has so many built-ins and upgrades we didn’t know where to start! So we asked the current owners of the property to tell us their favorite things about their home. There answers are below.

Need a closer look? Check out our YouTube video. Ready to check it out for yourself? You can contact us directly here or tell your real estate agent you want to view C4015648.

Features of the Home-page-001 (1)

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Sweat Equity

Wednesday, June 17th, 2015

sweat Equity

Should you go the DIY route to boost the value of your home? Is it all worth it?

“Sweat Equity” is a thought-provoking concept, but there are some things to consider if you are thinking of jumping in….

  • What are your abilities? I’m sure you are a rock star, but jumping into knocking out walls or putting down floor tiles with no previous experience may not be the best idea. Know your limits.
  • If you can’t do it right don’t do it at all, or you will see a negative effect on resale value
  • Do you have a realistic budget? When it comes to renovation budgets, it’s way better to overestimate than under. You will likely run into many unforeseen costs.
  • Don’t over renovate for the area you are in. If you put a lot of money into a property, surrounded by properties valued at much less, your value will not increase the way you want it to.
  • And lastly, you must ask yourself if you really want to live in a home that is under construction.

 

Sweat equity can be rewarding, but consider the consequences before you jump into such a massive project! More info at Gordpiper.com

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10 Reasons to Use an Agent

Monday, February 2nd, 2015

10 Reasons to use a Realtor

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Why Winter is The Best Time To Buy

Monday, January 26th, 2015

Buying in the winter

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Cost saving programs for first – time homebuyers

Friday, April 25th, 2014

Found this article from Genworth Capital and thought it”s worth sharing.

 

The real estate market is at its prime across the country, and there has never been a better time to be a

first-time homebuyer in Canada. With both federal and provincial governments offering a number of

resources, grants, and rebates to the first-time homebuyer, now may be the time to purchase your dream

home. Here are five programs that can help you afford to purchase your own home without breaking the

bank.

Homebuyer’s Plan

First-time homebuyers have an opportunity to use their RRSP contribution towards a down payment,

thanks to the Canadian Revenue Agency’s Homebuyer’s Plan. First-time homebuyers can withdraw up to

$25,000 from an RRSP account so long as the contribution was made more than 90 days prior, and will

only have to pay it back over a 15-year period. This means that couples can withdraw a total of $50,000

combined from their RRSP accounts, which can make a huge contribution towards a down payment.

GST/HST New Housing Rebate

First-time homebuyers residing in provinces that have combined provincial and federal sales tax into HST,

including Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Ontario, and B.C., are eligible for an HST tax

rebate through the federal government. While rebates and conditions vary from province to province, the

program is designed to help with the federal portion of the HST new homebuyers have to pay. You can

find out if you’re eligible for an HST New Housing Rebate, as well as all necessary application forms

on Service Canada’s website.

First-Time Homebuyer’s Tax Credit

Homebuyers who have not owned a home within the last four years may be eligible for the first-time

homebuyers tax credit through the Government of Canada’s Economic Action plan. The credit is based

on $5,000 multiplied by the lowest federal income tax rate for that year. For example, the lowest federal

income tax rate for 2014 is 15 per cent, so the value of the credit would be $750. You can learn more

about the first time homebuyer’s tax credit on the Economic Action Plan website.

Energy Efficient Housing

Canada is a beautiful country filled mobile casinos with flowing rivers, flourishing wildlife, and vast landscapes, which is

why we fight so hard to protect our environment. There are many ways homeowners can benefit from

buying or building energy efficient homes. Along with a variety of national energy efficient building

programs, there are also a variety of province-specific rebates and cost-saving programs to help build a

more sustainable home. Be sure to consult Genworth Canada’s comprehensive list of consumer benefits,

loans, refunds, and federal and provincial energy efficient home programs to explore ways you can save

by going green, as well as their guide to what to look for when purchasing an energy efficient home.

Homebuyer Privileges

New homebuyers who receive a Genworth insured mortgage also receive access to a number

of Homebuyer Privileges when shopping at select retailers for moving and home-related product and

services. In the past, privileges have included a 15 per cent discount on credit reports from Equifax, a $55

gift card to Rona, 10 per cent off car rentals from Hertz, half price home inspections from Service Experts,

15 per cent off moving boxes from Frog Box, and much more. This program is especially beneficial to

ease the financial burden of smaller or less obvious home buying costs like moving, decorating, and

renovating.

From Genworth canada- See more at:  http://homeownership.ca/homeownership/cost-savings-programs-for-first-time-homebuyers#sthash.XUtdYvdO.dpuf

 

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