Can You Trust Online Home Evaluations?

Buying a home? Click here for a full home search. 
Selling a home? Click here for a free Home Value Report. Contact me at (403) 701-8998 for a free real estate buying or selling consultation

A lot of home sellers have a very bad misconception that they can just put a price on their home and buyers will respond to the price, no matter how high or low it is. Unfortunately, this is not the case because buyers are much more savvy nowadays. They can search online and compare your home to others, and determine if your home is a good value or not. 

What determines the value of your home is not you, it is the home buyers in your area that determine a fair and accurate market value. They look at similar homes that have recently sold and compare the features and benefits of those homes against your own. 

This is why it is so important to price your home right from the very beginning. If your home is overpriced, buyers will just pass it and your home will sit on the market without much activity. This will cause your home to lose value, and every day that your home doesn't sell, it becomes harder to get top dollar. 

If you need any assistance when pricing your Calgary home, please don't hesitate to contact us. We would love to help you sell for top dollar!

How to Sell a Home with Tenants in It

Buying a home? Click here for a full home search. 
Selling a home? Click here for a free Home Value Report. Contact me at (403) 701-8998 for a free real estate buying or selling consultation

If you're trying to sell a home that you're renting out, make sure that you're on good terms with your tenants. They need to be flexible in allowing investors or other real estate agents entry into the home for showings.

You'll also want to allow them some time to tidy up the home before showings. This can be difficult, but it's very important that it gets done. 

I have a client right now who is having a very difficult time selling a listing because his current tenants are being unreasonable. This is why it always pays to have a good relationship with your renters. 

Another tip I have for you is to follow the Landlord and Tenant Acts, because the last thing you want is to have something pop up and surprise you.

If worst comes to worst and the tenant is so uncooperative that you cannot sell the property, I suggest that you just put the sale of the home on the back burner and deal with those issues first. 

Sometimes just sitting down and speaking with your tenants can help to make the best out of a bad situation. Bring over a pizza and allow them to tell you what is bothering them. Most often, communication is the biggest issue, because tenants rarely have the opportunity to speak with their landlords.

If you're having trouble with this issue, please don't hesitate to contact me. I would be more than glad to give you a hand. 

As always, refer to me as your #1 resource for real estate in Calgary!

Why Should You Reconsider Selling Your Calgary Home on Your Own?

Buying a home? Click here for a full home search. 
Selling a home? Click here for a free Home Value Report. Contact me at (403) 701-8998 for a free real estate buying or selling consultation
Lately I've received a lot of questions from home sellers. The market is starting to heat up, and they are deciding how they should go about selling their home. One thing I've been getting asked about a lot is FSBO (For Sale By Owner) homes, and how viable the option really is. Before you decide to undertake the task of selling your home, I want to provide you with some helpful information for your decision. Just like anything else, there are advantages and disadvantages, so let's take a look at them now. Today we are going to examine the disadvantages.

Although there are some advantages to selling your own home, I believe the disadvantages far outweigh them. For starters, selling a home takes a tremendous amount of time. There is a reason we do this for a living. Having a full-time job on top of a full-time job is very stressful. 

Another disadvantage is the huge number of out-of-pocket expenses that selling your own home creates. Marketing and advertising are an important part of selling a home, and if you don't spend the money to succeed in this area like we do, you won't see results. 

Finally, not having extensive knowledge of the market is very detrimental to your home sale. You can be easily taken advantage of, or be misinformed about how much you can get for your home. A lot of buyers view FSBO homes as inferior to homes listed with an agent. 

As you can see, when it comes to selling your home, doing it all alone just does not work. You need to hire an agent who knows the local market, and who can assist you in every part of the transaction. If you have any questions for us, or would like to discuss how we can help you achieve your real estate goals, give us a call or send us an email. 

What Are the Biggest Buying and Selling Mistakes in Calgary?

Buying a home? Click here for a full home search. 
Selling a home? Click here for a free Home Value Report. Contact me at (403) 701-8998 for a free real estate buying or selling consultation
Hello everyone, and welcome back to our blog. Today we would like to give you some tips on what to do and what not to do when buying or selling a home. We hope these tips give you a better understanding of the buying and selling process, and can help you out next time you are looking to make a move. 

In the last few years, it's become an increasingly common trend for buyers to get approved for a loan, get a home inspection done, then go out and make large purchases, before the home closes. It might sound like a great idea at the time to pair your new home with new furniture or a new car, but trust us, it's a bad idea in the long run. Lenders do credit checks the day before closing, and if they discover you have made some large purchases, it may affect your credit standing and your mortgage may be revoked. If you decide you have to make a purchase, don't use your credit card. If you can't afford it without your credit card, you definitely shouldn't buy it just yet.

As a buyer, you need to also avoid the "free" unofficial pre-approvals online. They mean nothing and could come back to hurt you when you are out looking for a home. You want to get pre-approved by a reputable lender before you start looking for a home, so you know what you can afford before you go out and start looking. It also allows you to pull the trigger quickly when you find the perfect home.

For sellers, having an accurate home valuation is very important. You can get one almost anywhere online, but keep in mind that an instant home valuation should be used as a starting point, not a final, absolute value. Don't put too much stock into your home's valuation until you talk to a professional about it. We can help you out and help you avoid frustration entirely. 

If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to speaking with you!

How Much Will it Cost You to Delay Your Home Sale?

 

If you're looking to buy a home in Calgary or surrounding areas, click here for a full home search. If you're looking to sell and curious about the market value of your home, click here for a free Home Value Report. Please feel free to contact me at (403) 701-8998 for a free real estate buying or selling consultation to answer any of your questions. 

Today I want to address an important topic I get questions about quite frequently. One of the catch-22's of real estate is that most buyers are sellers, and most sellers are buyers. A lot of times, when people find that perfect home they want to buy, they still haven't sold their old one. Sometimes families are able to move into their new home while they wait for the old one to sell, others aren't so lucky.

Certain banks offer mortgage programs that require you to sell your current home before purchasing a new one. This leaves a lot of people stuck until they are able to sell, and often times it leaves them on the outside looking in on their dream home.

We want to make sure this doesn't happen to you when you decide to change homes. This is why we want to offer some solutions for you to consider before deciding to move homes.

If you can afford to take on two mortgages and give your home time on the market to sell, that is great. You will get your home sold for a good price, although it might take some time. If you can't afford the double mortgage crutch, renting is another option. Although it is a risky investment, renting out your home brings you a solid income if you can't sell your home. 

Before you make a decision, remember, it's your hard-earned money that you are investing. Be responsible, look at all the scenarios, and make the best decisions possible for you in today's market so you can come out ahead. 

If you have any questions for us, please give us a call or send an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon. 

"Should I have sold my Calgary home in the spring?"

If you're looking to buy a home in Calgary or surrounding areas, click here for a full home search. If you're looking to sell and curious about the market value of your home, click here for a free Home Value Report. Please feel free to contact me at (403) 701-8998 for a free real estate buying or selling consultation to answer any of your questions.

People often get discouraged if they miss the chance to sell their home during the busy spring selling season. This often leads to sellers holding off their home sale until the following spring. 

The good news is you don't have to wait. Late summer and early fall is a great time to sell because a second round of buyers enter the market. If your home is shown and priced well, it will sell. You can begin the process by creating a showing checklist, a list of tasks you would like to perform to get your home ready for a showing. If people are interested in looking at your home, you can pull out the checklist and prep your home quickly for potential buyers to view it. 

The pace may be slower, but there are still plenty of buyers on the market. We can help you connect with them so your home will sell quickly and at a good price. If you have any questions about the market here in Calgary, don't hesitate to reach out to us. As always, we're dedicated to your success!