The days are getting longer, the snow is melting and the real estate market is warming up! YES, Spring is here, at lease for the real estate industry.
If you have been thinking of selling or buying, now is the time to put the effort in to make your real estate desires into action. The market in Ottawa does get going this time of year and the time to prepare if you havn’t already is now.
There are many things you can do especially on the interior.
- Clean, clean, clean! No one wants to see or buy a dirty or messy home.( Check out the iRobot roomba 900 series for a cleaner home)
- Paint. Touch-ups or full painting is the most cost effective way and adding extra value and more money in your pocket.
- Repair. Holes in the walls, broken faucets, chipped sinks, worn out flooring and old appliances should all be repaired or replaced as needed. Don’t worry! Spending money on new carpeting will make your home much more attractive to all buyers and boost the value of your home and help it sell quicker which in turn will all you to negotiate less and get more for your home.
- Except for outdoor areas, make sure your major components of your home are working. Toronto furnace filter should be cleaned and tuned up to be at peak performance. Many building inspections can fail due to dirty and poorly serviced HVAC systems.
- There are areas that you really can’t take care of yet but should be looked at as soon as possible. Roof, central air, pools, gardens and walkways are just a few of the external features of a home that should be checked, serviced and repaired once they are accessible. A&E Westchester Roofers is a roofing contractor that can help with all possible roof repair tasks.
- Finally value! That’s where the knowledge and experience we offer comes in. Yes, we will help in all aspects of your real estate needs. Advice on buying including location concerns, inspections and market value assessments are all the areas we have been working in for over 25 years. On the selling end we offer our assistance in getting your home ready including colour and staging assistance. But when it comes to assessing the market value of your home, there is no substitute for our knowledge and experience.
We look at the neighbourhood, the history of sales, the present listings and measure the general temperature of the market. We let you know what is influencing the market today and advise you on a asking price that reflects your home and market conditions.
FREE MARKET EVALUATIONS! Write us at homesbyhartman@realtyagent.com or click here to fill out or evaluation form.
It’s Holiday time again and we want to wish all readers a great Holiday season. Regardless of what holiday you celebrate we hope the spirit of the season, peace, harmony and love for your fellow people will be a goal to reach all year round.
2016 has not been a great year. The world has seen its fill of violence, of killing and of unnecessary suffering. People have seemed to have lost respect for human and animal life. But there is good out in the world and lots of it, it’s just the bad seems to over shadow the good. We like to look for the good and keep that at top of mind. We hope you do the same.
Sounds like a Rogers and Hammerstein song doesn’t it? Well, they had something going on there that relates well to real estate and the real estate industry.
You might notice that some real estate sales representatives ask an awful lot of questions, some very personal about your family, your finances and your goals. Other REALTORS® ask nothing. All they want to know is when can they meet to show you the home you have called on.
We are the type of REALTORS® who ask A LOT of questions. Why do we do this and why do others not? We can’t really speak to the issue as to why others don’t but we can certainly tell you why we do and why we think all REALTORS® should.
As a buyer, wouldn’t you like to know as much as you can about your capabilities to purchase a home? Don’t you want to know if you can afford or even get a mortgage? Yes, we have heard it time and time again. “Sure, no problem. That home is within my budget.” We can tell you that on many occasion that person was WRONG. They did not do their homework. They did not sit down with a mortgage broker or bank to crunch the numbers. The buyer may also be asking to see a home that a first glance seems right for them but even with the vast amount of info on the internet today, many buyers do not know all they need to know. By asking these somewhat personal questions we can help to determine if the home the buyer is asking about is really suitable. Yes, it’s a 4 bedroom home but 2 are in the basement. Are you’re children OK with sleeping in the basement while you the parents are on another floor? The home backs onto a school or playground. Is this OK for you?
Going to see a home and not being qualified, especially financially can have a negative affect on the entire buying process. For example, the buyers have fallen in love with a home they can’t afford. Now when they do look in their proper price range of homes, these don’t look nearly as nice or are as big. They may be semi-detached or row homes and not the single family home they thought they could afford! Now everything they can afford just does hold up to the home they couldn’t afford but fell in love with. On top of all that, we have made the sellers of that great “We Love it” home get out of the house for the showing, get the home ready to show, maybe keep the children up late and have to go out for diner and the buyer never could have bought that home. What a waste of time and a lot of frustration for everyone.
With that in mind, you must remember that the listing REALTORS® you are calling all WORKS FOR THE SELLERS and it is that REALTOR’S® duty to try and make sure that visitors and prospective buyers are qualified. The REALTOR® is also trying to save you from wasting your time too. Maybe, after all the questions are asked, you may think it’s a good idea to have that REALTOR® working with and for you!
So the next time you call or write a REALTOR® for information, don’t get upset if they ask lots of questions. It’s for everyone’s benefit. In fact, be cautious if no questions are asked. That REALTOR® may have their own best interest in mind.
It’s too bad the world has changed to such an mistrusting place. But, we’ve done it to ourselves. Gone are the days when buying something at the door that you didn’t like would cost you a few bucks. Today’s mistakes can cost you THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. Here’s a story that will having you nailing your front door shut!
We were looking for a classroom rental as we had a new project coming up and we were also planning to sell our home. When listing a home to sell and before any real estate transaction began, we took our due diligence to find out all we could about our client’s Barrhaven home. A good real estate agent should do this right at the beginning as your get ready to put your home on the real estate market. Through our questioning we found out our client had recently rented a new furnace. The old one (old is a relative term) was 10 years old which is considered about 1/2 way through the life of a furnace. Through further investigation we found out the the door-to-door sales representative promised that with the higher efficiency and the full coverage and warranty for 10 years, that in the end there would be a savings. Through documents, we saw that the rental was just over $100 a month for 10 years! THAT”S $12,000!!! OMG. A new furnace for a home of the size our client’s is can range from $3500 – $5000! You’ll need to save a lot of natural gas and the furnace would have to be repaired many, many times before you could ever see enough”savings” to balance out.
While trying to market this very popular Barrhaven home, we met immediate and strong resistance from buyers. There was no way they would take over this rental contract. In the end, the sellers had to pay out the contract at a cost of approximately $11000! What a shame and a costly error. The seller’s are smart, hard working and really lovely people who don’t deserve this kind of treatment. But, they fell into the same trap that hundreds of other people have done before them and we’re sorry to say, more will be caught like this in the future.
The moral …… do your homework. If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is!! If the deal proposed is only available “RIGHT NOW, TODAY ONLY,” then pass on it. If the deal is a good one and legitimate, you can get that same deal tomorrow.
Call friends, family, your lawyer or your real estate pro to get advice on these door-to-door scams. Don’t get caught. For every service that is sold door-to-door by scammers, there are hundreds of legitimate companies with good reputations who provide the same type of services. Get referrals from your real estate pro.
* Get your mind in the gutters. Inspect and clean gutters and downspouts.
* Button up your overcoat. Seal gaps and cracks around windows and doors with weather-stripping and caulk.
* Get on top of roof problems. Inspect your roof for damaged or curled shingles, corroded flashing, or leaky vents.
* Walks the walks (and drives). Take steps to repair damaged sidewalks, driveways, and steps.
* Chill out. Drain and winterize outdoor faucets and irrigation systems.
* Freshen your filter. Clean or replace dirty furnace filters.
* Give your furnace a physical. Have a professional inspect your heating system and do a hot water heater repair if necessary.
* Gather round the hearth. Check fireplaces for soot or creosote build-up. Better yet, schedule a visit from a reputable chimney sweep.
* Keep the humidifier humming. Clean the plates or pads to ensure efficient operation.
* Head-off gas problems. If you have a gas-fired room heater, have it inspected by a pro. Otherwise get the new item installed, there are plenty of offers discounted at HVAC Direct now. Also, perform any routine maintenance recommended by the maker.
* Keep the wood fires burning brightly. Wood stoves are making a comeback. To avoid a deadly situation, be sure to inspect yours before firing it up.
* Keep your family safe at home. A home safety check should be an annual ritual in every household. Test smoke and CO monitors, inspect (or install) fire extinguishers, review fire escape plans, and rid your home of old newspapers and other fire hazards.
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