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.
As we’re sure many of you have seen, Barrhaven is getting its first new car dealerships. Myers Toyota is open and coming soon is Barrhaven Honda. This is great news. More employment right in our neighbourhood, great convenience for those who want to buyer or service Honda or Toyota vehicles and these businesses will attract other businesses to service the every growing Barrhaven / South Nepean area.
As these dealerships are a great convenience to area residence, these additions to the community should have a positive affect on Barrahaven real estate values. Let’s welcome these new businesses with open arms and if a Toyota or Honda are in your future, support these new local businesses.
Also coming is a Nissan, Chrysler/Jeep and Mazda dealerships. Barrhaven is really booming. All this new development will make Barrhaven real estate even more desirable and a better real estate investment.
The numbers don’t lie; often well-staged homes can see quicker sales and higher offers than their messy counterparts. The key is getting an early start on the process of getting ready. By beginning the huge task of removing the clutter and doing a pre-pack now, you can reduce the stress of preparing for showings and make it easier to move when your home sells when you are already part way done.
Try these five staging and organizing tips to help you reach a faster sale.
Purge From Top to Bottom — Do a proper sort and purge, getting rid of outdated clothing, duplicate items and rarely used gadgets. To keep this task from turning into a source of serious frustration, tackle one room (or even one drawer) at a time. Go at it steadily.
Pack Up Everything but the Essentials — Start pre-packing your home, storing non-essentials or out-of-season gear in the garage or off-site. Garages and unfinished areas are great for this extra storage. The idea is to give potential buyers a sense of space, which can’t be done if your home is overloaded with clutter.
Fix Glaring Problems — Remove out-of-style wallpaper, replace broken light fixtures, update cabinet and drawer pulls, and refresh dated window treatments. Simple fixes like these can make your home stand out from the competition.
Depersonalize — Remove family pictures and personal collections, and replace them with neutral artwork and simple accessories. The idea is to give potential buyers a neutral canvas so they can imagine their belongings in your home.
Go for Polished — Research the latest design trends and stage your house to match. Professional stagers recommend tailoring the design style to your target demographic. For example, if you’re in a family neighbourhood, style the bedrooms for children, even if none live in your home.
A professional stager is a nice to have but not necessary. It can add to your cost of selling. If you follow other simple steps outlined above, you home will look much better and be ready to sell. We often do staging for our clients by arranging furniture, helping pick new flooring and paint when necessary or bringing in professional trades people when needed. Call us and we’ll show you what selling real estate through truly professional REALTORS® is like. Continue reading →
Just drive around Barrhaven these days and you’ll see tons of construction both residential and commercial real estate. And of course they are all welcome signs of the area’s amazing growth. Costco is under construction now, the new Toyota dealership has been open for a while and three more dealerships are under construction on the West side of the 416. The Greenbank underpass looks like it is nearing completion and another new shopping area will be started near that location soon. Barrhaven real estate values grow with the times.
And that’s not all! ProSlide Technology Inc., a designer of water park attractions around the world and owner of Cantley’s Mont Cascades, has been busy acquiring land around the 100 acres it already owns at the corner of Bankfield Road and Brophy Drive, filing new site plan approvals to the City of Ottawa and meeting with city councillors from that area as the company begins to turn its focus back to opening Alottawata Ottawa in time for summer 2019.
And don’t forget the hundreds of new homes that are being built in the area. Now you can live in Barrhaven as a child and continue living here as a senior citizen with many existing and some new senior living facilities. This will allow Grandma and Grandpa to stay close to their families for many years and live in Barrhaven real estate.
What does this mean for your home? It means that if you live in an older home you have got to keep it up to standards. With so much competition in real estate sales and changes to the way homes are designed, keeping your older home up-to-date and modern can be expensive and a challenge. In order to keep your home up to date, you must also look into the condition of your windows and shutters. Look up plantation shutters Melbourne to choose from their wide range of shutters and windows.
Want large commercial fiberglass planters that can house trees, all sorts of plants, etc? They are made with expert craftsmanship and also you get to customize them, do follow the above link.
Start with the basics. Windows, doors, roof, furnace, central air, paint and landscaping. Get those items repaired or replaced and half the battle is over. If your bathrooms and kitchens are looking old and tired, no one else will find them attractive and when selling, a buyer will hit you harder in the wallet than the actual cost of bringing those room up to a modern look.
There are so many website and brick and mortar stores to look at when it comes to updating your home. It might be worth it to engage a designer to help you with this. And do these updates well before you want to sell so you can at least enjoy a few years of your investment.
Source: H2 Real Estate.
← Older posts Newer posts →
