real estate protection
Increase year over year 2016So, you live in the GTA or the Golden Horse Shoe area of Ontario. You have a family and you want to get into a first home or larger home. Well, good luck!
For those of you already home owners you must be thinking that you have hit the jackpot. The value of your home has been increasing by leaps and bounds. It’s on the news every day. Why not sell your home now and reap the profits? Well, you still need somewhere to live don’t you? So if you think in a booming market you’re going to sell high and buy low, you might want to re-think that.
Ottawa offers a great place to live and work. Remember that dream; work, life, balance??
Click the link for a PDF view. Increase year over year 2016
As this recent newspaper ad demonstrates, the real estate market in Ottawa has been stable and growing over 60 years. In that time, (1961, 1962, 1994, 1995 & 1996) only 5 years have shown negative growth. There have been the few odd years in the early 1970’s that growth in value was explosive but for the most part, Ottawa is stable and steady with very few booms and almost no busts. It’s like blue chip stocks, not overly exciting but good, steady and safe growth.
Want more info on the Ottawa market, send an email to homesbyhartman@realtyagent.com and we’ll be happy get you the information you want and need.
Hot market statistics are in the news again as they are every Spring. The good news for sellers is that so far this year it has been a seller’s market, for the most part.
Simply, it’s a dangerous assumption to think and act like these news bits and stats are a sure thing that your home has gained in value and demand. It may be hard to believe but even in a city the size of Ottawa (as compared with much larger centres such as Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal) that section of the city only a few kilometres away can have a different real estate market.
A perfect example is the Glebe and lets say Barrhaven. Yes, there is a large spread of housing in between but for this example it highlights our thoughts.
The Glebe is always a hot market. Close to downtown, Parliament Hill and trendy living style. There is a shortage of housing as the neighbourhoods in and around the Glebe have already been built up. Westboro has been referred to as the NEW Glebe. It also offers trendy shopping, desirable housing and closer to downtown than the suburbs. But, like the Glebe, the amount of new construction is limited. Barrhaven is family oriented, affordable, lots of choice in housing, lots of land for continuous building and a great place to raise a family with lots of schools and shopping. The amount of housing available from resale and new construction can generally service the demand.
So, when we hear that the Ottawa market has had an overall increase in real estate values, caution must be taken. Price can rise dramatically in the Glebe & Westboro yet fall in Barrhaven. There are many reasons this can happen but without getting into a long discussion, supply and demand is the core reason.
The moral of the story?? Have a professional REALTOR® who knows your neighbourhood do an in depth Comparative Market Analysis or CMA. This is the process in which we search our vast data base and pull actively for sale properties and those recently sold that come as close as possible to matching your home. We look at several criteria when producing your customised CMA. Location, size, number of rooms including number of bathrooms and bedrooms, amenities such as finished basements, hot tubs, swimming pools, fencing and others, age of home, improvements, upgrades, updates, renovations and other factors.
Don’t rely on news reports and overall stats. Call or write us today for your FREE CMA!
613-825-9710 or homesbyhartman@realtyagent.com
As the Spring market gets started and more and more properties come on line “For Sale”, you’re bound to start seeing a growing number of “Coming Soon” signs or banners on these homes. It’s suppose to get buyers excited and move fast. It lets the buyer believe that once this property hits the market it will go fast as demand must be building!
In order to have a “For Sale” sign on a property that is on the MLS® system, there must be a listing agreement between the seller and agent. This simply means that the home is listed under contract but the seller has decided to not allow the public in for various reasons. There can be legitimate reasons for not wanting buyers through your home just yet. Maybe the home isn’t ready and needs repairs of painting. maybe new carpeting or hardwood floors have been ordered but not yet installed. OR, maybe the listing agent has his/her own motive.
AGENT MOTIVE
A few months ago, CBC’s Market Place did a story on the real estate industry and the subject of “Coming Soon” and other tactics like this were explored. Buyers, using their own agents to represent them would try to get into a listed property only to be told that there were no showings yet or the property was “Coming Soon”. It turns out that the listing agent actually sold the property to someone he was working with and “double Ended” the sale (meaning he was able to collect both the listing and the selling side of the commission). The other buyer was shocked. Not only did the sale take place during the “Coming Soon” period but sold for less that the buyer, who really wanted that home, was willing to pay. This is not an isolated incident. Many of the agents secretly interviewed by Market Place boasted that they double end up to 80% of their listings. We’ve been in the industry for almost 30 years and we can tell you that even 50% of sales by one agent (the listing agent) is a staggering number. In the hotter markets such as Toronto, it seems to happen often but this practise is catching on in other markets including Ottawa.
WHO BENEFITS?
Who benefits really is the key. The client, in this case the Seller, should benefit fist and foremost. We believe that the agents should not benefit at all except for the commission that the seller and agent have agreed to in a written listing contract. One primary pillar of our industry is to work in the best interest of our clients. Another is to be fair to all whether they are our client, another agent’s client or just members of the public.
The benefit of “Coming Soon” can benefit the seller by creating excitement and potentially multiple offers but does that out-way the benefit of exposing the seller’s property to hundreds of potential buyers and their agents? The evidence is no! Keeping a property on the QT offers no benefit to the seller. Why? Because without MLS® exposure, the number of prospective buyer who will see that a specific property is available will be extremely limited to the listing agent’s own contacts. The more exposure, the more viewings, the more activity the better the results. This is why the MLS® system was developed, to give access to all buyers and agents in order to create the highest demand.
(Related: Brushwork Painters in Gettysburg provides you with the best painting services for your residence and office. Check them out)
ARE ALL AGENTS ALIKE?
The simple and clear answer is no. Just because an agent uses “Coming Soon” does not mean that there intentions are questionable. They may believe that this tactic works, and in some cases it does. The seller may request that the agent use this tactic and as long as it’s done properly, legally and within our Board’s rules, we have no issue with it. But be cautious when hiring an agent that pushes this tactic on you. Make sure that the representative explains exactly how the tactic works and what he or she is and is not allowed to do. Make sure they explain the pros and cons. In other words, make a smart and informed decision.
We are always here to answer your questions on this or any other subject. Please write us at homesbyhartman@realtyagent.com
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.
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