Saturday 7 March 2015

7 reasons to protect yourself when buying a newly built home in Calgary


I was once told by this real estate agent that new home sales were easy, “I just sign in my client, leave my card and go. There’s no reason to be there, the sales people take care of everything.” I remember the words, although I can’t remember the agent – I wonder why? That was some time ago, but I remembered those words because on the weekend, I received a really nice compliment from the Area Manager at Excel Homes. He pulled me aside while my cliecouple is considering future apartment designnt was out of the room and said how nice it was that I stayed the whole time with my client to help with questions, decisions and just being there as a support. He said real estate agents often don’t even come in the door with their client and just hand him their card.
http://www.innercityyyc.com/7-reasons-to-protect-yourself-when-buying-a-newly-built-home-in-calgary.html

Thursday 5 March 2015

Important info about fees in Calgary Downtown Condos from a Property Manager


Ever wonder why condo fees go up and payment for a special assessment gets slipped under the door of Calgary downtown condos? Well so did I! The other day, I had the opportunity to sit down with Kyle Kalloo of C-Era Property Management to talk about condo management and to fill me in on why condo owners get dinged with this extra expense. Now Calgary luxury condoswhat I found out I thought was important to share with owners of our Calgary downtown condos.
http://www.innercityyyc.com/important-info-about-fees-in-calgary-downtown-condos-from-a-property-manager.html

Wednesday 4 March 2015

HOA fees when buying a home or Calgary downtown condos


HOA is the acronym for Home Owners Association. This is a fee charged to each of the home owners in the communcalgary downtown condosity to maintain its public areas. This money is usually for community memberships, or maintenance of a park or lake and is paid by the home owners once per year. Most HOA fees are found on the title of the property under a restrictive covenant. You may also find that the closer you are to the amenity the higher the HOA is. This is a mandatory fee for the home home owners so make sure that this fee is paid up to date by the seller when buying the property.
http://www.innercityyyc.com/calgary-downtown-condos-hoa-fees.html

Tuesday 3 March 2015

Are Calgary downtown condos dog friendly?


When living in a single family home you own the dwelling and the land and have very few restrictions. Although when you live in a condo there can be living restriction decided upon by the condo board. One of which is whether you can have a pet or not.Calgary downtown condos While working with your real estate agent make sure he/she knows you have pets or have the intention of getting a pet, even the type and size is important. The reason is that all condo buildings have restrictions on these critters.
http://www.innercityyyc.com/calgary-downtown-condos-pet-friendly.html

Sunday 1 March 2015

What to expect when your offer to buy a home is in competition


Have you heard the stories going around about multiple offers on properties two minutes after it’s come onto the market and it sells for $100,000 over asking price? Well, that may be a bit exaggerated and I’m sure there are stories out there that are, although the excitement and craziness has stirred up activity like that when buying a home in Calgary’s seller’s market. There were several times that I presented an offer for my clients where we competed with one to five other offers. And during those times, I saw buying a home in calgaryafterwords, that the property sold for 10-15% (or $40,000 to $80,000) over asking price.
http://www.innercityyyc.com/expect-offer-buy-home-competition.html

Friday 27 February 2015

Two issues you must know when buying a house or a condo


For single family homes, there are two issues. First is the real property report. This is the map of the property showing where the buildings are, as well, as fences and cement pads, so any permanent structures. What you need to look out for is to make sure that this map or the real property report is exactly as the property is. This is a document that needs to be approved by the municipality in order to complete the sale. Another issue to buying a single family home is the restrictions on the property. This can be found on the title of the property and can impose limits on what changes you can make to the property. One of the most popular is with the fence, there are limits on the height, the type and sometimes having a fence in the front yard.
http://www.innercityyyc.com/two-issues-must-know-buying-house-condo.html

Wednesday 25 February 2015

Buying a house in Calgary? Look at the fence for community engagement


At the Cornerstone Youth Centre, Nixon said that since this connection is lacking where they live, this is the place they can get it. This is where they can play with other kids, talk about their problems and feel connected. Where my house is, I know my neighbours across the street and across the alley. I know my neighbours to the east, since their boy loves to come over and play with mine. And the neighbour to the west I’ve yet to meet since they just moved in. I’m still going to get my fortress fence, although I’ll be sure to invite my neighbours over to the other side of this great wall to create community.
http://www.innercityyyc.com/buying-house-calgary-look-at-the-fence-for-community-engagement.html

Monday 23 February 2015

Calgary Inner City Real Estate Update October 2014


For the 2 Storey homes in October, we saw a ratio of 1:4.54, so about 4 months of inventory which has been consistent since at least June. The 2 bedroom condos have just over three months of inventory, a bit higher than in June which had 2.5 months of inventory. The higher the ratio the more time buyers have to make a decision on a property and the more choice they have. The inner city condo market fluctuates most throughout the year having peaks in the spring and again in the fall. Whereas the single family home market still has fluctuations around the same times although more subtle. Looking at the graph, the best times to sell would be March through to June, and then late August and September.
http://www.innercityyyc.com/calgary-inner-city-real-estate-update-october-2014.html

Saturday 21 February 2015

Increase the potential of your Calgary home for sale at evening showings


Entrance Lighting. Nothing’s worse than moving from the street light to complete darkness, switching on the flashlight app and trying to find the lock box. Front door lighting is very important! You really don’t want anyone tripping on the uneven sidewalk or the steps. Go a step further with lighting and buy solar lights that can be staked into the ground along the front walk. This looks amazing! Ambiance Lighting. Once we walk in the door searching for the first light switch can be frustrating and even more so when there is no lighting to make it any easier. At times I feel like a prowler with my flashlight. Set the lighting for a relaxing evening by putting on some lamps in the living room, under counter lights in the kitchen, dim the light in the dining room, and turn on the end table lamps in the bedrooms.
http://www.innercityyyc.com/increase-potential-of-calgary-home-for-sale-at-evening-showings.html

Friday 20 February 2015

10 tips for attracting more buyers when selling in Calgary


The MLS (multiple listing service) is a real estate agent’s greatest marketing tool, since that is where most buyers go online to find properties for sale. When they bring up the information on your property this is the threshold to view or not to view. Before the property information goes live there is an opportunity to review all the details that potential buyers will see. Take this time to review it and make adjustments if needed. You want to make sure that all information is correct so that the buyer isn’t mislead or that you’re offering something that can’t be delivered.
http://www.innercityyyc.com/10-tips-improving-mls-home-info-selling-in-calgary.html

Saturday 31 January 2015

Are schools important for selling your home in Calgary?

A community evolves over time and changes it’s needs. The community that I live in was established in the 1960’s and many of the original owners are at an age where they need to sell their property for something more manageable. With this, younger families are coming in. We have four schools in our neighbourhood, and a few years back the school board wanted to shut down one of our schools. I was part of the group to keep it open knowing that there were changes coming in the demographics of our community. We were successful and now the school that they wanted to close is near capacity.
http://www.innercityyyc.com/schools-important-selling-home-calgary.html

Thursday 29 January 2015

How market value is determined when buying or selling a home in Calgary

There are many criteria for determining the market value of a home as you can see. Making sure your home is priced correctly when you first place it on the market will grant you the best dollar amount for your property. When errors are made in pricing your home too high, price decreases will follow with the signal to the buyers that you’re motivated to sell. Pricing too low will definitely sell it fast, although did you get the best price possible for your home.
http://www.innercityyyc.com/market-value-determined-buying-selling-home-calgary.html

Thursday 8 January 2015

Calgary Inner City Real Estate Report November 2014

It looks as though the cold did have a bit of an affect on Calgary’s inner city market because we’ve seen more properties on the iStock_000023336579Mediummarket and less buyers signing contracts. This is clearly one of the highest inventory levels all year.

For bungalows and condos, the inventory is way up, creating an even further gap. Bungalows now have 3 months of inventory (Oct. <2 mths), condos 4.7 months of inventory (Oct. 3.4 mths), and 2 storey has 4.9 months of inventory (Oct. 4.5 mths). There’s lots of inventory now, but don’t be surprised if come mid December many of these homes that have been on the market for some time end up taking it off the market and re-listing in mid January. http://www.innercityyyc.com/calgary-inner-city-market-report-november-2014.html

Tuesday 6 January 2015

3 things you must know when buying a house in Calgary’s winter months

During the winter months, the days get much shorter and looking at homes after 6 PM can be very dark. Be sure to pack a flashlight or load the app on your smart phone (that app is very handy!) for areas that have poor or no lighting. Give yourself extra time to get from property to property because traffic is slow and the roads can be messy and hard to get through. Parking can also be more difficult because of unplowed streets.
http://www.innercityyyc.com/3-things-must-know-buying-a-house-in-calgary-in-winter-months.html