What Does "Low Housing Inventory" Mean?

If you’re like many Canadians, you may still have a perspective of the real estate market influenced by media coverage of the 2008 crisis. However, real estate is always subject to cycles, especially around growing and expanding communities like Kamloops. The reality is this area is now facing a looming shortage of housing inventory. If your a buyer moving to the area it is key to find a local experienced realtor who can get you up to speed on your knowledge of Kamloops real estate market, its not all doom and gloom as we show in this article. IF you are a seller then the local "know-how" of a realtor is key in getting your house listed at the correct price with the best exposure possible.

From the Bank of Canada to local real estate firms, the level…

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Top Downsizing Strategies for Residential Real Estate

Downsizing has an upside when you are talking about purging your excess when you move to a smaller home. However, it still can feel like an insurmountable task if you are not careful to follow a few simple downsizing strategies.

Emotional Energy

Downsizing is an emotional journey. Perhaps that seems like a silly statement but consider all the items in your home are there because you liked them enough to bring them home. From clothes to kitchen utensils, every item in your home has a story. As you begin to downsize you re-live those stories. As you are working through your possessions, be careful to not take on too many negatively emotional tasks at once. However when you encounter those items start asking yourself if you really want to move those…

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Help with a negative equity home sale.

Need to sell a house underwater?  If you don’t know what this means then let me enlighten you. It means the house is not worth what you need to sell it for.

Maybe your job has just relocated you, a family member is sick, the neighborhood is declining. Whatever the reason is, you need to move, and you need to sell your house fast. You call up a realtor and they tell you all the things that you need to do to get it sold, such as cleaning up, painting the house and even what he believes it will sell for. But we have 1 problem…… The house is worth less than you paid for it. This does not mean that you made a mistake in buying the home, lots of other factors can combine to make this situation occur. In BC for example if you paid market value for a home and…

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7 pieces of advice when selling your Kamloops home

Selling your home is no simple job. Here is some simple cheap advice you can use to help speed up the process.

There are jobs to finish and keeping the house clean and tidy while on the market to make prospective buyers like what they see. It’s important not to overlook those little details that keep buyers from making an offer.

Buyers are seeking move-in ready homes that present nicely and are priced correctly. Buyers are well aware of market conditions and they will know if your home is overpriced, especially of they are working with a savvy Realtor. Even the tiniest of details can alter the general appearance of the house. Here are seven little details to remember to make a huge impact without spending a fortune when selling a house.

1. Clear…

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The real estate math mistake we all make

Selling a paid-off home is pure profit, but our brains just don’t see it that way

Most financial choices boil down to simple math. Add up the gains, subtract the costs, and you should get a number that helps you draw a conclusion. Those numbers are particularly useful when trying to make a major life decision, such as whether or not to sell the family home.

Given how hot big city markets like Toronto are these days, the math would certainly make a compelling case to sell. Yet according to the April sales data from the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), listings are down 27% year-over-year in the GTA. Despite brisk sales and skyrocketing prices, most homeowners living in semi-detached and detached homes are choosing to stay put. (A similar lack of…

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Avoid Foreclosure! 6 Ways To Save Your Kamloops Home

Worrying about debt is stressful. Worrying about how to avoid foreclosure is one of the most stressful situations someone can find themselves in.

If you’re struggling to make your mortgage payments or if you can’t pay your mortgage at all right now, there are things you can do that will help you to avoid foreclosure and manage your situation better.

It would be a good idea to take action regarding the following tips if you’re one, two or three payments behind on your own mortgage. There are many homeowners in different kinds of scenarios some include death in the family,  divorce, job loss, or medical emergencies that lead them to falling behind in foreclosure. The great news is because there are methods to prevent foreclosure and save your house.

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Owner Financing - What you need to know

5 Reasons to Offer Owner Financing

It seems a bit counter intuitive for someone who owns home to allow a buyer to pay over time for their property. After all, wouldn’t it be better to get all the money in one go thereby requiring the buyer to get financing from a bank? Well, sometimes it’s more lucrative for the seller to offer financing and here’s why:

1. Better Selling Price

In a buyer’s market, it can take a while for a property to sell, and once a home has been on the market for longer than 60 days,  real estate agents often encourage the seller to drop the price. To attract more interest, they make sure that all the marketing materials, including the For Sale sign, clearly show that the price has been reduced. However, instead of cutting the…

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Ten Ways To Know Your Home Is Overpriced

Pricing a Home For Sale

Overpricing a home is one of the biggest blunders in Real Estate. In fact when you overprice your home it is one of the hardest things to recover from even if you end up reducing later on down the road. After being in the Real Estate industry for the last twenty eight years it has become common place to see overpriced homes languish on the market. Pricing a home for sale properly is critical part of any successful real estate equation!

You see it so many times over and over by sellers who think their home is worth more than the next guy down the street. I suppose it is human nature for all of to think anything we own is better. Sometimes a seller’s misguided belief is fueled by some foolish Real Estate agent who has mislead…

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9 Fabulous ‘Home Upgrades on a Budget’ Ideas you need to try out

Here are Some Fabulous ‘home Upgrades On A Budget’ Ideas You Need To Try Out

1. Paint the Door

Create a striking first impression by either changing the front door altogether or repainting it. An additional coat of paints for the other doors in the house would also not hurt much. Change all the handles, door knobs and hinges. These are easy and inexpensive changes that would make a radical transformation to the way your house looks.

2. Change the Backsplash

Kitchen tiles tend to become dirty and dull pretty soon, spoiling the entire look of the kitchen in the process. So opt to change at least the backsplash to make your kitchen look cleaner and more inviting. Tiles can be expensive, so opt for alternatives like wooden beadboards, tin ceiling…

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The Best Builder Upgrades to Buy in a New Home

New home builders make money by selling upgrades.

Usually, if you get all the builder upgrades, you can easily double the price of your home or more. This article will explain which upgrades are best to purchase from the builder and which can be done at a later date.

Lot
Upgrading your lot to a larger lot or a more preferred location is a great upgrade to purchase since you generally cannot change your home's location in the future.

Structure
Structural changes are also good to upgrade before the home is built. Adding an additional garage, an extra bathroom, or a covered back porch are usually more difficult and costly after the home is built.

Electrical and Plumbing
Electrical or plumbing additions or changes are good to upgrade before a home…

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