Kamloops - Top BC Real Estate Investment Towns

The Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) released the 2013 edition of its Top British Columbia Investment Towns report.

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The 110-page report analyzes the current and future prospects for real estate investment opportunities in the province over the next decade and has once again ranked Kamloops as a top investment community. However, the city’s ranking has dropped slightly, from third place in a previous edition of the report to fifth place in the most recent edition. The entire report is available for download free of charge at www.topbctowns.com.

While remaining a popular vacation destination for BC residents, Kamloops has also succeeded in attracting many non-tourism related…

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6 Surprising Ways To Grow Your Investing Business With A Real Estate Agent

When I talk to real estate investors about the deals they’re doing, I’m surprised how often they choose to skip working with a real estate agent in favor of doing the deal themselves. From a dollars-and-cents perspective, I can understand that they are counting the cost of doing the work themselves versus paying a fee to an agent. And, it’s an unfortunate reality in the real estate industry, that there are many agents who are not “investor-savvy” and operating with the investing mindset that these types of investors need.

However, I can also tell you, as someone who invested in his first door at the age of 18 and then became a real estate agent in the 1980s, there are a group of us investing-savvy agents who are simply NOT being utilized to the degree…

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What is CMHC Mortgage Insurance?

When you buy a home, your best results will come when you make it a point to make a 20% down payment. However, for some Canadians, that much of a down payment is prohibitive. So, what can you do if you can’t make such a big down payment? If you are willing to pay extra for your mortgage, you can get special insurance to help lenders feel better about approving you for a loan with less than 20% down.

The Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation provides mortgage loan insurance to lenders for home buyers with a down payment of less than 20%, to as low as 5%. It offers a way for borrowers to get away with putting down a lower down payment than a lender might like. It’s one way to boost home purchases in Canada.

However, it is important to note that this…

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Can I ditch the home inspection when I buy a house?

To inspect or not to inspect - that is the question!

The question:

I’ve been house hunting for months and finally found a great house, but I know there’s going to be a lot of interest. I know everyone says I need a home inspection, but I’m afraid I’ll lose the house if I put any conditions on the offer. Should I ditch the inspection?

The answer:

Finding the right approach to offer conditions, is hot button topic these days, especially in the Toronto market where multiple offers have become the norm. Sellers with multiple potential buyers will often look to offers with the minimum of conditions, and the home inspection clause is often one of the first to go.

My advice: Don’t succumb to temptation or pressure to ditch a home inspection. If a…

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Canadian Dollar Forecast: Another Interest Rate and Weakness Lie Ahead

Analysts at BNP Paribas say the Bank of Canada will be forced into another interest rate cut - a negative move for the value of the CAD

Underlying U.S. dollar strength and weaker oil prices below $45 kept Canada’s commodity influenced currency near the three-week lows hit Friday.

Near-term, the loonie will take a fundamental cue in Friday monthly growth data, forecast to show the economy grew a third straight month in August, albeit barely with forecasts of 0.1 percent.

The soft growth data has not been enough to convince the Bank of Canada that rates should remain where they are.

Indeed the steady rates profile - arguably a positive for the CAD at this stage - come despite the BoC revising down growth projections for 2016 and 2017 while…

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Rising rents attracting investors in BC

High demand coupled with a lack of inventory. Sound familiar? That combination is not just the domain of the residential housing market, but also the multi-residential property market in Vancouver, as investors, big and small look to get a piece of the action.

According to Avison Young’s Fall 2015 BC Multi-Family Investment Report, demand for multi-residential properties in Metro Vancouver and throughout the province remained exceedingly strong in the first half of 2015. Private buyers – both local and foreign – and, to a lesser extent, institutional investors and REITs, were increasingly willing to accept record pricing and highly compressed capitalization rates as the cost of entry to British Columbia’s coveted multi-family real estate market.

Rising…

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Kamloops Real Estate: Assessed Value, Appraised Value & Market Value?

Whats the difference between Assessed, Appraised and Market values???

Usually, market value is determined by what a buyer is willing to pay for a home, and what the seller is willing to accept. The recent agreed upon sale price of a home is usually the best determinant of a property's market value. However, there are circumstances where the price paid for a home is not the true market value. For example, there may be a special relationship between the parties which resulted in a much lower value being paid. Also, a buyer may have been willing to pay a premium for a property for some reason, and so it sold for much more than it would otherwise be worth.

There are several things to consider when determining the pricing of your home for sale. The most…

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Kamloops Home Sales by area - 2015 Q3 by sub area

Want to know which of he Kamloops communities had the most selling action in the 3rd quarter of 2015?

To see what for is for sale currently in the number 1 sub division of Brocklehurst CLICK HERE or to see all of Kamloops CLICK HERE

To see the full list of all Kamloops properties sold in the 3rd Quarter of 2015 CLICK HERE

To sign up for this information to be emailed to you CLICK HERE

© Kamloops and District Real Estate Association

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Do we have to upgrade our perfectly fine but aging appliances before listing?

Q. Our kitchen appliances are in great working condition, but they’re not the most modern or stylish. We upgraded them along with our kitchen 15 years ago. Do purchasers care if a stove or fridge isn’t stainless steel? Would investing in new units increase our property’s value?

A. “The trick isn’t that all the appliances be modern or stylish, but instead that they are suited to the kitchen they are in,” says Chris Allen, a real estate agent and the author of The Book on Toronto Real Estate.

“Few things stand out as awkwardly as seeing brand new stainless steel appliances in a kitchen with worn melamine countertops, tired old cupboards and tarnished or mismatching cabinet handles.”

He recommends this family skip investing in new units largely…

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Heritage houses and the things you need to know...

Heritage house questions and answers.

Q: What is a Heritage Building?

There are no hard and fast rules, no binding legal definitions, that determine what is, and what is not, a heritage building. Of course, everyone thinks of heritage as old. "Heritage", however, is best understood when joined to another word, such as conservation. The term "heritage conservation" was coined in Canada to describe the movement that advocated an alternative to the thoughtless development and urban renewal that was destroying irreplaceable vintage buildings. In this sense, heritage is clearly understood to mean something worth keeping, preserving, and protecting.

Heritage conservation has in fact been largely concerned with "old" buildings (a very relative term), for…

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