The chaos of moving day is a prime time to forget or misplace essential items.  When you’re preparing for the big move to your new home, the following items are some of the most overlooked (and the most sorely missed in a time of need!).

To prevent the hassle and heartbreak of forgotten possessions and lost information, make a check list containing the following items:

1. Jewelry, watches, and small valuables:  These small, expensive and often irreplaceable items are best kept in a safe deposit box or kept with trustworthy friends or relatives on moving day.

2. Garage door opener:  The old one won’t be of much use at your new house, will it? Be sure to leave it behind for the new owners.  Also, make sure the old owners of your new house give you theirs!

3. Spare keys:  Sets to your old house should remain with the new owners, but don’t forget sets to the new house!  There’s nothing more frustrating than arriving at your new place without a way to get in.

4. Old address books:  Yes, we all have fancy new smartphones, but it seems like families all have a well-worn phone book stashed in a spice drawer somewhere.  These are practically family heirlooms of information, so don’t leave them behind.

5. Unfinished errands:  Do you have any clothes at the dry cleaner?  Books due to the library?  What about other video game or DVD rentals?  It can be a real hassle to settle up on these items from 100 kilometers away, right?

6. Medical records:  While a lot of medical information is digital these days, you should make sure you don’t misplace your copies, including dental information and prescriptions.  It’s easy to lose them at the bottom of a hastily thrown-away box.

7. Make sure you check EVERY cabinet and appliance when you leave – I have had clients leave their favorite Baking Stones in the bottom of the Stove – because they sold the Stove with their house.

8. Lawn Mower.  Although this is not a small item that’s easy to miss, it is easy to forget your lawn mower because it’s likely to be stored in an outbuilding or other location outside of the home.

9. Fire-Resistant Security Box.  Most families have these, but many forget them during a move.  Although most fireproof boxes are purchased to house important papers, such as deeds, titles and other essentials, they can be overlooked if they are stored in an inconspicuous place.

10.  Bathroom Plunger.  It’s not a glamorous essential, but it is a necessary one nonetheless.  Because a plunger is intentionally made to be unobvious when stored in a bathroom, it’s easy to overlook on moving day.

A good rule of thumb is that the last things that you use are likely to be those that are forgotten, so make sure to do a final check through the house before leaving.  As you are packing in the days leading up to the move, make a checklist of the items you need to remember to pack

I make sure my clients’ experience selling their old home and moving into their new dream home is a smooth transition. If you’re interested in a hassle-free home selling experience, please get in touch today:

Direct Line: (519) 771 0886

Email: homes@andreaclendening.com

With the aver­age price of Ontario homes on the rise to almost $360,000, and higher in some cities, the Ontario Real Estate Asso­ci­a­tion (OREA) rec­om­mends poten­tial home­buy­ers look beyond “turn-key” prop­er­ties that are move in ready and con­sider homes that are in need of renovation.

“Every­one wants a house or condo that will be per­fect the minute they move in so they only have to do the min­i­mum amount of work to it,” says Bar­bara Sukkau, pres­i­dent ofOREA. “But with the price of houses con­tin­u­ing to rise, and some buy­ers des­per­ately look­ing for a fam­ily home in a seller’s mar­ket, it may not be an option for all buy­ers. Buy­ing a prop­erty that needs work can be a way to save on the over­all cost even when you fac­tor in the cost of an exten­sive ren­o­va­tion,” says Sukkau.

OREA rec­om­mends poten­tial home­buy­ers work with their Real­tor to iden­tify prop­er­ties that will build equity after improve­ments are made but still remain in bud­get. Together with their Real­tor, home­buy­ers should research what the top homes in the neigh­bour­hood sell for before buy­ing a fixer-upper.

“It doesn’t make sense to invest $100,000 worth of ren­o­va­tions in a prop­erty if the other homes only sell for fifty thou­sand more than what you bought the house for,” says Sukkau. “Buy­ing a house that needs ren­o­va­tion should grow equity — not become a prop­erty that’s too expen­sive for the neigh­bour­hood when you want to sell.”

Sukkau says there are other ben­e­fits to buy­ing a prop­erty that needs ren­o­va­tion, such as the fact that HST does not apply to the price of a resale home, unlike newly built homes, which can save a home­buyer thou­sands of dol­lars. Also, the fed­eral gov­ern­ment cur­rently offers grants up to $5,000 to own­ers who want to make their home more energy effi­cient. If an older home needs new win­dows or a new fur­nace, then home­own­ers can apply for the grant for this cost. And finally, ren­o­vat­ing a home lets the home­buyer add their own per­son­al­ity to the space and deter­mine what’s most impor­tant to them. Newly built homes, while beau­ti­ful, can have a cookie-cutter feel and look very sim­i­lar to the other homes in the neighbourhood.

No mat­ter if a home­buyer decides on a fixer-upper or a prop­erty that needs no improve­ments, accord­ing to Sukkau the most impor­tant thing is for poten­tial home­buy­ers to know their bud­get and stick to it. “Before look­ing at any home, dis­cuss with your Real­tor what your bud­get is for both the prop­erty and any pos­si­ble ren­o­va­tion. Even though it is dif­fi­cult, remain emo­tion­ally detached when look­ing at homes, and if a prop­erty is beyond your means, then move on to the next one,” says Sukkau.

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Contact Andrea Clendening by calling (519)771-0886 on her direct line. 

Andrea Clendening is a local Realtor  with Remax Twin City Realty Inc,

She did not write these arti­cles, they just repro­duce them here for peo­ple
who are inter­ested in local real estate. 

I arrived home last night after a fantastic 2 day seminar with Brian Buffini! I am so excited to start putting what I have learned into actions, so that I can better serve past, current and future clients to the highest degree possible.

Living next door to someone doesn’t make you a neighbor.  It makes you an adjacent homeowner.  One of the great opportunities we have in our communities is the chance to build real, meaningful relationships with the people who live closest to us.

While I understand the desire for privacy, I think it’s important we realize that regular, helpful communication with our neighbours makes us both safer and paves a smooth road for difficult conversations we might face with our neighbours in the future.

Small gestures such as a nice note about landscaping, an invitation to a pot luck, or an “all hands on deck” community improvement project allow us to get to know our neighbours.  This is vital when you consider the people around you are the most likely to spot smoke in a fire, clue you in to suspicious activity, and have the opportunity to share vital local information.

What’s more, if you build a positive base with your neighbours, when the time comes to have a difficult conversation (such as a nuisance dog, kids running amok, or intrusive lighting issues), you’ll have a buffer of mutual respect and goodwill to draw on.

If your opening conversation with a neighbour is a complaint, you’re setting yourself up for a long, antagonistic relationship.  Who wants to live next to that?

It doesn’t take much to start off the right way.  Consider leaving a nice note in their mailbox, a small “thank you” gift for looking out for the neighborhood, or some other “olive branch” act that will build rapport.

I think a civil community depends upon our connection to our neighbours.  We all benefit when we depend on and trust one another.

Excerpt of an arti­cle by James Daw – Toronto Star

Mort­gage inter­est rates have fallen from the peak they hit this sum­mer, but var­i­ous eco­nomic fore­cast­ers pre­dict there are more sav­ings to come.

Even with­out fur­ther reduc­tions, a lead­ing mort­gage bro­ker­age sug­gests it might not be wise for home­own­ers and buy­ers to lock them­selves into a five-year term right away.

Where U.S. rates go, Cana­dian rates would likely fol­low. The Bank of Canada would not want to encour­age a fur­ther rise in our dol­lar that would bring more pain to manufacturers.

Rubin pre­dicts the inter­est yield on 10-year gov­ern­ment bonds will fall by half a per­cent­age point or more, pro­vid­ing a lift to the price of bank and other finan­cial ser­vices stocks over the next sev­eral months.

If bond yields fall, then mort­gage inter­est rates would soon fol­low, although not nec­es­sary as quickly or as far.

“A prag­matic and flex­i­ble Fed­eral Reserve Board is likely to limit any con­ta­gion effects from a slump­ing hous­ing mar­ket with at least three rate cuts next year,” Rubin wrote last month.

In Canada, Rubin pre­dicts our cen­tral bank will cut short-term rates by as much as a full per­cent­age point next year, twice the half-point rise he pre­dicts for long-term bond inter­est yields.

(While con­sumers might enjoy Rubin’s fore­cast on inter­est rates, he’s stick­ing to his pre­dic­tion that oil will even­tu­ally hit $100 (U.S.) a bar­rel, and cer­tainly rise from the recent $60 level past the $77 peak hit in July. He does, how­ever, con­cede that a short-term rise in inven­to­ries and a tame hur­ri­cane sea­son could tem­porar­ily lower prices to $50. Regard­less, he expects nat­ural gas prices to con­tinue falling, and to hurt the price of energy stocks and income trusts that rely heav­ily on gas exports.)

Major banks have cut their posted mort­gage rates from 6.95% for five-year terms in mid-August to 6.6% as of the end of last week. They have cut their one-year rates from 6.6% to 6.4%.

Mean­while, inter­est yield on five-year gov­ern­ment bonds has fallen nearly 0.6 of a per­cent­age point com­pared with the 0.35-point reduc­tion in five-year mort­gage rates. That leaves room for fur­ther mort­gage rate reductions.

For that rea­son alone, Invis, a national chain of mort­gage bro­kers based in Lan­g­ley, B.C., is urg­ing savvy con­sumers who need to renew or nego­ti­ate a mort­gage to be strate­gic about their choice of mort­gage term.

“A more sophis­ti­cated mort­gage con­sumer who prefers the com­fort of a fixed-rate, but doesn’t want to miss out on poten­tial sav­ings if rates do con­tinue to fall, just might have a solu­tion,” Invis suggests.

They could work with a mort­gage bro­ker — hint, hint, nudge, nudge, know who they mean? — to select a variable-rate mort­gage that can be con­verted at any point dur­ing the term into a fixed-rate mortgage.

The one pro­viso Invis sug­gests to con­sumers is this: Ensure from the out­set that the fixed-rate mort­gage will be offered at a fully dis­counted rate, and not just the rate posted on the door or offered to renewal cus­tomers to see if they will bite.

At the time Invis did its analy­sis, con­sumers who fol­lowed the strat­egy stood to save as much as 0.4 of a per­cent­age point enough to save $3,848 in inter­est over five years if you hap­pened to have a $200,000 mort­gage amor­tized over 25 years.

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Does your landlord quickly handle maintenance issues?  Are your neighbors quiet and courteous? Do people in your building take pride in the upkeep of common areas?

Most of the renters I’ve talked to say “no” to every one of these questions.  They also feel like they have no choice but to put up with the inevitable inconveniences of renting– noise, strange odours, lazy maintenance.  Many have a hard time imagining exactly how they’ll escape the “rental trap.”

If you feel this way, I’d like to extend a friendly introduction and invite you to have a conversation about how you might become a homeowner.  You see, I specialize in helping people make the transition from renting to owning.

There’s a lot of misinformation out there about buying a home, especially given how much the media focuses on a “bad housing market.”  The truth is actually not so simple.  Great opportunities exist for first-time buyers, or previous owners who now want to leave their renting nightmares behind.

Even if you’re not in a position to consider home ownership right now, I can definitely provide you with some advice and resources to get you on the right path.  (Imagine the satisfaction of knowing your rent check isn’t going into someone else’s’ pocket!)

If you’re curious how I can help make home ownership a reality for you, send me email at homes@andreaclendening.com or give me a call at 519-771-0886.  There’s no obligation.  Even if you’ve just wanted to ask a real estate agent a few questions, I’d be more than happy to help.

RE/MAX Twin City Realty Inc. has emerged as the frontrunner in the Brant County marketplace, after securing the #1 position in marketshare with the acquisition of Remax Heritage Inc. 

“We’ve had an eye on expansion in this community for quite a while now,” says Peter DeGroot, Broker-Owner, RE/MAX Twin City.  “This opportunity was particularly favourable.  Paris is a growing community with an active housing market.  Increasing the size of our franchise will allow us to better serve our clients with more locations, while firmly solidifying our reputation as a leader in local real estate.” 

The merger brings the total number of RE/MAX Twin City offices to seven, with a total of 407  realtors serving the communities of Brantford, St. George, Paris (and surrounding areas), Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and New Hamburg. 

“RE/MAX Twin City has long been a force in its local marketplace,” says Michael Polzler, Executive Vice President, RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada. “Now with over 35 per cent marketshare, the franchise is a virtual powerhouse, representing one in every three properties listed in the Brant County area.  Under the careful direction of its management team, we are certain this expanded operation will continue to flourish.” 

RE/MAX Twin City’s existing Brantford office is  located at 515 Park Road North, the newly acquired paris facility remains at 1 Grand River St North.  For more information, visit: www.remaxtwincity.com.

RE/MAX is Canada’s leading real estate organization with over 17,700 Sales Associates in more than 650 independently-owned and operated offices.  The RE/MAX franchise network, now in its 35th year of operation, is a global real estate system operating in over 65 countries.  More than 7,000 independently-owned offices engage over 110,000 Sales Associates who lead the industry in professional designations, experience and production while providing real estate services in residential, commercial, referral, relocation and asset management

A home is the largest investment that you can make! You should take the time to research the team you are going to want to work with.

Step 1 – Work on a Budget

I really like Debt Free Forever: Take Control Of Your Money And Your Life by Gail Vaz-Oxlade this book is fantastic as determining how you should work out your budget to make sure that you are living within your means.  You need to make sure that all your expenses including Utilities,  RRSP’s, RESP’s, Utilities, Taxes, Groceries, Daycare  etc are accounted for.

Step 2 – Finance

You have taken the time to save your down payment – now you should talk with Mortgage Brokers, Banks or Credit Unions.  Make sure that you provide them all the paperwork required so that you have a clear idea of what you are qualified to purchase.  Paperwork that may be required – 3 years of T4′s and Notice of Assessments, Letter of Employment and a copy of a recent pay stub, proof of down payment. You should ask the bank you choose to use to pull your full credit report and have a clear idea of what debt you have. When the bank gives you the amount that you are pre-approved for, ask what the monthly payment will be. Ask what the payment will be if you paid less as well. Make sure that you are comfortable with the monthly payment and that it fits in your budget, all too often I have seen clients purchase the full amount the bank has approved them for but when it comes time to pay their mortgage they realize they have no money to put towards RRSP’s, trips or any fun activities.  Check out Mortgages Made Easy: The All-Canadian Guide to Home Financing by Douglas Gray, for an idea on how Mortgages work.

Step 3 – Find a Realtor

Talk to friends and family, visit open houses and check out the local newspapers. Interview a few Realtors, this is the person who is going to assist you in making a major investment. You want to know what their qualifications are, if they are going to be there for you, if they are going to have time for you or if they are going to push you off on an assistant or mignon of some sort instead of working with you on a personal level. Tell the realtor what your “NEED” list is and what your “WISH” list is  – this is not always the same thing. Make sure they have a clear picture of what your MAXIMUM comfort level is,  so they can properly assist you along the way.

Step 4 – Home Inspector

Home Inspections are a very important step, some people feel if a home is only a few years old they don’t need an inspection. NOT TRUE! I have seen New Builds that need a lot of work because they were built too fast.  You need to ask your realtor or friends and family for Home Inspectors they have used in the past, then call the Inspectors themselves to ask them what their qualifications, what their report includes, and the cost of the inspection. Remember spending a few hundred today can save you THOUSANDS in the future. For more info about Inspections check out Holmes Inspection - by Mike Holmes.

Step 5 – Lawyer

A Lawyer is the final person that you will need in this process. Not all lawyers are the same, again you need to call realtor or friends and family to ask about who they recommend. Then again you need to call the Lawyers themselves and ask  them what they charge and their hours. I know of a few lawyers that have stayed open late so that a buyer could pick up a key.

Step 6 – Move in

Congratulations!!!

For more info contact;