According to the 2012 TD Canada Trust First Time Home Buyers Report, the majority of buyers say they would have done some things differently when
purchasing a home.

The top three things that people would have done differently:

1) 60% of First Time Buyers said they should have been more thorough when budgeting and accounting for all of the costs associated with purchasing a home. Click here for some uselful information on home closing costs you should be prepared for.
 
2) 60% of First Time Buyers said they would have made a bigger down payment. Click here for an easy explanation of why a larger down payment will help and you can also use the handy mortgage calculator to see how different down payments will effect your monthly mortgage payments.

3) 55% of First Time Buyers wish they had purchased their home sooner. Are you currently paying rent? Click here to see the benefits of home ownership vs. paying rent.

Read the report in it's entirety here: http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1015775/first-time-home-buyers-reflect-on-their-rookie-mistakes

Do you have anything to add? What advice would YOU give to people who don't yet own their own home? I'd love to hear from you!

Are you a First Time Home Buyer looking for more information? I'd love to help, contact me today!
 

You see "For Sale By Owner" signs popping everwhere and there is a barage of new property selling services that allow you to market your home on realtor.ca and you think to yourself... "I can do this, I can sell my own house and save me all the money I otherwise would have spent in Realtor commission fees." Here are a few things you should consider before venturing down the very complicated path of selling your own home. 

1. The exposure your home will receive is extremely limited. There is much more to selling a home than simply posting it on realtor.ca. You are limiting your exposure to potential buyers and their agents which will result in it taking longer to sell your home which in turn will result in lower offers.

2. Negotiating is not a fun experience for most people. Buyers find it extremely awkward to sit accross the table from a Seller and tell them what they think their house is worth. They will either avoid for-sale-by-owner properties all together or the savvy home buyer will hire they're own Buyer Agent who is going to negotiate on thier behalf. The first thing the Buyer Agent is going to do is negotiate a commission, then they are going to advise their Buyer client to deduct 5% off the asking price before even contemplating putting in an offer. How much have you saved yourself now?

3. The legalities of the contract are complicated. It is one thing to get an offer, but will that offer be able to stand up to the scrutiny of lawyers and will the deal actually close? If you use a lawyer to review all offers before making them firm, you will pay substantial legal fees for this service.

4. The inconvenience of trying to sell your own home is mind boggling. You have to be home for all appointments and if your home is not easily accessible for viewings you stand a very good chance of losing a potential Buyer. As if the inconvenience is not bad enough, you also have to concern yourself with safety, are you really comfortable opening your door to complete strangers who are not accompanied by a prefoessional Realtor to peruse through your home and your belongings?

As always... thanks for reading.

With the change in Brokerages I am in the process of launching my new website
and I'm very excited about how it is turning out. Who knew I could be so
technologically creative? I will be moving my old blogs over here in order to
offer a "one stop" browsing experince for my customers. I am pumped about this
new adventure and I look forward to everything iPro Realty has to offer both me
and my valued customers! The support I have received has been incredible... a huge thank you to iPro Founder Fedele Colucci, our amazing front desk multitasker Cindy Morgan and the wonderful Gid Pereira from our head office in Brampton. THANK YOU all for making this transition so seemless!

Please feel free to share your comments and suggestions! 

When people start thinking about buying a house they often browse around on   mls.ca and make inquiries about signs they see posted on properties that are of   interest to them. What most people don't realize is that if you are calling the  agent on the sign or listing to inquire about a property and book an  appointment to see the property through that agent, the agent doesn't actually work for you,  they work for the seller, and their job is to get the seller the most money for  that property.

Did you know that you can hire me as your BUYER AGENT and  then have an agent working for YOU to get you the best price possible? And the  best part... it would cost you NOTHING. As a buyer's agent I book appointments,  take clients to see houses of interest, work up offers, negotiate pricing,  inclusions, clauses and closing dates and protect my buyer's best interests!

Call me today to get your buyer representation agreement in place and  let's get house hunting!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Although I am new to this game of real estate,and I will admit that I am green when it comes to a lot of the processes, I am shocked to realize that not every real estate agent makes a point of making each  and every customer their number one priority. Maybe after you're at this for a  while you get comfortable knowing that the business will always be there and you  start to take things for granted. I don't ever want to be that kind of Realtor.

I think every customer should feel important. Every customer IS important. I want to get to know my customers, relate to them, care about their needs and build the type of relationship that will last a lifetime. To me, this is what a good real estate agent does. After all, your home is not only the biggest investment you will likely make in your lifetime, but it is also a place  where you build your life, your family, your memories and your dreams. It is not  something that should be taken lightly and it is not a process that should be  rushed and hurried along.

I look forward to building many lasting  relationships over the years and helping people turn their dreams into a  reality.