Archive for the ‘Ajax Real Estate’ Category
What are some renovations that add value to my home?
Investor Education Fund
http://www.investored.ca/
A good investment in a renovation should increase the value of your home by at least the amount of money you spent, or close to it. A bad one doesn’t get you much of your money back. Here are some investments that have proven to return their value, or close to it:
· Low-cost improvements that make your home look better: Painting, new wallpaper, and items like new rugs and curtains help to brighten and improve the look of a home, and add value to your house if they are done close to the time of sale.
· New or improved kitchens and bathrooms: Improvements to your kitchen and bathroom seem most likely to increase the value of your home. Keep in mind that these improvements lose value over time.
· Improvements to the living room and the master bedroom: These are also good investments and will usually return most of the money you spent, if not more.
· Investments in more efficient use of energy: Oil, gas, and hydro costs continue to go up. That’s becoming more of a concern when people are looking to buy a home. You can make your home more energy efficient as an investment in its value. Some government programs help reduce the costs of these projects. Also, consider buying appliances that waste less energy.
· Keeping up with repairs. If you do a little at a time, you can avoid doing a lot of expensive repairs at the same time. A reasonable amount to spend yearly is 1% to 2% of the value of your home.
What are some renovations that don’t add much value to my home?
· Swimming pool: Make sure you want a pool before you invest in a pool. The cost of putting in one won’t show up in the price that you get when you sell a home.
· Costly appliances: Most people won’t want to pay an extra $4,000 for your home to pay for a $7,000 refrigerator instead of a $1,200 refrigerator. If you pay thousands of dollars for top-of-the-line appliances, enjoy them. You probably won’t get your money back if you sell them with your home.
· Costly landscaping: The way your home looks from the street can really help interest buyers. It’s called ‘curb appeal.’ But if you spend $30,000 in landscaping, don’t expect to get it all back. Most buyers probably won’t see or appreciate the value.
· Renovating in an area where homes are being torn down: Tear-down activity involves homes being sold, torn down, and replaced by bigger, more expensive homes. If someone is going to buy your home and tear it down, a renovation won’t return any of your money. The buyer will have no interest in the building, just in the land.
Remember: Don’t assume you will get all your money back from a renovation
The key to renovating is to keep the house in good repair and do the renovations you want to enjoy. If you think you might be selling in the near future, focus on renovations that are more likely to get your money back.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960
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Home not selling? Clean, paint and pare price
Jennifer Wilson-Speedy – Yourhome.ca
If only selling a home was as simple as putting up the “For Sale” sign. Instead, it’s an emotional process balled up with agonizing financial decisions and life changes that only get more stressful the longer the property’s on the market.
Sofie Allsopp helps Brits make over their homes to speed up the sale of stagnant properties in Unsellables UK (Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. on HGTV), an across-the-pond rethinking of the Canadian Unsellables series.
This season, Allsop says, brings “new people (and) some really great properties” – at least, once they’ve cleared up the filth, clutter and worn-out decor.
“I’m always amazed when people’s houses are dirty when they put it on the market.”
In addition to the general turnoff that is grime, clutter “makes a house look so much smaller,” she says, recalling an episode where the newlyweds’ house was piled so high with boxes “you could barely see the floor.”
These kinds of messes not only eat away at valuable floor and counter space but also hinder prospective buyers’ ability to envision their own belongings in the home, which is often a key step in their decision making.
So, if you’re preparing to sell, it’s worth the effort to pare down before the first showings, including stowing family photos and mementos. Allsop also recommends putting oversized or extra furniture into storage to help make rooms feel larger.
Plus, she notes, cutting down on clutter now means less packing when moving day comes.
Faded decor is another Unsellables no-no. Often in houses that have been lingering on the market, “everything just looks a bit tired and unloved,” says Allsop.
As a result, paint is “one of the most important things to do before you put in on the market,” she says, suggesting sellers opt for “pale but interesting” colours, such as muted greens and blues, to help create a fresh look without imposing a bold, and potentially intimidating, personality on the space.
Sellers must also consider their furniture placement. Paring down will help open up spaces, but pieces must also be arranged to emphasize the home’s flow, which means natural walking paths and doorways shouldn’t be blocked. Try to showcase the flexibility of the space too. For example, convey that the home office could also be a bedroom by adding a small bed.
To prevent your home from languishing on the market, Allsop says one of the most important steps is getting a real estate expert to help you set a realistic price. She says a lot of the time people list their homes for too much money – and it ends up sitting for months until they lower the price.
In addition to delays for the sellers, listings that sit on the market also lose appeal with prospective buyers.
“If a house has been on the market for a few months, people will keep seeing it in their (web) searches and it will start to feel stale,” she explains. “Price it for sale.”
And, she adds, don’t forget to give your home’s exterior a little TLC – she notes that will be the photo on your Internet listings.
“You have two seconds to impress before someone clicks on to the next house,” she says. “No one looks at a home with an overgrown yard and says, `This is the house for me.’ ”
Mowing the lawn, painting the front door, stowing the garbage bins and putting out some flowers “will instantly make the front of the house look smarter.”
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960
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Canada’s property market momentum continues
By Sharon Singleton, QMI Agency
Canada’s real estate market showed no sign of losing steam in February, with housing starts rising faster than expected and a new survey showing 10% of Canadians expect to buy a home in the next two years.
Seasonally adjusted housing starts were 196,700 in the month, up from 185,400 in January, according to figures from the Canadian Mortgage Housing Corp. That was above analysts’ forecasts for a 190,000 gain.
RBC’s 17th annual home ownership study found that the number of Canadians saying they are very likely to buy a new home rose from 7% two years ago to 10%. The number of people who view their house as a good investment rose to a 12-year high of 91%.
Canada’s real estate market has been one of the main drivers of economic growth, with housing construction helping to power a 5% expansion in gross domestic product in the fourth quarter.
Some economists have forecast that the property market will begin to cool from the second half, when the Bank of Canada is expected to begin raising interest rates and demand and supply of available housing becomes more balanced.
“The gain in February housing starts was concentrated in the multiple starts segment, particularly in Toronto,” said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre.
Urban multiple starts, or condos, increased by 19.1% to 89,900 units while single urban starts increased by 0.5% to 89,200 units.
Urban starts rose 28.6% in Ontario, 14.3% in Atlantic Canada, 10.8% in the Prairie region and 8% in British Columbia. In Quebec, urban starts dropped 14.1%.
Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17,600 units in February.
According to the RBC poll, younger Canadians between the ages of 18 to 24 are likely to lead the market. About 15% said they were likely to buy, almost double the number in 2009.
About 60% also believe housing prices will continue to rise this year, up from just 25% this time a year ago. They also expect mortgage rates to rise, with two-thirds expecting to have to pay more, the bank said.
That belief is being reflected in the choice of mortgage, with 16% opting for a variable rate loan compared with 20% last year.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960
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