Ajax Pickering Real Estate Blog

As the winter season approaches and the air grows crisp, it’s time to start thinking about preparing your house for the season. Once winter blows in, housing have to get serious. It is important to consider the fact that the winter season means spending a lot more time indoors. Roofs must shed rain and snow, windows and doors must reject the cold, and the heating system must keep rooms comfortable. If any of these components don’t hold up, you might be faced with scrambling around in the wet, cold and dark to fix them.

By handling these important yet reasonably easy tasks, you can avoid considerable grief later.

1 ) Inspect the roof
If possible, go up onto the roof to check its condition. Look for cracked or missing shingles, bald spots on shingles, missing or damaged flashing, and other conditions that might allow leaks. Replace any roof shingles that are missing or damaged. You can also seal minor cracks or tears with roofing cement or do the minor repairs yourself.

2 ) Check the gutters
While you’re on the ladder, look into the gutters. If they are clogged with leaves and debris, clean them. Gutters prevent basement and foundation flooding and water damage to siding, windows, and doors. When clogged with leaves and debris, they will fill with rainwater and overflow.

3 ) Look at the siding
Check the siding for cracks or damage. You can seal-up any leaky spots with clear caulking compound. But, if close inspection of the paint reveals problems such as blistering, peeling, wrinkling, or chalking, either touch them up or call a painting contractor.

4 ) Investigate weather stripping
Also look to see if windows and doors are effectively sealed with weather stripping. Weather stripping will prevent drafts and winter heat loss. If weather stripping is damaged, it’s usually easiest and most effective to entirely replace it rather than to repair it.

5 ) Check your heating system
Have your heating system checked by a licensed heating/air-conditioning professional. Most furnace manufacturers recommend at least annual inspections.

6 ) Sweep the chimney
Have your chimneys inspected by a chimney service and, if necessary, cleaned. Cleaning is generally recommended at least once a year for an active fireplace.

7 ) Trim the trees
Trim trees away from the house. Have dead trees and branches removed by professional tree trimmers, or do it yourself.

8 ) Check the smoke and carbon monoxide detector
Buy extra smoke detector batteries and change them when daylight savings ends. Also, test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they work and buy a fire extinguisher or replace an extinguisher older than 10 years.

9 ) Store plenty of salt
Make sure you are stocked with rock salt, snow shovels, and any other items you will need during the winter.

10 ) Drain and shut off outdoor water faucets remove and store garden hoses,

11 ) Examine the basement floor and walls for cracks or leaks; seal as needed.

If you plan to reside elsewhere during the winter months, you may want to partially shutdown your home. In addition to the tips above, consider the following:

* Leave the temperature at its lowest setting, usually between 5 to 7 degree Celsius or install a low-heat thermostat to maintain the air temperature at approximately 5 degrees Celsius
* Turn off and drain the water heater; leave a reminder to refill before restarting.
* Keep the electricity on so lights will continue to function (put them on timers).
* Unplug the microwave, clothes dryer, televisions (not on timers) and other appliances not in use.
* To avoid large repair bills and the hassle associated with breakdowns, take the time now to develop an action plan for the coming months. You’ll feel secure in your warm home or while you’re away from home.

The fall season is a good time for you to start thinking about preparing your home for winter. As temperatures begin to drop, your home will require maintenance to keep it in tip-top shape through the winter. By following the easy steps above, you will ensure to have a warm and comfortable winter at the peace of your home!

————————————————————————————————————

Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960

Lori McLeod - Globe and Mail

After three straight months of declines sales of existing homes unexpectedly reversed course in October, gaining 1.3% over the previous month.

However the gain is most likely an aberration rather than a sustainable trend, and sales are expected to decline gradually for the rest of the year and in 2008, said Gregory Klump, chief economist at the Canadian Real Estate Association.

“The rebound was particularly surprising because it was spread right across the country in a number of major markets,” Mr. Klump said. “However we are still expecting that sales will gradually erode, primarily due to a decrease in affordability.”

Sales of resale homes rose to 28,966 units in October, a 7.6% gain over the same month last year, according to statistics from the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Activity rose in Toronto, Edmonton, Hamilton-Burlington, Montreal, Quebec City and Winnipeg. Stronger sales in these markets offset sales declines in Calgary, Vancouver, Saskatoon and Sudbury, cities which have experienced huge home price increases in the past year.

The average price of a resale home in Canada rose 10.6% in October compared with last year to $333,544, the sixth consecutive month in which the increase has exceed 10%. In Toronto, Regina, Saskatoon and Montreal average prices reached their highest levels on record.

Sales activity in most major centres has been very strong at the high end of the market, probably because there’s a dwindling supply of lower priced homes left in many cities, Mr. Klump said.

Residential listings on the Multiple Listing Service dropped slightly in October from September, but still reached their fifth highest monthly level on record.

“Negotiations still favour the seller in nearly all major markets,” Mr. Klump said.

Sales levels are expected to edge down as higher home prices and mortgage rates continue to squeeze buyers out of the market. The posted rate on a five-year mortgage at the big banks is currently sitting at 7.44%, 150 basis points higher than where it was in April.

While sales activity is expected to slow next year, it should still be a very strong year, Mr. Klump said.

“This will be a gradual slowdown but it doesn’t portend disaster. 2008 is still expected to be one of the best years on record, second only to 2007,” he said.

————————————————————————————————————

Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960

How will you know a good house when you see it? What if you buy a house and can’t sell the one you own? How can you make sure you are making a good investment? What if you think you paid too much and home prices drop?

After years of hefty home-price appreciations, it’s natural to wonder how long the good times will last. Real estate markets are cyclical: prices go up and they go down. However, over the long term in this country, prices have tended to move higher. At the end of the 1980s, after a big run up in home prices, real estate agents had a hard time believing that prices could go any higher. The market did cool in the early 1990s. But today home prices are much higher than they were in the early 90s.

To protect yourself when you buy a home, adopt a long-range horizon. Don’t buy unless you plan to hold the property for at least 5-10 years. This way you can ride out any downturns in the market and sell when the market improves. Try to avoid getting into a situation where you are forced to sell in a down market. If you have any questions about how long you’ll be staying in the area, postpone your buying plans until there’s more certainty in your life.

For the buy and hold strategy to work you need to make sure that the home you buy will suit your long-term needs. This usually means: don’t buy a home that’s too small. Many first-time buyers make the mistake of buying a tiny starter home because it’s charming and it’s in the right neighborhood. But, two bedrooms, one bath and a postage-stamp lot doesn’t leave much room for growth.

A better strategy to consider might be to buy on the outskirts of a prime neighborhood where you can buy a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home for the approximately the same price. You might not have the most prestigious address today, but you could experience good appreciation, which will finance your trade-up move. And, you’ll be comfortable in the mean time.

Some floor plans are better than others. Ideally, there should be good flow between the rooms. A home with a central hall that leads to many rooms usually is easier to live in, and often times more saleable when the time comes to sell. Considering central hall layouts rather than layouts that ramble; where you have to pass through rooms to reach other rooms. A home with indoor-outdoor living space makes a big difference. A deck or patio off the kitchen, family room or separate dining room provides additional usable space and makes the home feel larger.

Some buyers put off their home buying plans for fear that the real estate market will fall. This seemingly sane strategy can be risky if prices don’t drop. You could be kicking yourself next year when you haven’t bought and home prices are further out of reach.

Remember, there is usually no need to rush to buy in a market that’s loaded with inventory, particularly if new housing developments are in the works near the home you are planning to buy. An over-supply of housing relative to buyer demand (supply and demand theory) puts a downward pressure on home prices.

————————————————————————————————————

Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960