|| Buying 101 – Costs to consider ||⁠

Buying a home can be super exciting, but its important to stay level headed and not get sucked into something you cant afford, here are a few costs to consider when buying a home.⁠ . ⁠ - Mortgage payments⁠ - Private Mortgage Insurance (If your down payment is less than 20 percent of the home's price, you usually are required by the lender to take out a private mortgage insurance policy.)⁠ - Property taxes.⁠ - Utilities. (Once you find the right house, ask the seller for a record of a year's worth of utility bills.)⁠ -Maintenance. (When you own a home, there's no landlord to call if it needs repairs.)⁠ .⁠ If you’re looking to buy and need some guidance, lets talk!⁠ Shay Tanton | 403.993.5882⁠

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|| Summer Maintenance Tips ||

Now that summer's here, you'll want to prepare your home and yard for the summer heat. Here are a few ideas to get you started! Inspect air-conditioners. If you haven't already, prep air conditioners and fans for their busiest season Clean your outdoor cooker. Give your grill a deep cleaning Polish your porch. Thoroughly sweep porch floors; then mop them with an all-purpose cleaner Wash your windows. If you didn't tackle exterior window washing in the spring, now's the time to get your glass clean. Plan your watering schedule. Train your garden to endure dry days by watering deeply a couple times a week, instead of watering lightly daily. Got any other good tips? Reach out, let me know, and I'll make sure to add them to the list!

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Motivation

Motivational Quote

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Finding a New Home When You're Busy! Busy! Busy!

Imagine you have a major project at work, you have to deal with home schooling and you still need to deal with groceries, laundry and dinner. Whoa! That's a busy life.

Can you still find and buy a new home with such a tight schedule? The good news is, you can. In fact, there's plenty you can do to save time.

 Consider these tips:

• Get specific about the home you want to buy. Think about property type (for example, "two story, detached"), number of bedrooms and bathrooms, special features, etc.
• Target areas you'd like to live in. That will avoid trips to see listings in areas that aren't a good fit for you.
• Get the financing arranged. You'll be able to shop for a new home with more confidence when you have a pre-arranged mortgage. It…

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The 3 Most Important thing to consider When Buying a Home

They say the three most important considerations when buying real estate is location, location, location. But what does that mean? How do you break that down? I mean, it sounds cool but how does anyone apply it in a useful way to navigate the biggest purchase of their life? Recently I took the time to break it down and map it out in a useful way to the average buyer. I drew on the years of experience I had helping people buy homes in the new home industry where, as a sales professional I had little control over the physical location. I was in one community sometimes having inventory on only one street. I also spoke with people in my own circle about how they found their perfect home. What mattered to them and how did that fit the paradigm of…

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Tips for Saving for your New Home

Buying a new home takes some planning and some strategic saving; but, with a little forethought coupled with action, you can make home buying a reality.

Be aware that you will need at least a 20% down payment of the purchase price of the house to avoid having to use Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) for default insurance. However, using default insurance through CMHC allows you to place a down payment of only 5% of the purchase price of the home. Keep in mind that you will pay more on your mortgage by obtaining default insurance. Below are some tips to help you save money for a down payment on a house:

Take a look at your monthly expenses. Determine what you can realistically afford to put away per month. Once you have determined…

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How to Get Front-of-the-Line Access to Desirable Homes for Sale

As you've probably noticed, credit card companies regularly offer bonuses to get you to apply for their cards. For example, one such card company offers opportunities to buy tickets to concerts and other events ahead of everyone else. It's their "front of the line" service.

When you’re searching for a new home, wouldn't it be great if you could get to the front of the line on desirable properties – before other buyers get the chance?

Well, in a way, you can.

The first thing you need to do is create a profile for the specific type of home you're looking to buy. That profile will need to include the basics, such as type of home (e.g. detached), size and rooms (e.g. 2000-2,500 sq. ft., 3 bedrooms, 2 baths), and your target…

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Is Getting a Home Mortgage Still Too Difficult?

Potential homebuyers are always cautioned to be aware of mortgage lending standards and the difficulty they might face when trying to obtain a mortgage. Credit availability is expanding, making it easier to get a mortgage now than it was a year ago. The market is still tight however, and homebuyers should be prepared to shop around until they find a lender who is offering something that will meet the needs of their family.

Mortgage lending companies have high standards so it is important to make sure you and anyone else who will be included on the mortgage have their credit in check. The mortgage market is strict because lenders do not want to be put in a situation where they are forced to repurchase loans that are not paid on. They also do not…

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Why Use a REALTOR®?

Industry know-how

To be honest, you won't see as many transactions as a REALTOR® does. An average family buys/sells Real Estate every 5 to 10 years. This is because when you buy a house, you're looking to create a home. You want your family to grow in it and you're only going to look to move from it if your family has outgrown it due to a baby on the way or kids growing up (upsizing) or the house has become too big due to the kids leaving for university or buying their own property (downsizing). This means that you probably don’t have a lot of experience with the ins and outs of real estate.  On the flip side of things, REALTORS® have the experience and education to get things done within the industry. They handle contracts and the real estate process…

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Community Watch: Mount Pleasant

CREB has recently released an informational article on the beautiful Mount Pleasant community, in Calgary. Let's take a look together, and see what it has in store for us!

About Mount Pleasant:

The lands that became northwest Calgary’s Mount Pleasant community were annexed by the City in 1910, making it one of Calgary’s older neighbourhoods. When development began in the area in 1912, Calgary’s population numbered fewer than 50,000 people.

As the city grew to 100,000 people by 1947 and 200,000 by 1955, then-suburban Mount Pleasant experienced an influx of new amenities into the area when North Hill Centre opened its doors in 1958. The opening of the Tran-Canada Highway came four years later, establishing the new thoroughfare as the…

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