If you don’t know where to begin when it comes time to prepare your home for sale, follow these 3 quick and easy steps:
Posts
Year: <span>2018</span>
I’ve got a serious myth to debunk. That is, that many feel they don’t need a buyer’s agent because they think they can “get a better deal” by using the listing agent to purchase a property. That couldn’t be further from the truth, and here’s why:
3 Reasons Why You
Shouldn’t Buy From the Listing Agent
#1: We Represent the Seller. Strictly.
If I’m a listing agent, guess who I represent? The seller. Strictly. My job is only protecting the seller’s best interests. That includes getting them the highest price possible for their property. Plain and simple. You’re not getting any deals.
#2: Commission.
When a Realtor and a Seller agree to a commission, it’s one gross commission. The listing side, and the selling side. If another buyer agent sells the property, they get the selling side. But if you choose to be unrepresented then the listing agent gets the entire commission, as agreed from beginning. The listing agent doesn’t get half because you aren’t using a Realtor, that’s NOT how it works. They get the gross commission. You’re not saving anything. In fact, you’ll save more money using a Buyer’s agent who will be able to suggest inspections, negotiate findings and save you money in the long run. So if anything, using a Buyer’s agent will be saving you the most money, not the listing agent.
#3: Clean the Kitchen Appliances
Using a buying agent ensures that YOUR best interests are taken care of, & when using a buying agent is basically free, as the seller pays for our commission, why wouldn’t you?
As Victoria & Vancouver Island is a very popular place to live, I receive a lot of inquiries from home buyers on the daily. From the beginning to end, including a few misconceptions, I’ve decided to put together a brief crash course on the steps to buy a home.
When you own your home, things are going to break and, unless you want to spend your money on visits from a neighborhood handyman, you’re going to need to fix them yourself. Luckily, you don’t need an arsenal of tools to handle most home maintenance fixes. These five tools will cover most of your basic projects.
In case you haven’t heard already, British Columbia’s Finance minister Carole James of the NDP dropped bombs a few weeks ago during the budget announcement. A new “Speculation Tax” has been proposed and will be introduced later this year. What is the BC speculation tax you may ask? How does the BC Speculation tax apply to homeownership in British Columbia? Thoughtlessly, that’s how. It’s as if they just came up with this tax “with the best intentions” but not thinking for more than 45 seconds on the topic.
Moving into a new home is certainly an exciting time! After all that hard work, from the beginning of the search to the last moving box, you’re probably day-dreaming about decor, paint schemes & new furniture at this point. But before you get to the fun stuff there are some basics you should cover first.
Spring seems to taunt us over here on Vancouver Island. We’re blessed with warm weather, then begrudgingly dig our winter coats quickly out of the closet only moments later. We’re quite rudely reminded that it’s still January here in Victoria – the stormy season is still afoot here.
With the impending cold season still afoot, don’t resign yourself to cold and bland days before the spring.
Breathe life into your remaining winter months by introducing a little hygge into your life. What is hygge you might ask? An expression used by the Danes, Hygge (pronounced ‘hooga’) roughly translated means the “art of intimacy (or coziness)”.
Living with hygge means to enjoy the good life with wonderful food and friends.