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By admin, July 10, 2009 3:58 pm

Your credit score is used by most companies to see if you are a good credit risk or not. A credit score of over 680 is considered excellent.

What Can You Do to Improve Your Score?

1. Order a copy of your credit report from www.equifax.com or www.transunion.com to review it and make sure there are no errors.
2. Pay your bills on time.
3. If your credit history is questionable, open a few new accounts and use them responsibly.
4. Don’t open accounts and not use them. Having 6 or 7 of the same type of credit does not work in your favour.
5. Keep your balances low relative to your amount of credit available.
6. Pay off credit card debts!

What Does This Mean to Home Buyer’s?

The better your credit score the higher you buying power (income dependent as well). You will also qualify for the best mortgage products at the best rates.

To see what your credit score is and how much of a home you can afford, make sure to talk to your Real Estate Agent and Mortgage Broker before shopping for your Toronto Home.

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By admin, July 2, 2009 9:03 pm

I have a great condominium listing right now and we have had lots of traffic from Buyer’s Agents.  What surprises me the most is the calls I keep getting from Buyers who are just calling around to a bunch of listing agents to view their listings.  There is very little awareness in the marketplace as to the advantages of having a Buyer’s Agent working on your behalf.

First of all you don’t need to search the Toronto MLS for listings every day. An agent can automatically send you the listings that meet your search criteria and let you know about exclusive listings that are not available to the public.

The agent schedules the appointments for you and can work within your schedule to make sure you get to see all the homes you are interested in.  It is so much easier to be “chauffeured” around rather than randomly go see homes on your own.

An agent will also educate you on the process of buying a home.  This way when you find the perfect home for you, you will be confortable and ready to put in an offer.

The agent will prepare the Offer of Purchase and Sale for you and will include clauses to protect your interest, for example the conditions of financing or a home inspection.  They will negotiate on your behalf to get you the best possible price for the home.  A selling agent wants to get the highest possible price for their client’s home.  This is not the price you want or should be paying, a well prepared agent will pull comparables in the area to help negotiate the best possible price for you as a buyer.

In a multiple offer situation, an agent is essential to helping you form the right pricing and terms strategy to get you the home of your dreams.

And after the negotiation is over, their job is not done until closing where they work with the lawyer, the lender, and the seller’s agent to make sure that everything will be ready for closing.

So instead of going in by yourself to meet with the listing agent, hire someone you can trust to represent you and protect your interests in achieving your Real Estate goals.

When buying your home in Toronto, make sure to hire a Buyer’s Agent!

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By Lisa Collins, July 3, 2008 9:51 pm

Again today I overheard a conversation about someone who bought a condominium and probably paid too much by working with the listing agent.

Let me explain a few things.  When I am representing a seller I want to get them the best possible price for their home.  If a buyer comes to me directly and wants to buy the home I would not be able to represent them to their advantage.  The biggest question in my mind is how can I get my seller the most for their home while at the same time helping the buyer pay the least amount for the same home.  It’s a catch-22.  Someone is always going to be unhappy and most of the time it is the buyer since they are getting the short end of the deal.

So the major advantage of having a buyers agent is that in the long run they will save you money. A buyers agent also work for free until they get paid by the seller from the proceeds of the sale.  So any buyers out there who are not being properly represented give me a call, I am never too busy to help you out.