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.
You are starting your search for Toronto Real Estate and you aren’t really sure which neighbourhood to choose. There are so many great areas in Toronto, how do you decide. Here are some factors to keep in mind:
• What activities do you regularly engage in. Do you go to the movies? Do you attend church? How far are you willing to travel for these activities.
• Look into the schools and child care options available in the area. How do the schools score? Are you interested in private, public, French or Catholic education? Do you need before and after care? Even if you don’t have children now you may in the future and a good school will be important to you then.
• Is the area safe?
• How close do you need to be to work? Some people don’t mind a long commute. Some prefer the train over driving. What is important to you and does the area have transportation available or easy access to highways? Are you prepared to drive an hour to work and be able to afford more of a house?
• Walk or drive around the area to see if you get a homey feeling before you start looking at homes. Being focused on a particular neighbourhood will help your Real Estate Agent pinpoint the right homes for you.
There are many websites that offer neighbourhood information. One of my favourties is ZooCasa
Also I have a pageon this blog that links to the Toronto Life website and their information about neighbourhoods.
Enjoy and if you have any questions about Toronto Homes for Sale and various neighbourhoods, give me a call.
Well, it may not be hot outside this Victoria Day Weekend in Toronto but the Real Estate Market is really taking off. April sales were down 3% from the previous year but this is a big improvement over previous months this year.
I have been quite busy with first time home buyers this month. I attribute this to great home inventory on the market and historically low interest rates. I always love to work with them because of the unique process I take them through. This is a great journey they are embarking upon and I want to meet them in person before we go to look at any homes. First, it is important to make sure they have been pre-approved to buy a home. Then, I like to lead them through the home buying process. Only then do we look at their unique needs and start looking at homes for sale in Toronto after setting up their personlized listing notification system.
To sign up for my unique buyer system, give me a call at 416-518-8188 or e-mail me at info@torontosuburbs.ca.
When I meet with prospective sellers, one of the components of my presentation is the sellers net sheet. The seller net sheet simply anticipates the money you will receive from the home sale, once all fees and charges are settled.
The seller net sheet calculates your closing proceeds after you enter variables such as your mortgage payoff, sales price, sales commission, pending real estate taxes, and closing costs.
Why is this tool so important. First of all it show you, the seller, what costs are involved in selling their home. Not everyone realizes all the costs associated with selling a home. Secondly it shows whether there will be money left over at the end of the day. If not then a short sale would have to be negotiated if defaulting on a mortgage was likely.
Don’t put your home on the market without knowing where you stand.
To book a Free Market Evaluation of your Toronto Real Estate, give me a call at 416-518-8188.
1 in 5 tenants in Ontario do. That is a lot of money to spend to have a roof over your head. Rents are very high right now because of lower vacany rates. A landlord knows he can charge more for rent because there are more tenants competing for the property.
If you have good credit may qualify for a mortgage and with the Real Estate market in Toronto becoming a strong buyer’s market, housing affordability is more attainable than it has been in the last few years.
So if you want to stop:
paying rent and
paying someone else’s mortgage
and build some equity of your own. Now is the time to make your move!
Real Estate Investors, now is the time! There are many condominium projects on track for the GTA and now is a great time to buy them. With it harder for some people to attain mortgage financing, they are once again renting and with this increased demand there are fewer rental units available. The current vacancy rate is hovering around 2%. Some speculators may also find this helpful if they want to hold onto their units until the market gains again.
How can I help?
I can list your condominium on the MLS for sale or rent or both and we can see where the offer that is best for your situation comes from. For you to rent out your unit, remember you want to still be able to cover your costs (mortgage, condominium fees, and property taxes) and still draw in some rental income each month. Call me today (416.518.8188) and we can set up a time to meet and work through the numbers together.
Looking to buy a condominium as an ivestment, I can help you decide where you want to buy and how much you want to invest.
My graphs are now up to date to reflect November 2008 and the results are compelling but also support the facts that we are now in a buyer’s market.
If we look at average days on the market compared to last year we see that the average days on the market are at 40 compared with 32.5 last year. This means it will take a little longer to see your home. 40 days is still a completely reasonable amount of time to sell a home.
Now if we look at the list to selling ratio, this indicates that sellers are not getting the same amount for their homes as they were a year ago. The list to selling ratio is still around 97% which is also very healthy.
The average price for a home is down around 5% to $374,483.
Definitely a buyer’s market with more home son the market for longer at a better price. But as I have noted on this blog before the press is all negative. Homes are still selling but last year this time there was a rush to market to avoid the new Land Transfer Tax which pushed the average home price up quite high in the GTA because people buying homes in a higher price range were trying to avoid the extra tax.
The market now is following the same trends it did in 2006 and 2007 but 2008 was an artificially inflated year simply because of the Land Transfer Tax.
Did you know you are in the 2nd largest demographic for purchasing real estate?
When I was single and looking to move out of the nest (mom and dad’s) they would not let me pay rent and boy am I glad for their advice. I bought a reasonably priced condominium, in a great neighbourhood and used the equity I built up in it to buy a home for my family. If it had not been for that equity I am not sure what we would have been able to afford.
This demographic trend of course is supported by success woman are having in their careers.
So where do you start? Get together with a mortgage professional to see how much you can afford and the amount you are able to pay towards your mortgage each month. Keep in mind condominium fees if this is the type of home you are looking for since this will be part of your monthly carrying costs. Work with a Realtor to narrow your search by type of home, price range, and neighbourhood. Then start looking at homes that meet your criteria.
You will experience the pride of owning something for yourself and as you progress in your career you will have the opportunity to climb not only the corporate ladder but the property ladder as well.
I look forward to helping you with achieving your SF (Single Female) Real Estate Goals in 2009. Interest rates are still historically low and starter home prices are very attainable for most.
What do you think of Real Estate Agents? In general, people don’t really like us as a group. Why is that? Did they have a bad experience? Did their agent not treat them like gold? These are all rhetorical questions but I invite you to share your experiences in the comments area so I can learn more.
A Real Estate Agent needs to be a trusted advisor just as you go to your doctor for medical advice you should feel comfortable going to your Real Estate Agent with question about Real Estate. I am sure many of you right now have lots of questions. Is now a good time to put my home on the market? What will make my home saleable in a slow market? Should I buy now or wait for prices to go down more? Why is there such a huge difference in prices this year? To name a few.
I can answer these and any other questions you have and I value your relationship with me. I am going to stick with you until you are ready to make the move. It is not up to me to decide which house for you to buy, it is your decision. I am not pushy when I work with my clients, when negotiating on their behalf, yes. To me any person can be a huge “pipeline” to future business. If I build a phenomenal relationship with you, the word will get out and you will feel comfortable referring your friends to me. It is not just about the sale. I have bills to pay too but if I treat my clients right then everything else just falls into place.
I want to be your Realtor for Life. So let’s get started soon and have coffee to get to know each other first. I know everyone is busy now with the holiday’s approaching but if you have any questions you can always just e-mail me at info@torontosuburbs.ca or call me at 416.518.8188.
TORONTO, December 04, 2008 — Greater Toronto REALTORS® recorded 3,640 transactions last month, from 7,313 sales in November 2007, Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O’Neill announced today.
Year-to-date sales figures for the Greater Toronto Area show 72,086 transactions in 2008, from 88,695 sales recorded in the same January to November period a year ago. By contrast, the 2008 year-to-date average price in the GTA is $379,489, from $375,445 in 2007.
“Its important for the public to understand that while sales activity has moderated in 2008, due to current economic conditions, the average price of homes has increased from 2006 still making real estate a solid long term investment,” said O’Neill.
In the 416 area, 1,523 transactions took place last month, from 3,426 sales recorded in November 2007. From a year-to-date perspective, there have been 28,806 sales in the 416 area this year, from 36,804 transactions a year ago.
In the 905 Region 2,117 homes changed hands last month, from November 2007’s 3,887 sales. The 905 Region’s year-to-date figures show 43,280 transactions this year, from 51,891 sales recorded during the same period in 2007.
“Homeownership in the Greater Toronto Area continues to be an affordable, stable and secure investment,” said Ms. O’Neill. “Home buyers and sellers should be confident about their bricks and mortar investment which provides shelter and a place to raise a family.”
“Home prices are affordable, interest rates are at historical low levels and the supply of homes for sale is good providing additional reasons for buyers thinking of entering the market,” added O’Neill.
The average price of a home in the GTA last month was $368,582, from $393,747 noted in November 2007. In November 2006 the average price was recorded at $355,727.
In the 416 area, last month’s average price was $390,225, from $433,859 noted in November 2007. The average price recorded in November 2006 was $381,188. From a year-to-date perspective the 2008 average price in the 416 area is $411,155, from last year’s $411,640.
In the 905 Region, the average price recorded last month was $353,012, from $358,391 recorded in November of 2007. In November 2006 the average price was $335,522. The year-to-date average price in the 905 Region this year is $359,245, from $349,774 in 2007.
The average number of days a home currently remains on the market in the GTA is 41, from an average of 32 days last November. There are currently 27,037 homes listed on the TorontoMLS system compared to 18,309 available properties in November 2007.
“While homeownership offers immediate benefits and long term value by way of equity, it also provides tax benefits over time,” said Ms. O’Neill. “If you bought a house five years ago, it would be worth more than 20 per cent more today.”
“As REALTORS®, we help build communities and will continue to do so even during challenging economic times,” added Ms. O’Neill. “It’s important to consult with a REALTOR® to get accurate local market information.”
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