Housing affordability continues to remain stable across Canada, creating the perfect environment for savvy home hunters. With more houses available on the market, buyers are becoming much more competitive, rushing to complete their purchase agreements. Situations like this often lead to costly buyer errors, as anxious home hunters make hasty, uninformed choices. These mistakes are sometimes impossible to reverse, so be careful. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Home Budget
Outlook Shaky As Consumer Debt Expected to Rise
While the Canadian economy appears to be weathering the economic storm with surprising ease, Canadian consumers are beginning to show signs of distress. Just last week, Statistics Canada announced a net worth drop of $4,600 per household in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Canadians continue to borrow and buy on credit. Household debt per capita is up by $600 from the second quarter for a total of nearly $46,100 or 152.98%.
To put this into perspective, the American banks encountered trouble when the ratio of debt to disposable income hit 160%. Canadians are flirting with disaster if indebtedness levels continue to rise. Continue reading
Housing Types
From townhouses to triplexes, there are numerous types of properties available to Canadian consumers. Not sure what layout works best for your family? Then check out our explanation of typical housing types below. Your mortgage payments and regular monthly bills may change depending on the kind of house you acquire, therefore it is vital that you carefully weigh the pros and cons related to each design before you make your final decision.
Condominiums
Condominiums, or condominiums as they’re commonly referred to, are a popular form of housing in larger cities. Inside a condominium contract, you own the unit, but do not own the land the unit is situated on, or any of the common space (lobby, gardens, and so on) outside of your unit. In order to ensure the suitable maintenance of these areas, condo proprietors are generally charged a monthly “condo fee.” Fee’s additionally help take care of things like elevator maintenance tasks, snow removal, and the use of any onsite recreational establishments (swimming pools, work-out devices, etc.). Don’t forget, these types of monthly fees are in addition to your residence mortgage payments. Continue reading
Renovating Before Selling – Is It Worth It?
Before putting your property on the real estate market, many home buyers ask whether or not their home would probably gain value from the home renovation. It could, but there will be things you need to take into consideration prior to finishing home renovations.
Expertise vs. Passion
It’s simple to get up to date watching home renovation episodes on tv and believing it is simple to complete a similar job to enhance your property value. The reality is however, that home owners spend lots of money every day on do-it-yourself home makeovers, and also specialized home makeovers, with no anticipation of turning a profit immediately after selling.
This particular gap frequently occurs because homeowners don’t have the experience to not only know what they are able to actually achieve without specialist help, but also in selecting proper equipment, materials, meeting legal requirements, overcoming building limitations, and in the actual workmanship and completion of the home remodeling.
Research your renovation
Before you begin smashing out walls and ripping up flooring, do a marketplace survey, compare your property to some others in the vicinity and area, and find out how the value and amenities of your home can compare to each other. If your house is the very best and most costly on the street, it’ll be difficult to anticipate exactly what the value of property renovations will be. If your residence lacks alot and is located near other, more modern homes, then maybe an easy facelift would certainly help, however major home renovations, especially before your market your property, in many cases are best left to the specialists.
Use professional guidance
If your heart is set on remodeling your property for sale, a professional will help you achieve that level of finish, even if you have got a small spending budget. Simple renovations for instance choosing a professional painter to decorate your property with fairly neutral tones and soft contrasts can really revitalize your home prior to it going on the market. Likewise, employing a home stager who brings in fresh and new furnishings while your property is available on the market, can modernize your house and offer it additional appeal.
There you have it. When contemplating home renovations to improve the value of your home prior to sale, your best option would be to discuss your decisions with your real estate agent or other brokers, because there will certainly be a limit as to what is achievable and realistic in terms of getting your money back from pre-sale refurbishments. You never know, maybe the thing that will sell your property that fastest is having that “fixer upper” attraction. If you are looking to finance a larger home renovation, FamilyLending.ca can help.
The Costs of Closing on a Home
Did you know that in addition to the downpayment and mortgage, you’re also responsible for any miscellaneous closing costs associated with your home purchase? These fees can vary in price, but all must be paid prior to taking possession of your home. If you’re currently in the market for a new home, now’s the time to consider these hidden costs so that you can incorporate any additional expenses into your budget.
Eight Closing Costs to Keep an Eye On
1) Appraisal Fee
Your mortgage lender or mortgage default insurer may require you to provide a property appraisal prior to lending you mortgage monies. This appraisal will determine whether the selling price of your new home is reasonable based on current market conditions. Home appraisals can cost anywhere from $300 to $500, depending on where in Canada you’re purchasing the property.
2) Sales Tax
If you’re planning to purchase a newly constructed home, or a home that has been substantially renovated, make sure you remember to factor in the HST or GST on top of the list price. Resale homes are not taxable. Luckily, most provinces have HST/GST rebates in place to help first-time home buyers recover some of these costs.
3) Home Inspection Fee
If you’re making an offer on a home, make sure that it’s conditional on the findings of a professional home inspector. Hiring an inspector is voluntary, but highly recommended. An inspection will help uncover any unexpected (and costly!) issues with your potential new home. Home inspections costs between $300 and $500.
4) Property Insurance
Property and content insurance protects your home and possessions against fire, theft, and weather-related damage. Insurance payments, like your mortgage payments, are ongoing so it’s crucial that you keep this cost in mind when building your budget.
5) Land Transfer Tax
The land transfer tax is based on the amount of money you paid for the land. What’s more, municipalities impose a yearly tax on land within their municipal boundaries.
6) Legal Costs
There are a number of legalities that you’ll need to cover when closing on your home. This could include notary services for conducting a title search, registration fees, and the preparation of your mortgage. These fees are normally well over $500, depending on the lawyer you hire.
7) Mortgage Life Insurance
This special type of insurance is separate from your property insurance and your mortgage payments. It is put in place to cover the cost of your mortgage in the event of death or severe illness.
8) Mortgage Default Insurance
If you’ve qualified for a high-ratio mortgage, (this is normally the case for home buyers with less than a 20% downpayment), chances are good that you’ll require mortgage default insurance from your lender. The cost is usually added onto your monthly mortgage payment and rates range from 1% to 3.25%.
Start building your home buying budget today. Consult with a FamilyLending.ca mortgage broker to learn more about these and other unexpected closing costs.
Chantielle Kennedy writer for Familylending.ca