Multiple offers part 1

So heres a little run down on Multiple Offers as they pertain to our region. In the last few months properties that have been priced aggressively have usually resulted in multiple offers. Since the average buyer is most motivated by a fear of loss, this usually results in driving the price of the house higher than it might normally sell for in an arms-length transaction. If you, as a buyer, are faced with the prospect of competing, my advice is as follows; 1. First of all if you're the first offer in and a second offer comes in within the irrevocable period, that second offer will in most cases be for full asking price or more. Those second buyers know there's an offer and want to house enough to pay full price or more. You should be given ample opportunity to improve your offer. You will not usually get a counter offer so make this shot count, it will probably be your only chance. 2. The irrevocable period your offer is good for can make the difference. The irrevocable is the amount of time your offer is good for, or more specifically the time until which your offer is valid. If you set it short and your offer is good and the sellers are agreeable you can get the house for a decent price and theres no problem. If you leave it long another offer can come in within the irrevocability period. If they are going to counter the offer the irrevocable time period is irrelevant because they are effectively refusing your offer and creating a new one for you to respond to. 3. If they counter your offer, they are writing it back to you and will make it irrevocable by the seller to the buyer until a certain period of time. During this time period no offer can compete with you, however if their counter offer is not good enough for you and you create a counter back to them another offer can compete at that point. more to follow.....

9 Mistakes Sellers Should Avoid

9 Mistakes Sellers Should Avoid

Pricing Incorrectly

Understandably the seller wants as much money as possible when selling their home. Most often a listing that is priced too high nets the seller less than fair market value. Many times, sellers base their pricing on how much they paid for, or invested in their home. This can be an expensive mistake. If your home is not priced competitively, buyers will reject it in favor of better values. At the same time the buyers who should be looking at your house will barely see it because it is priced above their range.


Failing to Showcase the Home

Buyers look for homes, not houses, and they buy a home they could move into right away! Owners often fail to make necessary repairs and keep it clean, aired and neat. Buyers are often poor judges of the cost of repairs and sellers are better off to do the work themselves ahead of time. If you were selling a car you would wash it, maybe even detail it to get the highest price. Houses are no different.


Not Vacating Your Home During Showings

Buying a home is an emotional decision – people like to try on a house and see if it is comfortable for them. It’s difficult to do that if you follow them around pointing out every improvement you have made. It may even have the opposite effect by making them feel like they are intruding on your private space. Buyers will feel more comfortable asking questions without you home.

Mistaking Lookers for Buyers

For Sale By Owner houses often get more activity than houses listed with an agent. Realtors will only bring qualified buyers and these will be fewer than if you open your front door to everyone who walks down the street. A qualified buyer is one who is ready, willing and able to buy your home. Many potential buyers may have a house to sell first, may need to save more money or may have credit that needs fixing. When everything is in place, that’s when serious buyers go out looking with a Realtor.

Choosing the Wrong Realtor

It’s likely that you don’t interview people often and yet to find the Realtor that is right for you, you may need to interview several. The quality of your home selling experience is dependent on the experience level of the agent you hire. Its peculiar that in the real estate business, someone with many successfully closed transactions usually costs the same as someone who is inexperienced.


Over Improving the Home Prior to Selling

Sellers often unwittingly spend thousands of dollars doing the wrong upgrades to their home prior to attempting to sell, in the mistaken belief that they will recoup this cost. If you are thinking of selling, you should be aware of the most cost effective upgrades.

Failing to Take the First Offer Seriously

Often sellers believe that the first offer received will be one of many to come. There is a tendency to not take it seriously and to hold out for a higher price. This is especially true if the offer comes in soon after the home is placed on the market. Experienced Realtors know that more often than not the first offer ends up being the best offer and many sellers have had to accept far less money than the initial offer later in the selling process. The home is most saleable early in the marketing period.

Give us a shout to discuss how to sell painlessly, or any of your other real estate needs.
Mobile 519-722-9095
Jonathan Knight, Sales Representative
Re/Max Twin City Realty Inc., Brokerage

Kitchener / Waterloo Architecture

Check out this great video on the architecture of Kitchener and Waterloo, for anyone looking to relocate this gives you a great overview of what we have here!

http://vimeo.com/8336733

Land Transfer Tax Calculator

Thought you all might find this useful... Just enter the purchase price and you'll find out the Land Transfer Tax for Ontario (Excluding Toronto).

Ontario Land Transfer Tax Calculator
				Enter the Purchase Price in $
				Ontario Land Transfer Tax $
				Current as of January 1, 2008		Do not enter the dollar sign or commas

144 Park St. In Waterloo - First Condos in the area over 1M

(artists rendering)

CIty staff to back condos – Proposal goes to council June 1 TheRecord.com – Local – City staff to back condos

Liz Monteiro,RECORD STAFF (from The Record)

WATERLOO

Residents who live near a proposed condo development in the core area say their concerns about traffic and increased density have been ignored by the developer.

But Randy Kinat, who is co-developing the property at 21 Allen St. W. with Mady Development Corporation of Markham, said “every study possible has been done to ensure our project meets all the requirements.

“When the project is completed, they will find there is no reason for any concern,” Kinat said yesterday in an interview.

“The luxury we are doing will increase the property values of the uptown area,” Kinat said.
Kinat said the $60-million luxury condo development will feature concierge services and private elevators in the brownstones.

The 19-storey condo development — 144 Park — at the corner of Park and Allen streets comes before council for approval on June 1.

The condo tower will have 149 units as well as eight three-storey brick townhouses.
The development will feature 160 parking spaces, 71 of them underground and a three-storey above-ground garage.

Construction is expected to begin in May 2010, Kinat said.

The plan includes tearing down the existing 95-year-old building, Ontario Table and Chair Co., said city planner Trevor Hawkins.

The factory, built in 1913, was the original home of the Quality Mattress Co. The name changed to Waterloo Bedding Co. in 1921. The building is not designated as a heritage property, nor is it recognized for its cultural value.

Hawkins said the developer has not yet applied for a demolition permit.

City staff will be recommending the developer’s proposal to council be approved, Hawkins said.

The plan includes a zone change for the property, which is about one-third of a hectare in area, from industrial to multi-residential and an increase in density.

The developer wants to increase the density to 465 units per hectare from 250 units per hectare.
Hawkins said in exchange for increasing the density, the city will be asking the developer for additional streetscape improvements, including benches, landscaping and bicycle parking.

As well, the city will be asking for improvements along the Iron Horse Trail which is near the development and a piece of public art at the value of one per cent of construction costs.

Tanem Developments, which is building a 175-unit condo development at King Street and University Avenue, gave the city $165,000 for the public square in exchange for approved higher densities.
Hawkins said the cost of the public art has not yet been finalized.

Bill Kauffeldt, who lives in the nearby Catalina townhouse development, said he’s concerned about the increased traffic and the lack of sunshine because of the tower building.

Becky Shaw, who lives on Allen Street, said the face of the neighbourhood will change with a second condo tower.

The Bauer Lofts at Park and King streets are set to open in July.

“They haven’t taken community input into consideration. It seems that community input doesn’t matter,” she said.

Shaw said she’s also worried about the traffic volume and increased density.



More, courtesy of the National Post last week:

Price range: From the mid-$200,000s to over $1-million

Location: Park Street and Allen Street, Waterloo

Featuring a brick, stone and glass exterior by Turner Fleischer Architects, 144 Park – Uptown Waterloo is a new project by Mady Development Corp. Rising 19 storeys, with nine townhouses at its base, the building features 150 units in total, and backs on to the Iron Horse Trail, part of the Trans Canada Trail system. The site is in pre-registration.

Builder/developer: Mady Development Corp.

Building: 19 storeys, with nine three-storey townhouses at its base

Suites: One-bedroom, one-bedroom-plus-den, two-bedroom, two-bedroom-plus-den and three-bedroom layouts

Size 690 to 2,700 square feet

Occupancy: Winter, 2011/2012

Target market: Young professionals and empty nesters, many coming from the local area

Features: Units include nine-foot ceilings, granite kitchen countertops, engineered hardwood, ceramic tile and carpet flooring, low-flow showers and toilets, stainless steel Energy Star appliances and optional gas fireplaces.

Amenities: The project features an executive concierge, guest suite, fitness centre, and party room featuring a 2,500-sq.-ft. terrace with barbecues, a theatre space, a carwash bay and a bicycle storage area.

Standouts: The site backs on to the Iron Horse Trail, part of the Trans Canada Trail system. Cafés, shops and other amenities are also a short walk away.

I have a current price list and unit availablility, give me a call to discuss this interesting project. They have been quite flexible about unit configuration too, so you can alter floor plans if need be! Give me, Jonathan Knight, a call on my cell phone at 519-722-9095.

Waterloo Region Affordable Home Ownership Program

Good news everyone,

Our government has continued the program for Affordable Home Ownership...

Basically if you meet the criteria, you are eligible for 5% of the purchase price of a brand new home in the region, interest free.

If you stay in the home for 20 years, you don't even have to pay it back. If you sell earlier, then you have to pay back the 5% plus a small portion of your capital gains, but with prices escalating in this area, particularly for new homes, there should be plenty of gains to divvy up.

Its an excellent way to get into the real estate market and time is limited. Also Eastforest homes, one of the prominent home builders in the area is slated for a $10,000 price increase in the next little while due to increased lot levies, so now is a good time to find a new house that still eligible...The purchase price must be below $231,000.

Check out my website with info all about it www.kwfirsttimebuyersprogram.com
I can walk you through the application process.

The basic eligibility criteria are:

• Qualify for a mortgage,
• Have a maximum household income of$69,500,
• Be at least 18 years of age and currently renting,
• Not own or have an interest in a home,
• Not owe money to a community housing landlord,
• Be a legal resident of Canada, and
• Intend to have this home as your one and only residence.

Furnaces!

Some clients of mine recently purchased an older bungalow with the original furnace. The original was about 30 years old (yes it still worked) and was a conventional furnace, which lacks the efficiency of a modern day high-efficiency unit...
After the home inspection we had some concerns about whether the heat exchanger was in good order, so we asked to have the opportunity to get a furnace inspector in (at the buyers expense) just to have a look at it. After all, we didn't want CO fumes in the basement due to a cracked heat exchanger.

Heres where things got a little complicated, when we called the local utilities to get them to send someone out, we were informed that only the homeowner could order someone. This is because in the event of a cracked exchanger or damaged furnace they would be legally obligated to shut off the gas flow to the furnace... but the buyers didn't own the house yet!
We could, however, order a third party inspection from a licensed HVAC installer.

Just to run through the scenario for you, if the offer on the house was still conditional, and the buyers ordered the inspection of the furnace, and the gas was shut off - then the buyers decided not to go through with the inspection - then the seller would be left with no heat and no sale!

Certainly not a good proposition for the sellers....

However, if the buyers decided to order the inspection, inspectors shut off the furnace, and the buyers still followed through with the transaction, the sellers would be obligated to repair the furnace at their own expense, as under the Agreement of Purchase and Sale all fixtures, if included, are deemed to be working, unless specified otherwise.

In this case the furnace checked out okay, but in actuality it would have been favorable for the furnace to have been defective and mandatorily shut off.

- Jonathan Knight

The top 22 things Realtors recommend to sell houses quicker and for more money!

The Exterior

Curb Appeal is a vitally important aspect when selling a home. It is what prospective buyers see first and a seller’s first chance to make an impression. When preparing the exterior of a home for sale sellers should focus on beautifying the driveway, entrance, landscaping and even the front door.

1.Manicure the shrubs and lawn and ensure the garden areas are mulched.
2.Take away all clutter from the front lawn.
3.Repair any cracks in the walkway or driveway.
4.Ensure that the gutters and downspouts are clean and functioning properly.
5.Remove any chipped or frayed paint on window frames and doors with fresh paint added.
6.Paint and / or replace the front door if needed.
7.Paint the exterior of the home if it is needed.

The Interior

1.All walls should be cleaned with no visible dirt or smudge marks. If there is any dingy paint the walls should be repainted. Lighter colors will make the house appear to be larger.
2.Carpets should be clean and in good condition or they should be replaced.
3.All windows should be thoroughly cleaned because buyers like to look outside. The screen doors and windows should open and close easily and be in good condition. (take a q-tip and clean out the black grime from the tracks of your windows, its an eyesore and is a visual cue as to whether or not they've been well maintained)
4.Remove all clutter.
5.Place all clothes neatly in drawers and closets.
6.Clean the kitchen thoroughly. That includes the cabinets, appliances and counters. They should spotless with all clutter removed. Glasses and dishes should be neatly placed in cupboards and never leave any dirty dishes on the counter or in the sink.
7.Reorganize closets to make them appear large by removing clothing if needed.
8.Remove excess furniture and place it in storage or in the basement. This will help the home appear larger. The home should NEVER be difficult to walk through and between rooms in the home so clear the pathways.
9.Make sure that the plumbing and electrical items are in working order.
10.Any appliances which are broken should be repaired.
11.Ensure that the garage door is in perfect working order.
12.Ensure that any curtains are open, window blinds or shades are up and lights are always on when the home is being shown. This includes during the day because the combination of artificial lighting and natural light sources give the impression of a larger and more open home.
13.The scent used most frequently in builder’s model homes is vanilla because a fresh scent will appeal to home buyers senses. These can be purchased from places like Home Depot and placed directly on your air filter to disperse throughout the home. The smell of baking cookies works well too!
14.Eliminate any and all pet odors. If you have cat litter boxes, after cleaning them (which should be done before any showings) sprinkle baking soda in the box.
15.When buyers are shown the property ensure there is soft music or classical music playing in the background.

A word of advice! Never do excessive expensive work!

Too many times sellers think that more upgrades will return a higher price which is not necessarily true. When sellers go beyond the needed fix ups it becomes easy to start wasting money. Do not do unnecessary fix ups before selling the Kitchener/ Waterloo area home.

My hope is that you found this information valuable. As your local real estate professional I am here to answer any additional questions or questions specific to your situation which you may have. Call me for advice anytime.

Power of Sale?

While such properties can often be had at a bargain, and I've personally had the rewards of seeing satisfied clients purchase a power of sale and have an excellent experience on many occasions, the truth is that Power of Sale properties might not be for everyone....

The first thing to remember is, in many cases, the place will be in need of renovation. Cosmetically these homes are often in need of carpet, flooring, drywall repairs, plumbing and sometimes even electrical repairs. If you're in a position to do the work yourself and aren't afraid to put a little sweat into it then you'll be in a better position to take advantage of the potential financial benefits of a Power of Sale.

Another thing to understand is that power of sale properties are sold “as is”. It’s not a matter of negotiation, as the vendor’s required schedule to accompany any agreement of purchase and sale will indicate. Also, the seller will specifically indicate that all chattels and fixtures are "as-is" and will not give any warranty as to the fitness of such items.

Other issues to consider are that the seller will reserve the right to postpone your closing up to 60 days with virtually no notice. So if the power of sale you purchased was closing on August 1st, on July 31st you could find out that the closing has been pushed to October 1st. Even after you move in, you're not necessarily guaranteed ownership of chattels, for example, the appliances – the previous owner has a specific window of time to attempt to reclaim those possessions.

All of these “non-guarantees”, on a legal level, are to allow the defaulting time to come up with the money to reclaim lost assets. Banks and other lending institutions will not make improvements to a property that may revert back to the original owner. So what does all this mean? It means that if you’re considering a power of sale you must take into account the additional expenses (renovations, possibly appliances, and potential rental costs). Remember, since the closing can be pushed, not everyone is in a position to take advantage of power of sale properties. Most people would shy away from 60 days of renting.

Having said all of that, I have yet to see appliances be seized, (I did see a piano seized though!) the closing to be pushed, or a buyer dissatisfied with a power of sale. While much of that can be attributed to proper research and analysis, the fact remains that while the darker scenarios can be classified as unlikely they remain, nevertheless, possible.

Would you buy this dump??

Now this is what I call crazy! There is a website called BuyMyDump.com, apparently the owner of this house in Houston, Texas, needs to sell his investment property which is worth $80K for about $38K.

The owner claims that this house was trashed by his tenant and his insurer is not willing to pay for the damages caused! Are you willing to fix it up? I know I wouldn't! I had to pinch my nose while I looked at the pics!

www.buymydump.com