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1) Before you make an offer, get yourself pre-approved for a mortgage.

When buying a home in Oshawa, getting pre-approved for a mortgage is vital because a pre-approval letter from a lender sends a message to the seller that you’re ready and able to commit and make a purchase. Real estate in Oshawa is a competitive business; therefore, you want to make your offer to purchase with as few conditions as possible. Showing an offer that is still depending on obtaining financing will definitely turn off a seller.

2) Know when to stop and back off.

A lot of people regret their purchase once they’ve snapped out of an emotion-driven buying rather than letting logic lead the way.  Whether competitiveness is triggered by a tough bidding war or you infatuated too much on a house and let that strong emotion lead you rather than reason, it becomes a recipe for disaster. It may make you spend a lot more than what you should. Always have a reality check. Ask the right questions to yourself and always be in tune with your best interest and motives.

3) Allocate enough money to cover other costs on top of closing payments.

After the down payment, there are still a couple more expenses to pay during the closing phase. This depends majorly on where you live/where the real estate property is being sold, or who your lender is. Allocating enough money to cover all costs in this stage will help you avoid the panic caused by running out of funds.

4) Make the date of your possession and moving date clear and in writing.

This is basically to protect you from the inconveniences caused by miscommunication. If you have a declared date of moving in (in writing), then you’re assured that both parties are ready (i.e. all of the seller’s stuff are already gone from the house) before the date of your relocation to the property.

5) Have a professional home inspection.

Before you relocate to the new house, it’s a wise thing to have a professional inspection done. You need to find out how much is the estimated cost for repairs and fixes around the house before making the final offer. One of the most dreadful things imaginable is to free the seller from all liabilities before finding out that the home needs a total makeover. There is no such thing as a perfect house; therefore, you need to be prepared to spend for repairs on top of the mortgage.

About Ashley Stevens:

Ashley Stevens is a local real estate agent who knows Oshawa like the back of his hand. You can trust that he will represent your interest professionally whether you are buying or selling real estate in Oshawa. He will show relevant and sensible choices for clients who are buying, and get the best deal for sellers. Feel free to contact Ashley Stevens about your questions in buying real estate in Oshawa.

Whether major or simple home improvements, it’s still you, in the end, who will benefit from such an affordable investment. Here are some very simple projects to give you an idea on how you can improve your real estate’s market value, affordably.

Curb appeal. If first impressions last, then you need to have a good house exterior to make a lasting first impression. You only have a few seconds to spark someone’s interest, so it would definitely pay a lot to put your best façade forward in this case. It’s been reported that the projects offering the best real estate return on investment involved improvements in the curb appeal.

Door change. Just after seeing an amazing front yard, the door plays an important role in home improvement. Stepping into a house with an elegant door heightens a prospective buyer’s experience in checking your house.

Improve lighting. Search for articles online about how lighting quickly transforms a room and you’ll find that improving the light fixtures and features of the property will make a big difference and an over-all positive impact.

Change flooring to hardwood. Replacing your old flooring with new, neutral-toned hardwood will instantly give your home a face-lift. Neutral toned hardwood is the best colour option because it’s flexible, and will give way to the new homeowner’s preference of interior colours.

Kitchen make-over. This project perhaps will give you the biggest ROI in the long run. Homeowners spend a lot of time in the kitchen that’s why most buyers looking for a new home would like to see a kitchen that offers style and functionality.

Spa-style Bathrooms. Who doesn’t want to move in a home with a personal spa for a bathroom? Spa style tubs and posh faucets and showerhead clearly speak “zen” or balance and harmony in an instant.

White picket fences. Pickets fences — especially when painted in white, effortlessly translates to “dream home”. Plus it keeps kids and pets in and nosy neighbours off the yard.

About Ashley Stevens:

Ashley Stevens is a local real estate agent who knows Oshawa like the back of his hand. You can trust that he will represent your interest professionally whether you are buying or selling real estate in Oshawa. He will show relevant and sensible choices for clients who are buying, and get the best deal for sellers. Feel free to contact Ashley Stevens about your questions regarding real estate in Oshawa.

Being a first time buyer who found a real estate agent that can help, knowing the right questions to ask will gear you towards an easy and successful home buying. Here are some questions that might come handy when you discuss with your real estate agent about potential properties that you like:

-          First question you might want to ask is “Why are they selling the house?” —depending on the reason, you will figure out some things you might need to be aware of.  Through this question as well, you will get an idea on how much they’re willing to sell and negotiate with you. Knowing their reason for selling will also provide you with an insight on how fast they need the house sold or if they’re alright with holding out for a longer period of time.

-           If the first question didn’t answer something you need to know, you can flat out ask “How long has the property been on the market?” — knowing this will give you an idea on how much the vendor is keen to sell their home the longer it has been on the market. If a house has been on the market for two months or more, it gives an impression that the price may be too high. If the real estate property has been in the market for quite some time, it’s good to investigate with your real estate agent what is going on and find out why it’s not yet sold. If the price really is too high, find out if the seller already reduced the price. Other reasons given, it’s your discretion whether you still want the property or not.

-          Ask your realtor if the seller is willing to negotiate on price. Typically, it makes sense to ask this question before you make an offer. By that you might just fish some information that you need before you declare a price offer.

-          It’s also advisable to know what the lowest offer the seller is willing to accept. As much as not all realtors are willing to give a straight answer on this question, however there are realtors who will give you a straight answer. Once the real estate agent does, then you know right away what amount is your ceiling.

-          You also would like to ask if the seller already had other offers and from there, you can ask how much the other offers are. Through this question, you’ll get an idea on what other buyers think the property is worth.

About Ashley Stevens:

Ashley Stevens is a local real estate agent who knows Oshawa like the back of his hand. You can trust that he will narrow down your options and show you relevant and sensible choices for you. Feel free to contact Ashley Stevens. He is most helpful especially to those who are first time home buyers in Oshawa.

Don’t push yourself to buying what you cannot afford. It’s but an innate instinct of modern civilized men and women when they get a raise of accumulate some savings — the desire to spend money. Buying cars, paying for vacation abroad, shopping, and buying real estate are just some of the things a person would like to shell out cash for.

The desire to spend may start by going out for a meal at a restaurant, then it accelerates to purchasing new wardrobes, then electronic gadgets, then automobiles, then possibly, a new house for that “independent” status symbol. When you already have an ongoing car payment, buying real estate may become challenging if not, impossible because your loan officer will check your expenses in order to get pre-qualified for a mortgage loan. You will declare your desired price and how much you can pay for initially. The loan officer will get your proof of income, pay stubs, and necessary forms before is able to compute the numbers. The loan officer will methodically compute and large chances are you will not get easily pre-approved if you have other pending payments to be made like car loans or business loans.

Being disapproved for a mortgage loan isn’t such a bad thing. It simply means you may still be unable to pay for a large investment, and the mortgage company doesn’t want you to fall into the pits of debt.

Don’t move money around. If you’re too eager to get your loan package to be approved, you know that one of the things that your mortgage company will look for is your source of income where you will get funds to pay for your down payment and closing fees when buying real estate. You are most likely to provide statements for the last two to three months on any of your liquid assets and that includes saving accounts, certificate of deposit, mutual funds, company 401K, money market funds, checking accounts, and retirement accounts. If you move your money around during the period prior to applying for a loan and during the process of having your accounts in check, the one who will approve your loan might see that in the trail of your financial activities, you have big withdrawals in some of the aforementioned accounts. You may be required to produce cancelled checks, deposit receipts, and other seemingly inconsequential data which could tire you out and make things seem too complicated.

Remember that mortgage companies do this to avoid fraud and protect their business. If you think that consolidating your funds will be easier, think again. Leave your money where they are and you’re doing yourself a favour.

About Ashley Stevens:

Ashley Stevens is a local real estate agent who knows Oshawa like the back of his hand. You can trust that he will represent your interest professionally whether you are buying or selling real estate in Oshawa. He will show relevant and sensible choices for clients who are buying, and get the best deal for sellers. Feel free to contact Ashley Stevens about your questions regarding real estate in Oshawa.

Oshawa is perfect for starting a family because of the fact that there are a lot of affordable housing in subdivisions and upscale new homes for sale in Oshawa. A family can choose from a vast variety of housing options that will fit their needs.

Transportation is often one of the major factors a starting family looks for in a residential area. Oshawa is known for its accessibility and convenience for commuters. Oshawa’s regular commuter train service into downtown Toronto is provided by VIA Rail and Go Transit. The extension to Highway 407 across the city’s northern portion is scheduled to be completed and functional by 2013. There are also plans for two arterial highways that will join Highway 401 to Highway 407. This simply means more accessibility and improvement in the near future.

Another thing that Oshawa is praised for and takes pride in is its immense Health Care System. Aside from different accessible medical facilities for families such as medical clinics available for walk-in patients, upgrades are made to the Oshawa Hospital. There are several health centres that are modern, full range health care providers. Oshawa’s health care system is built to provide the care that people need, in order to minimize discomfort and worry among all the residents.  Dedicated professionals are found almost everywhere in Oshawa.

Being Canada’s “Automotive City”, you can expect amazing attractions in Oshawa. Parkwood Estate, General Motors Centre, Canadian Automotive Museum, and Robert McLaughlin Gallery are the four top tourist attractions that can be only found in Oshawa. This city will never be a boring place for starting a family. There are different places to enjoy a variety of family-friendly activities. Some of the types of places to enjoy in Oshawa are sports facilities, parks, conservation areas, pathways, green spaces, restaurants, shops, theatres, museums, and many others.

When starting a family, one of the biggest deciding factors is the kind of education system the place has for its children. The city of Oshawa is ever-improving and continuously enhances its educational pursuits. Universities in the city are known for its high quality teaching and are expanding more to provide new facilities to their students.

Starting a family in Oshawa is definitely an intelligent choice. Whether you’re planning to buy or sell a property in Oshawa, don’t hesitate to contact Ashley Stevens — a realtor who knows Oshawa like the back of his hand. He will provide you with professional opinion for you to reach a more informative real estate buying or selling decision. Feel free to ask him questions or discuss about what you have in mind.

About Ashley Stevens:

Ashley Stevens is a local real estate agent who knows Oshawa like the back of his hand. You can trust that he will narrow down your options and show you relevant and sensible choices for you. Feel free to contact Ashley Stevens when buying real estate in Oshawa.

Getting the final financing approval. In the first part, getting pre-approved was discussed. However, getting the final financing approval is a different story. Once you have made an offer, and have put the property on hold or under “reserved” status, you typically have a couple of days to have a final approval from the bank to make the purchase. It is now time for your real estate agent to make the necessary arrangements with your mortgage professional and process the necessary paper works and documents for you. If in any case you are unable to get your final financing, you can be freed from the deal and get your deposit cheque back. This does not usually happen if you’re already pre-approved.

Conduct a thorough inspection of the property. There is rarely any perfect home. You may have already checked the real estate property that’s why you fell in love with it, however, it is still highly recommended that you  conduct a thorough inspection of the home in order to figure out how much or how little is needed to be spent in terms of renovation, repair, or maintenance. This also gives you security especially if you are protected by a condition wherein you can still walk out on a deal after finding out major problems in a property that is way beyond what you can take.

Waive conditions.  After you have been approved of the final financing and everything turned out fine in the inspection stage, it’s now time to work with your agent in regards to the necessary paperwork to sign in waiving conditions. After waiving the conditions, you are now moments away from moving in to your newly-bought property.

Get a Lawyer involved. Transferring a property is a stage where you need to get a lawyer involved. After your real estate agent has helped you from the selection through closing the deal and completing paper work, he will now hand over all the requisite documentation to a lawyer. It is now the lawyer’s job to make the transfer of the property under your name possible. Before the closing date, you and the lawyer will discuss and sign necessary documents and by the time of closing date, the funds and title are transferred respectively and you may finally move in to your new house.

About Ashley Stevens:

Ashley Stevens is a local real estate agent who knows Oshawa like the back of his hand. You can trust that he will narrow down your options and show you relevant and sensible choices for you. Feel free to contact Ashley Stevens when buying real estate in Oshawa.