Real Estate Blog - June, 2014

Choosing Home Flipping as a Career or Hobby

What is home flipping? Commonly called "flipping" this is the real estate practice of buying low and selling high, with a few stipulations.
 
How do I flip a home?
First off, you need to find a home that is a great investment opportunity. Sometime foreclosures offer this, but often it's just a matter of searching the market for a home that is undervalued. Undervaluing can be due to a home’s location, or it's state of repair. You want to find something in a good location that needs some work for your home flipping project. Once you find the place, the goal of flipping is to bring the home up-to-date as quickly as you can, and then resell at a higher price than you purchased at, in order to cover the cost of renovations and still make a profit.
 
Is there…

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Choosing Rural Real Estate Instead

Living in the country is a dream that many people share. Whether you simply like the idea of space and fresh air, or you have aspirations of running an acreage, owning animals and living off the land – it’s an idealistic life that many strive for. In Alberta rural real estate can mean a mobile home on 5 acres, or a modern mansion on 100 acres, and the price ranges are just as variable. Depending on what exactly you plan to do with the land and how much work you are willing to put into your dream, a true country life is very attainable.
But being a farmer isn’t everyone’s idea of ‘living in the country,’ right? Right. Lots of people simply want to seek out smaller rural communities where they still have convenient access to certain amenities, like grocery…

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The Challenges of First Time Buyers

As a first time buyer your choices can be simultaneously overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. You may find that there are dozens of homes to choose from, or that your budget is simply too limiting. It may also be a case of despite having a limited budget, there are plenty of homes you can afford, but few of them are offering what you really want. It’s frequently difficult to get everything you want in a home, even for experienced buyers. First time buyers typically have it worse, and often have to compromise on their wish list quite a bit just to get into the market.
While building a custom home is probably the only way you are guaranteed to get everything you want, it’s not really practical for the average buyer. So what’s gotta give for you…

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The Draw of Alberta and Edmonton Real Estate

Lots of people seem to be migrating from all across Canada to resettle in the West, primarily in Alberta. Why? What is the major draw? Well for one the workforce demand in Alberta is higher than anywhere else in the country, making it appetizing for Canadians from Newfoundland right to British Columbia. Edmonton real estate is another big reason why people are flocking to Alberta. Although the market in Edmonton can be aggressive, its considered fair overall when compared to other markets across the country that simply don’t offer the same job and wage prospects.
A good starting range for Edmonton real estate is about $300K. For this price you can get a decent starter home, single-detached, or a very nice condominium. While $300K might seem steep for the…

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Using Legitimate Real Estate Websites

The internet is the go to tool for anyone looking to buy or sell a home. We use the internet today to find everything, especially when it comes to real estate. You can vet a realtor online, look at available home listings, and even compare your home to similar ones on the market. Overall it’s a great way to get you started, regardless of what you are setting out to do, either buying or selling, or both! Real estate websites are particularly useful because they offer a direct line to a realtors and are monitored strictly, ensuring all the data you see is up to date.
What about other advertising sites?
Unlike a dedicated real estate website, other sites are frequently out of date. A popular place to post homes for sale in Canada, is Kijiji. With their free…

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Listing Your Home and What to Do to Get Ready

Listing your home is a big step, especially if it’s your first time as a seller. There are some important things you need to do to get your home ready for market, the first of which is contacting a realtor. Your realtor will help you determine what small and/or affordable changes you can make to the property to make it more appealing to potential buyers (fresh coat of neutral paint, professional cleaning service etc.). Some other things you should consider are:
Stage your home
Before listing your home, you should consider staging it. Home staging puts your home in the best light for buyers, by expertly arranging furniture and adding accessories to liven up the home. This is a great tool to use for open houses and helps highlight the way the spaces in your…

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Things to Consider When Buying a New Home

Buying a new home is becoming much more popular as people’s ideas of ‘necessity’ continue to change. New homes offer buyers a ton of choice in terms of finishing touches, whereas resale older homes often need to be improved upon, or have been altered to suit the specific preferences of the previous owner. A new home is a blank slate, and more and more people are desiring to get everything they want right away, without having to go through the whole “starter-home” process.
The pros
A new home often means a builders warranty and lots of customization. From paint colors to countertop materials, it’s your choice when you buy direct from the builder. If you are buying in a new development, this also means you get to move into a brand-spanking-new neighbourhood.…

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Are You Looking at New Home Listings?

So you’ve decided that a brand new home is the way to go, but now what? First you’ll want to find a realtor you like and trust, and then you’ll want to visit some show homes. Builders build show homes, usually multiple ones, to showcase the various home models available for purchase, as well as all the possible additional features you could have. Generally these homes are run like offices so you will need to find out when they are open for tours in order to have a walk-through.
Where to begin…
If you know where you are interested in living, or the name of the development in question, look it up online and view the neighbourhood plans. Here you will be able to tell how many homes are planned, what kind of homes (multi-family, townhomes, single-family) they…

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Using MLS Home Listings Over Other Sites

MLS, or the Multiple Listing Service, is a great tool for home buyers, sellers and real estate agents. This database is a collection of all available homes in any given region in Canada – that are listed with a realtor. You can search by city or neighbourhood, and narrow things further by choosing the style of home or its features. MLS home listings guarantee buyers that what they are seeing is accurate and trustworthy. Unlike private sale homes that are advertised with networks such as Comfree, where there are no realtors, and getting in touch with the seller can be painful. Also, homes advertised on sites like Kijiji, are also unreliable because information is frequently out of date and sellers often don’t answer buyers trying to book viewings.
MLS home…

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Looking at Edmonton Condos for Sale and Trying to Decide

There are a ton of Edmonton condos for sale, or ones that are ready for presale. No matter where you drive in the city, you can see condominium construction underway. Downtown on Jasper Avenue is probably the most notable building site at the moment. The Fox Towers and Ultima Towers are taking advantage of the future site of the arena and building in a highly desirable location. These condos, available for presale right now, will offer residents a host of amenities including built-in fitness facilities, and dozens of restaurants and retail stores within walking distance.

Why condos?

Condos seem to be for a specific type of person. Although, even those who live in condos may eventually want to mow their lawn on a Sunday morning someday, condos are…

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