Buyer Appraisal Tips: How to Get the Deal You Want

You’re in the thick of things now. You’ve gotten pre-approval from the bank, you’ve hunted down the house you want, you’ve signed the purchase agreement and now you’re dealing with a home appraisal before the bank officially approves your loan.

The Basics

Before we get to the negotiating tips, we need to understand how the appraisal process works. You wouldn’t start playing a game of football without knowing the rules, right? Understand first, play to your advantage after.

Your loan lender chooses an appraiser from your area to assess an opinion of value, or rather, how much the house is worth. This appraiser is a licensed and certified professional who is unbiased – they do not represent you or the seller. This is done so that the home…

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Home Inspection Tips

Recent summers have taught our population that home inspections are of the utmost importance (thanks, Canada Day floods). Nobody wants to be caught unaware of their home’s weaknesses during a prairie flash flood or other storm. Your home inspection gives you the “nitty-gritty” safety and structural details so you know all about the investment you’ll be making. Not sure of the process, or what to expect? We’ve been there. That’s why we’ve compiled our best tips in a checklist for you.

Make Sure the Contingency is in the Contract

Ensure that there’s a home inspection contingency, a.k.a. a “Due Diligence” contingency in the sales contract. This outlines that a professional home inspection will take place at a specified time on the house in…

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7 Feelings Home Buyers Have During the Process

There are many emotions home buyers have when buying a home. Here are some we've compiled that we know you can relate to!

1) Every emotion, hitting you all at once

Gotta get approved, gotta have an inspection, gotta know what you want, gotta look at homes, gotta do this, gotta do that...Thinking about the whole process during the beginning stages of home buying fills you with stress you didn't know was possible, and emotions you didn't know you were capable of feeling. And sometimes, those emotions hit you like falling boxes. First you're excited to look for what you want, then you're sad because the weight of what you can actually afford hits you. Anxiety hits you next, because your brain is pushing doubts about the long term to the forefront. And…

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All About the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) System

You've seen those six digit numbers associated with house listings. You know they're used for identification. You know there's a whole system dedicated to identifying almost every house for sale. But do you know why the system exists, or who it's for? Do you wonder why these numbers even matter, especially if a home is listed online? Well, you've come to the right place. We're going to tell you everything you need and want to know about the Multiple Listing System (MLS®) in Canada.

WHAT IS MLS®?

First off, MLS is an acronym. It stands for Multiple Listing Service. This service is actually an extensive database owned and operated by Realtors across the country. Imagine if the software you use for work everyday was available to the public…

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Turning Your House Into A Home

A house is simply a physical structure. A home is a place where you create meaningful memories with loved ones. It's a place for watching the first steps of life, celebrating birthdays and enjoying those sit-down family dinners. If you've just moved into a house, you want to turn that place into home as soon as you can! We've got 5 ideas that involve the whole family:

Create a Family Gallery

Create a gallery wall featuring photos of your family, art created by members of your family, or photos of friends! Hang up holiday, first day of school and other milestone moment photos. Mix in some of your children's artwork, or artwork of your own. For added visual interest, you can hang up letters, plaques, alphabetical letters or textiles. Organize the…

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