THE CLOSING COSTS:

There are many costs that home buyers incur. Some of the expenses related to buying a home are one-time costs, while others are continuing costs.

It is easy to count your available cash, but remember that all of these cash savings cannot be used as your down-payment. There are last-minute costs such as taxes, legal fees, appraisal fees, moving expenses and home insurance to pay before you are finally in your new home. The time to budget for those closing expenses is now. You must be prepared to pay most, and perhaps all, of the following closing costs.

Your largest cost at the beginning is your down payment.

DOWN PAYMENT: As a first time buyer, this would likely represent 5 – 20% of the purchase price, based on your mortgage financing.

LEGAL FEES & DISBURSEMENTS: The transfer of home ownership from the seller to the buyer must be recorded in the Land Title and Survey Authority Office in order to protect the new owner’s interests.

You will probably want to engage a lawyer or notary public to act on your behalf during the completion of your purchase. The lawyer or notary public will charge a fee for this service, plus disbursements, including the Land Title Registration fee. If you are financing your purchase with a new mortgage loan, there will be a further fee and disbursements to prepare and register the mortgage documents.

GOODS AND SERVICES TAX (IF APPLICABLE): If you purchase a newly constructed home, you may be subject to GST on the purchase price. There may be some rebates available depending on the value of the home. For further information contact the Canada Revenue Agency at www.cra-arc.gc.ca

PROPERTY TRANSFER TAX: The British Columbia Provincial Government imposes a property transfer tax, which must be paid before any home can be legally transferred to a new owner. The current cost is 1% of the first $200,000 & 2% up to $2,000,000 & 3% above $2,000,000 of the final purchase price and is paid upon completion. Some buyers may be exempt from this tax. For further information, please view the Property Transfer Tax office website at www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/business/Property_Taxes/Property_Transfer_Tax/ptt.htm

ADJUSTMENTS: If the current owners have already paid the full year’s property taxes and Municipal Charges (like Water/Sewer & Garbage Collection) to the municipality, you will have to reimburse them for your share of the year’s taxes. This gets paid at completion and is determined by the Statement of Adjustments that will be provided to you by the Lawyer or Notary you choose.

INTEREST: Interest will accrue on your mortgage from the day the mortgage is funded. Your monthly, Weekly or Bi-Weekly mortgage payment will include an interest portion of the payment and a principal portion of the payment that will change over the course of the mortgage repayment.

PROPERTY TAXES & UTILITY PAYMENTS: These costs will vary by municipality in what they cover and when they are due. Some municipalities even cover these charges in maintenance fees if your purchase is in a strata titled property. Please check with The Christies Real Estate Team to verify how these charges are divided up in the Municipality you choose to buy in.

STRATA FEES: Monthly to be determined by the strata you purchase in and the fee is based on your unit entitlement and services included in the strata.

SURVEY FEE: The lending institution may also require that a survey certificate be presented to them. The purpose of the survey is to formally establish the boundaries of the property and to ensure that all buildings are within those boundaries.

Note: Lending institutions may ask for either a building location survey, which establishes where a building is located on a property, or a monumental survey, which establishes the actual boundaries of a property. If the current owner cannot provide a recent survey certificate, it will be your responsibility to pay the surveyor’s fee or the Title Insurance Fee in it’s place.

HOME INSPECTION FEE: Home inspections are always recommended by The Christies Real Estate Team on every purchase, on every type of property. They can vary in cost based on services provided, length of inspection and type of property inspected. Ask The Christies Real Estate Team for a list of trusted professionals in your area.

APPRAISAL FEE: When the lending institution requires an appraisal of the home before approving your loan, it may be your responsibility to pay the appraiser’s fee.

MORTGAGE BROKER’S FEE (IF APPLICABLE): Ask your mortgage broker or bank mortgage specialist if there is a fee to use their services.

MORTGAGE APPLICATION FEE: Lending institutions may charge a mortgage application fee. This application fee may vary between lending institutions.

MORTGAGE LOAN INSURANCE PREMIUM (IF APPLICABLE):

MORTGAGE DEFAULT INSURANCE: This type of insurance is required on most mortgage loans in excess of 75% of the appraised home value. Its purpose is to ensure that the lender will not lose any money if you cannot make your mortgage payments and the value of your home is not sufficient to repay your mortgage debt. The insurance premium is paid to the lender and in most cases, is added to the loan amount and paid for over the term of the loan.

MORTGAGE LOAN INSURANCE APPLICATION FEE (IF APPLICABLE):

MOVING EXPENSES: These could include move in/out fees in your strata building, renting a moving van, hiring a moving crew or if your friends and family are helping out, pizza and water for your helpers!

SERVICE AND UTILITY HOOK UP FEES: Including disconnecting services fees (if applicable) and utility deposits (if required).

FIRE & LIABILTY INSURANCE: The mortgage lender will require that you purchase an insurance policy which guarantees that, in the event of fire, the lender will receive the balance owing on the mortgage loan before you receive any insurance proceeds.

LIFE & DISABILITY MORTGAGE INSURANCE: At your option, you may purchase insurance which will ensure that your outstanding mortgage balance is paid if you die or become disabled.

DEED AND/OR MORTGAGE REGISTRATION FEE:

ESTOPPEL CERTIFICATE FEE:

WATER QUALITY & QUANTITY CERTIFICATE (IF APPLICABLE):

OIL TANK SURVEY OR INSPECTION FEE (IF APPLICABLE): This will very based on location of the property and age of the home.

ADDITIONALLY, ONCE YOU HAVE PURCHASED YOUR HOME, YOU WILL INCUR REGULAR EXPENSES ON A MONTHLY, QUARTERLY OR YEARLY BASIS. SOME OF THESE COSTS INCLUDE:

MORTGAGE PAYMENT – CAN BE MONTHLY, WEEKLY OR BI-WEEKLY DEPENDING ON HOW YOUR MORTGAGE HAS BEEN SET UP.

MUNICIPAL CHARGES/UTILITY FEES – EVERY MUNICIPALITY SETS UP THEIR MUNICIPAL CHARGES DIFFERENTLY, WITH SOME MUNICIPALITIES COLLECTING THEIR PAYMENTS OVER TWO INSTALLMENTS A YEAR, SOME IN JUST ONE INSTALLMENT. ALSO, DEPENDING ON THE MUNICIPALITY, THEY COULD BE INCLUDED IN YOUR PROPERTY TAXES OR MAY NOT BE. EITHER WAY, EXPECT TO PAY A WATER/SEWER CHARGE, GARBAGE COLLECTION AND PROPERTY TAXES YEARLY.

ELECTRICITY & GAS SERVICES – These will vary based on the types of heating in your home and your personal consumption.

Other last-minute (at your option) costs you should not forget to set some money aside for:

household goods:
kitchen appliances,
garden equipment,
garbage cans, tools, window coverings, etc.
redecorating or renovations
home repairs
furniture, paint, window coverings, etc....

TOP 10 TIPS TO SUCCESSFUL HOME STAGING!

Preparing your house for selling can be a daunting and overwhelming task whether you have lived in your home a few years or many. The longer you have lived in your home the more things you will have acquired. The intent of this Top 10 Tips list for Successful Home Staging is to help you save TIME, MONEY and ENERGY.

In preparing your house for selling you need to take a step back and have the mind set that this is no longer your home but your investment for your future. You want your home to have broad buyer appeal to your target market. Following these 10 Tips for Successful Home Staging will help you sell your house sooner and possibly for more money than if you did not prepare it for selling! Remember most people want to move into their new home without having to make updates to it.

1. Curb Appeal

Stand back and view your home as if you were seeing it for the first time. This is the “first impression” stage. Depending on the season you may want to have pots of colourful and attractive flowers to greet buyers; a clean and inviting door mat; new and shiny door handles and/or knockers; a freshly painted door.

2. Declutter

Start your pre-pack as soon as possible. You need to decide what you are going to keep, give away, sell or throw away/recycle. Many clients will rent storage lockers or have pods delivered so they can start to clear out what is not going to make the house look good.

3. Clean

You would think this one is common sense but let me assure you, I wish it was so! A clean home translates into “They must have really cared for their home.” Use environmentally friendly cleaners where you can, for hard cleaning areas tsp is a good product. Bathrooms and kitchens must be sparkling clean at the very least.

4. Depersonalize

We know you love your family photos and your personal treasures and for living they are perfect. For selling pack them up carefully so you can showcase them in your new home. For selling you want buyers to focus on the best features of your home and not your personal things or collections.

5. A neutral colour scheme is the way to go for selling.

Choose only 3 colours or less to paint your house for selling. If you have an open floor plan then paint the main floor all the same colour. Bedrooms look good in light sage greens or warm blues like the new aqua.

6. Highlight your home’s best architectural features

Place your furniture in each room so that you have very obvious focal points that show off the home’s best selling features. For example, if you have a beautiful fireplace then place the furniture in a parallel grouping so that the eye is drawn to the fireplace.

7. Decide on the function in each room

If you were using your guest bedroom as your den for living, for selling turn it back into a bedroom with bedroom furniture in it. If you do not have the right furniture for each room consider renting it. There are more and more rental furnishing companies opening up every day. If you do not want to rent, then borrow.

8. Lighting your home to its best advantage

Spend money on new light fixtures in brushed nickel or stainless steel. Brass is out so don’t fight it. There are many low-cost lighting stores to select from so no excuses for having dated light fixtures.

9. Window treatments that sell your home

The most popular on the market are the 2” faux wood blinds in a white tone to go with your trim. Decorative side panels will do the trick if you need to add warmth and colour.

10. Flooring needs special attention and is a good investment for updating the look of your home

Tile or linoleum is great for entranceways, bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms; a good quality laminate or hardwood is perfect for living rooms and family rooms; bedrooms are attractive in a neutral carpet.

By planning and budgeting you can get yourself to the “OPEN HOUSE READY” stage.
Remember that the vast majority of prospective buyers have already looked at your listing on the internet. Will they like what they see?

HAPPY SELLING!

ARE YOU FIT TO SELL? BELOW IS A GROUP OF VIDEOS DESIGNED TO ASSIST YOU WHEN SELLING YOUR HOME.

AIR QUALITY AND ODOURS

DEPERSONALIZE YOUR HOME TO ENSURE BUYERS CAN ENVISION THEMSELVES BEING AT HOME

ORGANIZE AND PREPACKING ITEMS

ENSURE YOUR PAINT LOOKS GREAT

ROOMS SHOULD BE TIDY AND WELL KEPT

HAVE YOUR HOME INSPECTED PRIOR TO PUTTING IT ON THE MARKET