1. Get it all out

Money and finances can be a stressful topic for newlyweds but it is a much needed conversation. Many couples choose to maintain separate bank accounts, which can often lead to hidden debt unbeknownst to the other spouse. While the way you organize your debt and savings is not as important, both of you need to have a clear picture of your entire financial landscape before purchasing a home.

2. Renting is a valid option

Before going deeper into home purchasing, examine the debt you have as a couple- from school, credit cards or wedding expenses. It is best to take care of your debt before piling on a mortgage on top of that.  Often, the most important investment topic of newlyweds is about debt. If you are not confident that now is the right time to buy a home, consider renting to save on buying a permanent home and take care of your current debt first. Most of the time, mixing debt and investing is not a wise move- so it’s better to wait for the better days ahead.

3. Know your limits and play within it

Once you have a clear understanding of your financial situation as a couple, come up with a maximum price you are willing to pay for your home that will not interfere with other goals. Put into consideration other financial commitments such as savings for retirement and emergencies, and insurance.  In addition, remember that homes and condos may also come with add-on fees such as property taxes, condo fees, utilities, and maintenance

4. Focus on how fast you are able to pay off the mortgage, not just the interest rate

Seek a mortgage broker who can help you discover exactly what you can afford, how you can save money, and how you can pay off your mortgage faster. Mortgage brokers will be able to help you haggle for the best rates and terms according to your current financial situation. Just like buying bulk purchases of necessity items at Costco can be money-saving, making as large a down payment as possible when purchasing your home can also help you pay off your mortgage faster.

5. Will kids be in the near future?

As you are you planning your life together, talk about whether having children will be something you both want in the future. Consider the effect that maternity and paternity leave may have towards your household income.  Ask yourselves, “Will we be able to manage mortgage payments with a reduced income and increased expenses of raising a child?”

6. Take advantage of your RRSP

Through the government’s Home Buyers’ Plan, Canadian residents can take up to $25,000 from their retirement savings towards purchasing a first home. This tax-free loan is a great option; however, after a 2-year grace period, the money must be repaid over 15 years. If you do use this option, remember you will need extra money every month to re-contribute to your RRSP.

Sources: David Field and Alan Dunn

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You have found a buyer to purchase your home and you have signed the contract. As you’re getting ready to leave your home, you’re hit with a huge wave of regret and you think to yourself, “what have I done?!” You are feeling seller’s remorse, a common feeling many people experience as they sell their homes.

When selling your home, it is always best to be sure of your decision before you make it. Backing out of a contract can produce many difficulties for both you and the buyer.

The Consequences of Having Seller’s Remorse

If you decide to back out of your contract you make experience several consequences:

Lawsuit for Specific Performance

A lawsuit for specific performance is when the court requires you to complete the sale. Buyers often have the advantage in this scenario if they have provided everything you have asked for. Furthermore, if buyers have already made moving arrangements such as changing jobs or selling their other home, the court will favour them as they have already made decisions that place them in a vulnerable position. This legal action not only requires a lot of time, but also brings about more complications and stress for you – and if you lose, the end result will still cost you your home.

Lawsuit for Damages

A lawsuit for damages is when buyers sue you for extra costs or damages they had to incur as a result of the contract breaking. This could include things such as temporary housing costs, moving costs, loan costs, etc. Once again, these fees may not be worth the choice to retract your offer and end the sale of your house.

How Can You Avoid Seller’s Remorse?

With the amount of consequences that may potentially arise, the best solution is to avoid seller’s remorse altogether:

Make a pricing decision you agree with

Pricing your house competitively is very important, but it also important to list a price that you feel is a fair amount. This means speaking with your selling agent and determining a strong pricing plan that will make you happy, but will also be easy to sell. It is always possible to list your house at a lower price if potential buyers are low. It may also be helpful to get a second opinion on your pricing strategy before deciding on a final pricing point.

Make a post-sale plan

Be sure to have a plan for yourself after the sale goes through. If an offer comes earlier than expected, you want to be ready to move out of your home. With a plan involved, you will feel more reassured about the selling process and you will be less likely to feel regret.

Negotiate with the buyer

Don’t be afraid to negotiate with the buyer! Talk with the buyer to work out the plan so both parties are content. Don’t be afraid to add in incentives or discuss a selling price. By speaking with the buyer, you can guarantee you are getting what is fair for both of you.

Understand that Seller’s Remorse is normal

When making a big decision, such as selling your house, it is important to understand that having cold feet is entirely normal. Realizing this is a normal feeling may help you calm down and proceed with the transaction.

Sources: Brendon Disimone, Canadian Home Find, Fox Business, and Realty Times

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Why do you always need contingencies when purchasing a home? You have just spotted the perfect home. You calculate the costs and build a financing plan that works perfectly with your allotted budget. After deciding to purchase the home, a property inspector informs you that your house needs major improvements from termite and mold damage – all of which is too much for you to afford. What can you do now? When buying a new home, it is always best to plan for contingencies to prevent the worst possible thing from happening. With contingencies written into your contract, you can back out without any penalty.

What are Contingencies?

Contingencies are clauses written into contracts that act as a back-up plan. Contingencies state that a set amount of factors must be met before the sale of the house can go through. They allow you to exit a deal without penalties if anything should occur.

Types of Contingencies

Financing Contingencies

Financing contingencies state that a buyer can terminate a contract if he or she does not receive proper financing to purchase the house. This means if the purchaser is unable to secure a loan, or is given an amount less than sufficient, he or she is not obligated to purchase the property. This contingency is an obvious factor in many purchasing contracts and has become extremely important in recent years due to the poor economy.

Inspection Contingencies

Inspection contingencies allow buyers to hire property inspectors before finalizing the contract. Upon discovering any major repairs needed, the buyer can renegotiate or cancel the contract. These contingencies help protect buyers from scenarios where they find damages that can severely affect the property.

Insurance Contingencies

Insurance contingencies go hand-in-hand with inspection contingencies. This type of contingency states that the deal can only go through if the purchaser can guarantee insurance from an insurance carrier. This covers potential natural disasters like earthquakes or hurricanes, and also other damages such as toxic mold. Often, people are unable to secure insurance, so a clause such as this protects buyers from that possibility.

Sale of Buyer’s Home Contingencies

Another type of contingency is based on whether the buyer can successfully sell their other home. This type of contingency may not always be included, as slower markets make it difficult to wait for the buyer to sell. This means many sellers may be unwilling to include this into the contract if they wish to sell the property soon.

Attorney Review Contingencies

Attorney review contingencies allow the buyer and seller to have their lawyers review all terms of the contract before completing the deal. This ensures all terms were properly written and not violating any laws.

Appraisal Contingencies

Appraisal contingencies allow buyers to get the property appraised before purchasing. This allows buyers to determine the true value of the house, thereby determining whether the price they are planning to pay is fair.

Final Step

Always put contingencies into your contract. With contingencies included as part of your deal, you can ensure you will never be stuck purchasing a damaged house with no way out!

Sources: Trulia,  Ilona Bray, Aviva Friedlander 

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As a property investor, one of the most important things to consider is who your tenant will be. In a survey by LeaseRunner, 60% of landlords stated that finding the perfect tenant was one of the hardest parts of leasing real estate properties. By choosing the right fit for your house, you can guarantee more timely payments and a better kept property.

So how do you find the perfect tenant? Imagine you have just purchased a real estate investment property. You’re excited and you want to get a new tenant in as soon as possible. Now what?

1. Advertise Your Place

To find the perfect tenant, people need to know that your property exists. This means you need to advertise your place to get the word out. Some things you can do include taking quality photos of your place. This also means you should take time to make your property look nice. Clean up your place and make it look presentable. Quality properties will attract quality tenants.

You can advertise your property by placing “For Rent” signs or through other means such as creating a website, using listings, and other online ads. When advertising your property, be sure to include important detail that would be important for people looking for a place to live. This includes things such as location, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, rent price, etc.

2. Make your house attractive

If you want the perfect tenant, you will need to make your house the perfect place to live. This does not only mean making your house look presentable, but also adding incentives such as free cable or internet. Motivated applicants will be eager to come see your place in person and will have higher standards than people who are willing to settle for less.

3. Background checks and research

Don’t discriminate. Sometimes the biker with tattoo sleeves may be a better tenant than the quiet girl with the hybrid car. The key to finding a good tenant is to carefully screen your applicants and perform background checks. This could mean anything from calling previous landlords to asking them to fill out a designated form. Ask them why they are moving or what brought them to the neighbourhood. If they are leaving because they were evicted then that may be a sign they may potentially cause trouble. Furthermore, it may also be a good idea to ask for proof of employment or perform a credit check. All of these indicators show you how responsible your tenant will be.

4. Meet them in person

Sometimes reading about a person is not enough. Show potential tenants around your house personally and ask them a few questions in person. When meeting someone in person, you can get a feel for what type of tenant they will be.

5. Pick your tenant

Your decision should be made after reviewing several applicants. This means you should continue to show your property around to other potential tenants until you have a signed lease and the deposit has been cleared by the bank. Choosing a tenant should not be rushed. If you miss out on a better applicant later on, it may mean the difference between a quality tenant and the perfect one. You want to pick someone who fits your property and has characteristics you are looking for. For example, a couple with small children may not be ideal if your property is only a one bedroom house. When making your choice, remain unbiased and carefully review the tenant’s profile.

After choosing the perfect tenant, you can relax and trust that your tenant will be reliable and responsible. The right tenant for your property will pay their rent on time, and keep your property in the condition they rented it in. Although choosing the perfect tenant may take time, it will cost more time and money afterwards if you need to make repairs to a house that was not properly maintained. With the right choice, you can save yourself a time period of headaches and worry.

Sources: Market Watch, Self Counsel, Front Door

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Last month, the Calgary housing market recorded the best year-over-year sales and price growth, outshining the rest of Canada’s housing market. In April, Calgary’s MLS data recorded 3,003 sales, or a 10.4% increase, while overall national sales dropped 3.1% to 47,997.

Key drivers such as a strong job market, full-time employment growth, migration, and income growth have played a vital role in driving housing demand and allowing Calgary to outshine the rest of Canada’s housing market.

These key drivers make Calgary a valuable place for investing. To read more about Calgary and its economic indicators, also check out 6 Reasons Why Calgary is My Pick for Real Estate Investment in Canada!

1. Strong Human Capital

The Toronto Region Board of Trade recently published global benchmarking report (Scorecard on Prosperity) ranking Calgary ahead of 24 global metropolitans, including San Francisco, Boston and Toronto, for its “robust employment”. Cities were evaluated based on key human capital characteristics such as employment, diversity, health and safety, and education. Calgary also placed first in fewest accidental work-place deaths (per 100,000 population) and female participation rates.

Manager of workforce and productivity at Calgary Economic Development, Jeanette Sutherland, explained that the vitality economic growth in Calgary spawns from human capital in the Calgary Herald,

“To maintain this No. 1 spot, it validates that we’ve got more than just high paying jobs in Calgary. We’ve got industry growth and continued development matched by a skilled and diverse workforce.”

2. Full-time employment growth

Calgary has one of the “strongest job markets in the country and a sales/listings ratio above 63 per cent”, according to Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets. Indeed Alberta’s oil and gas industry has attracted many workers, adding 14,800 new positions last year and decreasing its unemployment rate to 4.4%.

Calgary’s strong human capital has allowed the city to accelerate in productivity and economic growth, attracting businesses to relocate. In fact, Calgary’s office space vacancy rate, at 3.8 per cent, remains one of the tightest commercial major markets.

3. Increased Migration

As organizations think about relocating their businesses in Calgary, more and more job seekers are migrating there, which in turn is driving the Calgary housing market. Statistics Canada reported 70,700 new immigrants chose to settle in Calgary between 2006-11. Moving forward, Calgary expects to see a boom of 120,000 people over the next five year, especially in Calgary’s outer-lying communities. The City of Calgary predicts 50,600 additional housing units to be built- 77 per cent in new suburban developments.

4. Income Growth

Putting all the pieces together, the strong wind of migrants moving due to the job market has put pressure on Calgary housing, causing vacancies to decrease and rents to increase.

“The high rents often lead many renters to take the plunge into home ownership, diminishing the supply of homes. More demand and less supply mean sellers can command higher prices. Residents can afford the higher home prices because wages continue to go up due to the competition for employees. Average weekly earnings in Alberta are the highest in the country, ” explains Melanie Reuter, director of research for the Real Estate Investment Network. That being said, Reuter still believes Alberta homes are priced reasonably compared to other provinces and that the Calgary housing market will continue to shine.

Sources: Edmonton Journal, The Globe and Mail, CBC and Newsroom

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The process of purchasing a home can be greatly eased with the help of a real estate lawyer. Many home buyers do not hire real estate lawyers until after completing a deal to purchase a home. While lawyers are not always necessary early on, having a real estate lawyer in the beginning steps of purchasing a home can prevent you from risk, while saving you money.

Real estate agents can’t always answer every legal concern. While agents are very important in the home buying process, there are some things that are best left to a lawyer. As Don Campbell, a real estate investor, blogger, and expert once said, “[Home buying] is one of the largest financial transactions a Canadian will ever make, and it pays to ensure it is done right and that all of [a buyer or seller’s] legal rights and protections are adhered to.” This means that hiring a lawyer early on can greatly assist you in making sure none of your rights are being violated.

Real estate lawyers do not only review your legal documents but also protect your interests when it comes to financing. When it comes to property that hasn’t been built, lawyers are even more important. In this scenario, lawyers can go through the purchase agreements and help you with the lengthy documents and process.

Lawyers can also help you determine many additional charges that are added on to a selling price such as property taxes, development charges, landscaping, etc. These costs add a lot to the initial selling price of a home – something that many buyers are unaware of. By being able to predict these costs, buyers can know exactly how much they will need to pay.

Developers often try to hide certain details in their agreements. For example, developers try to offer incentives to generate more sales. These incentives can include things like a year of “free” maintenance. When taking a look at the legal documents, these incentives may actually mean something different than they do on the surface. As Albert Luk, a business lawyer of Devry Smith Frank LLP, says “In agreements that we have reviewed, it doesn’t mean you’ll get two years of free maintenance, it actually means there will be a rebate against the purchase price equal to what the developer thinks the first two years of maintenance will be.”

In general, when purchasing a home, a real estate lawyer can do the following things for you:

• Help you understand the contract
• Check for any terms or covenants  that can hinder you
• Properly prepare all legal documents
• Clarify terms
• Work with your bank when it comes to your mortgage
• Review all papers you need to sign
• Review all taxes and costs owed
• Arrange for title insurance protection
• Ensure you have a valid registered ownership

When it comes to purchasing a new home, a real estate lawyer can save you trouble and time. By ensuring all your rights are covered, your process in buying a home can be that much easier.

Sources: Shelly White (The Globe and Mail) and the Lending Tree

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Not so many years ago, let’s say until 2009, success in a residential real estate investment appeared to be more or less assured. Even if the rental income barely covered the financing cost of the outlay and ongoing ownership costs, the investor could – so it was commonly thought and indeed was widely the case – look forward to a handsome uptick in the property’s value when it came time to onsell. And with the banks awash with cash and falling over themselves to farm it out to all-comers on the easiest of terms, investment in housing became something of a national pastime in Britain, North America and elsewhere in the developed world.

It’s no longer the case of course and, while much of the negative equity which formed during the property market slump in the UK and the bubble-bursting in the US has since leached from the market, picking winners in residential real estate investment has become a much more demanding task. First and foremost because, despite what breathless promo material might claim, capital gains are no longer a foregone conclusion. On the contrary, the canny investor will largely ignore that prospect and focus pretty much exclusively on yields.

Yield is, needless to say, a function of investment outlay and gettable rent. And the housing investment which will produce a yield which both outperforms other, mainstream returns and justifies the risks inherent in property investment – especially the lack of liquidity – needs to be searched for with utter diligence. Which means getting down and dirty, in the target market: the city, the suburb, and the street. It’s no longer the case, if it ever was, that a residential property investment can safely be made online, from a distance and off the plans. Of course, that’s still possible – the websites abound which offer sure-fire investment deals half-way across the world, and the promoters will gladly take your down-payment and be in touch in due course. There are still extravagant claims of ‘guaranteed’ returns but that just goes to show that there’s still another one born every minute.

The successful housing investor will ignore all the hype, be utterly indifferent to it, won’t even visit those websites. He or she will be out doing groundwork, walking the walk along the chosen streets of a chosen city, looking at the ‘for sale’ signs and estate agents’ windows, making a note of where the buses-stop, where they come from and go to and how often, what the on- and off-street parking’s like, whether there’re trees and a park with kiddies’ playground or only overhead power lines and asphalt, whether there’s a corner dairy and where the nearest supermarkets are, ditto churches, synagogues and mosques, and so on. None of which can be gleaned from a brightly-coloured plan on a promotional website.

And whether the target investment is free-standing, semi-detached, row, condo, townhouse or apartment, the astute investor will suck dry every available source of information on pricing and rents in the genre and in the geographic area. Of which there’s no shortage if one knows where to look. The leading real estate websites in the UK, the US and some other countries provide a wealth of information which allow the investor to make like-for-like comparisons, though they won’t tell you if a particular rental looks out on a rubbish-strewn vacant lot.

And then there’re agencies. Finding a good one and establishing a positive relationship with someone who knows your target area inside out may pay real dividends when the time comes to make a selection. Of course, agents make a living from commissions and will soon lose interest in people they consider to be tire-kickers.

Which leads to a final word on finding a successful investment in housing. When a real prospect identifies itself, most of the needed area investigation should already have been done. So it’s a case of zeroing in on the merits of the particular property and acting decisively. Because if it really is a deal worth doing, there’s a good chance someone else also thinks so – and may be ahead in the game.

Author’s Bio:
Frank Quin is Head Features Writer at iNVEZZ. Frank comes to the role after a career in commercial law and business/law consultancy in New Zealand and Europe. He has an interest in all aspects of investment, though with a special place for real estate and agriculture. Frank is widely travelled internationally and is now based in Sofia, Bulgaria, where he indulges his other interest, the teaching of English for speakers of other languages.

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Which is the better long-term investment: real estate or stocks? A new study from the Pew Research Centre has recently provided new data that could help either side of the argument – the result? Still inconclusive. When it really comes down to it, both investment types provide different benefits and depend on your definition of “long-term” and ability to make the right choices.

View 1: Equity investing is better long-term

When looking at previous long-term trends, it is apparent that while the real estate market has been stable and performing well, the stock market has performed dramatically better. From 1980 to 2004, home sale prices increased by 247%, while the S&P 500 increased by over 1,000%. These trends have been seen again from the end of the recession in 2009 till now. Since the beginning of 2009, the S&P 500 is up by more than 74%, whereas home values were up by 9.3%.

View 2: Real estate investing is better long-term

Real estate trends have shown that ultimately, investing in real estate is the less volatile choice. When stock prices crashed in the early 2000’s, they took many years to cover. During this time, the housing market continued to rise. From 1999 to 2005, data has shown the S&P 500 index dipped, while real estate sales continued to rise.

So Why Invest in Real Estate?

Both views reveal that investing in either type can produce different results, but it all depends on your timing and your definition of long-term.  While the results can go either way, real estate has still proven to be a valuable way to invest.

In general, the investing in the real estate market is more stable than investing in equities. Under the right circumstances, investing in real estate can produce great returns, and allows you to invest using borrowed money. In general, real estate is less volatile than the stock market and can provide strong benefits in three areas: asset appreciation, mortgage pay down by tenants, and monthly positive cash flow. In comparison, stocks fluctuate daily and prove to be more unpredictable.

Ultimately, analysis has shown that the decision to invest in either real estate or stocks can go either way. In the end, it all depends on your ability to strategize long-term and analyze market trends.

Sources: Christopher Myrick (Canadian Real Estate Magazine), Sara Clemence (Forbes Magazine), and Romana King (MoneySense Magazine)

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Real estate investors can make smart choices from the beginning to pay off their mortgage faster and ring in savings from interest charges. Here are 3 tips to help real estate investors in cutting mortgage costs:

1)     Make as large of a down payment as you can

Making a large down payment will allow you to cut the amount on your mortgage and the length of time needed to repay it. Personal Finance writer, Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew, calculates that raising a down payment from 20% to 25% for a $200,000 home (with an
average interest rate of 5% and amortized over 25 years) could equate to savings of $7,400.

2)     Make use of pre-payment privileges

A pre-payment is a lump-sum payment made on top of your regular payments. Many mortgages offer pre-payment privileges which allow you to pay an extra 10 to 25%, per payment or per year. Such pre-payments can cut your mortgage time length as the payment goes directly to the principal amount.

David Stafford, Scotiabank’s managing director of real estate secured lending, encourages mortgage payers to make small lump-sum payments whenever possible.

“Slow-and-steady wins the race. You don’t have to make major lifestyle changes or gargantuan transaction amounts, in this market with these rates, to have a big impact.”

3)     Shop Around at Renewal Time

A recent study by the Bank of Canada found that loyal bank customers actually don’t get the best deal for their renewal mortgage rates. In fact, because existing customers assume they will automatically be rewarded for their loyalty, they don’t bother to shop around.

“Those least likely to shop around are affluent, possibly because they’re happy with the full service they get from a bank and are willing to accept higher rates in exchange.”

Therefore, be sure to stay informed with the market rates- compare prices and features, review the fine print on contracts and ask around.

Sources: Adam Meyers (Toronto Star) and Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew (Toronto Star)

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On Sunday, May 5^th, 2013, people from all across Canada, the United States, and even overseas, laced up their running shoes and set off to complete the annual BMO Vancouver Marathon. The Vision Investment Properties Team, in collaboration with the Ronald McDonald House, gathered together to volunteer for this event. With approximately 4000 participants in the full marathon, 8500 participants in the half marathon, and 850 in the eight kilometre event, runners, old and young, participated in this exhilarating race.

Beginning early on Sunday morning, the runners began their race in Queen Elizabeth Park and finished on Pender Street in Downtown Vancouver. Full marathon runners ran a challenging total of 42.2 km, while half marathon runners ran a total of 21.1 km. The average times to complete the race were 4 hours and 25 minutes, and 2 hours and 15 minutes respectively. The event also had an 8 km run, and a 1 mile Fun Run for children, which took place the day before.

The Vision Team was situated as volunteers at the 11 km water station mark for the full marathon runners. As participants ran past, the volunteers handed out some water to cool down the participants. Some runners swiftly grabbed the cups and drank the water without a single disturbance to their pace, while others threw the water over their heads to cool themselves down. The runners were focussed and determined as they raced past the water station and the volunteers cheered them on.

Overall, the Vision Team had an excellent time cheering on the runners and supporting the Vancouver community.

Re-Tweet us at @ViProperties: The Vision and @RMHBC Team makes a splash at the water station for the 2013 BMO Vancouver Marathon #BMOmarathon

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