Anyone need Real Estate Advice?

[sillysimms]

I remember years ago there was an MLS book with all the listings in it, I was wondering if it is still availalbe or are all the listings on MLS.ca now.

A few years ago realtors could call the Toronto Real Estate Board (not sure about how this worked in other districts) and order a book for a client with listings in certain areas/price ranges. This wasn't free. The realtor had to pay for it. With the growth of the internet, and the fact that the public can view listings online, I don't know if these books are still available. The internet is better as listings change so quickly, once a book is produced it is quickly outdated as new listings come on the market and others sell.

[joejack]

Joe, please let me know how this works out... I'm interested to see how the builder is going to respond...

Thanks...

Well, it ended up being not all that of a big deal. As I knew there was no other offers/buyers and it was in both of our interest to continue, so we ended up firming the offer. We gave them the letter to re-consider the offer along with personal checks for all deposits (post dated). That was good enough for them.

I guess what made it worst was that the day we handed in the termination letter was the day when we received two offers on our current place, of which, we accepted one. We felt as we were selling our home, we had no where to go.

Hope things will go smoothly from here on.

thanks for your interest.

[HeyAddy]

Well, it ended up being not all that of a big deal. As I knew there was no other offers/buyers and it was in both of our interest to continue, so we ended up firming the offer. We gave them the letter to re-consider the offer along with personal checks for all deposits (post dated). That was good enough for them.

I guess what made it worst was that the day we handed in the termination letter was the day when we received two offers on our current place, of which, we accepted one. We felt as we were selling our home, we had no where to go.

Hope things will go smoothly from here on.

thanks for your interest.

That's great news... I'm glad to hear everything worked out well.

Congrads on your new purchase!

[HeyAddy]

Should you allow buyers/Sellers extensions if they can't come through on their conditions?

Source

If you're a seller and the buyer hasn't been able to fulfill a condition on their purchase and sale agreement, do you agree to give them an extension if they ask?

This is a very tough question to ask and needs to be answered with some consideration. Following are some points that I'd like you to consider when answering these questions:

1. How easy or hard was it to find a buyer for your property?
2. What's the current demand in your neighborhood?
3. What's the missing piece for the buyer in coming through with their condition?
4. How much time do you have to make the transition to your next house?

Depending on the answers you get you can make a decision if you should allow or not allow an extension. If you're in a seller's market and in a high demand neighborhood, the chances of you finding a buyer are significantly higher and you can take a chance with putting the property back on the market.

You have every right to ask the cooperating broker (Buyer Agent Representative) about why they haven't been able to come through on the condition and what the missing piece of the puzzle is. If it's a home inspection, for example, then you can allow a day or two for them to come in a do the inspection. This is quiet common since I would recommend my buyers not to conduct the home inspection until they have a commitment from the lender to forward them the funds. They will save their inspection cost should they not qualify for the mortgage or have an issue (I also pre-approve my buyers so this doesn't become an issue).

If the buyer is having trouble getting financing due to not enough income, past debt etc... I would be more inclined to present a mutual release and ask them to sign it so the purchase and sale agreement is nullified and the property can be back on the market. The same goes for any buyers that don't show up with the deposit check the next day!

In a slower market, you'd have to tread more carefully but always making sure your not going to suffer through the transaction. For instance, if the buyer is not qualifying for their mortgage but have a substantial down payment, you might consider a STB (Seller Take Back) mortgage to help them with the purchase (if you can do so). There are also other creative ways to handle issues as such which a REALTOR can help you with. The bottom line is that you have to be safeguarded through the transaction and your interests protected.

It's the same when you're a buyer and the seller isn't able to provide the information promised. I've had issues where the Seller promised us an SPIS (Seller Property Information Statement) but decided he won't fill it out and sent us a blank copy. My reply to their fax wasn't a condition fulfillment because my clients were in love with their house but was a phone call to the Listing Agent stating that they are in breech of contract and need to consult with their lawyer before I proceed. I got the SPIS from the Seller the next day!

So, there is not right or wrong answer when it comes to situations as such. My recommendation is to weigh out all your options before you agree to extend or cancel a contract.

[felix]

I remember years ago there was an MLS book with all the listings in it, I was wondering if it is still availalbe or are all the listings on MLS.ca now.

MLS.ca is better of course since many listings are removed and added each day.

[HeyAddy]

MLS.ca is better of course since many listings are removed and added each day.

+1

[dux]

I am a first time homebuyer in my late 20's, and well I have absolutely zero experience other than browsing for prices on the internet and going to some sales office for condos under contruction. So any tip will be greatly helpful.

I am considering to invest in a 1 bedroom condo in the middle of downtown Ottawa. There are a few condos under contruction and some of them are projected to be done in 2010. The price range is from 200k-250k and averages about 600sq/feet

A 15% downpayment is required so I was wondering if it is common for the condo to go up in price when the building is close to be done. What are the chances of the building never finishing or taking 2-3 years longer than expected? Will I be able to claim my downpayment back if it's taking too long to finish?

Thanks

[HeyAddy]

I am a first time homebuyer in my late 20's, and well I have absolutely zero experience other than browsing for prices on the internet and going to some sales office for condos under contruction. So any tip will be greatly helpful.

I am considering to invest in a 1 bedroom condo in the middle of downtown Ottawa. There are a few condos under contruction and some of them are projected to be done in 2010. The price range is from 200k-250k and averages about 600sq/feet

A 15% downpayment is required so I was wondering if it is common for the condo to go up in price when the building is close to be done. What are the chances of the building never finishing or taking 2-3 years longer than expected? Will I be able to claim my downpayment back if it's taking too long to finish?

Thanks

Usually with new home/condo purchases, the earlier you get into the project (pre-construction prices) the better the appreciation you see. There are two aspects of any profits that are made when buying a new home

1. The new project is priced below market value to attract more buyers
2. The project finishes in a year or two years and the value has appreciated.

Depending on the market condition and how the contracts are written, you could still stand to make a profit and have some equity going in to this purchase. You also need to make sure that the property being purchased is in demand and will sell/appreciate in time. Here's what I would do:

- Ask a Realtor in the area to tell you what price range similar (even though they would be a bit older) properties are selling for.
- Pay close attention to number of days properties are staying on the market to have a good idea on demand
- Pay attention to what services/expenses are covered by the common element fees.

This should give you an idea if this is the right property for your to purchase or not. If demand is strong in the area and all things being equal, you should be able to get good appreciation on the property.

In regards to the delays, there was recently a change in the law requiring builders to limit the number of times they can delay a construction or they would have to give the buyer the option to walk away and get their money back. I'll have to do some more searching to find the regulation as it's not readily available to me at the moment. PM me and I'll find it for you.

Hope this helps... If you need an agent to help you with this, let me know and I can find an agent for you through my referral network.

Thanks for posting the question. I will be making this into my blog post too...

[dealguy2]

So... with real estate inventory at all time highs in Calgary and sales slowing down... how do you figure it's possible that prices will continue to rise as some have suggested? Is this really a new paradymn? Could this be the real age of aquarius. Are we in a new age of endless gains in the real estate market?

[Dustbunny]

So... with real estate inventory at all time highs in Calgary and sales slowing down... how do you figure it's possible that prices will continue to rise as some have suggested? Is this really a new paradymn? Could this be the real age of aquarius. Are we in a new age of endless gains in the real estate market?

If I can chime in. I'm in Calgary and have been following the market and I think you have to remember a couple of things. The incredible increases seen two years ago and that carried through last year were anything but normal and came about thanks to having very few homes on the market (much lower than normal), low interest rates, and a booming influx of people. What is happening now seems to be the flippers and speculators who were not in the picture before trying to sell off their properties now (and thinking they can sell at high prices which are throwing the normal comparison figures.. there are 3 flips within stones throw from my house right now) so there is a huge inventory of houses (4 times normal numbers as I understand it). Sales are only slowing down to what was previously normal even at that (meaning they are on the market 30 days vs 1 day) and prices are now normalizing (which means the unbelievably high increase probably aren't going to happen anymore).

I just had my house appraised (I purchased during the high crazy period) and it's still worth more than I paid. The difference is by what %. The last house I had at the time sold at double what I paid after 2 years which was unheard of but now things are back to normal averages of 5 - 20% depending on the district. So prices are still rising, just not as much as 2 years ago and people are having to price their homes accordingly. The average house price is less but a lot of that has to do with there being more starter homes available now that builders have caught up so I don't think you have to worry too much about homes even in Calgary not appreciating. It's probably going to take a big turn to the economy to have prices actually drop substantially.

[dealguy2]

If I can chime in. I'm in Calgary and have been following the market and I think you have to remember a couple of things. The incredible increases seen two years ago and that carried through last year were anything but normal and came about thanks to having very few homes on the market (much lower than normal), low interest rates, and a booming influx of people. What is happening now seems to be the flippers and speculators who were not in the picture before trying to sell off their properties now (and thinking they can sell at high prices which are throwing the normal comparison figures.. there are 3 flips within stones throw from my house right now) so there is a huge inventory of houses (4 times normal numbers as I understand it). Sales are only slowing down to what was previously normal even at that (meaning they are on the market 30 days vs 1 day) and prices are now normalizing (which means the unbelievably high increase probably aren't going to happen anymore).

I just had my house appraised (I purchased during the high crazy period) and it's still worth more than I paid. The difference is by what %. The last house I had at the time sold at double what I paid after 2 years which was unheard of but now things are back to normal averages of 5 - 20% depending on the district. So prices are still rising, just not as much as 2 years ago and people are having to price their homes accordingly. The average house price is less but a lot of that has to do with there being more starter homes available now that builders have caught up so I don't think you have to worry too much about homes even in Calgary not appreciating. It's probably going to take a big turn to the economy to have prices actually drop substantially.

Ok. So is real estate a totally different ball game than any other market then? Fundamentals do not apply? When supply is up and sales are down prices increase? How can I possibly lose??? Is there a downside here? Why can't all markets be like this!!!! How many homes should I buy? 10, 20, 30? I can't lose!!!!

[HeyAddy]

Ok. So is real estate a totally different ball game than any other market then? Fundamentals do not apply? When supply is up and sales are down prices increase? How can I possibly lose??? Is there a downside here? Why can't all markets be like this!!!! How many homes should I buy? 10, 20, 30? I can't lose!!!!

The real estate market is not different than any other market. Basic principles of supply and demand are applicable to this market. The missing link for you may be the demand. I've actually reviewed this topic on my blog as it relates to the Greater Toronto Area market. Also you'll notice, in my original response, I had indicated that the appreciation is Dependant on the market conditions.

The market value of any property is based on facts that are already obsolete (a property has sold in the past) hence the value is obsolete as well. The market value is not a static number as it changes day by day. If anyone can come and tell you that you're property is worth X, I'd question their motive. The best someone can do is make a statement which sounds like, "As per the comparable properties sold, you're property is worth anywhere from X to Y and I'd be comfortable listing it for Z."

Another point to note is that Real Estate always appreciates in the long term and depending on how long you hold the property, you can see significant or insignificant returns. There are many factors that come into play such as interest rates, inflation, buyers or sellers market, time of purchase/sale etc... that dictate the value of a property and ultimately return.

BUT know this, the most money made in real estate is NOT when the market is HOT but when the market is COLD!!! So if it's a buyer's market, get out there and buy those 10, 20 or 30 houses that you're talking about.

Hope this helps!

[dealguy2]

Absolutely!!!! I'll buy NOW at the TOP of the highest real estate boom in history and PRAY for 20 years that prices return to these levels again. What a good plan! I should really talk to you realtor types more often you guys sure know a lot.

[TheZodiac]

Questions

My wife is having second thoughts about selling our home, can I just call our agent and cancel.?

If we get an offer @ our asking price can I still decline to sell?


Does the standard buyers agreement with agents include new homes or resale only?

Thanks for answering

[Dustbunny]

Ok. So is real estate a totally different ball game than any other market then? Fundamentals do not apply? When supply is up and sales are down prices increase? How can I possibly lose??? Is there a downside here? Why can't all markets be like this!!!! How many homes should I buy? 10, 20, 30? I can't lose!!!!

Actually what happened in Calgary the past 2 years was more of an aberration if you will. If you are paying attention you will see there really aren't any stories about houses selling for below what they were last year or even 2 years ago. The only people who are getting stung are those who are flipping and put too much money into a house that was bought high. For the most part they are still selling them (from what I have seen sales are not down at all, there is just more stock to choose from than there was during the same period for the past 2 years), just for less profit than they expected and still for more than they paid.

If you speak with anyone who has bought a home, the chances are they all bought at the highest point in history to that point. In cities like Calgary, Toronto, etc. you just don't see things going down at all except for a period of maybe 5 years in the 80's. Otherwise they have always gone up. You will never be able to buy a house in Calgary for less than you can right now unless there is another blip on the radar because of high interest rates or high unemployment and even that will cycle out again if it does happen. So even if you buy high you don't lose if you can sell using your own timing vs being forced to sell when the market isn't at least normal.

The whole game is knowing when to sell. Those homes that were selling high even 2 years ago are still going up over the long term (and have over the short term). The only time people lose money on houses is when they can't hang on to them during buyer's markets and haven't had them long enough to appreciate. Even in the 80's when prices plummeted, they recovered not long after and those who hung on to their homes were still ahead.

Smart money is probably buying in Calgary right now because there are so many homes on the market and the prices are better because of it. The only way they will lose money is if they try and flip them fast but if they wait, they will still make money, just the way they always have.

Go look at the stats and see for yourself.