You’ve decided to buy your very first home in 2017. You’re about to start looking for houses on the market. Let’s review your decision to ensure that you’re in fact ready for this step.[……]
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You’ve saved money. You’ve done your research and you’re just about ready to visit properties in the hopes of buying your very first home this year. You’d better make sure that these visits are effective. Here are a few tips.
- We assume that you’ve defined your needs and priorities before visiting your first homes. Don’t make the mistake of defining them as you go along. If so, you’ll waste precious time.
- Don’t wait to visit the property before getting the basic information, such as the age of the house, the electricity costs, the taxes, etc. Browse the websites of cities and power companies. They can usually give you this information. The real estate broker’s listings also hold a lot of information. If the house is not listed, a phone call or an email to the homeowner should suffice. If you’re afraid to sound too pushy, tell yourself that the homeowner is probably glad to proceed in that way. He or she will also be saving time.
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Windows are not only used to regulate the indoor temperature, let in natural sunlight and block outdoor noises from coming inside. They can also be used to create a multitude of decorative designs. The trick is knowing how to use them to their best advantage.
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The window itself can be aesthetically pleasing, through its shape (circle, half-moon, quarter-moon, octagon, oval), its material (wood, PVC, metal), its glass (frosted, stained) and its coverings (curtains, textiles, blinds, sheer fabrics, shutters).
The French door fits into an interior wall. It provides more light to a room or adds a beautiful element to the decor, acting as an interior window. It can also slide into an exterior wall, which we, Canadians, call the patio-door.[……]
5 tips for making a dent in your debt.
According to a BMO 2015 home-buying report, the average Canadian expects to pay off their mortgage by age 59 — but 31 per cent think they’ll still have a mortgage by their 65th birthday. Looking to ditch your debt quicker — without over-extending your budget? It may save you hundreds (if not thousands) in the long run.
The biggest benefit is saving money on interest charges. The longer it takes to pay down your mortgage, the more you’ll pay in interest. The BMO report found that, on average, Canadians believe they’ll pay approximately $60,000 in interest on their mortgage (and this number hits $100,000 for B.C. residents).
First-time homebuyer tip: Curious how mortgage payments work? It’s all about the amount of money you’re borrowing and the length of the loan. Based on these factors, your lender will calculate your payment schedule. Some of your payment will go toward interest (the amount paid on the amount you borrowed), and some will go toward your principal (the amount initially borrowed under the mortgage). You may pay more toward interest than principal in the first few years of your loan, and more toward principal in the later years. Calculate your potential payment schedule with our nifty mortgage calculator.
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You’re planning on buying your very first home in the near future. You have heard of a promise to purchase (formerly known as an offer to purchase) and you are wondering what its purpose is. Here are the main details.
The promise to purchase is the result of a series of exchanges and promises between the future home buyer and the current homeowner. All the details are written down in this document. The promise to purchase is an agreement, which defines the ground rules between the two parties. If conditions are set forth, the deadlines should be clearly stated and the parties undertake to fulfill them.
The promise to purchase is an important document because, as the title states, you commit to buy the property, but under certain conditions set forth on either side. These conditions are laid down in writing in this document.
The promise to purchase is the step that comes right before the deed of sale, which is the famous contract that officially declares you the owner of the coveted house. Just about every detail written down in the promise to purchase will be found in the deed of sale. The content is very similar.[……]
The title might surprise you, but it’s the truth. Just a touch of black can make any spring colour, like yellow and green, pop in a room thanks to the magic of contrast. See how.
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Even a hint of black can improve the look of any room by providing more depth to the dominating colour. Orange, yellow and pink are all the more vivid when paired with black.
Others will say, on the contrary, that a touch of black will tone down any overbearing colour. It helps to soothe plenty of bold colours that can be irritating over time. It’s a fact. Black will mellow down any colour proclaiming to be overpowering.
This trace of black can be a trim molding halfway up the wall or a crown molding, a door, an entire staircase or parts of it, the woodwork, a curtain, the upholstery fabric, the ceiling beams, the den, a lampshade, a wrought-iron structure, a strip of wallpaper or a screen.[……]
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Spring is in the air, which means peak home buying season is just around the corner. So Desjardins is offering an attractive fixed mortgage rate, $1,000 cash back and all the insurance you need for your home under a single roof.
One young couple recently discovered the benefits of choosing Desjardins for their home-buying needs and couldn’t believe their luck. “I’ve been a caisse member since I was a kid, but I never realized just how much they offered!” said Karim after his mortgage was approved. “We decided to look around and wound up falling in love with the first condo we visited—a little 5 1/2 near the canal. We weren’t ready and had to scramble to get our offer in. We talked to our advisor and looked at all our options to find the mortgage that was right for us. It was really stressful. And we thought we’d have to do the same thing over again for our home insurance and loan insurance. But Desjardins offered all the services we needed to buy our home. It was so easy!”
His wife Julie nodded. “The fixed promotional rate we got is incredible. And the $1,000 cashback offer really helped us out: We used it to buy the perfect couch!”[……]