The following BCREA article shows the stark changes to the Okanagan Real Estate Market from December 2007 to December 2008. Although the statistics may not favour a Seller in today's market, they certainly do favour a Buyer. Interest rates continue to stay low and in doing so allow first time home buyers more advantage of getting into the marketplace.
Vancouver, BC – British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports residential sales dollar volume on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in BC declined 31 per cent to $31.3 billion in 2008, compared to 2007. Residential unit sales declined 33 per cent to 68,923 units last year, the lowest level since 2000, when 54,179 transactions were recorded. The average MLS® residential price in 2008 was $454,599, up 3.5 per cent from 2007.
“The housing market came in like a lion and went out like a lamb in 2008,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “Home prices reached a record high in March, but edged lower during the balance of the year.” The average residential sales price hit $483,291 in March and ended the year at $429,210, an 11 per cent decline in nine months.
“The global financial crisis, a sharp correction in the equity markets and a recessionary environment in Canada has wreaked havoc on consumer confidence,” added Muir. “While it’s difficult to predict when consumer confidence will strengthen, home affordability is quietly improving as lower prices and mortgage interest rates increase the buying power of BC households."
December MLS® residential sales dollar volume in the province declined 52 per cent to $1.05 billion, compared to December 2007. Provincial MLS® sales were down 49 per cent to 2,456 units, while the average residential price declined 6 per cent to $429,210 over the same period.
Full article courtesy of BCREA
Sincerely,
Jason Neumann
Showing posts with label Working with a Realtor®. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Working with a Realtor®. Show all posts
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Chattels and Fixtures: What are They?
Area Rug - Chattel
Bathroom Mirror - Fixture
If you are thinking of selling your home, you may be wondering whether you should take the custom-made window coverings with you, or whether that entertainment unit you had specially made for your family room should be sold with the house.
Undoubtedly, these items may be hard to part with. On the other hand, they will probably make your home much more attractive to potential purchasers if you include them in the sale. In fact, it is quite common for vendors to include some items that would normally be considered as "chattels" - such as drapes and appliances - in the sale of their homes as an extra incentive to buyers.
Simply stated, chattels are things that can be removed from a property because they are not attached to the walls or to the property. Fixtures, on the other hand, are things that are attached to the property - things like light sockets, a hot tub or electric wall heaters.
The law is not always crystal clear about what is considered a fixture but your REALTOR® will help you decide and clarify what you want to include in the sale of your home.
Full article courteousy of OMREB
Bathroom Mirror - Fixture
If you are thinking of selling your home, you may be wondering whether you should take the custom-made window coverings with you, or whether that entertainment unit you had specially made for your family room should be sold with the house.
Undoubtedly, these items may be hard to part with. On the other hand, they will probably make your home much more attractive to potential purchasers if you include them in the sale. In fact, it is quite common for vendors to include some items that would normally be considered as "chattels" - such as drapes and appliances - in the sale of their homes as an extra incentive to buyers.
Simply stated, chattels are things that can be removed from a property because they are not attached to the walls or to the property. Fixtures, on the other hand, are things that are attached to the property - things like light sockets, a hot tub or electric wall heaters.
The law is not always crystal clear about what is considered a fixture but your REALTOR® will help you decide and clarify what you want to include in the sale of your home.
Full article courteousy of OMREB
Friday, November 14, 2008
Lawyers, Notaries and Real Estate Transactions
Anyone who has ever bought or sold a house will tell you there is an amazing amount of paperwork involved. Once you put your signature on any of the documents you will be presented with, you are legally bound to honour whatever obligations and conditions that particular contract contains.
So do you need a lawyer/notary in a real estate transaction? The better question might be "can you afford NOT to have one?". With a good lawyer/notary on your side, you will be able to make sense of the legal jargon that turns up on every page. You will also have someone to take care of the time-consuming legalities involved in completing the deal, someone to look after your legal rights and interests.
How do you go about finding a lawyer? If you are buying your first home, probably the best way is to ask around - friends, family and business acquaintances - for recommendations. Question your prospective lawyers about their experience with real estate transactions and also discuss their fee scales and the services they will provide for the money they charge. Ask about whether there could be other legal fees and, if unexpected costs arise, at what point can you expect to hear from them?
When do you start working with a lawyer? It's a good idea to hire a lawyer before you and your REALTOR® submit the Offer to Purchase to a seller of a home. This lets the lawyer look over such things as the legal description of the property you intend to buy before your offer becomes final.
Your lawyer can also ensure there is sufficient time for him or her to carry out various investigations and enquiries. If you are unable to have a lawyer look at your Offer to Purchase immediately, you can insert a condition that gives you another day or two to get that offer satisfactorily reviewed by a lawyer.
If you are buying a home, a lawyer will:
check to see if there are any claims registered against the property and that these are cleared away before you become the home's new owner;
investigate whether taxes are owing on the property;
make sure the property is properly described on every document you sign, and that you will have valid proof of ownership;
tell you how much Land Transfer Tax - the payment to the Provincial government for transferring property from the seller to the buyer - you will have to pay when the transaction is completed, and how much money (if any) you owe for utility bills, fuel or taxes prepaid by the seller; and
draw up mortgage documents, if your lender has not done so.
If you are selling a house, a lawyer will:
gather all necessary documents to complete the transaction and transfer the title to the new owner;
let the buyer's lawyer know that your mortgage, if there is one, will be paid off - or "discharged" - with the proceeds from the sale, and obtain a statement of the outstanding loan balance at the closing date from your lender;
draw up a statement of adjustments that itemizes proceeds from the sale and shows how they will pay off all the costs involved in that sale. He or she will also distribute the money to pay off these costs and discharge your mortgage from the property title. Any money left over is money you have made from the sale and your lawyer will write you a cheque for the net amount; and
arrange to file all the paperwork necessary to transfer the property title.
You can see why it is so important to have a lawyer on your team when buying or selling a home!
Multiple Listing Service, MLS®, REALTOR® and REALTORS® are registered trademarks of the Canadian Real Estate Association. REALTOR® identifies a real estate practitioner who is a member of the Association.
Article courtesy of OMREB
Sincerely,
Jason Neumann
So do you need a lawyer/notary in a real estate transaction? The better question might be "can you afford NOT to have one?". With a good lawyer/notary on your side, you will be able to make sense of the legal jargon that turns up on every page. You will also have someone to take care of the time-consuming legalities involved in completing the deal, someone to look after your legal rights and interests.
How do you go about finding a lawyer? If you are buying your first home, probably the best way is to ask around - friends, family and business acquaintances - for recommendations. Question your prospective lawyers about their experience with real estate transactions and also discuss their fee scales and the services they will provide for the money they charge. Ask about whether there could be other legal fees and, if unexpected costs arise, at what point can you expect to hear from them?
When do you start working with a lawyer? It's a good idea to hire a lawyer before you and your REALTOR® submit the Offer to Purchase to a seller of a home. This lets the lawyer look over such things as the legal description of the property you intend to buy before your offer becomes final.
Your lawyer can also ensure there is sufficient time for him or her to carry out various investigations and enquiries. If you are unable to have a lawyer look at your Offer to Purchase immediately, you can insert a condition that gives you another day or two to get that offer satisfactorily reviewed by a lawyer.
If you are buying a home, a lawyer will:
check to see if there are any claims registered against the property and that these are cleared away before you become the home's new owner;
investigate whether taxes are owing on the property;
make sure the property is properly described on every document you sign, and that you will have valid proof of ownership;
tell you how much Land Transfer Tax - the payment to the Provincial government for transferring property from the seller to the buyer - you will have to pay when the transaction is completed, and how much money (if any) you owe for utility bills, fuel or taxes prepaid by the seller; and
draw up mortgage documents, if your lender has not done so.
If you are selling a house, a lawyer will:
gather all necessary documents to complete the transaction and transfer the title to the new owner;
let the buyer's lawyer know that your mortgage, if there is one, will be paid off - or "discharged" - with the proceeds from the sale, and obtain a statement of the outstanding loan balance at the closing date from your lender;
draw up a statement of adjustments that itemizes proceeds from the sale and shows how they will pay off all the costs involved in that sale. He or she will also distribute the money to pay off these costs and discharge your mortgage from the property title. Any money left over is money you have made from the sale and your lawyer will write you a cheque for the net amount; and
arrange to file all the paperwork necessary to transfer the property title.
You can see why it is so important to have a lawyer on your team when buying or selling a home!
Multiple Listing Service, MLS®, REALTOR® and REALTORS® are registered trademarks of the Canadian Real Estate Association. REALTOR® identifies a real estate practitioner who is a member of the Association.
Article courtesy of OMREB
Sincerely,
Jason Neumann
Sunday, November 9, 2008
What To Do When Things Go Wrong?!?
Working with a REALTOR® will go a long way to ensuring that the sale or purchase of your home will go smoothly. There are times, however, when even professional service goes awry and things are not as they should be. You may think the REALTOR® is at fault. What do you do?
The first step would be to talk to the REALTOR® and/or his or her Broker or Manager - this is the person to whom the salesperson reports and either owns or manages the office. Perhaps the problem is simply a misunderstanding that can be worked out by the parties involved or there may be steps the Broker can recommend to help resolve any impasse.
The second step you may consider is to contact your lawyer. Depending on what exactly has happened and what circumstances exist, your lawyer may be able to mediate things up or at the very least let you know what your choices are.
One choice you may not know about is the Business Practices Complaints Process managed by the local real estate board to which the REALTOR® belongs and how discussing the situation with someone in the Board office could assist you in resolving the problem.
Although rules vary from Board to Board to province to province, there are some basic rules by which all REALTORS® (that is, members of a local real estate board or provincial real estate association) must abide - they are known collectively as the Code of Ethics and Standards of Business Practice.
The Board staff member who handles complaints from the public is knowledgeable about the ins and outs of real estate transactions, rules governing members, the Code of Ethics and Standards of Business Practice and rules of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®). He or she will be able to tell you if you have the basis for making a complaint about the Member to the Board and direct you to information that will assist you in assessing the situation for yourself.
Should you feel that the salesperson or Broker you dealt with treated you unfairly or failed to do their job properly, you may write a letter of complaint to the real estate Board. They will investigate your complaint by contacting the salesperson and his or her Broker to get their side of the story. Once they have your complaint and their Member’s response to your complaint, they will decide if there should be a hearing to investigate further.
A hearing is simply a meeting of the people involved in your complaint - you and the REALTOR® you complained about - plus a hearing panel. The panel is made up of a group of real estate Brokers and/or salespeople who are Members of the organization to which you have sent your complaint. These members, like most others in the organization, have a real interest in ensuring Members perform their duties and offer their services according to the rules and regulations of the Board and the Code of Ethics and Standards of Business Practice.
A hearing can have one of two outcomes: the complaint against the Member can be either dismissed or upheld. If the complaint is dismissed, it means that there was either no evidence or insufficient evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the salesperson and his or her Broker. If the complaint is upheld, it means that the hearing panel found enough evidence that the salesperson and/or Broker participated in wrongdoing; the panel then has the power to apply penalties to the salesperson and/or the broker.
Why make the complaint? There are a number of good reasons.
To begin, real estate Boards and the British Columbia Real Estate Association are very interested in having their Members act professionally and in accordance with provincial and real estate Board regulations and guidelines. Any time they are acting otherwise it reflects badly on the industry as a whole.
Secondly, if a member is participating in something they should not be, the Board and Association have an interest in ensuring that the member is made aware that his or her behaviour is unacceptable and that remedial action is taken.
Thirdly, if the REALTOR® has done something which has put you or your real estate transaction in jeopardy, but has done it unknowingly, it is in everyone’s interest that that REALTOR® learn the proper procedures.
It isn’t often that transactions go amiss because of the actions of a real estate salesperson, but when they do, it’s good to know there is somewhere you can go.
Multiple Listing Service, MLS® and REALTOR® are registered trademarks of the Canadian Real Estate Association. REALTOR® identifies a real estate practitioner who is a member of the Association.
Article courtesy of OMREB
Sincerely,
Jason Neumann
The first step would be to talk to the REALTOR® and/or his or her Broker or Manager - this is the person to whom the salesperson reports and either owns or manages the office. Perhaps the problem is simply a misunderstanding that can be worked out by the parties involved or there may be steps the Broker can recommend to help resolve any impasse.
The second step you may consider is to contact your lawyer. Depending on what exactly has happened and what circumstances exist, your lawyer may be able to mediate things up or at the very least let you know what your choices are.
One choice you may not know about is the Business Practices Complaints Process managed by the local real estate board to which the REALTOR® belongs and how discussing the situation with someone in the Board office could assist you in resolving the problem.
Although rules vary from Board to Board to province to province, there are some basic rules by which all REALTORS® (that is, members of a local real estate board or provincial real estate association) must abide - they are known collectively as the Code of Ethics and Standards of Business Practice.
The Board staff member who handles complaints from the public is knowledgeable about the ins and outs of real estate transactions, rules governing members, the Code of Ethics and Standards of Business Practice and rules of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®). He or she will be able to tell you if you have the basis for making a complaint about the Member to the Board and direct you to information that will assist you in assessing the situation for yourself.
Should you feel that the salesperson or Broker you dealt with treated you unfairly or failed to do their job properly, you may write a letter of complaint to the real estate Board. They will investigate your complaint by contacting the salesperson and his or her Broker to get their side of the story. Once they have your complaint and their Member’s response to your complaint, they will decide if there should be a hearing to investigate further.
A hearing is simply a meeting of the people involved in your complaint - you and the REALTOR® you complained about - plus a hearing panel. The panel is made up of a group of real estate Brokers and/or salespeople who are Members of the organization to which you have sent your complaint. These members, like most others in the organization, have a real interest in ensuring Members perform their duties and offer their services according to the rules and regulations of the Board and the Code of Ethics and Standards of Business Practice.
A hearing can have one of two outcomes: the complaint against the Member can be either dismissed or upheld. If the complaint is dismissed, it means that there was either no evidence or insufficient evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the salesperson and his or her Broker. If the complaint is upheld, it means that the hearing panel found enough evidence that the salesperson and/or Broker participated in wrongdoing; the panel then has the power to apply penalties to the salesperson and/or the broker.
Why make the complaint? There are a number of good reasons.
To begin, real estate Boards and the British Columbia Real Estate Association are very interested in having their Members act professionally and in accordance with provincial and real estate Board regulations and guidelines. Any time they are acting otherwise it reflects badly on the industry as a whole.
Secondly, if a member is participating in something they should not be, the Board and Association have an interest in ensuring that the member is made aware that his or her behaviour is unacceptable and that remedial action is taken.
Thirdly, if the REALTOR® has done something which has put you or your real estate transaction in jeopardy, but has done it unknowingly, it is in everyone’s interest that that REALTOR® learn the proper procedures.
It isn’t often that transactions go amiss because of the actions of a real estate salesperson, but when they do, it’s good to know there is somewhere you can go.
Multiple Listing Service, MLS® and REALTOR® are registered trademarks of the Canadian Real Estate Association. REALTOR® identifies a real estate practitioner who is a member of the Association.
Article courtesy of OMREB
Sincerely,
Jason Neumann
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