When buying a home, there are a lot of decisions to make. Location, Size, Cost, Must-haves and perhaps most importantly, what type of home.

Townhome Condo, Highrise Condo or Detached House?

Buying a home is likely the biggest financial purchase you will ever make and it is a difficult decision to make, especially with so many variables to consider.

My suggestion is to make a list of your “Must-Have’s”

How much do you value a yard? Or do you prefer someone else to do your outdoor maintenance?

Do you value the security of a building, being up higher or having a view?

Are you a handy-person and like to have your own workshop and lots of storage space?

Will you need a space to grow into or are you in the stage of life where down-sizing is what you’re after?

Really getting clear on what you’re looking for will help narrow your search.

You may surprise yourself by thinking you know exactly what you’re after until your search has begun and in fact other things you may never have thought were important to you could come up.

Here is a very basic breakdown of some differences between the two:

Houses

• Your private yard
• You are responsible for your own maintenance
• No condo fees
• Insurance is your responsibility
• You can do whatever you’d like to your property inside and out

Condos

• Monthly condo fees. These fees usually include water, snow removal, landscaping, exterior maintenance as well as upkeep of amenities like a gym or pool.
• Exterior and building insurance
• Inside your condo, you are usually free to do what you like (except structural). You will most likely need permission for anything exterior ie. painting your front door, shutters or sometimes even having a doormat

Whatever our preference, we will be happy to help you find just what you are looking for!

Our team of real estate sales professionals is committed to finding you, your dream home. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, the Karen Paul team is here to help with any questions.

 

I know what you’re thinking; “Spring?! But Karen, it’s only January!”

The truth is; the spring market starts now.

Most people underestimate the home selling process.

 

From the time you think about selling, the process usually goes something like the following:

-Think about selling, make the decision to sell

-Declutter and depersonalize your home

-Put excess furniture and household items into storage

-Clean your home top to bottom

-Fix any minor repairs, fresh paint jobs, plant flowers etc.

-Stage your home if necessary

-Increase your curb appeal by repaving your driveway, painting your front door, trim your hedges

This process can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks, or more.

Once all of these details are tended to, you need to hire the best Realtor to represent you.
Your Realtor will be your eyes and ears in the market and it is imperative that you select someone
who has your best interest at heart and who you get along with well.

Once you’ve selected a Realtor you trust, we will help you through the home selling (and buying) process.
Putting your home on the market, having an open house, advertising your home and holding your hand through
the process is what we are here for.

Selecting the right Realtor for you can take approximately 2 weeks as well.

Once your home is on the market, it could sell right away, or it could sit for a few weeks. These are all things
that need to be accounted for, especially if you are looking to buy a home to move into.

This could take anywhere from 1 day to 60 days, or more.

Once your home sells, the closing date is usually 30 – 60 days after the sale is final.

So yet another 60 days

If you account for all of the preparations above, if you were to decide to sell your home today,
your house could be going on the market by March 1st. Of course this can be done quicker, but
if you are thinking of selling your house in the “Spring Market” my advice is to start on the process ASAP.

People often make the mistake and wait until spring is upon us to list their home. This will delay any house
sales and the market is very saturated by spring that your competition will be fierce!

If you are thinking of selling your home, I am happy to represent you. Just a final reminder:

The Spring Market Starts Now! 

Our team of real estate sales professionals is committed to finding you, your dream home. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, the Karen Paul team is here to help with any questions.

 

Even though the new year has only just begun, the housing outlook for 2015 is looking very bright.

According to the Re/Max 2015 Housing Market Outlook Report, the average 2014 residential sale price in Canada was $406,145; which is expected to increase this year to $416,300.

In Toronto and Vancouver prices will continue to climb, by about 4 and 3 per cent per cent, respectively. If you’re a homeowner, or looking to get into the market, keep an eye on these factors in the year ahead.

While Baby Boomers continue to downsize, Millennials are entering the market. Both groups are driving market demand right across Canada.

With young buyers in Vancouver and Toronto facing high prices and a limited supply of single-family homes, condos are especially appealing.

In Montreal, Kingston, Ont., Burlington, Ont.,and Victoria in particular, condos are attracting Baby Boomers looking for amenities within walking distance and affordability.

We look forward to helping you buy or sell your home in 2015! Call us, we’d love to hear from you!

Our team of real estate sales professionals is committed to finding you, your dream home. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, the Karen Paul team is here to help with any questions.

 

With the end of one year always come the start of another. Time to set new goals, have 365 new days to achieve your goals and lots of new experiences to be had. Last year our team went through some major changes. We added a few new staff, had higher than average sales for December and made a huge shift from Royal LePage to Keller Willliams.

I am one of those people who likes change. I relish in tackling new challenges and always looking at was to improve.

Our team has been working very hard this past year, as always, to bring our clients the best service we can. We are very much looking forward to 2015 as we have a lot of exciting things going on! A few of which you’ll see this month…so stay tuned!

We look forward to working with you and helping make your home transition as enjoyable as possible!

Happy New Year!

Karen Paul & Associates

Our team of real estate sales professionals is committed to finding you, your dream home. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, the Karen Paul team is here to help with any questions.

 

Now that 2015 is approaching this week, more and more people are beginning to get serious about putting their New Year’s resolutions into practice. According to the Journal of Clinical Psychology, focusing on health and happiness are the top ranked desires. Among these desires, many of them revolve around adopting a healthier lifestyle. Whether it is losing weight, eating healthier, quitting smoking, spending less time working and more quiet home time with loved ones, it seems we are all after the same things.

There’s a phrase that goes: “the family who plays together stays together.” Now whether we are looking at working out, supporting one another or being there during tough times, through the strength of “our team” whether that is family, friends, neighbours, or our colleagues, we can and should never underestimate the value of having our support network around us. New Year’s is a time to reflect back on the year gone by, to appreciate what we were offered and to look to the future, to bring forth positive change into our lives.

2014 was a fabulous year for our team and we are very much looking forward to what 2015 will bring.

I have worked with countless families this year who provided so much support for one another when they were going through the buying, selling and moving process. The families my team and I worked with also proclaimed how much our team did to help ease the process and how having our professional expertise really helped smooth the transition.

Whatever your goals, thoughts and dreams are for 2015, just know, that you will always have friends and family on your side and we are ALWAYS here to help your transition be more seamless and enjoyable!

Our team of real estate sales professionals is committed to finding you, your dream home. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, the Karen Paul team is here to help with any questions.