Real Estate Blog - January, 2023

Kitchen Trends to Watch for in 2023

1. Closed-off floorplans

While an open floorplan is practical for some, 2023 is looking to be the year of privacy. The traditional style of kitchen is making a comeback, four walls and all, according to Audrey Scheck of Audrey Scheck Design in an interview with Forbes. Whether it be glass partitions, movable dividers, unique built-in shelving, decorative pillars, or simply a wall, the broken floorplan helps to compartmentalize your spaces, offering up privacy when you need it. When considering a broken floorplan for your kitchen, ensure accessibility and moveability is at the forefront of your design. While things might be closed off, you’ll still need to ensure there are open and clear pathways.

2. Revamped kitchen islands

Kitchen…

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The Difference Between Being Pre-Qualified and Pre-Approved

Purchasing a home can be confusing with all the different terms and requirements. Two steps involved in the mortgage process are pre-qualification and pre-approval. But what’s the difference between being pre-qualified and pre-approved?

Prospective homebuyers should consider getting pre-qualification at the onset of their home-buying process. It allows them to consider their budget and gain insight into their mortgage options.

Prospective homebuyers should consider getting pre-approval when they are more involved in the home-buying process, ideally within three months of the expected purchase date of their new home. It allows them to understand their financial position better and narrow their options.

Being Pre-Qualified

Getting…

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Upgrading Your Home Office

Proper organization and storage are key to a productive home office. Upgrading your home office can be a visual cue, inspiring you to increase your productivity and improve your general workflow.

Innovative renovations that boost your home office aesthetic and practicality, while bringing you closer to your work, can help you reach new heights. If you have a hybrid work schedule or are working from home, you can easily incorporate these six ideas into your existing decor.

6 Ways to Upgrade Your Home Office

Upgrade Your Lighting with Different Bulbs

Workplace lighting could be subpar if the space were designed to be something other than an office from the start. A well-lit home office has both natural and artificial lighting options, such…

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Here are the Top Paint Colours for 2023

Deep reds, bold blues, and neutral earth tones are leading the way for the top paint colours of 2023. See what companies like Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, Glidden, Behr, and Pantone have chosen as their colours of the year. 

Refreshing the home is a big part of embracing the new year, and with so many potential changes from flooring to furniture, it’s hard to know where to start. Paint is a quick and easy way to freshen up any space or piece of furniture, and interior designers and paint companies have their predictions on emerging colour trends for 2023. Ranging from earthy reds to warm neutrals, here are the colours the pros say we’ll be painting our homes with and why they work. 

Pantone’s highly…

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Factors to Consider When Deciding Where to Live

Whether you’re choosing to stay in the same city or relocate to a new province entirely, there are plenty of options available when looking to buy a new home, and it’s important not to box yourself in. Sure, you like the neighbourhood you live in right now, and it may be sad to leave, but there are plenty of other unique places across Canada to live, and it’s essential to consider all your options when deciding where to live.

Which is the Most Important Factor in Deciding Where to Live?

Before deciding where you want to live, it’s important to think about what you want out of a city and a home. Therefore, your decision where to live should be guided by your goals from homeownership. Before starting your house hunting…

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What You Legally Have to Disclose When Selling

You know about staging and pricing a listing properly to attract buyers, but sometimes there’s an out-of-sight, out-of-mind history that sellers may have to disclose. A  property might look perfect on the outside, but if there was a death on site, it was used for illegal activity, or even if it’s reported to be haunted, it can become what’s known as “stigmatized.” This label can make the property more difficult to sell and might even bring down its value.

Some potential buyers may not care about a home’s stigma, while others could perceive it as a red flag. However, depending where you live, sellers are not always obligated to disclose certain issues, leaving the onus on the buyer—with the help of their REALTOR®—to learn more.

We asked two real…

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Pros and Cons of Banks Versus Mortgage Brokers

When looking for a good mortgage rate, there are two main options: going directly through a bank or working with a mortgage broker. Each can be a good option, depending on your financial situation. So how do you decide which one to try? Let’s look at the difference between banks versus mortgage brokers, their pros and cons, and how to figure out which is best for you.

The Difference Between Banks Versus Mortgage Brokers

The big difference between a bank and a mortgage broker is that a mortgage broker can provide you with mortgage products from several different lenders, while a bank can only give you the mortgage option from their own company. Mortgage brokers have access to a variety of lenders and rates, which means…

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Explore the Neighbourhood Before You Buy

The quality of the surrounding community is a significant factor in determining whether you will be happy in your new home. While choosing a neighbourhood and forming an accurate impression of it is tough until you actually live there, preliminary research on the area can reduce the likelihood of suffering from buyer’s remorse down the road. So, how can you ensure that you’re well-informed? Here are five strategies for investigating a neighbourhood before you buy.

Choosing a Neighbourhood: Journey of Discovery

To determine whether the area is ideal for you, it is best to pay multiple visits. Listen for things like planes, trains and automobiles as you wander the neighbourhood. Living near places that frequently generate…

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