Real Estate Blog - Infinity Admin

Options to Lessen Your House Insurance Premiums

House insurance is critical. However, it is an added cost that sometimes people forget about when purchasing a home. While it isn’t necessarily against the law in Canada to not have home insurance when you own a home, most if not all financial institutions and lenders will ask for proof of insurance before approving your mortgage and allowing you to close on your house.

Having home insurance is to your benefit. It can ease your mind, knowing that your insurance company will cover your losses in a disaster (with the right insurance coverage, of course), and you won’t have to spend a fortune replacing all your belongings. With that being said, there are two insurance terms that all homeowners need to be aware of: insurance…

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Put Your Trust in a REALTOR®

Here are 10 reasons to put your trust in a REALTOR® when buying or selling your property.

Your REALTOR® has many resources to assist you in your home search. 

The Multiple Listing System® is one of your REALTOR's biggest assets but not all properties that are for sale are actively advertised in the market.  Your REALTOR® can help you find all the properties that fit your search.

Your REALTOR® can help you determine your buying power.

With some basic information about your available savings, income, and current debt, your REALTOR® can refer you to lenders best suited to your needs. 

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Market Update - Newfoundland & Labrador Association of REALTORS®

Newfoundland and Labrador MLS® home sales surpass Q1 2021 totals; new listings return to historical average for this time of year

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of REALTORS® totaled 443 units in March 2022. This was down modestly by 2.9% (13 sales) from March 2021.

Home sales were 35.7% above the five-year average and 47.4% above the 10-year average for the month of March.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled a record 1,138 units over the first three months of the year. This was an increase of 12% from the same period in 2021.

Residential activity in St. John’s was up modestly by 3.3% on a year-over-year basis in…

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Smaller City - Good Move?

Over the course of the pandemic, homeowners have been re-evaluating what they need most out of their property. For some, this has meant packing up and downsizing to a smaller city or community for greater living space, privacy, and a more relaxed pace of life.

Both statistically and anecdotally, we’ve witnessed buyers moving to the suburbs and other rural areas over the past two years. Small towns like Squamish, Wasaga Beach, Kingston, and Collingwood have been home to some of Canada’s fastest growing populations lately, a trend largely attributed to residents moving from urban centres in search of more affordable housing, according to a report from RBC Economics.

Why have buyers been moving to smaller cities?

Right now, there are two main…

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Can You Buy a House With Bitcoin in Canada?

We’ve all seen the headlines across the globe proclaiming the rise of cryptocurrency, and the pandemic has accelerated that growth, with many coins reaching all-time highs. Even mainstream investors are getting into the cryptocurrency game, adding bitcoin and other cryptos to their portfolios.

With more people invested in bitcoin, some real estate agents are hearing questions from their clients related to buying a house with bitcoin in Canada. It is an outside-the-box idea for many homebuyers, beyond the traditional banking and mortgage industries.

We will examine the possibility of buying a house in Canada with bitcoin, but first, a little introduction to the world’s most popular cryptocurrency.

What is Bitcoin?

…

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DIY Mistakes You Can Avoid

Thanks to social media platforms like YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok, and Instagram, there’s an almost infinite amount of DIY inspiration out there. However, before you tackle that built-in bookcase or refresh your home with paint, you should know the DIY world is full of common—but thankfully avoidable—mistakes. To help you navigate your next DIY project, we spoke with three local home-owning DIY pros about the most common mistakes that are made.

Not doing enough research beforehand 

When renovating her home, Tobie (@tobesgoesdiy) says she didn’t do enough research on installing tongue and groove laminate flooring and ended up installing it backwards. Similarly, in one of her first tiling projects, Dalyn…

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So, You're Ready to Buy?

Are You Ready?

You’ve come to the right place! Now that you have decided to buy, RE/MAX Infinity can help guide you through the entire process and a REALTOR® can help take care of the rest.

Responsibilities can come at a cost – from financial commitment to necessary care and maintenance. You need to make sure that both fit your current lifestyle.

Check your financial standing

One of the biggest and most important purchases of your lifetime is buying a home. With the help of a real estate agent, you can avoid getting in over your head. It’s important to have some savings, and manage any debt before making a home purchase. In just a few steps you can determine how much you can afford, and with the help of our Mortgage Calculator you can…

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Updates to the Work-from-Home Tax Credits for 2022

As many Canadians continued to work from home in 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, this year’s tax season might be more complicated than usual. In some provinces, public health guidelines mandated all employees set up offices in their homes, and in others, the company you worked for determined who could do so. 

To compensate for the home office expenses they incurred, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced a new temporary flat rate method for the 2020 tax year, but some things have changed for 2021. It’s important to know what you can and cannot claim if you worked from home last year. Here are some guidelines for turning your pandemic work-from-home experience into a tax deduction on this year’s tax return.

What’s changed for…

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Living Rooms - Finding the Right Type of Light to Fit Your Space’s Purpose, Style, and Mood

When it comes to interior design, lighting is often an afterthought, and that seems a bit dull. In fact, it should be factored into the layout and décor scheme as early as possible! This is largely because when you’re outfitting a space, having proper lighting is a sure-fire way to add character and elevate its style.

With the right information, you can easily update a room’s lighting fixtures without breaking the bank or exerting too much effort. We’ve already shown you how to illuminate your home’s exterior, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and even those tricky underlit places. Now we share a guide on how to choose lighting for one of the most used spaces: the living room.  

Read on for tips on finding the right type of light to fit your space’s…

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Rethinking a Variable Rate Mortgage in the Face of Hikes

For a long time, it was a common ideology that a variable rate mortgage was ideal when purchasing a home. The thought process was based on the theory that if the rate drops, you’ll be able to reap the benefits of lower interest payments as opposed to someone who is in a fixed-rate mortgage.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of it, let’s review how interest rates impact a mortgage and the difference between a fixed-rate and a variable-rate mortgage.

Interest rates are determined by the Bank of Canada and often reflect the state of the economy. When the economy is strong, interest rates are high. This means that borrowing money would cost more, but you should receive a higher payout on your investments. When the economy…

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