Real Estate Blog - financing

Buying an Acreage: 5 Things You Need to Consider

If you dream of rural living, you may have considered buying an acreage and are looking around at different options. An acreage can provide a cozy style of country living, whether close to an urban centre or out in the middle of nowhere. Buying an acreage property is a bit different than buying a more traditional home, so let’s take a look at some of the things you should consider.

5 Factors to Consider when Buying an Acreage

The Size of the Acreage

The size of the acreage you want to purchase will influence the type of mortgage that you apply for. Mortgage lenders will likely approve up to a certain number of acres with a house and garage, and varies based on the location. A property located close to an urban centre…

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What Are the Steps to Buying a Home?

What are the steps to buying a home? You’re starting to think about becoming a homeowner, or maybe you’ve even started to look at listings. Either way, you likely have lots of questions, from the general “how tos” to specific queries around financing, different home types and locations, to how to make an offer. To help simplify what can be a complicated process, we’ve outlined the steps to buying a house in Canada.

What Are the Steps to Buying a Home?

There’s a lot to do, but we’ve narrowed it down. Here’s our 10-step home buying process checklist to get you started!

1. Choose a real estate agent that’s right for you.

A home is a huge investment, so work with a realtor that’s knowledgeable, professional and…

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What is Renovation Mortgage Financing?

The good news is that you’ve found your dream home. The bad news is it’s a bit of a fixer-upper. You’ve saved for the down payment but do not have the money to undertake the necessary renovations. Fear not, homebuyer! There are many options available to help you finance the renovations, so you can stop dreaming and start enjoying your new home.

How to pay for renovations when buying a home

Renovation mortgage financing is one of the most popular renovation financing options for new homebuyers. It allows you to add renovation costs to your mortgage when you purchase your new home. So if your mortgage was $500,000 to cover the purchase price and you needed $60,000 for the renovations, you would assume a mortgage of…

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How to Make an Offer on a House

Regardless of where you’re buying or the market conditions, there’s one thing every homebuyer has in common: you have to make an offer to purchase a home. Whether you’re still in the browsing stages or have started to put your plan into action, as a prospective buyer, it is wise to do some legwork and gain insight into the process of making an offer. While your real estate agent is there to guide you, the more you know about the home-buying process, the smoother it will be. A smooth process is especially pivotal in a seller’s market, where you’ll need to act fast and take quick and decisive action when you find a property that interests you. This makes understanding how to make an offer on a house essential.

How to Make an…

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How do Home Renovation Loans Work?

When first thinking about renovating our homes, we often get lost in daydreams and fantasies of new bathrooms, kitchens, walk-in closets, and a whole host of other great renovation ideas. Eventually, though, we come back to reality and the daunting thought of the cost associated with renovations. So, how do home renovations work? Let’s dig in.

Home renovations can run anywhere from a few hundred dollars up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and there are many different ways to pay for them. While inexpensive upgrades such as new light fixtures, countertops and windows can be paid for using either a line of credit or a savings account, large reconstruction projects take far more time and money, often requiring home…

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Vertical Additions - What’s the Storey?

If you find your family growing, or spending more time at home has you feeling like you live in a tiny home, craving a more spacious abode could be your current reality. The obvious choice is usually to sell in favour of a larger dwelling, but the simplest solutions aren’t always the best—or easiest. 

You may encounter roadblocks to buying a larger home like prohibitive pricing, or not wanting to move away from a beloved neighbourhood, close family or friends. Whatever your reasons, things could be looking up with a vertical home expansion, especially if expanding horizontally is not in your cards.

Not your average reno

Make no mistake, this is a massive and complex renovation that requires professionals from…

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Can Housing Upgrades Affect Your Insurance?

There’s a lot to consider when you decide to renovate. Aside from choosing the right tile for your new backsplash or the perfect shade of paint, you have to think about insurance. Though home insurance isn’t mandatory in Canada, most mortgage lenders require it before financing, and it can help protect your property and home contents against damages.

Canada’s home renovation sector is now an $80-billion market with a recent survey indicating that 27% of Canadian homeowners have renovated during the pandemic, and another 20% plan on tackling renovations in the near future. 

While some renovations can be costly, they can help increase the value of a home. Regardless of the size of your renovation, it’s always important to consider how any improvement…

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8 Best Ways to Finance Major Home Renovations

Upon deciding to upgrade your home, whether you’re planning to stay there or sell, the topic of money arises quickly. It’s well known that home renovations can be costly. Sure, some small upgrades such as new light fixtures, faucets and paint don’t typically cost a whole lot of money, but remodels are known to snowball and the costs can add up quickly. Thankfully, you have options! Here are 8 of the best ways to finance major home renovations to help you forge ahead, with confidence that you’ll have the financial means to make your vision a reality!

1. Home Equity Line of Credit

When buying a home, most people apply for a mortgage. Your home equity is the portion of your home that you have already paid off.

Home…

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Recipe for homebuying

Buying a home is a big undertaking, and all aspects should be carefully considered before looking to buy. Not only do you want to find your dream home, but you want to do it within a reasonable budget. In hopes of staying within that budget, you may decide to cut some corners by carefully analyzing the things you want over the things you need.

In making these decisions, you may decide to skip using a Buyer’s Agent. Is this a good decision? No. Here’s why:

• It’s free! The cost of using a Buyer’s Agent is covered by the seller out of the sale of their home. This means that choosing to use an agent will not only make your home buying journey much easier, but it won’t add a single penny to your budget.
• A Buyer’s Representation Agreement is what…

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