Article from the Vancouver Real Estate Board: 1. You can appeal property taxes: No. You can appeal your assessment, not your taxes. You annually receive your assessment the first week of January and must appeal by January 31. 2. An appeal will change the market value: The market value may not correlate to the assessed […]
Are you buying a home for the first time? Are you buying a home for the first time in a long time? The Canadian Mortgage and housing Corporation has great resources for home buyers. From learning if home ownership is right for you, if you are financially ready, choosing a home that is a good […]
Last year, I joined with some friends to raise money through Change Heroes to build a school in Kenya. That money was sent directly to our implementing partner, Free The Children. The school is almost complete! All that's left to be done is some landscaping out front of the school. Over the coming months, local […]
HouseLogic's Top 10 List of New Year's Resolutions for Your Home The New Year has arrived! Here’s the top-10 list of what the resolute home owner should accomplish this year. This time, it’s going to be different. A brand new year, brimming with possibilities, and you’ve resolved to move through your house like a whirling […]
Moderate Growth Characterizes November Market Sales activity across the Vancouver Island housing market area was relatively stable for the month of November, dipping only slightly from this time last year. Although there has been a minimal decline in activity, the Board remains on target to reach its forecasted growth for this year, as a result […]
2013 proved an unusually complex year for residential real estate in Canada, characterized by two very separate and distinct homebuying markets. Housing sales fell seriously short of year-ago levels in the first and second quarter of 2013. Edmonton, Calgary, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Windsor-Essex were the only markets to buck the trend, with home sales up moderately […]
Safety Tips from the Canadian Safety Council The Christmas tree Get a freshly cut tree. It will stay green longer and be less of a fire hazard. Try to pick a tree with a strong green colour and noticeable fragrance. Always test for freshness before buying. A tree with high moisture content is safer. Very […]
Effective: November 1, 2013 Finally we have a HPI (Housing Price Index) available for the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board area. Officially being released November 1, 2013 in our market and available since 2009 in several other major markets. The housing price index tracks value of typical examples of various types of housing in major […]
Ratehub created this infographic to observe the spending and saving habits of Canadian homebuyers and homeowners this year. For example, you’ll be able to see that Canadians are saving by renewing and getting lower mortgage rates (yay!) but currently have less equity in their homes than the year before (boo). If you want to see […]
Article from RE/MAX Western Canada Mistake #1. Not Getting Pre-Qualified for a Mortgage Before looking for your next home take the time to get pre-qualified by the bank or mortgage broker you choose. This can save you hours of searching for homes in the wrong price range or worse, purchasing a home and then finding […]
