Mike Bolger REALTOR® in Kitchener / Waterloo

Sometimes your home insurance rates are reflected by certain things in your home. Understanding what they are can lower your home insurance rate. To prevent rate hikes, you will need to review some key features of your home that may be costing you extra money. Look for these things: Wiring Your old wiring can be a big concern for insurance companies. If the wiring system in your home is aluminum wiring, this is considered more susceptible to fire by Insurance Companies.   Insurance companies may require you to upgrade or they may hike your premiums. Also, some homes may have wiring that is no longer up to code; this could also negatively impact your rate. If homeowners update their wiring system with an electrician to decrease the risk of fire damage and up to code, it can have a dramatically reduce your insurance rate. Plumbing Another concern for the insurance company is the plumbing system. Damage from water leaks is one of the most common home insurance claims...

So, it’s the spring and the time when we get down on our hands and knees to scrub our home top to bottom. Avoid the spring-washing blues. Put the duster down and make a visual difference to your home. Remember that feeling when you just moved in? It’s like a new car smell. Everything had its place, décor was new and you had just what you needed. Find that house again! It’s simply a change of mindset, appear beyond the mop to the tasks that will actually transform your house for the entire season.  Follow these spring-cleaning hacks to a cleaner, brighter home: Out With Seasonal Plants:   Replace all winter houseplants with fresh plants from a local farmer’s market. Fresh vegetation helps to improve the circulation of oxygen in your home. This will help attract clean spring-like air flow. Toss the Extras:   In the spring, it's the best time to place all these heavy materials like heavy throw blankets, seasonal toss pillows, and decor in storage. The ...

If you are trying to  sell your home  or update one this spring, there are various ways to modernize your landscaping and curb appeal. This year's trends might require homeowners to step outside the box with one of a kind landscaping designs. Here is a list of this year's most popular trends. Privacy Just forget about installing an unattractive wooden fence to protect your privacy and plant a quick growing hedge or shrub instead. This will provide an increased barrier between your outdoor living space and your neighbors. Think about a low growing shrub, that can create a semi-private feel to an area without blocking the view. You can also plant some trees to add personal privacy and add some organic beauty to compliment your house. Growing Produce If you are going to add plants to the garden, perhaps you should grow something to eat. Planting fruits and vegetables is known as a smart way to add some interest and beauty to your landscaping. Growing food in yo...

REALTOR® or a real estate agent? Generally, people use the titles interchangeably to refer to any individual who handles real estate transactions. A real estate professional can be categorized as a real estate agent, REALTOR®, and/or broker.  The main difference between these titles is the levels of education, experience, and affiliation. Here are the titles defined: Real Estate Agent in Ontario A real estate agent is a person who is licensed to represent buyers and sellers in a real estate transaction. To become licensed it requires you to complete the Pre-registration Segment courses within 18 months and to obtain employment with a registered brokerage and makes an application for registration with RECO within 12 months of completing the Pre-registration Segment.  The licensing process takes from 3 to 4.5 years to complete.  Agents are the most common real estate professionals that you’ll run across. Real Estate Broker in Ontario The key differences betwee...

Selling your luxury property for the highest value may require some home improvements. A very good home improvement strategy with additions and improvements is expected to give you the best odds of being profitable. When your residence does not have a true family room or has one that can be staged can cost you huge, a family room is an excellent way to get a nice return to your investment by adding some additional square footage. Several sellers with a single story home have looked into adding another floor to it to be competitive in their market. For a few luxury home buyers, they desire a two-story home, and they won't even consider searching for any other choice. This could possibly be due to needing a family room on the first floor and a luxurious master suite on the second. By having an additional floor it will help to give your home a profitable edge at the time of selling. You can potentially add additional bedrooms, a bigger home office, walk-in closets, and more. Y...

People who can afford their mortgage payments but cannot afford anything else are called House Poor. You don’t want to find yourself in this situation. Buying a home that you can't afford will place significant restraints on your financial life. Here are some things that can assist you in finding a house that you can realistically afford. The first affordability rule, as set out by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), is that your monthly housing costs that include the mortgage principal and interest, taxes and heating expenses (P.I.T.H.) should not exceed 32% of your gross household monthly income. For condominiums, P.I.T.H. also includes half of your monthly condominium fees. The sum of these housing costs as a percentage of your gross monthly income is your GDS ratio. What is your GDS ratio and can you pass the mortgage stress test? Use this mortgage calculator , no more than 30% to 32% of your gross annual income should go to "mortgage expenses...

Smart home upgrades are the most popular craze this year and home buyers want them. Research done from the Washington Post says that 65 percent of buyers, specifically millennials, are prepared to spend more on homes that are equipped with smart devices. Today’s definition of a move-in ready home has changed. It isn’t really about fresh paint and refinished hardwood floors any longer. An increasing amount of buyers do not consider a property “move-in ready” until it’s set up with smart gadgets. It is vital to understand that upgrading your home with smart devices is a must. Buyers want permanent gadgets and favor upgrades that stay with the home after you sell it. The most desirable upgrades have these features: Temperature control Security and safety Convenience Compatibility with mainstream voice control devices  You do not have to spend a bundle of money to make your listing more interesting. The good news is that many of these devices are sold for under $...

These days, selling your property takes more than finding a real estate agent and placing a “For Sale” sign in the front yard. Having your residence in order is the first step to an effective offer. The key is to give prospective buyers the chance to envision their “stuff” and family living in the home. It's a good idea to show your home in the best possible light. Here are some recommendations to jazz up your home staging to enhance your chances of an offer. Remove Your Belongings You could be attached to your stuff. However, the first rule is to clean up. Begin by clearing out the unnecessary stuff and pack it all away. If you do not, it can restrict new buyers from visualizing the house as their own. Pack away personal items like family photos  Hide toiletries, clothing, jewelry and accessories Remove excessive clutter Make sure the bathrooms are spotless Invest in covered containers for under the bed or in the closet Make Your Rooms Appear Even bigger You need ...

Shopping for a home might be an extended process. Dealing with it appropriately from the beginning can save a good deal of time and effort afterward and help strengthen your possibilities of finding the most suitable home for you. Make a List of Everything That You Want in a Property Deciding precisely what to look for in a home search is often the most challenging part of the process. Homes come in different types of shapes and sizes, with different colors and characteristics. Focusing on all of these details can become difficult, triggering you to lose focus. The simplest way to prevent this is to take a moment beforehand and make a list of the most important factors of the home you want to buy. To illustrate, you likely have a specific number of bedrooms that you have in mind. Probably you want to be in a particular school district, or perhaps you want a much larger kitchen. Several professionals recommend having a secondary list of desired features that you can do wit...

Having the best photos of your property is essential for marketing your home and selling it faster. It would be almost impossible to fully describe a house without pictures. There’s just one problem; too often homeowners forget about picture quality. Not all images are created equal. Blurry or poor-quality photos can be detrimental to you when selling your home. The question is, “Does professional photography help sell homes?” The simple answer is yes. Professional photography can make all the difference when it comes to selling your home more quickly. It’s one reason why professional real estate photography exists. Buyers Care About Photos When looking at property, experts revealed that home buyers are most interested in real estate photography. Potential Buyers first looked at pictures over everything else on an MLS ®  System  listing . Only after the photos caught their attention did the buyer request a showing of the property. Real estate listing photos are ...

If only selling your home was as simple and stress-free. Unfortunately, the reality is there are a thousand little details that go into selling your home. From hiring a real estate agent to home staging and curb appeal enhancements. It the effort that brings every piece together that gets the attention of the buyer. Being focused on finding the perfect  REALTOR®  is important but try not to forget about the power of a first impression, which starts with the outside of your home. When getting your home ready to sell, the first area that you want to focus on is the exterior. This is what the buyer will see before they even step a foot inside the house. The exterior needs to look attractive. A new door will always look great and there are perks for those who update their entry door to an energy efficient. There may be rebates available and a good place to check is SaveOnEnergy . I recommend that you clean your entire entrance by removing any clutter around your entranc...

While you are selling your home, make sure you have some understanding of what the market might pay for your home and to be ready for hard questions. Here are some guidelines to help stop seller mistakes: Making Showings Difficult When you limit prospective buyers from showings, you limit your capability to get offers. A few examples of this are having no lockbox or not leaving the house while there is a showing. This can easily contribute to the buyers to proceed to other homes with fewer rules. I highly advise that you work with your real estate agent to find a way to make showings simple for everyone. Overpricing Your Home Being greedy might not get you the price you want for your home. If your home is overpriced, you wager the chance of losing showings or offers. The price is what sets the interest for showings. You can easily turn off buyers if they feel that they are unable to afford the home. This can also force them to look for something else. To avoid stress over not get...

You are set to sell your property and you have repaired your home cosmetically for an immediate sale. You performed a fresh paint, decluttered closets, a deep cleaning, new landscaping and prepared the garage! Your property is considerably better than before and you are set to start selling! Before you move forward with placing your signature to a contract with a REALTOR®, there are some essential parts of information that you will need to gather for smart potential buyers who going to want to know specific information. 1. Survey Have your survey on hand and provide it to your real estate agent so they can have the information about your home. Customers want to know about easements, conservation buffers. property lines, and more. Will you know if there is space for a pool or if the property line extends to the water behind your home? Keeping a survey to provide in advance will help to eradicate these types of concerns. 2. Floorplans Purchasers generally need to know room dimen...

Are you contemplating selling your condo? It may be time to talk to a knowledgeable real estate agent in your area. A Real Estate Agent will do a free home evaluation and identify all your specific needs as the seller. Then they can build you a customized marketing plan for your condo. Here are a few necessary topics to go over with your real estate agent if you want to sell your home: 1. Best Time The particulars about your area may help to identify the very best time to put your home on the market. In some cases people may think that the springtime is the ideal time for selling a home, then again this idea simply does not necessarily work for everyone. Your real estate agent may possibly propose a distinct timing strategy for condominium sales. 2. Open House Strategy A condo that presents well will sell quicker and bring in a higher price. Often times some minor cosmetic touch-ups can make a considerable difference. Buyers typically think that more critical problems that ma...

With the summer selling season close by, it may be time to give your property the help it requires to meet today’s buyer needs. Make the most being indoors during these temperatures for some easy fixes that could help your property stick out from the competition, increase its value and sell promptly. Work with a Real Estate Agent Start with getting a Free Home Evaluation with a realtor . Search for someone who has some home staging knowledge. Various real estate professionals might have a large network of professionals that can help you stage your household. Declutter & Organize Begin dealing with one room at a time by packing up just about anything that will distract customers from seeing the exclusive features of your property. I recommend highly to remove all family photos, newspapers, books, personal collections, family photos, and magazines. Rearrange and take out excessive furniture to make easier and make the room appear bigger. Repairs & Updates Ensure everything is...

For some people who are looking for a home, they will get impulsive. First-time buyers searching for their dream home have to be cautious. There are several fabulous houses on the market in Kitchener and Waterloo which have wonderful neighborhood potential and adequate curb appeal. On the other hand, few individuals will stop to think about what lies below their possible new home. People who underestimate the home’s foundation can have their dream of property ownership turn into a major problem. People must look over and above the design to prevent disaster or foundation repair later on. One important aspect when inspecting a house for sale is its foundation. An insufficient foundation may not be seen from the road. If the bad foundation goes without repair, curb appeal won't be high on the owner’s priority list. There is certainly a great deal more at stake if gone unchecked. A low-quality foundation will badly affect you in the future. You should partner with a real estate pr...

There are certainly different reasons why you would need to sell your property very fast. One example is, a job might require a quick relocation to another city, or you could have bought another property and do not want to be stuck too long with two mortgages. Listed below are some recommendations that can enable you to get your residence sold: Establish a realistic price. Should you set the listing price higher than the current market value of your home, you might not get as many viewers. I advise that you list the price to be eye-catching. Make an effort to list the house at the current market value. Assure your residence shows very well, inside and outside . Remove clutter. Do some landscaping and cut hedges and trim the grass. Be sure every room has satisfactory lighting. Envision that a special guest is visiting your home, and clean up and prepare accordingly. Get items fixed . It is likely you don’t have time for a major renovation. Make an effort to make sure...

You have decided to sell your home, and you are eager to sell it ASAP! Here are the best ways to efficiently and effectively improve your home for a speedy sale. This is the first thing every potential buyer sees is the curbside appeal. I recommend you to make it stand out! Here are some suggestions: Curbside appeal: Hire a gardener to clean up the entrance Remove unnecessary items from the front of your home.  Add a fresh coat of paint to your home’s exterior will help Landscaping matters: When your plants, grass and trees are in bad shape, try the following ideas to make the space shine. Plant fresh flowers and cut the grass Trim the trees and bushes Make the inside of your home look as good as possible: Clean and eliminate all clutter inside your home.  Give away extra toys, clothes and things that make your space look crowded or disorganized Organize and clean the kitchen countertops and closets Place bulky things in the storage area Do...

It may be a goal you have had since childhood. Perhaps, you have rented for most of your adult life and now want to experience the joys and satisfaction of home ownership. Buying a home is a big step and requires a lot of important decisions along the way. With some advanced planning and research, you can be sure your home purchase is something you feel good about for many years ahead. Here are the basic steps that lead you to a successful transaction. What You Can Afford This is different from qualifying for a loan. This is calculating how much of your budget you will devote to your home and how much money you want for other things. For a person who values travel, they can afford more house than they should buy. Some of their money will go toward accommodations on the road or other travel expenses. If you love fishing, boating, or a hobby such as restoring classic cars, factor the required budget for your preferred pastime into your overall household budget. With that in mind, ...