Nanaimo Notes - By Carolle M.

If you’re planning to sell your home on Vancouver Island, there are a few things you need to know before putting your home on the market. Consider these tips to increase your odds of selling your property quickly and for more money, saving yourself time and stress in the process.

If you want to sell quickly.
If you want to sell your home quickly, you’ll need to be realistic about what you can and can’t do. For example, in most cases, sellers have little control over their selling price — especially if their home is in a desirable neighborhood or has other distinguishing characteristics that give it value. However, depending on your area of choice and the overall condition of your property, there are several factors that can influence how long it…

It's a winter wonderland here. We may have to travel for an hour to find white fluffy snow but we seldom have to shovel, or slip on ice, or bundle up against -40 degree temperatures and wind chill. I don't know many places where you can golf one day and the next day drive to Mount Washington Alpine Resort to enjoy Alpine and Nordic skiing.

I remember, as a kid from New Brunswick, waiting till the very last minute for news of school cancellations only to be disappointed when it was still on. We walked for blocks in snow up to our knees. Vancouver Island kids enjoy school cancellations for much less severe weather conditions.Vancouver Islanders panic when news of an approaching cold front or snowfall is broadcast. Locals stock up on groceries,…

The Kitchen Commands Attention

You don't have to change or completely renovate your kitchen in order to impress buyers but a few small changes can make a huge difference.

It's easy to freshen and clean up a kitchen.

• Check out your cabinets; do they need cleaning or a fresh coat of paint?

• Are your countertops cluttered with "stuff" like small appliances, vitamin jars, note pads, mail, napkin holder etc.....

• Declutter and clean inside your cabinets. How many salad bowls do you really need? How many mugs? 

• Organize your spices and throw or give away any you don't need. 

• Organize your dry food storage and throw or give away anything you don't need.

• Create the illusion of space by paring down the…

Make a good first impression when a buyer drives up to your home. The tidiness of your landscaping will give the Buyer the impression that yours is a well kept  home. 

Improve your curb appeal

Here are some inexpensive things you can do to make your curb appeal impressive:

• Keep the grass cut and well edged

• Plant some flowers

• Paint and repair the fence

• Power wash any stains off the driveway

• Repair driveway cracks

• Touch up any bad paint areas

• Trim hedges and bushes away from windows

• Treat the lawn with a bit of fertilizer to brighten up the green color

If it isn't possible to do this work yourself then it's totally worth hiring some odd-job people to do it for you. 

…

There are many well documented reasons why household pets help people of all ages. They help reduce stress and that helps improve physical and mental health outcomes.

Pets have been used in therapy to help relieve anxiety before and after surgery and during treatment of other physical and emotional conditions. Exams time can be extremely stressful for students so universities, knowing this, have developed opportunities for students to play with puppies and kittens. 

Pets in family settings help members interact with one another; they help children develop interactive skills and they take the edge off loneliness and/or depression.

It's no surprise that the number of pets being purchased and adopted, during Covid 19, has increased…

1.  Get your financing in place.
2. Secure a temporary place to live after you've sold your existing home. You can't compete if you still have to sell your existing home.
3. Realize that the selection is limited so other buyers are in competition with you.
4. Agree to a working relationship with just one Realtor and have them commit to you.
5. Have your deposit money easily accessible and ready to write a cheque.
6. Familiarize yourself with the market and the area you're looking in so you feel comfortable making a quick decision. Don't let the asking price fool you; know the recent sales in the area. 
7. Make sure your Realtor will show you properties as soon as they are listed.
8. Make sure You are available to look at properties as soon as they're…

I'm going to show you how to take the pain out of the pre-showing clean-up.

I like a clean house but I don't love the work involved. As I Realtor, I never realized how stressful it is to prepare for showing until I listed my home for sale. I was literally in my cleaning attire right up to the last minute before the buyers arrived to see the place.

First things first, have the right tools:

• broom with angled heads
• vacuum
• dusters with telescopic handles
• mop with removable heads
• flat plastic storage bin for under the bed
• 2 large plastic totes a small, portable caddy 

Now it's time to get organized; add your cleaning supplies to the caddy

• all purpose cleaner
• sponges
• microfiber cloths
• gloves

Now the Plan…

This is what BCREA asks us to do in order to protect you and others.

Safer Showings During BC’s Second Wave Real estate professionals must continue to adapt to protect themselves, consumers and communities from COVID-19. Realtors must continue to manage risks of showings as infections rise the acceleration in the number of COVID-19 infections in British Columbia means we must all continue our efforts to slow the spread of the disease in accordance with public directives and the public health order from the Provincial Health Office. Both the British Columbia Real Estate Association and the Real Estate Council of British Columbia now strongly recommend against open houses and are replacing previous guidance on hosting safer open houses with this…

Financing

Unless you have all of the money you need to complete the purchase of the home you have an accepted offer on; you will have made the contract of purchase and sale conditional on you being able to secure a mortgage loan.

Pre-Qualifying

When you apply for a mortgage loan, the lender will look at several factors before deciding if they’ll approve the loan; they look at you and the property in detail.

3 C’s

1. Credit: They’ll do a credit check on you to see if you have a good history of paying your bills on time. Be careful not to default on cell phone bills while disputing charges; it’ll reflect poorly on your credit score. Before agreeing to offers for credit cards, remember that each application shows up on your credit bureau…

Inspections

 One of the steps in the process of buying a home is the building inspection. You made it one of the conditions in your contract of purchase and sale. It generally costs between $375 to $425, but it’s money well spent to have trained eyes help investigate the condition of the home you’re about to buy.

Try to conduct the inspection a few days before the condition removal deadline date in case you need to re-negotiate on a deficient item.

Inspections of single-family homes, with one kitchen, take about four hours and condominium property takes about two and a half hours.

The difference between inspectors is membership and accreditation from the Association governing their licensing and education. Choosing an accredited inspector is…