Your To-Do list as 'Closing Day' for a purchase/sale of real estate in Nova Scotia approaches.

Your To-Do list as 'Closing Day' for a purchase/sale of real estate in Nova Scotia approaches.

If you are like many lucky Nova Scotians buying or selling a home, you are working with a great team of professionals who will help you through the process. Your mortgage broker, real estate agent and lawyer will all help make the process as smooth as possible. There are a few things that you will need to do as well.

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Are You Really Approved? The Difference Between a Nova Scotia Mortgage Pre-Approval and Approval.

Are You Really Approved? The Difference Between a Nova Scotia Mortgage Pre-Approval and Approval.

Getting pre-approved for a mortgage is a great first step in your home shopping process. It will give you an idea of how much you qualify to borrow, which in turn gives you a budget to work with when you are looking. This is a number to work with before you decide on a certain property. It is important to note that there is a difference between pre-approval and final approval for your mortgage.

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Buying a New Build in Nova Scotia?: Don't get caught with unfinished business.

Buying a New Build in Nova Scotia?: Don't get caught with unfinished business.

It is always exciting to buy a brand new home. New builds are often customized to you in ways that buying a home that is already built would require extensive renovations to achieve. This advantage comes with it own set of potential issues. One of the big common ones is "deficiencies". These are the things that are not completed by the builder as of the closing date. Best case scenario there are none, or they are minor things that needing to be finished.

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Property Taxes in HRM, NS: What you need to know

Property Taxes in HRM, NS: What you need to know

There has been some recent discussion in the Halifax Council of the idea of removing the provincial assessment cap for annual property taxes. As a result I thought now would be the perfect time to review the cap, and some other details about property taxes in HRM that you should know, if you own, or are looking to buy a home in the area.

 

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Thinking of buying a home in Nova Scotia ? : First step - determine your budget.

Thinking of buying a home in Nova Scotia ? : First step - determine your budget.

Buying a new home can be a very exciting prospect, however, there are also a lot of practical realities that go along with buying and owning a home. The first thing you should do before looking at any homes is determine your budget.

This means sitting down with a mortgage professional before you start your search in order to determine what you can afford. It can be a heartbreaking experience looking at homes outside of your budget, not to mention it wastes your, and your realtor's time and resources that could be better spent looking for the right house for you.

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What is Title Insurance for Nova Scotia property, and why do you care?

What is Title Insurance for Nova Scotia property, and why do you care?

What is Title Insurance?

First things first: the word "title" refers to your legal right to own, use, mortgage and sell real property. Title Insurance is there to protect your legal interest, and often that of your lender, in your property.

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What happens when your real estate deal in Nova Scotia falls through?

What happens when your real estate deal in Nova Scotia falls through?

Failing to close on a purchase or sale obviously isn’t anyone’s Plan A, but it does happen. What does Plan B look like?

Some of the reasons that a deal might fall through on closing day include, financing issues, a buyer purchasing a home on the condition that their previous home sold, major issue arises on inspection or pre-close walk through that cannot be resolved.

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Inspection and the Final Walk-through for real estate purchases in Nova Scotia: Bring it up on or before closing day or forever hold your peace.

Inspection and the Final Walk-through for real estate purchases in Nova Scotia: Bring it up on or before closing day or forever hold your peace.

One major piece of the picture when buying your home is inspecting the property to decide A) what issues there are and B) how they will be addressed OR if you are willing to live with them.

Professional Inspection

One of the first steps after you have signed an agreement of purchase and sale is a home inspection. It is always a good idea to use a professional home inspector come in and do an inspection of the home you are considering buying. Their job is to flag any issues that may change your mind about purchasing the property, or the price you are willing to pay for it.  The inspection is the opportunity to raise issues that will need to be addressed. As a result there may be further negotiations with the seller to either take care of the issue prior to closing, or sell at a lower price so you will have the money to fix it. You should look for an inspector that has both liability AND errors and omissions insurance. This protects you not only from any damage they might cause while on the property to do the inspection, but also provides you with possible recourse if they miss something important on the inspection.

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How to find the best Nova Scotia mortgage broker for you.

How to find the best Nova Scotia mortgage broker for you.

It can be hard to decide who is best to help you find the right mortgage.  What makes one broker a better fit for you than another? While the search can seem overwhelming, it is worth taking the time to find the right broker for you. A few tips to help you make this choice:

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Everything You Should Know About 'Closing Costs' in Nova Scotia

Everything You Should Know About 'Closing Costs' in Nova Scotia

We've all heard the term "closing costs", have you been provided with an explanation of what that really means. I've outlined below things that constitute closing costs for both a sale, and a purchase. It is important to understand closing costs for a purchase do not come out of your mortgage funds. You will have to come up with this amount before the transaction closes. For a sale the closing costs would come off of the top of the sale price.

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Thinking about buying a vacation home in Nova Scotia? What you should know first:

Thinking about buying a vacation home in Nova Scotia? What you should know first:

We are lucky to live in a place with a wealth of cottages and vacation homes. Many Nova Scotians are able to make the dream of having a cottage come true. This blog reviews some of the things to look out for to avoid your dream becoming a nightmare.

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should I hire a realtor to help buy or sell my home?

should I hire a realtor to help buy or sell my home?

Thinking of buying or selling your home? You should enlist the services of a real estate agent to complete the transaction. Buying or selling your home is one of the largest transactions you will complete in your lifetime. Its important to get it "right".  A real estate agent can help you do this in anumber of ways.

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Looking to move out of an apartment, but may not be able to afford a mortgage? There may be a solution.

Looking to move out of an apartment, but may not be able to afford a mortgage? There may be a solution.

Are you interested in moving out of an apartment, or building equity instead of paying rent, but a traditional mortgage isn’t the best choice for you? There may be a solution out there for you that you were unaware of. Foxwood Village is a new development in Hubley that is taking what some might consider an unconventional approach to creating their development. If you buy a home in Foxwood Village, you are buying the house itself, but you will lease the land it sits on.  You pay a monthly rental fee for the land. The rental fee and collateral mortgage payments would still be less than the average traditional mortgage payment.

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Buying or Selling? Why you really DO need an agent.

Buying or Selling? Why you really DO need an agent.

Thinking of buying or selling your home? This is one of the largest transactions you will complete in your lifetime, it’s important to get it "right".  A real estate agent can help you do this. These are some of the reasons why:

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What is a "migration" and why do you care?

What is a "migration" and why do you care?

Many people may have heard the term "migration" with respect to property but have no idea what that means. That’s fair, a lot of people don’t. This blog will give a Coles notes overview of what it is and why it matters to you as a home owner or potential purchaser.

 

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Why finding the right realtor to sell your house matters (a lot!)

Why finding the right realtor to sell your house matters (a lot!)

There are a lot of real estate agents out there, and it can be overwhelming deciding which one is right for you. But the right agent can make a huge difference in your home selling experience.  The right agent can not only make the experience more pleasant, they will likely also be able to sell your house for more and in a shorter amount of time.  To make the decision-making process easier, consider the following

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Going Green at Home.

Going Green at Home.

In celebration of the long awaited arrival of spring, I thought I'd share some of the benefits of making your home "greener". The changes you can make to go green at home can be large or very small. It's not only an environmental benefit, butit can also be good for your wallet. Making an effort to make your home greener doesn’t have to mean making major lifestyle changes. In fact the changes discussed here are ones that would simply mean swapping one product you use for an eco-friendlier version.

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Buying your first house? Be mindful of how you shop for your "starter home"

Buying your first house? Be mindful of how you shop for your "starter home"

We've all heard the term "starter home". Usually it's used to describe a quaint little house that would be affordable for a young person or couple, but not really suitable for a family with more than one child. The theory being that this family will simply sell this little house and move into a larger one in the event that they have more children, or some other changes in circumstances. However, when you are buying your "starter" home, be mindful of the fact that life is full of surprises and you may end up staying in your first home longer than you anticipated. When looking for your home, don’t set yourself up to be "stuck" in a house.

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