Thoughts & Happenings

When you’re looking at luxury homes, the heart may rule the head – but the best way to make sure you get the right house is to research, research, research. You’ll want to walk around the neighbourhood on foot to make sure you talk with the neighbours and know that this is a great place to live. Know how much you can afford realistically, versus how much you can qualify for on your next mortgage. Working with the right realtor (us!) will help you make the most of your experience and making sure you can get title insurance is a must! Let’s get started and see what other ways can help you avoid buying the wrong house.

When it comes to mortgage loan renewals, most Canadians are getting the sharp end of the stick. A recent RBC study showed that most Canadians aren’t able to get a good deal when they try to renew – if anything, they actually end up paying more. While we’re raised to believe that loyalty pays, you may be surprised at how much work you’re going to have to do to make sure you’re getting the best rate. Remember: always get preapproved for your mortgage BEFORE you start looking at Oakville luxury real estate for sale.

Ever wonder what that feature wall would look like in a certain wood, maybe a splash of green? Thinking about buying a new sofa but you’re just not sure how it would look in your space? When it comes to luxury real estate you can go crazy trying to make sure that this is the *right* way to go, but there’s an app for that! Now you can play with all your design ideas, all for the price of an Angry Birds update. Drop a waterfall right into your lounge or livingroom, redecorate your bathroom, do whatever – all you need is a smart phone!

There are a lot of things in play when we’re buying or selling a home – and if you really want to make sure you’re investing in the right Oakville luxury real estate, you need to have a good grasp on the psychology of house hunting. From the 70%+ of Canadians that are worried about buying a home only to find something wrong with it later, to the little voice in the back of our heads that tells us we could always find something better, here we’re going to tackle all the biggies that can make house hunting a real nightmare.

The skyrocketing rate of condo rents in the GTA has been in the news lately, but for a good reason! The provincial rent control laws have a loophole, and a lot of condo renters are finding out it’s perfectly legal to have 2, 3 sometimes 4 rent raises in a year. The Landlord and Tenant Act just doesn’t cover condos like it does other types of dwellings, and here we’re going to talk about how the loophole may soon be closed and how it could affect you if you rent.

With all the snow, rain and inclement weather this spring, the cottage market is feeling the pain. Even with better weather on the way many owners are busy trying to repair docks and damage from the long winter. Luckily it’s starting to warm up a little and you’ll be able to find many great cottages on the Oakville real estate market! If you’re in the market to buy, you’re going to find many anxious sellers that wanted to start selling weeks ago – meaning you’ll find some great deals. It’ll all boil down to who you work with and what you’re looking for.

When blogs online talk about the most coveted features buyers want in their homes and sellers need to provide they might veer off into the obvious: fabulous vanities and decks with built-in furniture... but what if I told you signal strength, not backsplashes, sell homes? It's true! So many people pull out their mobiles and walk around a home during an open house just to see what kind of signal strength they can expect to get if they buy this house. Here we'll talk about what can affect signal strength and what you can do about it.

We all know that one person in our life, that person that is so frugal with their money that they’ve excised the joy in their life – no one wants to be that guy! If you want to buy the luxury home you’ve been dreaming of looking at what you need versus what you want can help you get there, but you have to make sure that your frugality doesn’t take over your life. Here we’re going to talk about how budgeting is healthy but over budgeting isn’t. Let’s get started!

Who wants to pay all those labour costs to schlep furniture in and out of an open house when you can just have… paper furniture? It’s not always paper, but it is “look all you like – but don’t sit” furniture. Prop furniture had its start in the entertainment business and its hay day in luxury real estate back in the early 2000s and now it’s making a comeback. When your condo is on the 30^th floor it could be the best way to go – but even if you’re on the ground level you could get a lot out of it!

Home prices across the GTA hit a new record of almost $650,000 according to reports from Realnet. This is a pretty big surprise because new homes being built have gone down a bit, as well as sales over all – but the appraised value keeps going up and up and the homes that are selling are selling like hotcakes. Here we’re going to talk about how low rise housing is hard to find and why people are willing to pay the premium when it comes to luxury real estate for sale.