Posted on
January 17, 2024
by
W2 Realty Team
Posted in
buying a home, buying tips, listing agent, real estate, real estate agent, realtor, REALTOR®, Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, selling a home, selling tips, why use a realtor, yqr
What are the benefits of using a REALTOR®?
Whether you’re buying or selling a home, it’s important to understand from the outset how professional representation can help you at every step of the process.
Buying or selling a home is a major financial (and emotional) undertaking and
your REALTOR® is more than just a "salesperson".....we act on your behalf as your advocate, providing you with professional advice and guidance.
While the Internet has opened up a world of information not previously available to consumers, the data on listings available for sale, while interesting, is only relevant in context in our local market. In a competitive market, whether you are buying or selling, you need the most current information about what has sold or is currently for sale, any pertinent changes in pricing, as well as any additional information we have about specific properties beyond the listing details.
The way to ensure you have that information is by enlisting the help of a REALTOR®.
Buying a Home:
As a buyer, there are many advantages to having a REALTOR® work with you:
- We simplify the process of finding you the perfect place by matching up properties that fit with your criteria & arrange all property showings. As buying or selling your home is a very personal transaction, many people tend to feel more comfortable using an agent as a liaison rather than having to deal face to face with potential buyers or sellers. The best part is it doesn't cost you, the buyer, anything to have a REALTOR® work on your behalf as buyer’s agent is compensated via a percentage of the seller’s brokerage commission.
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Once we find the right property for you, we will develop a negotiation strategy based on our industry knowledge and experience, facilitate all the contracts and paperwork, as well as negotiate the purchase on your behalf including price, possession, inclusions & any conditions to the purchase.
- We can recommend industry professionals, such as mortgage brokers, certified home inspectors, real estate lawyers, insurance agents, movers, & even proven contractors for any projects that need to be addressed. We will be with you through your home inspection and will help guide you through that process as well.
- We also work closely with all parties involved in your home purchase & ensure that all documents are provided to your Lender & Lawyer.
Selling a Home:
- When you're selling your home, you gain access to the most qualified buyers by being listed on the Multiple Listing Service. Whether you are buying or selling a home, MLS® is your best tool. By having your listing as part of the MLS® system you instantly have all of the REALTORS® in the city considering your property for their qualified buyers as well as national exposure to potential buyers relocating to the Regina area.
- That is really the key....getting it in front of the highest number of people who are actively looking for a property with the same characteristics as yours, in your price range and neighbourhood.
- We are your liaison with other local real estate agents to help promote your property & to work together to help affect a great end result for you!
- One of the most important things we do is to help you price your home correctly through our experience and understanding of the market & comparable sales.
- Great marketing of your property starts with professional photos & video tours. We will arrange that for you and we will help to advise you & give you our recommendations to ensure that your home & yard are photo ready and engaging to potential to buyers.
Because today's home buyers and sellers are so much better informed than in the past, our expertise and ability to communicate that, are becoming much more important. Our profession and the service we provide is evolving and we are becoming as much a "guide" through the process as a "salesperson".
We are your personal representative when you are buying or selling a home and we will be with you every step of the way!
We look forward to working with you & if you have questions about anything real estate, we are here to help! Email us at info@w2realtyteam.com
Happy House Hunting!
Karin & Jen
Posted on
February 22, 2021
by
W2 Realty Team
Posted in
buying a home, real estate, REALTOR®, regina,, Regina, Saskatchewan, selling a home, top selling agents YQR, YQR, YQR Real Estate Agents
2021 New Year …..New Home?
Here’s How to Get started!
Now that 2020 is done and you have had time to reflect on the year that was, you’re likely thinking about what 2021 holds for you!
If making a move is in your plans, there are a few things you may want to do before you start the process of house hunting.
3 Things To-Do Right Now:
1. Meet with your lender or mortgage broker to discuss your plans and determine your budget & price range and get that pre-approval in place! And while interest rates are so favourable you may want to get yours locked in now!
Also, if you own a home currently you will need to know if a purchase is conditional on the sale of your home or if you can bridge finance for a period of time.
2. Start thinking about your “must haves’ and your priorities in a new home.
-Is it location….because of proximity to work schools, daycare or near friends & family?
-Or is the layout o the home because you are both working at home now and have kids homeschooling so you all need your own space? Or do you have small children and need 4 bedrooms all on the same level?
-Or is it the yard and the ability to create an outdoor oasis because you may not be travelling as much?
-Is a 3 car garage a must because you have a car fanatic in the family…or because you have teenagers who will be driving soon?
Whatever it is, that’s the jumping off point when we start our list of great options for you to view!
3. If you have a home currently that you will need to sell, start tackling the list of to-do’s now so you are you prepared to list when the time comes.
It may be as simple as decluttering & touching up some paint …or there may be some bigger things that need to be attended to before the space is “show ready”!
If you’re not sure where to start check out our Two Part Blog on Preparing your Home for Sale …..or just ask us, we’re here to help!
Preparing Your Home For Sale - Part One
Preparing Your Home For Sale - Part Two
Happy New Year & Happy House Hunting!
~ Karin & Jen
Posted on
January 4, 2021
by
W2 Realty Team
Posted in
buying a home, real estate, REALTOR®, regina,, Regina, Saskatchewan, selling a home, top selling agents YQR, YQR, YQR Real Estate Agents
2021 New Year …..New Home?
Here’s How to Get started!
Now that 2020 is done and you have had time to reflect on the year that was, you’re likely thinking about what 2021 holds for you!
If making a move is in your plans, there are a few things you may want to do before you start the process of house hunting.
3 Things To-Do Right Now:
1. Meet with your lender or mortgage broker to discuss your plans and determine your budget & price range and get that pre-approval in place! And while interest rates are so favourable you may want to get yours locked in now!
Also, if you own a home currently you will need to know if a purchase is conditional on the sale of your home or if you can bridge finance for a period of time.
2. Start thinking about your “must haves’ and your priorities in a new home.
-Is it location….because of proximity to work schools, daycare or near friends & family?
-Or is the layout o the home because you are both working at home now and have kids homeschooling so you all need your own space? Or do you have small children and need 4 bedrooms all on the same level?
-Or is it the yard and the ability to create an outdoor oasis because you may not be travelling as much?
-Is a 3 car garage a must because you have a car fanatic in the family…or because you have teenagers who will be driving soon?
Whatever it is, that’s the jumping off point when we start our list of great options for you to view!
3. If you have a home currently that you will need to sell, start tackling the list of to-do’s now so you are you prepared to list when the time comes.
It may be as simple as decluttering & touching up some paint …or there may be some bigger things that need to be attended to before the space is “show ready”!
If you’re not sure where to start check out our Two Part Blog on Preparing your Home for Sale …..or just ask us, we’re here to help!
Preparing Your Home For Sale - Part One
Preparing Your Home For Sale - Part Two
Happy New Year & Happy House Hunting!
~ Karin & Jen
Posted on
April 9, 2020
by
W2 Realty Team
Posted in
buying a home, preparing to sell, real wstate, REALTOR®, Regina, Regina realtors, Regina Saskatchewan, selling a home, to do list, top selling, top selling agents, YQR
Here’s What You Can Do Now!
Whether your plan was to buy your first home or sell your old one, those plans will have been put on hold by coronavirus unless it’s a necessary move, leaving you with the feeling that there’s nothing you can do except sit and wait…
However, now that you have time on your hands you can take some practical steps now that will save time and give you a jump on the process when life returns to something closer to normal — and when your time to tackle those projects is once again in short supply.
Top tips for buyers:
1. Go Virtual
You may not be able to easily view homes physically right now but an online search is valuable research!
Most listings have great professional photos or video tours that will allow to view the home virtually to decide whether it is a possibility or an absolute No!
Check out our App where you can browse properties and mark & save your favourites ….and we can see what you’re liking as well so we can also send you recommendations based on your favourites!
2. Prepare your mortgage pre-approval
Your mortgage broker can help you virtually to get your pre-approval done now and get your mortgage rate locked in for 120 days ….so when things normalize you are ready to hit the ground running!
Top tips for sellers:
1. Finish any DIY jobs
Home improvement stores like Home Depot are still open so you can pick up supplies for those small projects that you can tackle now like:
Replace broken tiles or touching up grout, paint touch-ups, touch-up watermarks on ceilings, fix or replace that leaky tap, replace bath & shower caulking, etc.
2. Neaten up your Yard
Once the weather warms up a bit you can start cleaning up your shed, garage, and those pots that didn’t all quite get cleaned up before the snow fell last year!
Box up or bin the contents of the garage or garden shed so you can get a jump on that process before you get your hime on the market.
3. Tackle those exterior projects
First impressions count and an easy way to amp up curb appeal is to give your front door a fresh coat of paint. When weather permits take on those exterior tasks including:
clearing your eaves, cleaning your windows(by the way there are window cleaning companies still working), and spray down your driveway to remove all of that winter dust & dirt.
Those projects all take time — and right now that’s the one you thing have more of!
We’re here to help you and answer any questions you may have about the market and how that may affect you whether you are buying or selling.
So feel free to reach out …we’re happy to help!
~ Karin & Jen
Posted on
December 6, 2019
by
W2 Realty Team
Posted in
advice, buying a home, divorce & real estate, how to, legal advice, mortgage broker, real estate, realtors, REALTOR®, regina, regina, Saskatchewan, selling a home, yqr
Did you know that divorce ranks as life’s second most stressful event?
Decisions over what to do with the family home and who is going where, create some of the most challenging conversations between couples who are parting ways.
Beyond the emotional ties to a family home, shared real estate comes with its own legal issues that need to be sorted out before the dust can settle, and you can both move on. It’s certainly more complicated than simply dividing up the furniture, TV’s and wall art.
However, with 38% of all Canadian marriages ending in divorce, you’re not alone in this and there are industry experts, who have been there too and understand the emotions & the difficult decisions to be made.
We are here to help you navigate the process and answer all of the questions you may have, and while it will likely never be easy, we believe that working with a team who has experience will make it less challenging for you. Or ideally, that’s our goal for you!
We have years of experience working with clients going through this super stressful time in their lives and our job as REALTORS® is to be a neutral 3rd party with the clear & simple goal in mind, of helping you move on with your lives.
Through our video series, W2 Talks: Divorce & Real Estate, we’re tackling some of the questions you may have, with help from professionals in the field, including a mortgage broker & family law attorney.
The Legal Aspect:
No matter who you contact first in the process, ultimately the financial details of your separation will dictate how you move forward, so a formal separation agreement will be paramount. To discuss the legal aspect of Separation/Divorce and how that impacts your decisions regarding your family home & what options you have, we were joined by
Foster Weisgerber, McDougall Gauley LLP, who shares his thoughts on where you should start.
When it comes to deciding what your next move is, there will be lots of questions….can I purchase another property right away, what can I afford….where do I even start with financing a new home? It’s usually the case that one or both spouses want to keep the house, but the real question is if either one of them can afford to do so on their own.
Of course, there are lots of good reasons to keep the family home if possible:
- You have children and want to maintain the stability of the home.
- The house is in an ideal location and near your work, family, and friends.
- The market conditions aren’t ideal to sell.
- You bought the house recently and haven’t had time to build equity.
The financial feasibility of that decision will come down to your specific situation and that’s where your lawyer & mortgage broker will help to guide you.
Mortgage & Financing:
When the time comes, the sale of your home or the purchase of a new home requires teamwork between your REALTOR® and your mortgage expert/lender. To help answer those questions and more, we were joined by Candice Carr from TMG: The Mortgage Group.
Our Closing Thoughts
Whether we, as REALTORS®, are your first point of contact or somewhere later in your process, we will be here with you through every step to help find you a new space to call home …and we will help to ensure you have access to all of the information & guidance you need as you move onto a new chapter in your life!
If you have any questions, general or specific to your situation, and would like to reach out for more information regarding your options, you can confidentially contact any of us with the details below, and your information will remain private.
If you would like to reach out to Foster for more information:
Email: fweisgerber@mcdougallgauley.com
To reach Candice, you can call or email her at:
Phone: (306) 531-6880
Email: Candice@CandiceCarr.ca
We hope this information is helpful to you & please share with anyone you think could benefit from these resources!
Best,
Karin & Jen
Email: info@W2RealtyTeam.com
Posted on
September 10, 2019
by
W2 Realty Team
We were recently discussing pricing with a client and heard the words we have heard many times before……
” I would like to list my home at this amount and we need this amount out of it".
If only it were that simple, we would make it happen exactly that way! Unfortunately our job is to be objective and to provide the best advice we can to help put you in the best position to sell your home, not just to tell you what you want to hear.
It's so important to work with a REALTOR® that you trust has your best interests in mind and then to work together as a team to get the best result for you!
The process of determining a list price for a property requires consideration of a number of factors including:
1. Recent comparables (Active listings but more importantly recent Sales)
2. Market conditions
3. Specific Location (Neighbourhood, Large lot, Backing Greenspace, Proximity to Schools & Services, etc)
4. Condition and Features of the property
While we are always mindful of what a client needs or wants to see from the sale of their home, that can’t be the primary factor in pricing, but rather the deciding factor as to whether or not you want to sell at any given time. And keep in mind that your agent wants you to get the highest number possible for your home as well!
This is where it’s helpful to understand the process and trust the guidance your agent is giving you in regards to pricing.
Market Value is, simply put, what someone is willing to pay for a property on any given day, but overpricing can result in potential buyers overlooking the property completely because it falls outside their range. So rather than presenting an offer and finding some middle ground, they may eliminate it from their list of possibilities altogether.
So when is the best time to buy or sell…..whenever you need to or decide it’s time for a change! You never know who might be looking for a house or condo exactly like yours today and people move at all times of the year.
Of course, if you are a buyer today, there are lots of options for you!
If you need help determining the value of your home or if you would like to see what is in the market that might be of interest to you as a buyer, we’re here to help!
For any questions feel free to email us at info@w2realtyteam.com
Karin & Jen
Your Proven #YQR Real Estate Team
JC REALTY REGINA || 2241 Albert Street || Regina, SK
Posted on
January 26, 2015
by
W2 Realty Team
Posted in
buying a home, home, home selling tips, Real estate, realtors, REALTOR®, regina, regina, regina, Saskatchewan, selling a home, selling tips, selling your home, yqr
The New Year brings thoughts of change and whether you are purchasing a new home that requires extensive renovations or you just have a room in your existing home that could use an update, good planning helps to keep you focused and may also help you avoid costly mistakes. Yes we have all likely purchased that piece of furniture because it was fabulous and we had to have it….only to find it was not really comfortable or really didn’t fit in the room! Oops ;-)
This article from Houzz has some great tips to help you in the process and might just inspire you to action!
9 Planning Musts Before You Start a Makeover:
If you are thinking about buying or selling a home in the Regina area and have questions, we are here to help you make the right move!
Happy Shopping!
Karin & Jen
We are your Proven Regina Real Estate Team
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