The Smart Real EstateHelping you make an Informed decision

The price of essential commodities, Gas, Groceries, Auto Insurance and anything else we use in our daily lives seem to be going only one way…and that is UP.

Inflation is nobody’s friend.

To add to this is another factor that trumps all others, and that is Rising Unemployment (In Ontario, Canada).

Unemployment is the mother of many other problems that plague our society, few of the most worrisome being Robberies, House thefts and Home Invasions.
Logic behind these unlawful acts is plain and simple:
When people work, they have money to spend and pay bills.
When they lose jobs, money coming in takes a nose dive (Employment Insurance pays only a certain percentage of the gross Income to a maximum of $437/week in Ontario, Canada) however, the bills don’t stop.
This imbalance of money coming in and the amount actually required to survive causes the vulnerable sectors of our society to resort to these unlawful activities.

Anyone could be the victim.

The Smart Real Estate helps you recognize some of the Inexpensive gadgets and features that can be added to your House and help significantly reduce your chances of being a victim.

That’s enough of yapping around. Let’s get to the point, shall we?
1. Motion Activated or Censor Lights

Regular lights installed outside the front door, above garage door and at the back of your House are operated through a switch mostly located on inside of the House. These type of lights (when off) provide ideal conditions for robbers to perform their activities.

On the other hand Motion Activated Censor lights are equipped with a censor and turn on when motion is detected. This is very important at night.

It is not wise to keep the regular lights on throughout the night as this could and most probably will cause your hydro bill to go through the roof(even if you use energy saving bulbs, the cost does add up overtime).

Opportunist robbers love Darkness.

It is even more necessary to have Motion Activated lights at the front of your house if you do not have a street light close to your House.

Another spot to have a Censor light is close to the sliding glass door at the back of your house. Sliding glass door is a very good spot to break into a house, especially if there are no houses at the back.

Motion activated lights do not cost a lot. Keep a look out for sales and special offers on lighting products in your area. I recently bought a Censor Light at 50% off the Original price. Sales with huge discounts like this are quiet frequent around the Holiday season.

2. Sliding Door Jammer

Knowing your weak spots is your best defense against them.

Sliding Glass Door is considered to be one of the easiest break in point in your House. It doesn’t take much of an effort to break a glass, does it?
2nd line of defense for your Glass Sliding Door (1st being the Motion Activated Light mentioned above) is to have a stopping devise.

This is basically a metal bar that prevents sliding part of the door to slide. Now, this could still prove inadequate in front of experienced and smart stock of new robbers. However, this simple door jammer can delay their entry into your House. This can cause them to be spotted and eventually get caught or they could be new to the robbery business and Panic due to this unexpected obstacle.
Now you might be thinking, what about the Glass? Well, read on.

3. Security Alarm Dummy

As you very well know, Glass door is one of the easiest break in point in your House. The Motion Activated Light and the sliding door jammer do create a line of defense but the Glass door is still vulnerable.

For this you can install a magnetic sensor operated Imitated Security Alarm. This emits a loud (more than 100db depending on the type of alarm) siren like noise that is enough to startle the pros.

The experienced robbers (and the ones who have done some research) will know that this is not a real Security alarm and continue with their business. However, they will definitely give a second thought before they commit the crime.

Another advantage of this alarm is that if you happen to be in the house, in the bedrooms upstairs or in the washroom, you will hear the alarm and can take action (call the emergency number).

This type of alarm can also be placed at the front door and any big window you have on the main floor of your house.

4. Security Camera Dummy

This might seem foolish but it does work. A Dummy security Camera at the front entrance and/or at the back of your house.

It looks exactly like a real security camera. You will be amazed to see how well they imitate their real counterparts.
Side note: We recently put in a few big balloons in the front porch of our House (they were part of the decor for a party we had at our House). Few days after the party, we took off all the balloons but one as it was too high (we got lazy to get a ladder for that).

After couple of weeks the balloon blew up on its own. Among the ruins at the balloon blow up site, all that was left was its stalk and thin thread which we used to tie its neck.

We had some visitors at our House over the weekend and I was surprised when one of them called it a Security Camera.

That’s when I looked at it more closely and it indeed looked like a miniature Camera.

Check out the picture below.

5. Security Alarm stickers

So many experienced Realtors have told me this: If you cannot afford a real security alarm system in your house, at least put some security alarm stickers on the windows.

After some research online and talking to the sales representative at a local security alarm store, I am pretty confident to say that they do work.

The stickers might be enough to fend off a seasoned robber especially if the sticker is of a reputable Security Alarm and Home Monitoring company.

Secondly, it is not a big investment. They cost only a few bucks and yes they do sell separate (you do not have to buy the security alarm system to get the stickers).

6. Security/Child safe latch

This is another line of defense that is very effective in preventing forced entry when you are at Home.

It’s a given that every house has a dead bolt lock, but nobody can tell from outside if it has a Security latch (unless they have seen it from inside the house).

When a Home Invasion take place, the dead bolt is broken first (and/or the hinges). This is when they find out about the security latch. They will spend a little extra time to break the latch. Plus your Security alarm is going to go off. It gives you enough time to grab the phone and call the emergency number.

7. Beware of Dog sign

Some people are really scared of Dogs, and I mean really scared. You might be lucky if you’re would be Home Invader is scared of Dogs as well.

Now, in order to put a “Beware of Dog” sign at the front door of your house, you don’t have to own one. I mean you can own one if you like but just putting the sign will suffice the purpose for the sake of this post. Some people won’t even come close to your house if you have the sign and they really are scared of dogs.

The Cost

You can always get a Home Security Alarm and Monitoring service installed in your House. But the cost can add up over time and chances are you have to sign up a contract for certain period of time.
*I will write a post about Home Alarm and Monitoring service in future*
For those running on a tight budget, the above mentioned seven strategies can help.
The table/chart below gives you an idea about the total cost (Canadian dollars) of implementing all the above mentioned strategies.

$176 is not a big investment when you take its benefit into prospective.
Oh, just one more thing before I sign off. You don’t need to be Mike Holmes in order to install the above mentioned items. You are not going to need anything more than a screwdriver.
You can always leave your comments below; subscribe to stay updated and email me through the contact tab at the top.

In Healthcare Vital Signs are considered to be the basic measure of the Physiologic health of an Individual. They comprise of Temperature, Pulse, Respirations, Blood Pressure, Oxygen Saturation in the body and sometimes pain. They form the grounds from where further investigations and Medical interventions can be initiated.

Now if you have devoted so much time and effort in the search for your Dream Home and work so hard to pay its Mortgage, you should definitely spend some time to check its Vital Signs.

The Smart Real Estate is recognizing the “Vital Signs” of your House and performing necessary Interventions.

The Windows

Windows of your House can be the main source of Heat loss. They can contribute as much as 66% of the total Heat loss in your house.

It is a fundamental law of nature that heat will transfer from warmer spaces to colder spaces. In the context of house windows, heat loss is the migration of heat from the inside to the outside through the various components of the window. This takes place in four different ways – radiation, conduction, convection and air leakage. We can find techniques to slow these processes down.

Therefore you can do yourself a huge favor by replacing the old, leaky windows. New windows not only reduce your heating costs but give your house a new look as well.

One thing to keep in mind though is that, replacing house windows is not cheap. It can easily cost $3K to 4K or even more.

Therefore you need to do some research regarding where to buy and to choose the right people for installation.

Furnace

Heating in winters is an essential part of the Canadian Lifestyle. It is not only important to make sure it is in working order, especially before the start of winter, but also important to have them energy efficient.

With the soaring Gas and Electricity prices, it is wise to install an energy efficient product and get rid of the energy guzzler in your basement.

Two most important factors to consider are the Type and Time of your furnace.

A proper type (size) of the furnace according to the size of your house is required to achieve maximum energy efficiency and heating.

For that reason, how should you size the furnace?

One of the options is to avail the services of a contractor who can make a home heat loss calculation which is available from Canadian Standards Association (CAN/CSA F280) or a sizing procedure from the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI). Having an appropriate sizing can cost $150 – $300 from a certified contractor.

For all the DIY folks and friends with Mathematic skills can do the sizing of the Furnace themselves.

These are the numbers you need before starting the calculations.

1. Three months of Meter reading(at least two weeks from Winter)
2. Estimated consumption for other gas appliances(Can be obtained from the appliance owner’s Manual)
3. Heating Degree Days (HDD) (Can be obtained from Environment Canada)
4. Design Temperature (Coldest day in the three month period) -35°C (for this example)
5. Gas Energy Content = 37.5 MJ/m3
6. Existing Furnace Efficiency = 80 Percent(for this example)

A Heating Degree Day is the number of degrees of heating required over the course of 24 hours, compared to a reference temperature of 18°C. For example, if the average daily outside temperature is 10°C, then the number of heating degree days for that day is 18°C – 10°C = 8°C HDD.

Side note: It is a little cumbersome to calculate the Heating Degree Days. You can find out this number at www.degreedays.net.

What are we looking for: Relationship between the gas consumed and the heating degree days (HDD).

Total gas consumption from December to March = 1,320 m3
Estimated consumption for other gas appliances (data from utility) = 306 m3
Therefore, gas consumption during the period for heating = 1,320 - 306 = 1,014 m3

Heating degree days for that period (from Environment Canada data and www.degreedays.net) = 2,840 HDD
Heating consumption by degree day = 1,014 m3/ 2,840 HDD = 0.3570 m3/HDD

Heating consumption at 53 HDD/day [18-(-35)] = (53 HDD/day) (0.3570 m3/HDD) = 18.9 m3/day

Heat loss at 53 HDD/day = (18.9 m3/day) (37.5 MJ/m3)(0.80) = 567 MJ/day or 23.6 MJ/h
According to the energy content of electricity, 3.6 MJ/h = 1 kW, then 23.6 MJ/h = 6.56 kW

This heat loss would require a furnace that produces an output of 6.56 kW or about 22,391 Btu/h (1 kW is approximately 3,412 Btu/h).

If we allow the CAN/CSA F280 permissible over sizing of 40 per cent, then the proper furnace sizing would be (1.4)(22,391 Btu/h) = approximately 31,347 Btu/h.

Apart from knowing the proper sizing of your Furnace, it is important to know its age (time). Old furnaces should be evaluated for their efficiency and replaced if required.

Hot Water Heater

Hot Water Heater is an Integral part of Canadian Homes. Hot water is needed not only in winters but in summer months as well.

A Rule of Thumb for Household Hot Water Heater is to replace it if more than 10 years old.

This is because, it can cost relatively more to repair a Hot water heater than to replace it. It is relatively inexpensive to buy and install one. They cost anywhere from $200 to more than $1000.

The roof

Curled or cracked shingles are the first signs of a detoriating roof. Other warning signs could be:

1. Missing or damaged shingles
2. Tar granules in gutters or walkways
3. Damage to roof material in valley(A roof valley is where two sections of roof  join together building a valley)
4. Rotted wood or rotting cedar shingles
5. Damage, lifting or cracked caulking seals to flashings(Roof flashings are sheets of metal or plastic which are designed to direct water away from parapet walls, valleys, chimneys, vent stacks, skylights, and places where dormers and other walls meet a sloping roof)

These warning signs should not be neglected and repairs should be performed promptly. Unnecessary delay in carrying out repairs can damage the sub roof and cause further problems such as leaks and moss growth.

This is not the end of it. There are so many other vital things in your home that need constant assessment and Intervention. They will be highlighted in subsequent posts.

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It happened at 04.09PM on August 14, 2003 in Ontario, Canada. It effected 10 Million People in Ontario. It was the biggest in the history of North America.

It was the North American Blackout of 2003.

The effect of this Blackout goes to show how much we take things for granted here In North America. The ability to use some of the latest electronic gadgets at our will have revolutionized our lives.

Check out this clip on You Tube. Louis C.K explains things in a way little easier to understand.

Saving Electricity is not only good for your wallet, but also helps in its best use. Hydro companies can divert more to the industrial sector during the day and more for residential requirements in the morning and evening.

It is important to get into the habit of saving as experts predict a 46% increase in electricity rates in coming years.

Two of the most energy consuming gadgets in a House are the Kitchen Stove and Dryer. This can be gauged from the fact that both these household appliances use 240-volt power outlet with a three pronged thick power cord. Their sensible use can drastically bring down your Hydro bill.

Ontario Energy Board regulates the use of Electricity in Ontario. It has set up something called Regulated Price Plan (RPP), which charges electricity prices based on the time of use.

Regulated Price Plan (RPP) – Time of Use (TOU) Prices

This means that you get charged 44.9% and 16.8% more during Peak times and Mid Peak times respectively, as compared to Off Peak times. This is a big difference.

If your monthly Hydro bill now is, let’s say $200 and you have always been doing most of your laundry and cooking during peak times, you could save $89.8 every month if you plan accordingly and do these two chores during off peak hours. (44.9% of $200 = $89.8) This is a saving of $1077.6 per year. ($89.8*12 = $1077.6). Now that’s a huge saving.

This is the chart from the Ontario Energy Board that provides a breakdown of the Electricity pricing based on the time of the day.

Green – Off Peak

Yellow – Mid Peak

Red – On Peak

Weekends and Statuary Holidays are considered off peak throughout the year.

Thanks and hope you implement the above strategy to save on your electricity usage.

Have a great week ahead.

Cheers.

Human beings are born, live their life, age and then die. This is the natural Life Cycle.

We all have good health when we are young except for those who have congenital disorders or diseases. We do sometimes get sick through the course of our lives. This can be attributed to poor dietary choices or by allowing minor health problems to become major by not getting proper interventions in a timely manner.

Same concept applies to your House. It goes through different stages of a Life Cycle. When you are buying or selling a House, it is very important to consider which stage it is in.

The Smart Real Estate is being aware of the stage where your potential House is.

There are three stages to the Life Cycle of a House:

Growth

This is the first stage where your House and Neighborhood are under development. You will notice a lot of construction activity. This is the stage where your House is equipped with all the brand new equipment and material. The chances of it incurring a repair are very minimal, however if any of the equipment malfunctions, they are usually taken care of by the developer.

New Neighborhoods are a common site in the suburbs of Brampton and Mississauga. New Homes in Brampton are now being built to the North, East and Western boundaries of the city.

In this stage Neighborhood is gaining consumer acceptance and public awareness. It might not yet have Public Schools, Shopping Malls, Strip Malls, Libraries or Grocery Stores. They however might be planned for the future.  Prices might start to go up when all these facilities come up in the neighborhood and it slowly progresses to the next stage.

Stability

This is the second stage where there is no more construction activity in the Neighborhood and House prices start to stabilize. House prices tend to be at their peak in this stage. Higher house prices cause a dampening effect on the buying and selling activity.

Brampton Real Estate and Mississauga Real Estate have many neighborhoods in this stage. In fact, most of the First time Home buyers prefer to buy a house in these types of neighborhoods due to Schools, Grocery stores, Libraries and other faculties in close proximity.

Decline

This is the last stage of the Life Cycle of a House and Neighborhood. It comprises of Houses that have passed their prime economic life and start to decline.

Sooner or later these houses will require major repairs. The number of Houses for sale in these types of neighborhoods is usually low. Home owners usually use the home equity to pay for these major repairs and perform other upgrades.

Brampton Real Estate is a blend of Houses belonging to all three stages. They have their own advantages and disadvantages for the Home buyers.

The Smart Real Estate gives you options to make your Home buying and selling decision, an informed one.

You are welcome to email me or leave a comment in the comments section below, if you have any questions or concerns.

Location, Location, Location! If you are buying a house, you probably might have heard of this word so many times that your ears can’t take it anymore?

Well, I agree.

The Smart Real Estate is not the over exaggeration of every aspect related to your House purchase, but to distinguish the ones that are of most importance.

Location of a property is always expressed in terms of its relationship to the surroundings. Surroundings of a property could be facilities such as Schools, Shopping mall, strip mall, Doctor’s office, Pharmacy, Gas Station, Fire Station, Police Station, Post office, Easy access to highway just to name a few.

Surroundings of a property could also be nuisances such as the noise from a nearby major road or highway.

Without spending your precious time on listening to unending discussions about the location of a property, I urge you to consider the following 4 and only 4 factors.

Land use pattern in the area

Make sure the land use in the area is not random. In Ontario, Canada, this is highly unlikely. However you might want to steer clear of certain properties that are very close to a piece of land that is not zoned. Zoning is the defining or assigning a land for a particular type of land use such as Industrial, Commercial, Residential etc.

Access

This defines the ease of access to facilities that you need. The desired facilities can vary for different age groups.

For example, an elderly couple looking to downsize into a smaller house does not need a school nearby but they might want their house to be in close proximity to a golf course.

Hazards and Nuisances

Toronto Homes, Homes in Brampton and Homes in Mississauga adhere to respective city zoning requirements. There can still be certain neighborhoods where non-conforming land use can be prominent and could become the source of nuisance activity in future. The presence of noise, odor and traffic can also have detrimental effect.

Corner Influence

This is a controversial factor. There are both advantages and disadvantages of a Corner lot

            Advantages

• Bigger lot (Good if you are into gardening)
• More Windows (Corner house has windows on 3 sides of the house as compared to 2 on the other houses on the street. This allows more natural light into the house)

             Disadvantages

• Bigger lot (Extra yard maintenance and snow removal cost)
• Higher property taxes because of a bigger lot
• More Windows (Extra maintenance – Possibility of changing the windows in future)

Location can very well be defined by the above mentioned factors. It is important to carefully analyze your and your family’s situation before considering these.

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Wish you all the best.

How many times have you considered the location of your potential purchase property? Probably a lot. According to a survey done in United States, real estate agents selling a property will promote the property based on its location – more than 80% of the times.

Is the location the only thing, or there is something else that is more important,

Well, let’s find out.

Value

You are planning to buy a new car. You make a visit to the local car dealership and take your 3 year old kind with you. During your visit you will most likely be interested in checking out different features of the car and also what the sale representative has to say.

While you are busy doing all that, your 3 year old kid spots a kids play area in a corner. The kid tries to get your attention and wants to go to that play area.

Now, you are so attentively trying to listen to the sales representative but your kid is bent upon going to the play area. You are interested in what the sales representative has to say as you see value in the car he/she is describing. But, on the other hand, your kid doesn’t give a damn about the car. All he/she wants, is to go to the play area. He/She sees value in the play area.

(I will be writing a blog post on the Value of a property, subscribe to get automatic updates)

Similarly, you see value in a certain property based on many of its features. When you check out a house listed for sale, unknowingly, you put a dollar value on it. Someone else might want to pay more or less for the same property.

You have to decide if your new house, being close to a highway is of benefit to you. If not, it is of not any value to you.

You have to decide if your new house, being close to a shopping mall is of benefit to you. If yes, it is of value to you.

You have to decide if your new house, being equipped with an inground pool is of befit to you. If not, it is of no value to you.

Carefully analyzing all the features and benefits offered by a property will help you determine the true value of that property, to you.

So, what else is more important?

This applies especially for new home buyers. Although, location does play a crucial role in determining the value of a property – but please don’t ignore other more important factors.

Price and Planning

Price plays a significant role in the buying decision. In present unpredictable economic times it is very important to be smart with your real estate purchase.

Do not pay more just because of the location. Look into the recent and planned infrastructure, building projects in the area. House price could be low in a neighborhood as there is no school or shopping mall nearby. However these could be planned for future which will eventually push the prices higher.

“A Lakeland area of today could be Rosedale of tomorrow”.

Check out the City of Brampton’s planning and development department, http://www.brampton.ca/en/Business/planning-development/Pages/welcome.aspx

City of Mississauga, http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/residents/planningandbuilding

City of Toronto, http://www.toronto.ca/planning/

Condition of the House

There are certain neighborhoods where the houses are old and have started to need repair. But, the prices are still high. This could be double whammy for you. First, you are paying a higher price and then you might have to spend on the repairs.

Let me give you an example. John buys a house for $266,000. Although it is located in a settled neighborhood with lots of amenities nearby, but it is 16 years old. Soon after he move in, he start to incur repairs. Within first year he had to get the following repairs done:

Total amount he spent on repairs after he moved in is pretty substantial. This could have been spent on buying a little less old house in a newer neighborhood.

I am not saying that you should not be buying an old house. What I am trying to say is that you should look into the option of spending a little extra (the amount that you will eventually end up spending on the older house) on a newer home. This will save you all the hassle of dealing with various contractors for all the different repairs that your old house might need.

Finally, if you decide to buy an older house make sure to look out for the usual tricks that people use to hide faults. House sellers become very creative when it comes to hiding faults in their house. Putting up pictures or curtains to cover up rising damp, holes is a common practice. Not running the taps during your visit should raise eyebrows.

Conclusion

Basing your buying decision solely on the location of a property is not wise. Price, future development in the area and condition of the property are vital aspects to consider.

Make sure to look out for features in a house that you are never going to use. They are of no value to you and it is not wise to pay more for those.

Is there anything else you think is also important and must definitely be considered while searching for your dream home? You can leave your reply in the comments section below.

Thanks!

Buying a house is a unique experience. It involves a series of both, stressful and exciting events. These create emotional dilemmas. They make it difficult to focus on the primary purpose of buying a house and that is your “Need”.

A study defines a consumer behavior as the behavior that consumers display in searching for purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of product, service and idea which they expect will satisfy their needs.

A home buyer’s primary need is to buy a house. There are many factors that influence the ultimate satisfaction of that “Need”.
These influencing factors can be divided into two categories –

Extrinsic Factors

These factors constitute of opinions, perceptions, thoughts, viewpoints, observation and judgment of other people.

Let me ask you a question. If you have already bought a house, you probably were scared when you bought it for the first time, weren’t you? C’mon you know you were (I was). In order to make you feel better and assure yourself that your decision is right, you start considering the above mentioned extrinsic factors.

You are not doing anything wrong, that’s human nature. But what’s wrong is to make a home buying decision, solely based on what others have to say. You get carried away by others opinion which camouflage your needs.

Ability to overcome these dilemmas is vital. Further in the post, you will find factors that create these dilemmas. You will also find strategies to overcome these dilemmas and streamline your home buying thought process.

Intrinsic factors

These factors constitute of what necessitate, postulate, demand and call for a need to buy a house. These factors originate from your circumstances.

You want to buy a house close to a school, you want to buy a house with at least four bedrooms, you want a house with a separate living and family room – these are all examples of intrinsic factors.

They will most likely be different for everybody.

The balancing act a.k.a strategies

Smart real estate is the notion of analyzing both the Extrinsic and Intrinsic Factors and coming to a conclusion.

“Listen to what everyone has to say,

Utilize the best of what they say, and

Discard the rest to choose the best”

Do not buy a bigger house just because your cousin owns one. Your cousin might have a bigger family than you. He/she may be able to afford a bigger one. This is one of the most common extrinsic factor that influences home buying decision, especially in Greater Toronto Area.

Ask for help/advise. Do not try to be a Jack of all trades. Home buying is a tedious process. If you don’t know anything just-ask. If you are reading this, you have come to a perfect place to “ask”.

However do not be dumb. Do not take anybody’s advice for granted. Use your own grey matter.

Always keep you needs (Intrinsic factors) at the forefront. Do not allow other people’s opinion overshadow your needs. Someone might suggest you buy a 2 storey house and not a bungalow. But contrary to the advice bungalow might be a perfect fit for your family as it does not have a long flight of stairs.

An American professor, Randy Pausch wrote in his book “The Last Lecture” that substantial fraction of many people’s day is spent worrying about what others think of them. If nobody ever worried about what was in other people’s heads, we’d all be 33 percent more effective in our lives.

Therefore, do not focus your efforts on one set of opinions. Think outside the box.

Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. You can also subscribe to my blog and/or sign up for exclusive content sent to your email.

Have you ever thought of buying a house or any other type of real estate? If you answered “YES” chances are you had tons of questions concerning your purchase. There could well be a possibility that you had no idea what type of questions to ask, or even worse, who do you approach to find out what type of questions need to be asked?
How do I know this – I went through the same process twice.

I will be writing a series of blog posts in an effort to streamline your home buying process. As you read through them, you can relate them to your own personal situation. This will help you generate questions and for their answer, you can email me or leave your question in the comments sections below.
So the first thing is to:

Do your homework!
Yes, the same homework we used to hate when we were in school. Or just to make you feel comfortable, you can call it “research”. The first thing you need to look into is –

How much I can afford?

You might have noticed advertisements in both print and electronic media about opportunity to own a home for 700/month, 800/month and so on.
This is a very common practice of alluring you, especially a new home buyer, into buying a house. I am not saying that they are giving you wrong information, but these type of monthly payment numbers are not the whole story.
There are so many other expenses that you need to take care of. After spending your net income on all these expenses, you must have something left behind to use for a family vacation, an emergency etc.
In Ontario, Canada following is a list of expenses that you can expect to have on top of your monthly mortgage payments.

Assumptions for this list:
- Based on a 2000 sq.ft house.
- Not exhaustive at all.
- Based on a house in GTA.
- Expenses may vary depending upon an individual’s personal situation.
- Based on a family of 4. (couple and 2 kids)

The Evitables:
Eat out – $100
Shopping (misclaneous costs) – $300
Home phone/cell phone/Internet/television – $ 180
House maintenance – $ 100 (you might not spend this every month, but you might have a major repair sometime)
Car maintenance – $ 100 (oil change, any other repair)

The Inevitables:
Property tax – $ 325
House gas – $ 105
Hydro – $ 100
Water – $ 25
Home insurance – $ 45
Life insurance – $ 130 (healthy 20-30 years)
Car/Van insurance – $ 275 (4-5 years old, 2 cars/vans)
Grocery – $ 650
Gas – $ 350 (both cars being driven)

Total – $ 2785

Monthly mortgage payment (Principal & Interest) at 3.5% compounded semi annually $350,000) – $1400

Grand Total – $2785 + $1400 – $4185

Medical expenses – you might have medical expenses, if you do not have prescription drug coverage.
It is very tricky to anticipate these expenses. I will be covering this in more detail in future. I am also working on creating a very easy to use, Microsoft excel worksheet. It will help you calculate your expenses and also keep a track on a monthly basis. It will be available as a free download.
So, did I miss something in the expenses list? Please write it in the comment section, if I did.

As many of you already know, being a skilled home buyer or a seller is not something that can be learnt overnight. There are too many factors that come into play while buying or selling a house.  It takes time to master each of them.

Some people who can be categorized as “skilled” buyers or sellers might have attained this recognition by virtue of their diligence or by hit and trial. By hit and trial I mean, learning about the mistakes made after buying or selling a house. This can be a very costly approach. Unknowingly you might have missed important information that could have lead you to investigate further and eventually altered your decision.

Well, let me give you an example here. John is looking for a house and is impressed by a four year new house which has all the features he wanted and was close to his work.

After visiting the property a few times and doing his own research he thinks he has enough information about the property, decides against getting an expert opinion and goes ahead with the purchase.

But what he didn’t find out was the fact that the house although relatively new, had a pest infestation due to poor upkeep by the previous home owners. Since the house was professionally cleaned, treated and appropriately staged prior to putting up for sale, John failed to notice the signs of infestation.

After a year of moving into the house, he started to experience the same problem again. Had he taken an expert opinion prior to buying the house, he might have given this property a pass. (This is a true story, the name isn’t).

“Being skilled at buying/selling a house (your property) does not mean you have to know everything, but at least be able to reach out to professionals and seek advice.”

 In real estate, there are very strict procedures in place when transactions happen. You need to be sure when signing on the dotted line as there is no going back(there are some exceptions).

If you are reading this, you have come to the right spot to hone your home buying and selling skills. Through biweekly posts on this blog, I intend to cover every aspect related to Real Estate with focus on buying and selling of a house.

Beauty of this blog

As I focus on Real Estate topics every week, you are always welcome to leave a comment in the comments section or send me an email with your questions or concerns. I will put in strenuous effort to reply to your query in a timely manner. As I still consider myself a novice, chances are someone else might respond to your question/concern if you leave it in the comments section of the blog post.

A Question for you

So in your opinion, what do you consider is most important and absolutely necessary for a home buyer or seller to be aware of before deciding to buy or sell a property?