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Bank of Canada Rate Announcement – July 2013

Last Wednesday, the Bank of Canada, with Stephen Poloz as the new central bank governor, decided to leave the key borrowing rate where it has been since September 2010 at 1% and said that it will keep interest rates near record lows for some time to come.

This was also the first chance for Mr. Poloz to provide input to the bank’s quarterly Monetary Policy Report — a look at economic conditions and possible threats to growth forecasts, and a document that he helped launch at the BoC before leaving to later head Economic Development Canada, the Ottawa-based export credit agency.

In Wednesday’s report, the bank said Canada’s economy is “expected to be choppy in the near term.” It forecast growth of 1.8% this year, up from an estimate of 1.5% in its April report. But for the second quarter this year alone, the bank is forecasting slower growth of about 1% reflecting the impact of the flooding on Alberta and province-wide construction strike in Quebec.

To read the Bank of Canada’s new release and report, click here.

If you have any questions regarding the above, please give us a call to discuss.

For more blog posts on real estate or mortgage related topics, click here or scroll back to the top of the page and click on blog.

How a Laneway Home will Help Your Cash Flow

/in Blog /by brokersmart

The Vancouver housing market has seen its share of ups and downs. For those lucky to have purchased a number of years ago, your home has appreciated significantly but how can that equity help your bank account and not just on paper? For many in the city of Vancouver, the answer to that question is a laneway home.

A laneway home provides many benefits to the city, the tenant and the owner of the home. The city receives the added supply of rental units while preserving the existing streetscape and character of individual neighbourhoods. The renter can benefit by the opportunity to live in a detached, ground-orientated home in an area that may have been too pricey to rent a single family home. The owner of the laneway home would instantly add more space for elderly parents looking to downsize or adult children wanting to live independently but if rented, the income stream provided would help many owners with their monthly expenses. A quick look on the internet you can find rents from $1,000 to $2,500 depending on the square footage, number of bedrooms and location. Construction cost for a laneway home are in the $150 to $250 per square foot range. With these figures in mind consider the following.

A 500 Square foot Laneway home at $200 per square foot = $100,000.

Mortgaging $100,000 for 20 years at the rate of 3.55% = $581.20 per month

Rental income from laneway $1000 + per month

Sounds like a great idea and want to know the next steps? A phone call to a local Vancouver contractor who specializes in laneway additions and new home construction would be the next step. This call will help you find out whether your property is suited for this type of project, along with the associated cost and timeline. Once it has been determined that a laneway home is possible, speaking with a Mortgage Professional will help determine the best option to access the equity of your home to fund the construction.

With the right Vancouver contractor and your financing in place, let the laneway home construction begin!

BrokerSmart – Langley Times Article

/in Blog /by brokersmart

Perfect Situation’ for Mother/Son Team

By Miranda Gathercole – Langley Times

Running a business with your son may be next to impossible for some mothers, but for Cindy Faulkner it is the perfect situation.

She and her son Mike Donovan have collaborated together to create an all-in-one mortgage broker and real estate office, BrokerSmart.

Located in the Jeske Building on the corner of 200 Street and 72 Avenue, both Faulkner and Donovan are dual licensed realtors and mortgage brokers, and have created a network within the corporate building to provide clients with legal, life and home insurance services all under one roof.

They also run a sister company in the same office, Coastal Mortgages, to work with clients looking for mortgage broker services.

“It’s more convenient for our clients, they don’t have to drive around to all different places,” Faulkner said. “We do everything, which makes it so much easier.”

Instead of home buyers and sellers having to deal with a separate real estate agent, mortgage broker, lawyer, insurance agent and more, at BrokerSmart they only have to deal with one person.

“Lots of people find it really overwhelming,” said Donovan. “It can be pretty stressful trying to pull everything together, but we make the process much simpler. We are like the project managers for real estate.”

The two Walnut Grove residents also make the perfect team, balancing each other out through Donovan’s educational background and Faulkner’s experience working in the industry for more than 20 years.

Though sometimes it’s hard to put work aside when at Sunday family dinner, Faulkner says watching her son grow in business is a very rewarding experience.

“It’s family, I raised him so I know his ethics,” Faulkner said. “I know how he would handle certain situations and it gives me comfort because I know I can rely on him. I know I can trust him and the trust factor is huge.”

“If you can make it work, it’s the better way to go,” Donovan added.

What To Expect From A Home Inspection

/in Blog /by brokersmart

A quality home inspection provides buyers with many benefits but buyers often have misconceptions or false expectations about what a home inspection will actually provide. This can lead to a less than ideal experience. The following points are what you should expect from a home inspection.

1. A home inspection is a visual examination of the home and operating systems at the time that the inspection is done, but it is not a warranty.

2. Items that are not included in a normal home inspection are the cosmetic or esthetic features and systems such as the telephone, cable TV, alarm systems or lawn sprinklers.

3. A home inspector cannot knock out the walls to see what is behind them and will typically not move furniture. He/she cannot see through foundation, floors or walls and can only observe what is visible.

4. Also not included in a standard home inspection are inspections of swimming pools, spas, fireplaces, outbuildings or the like, although they are available as specialty services or add-ons to a home inspection.

5. A home inspection will provide buyers with an in-depth understanding of the home.

A quality home inspection can last up to three to four hours depending on the size of the home, but the intelligence gained is worth every second of your time when it comes to deciding whether you want to proceed with the purchase.

There is a lot of important information provided in a good home inspection report which should be provided either in paper or electronic format for your records. A thorough home inspection report will provide peace of mind on the purchase, outline ongoing maintenance costs to enable budgeting for the future, point out major repairs – when they will most likely be needed, how much they will likely cost – and describe good preventive measures that can be taken to optimize the home to prevent expensive surprises.

For more blog posts on other real estate topics or mortgage related topics, click here or scroll back to the top of the page and click on blog.

Vancouver Housing Market Update – February 2013

/in Blog /by brokersmart

Although the Vancouver housing market is still trending below historical averages, we are starting to see subtle changes in the market. There has been an increase in the sale-to-active listing ratio and a decrease in the average amount of days for a listing to sell. There is also a lot of activity around open houses throughout the lower mainland which bodes well for the spring real estate market. See the video below from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver on the stats for the month of February 2013

For more blog posts on home improvements and other real estate or mortgage related topics, click here or scroll back to the top of the page and click on blog.

Why a Fresh Coat of Paint Can Help with Your Sale

/in Blog /by brokersmart

When you decide to sell your home, getting top dollar and a quick sale is usually the goal. To do this, getting your home to stand up above the rest is key, especially when it comes to the Langley real estate market.

A fresh coat of paint can help your place stand out and do several things for a room. Not only can it help make it appear cleaner and newer, but it can also help with any odors that may be in the home, such as those from smoke, pets, cooking or just living in general. A fresh coat of paint can help to lively-up a room or tone down and neutralize one for a more general appeal.

Choosing Your Color Palette

With so many other homes for sale in Langley, choosing the right colors to paint your house for a faster sale is important. Opting for a neutral palette is advised, but this doesn’t mean that spraying every room in builder’s white is the way to go! Use these pointers to help you choose your paint colors for a faster sale.

Think of the first impression your color palette will make. You want potential buyers to walk in and be able to immediately envision themselves living in the house with their own things. A color palette that is specific to a certain style will only appeal to those who share your specific taste, so opt for colors that could work with a wide range of styles.

Avoid colors that will require multiple coats to cover. Most buyers don’t want to walk into a house and immediately see the work that is ahead of them if they buy it. Dark or bold colors are harder to cover, which to potential buyers equals more money and more work.

You can freshen up more than just walls with paint. If your kitchen cabinets, window trims and baseboards, or even bathroom vanities are looking a little tired or beat up, a fresh coat of paint can breathe new life into them and even update them with the right color. Look to magazines or talk to your Langley real estate agent for suggestions and ideas.

For more blog posts on home improvements and other real estate related topics, click here or scroll back to the top of the page and click on blog.

Latest News

Bank of Canada Rate Announcement – July 2013

How a Laneway Home will Help Your Cash Flow

BrokerSmart – Langley Times Article

Perfect Situation’ for Mother/Son Team

What To Expect From A Home Inspection

Vancouver Housing Market Update – February 2013

Why a Fresh Coat of Paint Can Help with Your Sale

Choosing Your Color Palette

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