MacKay & McLean provides the professional services of a large Regina law firm, with the intimate attention of a small firm. The legal process can be daunting and overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. MacKay & McLean is with you every step of the way.

MacKay & McLean are TRUSTED REGINA LAWYERS

When looking to buy, sell, or refinance a property, you need to hire somebody who is not a stranger to addressing the real estate needs of individuals and families.

How to avoid realty mistakes

If you are selling or Investing in a home can be overwhelming and stressful. It is, perhaps, one of the most important decisions you will ever need to make. It is fraught with potential pitfalls and you must do everything you can to avoid making costly mistakes. the following is list of the biggest mistakes we all make when buying and selling our homes.

Failing to Showcase Your Home and Making Small Cosmetic Changes

When you are selling your house, you have to really look at it objectively and think about it from the viewpoint of the house hunter. Make minor enhancements to the house and maybe hire a professional stager to come and arrange your furniture.

Staging is about decorating your house for the buyers' taste, not yours.

A great place to start is with the front of the home and the main entryway. Home staging is designed to increase the potential selling price and reduce the amount of time the house stays on the market.

Setting Too High of a Sale Price

As a seller, it's really important to do your research. To come up with your sale price, look up what comparable homes in your neighborhood have sold for. Figure out what the going price is and try to put yours right in the middle of that, unless you have something extra-special to offer. It's always better to price a home that way than to start too high and have to reduce. Once you reduce, it always looks like something is wrong with the home.

Overlooking the Extra and Hidden Costs

Buying a home is not just about the money that you spend upfront; it's about all the rest of the money you have to spend beyond that. Find out what the property taxes are, what your water bill might be and what a standard electric bill is in that home, especially if you have electric heat instead of gas heat. You also need to factor in furnishings you may need to purchase before you can move in.

Buying a Home Without a Professional Inspection

There are a lot of things a home inspection can reveal about a property that are not visible to the naked eye. Be sure to hire someone who comes with a good referral basis, who's been in the business a while and knows what to look for. Look up Home Inspectors and get a list of qualified home inspectors in your area.

Be sure to hire a home inspector to thoroughly check out a house you are interested in purchasing.

Once you find an inspector, insist that they compile a written report, complete with photos. Photographs are important because there are areas a home inspector will go that you might not look at.

Falling in Love With the First Property You See

Many homebuyers, particularly first-time homebuyers, fall into the trap of falling in love with the very first house that they see. You need to at least look at three more houses in the area to get an idea of what the comparables are in that price range. You want your real estate agent to show you homes comparable to what you saw. At the end of the day, re-evaluate.

Skipping the Loan Pre-Approval Step

When you are pre-approved, the bank is saying, "we will give you a mortgage of up to this amount, so now all you have to do is find your home." Some sellers only allow real estate agents to show their house if someone has a pre-approved letter. That indicates that the shopper really is serious about buying a home.

Not Hiring an Agent

There's a lot more to selling a house than just putting a sign on the front lawn. If you don't have an agent, you will not get on the multiple-listing service (MLS). That means that other agents are not going to know that your property is for sale. Another thing to consider is if you are willing to show the house each time someone wants to come by and look at it. If you do plan to sell your house on your own, be sure to have a lawyer present at the closing. It's really important to have someone on your side who understands all the complexities.

Not Thinking About Resale

When you are decorating and renovating your home, you need to think about what is going to appeal to a broad section of buyers when it comes time to sell it. Buying houses and being in the real estate market is like chess: You always want to look two or three steps ahead in the game.

Not Researching the Neighborhood

It's absolutely critical that you research the neighborhood before you buy. Check out the area, amenities and the school system to be sure that your address corresponds with the correct school district. Also attend a community meeting, if possible. You're not just buying a house, you're buying a piece of that real estate and the land around it.

Buying a House for Its Decor

Remember that you are buying the house, not the things inside it, so make sure you see beyond the decorations and look at the bones of the home. Focus on the floor plan and the square footage. You also might want to measure the dimensions and graph out how that's going to work with your belongings.

Not Providing Easy Access for Showings

Make your house easily accessible to potential buyers. If there's nowhere to park or it's difficult to get into, buyers may just skip it and look at someone else's property.

When you go about buying your home the right way, you can make it less difficult and ensure success. For more questions and help with any legal property issues consult with our Trusted Regina Real Estate Lawyer Robert MacKay

Here is a list of more consumer tips by Robert MacKay

Robert MacKay's team provides professional, personalized service and with their assistance, you can rest assured that your real estate transactions will be handled with the utmost consideration and care.

They provide a full range of legal services including:

Real Estate & Mortgages
Wills & Estates
Family Law & Divorce
Commercial & Corporate Law
Litigation & Personal Injury

ROBERT Mackay is your TRUSTED REGINA REAL ESTATE LAWYER!

Whether you’re planning on building your dream home or buying a used home, the process to determine whether or not you are financially ready is the same either way. If you are financially ready to buy a home, then you are ready to build a home.

So, how do you determine if you are financially ready?

1. You should start by comparing how much you are currently spending on expenses and any debt payments to the amount of money you have saved up.

In other words, you need to get an idea of what your net worth is in order to know where you stand financially. You can do this by making a list! (We love our lists around here, that’s for sure!) Write down everything that you own that is considered an asset (your savings, investments, vehicles, home, etc.). Now write down all of your debts (student loans, credit card debt, your mortgage, etc.) and subtract them from your assets, and you have your net worth. Don’t worry about your income in this equation, this is just to give you an idea of your financial health.

2. Think about how much can you afford to spend on housing each month without risking your financial health.

Is what you’re spending now on housing about where you need to stay to keep your budget intact, or can you afford a bit more? The nice thing about building your own home is that you can make sure that you’re paying for what you actually want to have in your new home and not extras that you will never use. When you purchase a used home, that isn’t always the case. For example, if granite countertops are not important to you and you would rather not spend the money, but the previous owners installed new granite countertops… Guess what? The cost of that home included those expensive granite countertops.

3. Look into your credit score.

What is the status of your credit score currently like? Your credit score is a number that signals your financial health and is an important factor that lenders use when they are analyzing your credit for a mortgage. According to Equifax, a credit score of 660 to 900 is generally what you need for your credit score to be considered to be good, very good, or excellent.

4. Consider how much money you will need for the upfront costs of building a home.

Generally, you will need a down payment of at least 10%. This is where a lot of people think that building a home differs from buying a home. People often think that building a home requires interim or progress payments – which, many people are not in the financial position to comply with. However, that is not always the case.

We’re happy to inform you that, with Emerald Park Homes, in most cases, will finance your build to possession day (On approved credit).

Giving you time to sell your existing property without having to worry about paying progress payments or obtaining costly interim financing.

5. Now it’s time to shop around for a pre-approved mortgage amount with a bank, broker or lender.

Getting pre-approved for a mortgage is an important step to take before you get too far into the building or buying process. It helps you get an idea of what sort of budget you have to work with to build your new home.

There are two basic affordability rules that will determine how much you can spend on your new home without risking your financial situation:

Your monthly housing costs should be at or under 32% of your gross monthly income.
Your monthly debt load (including your mortgage) should be at or under 40% of your gross monthly income.

Fellow Trusted Regina Partners, MacKay & McLean have some great information on a list of things you’ll need to have to get a mortgage.

6. Determine whether or not you are going to be needing mortgage insurance.

Mortgage loan insurance is necessary if you have less than 20% saved for a down payment. It protects the banks and other lenders against the risk of mortgage default, and just like property insurance, it protects you in case of loss. Insurance premiums on mortgage loans are calculated as a percentage of your total loan amount. They’re based on factors including the size and source of your down payment. In general, the smaller the down payment is, the higher the insurance premiums will be. You can usually pay your mortgage loan insurance premiums upfront or have them added to your mortgage loan.

Trusted Tips & Resources

Trusted Regina Realty Lawyer shares a tip for home buyers on how to avoid real estate mistakes