By Warren McNeil,

Here is a video I did for sellers who are thinking about selling their houses in Waterloo Region. Please check out the video and if you have any questions or comments please let us know…

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Here is the transcript for the video:

Hi There, I am Warren McNeil from Team McNeil at Re/Max Twin City Realty in Kitchener

Today I am going to talk to you about a few things you need to do before selling your house.  Selling your home can be a simple and straightforward process if you follow the right steps.  In order to get top dollar and avoid headaches, it is important to do a few things beforehand. 
Here are 5 things you can do before selling your house.

Number 5 – Get a Market Evaluation
The first thing you should do is get a market evaluation on your house so you know exactly how much you house is worth before you do any work.  A realtor will advise you on things you should do and not do when preparing the house for sale. We will make recommendations on things such as updating, repairs, decluttering or staging.. You might not need to spend as much money as you think to get your house ready.

Number 4 – Mortgage information
If you have a mortgage on your house, you should find out if there is a penalty to pay out your mortgage early.  We recommend calling your lender to find this information out.

Number 3 – Make repairs and perform other maintenance items
It s a good idea to do any necessary repairs around the house. We also recommend that you replace furnace filters, fill the water softener with salt, replace burnt out light bulbs, fix broken door handles and replace any cracked or broken windows. Consider hiring a home inspector before you sell your house so that you can find out if there are any unknown issues. If you fix the issues beforehand, then you can avoid surprises later when the buyer does their home inspection. The money you spend now on repairs, maintenance and home inspection could help you get more money later.  Contact us if you would like us to recommend a good Waterloo area home inspector or other skilled professional.

Number 2 – Declutter, Depersonalize, Paint, Clean and Stage

-          Decluttering: Decluttering will allow the buyer to visualize how big and spacious the rooms are in the house. People who are selling their houses often use their garages to store items from the house. Other options are offsite storage or storage pods.

-          Depersonalizing:  You should also consider depersonalizing your house. This is a touchy area and all I am going to say is just put yourself in the buyer shoes and try to view the house through their eyes.  Keep an open mind and remember that the goal is to sell the house for the most money.

-          Cleaning: One of the cheapest things you can do is clean. Buyers love looking at clean houses. If you are unable to clean on your own, consider hiring a cleaning service to help you. It will be the best money you ever spend.

-          Painting: Painting is one of the best things you can do to make a house feel fresh and clean and to add more appeal.  If you are unable to do a good job yourself, consider hiring someone to do it for you.

-          Staging: Hire a staging profession to stage your home. It is amazing what a professional stager can do to help you get more money for you house.  

Contact us if you’d like a recommendation for a professional organizer, a professional stager, a painter or a cleaning service.

And the Number 1 thing to do before selling your house is: Determine the best possible price
Pricing is the single most important thing to consider before selling your house. Your house will be worth a certain value based on its location, updates, condition and the recent sold comparables.  When you hire an agent, don’t list your home with the agent who wants to overprice your property just so they can get the listing. List your house with the agent who takes the time to go through the comparables and provides valid reasons for their price recommendation.   Homes that are overpriced often sell for less.

Whether you are a move-up buyer, relocating or downsizing, selling you house can be a smooth process if you follow these steps. 

 If you are thinking about selling your house in Waterloo Region and you would like to get started with a free online market evaluation of your Waterloo area home, please visit our website at www.clickthathouse.com or call us at 519-498-8118. Thanks for watching and see you next time!

We are a full-time real estate team in Waterloo Region, Woolwich & Wellesley Townships. We enjoy assisting buyers and sellers with the purchase or sale of real estate in the Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Elmira, Wellesley, Wilmot, Drayton and  everywhere in between. If you would like us to help you with your home search, please check out our brand-new free search website or if you are thinking of selling, get a free market evaluation.

Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil Re/Max Twin City Realty, Brokerage (   519.579.4110 | 519-498-8118                8 www.TeamMcneil.com, www.ClickThatHouse.com, www.LoftStyle.ca, www.ElmiraRealEstate.ca

Connect with us on the following social networks       Facebook: www.facebook.com/teammcneilremax

Thanks for reading!

Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil RE/MAX Twin City Realty, Brokerage ( 519.579.4110 | 519-498-8118
Connect with us on the following social networks Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeamMcNeilRemax
websites: www.TeamMcNeil.com, www.ClickThatHouse.com, www.KitchenerLofts.com, www.ElmiraRealEstate.ca

By Warren McNeil,

The spring market is nearly here and our Team is really gearing up. The Bank of Canada has maintained the interest rates which is really good news.

See: http://creanews.ca/2010/03/02/bank-of-canada-maintains-interest-rates-4/

Buyers are in the market right now looking to buy houses. However the biggest problem is low inventory levels. In January, the number of active listings was down 33% over 2009.

See: http://files.newswire.ca/577/MarketTrendsRpt2010.pdf

 Our team has been doing lots of market evaluations for people lately so we know that it’s going to be a busy spring.

Now is a good time to sell because of the following reasons:

• less inventory can work in the sellers favour. less competition
• low interest rates for buyers making it easier to buy
• there’s an abundance of buyers
• the minimum downpayment requirement is still 5% and not 10%
• the olympics are over. Not sure if that’s a good reason but it sounded good
• higher offer potential
• multiple offer potential

The next three months are going to be really interesting.

Thanks for reading!

We are a full-time real estate team in Waterloo Region, Woolwich & Wellesley Townships. We enjoy assisting buyers and sellers with the purchase or sale of real estate in the Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Elmira, Wellesley, Wilmot, Drayton and  everywhere in between. If you would like us to help you with your home search, please check out our brand-new free search website or if you are thinking of selling, get a free market evaluation.

Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil Re/Max Twin City Realty, Brokerage (  519.579.4110 | 519-498-8118                8 www.TeamMcneil.com, www.ClickThatHouse.com, www.LoftStyle.ca, www.ElmiraRealEstate.ca

Connect with us on the following social networks   Facebook: www.facebook.com/teammcneilremax

By Warren McNeil

Here is a video for the “Top 5 Things To Do Before Shopping For Home”.

Buying a home is probably the single largest investment that you will ever make in your life so it is very important to understand the entire process.

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

Here is the transcript of the video.

Today I am going to talk to you about a few things you need to do before shopping for a home.  Buying a home is probably the single largest investment that you will ever make in your life so it is very important to understand the entire process. The following tips will help save time, money and headaches.

Number 5: Employment:  It is very important to ensure that you have solid employment before buying a house. You should also try and keep your debt in check and to make sure that you aren’t overextending yourself.   Maintain good credit so that you will be able to get a mortgage.

Number 4:  Down payment:  When buying a home, you will require down payment. You should save up at least 5% of the cost of a house as well as a little extra for closing costs such as lawyer fees, land transfer tax and a home inspection.

Number 3:  Pre-approval – By getting pre-approved, you will know exactly how much you can afford so you don’t waste your time looking at houses that are above or below your price range. The other reason to get preapproved is so you can lock in an interest rate so that if the interest rates go up you will already have the best rate.

Number 2:  Choose a good realtor to help you through the process. Buyers are able to choose a real estate agent the same way sellers can. The goal of a seller’s agent is to sell the house for the highest amount of money with the most favourable terms.  Likewise, the goal of the buyer’s agent is to help the buyer purchase the house for the lowest price with the most favourable terms. Working with your own licensed realtor will ensure that you are not taken advantage of.  A buyer’s agent will be able to tell you what the other homes sold for in an area as well as protect you with special offer conditions. They will also negotiate price and all the terms of any offers. Don’t risk buying a home without your own buyer’s agent. 

And the Number 1 thing to do before shopping for a home is:
Determine your Wants and Needs: Work with your buyers agent to create a list of everything you want in a home. Some things to consider are: Area, Size, the total number of bedrooms & bathroom, the age of the house and the style of the home.  Sometimes you need to look at a few houses before you find the one you like. Knowing what you want can help reduce the time it takes to search for a new home.

Shopping for a new home can be an exciting adventure. If you follow the tips above, you will be better prepared to start shopping for that perfect home.

If you are thinking about buying a house in the Waterloo Region and you would like to get started with this exciting adventure, please visit our website at www.clickthathouse.com or call us at 519-498-8118. Thanks for watching and see you next time!

We are a full-time real estate team in Waterloo Region, Woolwich & Wellesley Townships. We enjoy assisting buyers and sellers with the purchase or sale of real estate in the Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Elmira, Wellesley, Wilmot, Drayton and  everywhere in between. If you would like us to help you with your home search, please check out our brand-new free search website or if you are thinking of selling, get a free market evaluation.

Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil Re/Max Twin City Realty, Brokerage (  519.579.4110 | 519-498-8118                8 www.TeamMcneil.com, www.ClickThatHouse.com, www.LoftStyle.ca, www.ElmiraRealEstate.ca

Connect with us on the following social networks   Facebook: www.facebook.com/teammcneilremax

By Warren McNeil

According to the Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate board the numbers are in for January 2010 and we are up 64% in unit sales over 2009. This is great news and the main reason for this is increase is because of the low interest rates and a high level of consumer confidence. 

“This year we are off to quite a different start compared to last year, which is really encouraging,” said Ted Scharf (pronounced Skarf), the President of the WREB, “January is traditionally a slower month for residential sales. These results show that there is definitely demand in the market and the traditional mindset of waiting until spring just doesn’t seem to be as strong. ” 

Another interesthing point that I read is that the average house price in Kitchener-Waterloo increased by 12.3% because of an increase in sales of homes over $400,000.

My experience with the market is that stuff is selling really quickly. I find it difficult to get into see properties fast enough. The good deals seem to go really quick!!!

To see the full article, go to:

http://news.therecord.com/article/666766

and the KWREB press release
http://www.kwreb.on.ca/Stats/January%202010%20Media%20Release.pdf

Thanks for reading!

We are a full-time real estate team in Kitchener Waterloo area. We enjoy assisting buyers and sellers with the purchase or sale of real estate in the Kitchener-Waterloo or Cambridge areas. If you would like us to help you with your home search, please check out our brand-new free search website or if you are thinking of selling, get a free market evaluation.

Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil
Re/Max Twin City Realty, Brokerage (                  519.579.4110         ~               519-498-8118        
8 www.TeamMcneil.com, www.ClickThatHouse.com, www.LoftStyle.ca
P.S. Looking for a condo or loft, check out our brand new website at www.LoftStyle.ca!