how to achieve your real estate goals this year

| Selling

If you’ve found our blog, it’s not a big stretch to figure you’ve got real estate on your mind! We’re glad you found us because we believe there’s no one size fits all solution to achieving real estate goals. So, we thought the best way to help is to outline some mini “starter plans” based on the most common goals we run into with our clients.

If Your Goal is to Buy Your First Home this Year:

Being a first-time buyer is less overwhelming when you take the following steps to get started:

  • Get mortgage preapproval: Getting pre-approved for a mortgage confirms you can afford a home and tells you how much you can afford, so you know your ideal price for your house hunt.
  • Understand your financial health: The most important things to remember for financing are 1) You need a credit score above 680 to help ensure you qualify for the best mortgage rates 2) You should have a debt-to-income ratio below 43% and 3) You’ll need at least 5% down for the first $500,000, and 10% for the balance between $500,000 to $999,999 OR 20% down for homes above $1 million.
  • Speak to a real estate agent: Finding a real estate agent you feel comfortable with will provide the guidance you need as a newbie for a stress-free journey to home ownership.

Looking for more homebuyer content? Check out these posts next:

If Your Goal is to Upsize Your Family to a New Home:

If you’ve outgrown your home and are ready to upsize, these steps will help ensure you’re ready:

  • Home equity: Get the down low on current market conditions by speaking to a real estate agent. They’ll tell you how much your home is worth and help calculate your home equity. You want enough equity to reduce the mortgage required on your new, larger home so your payments are affordable.
  • Space: Assess your space requirements so you don’t break the budget on a home that’s too large or outgrow a home that’s too small in a few years.
  • Budget: Remember that a larger house means more expenses beyond your mortgage. Consider additional costs for repairs, furniture, utilities, exterior maintenance, etc. so you keep your head above water.

Many upsizers looking for more space choose to leave the city and head for the suburbs. If this sounds like you, read this post first to find out what it’s really like! 

If Your Goal is to Downsize to a Smaller Home:

Downsizing can help you enjoy a simpler, more cost-effective lifestyle, as long as you include the following considerations in your plan:

  • Market and home assessment: A savvy real estate team can advise you on the market and whether your current home equity allows you to see the types of cost-savings you envisioned. While it might seem like you’ve got tons to spend, you might be surprised your home equity doesn’t go as far as you hoped.
  • Budget: Along with the expenses you’ll save from downsizing, be aware of additional costs such as common element fees in a condo apartment that can be unexpectedly high.
  • Decluttering: Be prepared to declutter and get rid a lot of your belongings (selling “stuff” can provide a bit of money to help cover moving costs).

Are you planning to help your parents downsize this year? Read our two-part downsizing series right here and here.

If Your Goal is to Sell Your Home:

When selling, finding the best real estate team in Toronto that knows your neighbourhood is essential to meet your selling goals. The right agent will manage the plan for you including a strategy for your price, staging and marketing to get top dollar and sell fast.

That said, you want to prepare yourself for the process, which despite the help of a solid team, will take some doing, including:

  • Emotional prep: Even if you literally hate your home, selling can be an emotional rollercoaster. It’s important to get into a seller’s mindset. Focus on the positives of selling whether its reducing financial stress, not having to worry about home maintenance, starting anew, a larger space, etc.
  • Accept advice: You chose your agent because you trusted their expertise. Now’s the time to let them take the wheel. Taking their advice will help you reduce stress, realize better profits, and sell faster.
  • Home prep: We have four steps to prepping a home for sale: 1. Fix what’s broken 2. Declutter to create organized, purposeful space 3. Clean everything until its smells gorgeous and sparkles 4. Stage the home to create an inviting space buyers can’t resist
  • Showings: This can prove to be the most annoying and inconvenient part of selling. However, there are a few things you can do to keep things manageable: 1. Consider time slots that are off limits such as a daily remote meeting or your child’s nap time, 2. Try to be flexible so interested buyers have an opportunity to view the home to increase the chance of an offer, 3. Leave your home during showings so buyers have privacy and can explore the space without feeling they’re being watched, 4. Keep your home neat, tidy and smelling fresh so your home is always presentable

Selling your home is a big decision. Here are a few more selling blogs to help you on your journey:

If You Have Big Real Estate Investing Goals:

Whether you’re looking to buy your first investment property or ready to expand your investment portfolio, real estate investment can prove to be one of the easiest ways to generate a passive income and build equity. A good plan for investors includes:

  • Prepare yourself to become a landlord as sitting on an empty home now means being taxed 1% of the Current Value Assessment
  • Consider investing in land if you can afford the mortgage as you can watch it increase in value without any effort required
  • Consider short-term versus long term rental options to generate passive income
  • Speak to a real estate team who can inform your decisions based on location, the best prices AND most importantly, where you can demand the best rent and/or see the best ROI

Real estate investing can be a big undertaking, read our post about juggling career, family, and real estate investing right here.

If You’re Just Curious About the Real Estate Market:

If you’re not quite ready to make a move but you’re starting to think about what’s what, your plan should include:

  • Following the best Toronto real estate team (click here to follow our Toronto experts) to keep up to date on the market
  • Walk the neighbourhoods you love to get a feel for where you want to live
  • Visit some open houses to feed your curiosity
  • Don’t take any serious steps until you speak to a real estate team!

Whether you’re considering selling or anxious to list, The Christine Cowern Team can help. Give us a call at 416.291.7372 or email us at hello@christinecowern.com. We’d love to work with you!