The Real Estate Book Hamilton 24.11

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Emily DeNardis* Nancy Mungar* Jennifer Ferreira Ivan Kamladze**

ELEGANT 2 STOREY HOME IN ANCASTER Luxurious 3925 sq ft, 4+1 bed, 3.5 bath home on a premium wooded lot on one of Ancaster's premier streets w/ full basement walk-out & in-law suite in lower level. Formal dining room, kitchen w/ breakfast bar, great room w/ exquisite stone fireplace. Enjoy breathtaking views. Award winning home w/ pride of ownership! $2,199,900

bath, 2-storey home is on a mature 25 x 124 ft lot on a quiet oneway street in Mimico. Features include hardwood flooring, original oak trim, stained glass windows, formal living room with wood burning fireplace, formal dining room with built-in cabinetry, eat-in kitchen with access to rear yard. $1,179,900

LUXURY LIVING IN HAMILTON'S ICONIC RESIDENCES OF ROYAL

CONNAUGHT

Historic hotel conversion offering restored original architecture and many modern amenities. This 1059 sq ft, 2 bed, 2 bath unit is loaded w/ features including a tandem underground parking spot 2 cars deep, use of terrace w/ east-facing views & easy access to rooftop common amenities. $749,900

UPDATED 2-STOREY IN HAMILTON'S CHARMING STRATHCONA 3 bed, 1.5 bath brick home loaded w/ tasteful features including open-concept

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6 WAYS TO

STAND OUT STAND OUT STAND OUT WHEN LISTING YOUR HOME

BY JULIE ACHTERMEIER

In the current market, it’s more important than ever to make your home stand out when it is listed for sale. The pendulum has swung more in favour of buyers, homes are sitting longer, and sellers are no longer seeing multiple bids. According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, house sales fell 44 percent in September compared to 2021, 10 percent in August, 47 percent in July and 24 percent in June, indicative of a definite market cooldown. While the numbers may be alarming for sellers, prices are still not that much lower than they were this time last year, and you can still sell your home for a fair price if you prepare well before you list.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS MATTER

Your curb appeal is essential to making a first impression on potential buyers. Ensure your lawn is always mowed and tidy, weeds are pulled, and the garden is nicely landscaped. Clean exterior walls of cobwebs and dust, including under eaves and around lights. Your driveway should be free of clutter, and it should be in good repair. Consider having it sealed to give it a fresh, new-black appearance.

Your entranceway also makes an important first impression. Make sure it is open and clutterfree with no furniture close to the door. Give your front door a fresh coat of paint and ensure the door opens and closes easily, does not stick or creak and appears in perfect working order. Wipe off any smudges or fingerprints around the doorknob and lights. Ideally, the front entrance should not attract attention as being neglected or in poor repair, as it sets the tone for how the buyer will view the rest of your home.

DE-PERSONALIZE YOUR HOME

Remove any family photos, personal items, and evidence of pets before a showing. Some buyers may be allergic to animals or not like them. Allow buyers to envision themselves in your home by keeping it neutral, with no personal touches or photos. Consider painting all rooms the same light beige or greige to create a larger, open feel throughout the home.

MINIMIZE UPGRADES

These days it is not advantageous to do an extensive renovation before selling your home. Reno projects are expensive, and a new buyer may prefer a different style of counter or tile than the one you might choose. Instead, select upgrades to repair problems and provide a fresh look, such as replacing a leaking sink, repainting a bathroom, or replacing an old toilet. Outdoors you may want to consider fixing a front walkway, repainting your garage and front door and replacing light fixtures.

ADD LIGHTING INDOORS

Creating more light in your home is sure to make it look more inviting. Update old fixtures, add a floor lamp, and hang window sheers instead of heavy curtains. An inexpensive way to light up your kitchen is to add battery-powered puck lights under the cabinets and change an old ceiling fixture in favour of a modern style with LEDs.

CLEAN CARPETS AND FURNITURE

Be sure to clean your carpets and rugs to remove stains and give the floors a fresh look and smell. Fabric furniture should be vacuumed and consider investing in a spot cleaner to remove any stains. A simple bleach and water solution will kill bacteria and eliminate odours if you have older wood furniture that tends to smell musty. Mix a 1:10 ratio of bleach to water in a spray bottle - spray the inside of empty drawers and doors. Let dry completely before returning items.

SET A REASONABLE SELLING PRICE

The days of listing high are long gone. To get the attention of serious buyers, work with your realtor to list your home for a reasonable, competitive price compared to other homes in the area. If you want to stand out, impress upon potential buyers that you’re not messing around so they’ll want to make an offer quickly to avoid losing the opportunity.

MISTAKES THAT MAKE

HOUSE FLIPPING A FLOP

BY JASON WOODS

Your ability to successfully flip a house is determined by your knowledge of the real estate market and where you will buy the house. Unfortunately, the real estate market is volatile, so you will need to do plenty of market research before purchasing a home to flip.

Researching the current market trends will also enable you to estimate where the market will be in a year with some accuracy. Additionally, scouting for a desirable neighbourhood with a high market growth will guarantee quick reselling of the property.

Make sure you have a good realtor who knows the local market well, and has the knowledge and experience to give you the best advice.

UNREALISTIC BUDGET

Creating a budget is the most critical step in a flipping project. To successfully flip a property, think about how much work it will take to bring it above the market value. Ideally, it would be best to look for a house that fits your budget to avoid escalated costs. It would help to compare the initial investment and repair cost to the property’s fair market worth after six to twelve months.

INADEQUATE FUNDS

Renovating and flipping houses is a cash-intensive venture. If you plan to fix up the house and make a profit from selling the property, you must consider the acquisition cost, renovation costs, and capital gains taxes, which will chip away at your profit. You can seek professional help to accurately estimate the cost of a property before you invest in it. Further, for a successful flip, you will need to partner with a trusted mortgage lender to extensively explore more funding options and set up credit lines to cover any unexpected financial hurdles you may face.

ATTEMPTING TO DO ALL THE WORK ON YOUR OWN

There are tasks such as demolition, which you can do on your own to save on labour costs. While doing some tasks will reduce the possibility of eating into your profits, avoid DIY projects if you do not have the appropriate training and experience. For instance, you need to enlist professionals to do the renovations and repairs for plumbing and electrical work. Doing jobs outside of your skill set may result in more costly mistakes than if you had hired a contractor in the first place.

UNDERESTIMATING THE TIME THE FLIP WILL REQUIRE

It can take several months to find and buy the right property. The longer a flip takes, the more you pay in the house’s mortgage, interest, insurance, and capital gains taxes. Once you acquire the desired home, you will need enough time to flip it, schedule inspections to ensure the property complies with applicable building codes, and finally sell it.

Even if you choose to outsource the job, you will still have to spend more time supervising the project to make sure everything is going according to plan.

TAKING ON FLIPS THAT REQUIRE A LOT OF UPGRADES

Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of a potential flip and overlook the amount of repairs needed to achieve a profitable return on investment. When searching for likely houses to flip, you should stick to homes that require just a few updates and won’t cost a fortune to fix. In addition, it is crucial to have a licensed contractor inspect the home before you buy it to help avoid investing in the wrong project.

House flipping may look straightforward and seamless, but failure to be aware of the above key mistakes could lead to massive losses.

DIRECT: 289-925-9599

jason@jason-woods.com www.jason-woods.com

SAND BEACH!

HOBBY FARM, STORAGE BUILDING & BARN

Includes 58 acres of workable land, 20 acres of forest and a pond. 2 road frontages, 40'x60' metal clad pole barn/drive shed, former dairy barn. Spacious 2665 sqft farmhouse with 5 bedrms, 1 bathrm and a 28'x30' garage/shop addition. TEXT RBJHVQZ

FABULOUS LAKEFRONT HOME Amazing water views. Custom kitchen, tile backsplash, porcelain sink, granite counters. South facing DR w/sliding doors to expansive waterside deck. LR w/floor to ceiling windows, gas FP.

GORGEOUS PRIVATE LAKEFRONT in Long Beach area. 2020 steel break wall. Large bedrooms, huge living room, fieldstone fireplace with NG insert, separate dining room, 9' ceilings on main, large waterfront deck.

RARE LAKE ERIE WATERFRONT New 2021 engineered breakwall. Sand beach, fabulous water views, detached garage, quiet road, & walking distance to golf course. Older cottage in hill top location. Value in land.

LAKE ERIE WATERFRONT 3+1 bed bungalow on deep lot. Breakwall w/metal stairs to amazing sand beach, steel roof. 1.5 car garage, plus shed. Upper level deck, lower level patio + patio at breakwall overlooking lake.