Halifax, NS

We are very excited & proud to announce that REMAX nova has just been awarded the

"Broker/Owner of the Year Award"

This caps off what was an exciting year for our company in 2011, but it is also a great way to start what promises to be a terrific 2012!

Steve & Stephen are flying home from Toronto with the hardware as we speak.

Once again, a sincere thank you to all of you for your continued support.

Ryan, Fran, Stephen, Steve & al.

Did you know that the FREE DOWN PAYMENT program from certain lenders is not only available to buyers, not just first time buyers, of single family homes but also those who are in the market for owner-occupied duplexes.

Profile to qualify:

• A minimum credit score of 650
• has a steady provable income, no down payment saved
• Have funds saved for closing costs ( may be gifted to the buyer with a proof of the gift via a letter from the people giving the gift ). Closing costs are approximately 3% of the purchase price.
• The property being purchased can be a maximum of 2 units & one unit must be owner occupied.

Now you may say, but why pay a higher interest rate for this mortgage option when I can continue to rent for another few years & save up my down payment? Here is why:

Say the average home right now sells for $200,000 ( a nice even number to make thinks simnple ) & if you rent a 2 bedroom appartment for $875 + utilities/mth.

If you bought a home today on the FREE DOWNPAYMENT program:

Purchase price $200,000 + CMHC fees of 2.95% = $205,900 at a mortgage rate of 5.29% = a monthly payment of 1231.28 approximately + taxes of a rough guestimate of $215/month for a total monthly payment of $1447.95. Now at a very conservative rate of market value increase of 3% per year, this $200,000 home would be worth $232,000 after 5 years to as much as $263,000 ( with a market value increase of 5.6% per year, based on the sales over the last decade ). So that could be over $57,000 in equity you would have in your home. Don't forget you will be paying down some of the principal during this 5 year period as well.

So if you rent for another 5 years, you will be paying someone else's mortgage. You may be thinking, but I can save the difference between that mortgage payment & my rent to put towards a down payment. Well let's look at that! If you are very good at restricting yourself & saving, you will have saved $34,377, but that $200,000 home is now worth $263,000. So your $32K that would have been a 17% down payment 5 yrs ago is now only a 12% down payment & perhaps interest rates have gone up in that 5 year time frame!!

For more information on this mortgage product & others, please contact Matt & Roger Wheeler of Nova Mortgages at http://www.novamortgages.ca. Note that these numbers were only used as examples. Please contact a mortgage broker for accurate numbers.

Please visit our website at http://www.MervEdinger.com for homes that may qualify for this program.

Dear Halifax For Sale By Owner,

Shrewd marketing companies are targeting you on the net, radio and television promoting that you can sell yourself and save the commission. I'm here to explain to you how this is a not the case.

Do you honestly believe the buyer is not going to negotiate the real estate commission off your price and then some. Unless you offer your property below fair market value what buyer is going to call, email or knock on your door and say "I'll give you asking price?"

Think back to when you purchased your property...most likely you purchased it with a real estate professional helping you identity the right home for you. Touring various homes and pointing out positive and negative features of the home. They probably also did a comparison market analysis on the top 3 properties, scheduled a second showing of those properties wrote a offer with various contingencies to protect your interest.

You might be thinking while you read this that you can offer compensation to a agent that calls, visits or emails to list your home, they'll put you on their radar when they are out with a buyer. The truth is the chances of that happening are slim to none. Listing agents have a fiduciary duty to their sellers to obtain top dollar and best terms for their client. Why would they promote your property just because you're offering them a discounted commission? Professionals don't have the time when working with a buyer to run to you negotiate in writing the commission before showing or previewing properties that are currently listed with another real estate professional. It's unrealistic to even consider this.

Or you might think if you list with a discount brokerage offering to put your home on MLS for a flat fee it will attract agents and you've beat the system. Na...we know when a property is overpriced by even $1.00 and we will inform our client "The Buyer" of this and IF we do show your property the buyer is aware of this.

Industry professionals do a lot more than run back to the office and enter your property on MLS and host Open Houses for their sellers they are under contract with. Services vary from person to person...company to company. So it is always highly recommended you interview at least 3 agents and ask what they do to get homes sold. What is the average time on market for their listings and if they are full time agents.

So before you spend upfront money to market your home that MIGHT sell consider the concerns listed below.

• Does your schedule allow for you to show the property during the day and evening with as little as a hours notice?
• Do you feel comfortable investigating the buyers qualifications to purchase the home?
• Are you aware of all the financing options available?
• Do you like to have strangers view your home you've never meet and may not be there to buy it?
• Can you separate yourself from the emotional bond you have with your home when a buyer criticizes it?
• Do you feel comfortable letting a buyer off the street roam freely around your home without you or will you follow them and not allow them to analyze the house without you?
• Do you like to pay out of pocket upfront and then months of mortgage payments while your try to sell yourself? That's going to eat into your profit.

It may seem easy to sell in Halifax For Sale By Owner...but in most cases if it sells too fast you've left money on the table that could have been in your pocket or if it doesn't sell you've wasted time and money trying to attract the buyer is NOT aware of fair market value of homes like yours.

The choice is your's.

For more information or a Free Comparative Market Analysis to to find out how I List and Sell homes contact me today. Thanks for reading.

The weather is getting progressivly better - especially for the past 2 weeks.
We had rain it seemed for the months of May ,june and July and the first week
or so of August.

Halifax has always depended on tourist traffic . I hope people when they arrived in July expecting
sun were not turned off too bad. We get 30 + plus Cruise Ships in our port each year. Many arrive
from such ports of call as New york.

I suppose -people have to expect martime conditions like fog. But even I'm saying july

was too much!

Hurricane KATIA had better bless us by staying offshore next week!

Paul Viau is licensed to sell real estate in the province of Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia Housing Market Snap Shot 2nd Quarter Reports Good News for Buyers?

According to the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors® press release July 21, 2011. Statics show the housing inventory of single family dwellings is up across the province 7.8 percent . This report compares sales April-June 2010 to April-June 2011. The data was collected by the provincial Multiple Listing Service® MLS® on properties listed on MLS® in Nova Scotia.

The results vary from region to region across the province for example the Highland Region had a increase of inventory of 30.7% in contrast Annapolis County had only a change of 2.3% Halifax-Dartmouth had a modest change of 5.2% and Cape Breton is up 18.3%.

On the surface the increases may seem in favor of buyers but as there are many variables that effect these numbers. For example new construction, employment and demand in a neighborhood or region.

Market sales were also recorded during the same reporting period. Starting with Highland region sales have been recorded as being -14.5%, Annapolis region up 5.6%, Halifax-Dartmouth -4.0% and Cape Breton region -3.0%.

For more details and regions you can contact me, speak to a Realtor ® or read the complete story at AllNovaScotia.com

Remember market conditions vary from town to town, region to region and neighborhood to neighborhood. It's my opinion you should always speak to a Realtor® for the most accurate and up to date market data before buying or selling.