What comes first, the neighbourhood or the house?

There are the three top considerations when buying a house - price, location and condition. The chicken and the egg are about first finding the house. What is most important?

The old adage of "location, location, location" should tell you that you choose your neighbourhood first and then you look for the house. Some people have told me that they will buy almost anything if they can live in XX neighbourhood, if they can live withing walking distance of the relatives (built in babysitters) or within walking distance of the synagogue. Others are picking their homes based upon commute times to work. Time is money, honey.

When presented with a vast array of homes located throughout the city or countryside, pick the neighbourhood first. Only look in those neighbourhoods but be ready for compromise. You many not find a new home in an old neighbourhood so your house is not going to be exactly how you envision it but your location will be. You may have to get slightly bigger or smaller than you want.

Learn what is important to you - shopping, schools, communte time, parks, access to water, etc and narrow the neighbourhood field to where you want to live.

You can always renovate and change a home but you cannot change the neighbourhood.

Buy where you want to live.

Photo credit: Chicken or Egg

Real Estate Agent Valerie had agreed to meet with House Seller Mark's wife Lou. When she got to the coffee shop Lou was sitting in a booth at the back of the room. Well, something was going on, that was for sure. Valerie sat down with her coffee. Lou looked up and her eyes told a story. They were red rimmed as though she had been crying for days.

Without any preamble, Lou launched into her story. Apparently she and Mark were having marital problems. They thought these could be solved with a new project - a move. However, their house stayed on the market as a FSBO for months and every day they fought. Things were so tense now that Lou just wanted out - out of the house and out of the marriage. She needed her share of the sale proceeds to start a new life. She said she wanted Valerie to sell their house, that she had been impressed with Valerie's laissez faire attitude. She wanted someone who would be fair but firm and could handle Mark's intransigence.

The more Valerie heard about the marital problems, the house problems and now the economic needs of Mark and Lou, the less she wanted the listing. However, here was someone almost begging for her help. Valerie explained about the marital property laws that would protect Lou from Mark selling the marital house without her knowledge. She agreed to be more open to listing the property now that Lou was on side and with Lou promising to take the lead in getting the house ready. If Lou could not get the sale underway, then Valerie considered that their coffee agreement would be void.

Lou seemed concerned that she had told Valerie too much about her personal situation. Mark had told her that Buyers would take advantage of them if they knew how badly they wanted the house sold. Valerie said that part of her duty to clients was confidentiality; that their selling motivation was no one's business and that this would never be discussed with others in her office or with Buying Agents. Valerie spent a few minutes going through all of the duties an agent owes her clients: Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Confidentiality, Accounting and Reasonable Care. This seemed to reassure Lou. Lou said she would let Mark know of their conversation and that they would both be at Valerie's office by 11:00 the next day.

Confidentiality is one of the pillars of an agent's duty to her clients.

Photo credit: Tim Hortons Crawl...errr...um...Drive Thru

Photo Credit: Shh

Every buyer, looking at homes for sale, opens the closet doors. Sometimes I wondered if home sellers understand that this will be done. Not long ago, I was with my Buyer in a newer home. When we opened the bedroom closet doors, there was the woman of the house's bras hanging on a hook. Okay, maybe we are all getting used to seeing other people's underwear but.... I mean, if you are going to expose your bras, leave those really expensive lacy ones out for the men and women buyers to see. Just kidding.

Do sellers know how curious buyers are? While we quickly shut the door and had a little laugh, I am not so sure that everyone else would have found it funny. I know it felt like we were invading the owner's privacy. While your house is for sale, you might want to put away your underwear, both clean and dirty.

There are levels of exposure. In most places, the underwear is not left strewn on the floors and beds, chairs and dressers. However, I have been in homes where there were renters and, from all appearances, the renters were not going to help the landlord sell the house by keeping their unmentionables to themselves.

There is a time and place to air your dirty linen but it is not when your house is for sale.

Photo credit: El Rastro. Flea market. Oviedo. Asturias. Spain. Bras

We are getting toward spring when, historically, the real estate market picks up. Buyers and Sellers shake of the winter doldrums and decide to make a move. If the market in Ottawa is going to repeat what happened last year then there will be a rush on sales. Many houses could be on the market for as short a time period as a few hours to a few days. Sellers and their agents will, when possible, set up the sale to include bidding wars. Buyers, afraid to never find a house, will be entering this market with some anxiety.

In a bidding war there are a few ways in increase your chances of getting the house:

• Only include those conditions that are absolutely essential.
• Try to get a home inspection done before putting in the offer. You may have to spend $300 just to increase your chances of getting the house.
• Contact the bank to ensure that financing is in place.
• Call your insurance agent to see if there are any issues with insuring the property.
• Enclose a substantial deposit to tell the Sellers that you are serious.
• Align your possession date with the date most appropriate for the Seller.

Finally, decide on what you want to offer for the house. Ask your agent for information on comparable sales. Think that you may have to pay above the most recent sales in the area. Ask yourself the key question - "What is my highest and best offer. If I have to go $100 above that price I will not want to pay that price to own the house." If you love the house, your best offer will be higher than if you like it.

Many Buyers are afraid of paying too much for a house. The want to pay the 'right' price while still winning in the bidding war. The right price is what an informed Buyer is willing to pay. If you are willing to pay above recent sales and you have comparison shopped, then you are setting the new market price.

Sometimes it is necessary to hold your breathe and dive in to a bidding war.

Photo credit: Dive @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeshlabotnik/516341295/

Almost every house that I have taken Buyers to see has had some type of lighting fixture in the diningroom. Every Buyer has inspected the light fixture to determine how much they love it. Knowing this, if your client is putting her house on the market, there are three reasons for upgrading and/or changing the dining room light fixture.

1. The Seller tells you that she has a sentimental attachment to the current fixture and will be taking it with her to the new house. Tell her to take it down before the house goes on the market and replace is with something suitable in both price and style for the house. A really cheap fixture can be a deterent if the house will be listed at $300,000 or higher.

2. The current fixture is old, dated and unsuitable for current design. Old isn't bad if it is a rewired antique. Old is bad if it looks like the one installed in 1960. Old is bad if it is a kitchen fixture installed in the dining room as a temporary measure - 15 years agoe. Ask your client to go to a lighting store and see what is in style. There will be hundreds of choices in all styles and price ranges.

3. Finally, there are some newer homes where owners have never installed a light fixture. There is a metal plate in the ceiling covering the opening for the installation. If your Seller has one of these, ask her to please find a nice new fixture and install it before putting the house on the market.

There is almost nothing worse than a bad fixture except no fixture or the promise by the owner (through exclusions) that the one in the house will be removed before possession.

Good style does not have to cost a fortune.

Photo credit: dining room grandma's light fixture @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/eponabri/2249768758/