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Home Buying Blogs – Victoria

Home buying advice for Victoria, BC residents by Ron Neal & The Neal Estate Team.

Found 28 blog entries about Home Buying Blogs – Victoria.

What You Need to Know About Home Insurance PoliciesFinding a home insurance policy after just purchasing a home usually boils down to which premium is the least expensive. It's easy to feel completely tapped out after paying a hefty down payment plus closing costs. But homeowners who opt for minimum coverage may eventually find themselves losing a lot of money on what was supposed to be a long-term investment. Here are a few tips to ensure that homeowners enter an agreement with both eyes open.

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed real estate professional or insurance agent before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

Calculating the Premium

How much a person pays is relative to where they live, the condition of the home, their financial standing, and

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Credit Scores and Buying Homes in CanadaWhen someone decides to buy a home, they often get a crash course in many areas of personal finance, including credit. Understanding a credit score and how it affects a person's chances of being able to buy a home is vital. By learning early about what is required, buyers can increase their chances of checking off all the boxes for success and move into that new home.

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed mortgage professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

What Is Included in a Credit Score?

Credit scores are numbers that banks and other financial institutions use to determine how likely someone is to repay a debt. They are based on factors that include a person's history, as well as their

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Closing Costs During the Home Purchase: What You Need to KnowWhen a buyer budgets for a home purchase, closing costs must be taken into consideration. Since closing costs are due in cash at the time of the purchase, it's imperative that the buyer have money for these fees on hand. Knowing what closing costs are, how much to expect to pay and when they're due helps home buyers to plan for a smooth home buying process.

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed mortgage professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

Closing Costs, Defined

Closing costs are the extra fees and costs associated with purchasing a home. These costs are usually incurred throughout the home buying process. When a home buyer hires a lawyer, seeks various insurances and interacts with

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Tips for Buying in a Seller's MarketA seller's market can be an intimidating place for buyers because it's unfortunately easy to be taken advantage of if they're not careful. Luckily, there are ways that buyers can help themselves get a better deal on their home without lowering their expectations.

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed real estate professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

Be Ready to Pounce

A home in a popular neighborhood isn't going to stay on the market for very long, which means that buyers will need to jump the moment the property is listed. The ideal time to tour the home is within the first 24 hours because it provides hard and fast proof to the seller of the buyer's interest. These kinds of tight

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5 Essential Moving TipsAfter selling a home and buying a new home, it’s time to focus on moving. This is a big job that takes a lot of effort from everyone in the household in order to make sure everything is packed by the move date. In such hectic times, shortcuts and advice are always welcome, so here are some of the best tips homeowners should keep in mind while packing to move.

1. Start Packing Before the Home Is Sold

There’s no getting around it: packing is a huge job that requires a lot of time and effort. In order to prevent everything from happening during crunch time, homeowners should start preparing early. Before the old home is even on the market, the homeowner should be putting away extra things that won’t be needed in order to both cut down on clutter

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Buying a Smaller Home? How to DownsizeBuying a smaller home often means fewer expenses, less cleaning to do, less maintenance and lower property taxes. It's win in many ways. Still, moving from a bigger home to a smaller home does have a down side. Specifically, downsizing is time consuming and difficult. Many people must take months or even years to down size their home. These tips can help home buyers to downsize so they can fit into a smaller property before it becomes time to sell their home and move.

Let Go of Unused Stuff

The first thing a home buyer must do in order to down size is to go through all of their things and decide which belongings they no longer need. Many people will set a time limit. For example, the home buyer may say that anything that has not been used in

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Real Estate Clauses: Understanding the Different TypesThere are many different things that go into making up a real estate contract. One of those things is all of the "boilerplate" language that's standard in most all real estate contracts. This standard language includes different clauses that are used for both the buyers and the sellers. Every one of those clauses is generally important, but they might not all apply to every circumstance. Because of that, there are a number of different options for adjusting the clauses, taking them out, or adding in additional information that can be used for that particular transaction.

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed real estate professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

Why Real Estate Clauses Matter

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LMI is a tool that can serve the needs of both borrowers and lendersPurchasing a home is a detailed process involving multiple parties. Everyone is looking to protect their own interest, and there are multiple regulations in place to protect those involved. As one gets involved in the process, they will likely be exposed to real estate terminology like escrow, contingencies and title insurance. Borrowers will likely have to learn about loan to value and loan to income ratios, prepayment penalties and points.

One aspect of acquiring a home mortgage that can affect your payments for years is lender's mortgage insurance. What is lender's mortgage insurance, who does it protect, is it necessary and can borrowers impact what it costs? Here's a quick guide to lender's mortgage insurance.

For informational purposes

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Your Best Home Warranty GuideOwning a Westshore home comes with a lot of joy, but also a lot of responsibility. One of the most responsible things a homeowner can do is protect their investment, and a home warranty is part of the way to do that. These warranties cover some of the issues and items that home insurance policies typically do not protect against, which can help a homeowner reduce their financial burden when something goes wrong. While these kinds of warranties will not cover everything that could be a problem for a homeowner, they are still good ways to have a higher level of peace of mind when owning a home.

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed real estate professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

What is a

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How to Qualify for a Mortgage for a Vacation HomeSome Canadians dream of owning a vacation home or buying a vacation condo. They can be used as a consistent location for family gatherings or to get away from the stresses of the world. Buying a vacation home may be easier than first imagined, when current homeowners understand eligibility requirements and general expectations. How easy is it to qualify for a home mortgage loan for a vacation home in Canada?

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed mortgage professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

Understanding Income Requirements

First off, sufficient personal income is needed to buy a vacation home or second Westshore home. Some who buy a vacation home are carrying two mortgages, making it

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