WeLoveEastVan’s Top Real Estate Blog Posts
Now that we’re counting down the days to the New Year, I thought it would be a good time to re-hash some of our best blog posts of the year.
10. Renovating Your Condo in East Van – East Van has a lot of older buildings. The types with good bones and large floor plans, located near great amenities but away from the noise. Renovating your condo can be a great exercise in creativity and a very rewarding experience, but you need to know a few things before going in the reno.
9. Back Up Offers – So you didn’t have the winning bid in multiples.. think about being the back up offer. This is what you need to know.
8. The Importance of Home Inspections – I can’t stress this enough. Though the quality of the home inspection depends on the quality of the inspector. You want the inspector to have great knowledge of construction, finishings, problems and solutions. We’re happy to refer you to someone who will look beyond the obvious.
7. The Importance of Personal Insurance – Property Managers often stress this at the yearly AGMs when insurance is renewed, and whenever an issue happens in the building that was the result of an owner error. You don’t want to be caught owing thousands of dollars to fix a problem you didn’t know you were responsible for – ensure you are insured (this goes for tenants too!)
6. Assessed Value vs Appraised Value vs Real Estate Value – This is a question I get asked a lot, especially with the news that assessments are going up. Find out why assessed value doesn’t mean much when it comes to real estate.
5. What are Rental Restrictions? – This one is for investors, for future landlords and for those who need the flexibility to rent their unit out when needed. One caveat to keep in mind – limiting your search to condos that allow rentals without restrictions can be very.. limiting. Think about whether this is truly needed
4. Court Ordered Sales – Court Ordered Sales hit the market every so often. A lot of people think this is the path to a deal, but that’s not always the case!
3. Multiple Offers: How to Get Yours Accepted – Multiple Offers was the defining trend of 2015. If you’re interested in buying a home, you want to make sure that you’re prepared to be successful in offer situations.
2. The Top 13 Things to Know about Pre-Sales – Given the number of new condo buildings being built, you need to know the difference between a regular sale and a pre-sale. Related: Mortgages for Pre-Sale Condos
1. First Time Home Buyers: Step 1 and Step 2 – These two tips for first time home buyers is one of the most useful posts of this year, only because these two steps are what set you down the path to success, especially in this fast paced market. Related: The Difference Between Down Payments and Deposits, something a lot of First Time Home Buyers learn.
RUNNER UP BLOG POSTS!
East Van Real Estate moves quickly and requires a lot of knowledge. After narrowing down our top (i.e. most relevant) blog posts, I didn’t want to leave these ones out:
Bundling Home Improvements into Mortgages from one of our preferred mortgage brokers, Strata Documents and why they’re so important, what to know about Subject to Sale purchases, GST Tax for Pre-Sales and more.
Check out our Blog History to see more on Architecture Styles, News, Neighbourhoods Information and more. Have a question or interesting topic in mind? Let us know, we’re always looking for ideas and love to chat real estate.
