When you make an offer to purchase a property, the owner and the listing agent will expect you to provide a deposit in the form of a personal cheque, a bank draft, a certified cheque, or a money order. A deposit is a sign of sincerity and security by the person making the offer and the deposit money will be applied against the purchase of the home when the sale closes.

Deposit amounts vary across different markets and price points. In Durham Region deposits are typically between $1000 and $10,000. However, the amount is completely negotiable. The deposit is most often held in trust by the listing broker until closing or other termination of the agreement.

The down payment is the amount of the buyer’s own money that they will be putting towards the purchase price of the property. The current minimum in Ontario is 5%, however 5% is only available to qualified buyers. The down payment is payable upon closing.

The total of your mortgage, your down payment and your deposit should equal the total selling price.

Therefore, a deposit is given when the buyer indicates a desire to buy the property and a down payment is given when the buyer has actually purchased the property.

Features include a bright eat-in kitchen with built-in dishwasher and gas range. A sun filled living /dining room, main floor family room with gas fireplace, 3 spacious bedrooms, a large rec room, updated washrooms, spacious foyer and more.

Click here to view more pictures and a virtual tour.

There is no shortage of things to do on Family Day. Why not make this Family Day weekend one to remember? Take the family to a winter carnival or get active with some winter sports, such as hiking, skating or skiing. Here is a small list of Family Day Weekend events going on.

FREE skating is being offered at Iroquois Park Sports Centre, Luther Vipond Memorial Arena and McKinney Centre. Click here for times.

Ceramics Canada in Oshawa has Free Painting on Family Day.

Cobourg Winter Fest has 3 fun filled days for the entire family. Free Skating and music at the outdoor rink, horse drawn wagon rides, fireworks, ice carving, ice maze, ice cube treasure hunt, snow shoes, hayrides maze, ice cube treasure hunt, snow shoes, hayrides, harbourfront zoo, West Coast Lumberjack Show

The Oshawa Generals are playing the Barrie Colts and 2:05pm. The Family Day game includes a meet and greet with Sponge Bob and Dora the Explorer, Jungle Cat World and balloon animals.

Kids are FREE at the Hockey Hall of Fame on Family Day!

Why not meet the new baby polar bear at the Toronto Zoo.

Family Day Weekend at the Ontario Science Centre

The Rogers Centre in Toronto is having Family Fun Fair.

However you plan to spend the day remember to have fun and enjoy your day TOGETHER!

With Spring just 35 days away it’s a perfect time to check out this year’s furniture trends, decorating ideas and innovative products.

I have a limited number of Re/Max VIP tickets to give away. VIP benefits include:
• same day entry to 2012 Canada Blooms Show
• front of the line access to The Dream Home
• complimentary wine tasting

Please contact me at ccupelli@trebnet.com for more info.

Staging a home has always been part of the homeowner’s responsibility, but it was often as simple as keeping the grass cut and picking up dirty clothes. The seller’s agent would recommend actions if the owners were clueless about elements that turn off potential buyers. Today, sellers look for any advantage to make their property stand out from the rest.

Home staging is about making your house look bigger, brighter, cleaner, warmer, more loving and, best of all, it makes home buyers want to buy it. It’s about more than preparing the house for sale. Staging is what you do after you’ve cleaned, decluttered, painted, made minor repairs; it’s all about dressing the house for sale.

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The goal of staging is to make a home appealing to the highest number of potential buyers, thereby selling a property more swiftly and for more money. It’s just not always easy to get a home into selling condition in a timely manner without some sort of experienced assistance.

Professional home stagers are practiced in the art of preparing a home for resale. They work with the “flow” of a home, eliminate clutter, edit and arrange furniture, and even assist in enhancing curb-appeal. With the aid of a professional home stager, your house can make a notable first impression on potential homebuyers.

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For the most part, your agent should be able to determine if your home is in need of this type of service, and if it would be of benefit or not.

A great way to save energy, at no-cost and minimal labour, is to take a trip around the inside of your house to be sure all the windows are locked. The locks on casement windows draw the sash closer to the frame (in the case of double-hung windows, they’re closer together in the middle), and that compresses the weather-stripping, creating a more airtight seal. Windows are designed to provide light and ventilation. They should also seal well in order to prevent air and water leakage. If your windows aren’t locked when they’re not open, you’re not using one of the features that contribute to their energy performance.

The cost of heating water may amount to as much as 15 to 20 percent of your entire utility bill. Setting your water heater’s temperature in the 130-degree range requires less energy to heat and to hold the water. Every 10 degrees you dial down the thermostat can knock 3 to 5 percent off your water-heating bill.

HVAC experts estimate that for every degree the thermostat is dialed down, you can save 1-3 percent on your heating or cooling utility bill. And when you count up the many hours you’re either in bed or the home is not occupied, there is considerable potential for savings. For an investment of $40 to $100, these thermostats can be programmed to automatically dial down the heat at a certain time at night or when you’re away from the house and to turn it up again before you awake in the morning or arrive home.

Electricity consumed for lighting typically constitutes just under 10 percent of the household energy budget. Replace frequently used incandescent lights with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs which are long-lasting and use about one-third of the power required to produce the same amount of light that is produced by a standard incandescent bulb.
Older versions of CFLs had a few problems, such as unattractive colored light, noise, flickering, and slow startup. Those issues have largely been resolved in the bulbs currently on the market. The price of CFLs has fallen in recent years as well, from double digits to under three dollars each when purchased in multi-packs or on sale. That’s still more than incandescents, but with a projected bulb life of as much as 10,000 hours compared to an incandescent’s 800 to 1,000.

Check the settings on your appliances. Refrigerator and freezer temperatures can be set using an accurate thermometer and the easy-to-find controls inside the refrigerator compartment. Set the refrigerator to 36 to 38 degrees, and the freezer to 0 to +5. Anything lower than that is wasted. If you are thinking of buying a new refrigerator, consider energy savings in your buying decision. Look for the EnerGuide label when making your next refrigerator purchase. Also, look for ENERGY STAR® models. ENERGY STAR-qualified refrigerators exceed minimum federal energy efficiency standards for energy consumption by at least 10 per cent, which will save you more money in the long run.

While the main goal here is to save energy and reduce your costs you still need to maximize your personal comfort. I have only mentioned a fraction of the ways to reduce your home energy use, for more great tips and ideas click here. By combining simple steps you can make a dramatic difference in your energy bills.

Do your homework before setting a price
Settling on an offer price shouldn’t be done lightly. Once you’ve set your price, you’ve told buyers the absolute maximum they have to pay for your home, but pricing too high is as dangerous as pricing too low. Remember that the average buyer is looking at 15-20 homes at the same time they are considering yours. This means that they have a basis of comparison and if your home doesn’t compare favourably with others in the price range you’ve set, you won’t be taken seriously by prospects or agents. As a result, your home will sit on the market for a long time and knowing this, new buyers on the market will think there must be something wrong with your home.
The truth is it doesn’t really matter how much money you think your home is worth. Nor does it matter what your agent thinks or ten other agents just like them. The person whose opinion matters is the buyer who makes an offer.

More homework
(In fact, your agent should do this for you.) Find out what homes in your own and similar neighbourhoods have sold for in the past 6-12 months and research what current homes are listed for. That’s certainly how prospective buyers will assess the worth of your home.

Maximize your home’s sales potential
You may not be able to change your home’s location or floor plan, but you can do a lot to improve it’s appearance. The look and feel of your home generates a greater emotional response than any other factor. Before showings, clean like you’ve never cleaned before. Pick up, straighten, unclutter, scrub, scour and dust.
Fix everything no matter how insignificant it may appear. Present your home to get a ‘WOW’ response from prospective buyers. Allow the buyers to imagine themselves living in your home. The decision to buy a home is based on emotion, not logic. Prospective buyers want to try on your home just like they would a new suit of clothes. If you follow them around pointing out improvements or if your decor is so different that it’s difficult for a buyer to strip it away in his or her mind, you make it difficult for them to feel comfortable enough to imagine themselves an owner.

Know your buyer
In the negotiation process, your objective is to control the pace and set the duration. What is your buyer’s motivation? Do they need to move quickly? Do they have enough money to pay you your asking price? Knowing this information gives you the upper hand in the negotiation because you know how far you can push to get what you want.

Make sure the contract is complete
Smart sellers fulfill their legal requirements to disclose all known defects to their buyers in writing. If the buyer knows about a problem, they can’t come back with a lawsuit later on. Make sure all terms, costs and responsibilities are spelled out in the contract of sale and resist the temptation to diverge from the contract. For example, if the buyer requests a move-in prior to closing, just say no. Now is not the time to take any chances of the deal falling through.

New Home – ADVANTAGES
• may able to customize with personalized choices
• possibly have more modern conveniences
• can be more energy-efficient because of better insulation, improved heating and cooling systems
• may have lower maintenance costs because everything is new and many items still under warranty

New Home – DISADVANTAGES
• be prepared for ongoing construction around you and to endure noise, dust and dirt
• very sparse lawn and tress in beginning
• flaws are not evident right away and may take a number of years to be discovered
• additional expenses for appliances, decks, fencing, finishing basement, landscaping, air conditioners etc.
• todays new communities do not provide large lots

Resale Home – Advantages
• moving into an established neighbourhood with its own unique personality
• mature lawn and landscaping, fencing installed and driveway paved
• known for solid construction
• may already have extras like fireplaces, finished basements or swimming pools
• opportunity to see what you are getting upfront without any guesswork

Resale Home – DISADVANTAGES
• usually requires some redecorating or repairs
• utility bills may be significantly higher as older homes may not be well insulated, windows and doors may fit poorly and appliances may not be as efficient
• may need significant remodelling to customize to your liking

When we were looking to move from our condo we knew that we wanted a resale home. In fact this is our second resale home and we are quite happy with our decision. Our main reason was lot size. We wanted a home with a pool and some yard left over for our pooch. As far as the interior, our home is approximately 25 years old and has a traditional floor plan and we decided to make better use of our existing floor space with a reno. The end result is a beautiful open concept main floor that can compete with the newer homes AND a large lot in a mature neighbourhood. Click here to see our reno!

Whether your decision is to buy brand new or resale, the purchase of a home is one of the largest financial decisions you will make in your lifetime, and there are many things to consider when deciding which type of home is right for you.

The Rowe features concierge, roof top garden, indoor lap pool, exercise room, guest suites and party room.

This freshly painted one bedroom unit boosts stainless steel appliances, mirrored backsplash, upgraded kitchen cabinets, breakfast bar, berber carpets, and balcony.

This is an amazing lakeside community with easy access to the GO train, 401, shopping, schools and so much more.

Click here to view more pictures and a virtual tour.

I’d like to share with you our latest reno. We’ve always be partial to an open concept floor plan, but when we bought an older home we thought open concept living wouldn’t be something we’d enjoy until our next home. Well, Judy is a person who gets bored easily with her surroundings. After painting and redecorating the entire house twice now, she asked if it was possible to tear down the wall between the kitchen and the dining room. Here’s the results.

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It’s important to know that not all renovations will increase the value of your property. Any improvement you do will improve the overall image of your home. A Realtor can tell you what additional value would be added to your home in whatever type of remodelling you’re thinking of doing and whether any improvements you make are out of step with your neighbourhood.

Here are some projects that generally have the best financial impact;

Bathrooms: Making your bathroom the best it can be will generate a 56% higher return on investment that the average return on other popular renovations. So go ahead and disappear into your personal spa.

Landscaping: Landscaping the front and backyard of your home will give you a 7% better return on your investment dollar. It could be as simple as adding containers of brightly coloured flowers or a simple backyard water fixture to add ambience. It all starts at the curb and everyone knows the value of a first impression.

Kitchen: Kitchen upgrades can really deliver, with a 44% higher return on investment than the average return on other popular renos. The kitchen is the hub of every home and it’s a room with real value for every family.

Flooring: Great looking floors are a strong feature of any home. This reno can generate a 22% better return on investment.

Paint: The dramatic effect paint can have on any living environment is often overlooked. But simply repainting the walls gives you a 29% better return on investment.

For more info on renovating a home check this out: Renovating A Home