Plus visit us at www.enrightandmolleson.com

So you think you are ready to start the search for your new home – ok, so let’s get things started. The search should be fun, so to help prevent confusion and frustration with the real estate market, preparation sets a solid foundation for your property search.

To make sure your search proves to be more effective, and yes, enjoyable, it pays to do some thinking before you go house hunting. It sounds simple – you want a new house, you pick some houses to see and you are off for a weekend of touring houses. Without any preparation you may spend an entire day viewing homes that do not suit your lifestyle so this preparation goes along way!

Some simple tasks to go through before your house hunting expedition begins are as follows:

• Make a list of what you like about your current house or apartment. Include all the elements that you really want in your new home. An example may be the open concept kitchen and great room that you love because you can watch your kids while cooking dinner in the kitchen.
• Make a list of what you’d like to improve or what you want to avoid in your new home.
• Make a list of items you’d add to your new house, this is essentially a wish list of things that would be a great addition to your new house.
• Go to a mortgage lender and get pre-approved for a mortgage loan. This prevents you from viewing a number of houses that are outside of your price range. Knowing what you can spend is the most important preparation item that sets the stage for your house hunting.
• Pick the neighbourhood or a few neighourhoods you’d be happy to call home. If you have children, check into the schools that serve those areas and ensure that you are happy with those options. To find out what schools are accepting new students in the area you are considering please visit one of the following websites:

  • Catholic Schools

    Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board – 613-354-2255

    Counseil des ecoles catholiques de langue francaise du Centre-Est

    Public Schools

    Limestone District School Board - 613-544-6920

    Conseil des ecoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario – 1-888-33CEPEO

As your Kingston Area Buyer Representative, I will help you to generate this list and then select homes that meet your criteria. We’ll spend as much time as needed visiting available homes until we find the one you’d like to call home. In the mean time, if you’d like to get started by receiving info on resale homes as they become available, let me know and I’ll get this automatic service set up. Your home search is just a call or email away.

Are you in the Military?  And are you being posted to Kingston? As registered Relocation Specialists with IRP, Greg & I welcome the opportunity to assisting you with your home search in the Kingston area.

We understand the needs and requirements that go along with a Military transfer to Kingston and the search for a new home.  To help make your move to Kingston more effortless, we’ll prepare  a package for you to review prior to your House Hunting Trip.  This will help you to understand the Kingston market, the pros/cons of various areas to live based on your needs, local amenities, area map and of course listings to considered.  This is just the first step of many.  Upon booking your House Hunting Trip, you’ll have dedication from our team until you find your next home.  Contact us to find out why we are the right team to hire when buying a house in Kingston!

Plus, when embarking on your transfer to Kingston, you need a REALTOR who can find you a home in a specific time frame, negotiate the best price for you and connect you with the right people quickly.  We can do this!

If you are a Military transfer out of Kingston, we understand all the same requirements that go along with listing your house.  We are diligent in completing the paperwork, we work hard to sell your house and provide consistent exposure of your property to the open marketplace which brings more qualified buyers to the forefront.  We are dedicated to helping Military Families move in and out of Kingston with ease. Call us today and leave all the work to us! Or visit www.enrightandmolleson.com to get in touch with us.

This is a decision which many people face, and the decision is not as easy to make as it may sound.  As a renter, you may not know where to start when considering whether it’s better for you to buy or continue to rent.  The answer to this question will be different for each person.  An overview on the things to consider are noted below.

In viewing the positive financial side of home ownership, as a homeowner, you can reasonably expect the equity in your home to increase over time as your mortgage is paid down. All the while, your property would likely experience regular appreciation in property value which can potentially be rapid in a strong real estate market.

To view this same aspect of renting, your monthly rental payment is constant within reason and over time does not build equity in your rental unit for you.  However, during this time you may have enjoyed a slightly lower cost of living and had the opportunity to invest saved money in order to generate positive returns.

In addition to the monthly mortgage payment, homeowners are faced with bills for utilities, any needed repairs on the home, insurance, and any other expenses deemed needed for the house.

On the flip side, a renter may or may not have an additional monthly cost for utilities.  Some renters enjoy slightly higher rental fees in order to have an all-inclusive rental charge.  For someone renting a unit with the all-inclusive set up, buying a home may feel even more daunting.  The monthly utility costs would be a new facet to your bills, but with the right amount of research, as you REALTOR, I make sure you have a good overview on what you would expect to pay each month at your new house.

When comparing owning to renting, you have to add up all of the figures, including the cost of your home, the size of your down payment, utilities, immediate repairs, interest rates and insurance, and compare them with how much you are currently spending on rent.  Of course, you also have to place a value on the enjoyment and satisfaction that you will derive from owning your own home.

Here are some take-away questions for you to ponder when deciding if home ownership is right for you:

1. How often do you expect to move in the future?
2. How stable is you employment situation?
3. How much can you afford to pay for housing monthly?  Can you afford to pay more per month that you currently pay for rent?  (As a guide, most mortgage companies will only allow your housing costs to equal 33% of your gross income).
4. How much do you have for a down payment?
5. Are you able to save money every month?
6. Is it important to you to own your home?  Would you find satisfaction in owning a home and be willing to change your spending habits if that was needed in order to make the dream of home-ownership a reality?

The point we’re trying to make is that you have the ability to decide what’s important and what’s not. If buying a home is important to you, you may need to limit some of the other things that you do.  If you’ve decided to buy, there’s a lot to consider.

So call me today and we’ll get started!