Gerard Windle

CMHC - an excellent resource.

2011-12-07T17:22:00Z

Canadians are blessed with stable banking, good government and lots of natural resources. And some excellent resources that are supplied and supported by our government and banks. Canada Mortgage and Housing is the motherlode of information on Canadian real estate.

Wondering if its a good time to buy? CMHC has been religiously tracking the market. They have stats coming and going (the future and the past). And they break it down into the market that matters to the buyer (ie) Ottawa.

How much can I afford to spend on shelter? The name says it all, -Mortgage/Housing. Their website has the tools to work you through from household budget to a practical monthly mortgage payment (remembering you've got to eat daily).

I'm a believer in sharing (what goes around, comes around). So let me know if I can point you to where the right information is kept.

cheers

Gerard Windle, Broker, Keller Williams Ottawa Realty 613-795-2595

What's the harm in listing my property above the market value?

2009-05-30T19:02:00Z

Have you ever heard a Seller say “Whats the harm in listing my property 10 or 20 per cent above the market value? The Buyer can always make an offer.”

There are a couple of things that happen when a residential home is overpriced.

First it helps sell the competition. Unless this is the only home on the market and a Buyer has no choice the chances of getting an offer are slim. Buyers will often look at 10 or 12 homes that meet their criteria and become educated as to what their dollars will buy in the location that interests them. If they do view an overpriced home they quickly compare it to everything they have seen. Often they will feel a sense of urgency to race back and buy something for much less that has the same features.

The second part of the overpricing problem is what happens if a Buyer does make an offer conditional on financing. The lender is obligated to protect the money it lends in mortgages. When the appraised value comes back the lender they tell the Buyer they will lend on their appraisal, not on what the Buyer offered.

And as time goes by the perceived value of the property goes down. See the attachment for a graph of how the Ottawa Market demonstrates this.

For more information on this topic or to help you, your family or friends to invest in their homes or income property call me, thanks

Gerard 613-788-2107

Does it matter when I buy or sell?

2009-05-22T18:03:00Z

Does it matter when I buy or sell?” This is one of the most common questions that I answer.

‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ so I’ve attached a graph indicating the number of residential units sold by month (includes condominium).

There are varied influences affecting the decision making process. The sale of owner occupied property in the Ottawa market tends to run hottest through the spring and early summer. Much of this is driven by the desire by parents to move in June, July or August so as not to disrupt their children’s school year. The child can finish in one school and start fresh in another.

And some moves are prompted by buyers and sellers that get ‘bitten by the bug’. You know the feeling, -its been a long, dark, cold winter and now the birds are singing and the days are longer and the winter clothes are packed away. You wake up one morning, look around and say “We need more room” or the reverse “the kids are gone, this place is taking too much of our time to maintain. Why don’t we sell and get a condo downtown?”

Call me if you would like more information on how this affects your bottom line. Thanks, Gerard 613-788-2107

Preparing for the Inspection... The ongoing saga

2009-03-23T17:34:00Z

Preparing for the Inspection

(the ongoing saga)

(Ottawa, ON) By the time a First Time Buyer arrives for the building inspection of the home a bit of the lustre has worn off. When they signed the Agreement of Purchase and Sale they were on Cloud Nine. Sure they remember the talk of making the purchase ‘conditional’ on satisfactory financing and inspection. But now its days later and everyone has shared a horror story about the perils of buying a home.

Suddenly that mortgage is an impossibly huge, life changing nut. And why did the Seller accept the Offer? Am I paying too much? Did I leave money on the table (I love that expression). IS there a better home to be had?

So now they realize an inspection is the last hurdle; the last chance for them to declare ‘I’m in’ or ‘I’m out’. The inspector explains the process; that he will comment on everything and make note of any ‘issues’ so they will have enough information to base their decision. The next 2 hours can be totally exhausting as the Buyer follows the inspector around the exterior and then the interior; from the basement to the attic crawlspace. For the first time homeowner it can be a bit daunting. Who knew water should drain away from the foundation? Or that ducts need to be cleaned and furnace filters changed.

And if the building inspection uncovers a major ‘issue’ how will that be dealt with? Mutual Release from the agreement, approach Seller to rectify the problem or Amendment to the Selling Price.

It’s little wonder that no one goes crazy keeping it all together.

Gerard Windle is a Broker with Keller Williams Ottawa Realty.

He can be reached by phone 613-788-2107, email gerard@kwottawa.ca or on his website, www.winprogroup.com

Is NOW the time to invest in Real Estate?

2009-03-16T14:13:00Z

Gerard Windle, Broker

(Ottawa, ON) Forty years ago my dad taught me the most important thing about Real Estate. Over my 20 plus years of selling real estate I’ve told hundreds of buyers and sellers his story. And it makes as much sense today as it did back then. His was the voice of experience.

Mom and dad had bought their first home in the first half of the 1950’s for about $12,000. It was a major investment and like so many buyers they were overwhelmed. They committed to a 25 year term (that’s right, term of the mortgage and amortization were the same) at an interest rate somewhere around 3%.

I think we would all agree that $12,000 isn’t very much by today’s standards for a 3 bedroom, single family home on a fully serviced municipal lot. But the point is it was a huge investment for a young, hardworking couple planning for a large family.

And do you know why they made the leap from renting to home ownership? It was because the future is always going to be uncertain. Dad knew that someday he would retire. And he knew when that day came he didn’t want to be paying rent. Oh sure, there will always be expenses but if we have the means why not live in the home we love in a neighbourhood we love? So he let father time eliminate the drain of finances that would normally go to rent/mortgage.

The big “AHA” in dad’s story was that he had no way of knowing that the value of his investment in shelter would increase exponentially. On summary, his lesson was to buy something; that in the long run ownership beats paying a mortgage for someone else.

Gerard Windle ~ Real Estate Broker in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

I can be reached at Keller Williams Ottawa Realty 613-236-5959

Or visit my website, www.winprogroup.com

Lies, %#* lies and statistics

2009-02-03T16:55:00Z

With apologies to Mark Twain.

I just finished reviewing statistics and trends in the Ottawa real estate market. The sheer magnitude of whats out there is intimidating.
There might not be another industry that tracks their numbers as carefully as real estate. And with the availability of the internet anyone can research for the numbers that support their position.

I've added the most interesting charts for Ottawa and the surrounding areas to my website www.winprogroup.com (after all a picture is worth a 1000 words).

That doesn't mean I've posted everything. A week doesn't go by that there isn't additional information made available the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB), the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA), the City of Ottawa, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), banks, mortgage brokers, ...
But you get the idea. Take a look at the real estate market statistics (chart form) and let me know what you think.

Gerard Windle, Broker, 613-236-5959

Keller Williams Ottawa Realty, Brokerage