Appraisal Tips for Success

General Angela Calla 7 Jul

Before banks or lending institutions can consider loaning money for a property, they need to know the current market value of that property.

The job of an appraiser is to check the general condition of your home and determine a comparable market value based on other homes in your area. This is required for any buy or sell situation.

To help make the appraisal as smooth as possible and ensure you are getting top market value, check out the tips below:

  1. Clean Up: The appraiser is basing the value of your property on how good it looks. A good rule of thumb is to treat the appraisal like an open house! Stage it as you would a home for sale, clean and declutter every room, vacuum, and scrub – even consider adding a fresh coat of paint – to ensure your home is as presentable and appealing as possible. Where applicable remove personal stigma items such as alcohol or drug paraphernalia, any controversial pictures or flags, etc.
  2. Curb Appeal: First impressions can have a huge impact when it comes to an appraisal. Spending some time ensuring the outside of your property from your driveway entrance to front step is clean and welcoming can make a world of difference. Cut grass, water plants, maybe add flowers or hanging baskets to make things feel inviting and stage the yard with some lawn furniture to make it look like its own space.
  3. Visibility: The appraiser must be able to see every room of the home, no exceptions. YES, ever singly room including outbuildings, garage, closets, basement… Refusal to allow an appraiser to see any room can cause issues and potentially kill your deal. If there are any issues with any spaces of your home, be sure to take care of them in advance to allow the appraiser full access. NOTE: If there are tenants in your home, ensure you give them appropriate amount of notice for access. YES, every single room, outbuilding, closet, garage needs access. Otherwise, the appraiser will have to return at added expense to you.
  4. Upgrades and Features: Ensuring the appraiser is aware of any upgrades and features can go a long way. Make a list and include everything from plumbing and electrical to new floors, new appliances, etc. This way they have a reference as to what has been updated and how recent or professional that work was done. Knowing the age of the roof and HVAC items like water tank is important. Also, ensure the breaker box is MIN 100amps as most lenders cannot finance a home with amps under 100; older homes from the 1930 area are generally only 60amps. The same goes for knob and tube versus breaker set-ups. Upgrading is important and will add value.
  5. Be Prudent About Upgrades: While the bathroom and kitchen are popular areas, they are not necessarily the be-all-end-all for getting a higher home value. These renovations can be quite costly so it is a good idea to be prudent about how you spend your money and instead, focus on easy changes such as new paint, new light fixtures or plumbing and updated flooring to avoid breaking the bank while still having your home look fresh. Removing clutter, adding a new coat of paint and doing a deep clean will help make these spaces shine.
  6. Know Your Neighbourhood: You already know where you live better than the appraiser. Taking a look at similar homes in your neighbourhood and noting what they sold for will give you a ballpark. If your appraisal comes in low, you will be prepared to discuss with the appraiser the examples from your area and why you believe you property is worth more. In addition, keep in mind that appraisal values are based on recent sales data; if there have been zero sales in the area recently and time allows it, hold off on getting an appraisal done until some sales have been evident to ensure you’re getting the most value.
  7. Be Polite: The appraiser is there to get in and get out so let them have the run of the house while they are there. Do not follow them around and avoid asking them too many questions or making too many comments and simply be prepared should they have questions. Once they have completed the review of your home, that is a good time to bring up any comments you might have. Remember, the actual onsite inspection usually is only 15 minutes through the house but typically, the bulk of work for appraisals is at the desk, reviewing sales and other forms of research to create the appraisal report.
  8. Know The Costs: Every appraiser charges differently. If the lender allows for ordering appraisals direct, then I can shop around and fetch you the best price.

Don’t forget to contact me if you have any questions about your existing home or mortgage, or if you are looking to sell and relocate in the future!

(Courtesy of the DLC July Newsletter)

Angela Calla is an 19-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code“, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

Update | Liberals on the Housing Market

General Angela Calla 16 Sep

The Liberals have clarified what they’ll do for the Canadian Housing Market in a recent campaign. The Party releases an aggressive housing plan faceted to combat other Party’s aggressive housing plans.

Trudeau promises a number of notable things,

      • Billions of dollars in new funding, measures to curb the practice of “flipping” homes
        • Efforts to block foreign nationals from buying homes for two years
        • New regulatory measures to police exploitative real estate agents
        • A three-point program which includes,

          • Unlocking home ownership through new government funding
          • A plan to build more homes to address supply constraints
          • Measures to establish and protect new rights for buyers.
        •  Introduce a first home savings account which would allow Canadians up to age 40 to save $40,000 toward their first home and withdraw it tax-free when it comes time to buy.
        • Double the first-time home buyers tax credit from $5,000 to $10,000
        • Slash mortgage insurance rates by 25 per cent
        • A “rent-to-own” program, with $1 billion in new funding to “create a pathway for renters in five years or less
        • Build, preserve or repair 1.4 million homes in the next four years” by giving cities “new tools to speed up housing construction.”
        • Create a $4 billion pool of cash that cities could tap if they help to create “middle-class homes”
        • The party is also promising $2.7 billion over four years to build or repair more affordable homes
        • Money to convert empty office space into housing,
        • A “multigenerational home renovation tax credit” to offset the costs of adding a secondary unit to a home
        • More money for Indigenous housing to help First Nations, Métis and Inuit people who live in substandard conditions.

For more information, visit https://liberal.ca/housing/

Angela Calla is a 17-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. She is without a doubt, a true expert in her field. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code“, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. 

In August of 2020, at the young age of 37, Angela surpassed $1 Billion dollars in funded personal mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click  here to view the latest news on our blog. 

Liberals on the Housing Market

 

Bank of Canada will hold current level of policy rate until inflation objective is sustainably achieved, continues quantitative easing

Latest News Angela Calla 9 Jun

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bank of Canada Update
Media Relations
Ottawa, Ontario
June 9, 2021
 

The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of ¼ percent, with the Bank Rate at ½ percent and the deposit rate at ¼ percent. The Bank is maintaining its extraordinary forward guidance on the path for the overnight rate. This is reinforced and supplemented by the Bank’s quantitative easing (QE) program, which continues at a target pace of $3 billion per week.

With COVID-19 cases falling in many countries and vaccine coverage rising, global economic activity is picking up. Growth remains uneven across regions, however. The US is experiencing a strong consumer-driven recovery and a rebound is beginning to take shape in Europe, while a resurgence of the virus is hampering the recovery in some emerging market economies. Financial conditions remain highly accommodative, reflected in broadly higher asset prices. Commodity prices have risen further, notably oil, and the Canadian dollar has seen a further appreciation.

In Canada, economic developments have been broadly in line with the outlook in the April Monetary Policy Report (MPR). Despite the second wave of the virus, first quarter GDP growth came in at a robust 5.6 per cent. While this was lower than the Bank had projected, the underlying details indicate rising confidence and resilient demand. Household spending was stronger than expected, while businesses drew down inventories and increased imports more than anticipated. Renewed lockdowns associated with the third wave are dampening economic activity in the second quarter, largely as anticipated. Recent jobs data show that workers in contact-sensitive sectors have once again been most affected. The employment rate remains well below its pre-pandemic level, with low wage workers, youth and women continuing to bear the brunt of job losses.

With vaccinations proceeding at a faster pace, and provincial containment restrictions on an easing path over the summer, the Canadian economy is expected to rebound strongly, led by consumer spending. Housing market activity is expected to moderate but remain elevated. Strong growth in foreign demand and higher commodity prices should also lead to a solid recovery in exports and business investment. Despite progress on vaccinations, there continues to be uncertainty about the evolution of new COVID-19 variants. More broadly, the risks to the inflation outlook identified in the April MPR remain relevant.

As expected, CPI inflation has risen to around the top of the 1-3 percent inflation-control range, due largely to base-year effects and much stronger gasoline prices. Core measures of inflation have also risen, due primarily to temporary factors and base year effects, but by much less than CPI inflation. While CPI inflation will likely remain near 3 percent through the summer, it is expected to ease later in the year, as base-year effects diminish and excess capacity continues to exert downward pressure.

The Governing Council judges that there remains considerable excess capacity in the Canadian economy, and that the recovery continues to require extraordinary monetary policy support. We remain committed to holding the policy interest rate at the effective lower bound until economic slack is absorbed so that the 2 percent inflation target is sustainably achieved. In the Bank’s April projection, this happens sometime in the second half of 2022. The Bank is continuing its QE program to reinforce this commitment and keep interest rates low across the yield curve. Decisions regarding adjustments to the pace of net bond purchases will be guided by Governing Council’s ongoing assessment of the strength and durability of the recovery. We will continue to provide the appropriate degree of monetary policy stimulus to support the recovery and achieve the inflation objective.

Information note

The next scheduled date for announcing the overnight rate target is July 14, 2021. The next full update of the Bank’s outlook for the economy and inflation, including risks to the projection, will be published in the MPR at the same time.

Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
 
To view the article on the Bank of Canada website click here.

Angela Calla is a 17-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. She is without a doubt, a true expert in her field. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code“, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. 

In August of 2020, at the young age of 37, Angela surpassed $1 Billion dollars in funded personal mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click  here to view the latest news on our blog. 

Team Banner housing market

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