CALGARY DREAM HOMES REAL ESTATE BLOG

Mortgage Information & New To Canada  |          Need a Mortgage?  Immigrants can apply for and receive a mortgage on a work permit without being a Canadian Citizen. You will generally need a work permit with 12 months or longer. It's important to have the employer backing your application. Also proof of full time employment will be required to obtain the actual work permit.      Your   Down Payment:  At the moment the minimum down payment is 5% it is required on any real estate purchase. This amount may increase to 10% depending on your mortgage or bank lender.       The  Canadian Banks:  Many of the Canadian banks will require a credit check and bank references from the country you are moving from. Make sure all your paper work is up to date and made available to the Canadian bank you choose to work with. We can suggest one if you have not yet selected one.     A   Calgary Mortgage Broker:  There are many Mortgage Brokers in Calgary and we can put you in touch with th

Here are 6 Projects That Can Give Your Home Curb Appeal Make your home sparkle and look great to potential buyers as they approach it.  They take in the whole view from the outside, the landscaping, color and driveway condition. Now we are in Spring take a look at these 6 projects that can jazz up your home! 1) The Front Door Big tip- if you are preparing to sell your home, power-wash the front door/entrance. There is nothing that puts a buyer off more than looking at a front door, still covered in winter dust and grime. Landscaping Make the landscaping as clean and tidy as possible, even though it is only spring! Start by mowing the lawn, and watering and feeding it. After our Calgary winter, clean up the flower beds as soon and as best as you can. Further into spring, do some pruning of your shrubs, and maybe planting nice bright flowers.   Touch-Ups Make sure that you check your home outside for peeling paint and paint dinks. If you have siding it can warp, but most times it

  Choosing A Calgary Community    If you are looking for that new Calgary home, always check out the neighborhood – or one that you can see has pride of ownership. Here are some things to look for: People who have pride in their homes . Take a walk around the neighborhood, get familiar with it . Looking at the homes, do you get a sense that people take good care of them? -Are the yards looking good, with lawns mowed, landscaping trimmed and flowers planted? Remember homeowners are more likely to look after their properties when they like where they are living. Home Improvements. What about home owners spending money fixing their homes? Maybe they are getting their driveways re-done or putting in new windows. This is a clear indication that homeowners like the area enough to invest in their properties. Recent   Home Sales . Is the neighborhood in demand from buyers, and are the prices steady with homes selling quickly. If people want to live there, it's a desirable area. New Busine

Things to Do Before You List  As more listings come onto the Calgary Market, and more home owners wish to take advantage of the current "Sellers Market", here are some things to consider. Firstly, consider your finances, and factor in expenses like moving costs.  Secondly, make sure that your property is ‘ready-to-sell’. Any parts of your home that requires repair should be attended to. Carry out the necessary improvements and upgrades through renovating or re-modelling, so as to create a home that is free of defects and has the features to hold its own against the competition in your area. Any parts that you leave unfixed can be picked up by a Home Inspector. This can cause a buyer to want something off the negotiated price, or indeed cause the offer to collapse. Your home must be ‘show-time’ ready the first day you get it listed, so do not leave the job of uncluttering and cleaning till the last minute. Take time and effort to give your home a thorough clean. Maybe even thi

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Call before You Dig  Check First before Making A Hole . Drilling holes into the wall is a very common practice. This may be for hanging pictures, installing shelves etc. Always be careful before drilling holes into the wall as you might end up damaging the concealed wiring or plumbing pipes etc. Check what is behind the wall where you are planning to drill a hole into first. The garden is another place that you have to be careful. In Calgary we have “Call Before You Dig” so make use of it if you are planning some holes in the garden.   Another mistake is not checking whether the ground slopes adequately away from the house – not doing so could lead to water accumulating around the house, and leading to water damage to the foundation. Calgary has lots of mature older areas so watch out if you are cutting trees or long roots without checking everything. This is a great risk, as a falling tree could end damaging your house, or even the neighbor's. Find out where the main water s

  Take a look at your “Things” and what makes you hang onto them. Our Attachment to “Things” Many of our things help give us a sense of our own identity. For instance, we may have lots of books that we intend to read. But now with Kindle etc they are just gathering dust. Closets full of clothes that we will never wear, why not send them to one of the Calgary Goodwill centers . Our old furniture that we hang onto, now looks out of place with our new minimal “Look”. Remember the furniture pieces you got from your grandmother? We also might inherent stuff from other family and friends and these “things” can have a powerful hold on us. Many times we can’t let go of them because they’re a link to a person we love. “Things” from our past can take on their own life!. Sometimes we buy things to make ourselves feel better after maybe a bad week, or we buy because we are bored. This is the recipe for a packed home that requires a big investment to keep up. From a cleaning perspective,