Mortgage 101 – The One Cheap Upgrade Buyers Love

Clinton Wilkins and Dan Ahlstrand discuss strategies for selling a home in the spring market, emphasizing the importance of staging.

<strong>Preparing Your Home for Sale</strong>

Dan Ahlstrand
I’m Dan Ahlstrand. He’s Clinton Wilkins, and we have a special guest in the studio today who’s going to give us all the insider secrets to help you if you’re getting ready to sell your house. And Clinton, I know we’ve talked about this in the past, that first impression is the best. And I have heard over and over again, curb appeal, the curb appeal, the making sure that the flowers are watered and everything looks good, that you got the cookies in the oven so it smells good, that fresh laundry, so now we’re going to talk to an expert here, a nd he’s going to tell us if that works.

Clinton Wilkins
Does any of this make a difference?

Alex Tremblay
Honestly, Clinton, I think it does. I think the first impression truly matters. And before I make a,, a blanket statement that says one should do this, should do that, it’s really case by case. So I have to meet, we meet with the owners. We look at their property, and we ask them, what is their plan? Are you trying to maximize value here? Not everybody wants to maximize value, and not everybody has the resources to maximize.

Clinton Wilkins
So sometimes there’s a divorce, sometimes there’s financial issues. There are other reasons why people sell than just to make money.

Alex Tremblay
Some people can’t afford it. From a resource, time perspective, or time financially. So once that is established, my favourite is really to maximize value personally. think that. And I think the key is to time the list in the spring to begin with, and have a plan to be ready. So I personally broughtus a staging team that will deal with the waging personally. Waging was really. I think something is kind of a backup.

Dan Ahlstrand
So when you stage a house, do you take all the stuff out and put new stuff in?

Alex Tremblay
So that’s a great question. It’s actually never the same. It really depends on the situation, the budget and the square footage of the house. Often, we recommend the owner to get, maybe, a storage facility, to empty the house and start decluttering. Painting is the best ROI. You get your best ROI on paint. That’s easy. So painting, decluttering, and staging are really key. And first impression, I think, first impression is really.

Clinton Wilkins
So obviously, cleaning the house, that’s a good minimum barrier, I assume. I mean, that is just sometimes the out brokers that people need to put in, they don’t necessarily need to bring a contractor. And, I mean, maybe they do.

Alex Tremblay
And, I mean, maybe they do, no, but you’re right. That’s something that it can do, and that’s easy, and it shows that the house is well, is well looked after.

Clinton Wilkins
People say the same thing, on the flip side of things, if we’re doing a refinance or something, people say the same thing to me about, Oh, should I clean my house before the appraiser comes? I think it’s probably similar, because some of this is opinion. And yes, those people are looking at the data. They’re looking at the square footage. They’re looking at how many bedrooms there are and how many bathrooms there are.

<strong>Legal Obligations and Property Disclosure</strong>

Dan Ahlstrand
I’m a homeowner who is looking to sell my home. What am I legally obligated to disclose? And the reason why I asked that is people will start, hiding that leak in the back corner of the basement, or maybe keeping things quiet about the black stuff that’s coming out of the tiles in the in the in the in the bathroom. Is there a legal obligation on the person selling the property to disclose when you sell your house?

Alex Tremblay
So, we have this document that is called a property disclosure statement, and that has to be filled out by the sellers.

Clinton Wilkins
What I always think, they’re living in the house, sure, they’ll get a property disclosure statement. But I always assume, if it’s a second home, or if it is a rental or something, people are not,

Alex Tremblay
Providing so they’re so they don’t have to, and even, even if it’s owner-occupied, they do not have to provide a property, yes, but, but what I’m saying, I guess, is that there’s no guarantee for the owner to have an accurate, accurate, represented, representation of the house. So often, that’s why they opt not to, not to. Fully disclose. But to come back to your question, then, on a PDS, anything that is latent and anything obvious or not obvious, it has to be in goods in good faith and good spirit, and that PDS property disclosure statement becomes binding to the agreement of purchase and sale, okay. So that will be a tool for the lawyer, if the homeowner is moving to the house, and three months later, something obvious was painted, and it was an obvious leak that was not properly fixed, then that gives ground to the new owner to reach out to the lawyer and seek compensation. Nobody wants to do that, though.

Clinton Wilkins
I mean, if you’re buying a new home, you want to be excited about it. You want to have a safe, secure and functioning property, especially when you want to know what you’re paying for is what you get. I think most, most people do anyway. What about traumatic events? You always, you see these shows and things on Netflix, and if there’s a traumatic event in the house, is that required to be on the PDS?

Alex Tremblay
So, funny enough, there was a situation that recently I had to look at, and somebody was saying does this have to be disclosed or not. And, in that case, I didn’t find what I found is that it was not to be disclosed. Okay, so this is, maybe I sent to be corrected, my research.

Clinton Wilkins
Provinces have different requirements from a licensee, because that’s something good to kind of highlight real estate, and the trade in real estate is provincially regulated here.

Alex Tremblay
In Nova Scotia. So I know for a fact that in Quebec, it is, if someone has passed away in the house or unfortunate events that have to be disclosed, but I’m not 100% sure. I don’t think it is here in Nova Scotia.

Clinton Wilkins
I’d have to double-check that. That’s interesting. I mean, we’ll get away from the morbid and the dark, yes, but tell me, what do people need to do to get their homes ready to sell this spring?

Alex Tremblay
Okay, so if they want maximum value, they get, there’s things that they can do themselves. They have to declutter, empty the house of everything unnecessary.

Clinton Wilkins
What are personal items? Should you leave pictures and stuff up on the walls?

Alex Tremblay
You shouldn’t. You should remove all personal items. So, remove personal items, declutter, organize, and a fresh coat of paint is a really good start.

Dan Ahlstrand
Yes, when you’re decluttering is a renovation, something that you’ll get an ROI return on your investment. So let’s say I’m going to sell my house. I’ve got a second bathroom downstairs that looks like it’s from 1953. I’m going to gut that so that I can add a few $1,000 to my sale price. Do you recommend renovations before selling?

<strong>Renovations and ROI</strong>

Alex Tremblay
I do. If it’s an option, if it’s possible, that will increase the total living area, the main living area that the square footage of the house, so that should increase the price per square foot, and that’ll make your house that more, that much more competitive.

Clinton Wilkins
I sometimes think that so many people renovate, and then they sell. Why not renovate and enjoy it? Why are you putting in a new kitchen and a new bathroom just before you sell it? Why not have done it a year before or five years before and enjoy that hard work? I just never get that. I never get that. I’m sure you see people who are getting ready to list in 123456 months, and they’re trying to make a plan with you on how they’re going to maximize value. Why not have done that before?

Alex Tremblay
That’s it. That’s a funny question. But I think that’s very interesting. I think that what happens is that people might leverage some equity in a different area, maybe finance or a home, yes, yes, and then they don’t want to hold that debt for too long, Do a major renovation, put it back on the market, pay your home equity line of credit they want to get excited with, maybe,, a larger property. . I mean,

Clinton Wilkins
This might be people who are moving up, for example, or maybe more, maybe getting a smaller place. Who knows. But I sometimes see, and I hear the horror stories of people who have renovated, and then someone buys a house and then goes and rips it out. I always think that it’s such a waste. I mean, not good for the environment either, but it’s such a waste from aresource perspective.

Alex Tremblay
I guess if you’re doing the renovations, it better be a good one. And one caveat to that would be, be doing professional renovations, do them. Even in terms of design, the DIY is of nice quality, but it’s a good quality renovation. However, it’s not super tasteful.

Dan Ahlstrand
Two bedrooms versus three bedrooms. I’ve heard that a two-bedroom house has less value than a three-bedroom house.

Alex Tremblay
People will be looking for three bedrooms, three bedrooms.

Dan Ahlstrand
So renovating that basement to put that third bedroom in could probably increase the value of your sale.

Alex Tremblay
Oh, I want to say guarantee. I strongly believe so.

Clinton Wilkins
As long as it’s a good quality renovation, and you’ve already taken things into account, probably the layout and things like this and the quality of the material code, Oh, well, it needs to be with the proper egress and stuff, especially if you’re planning on putting a base in a bedroom in the basement.

Alex Tremblay
Oh, guaranteed. Do it professionally.

Clinton Wilkins
Talk to me about in-laws. Obviously a hot topic. We’ve been talking about it quite a few times on our show over the last couple of years. Are people looking for two-unit properties? Are they looking for properties that they can buy, then put a second unit in? Where is the temperature on that?

Alex Tremblay
I would say that it’s still quite common. And it’s such a good way,, to, to increase affordability, entry into the markets. It’s a win-win, for sure. And I still see it lots.

Clinton Wilkins
Are we seeing many two-unit go up, or, from your perspective, is that a kind of subsection that is really popular?

Alex Tremblay
So I think it just started, okay, we just started to see that recently. I think it’s a product that is not in super high demand just yet.

Clinton Wilkins
I knew that it was very favourable from a financing perspective. When we look at a two-unit, we can use a large percentage of that rent and even sometimes take out the heat and the property taxes. People qualify for way more with a two-unit than they would with a single-family. So I think from a financing perspective, it’s very favourable.

Alex Tremblay
So I could not agree more. And if some if someone has along-termm vision, that is the single best move that they can do, they can buy that property with a minimum down payment, get income, to pay the taxes, or property tax or whatnot, generate some extra income.

Clinton Wilkins
Sometimes you’re almost living for free. I mean, they’re probably not paying 100%, but maybe they’re paying half of your housing.

Alex Tremblay
Then you can move up. You don’t need to stay in that two years. In five years, you’re making that aove, and you have your first investment property for 5% down.

Clinton Wilkins
I know it’s a good way to do it. That’s the way to do it here. I know I need to hire this guy as a spokesperson or something. I’m, I’m always telling people. I’m getting into that housing market. Get your 5% down. Step in. And there are so many people that I talked to in 2019, that they’re, Oh, I’m just gonna save up the 20%. I’m gonna save up the 20%. Well, sure, you wish you had bought now, because the cost of real estate really, truly has doubled in the last six years.

Alex Tremblay
Yes, and it’s consolidating very well.

<strong>Time Frame for Buying and Selling</strong>

Dan Ahlstrand
What kind of time frame were we looking at? I know that’s probably a crystal ball question, but how long if, from the minute that I pick up the phone and I call you at your office, and they say, what? I’m looking for a house. How long does it take to get through the process from initial offer to keys in hand?

Alex Tremblay
Oh, well, it can be so fast. And that’s why I tell my clients, let’s say they say this can be as fast as you want, or as slow as you want, as slow as you need. So essentially, as soon as you see a house, we go see it. You it, you’re ready to put an offer. We put an offer in, and there’s a little bit of negotiation. We keep about seven business days for conditions. It’s more than that’s your mortgage approval, the lawyers review, the inspection and all, and then from there, from there, we firm, and we have a closing date within 30 days. That’s highly feasible.

Clinton Wilkins
It can be very fast. We are seeing people making offers today and getting offers in our office today that are closing in March. Believe it or not, it literally sometimes happens that way. So you sometimes, I see, 10 days, which is too quick, but three weeks, four weeks, I think it’s a perfect time.

Dan Ahlstrand
You kind of have all your ducks lined up when you’re ready to go, because it can happen very quickly, and you want a good, solid pre-approval.

Clinton Wilkins
Yes, I’m sure you’ve seen the horror stories. We’re almost out of time on the segment, but I want to just give you an opportunity if someone wants to reach out to you or reach out to Century 21.

Alex Tremblay
Optimum, how should they find you? Well, it’s easy. You can search my name, or you can go to the Century 21 Optimum website. My name is Alex Tremblay, and I can be reached at 902-441-2523.

Dan Ahlstrand
We’re back after the break.