It's common sense to make your home as attractive as possible when you're planning to sell but what's attractive to you and (hopefully) the hordes of home buyers about to make their way through your door may be two – or several hundred different things. So how do you find a balance that will please (just about) everyone? Here are our top tips for presenting your Vancouver home for sale.

Clutter Clearance

• This may seem so obvious that it's patronizing but most of us live busy lives and day-to-day living is not always possible in an impeccably clean house! Before viewings begin invest in some plastic storage boxes (they may come in useful during the move) and tidy away clutter. Store it under beds, in garages or loft spaces. If there are items you might need, keep them handy, but out of sight!

• Personal and family photo's make a place feel like home – your home. Replace these with less personal images to allow viewers to feel that the place is homely, but could be their home. Too many personal images and other decor have been found to make it hard for people to envisage the house as anybody but yours!

Presentation Details

• Once you've tidied check for areas of paintwork that need touching up. If potential buyers see that they won't have to redecorate when they move in they'll most likely be more interested in buying! You can completely re-paint if you like or simply refresh tired or scuffed areas.

• If you are selling a single family home with garden frontage be sure to give the exterior a tidy too. Weed drives, cut lawns, tidy flower beds or pots. Any peeling paint or exterior damage should be restored. First impressions count when it comes to buying a home and you don't want potential buyers to have given up before they walk through the door.

Light and Airy Homes

• Bright, light homes decorated in neutral colors are not to everybody's taste but they make the best backdrop for imagining potential. The interior of your home should feel as bright as possible. If you already have light, bright wall colors and coverings this should be fine, if not, consider a more extensive paint-job. Fresh, muted yellows and blues work well and if you have dark curtains or blinds consider swapping them for lighter, brighter tones.

• When the viewings begin try to let as much natural light into your home. Open curtains and blinds and leave doors open where they let in extra light. This adds not only light but a sense of space to the property. If you're home is blessed with good, natural light, don't forget to point it out as you show people round. If you have smaller rooms, with less light, place mirrors opposite windows to create a sense of more space and to reflect more light into the room!

• Forget baking bread, freshly ground coffee or other strong smells. Although these are supposed to make your home more attractive they can distract people from the matter in hand! Use light, fresh scents such as lemon or pine, or simply place fresh flowers around your home, to add a pleasant welcoming fragrance and to ensure viewers don't suddenly realize they're hungry and need to rush off to eat!

Overview

New Westminster has the distinction of being the oldest city in western Canada. In addition, the city's name was chosen personally by Queen Victoria which has earned it the nickname of the “Royal City”. Justifiably the residents and authorities of New Westminster are proud of their heritage and history and the city is well known for its high number of heritage homes and buildings. However, in recent years a strong program of redevelopment has led to an increasing variety in the types of housing available in New Westminster. From those traditional dwellings, to modern, luxury condo developments, New Westminster has a lot to offer for those searching for homes in Vancouver. The city is located on the Fraser River and the waterfront is a particular focus for many of the innovative new residential and business developments.

Transport

New Westminster is particularly well served by local and national transport networks, another reason that it is increasingly popular for those searching for homes in Greater Vancouver. The city lies adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway, which connects it directly to Vancouver to the west and also eastwards with the rest of Canada. Commuting to Surrey, Richmond and Delta is facilitated by the Alex Fraser Bridge. The SkyTrain service operates three stops in New Westminster making Vancouver accessible via a short 25 minute commute – SkyTrain also links the city with Burnaby and Surrey and planned extension to the network will link New Westminster with Coquitlam and Lougheed by summer of 2016. For more information on transport links see the Translink and SkyTrain websites.

Schools and Universities

New Westminster is served by School District 40 which currently provides eight elementary schools, two middle schools (with an additional middle school set to open in 2016) and one secondary school. As the city is rapidly expanding an extensive program is being undertaken to increase school facilities and to replace older buildings with state of the art facilities. Further information on these improvements can be found on the District's website. Privately run educational institutions are also available in the city (see the FISA website) while post-secondary institutions operate within the city – Douglas Community College and the Justice Institute of British Columbia.

Recreation and Facilities

New Westminster offers a wide range of facilities and offers a long established, vibrant and diverse range of recreational and shopping facilities. The popular Westminster Quay Public Market offers a range of individual, unique shops and an excellent range of pubs, restaurants and food outlets. Other locations within the city also offer plenty of small shops to serve day-to-day needs while in the Uptown area, major shopping outlets can be found, including the Royal City Center Mall which offers all the services of a major city mall. There are a wide range of opportunities for leisure and entertainment within the city which is host to seven indoor recreation facilities, including two ice-rinks and the excellent Canada Games Pool. In addition, there are ten public parks plus the attractive waterfront esplanade and a number of smaller local community parks. With history and culture being a strong focus within the city, a wide program of events is held throughout the year and, in addition, the city hosts three theaters at Douglas College, the Massey Theater and the Vagabond Playhouse.

Buying your own home for the first time can an exciting step but also a daunting one. In this series of blog posts we break the process down into a simple step by step guide; in this first post we look at the factors you should consider before you make the decision to buy your first home.

Step One – Before You Buy

The decision to buy your first home is a massive financial commitment but it's also a huge emotional investment. For many people it is the culmination of a long-term dream, but before you take the leap and make those financial and emotional commitments it pays to be sure that homeownership is the right step to take and that now is the right time for you.

There's a long list of differences between owning and renting your home and pros and cons on each side. Some of the differences are general and some will be personal to you. In order to decide if it's the right time to stop renting and start owning you should consider the pros and cons in detail.

Firstly consider the following questions:

• How financially stable is your life at present – and what are the likely future prospects?

• Are you able to manage your own finances effectively and efficiently?

• Have you considered the “hidden” costs of homeownership? These include both the cost of maintenance and the time that these can take up.

Using these questions as a framework consider the pros and cons of both renting and owning your home. List both and use the resulting lists to decide if now is the right time in your life to make the transition from rental accommodation to your own home.

Those Hidden Costs

One of the biggest factors that many people over look are the hidden costs in home-ownership. Making a sound, accurate monthly budget that accurately reflects your current situation will help to assess how much spare income is available to deal with these costs. When you have that budget consider the actual cost of owning your home. The most obvious cost involved in homeownership is the monthly mortgage payment – this may in fact be less than your current rental. However, you should also factor in utility costs and property insurance – this latter is a cost that you'll probably not encounter when renting.

Maintenance costs are also another factor to consider; while renting you may not have to consider these at all but even basic maintenance tasks will become your responsibility once you become a home-owner. If you searching for condos for sale this costs may be relatively low but if your dream home includes houses or homes with gardens or land you'll need to consider the additional cost in time, materials or labor that these will include. For this aspect of ownership you should consider not only your financial readiness but also your lifestyle – do you have the time to devote to your home that will be necessary, or can your budget stretch to pay for maintenance work?

Ready for the Real World of Home-ownership?

If you decide to take the leap into home-ownership don't be afraid to discuss the issues above with your Realtor. Top Realtors will be able to offer information and advice on many of the issues relating to ownership – including the likely level of insurance costs and the amount of time-commitment different types of property will require. This type of information can help to make the transition from renting to owning smoother and ultimately help you to find the home that is perfect for you.

So you've heard the Vancouver real estate market is hot, and decided that it's time to put your home or condo on the market? But how can you be sure that your Vancouver home is in one of Vancouver's real estate hot-spots and, more importantly, what are the most important factors to take into account when selling Vancouver real estate? In this post we'll guide you through the top tips to selling your home in Vancouver.

First things first, how to decide if your home or condo is in one of Vancouver's best selling areas? Well, we would say this, but ask your Vancouver Realtor! Realtors are naturally ideally placed to advise you on what is selling, for the best price and in quickest time possible. However, if you'd like to back up this advice with a little of your own research then visit the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. The organization's website contains a very valuable set of resources for both those searching for homes to buy in Vancouver and those looking to sell Vancouver real estate – for the latter the monthly statistical reports are likely to be especially useful.

Having taken the advice of your Realtor and checked the monthly stats for your area, if you've decided your home or condo is as hot as it's likely to get, then it's time to go to market. There are three important tips you should consider at this stage, to ensure you get the best price going and in the fastest time possible.

Enticing Pricing

The bottom line is, of course, likely to be one of the defining factors in marketing your home. Again, your Realtor should provide you with an accurate, fair and realistic price at which to market your property. However, further checks on sold prices and competing properties in your area can be a good plan – check MLS listings and even ask around in the neighborhood. For the hottest properties in the hottest areas discounting that best price by up to five per cent is an excellent strategy. Counter-intuitive as this may seem it's a strategy that is almost guaranteed to generate an off-the-scale amount of interest and will, hopefully, push up the final sale price you achieve beyond that best price threshold!

Delayed Responses

When the offers come flooding in – and with the top Realtors they will – don't accept the first offer that comes your way. In a sellers' market your Realtor is likely to advise you to hold the property for at least a week. Accepting the first offer may well lose you several thousand dollars but keeping the property listed and visible should bring in increasingly good offers. Once you have a healthy set of offers set a date for final offers and, if your home or condo is truly desirable, expect a bidding war!

Timing is Everything

When it comes to viewings or open houses schedule these for the weekends where possible and try to include Friday's in this schedule. Ideally also ensure that the property for sale is listed on MLS listings early in the week, allowing time for people to plan their viewing. Friday viewings or open houses may be best attended by agents but the weekend open house is the one that is most likely to find your perfect purchasers. If you've priced your home or condo low (as discussed above) you should expect a very busy weekend!

Condos are a popular form of property for many people looking to buy a home in Vancouver.   They offer attractive, affordable convenient and secure  accommodation and, as many are new, their state of the art technology and additional facilities are also very attractive to home-buyers.  Condos in Vancouver are generally owned and managed under one of two systems – Strata ownership or Cooperative ownership.  This type of ownership often comes with more limitations than owning freehold property and also, potentially, more costs.  Before you make the decision to buy a condo in Vancouver (or anywhere else, for that matter) there are a number of important points to consider.  In this quick guide we look at the top ten questions to ask before buying a condo in Vancouver.   

Bylaws and Grandfather Clauses

Condos are governed by their own set of bylaws.  You should always ask for a copy of these and double check that no “grandfather” clauses apply.  These are old rules that have been superseded by new ones but may continue to apply in certain circumstances (usually where they were still in  force when an issue was identified).  

The Depreciation Report

Check the date of the last depreciation report; maintenance fees should be linked to the value of the building as a whole and should therefore reflect the age of the complex.  Viewing a copy is also advisable, especially in older buildings.  The report also identifies any upcoming work – general maintenance and also major repairs or work.  

Other Reports

Engineering reports may be available on condo buildings, certainly they should be in the case of new condos and it's advisable to ask to view before buying any condo.   

Contingency Funds

Strata cooperations are required to hold a contingency fund – ask how much this fund is currently worth and, importantly, how it is invested.  If the fund is invested in magic beans you might want to avoid the condo purchase, however attractive the condo!  

Buying Older Condos

If you're looking at older, established condo properties in Vancouver, ask for details of repairs made in the last decade.  Take note in particular of major infrastructure repairs, including those to the fabric of the building or the internal infrastructure.  Recent major repairs can be a plus, or the can be a sign of underlying problems.  

Special Fees

Check if any recent assessments have been made that are not covered by general strata fees and ask what the cost of these was per unit.  Special assessments may be required from time to time and you may need to pay towards these in addition to ongoing standard fees.   

Owner Occupiers?

Although not an essential question you should consider asking how many units are owner occupied and how many are rental units.  This will give you an idea of the make-up of the community in the building.

Litigation Cases

Have their been or are their any ongoing litigation cases affecting individual units or the complex.  Given the complexity of ownership within condos there are many reasons why legal action may occur.  Litigation cases should not put you off buying a specific condo – but it is worth knowing about and taking legal advice before making your final decision.   

Unit Deductible

Ask what is the individual unit's deductible?  The strata as a whole will have insurance for major incidents (usually fire, flood and earthquake cover).  As with standard policies there will be a deductible amount on the policy.  This is generally shared between all units in the building but may vary depending on the size of each unit.  Also check the small print to see when the bylaws of the building allow for the deductible to be applied to only one unit.   

The Strata Fee!  

Last, but by no means least, check the monthly strata fees!  Don't forget to ask what these actually cover.  As this can vary from building to building it can be an important consideration.  High fees may include a whole range of services while low condo strata fees may only cover basic maintenance, this could leave you with higher utility or service bills.  The lowest strata fee may not be the best!