cambridge: Mortgage Specialists - 07/02/09 08:17 AM
Here is a true story, a lesson in fact, in the importance of working with a mortgage specialist to get an accurate picture of your present financial situation.   It's not enough to sit down with your standard bank representative, and chat for 5 minutes about the key details of your income and expenses.
You need someone who asks all the pertinent questions, because this sort of investigative work is in your best interest.   It can help protect you from the burden of taking on a loan that would stretch you to your last penny, and leave you unprotected should … (0 comments)

cambridge: Selection Assistance - 07/02/09 08:13 AM
Selection assistance? I also do that. The highest offer on table is not always the best offer, and I help you understand why. Consider an ESA inspection clause, that could cost you several thousand dollars in electrical repairs/updates, or a Sale of Buyers Property clause that could take your home off the market for several weeks. All of a sudden, the offer at a few thousand dollars below asking price is looking pretty good...
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cambridge: 4 Stats That Make Sense - 06/04/09 02:39 AM
Here are 4 stats that make sense and every REALTOR® should be able to tell you right off the bat!
1) Days on Market. This information can be used to inform the customer how long homes are sitting on the market. The better you price the product, the faster you can expect to move it. Don't make the mistake of pricing too high, as the house will sit on the market and become stale. Even price reductions may not achieve the desired result, and both parties will eventually become frustrated with the process.
2) Sold-to-Ask. Show your clients what the market … (0 comments)

cambridge: Northstar - Update! - 06/04/09 02:36 AM
There has been a $5MIL settlement reached with Northstar Aerospace. This comes from a class action lawsuit launched by residents in what's known as the Northstar Zone, approximately 400 homes in and around Bishop, Concession, Dunbar, Grand Valley and Coronation Blvd. TCE was discovered to have leeched into groundwater, and has affected air quality in homes near the Northstar plant. It's a chemical typically used as a degreaser for metals. Northstar is in the process of remediation and is actively cleaning up the area.
Here is the full release. Have a look at the map of the affected area.
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cambridge: myhomeplanner.ca - 06/04/09 02:32 AM
Genworth Canada, mortgage insurance agency, has launched a web-site called myhomeplanner.ca. It's a neat little web app, that let's you specify your moving date, and it gives you a nice little calendar with icons showing your upcoming tasks. So you'd add Home Inspection, Property Insurance and Status to a list of tasks, then each of those tasks could be represented by a different icon, and visually shown to you on a calendar. It also has a countdown to your closing date.
Along with this feature, is included a bunch of calculators and other resources that make the home buying process a … (0 comments)

cambridge: Real Estate Hotspots: Kitchener - Waterloo - Cambridge - 04/22/09 08:55 AM
So what's going on in the real estate market, I mean really going on?   The most important thing to remember is that it is regional, so take with a grain of salt, all those national statistics that newspapers love to throw at us.   They are not a true representation of what's really going on in your own backyard.
As far as where you should be investing, you should be looking at areas where the population and income levels are both on the rise.  Government spending on infrastructure such as highways, light rail, subways and round-abouts are always a good … (0 comments)