If you are planning to invest in real estate, you need to find a good property. There are a number of sources that can be used for this purpose, depending on your convenience. The best way is to look in to classified advertisements, real estate selling websites (such as For Sale by Owner), and friends. In the quest of looking for an ideal real estate, reducing possible commissions and fees is one of the ideal things to do. For an example, if you go through a real estate agent, you may have to pay a standard fee for the service. But in reality, majority of real estate businesses are done through real estate agents. When you provide the real estate agent basic information such as the price range, number of bed rooms, the preferred neighborhood, and the architecture of the property that you are looking for, the agent will show you a number of houses that falls into your expectations.

Once you find the ideal property for you, you can make an offer (including an advance payment) with the condition that the property passes an official inspection of condition and structure. When the house passes the official inspection, it is time for you to bargain. Once agreed upon a figure, you can make arrangements to buy the property.

There are many ways of funding such purchases. Mortgage is one of the most popular methods employed for funding real estate purchases. You can make arrangements with a bank or financial institutions for this purpose. If you are a first time home buyer, your initial deposit will only be 5%-10% of the total property value. Otherwise, be ready to make an initial deposit of 20%-25%.

There are many facilities offered by the Canadian government for first time home buyers. The first time home buyers can withdraw up to twenty thousand Canadian dollars from their Registered Retirement Savings Plan, to be used for the purpose of property purchase. Since there are many options for financing real estate purchases, one should be careful in selecting the best option. Although buying real estate off your own money can be viewed as the best option, this is not the most preferred method in reality.

There are other costs involved in real estate purchases in Canada. The authorities will assess your home for property taxes, where you will have to pay tax annually. The tax amount usually varies from city to city. In addition to that, the tax amount varies from property to property depending on the size and the value of the property. Furthermore, there are many regular repairs (especially after winter season) that occur periodically and of course, there are utility bills that you need to take care of after purchasing any property.

Fortunately, there are. Your situation is not a good one, but there are still a few steps you can take to hopefully save your home and credit.

1.) Communicate with your lender. We cannot stress the importance of this. Give your lender a call right away and let them know what your situation is. Some lenders will actually help you get on an alternative payment plan. Empathy is high during these difficult economic times. You might be pleasantly surprised with the deals that can be worked out.

2.) If you have an adjustable rate, try to get an interest rate freeze. Once again, in order to do this, you will need to speak with your lender. Not everybody qualifies for an interest rate freeze. The work is done on case-by-case basis. Nevertheless, it is worth consulting one.

3.) If the above two plans fail, it is time to get serious about selling your home before it forecloses. There are many reasons why you would want to do this, and one of them is because you do not want to have a foreclosure on your record. They are extremely damaging to your credit. Contact your Realtor as soon as possible about getting your home on the market and selling it quickly.

4.) You may also need to contact a credit counselor who can speak with your lender. These days, lenders are getting more phone calls about potential mortgage defaults than they can handle. A credit counselor will be able to get in contact with them and plead your case so you can focus on other things like finding a new job. But be careful, there are many scam-artist credit counselors out there. Make sure yours is accredited.

Being near foreclosure on a home is everyone’s worst nightmare. It can have some serious consequences for you if you do not see it coming and fail to prepare yourself. Communication is key. It could be the difference between owning a home in the next few years or continuing to rent. If you find yourself in this unfortunate situation, contact everyone you can about it and try to take all possible steps to fix it. When a foreclosure happens, it makes us face the bleak reality of not being able to find a loan for a new home. Don’t let this happen to you. Be as proactive as you can.

For an example, the average housing price has gone down by 7.3 percent by end of November 2009 compared to the average prices in June 2009. In addition to that the sales volumes have been rapidly increased and there are many street houses with ‘For Sale’ notices after many years. Some real estate market analysts predict a possible decline in the real estate market prices instead of just a slowdown. This trend is quite prominent in some parts of the country, especially the West. This was contrary to the predictions made by some of the leading real estate analysts from June 2009 onwards stating that the real estate market will recover slowly in Canada.

The real estate crisis which took place in the neighboring US is the closest lesson the Canadians can ever think of. There are many lessons to learn from US mistakes. First of all, there were many different reasons and grounds for the real estate crisis in the US, such as the dot-com bubble and 9/11 attack. Due to such incidents, the federal interest rates came down to 1% and real estate industry started growing. Due to the circumstances, it was very easy for anyone to get a sub prime mortgage. The trend made the properties overpriced and eventually the real estate bubble did burst. When it comes to Canada, the story is slightly different with the absence of 9/11 attack and less sub prime mortgage ratio.

Sub prime mortgage plays a significant role when it comes to stability of a real estate market. When the sub prime mortgage rate is high, the real estate market is at a higher risk of collapse. In the US, 20% of the total mortgages are sub prime mortgages whereas in Canadian counterpart it is just 5%. This can be identified as one of the positive trends that sign to us of that the Canadian real estate market is not as bad as the US’s. In addition to that, the Canadian loan regulations and rules are much stricter than the US, so the institutions take a great deal of care when granting a loan. This again makes the Canadian real estate market competitive and strong with the minimum risk involved.

Considering all above facts, one can conclude that there are mixed feelings about the Canadian real estate plight at the moment where no one is able to show a rigid negative or positive trend. Therefore, it is safe to wait a little while before making any crucial decisions about your property.

When it comes to Canadian real estate market, there are many magazines that exist in order to educate all stakeholders involved in the business. The information contained in such magazines does help realtors identify the market trends, property opportunities, and tips & tricks for winning buyers. When it comes to consumers, or in other words buyers, the magazines provide comprehensive guides on the process of buying real estate.

Since the advantages of real estate magazines are obvious, let’s have a look at the Canadian real estate magazine that you should not miss reading.

‘Canadian Real Estate’ is one of Canada’s youngest real estate magazines. This magazine targets the first time home buyers and investors in real estate industry. It features many useful and important sections such as real estate news, investor guides, mortgage guides, forum for discussions, regional real estate surveys and trends, insider tips, investment strategies for investors, and general tips and tricks for sellers, buyers, and investors. In addition to such grass-root level information, ‘Canadian Real Estate’ also offers analysis of global real estate trends such as effects of US real estate market on Canada’s future.

Real Estate Magazine (also known as REM), is one of Canada’s premier real estate magazines. It is published monthly and it contains tons of content to help stakeholders in the industry. In addition to the content offered by similar real estate magazines, REM offer details of new products in the market and professional development guides and advices for realtors. This magazine also features a separate section for green real estate, one of the necessities of the present time. The Eco friendliness can be identified as one of the strengths and values of REM, where most readers find green real estate as an innovative and interesting idea.

Cottage Magazine is one of the most popular real estate magazines in the western part of Canada. Although this magazine does not carry a national level value, it is treasured in the western Canadian region. The magazine has a history of 15 years and it has thousands of loyal readers. To support the reader community of the ‘Cottage Magazine’, the magazine has its website, so that the readers can interact with magazine authors and also with other readers regarding opinions in the magazines or any other matter.

‘Homes’ is one of very first new home buying magazines in Canada that helps readers with much information related to new home buying. The magazine has a rich history of 24 years and consists of color coded maps and many more resources to help readers understand the content easily. The magazine is published once in every two months, December ’09 / January ’10 being the latest issue.

Many real estate properties in a number of cities in Canada have doubled their prices in every two years. This is the same trend that was observed in the US at the time their real estate industry was reaching the tipping point two years ago. It is quite obvious that Canada is also heading the same way, getting the bubble off the ground slowly. Every country has their real estate bubble which comes periodically and the frequency is usually defined by and aligned with the economic growth during the period.

Although the Canadian real estate market shows trends of rapid price increases, it has also avoided collapses in the recent past. For an example, Canadian real estate market always had been able to protect itself from going into a rapid downfall of prices compared to economies such as US and Japan. Therefore, many Canadians argue that the Canadian real estate market is ‘way safer’ than the others. But this argument does not mean that the Canadian real estate market is safe from a potential burst.

To counter the above argument, there are plenty of recent examples. First of all, during the tech bubble of 1997-1999, we heard the same type of argument, assuring that nothing will happen and everything will be fine. Again in 2006, just before the US stock bubble, no metric or indication showed that the US stock market was heading towards a crisis, and yet it assured everything will be fine. These are just two examples of our inability to effectively predict the future of some of the major industries in our economies. In a similar fashion, the Canadian real estate market may not look like a bubble, but the foundation and the supporting factors of the real estate market may have flawed for sure.

Contrarily to the Canadian government’s assurance, the gap between the household income and the real estate prices are rapidly growing. This can be a clear indication of a bubble effect. Despite these early warnings, many stakeholders, including the Canadian government are fueling the real estate bubble by allowing CMHC (Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation) to offer mortgages with high amounts that carry high risks while maintaining the historically lowest interest rates. This practice essentially places the tax payers at risk, the same way the US real estate and stock market bubble did.

According to Thornhill Real Estate Report, the Canadian real estate market is virtually out of control at the moment where GTA prices have gone up 20 percent compared to the last year and the real estate prices are 25% over their fair value. Doesn’t this sound like a bubble, at all?

The rich and dynamic neighbor of Canada, the United States, became the victim of a real estate depression a couple of years ago. There have been a number of independent analysis of what took place there and a certain degree of finger pointing was also seen. As a remedy, the federal government offered bailout plans with the intention of recovering the real estate industry. At the end, the real estate industry in the US has shown significant improvements of its status and it is widely believed that the industry is recovering from the catastrophic real estate depression.

After the US real estate market went into depression, it was time for Canada’s. Many analysts expected Canada to announce bailout packages for real estate industry soon after US did, but things were not too bad as compared to what took place in the US. There are a few differences between real estate industries of the two countries and that made it difficult to understand whether the Canadian real estate is heading towards any depression.

There are two groups of experts representing two schools of thoughts regarding the current status of Canadian real estate market. The first category suggests that the Canadian real estate market is heading towards its peak and the burst is inevitable. They make suggestions and plans for the worst times to lie ahead. This group of experts use statistics gathered during the last decade to compare the Canadian real estate status as against the pre-depression US real estate industry. There is more than enough evidence for such argument, as we’ve not seen rapid decrease of real estate prices. Therefore, it is common sense to think that peak has not been reached yet.

The second category of experts counter argues that the depression has already taken place and we are in the phase of slow recovery. The real estate price fluctuation which took place early 2008 is viewed as the evidence for real estate market depression in Canada. From the first quarter of 2008 onwards, the real estate market in Canada showed signs of improvements with the exception of last two quarters of 2009.

In answer to the question in the title, the Canadian real estate is definitely not in dumps at the moment. In fact, the Canadian real estate industry did not experience depression as much as their US counterpart did; if at all there was a ‘depression’ in Canadian real estate industry.

When compared and coupled with the US real estate industry, both real estate markets have shown significant improvements for the past couple of years although there have been fluctuations once in a while. Such fluctuations are common for any industry that deals with people’s purchasing habits and abilities, so we can safely ignore them for the time being. Therefore, the facts encourage us to think that we are at the recovering phase of the winter depression that the Canadian real estate suffered.

Being a first time home buyer can be an intimidating process. You want to know that you are getting a good home for the money you are putting down. You also want to be certain that your home complies with several local regulations. I have compiled a checklist here for you to use when looking at a new home for the first time. There are some common mistakes that, if avoided, will save you money on your first home purchase.

1.) Be %100 certain that you can afford to buy a home. Some people think it would be a great idea but aren’t financially ready for it. In the end, they find themselves facing problems when they can’t afford their mortgage payment and other repairs.

2.) Find a home in your price range. It can be tempting to purchase a house with all of the amenities when you can’t afford it yet. Know what you can pay for, and stick to it.

3.) Hire all of the right professionals to help you along. A Realtor will help you find the right home and negotiate with the owner for the best deal. They can also arrange for independent home inspections that will help you determine the real value of the property. A mortgage broker will shop around for the best mortgage to suit your needs and can pre-qualify you for certain lenders. And lastly, a good lawyer will be necessary for making sure your home is compliant with current building codes and that all of the contracts you sign are legitimate.

4.) Make sure your house has been thoroughly inspected and appraised before you close. This step provides extra security for your transaction and guarantees that you are not overpaying for your new home.

5.) After you move in, don’t forget to set money and time aside for regular maintenance. Many people start to take a more realistic approach to home ownership a year into owning their home. They realize that although it is nice, it does take a lot of hard work. If you don’t do the extra work to maintain your home, its value will decrease and you will lose money on it.

If you follow these steps, your new home purchase will go very smoothly and you will begin to reap many of the rewards of home ownership. When buying a home, do it the right way once and you will never have to worry about it again. I’ll be standing by to cheer you along and help you with any questions you might have.

Flexibility

First of all, you need to be flexible in terms of location and many other things. Places in Canada can greatly vary in terms of culture and neighborhood and these locations will have an impact on the price of the house. With flexibility comes a decision on what you want. Before even looking for a house, you need to identify how many rooms you will need, how many people will live there, and how much you are willing to spend for finding a house in Canada. If you are undecided about these things, it is not recommended that you start looking for a house. If you do, you might easily get swayed with offers or aesthetics of the house you are looking at. Soon you might end up renting or buying a house that does not really suit your needs.

Flexibility also means adapting to the Canadian environment and lifestyle. In Canada, families with three kids are already considered large. In the US, people are accustomed to providing one bedroom for each child. In Canada, it is difficult to find houses with three or even five bedrooms and you need to be ready to accept the fact that your children will share bedrooms.

Get the Right Team

This is really applicable when you are planning to buy a home. You need a Realtor who will be your guide to looking for the best deals and locating the house that you want.  You should have a highly qualified appraiser who will measure the value of the house. Appraisers are equipped with statistical knowledge on how much a house should be worth in terms of its location, neighborhood, housing type, and so on. You should also have a good home inspector who can tell whether the house would need repairs. These two people will help you protect yourself from getting bad deals.

In addition to the appraiser and home inspector, you need a lawyer who will help you craft the right contract. The lawyer’s job is to protect your financial interests. Finding a house in Canada also means you need a banker or a mortgage broker who will serve as your financial backer if you do not have cash to buy the house. Your lender will be able to provide you with affordable mortgage that will not compromise your quality of living just because you are buying a house.

Set Your Mind on Standard Options

There are many houses in Canada up for sale or for rent. Finding a house in Canada will not be easy if you have not made up your mind yet on what your standards are, you will be having difficulty finding a house. This will also lead to a misunderstanding between you and your real estate agent. Your options should be specific because these things will guide you and your Realtor to the right path of home ownership. You need to set the right expectations for the price, the location, special conditions of the sale, the mortgage payment, and many other things that you want. When setting these options, ensure that your desires are clear and that the Realtor understands what kind of adjustments you can do and cannot do with. With these things ready, offers and counter-offers will be made easier until both seller and buyer are satisfied.

Narrow Down the Options

Once you have set your standards, you need to narrow down your choices. This means that you will need to make compromises, too. You should realize that there are no perfect homes. This also means that you should narrow down your choices as far as locations are concerned. There is actually no benefit in looking for homes n places that will be very far from work and school or important places such as hospitals. There is also no value in wasting your energy looking for houses in neighborhoods that you do not like. To start, make sure you have a list of the neighborhoods you like. Drive down across these areas and spot for house up for rent or for sale. Tell your Realtor about it and let him handle the negotiations.

Finding a house in Canada is going to be a challenging yet fruitful experience. With the tips mentioned above, you should be ready to get going. Now that you are armed with what you need to do, settle down in a quiet place and start thinking. Look at your kids and imagine where you want them to grow. How big will your family be and what are the things you want them to have? If you cannot make the decision first, talk to your family and include them in a brainstorming session.

It is always a great way to buy a house with the approval or consensus of the entire household. Once you have come into an agreement. The entire family can now decide what kind of house to get and where. This will also help you determine your budget and identify what kind of team you will need. Consult other friends and relatives who have bought houses before. Surely, they will be able to provide help based on their experiences and you will be guided accordingly. There will be little likelihood of you getting into the hands of bad realtors or careless lawyers and home inspectors. Lastly, take your time. Never hurry when it comes to making decisions on houses. You have a lot of options and you should weigh your choices carefully.

How Much Can You Afford?

The very first question that you need to answer is how much can you afford? So many people fall victim to seemingly low prices of mortgages but they do not realize that all these loans will pile up and soon, they will be heavily in debt and will have no choice but to sell the house. Before you can buy a house, you need upfront money which will be used as a down payment or reservation fee. Next, you will need the actual funds to pay for the actual funds when buying a home. In reality, how much can you afford? The answer is pretty simple. Determine the amount of money that you already have and add the amount of money you can spare on a monthly basis for your mortgage. This is what you can afford.

It is wrong to borrow money for your down payment and then borrow money for the monthly mortgage. Before you realize, you will soon be heavily in debt. The down payment money to use should be money that is already available. This should be your money that came from your savings. It is also not wise to spend your entire savings for the down payment because you will later on need money for other stuff like paying the team of people who will work with you. As a general rule, the cost of the house should not be more than three times the amount of your yearly income. This also applies if you have a spouse. Your combined net income in one year multiplied by three years will give you a rough estimate on how much you can afford.

Your Team

It is not advisable that you make decisions on your own. Always work with experts who will provide you the right services for this investment. Buying a home is not like buying groceries or simple things. You will need the expertise of a real estate agent, a lawyer, an appraiser, and a home inspector. Below we will discuss the role of each person so you will have an idea what they do.

The Realtor

Real estate agents are responsible for finding the house you want based on your specifications and budget. There are things to consider when you are choosing a real estate agent. For starters, food real estate agents are normally seen in open houses. Next, ensure that you at least know someone who has worked with that agent. Feedback is important because these people will tell you their own experience upon working with the agent.

You should also ensure that the agent you get has enough time for you and that he is hard-working. Good Realtor should have the motivation to close a sale. Real estate agents who pass you to their assistants are not good picks. They should take care of you personally and responsibly. Knowledge is also important. Agents should be able to answer your questions about mortgage and paperwork. The agent should be able to clearly define how much you need to shell out and how much you will have to pay for the amortization.

The Lawyer

Lawyers are there to protect your assets and financial interests. Without layers, you may fall victim to swindlers who show you document after document of liability and contracts. Find good lawyers who will be able to explain in detail the contents stipulated in the contract. Good lawyers will also tell you about your rights as a buyer and owner of the house. When buying a home, the lawyer should provide you the steps to take from signing off a deal to the very last steps of transferring the title deed to your name. It is important that you understand the terms and conditions of the sale so you are guided accordingly.

The Appraiser and the Home Inspector

These two people work together. The appraiser’s role is to determine whether the price is right or too steep. The appraiser considers the age of the building, the location, the current market value of properties, and so on. The appraiser will tell you if the house for sale is a good deal or not. They know whether the house will appreciate or depreciate in value in the years to come. On the other hand, the home inspector will check for damages in the house, he will give you an estimate of how much you need to shell out for needed repairs. A good home inspector must at least have a background on engineering or architecture. Home inspectors will check the physical aspects of the house.

There you have it. These four people are very valuable when buying a home. They will be your guide to successful home ownership. Sometimes, a single person may b an expert in several fields and finding a person of this variety is a great deal since you will be paying for the services at a cheaper price. For example, an appraiser may also be a home inspector at the same time. The amount he will charge for his services will be lesser compared to paying two separate individual offering different services. Without a strong team such as this, you are susceptible to fraud and getting ripped. Some deals may sound top notch but you will realize later on that you are spending more than what you can afford and you are getting less than what you bargained for.

Mortgage issues are dime-a-dozen. If you are having problems with your mortgage, there are countless ways to fix your debts. To begin with, people who have debts should accept that they mismanaged their money. Although there are many ways to solve mortgage payment problems, you should not wait until you are heavily in debt before you even act on it. It is not smart to think that since you have enough savings, you have enough to pay for your mortgage.  In analogy, you should prepare for the storm even before it hits.

Being Responsible

The first step to solve mortgage payment problems is to be responsible. Do not lag behind your monthly payments. Always pay on time because this will also raise your credit rating. Soon, you will be able to borrow money to pay for your mortgage and simply repay your existing debts. If banks check your credit rating and see that you are always late, there is very little chance that you will receive financial support.

One false assumption by many people who have issues on mortgage is that they expect the lender to help them. Although it is true that many banks will refinance your mortgage, you will be stuck in a deeper situation in which you are in heavier debt on the same institution that you owe money from. If you do this, you are just digging a deeper hole and soon your bank will have more power to issue a foreclosure.

HELOC

Another approach to solve mortgage payment problems is to borrow money from your equity and use it to pay your mortgage. This is called a HELOC. This is a credit line that you can use in this time of need. With this approach, you will have a very limited time to pay it back. What you need to do is to find a quick way to earn and recover from your financial crisis.  Once you found a solution, you should be able to pay both loans.  You next option is to sell the house. Sometimes, we have to face the fact that we are all victims of circumstances and for cases like this one, you will be forced to sell your property.

Forbearance Agreement

In some cases, you know that your financial crisis is only temporary. If you have proof of this, you can ask your lender to have a forbearance agreement. This means that the lender will suspend the mortgage responsibility for a certain period of time. Some lenders simply lower the mortgage amount for a certain period and within this time frame, you need to ensure that your financial status is back in shape. Normally, forbearance agreements can last up to six months or even longer. This actually depends entirely on your lender. Some forbearance agreements may also mean interest rates on your current mortgage or penalties that you can pay later on.

Once the forbearance period is over, your lender will give you another payment plan. This means that you will renew your contract and this time, you need to pay diligently. Since the lender has helped solve mortgage payment problems for you, the lender also needs to ensure that this does not happen again. Usually, this new payment scheme will include the amount that was not paid during the time of the forbearance agreement.  Keep in mind that a forbearance agreement only happens when you are already delinquent and you cannot get credit. This is because you have nowhere else to go but to the lender.

Manage your Existing Debts and Spending Habit

If you have other debts than your mortgage, you have to seriously consider your priorities. One way to solve mortgage payment problems is to study your spending habit. Check carefully if you are spending so much on things that are not necessary. If you have to cut down on groceries and other stuff, you need to do it quickly. Reduce spending on parties and other things that are of less importance than losing your house. You can consult a debt adviser too if you want to get professional help on how to manage your debts. Keep a list of the things you buy every day, including the things you spend on Vending machines. After this, check your list and identify expenditures that you can live without. Do this for the entire family and soon you will have more savings.

Discuss the Issue with Your Lender

As opposed to what was said earlier, you need to talk to your lender to solve mortgage payment problems and ask for possible options. We have discussed HELOC and Forbearance Agreement earlier. You can ask your lender for other payment schemes such as making the payment term shorter but also cheaper. Talking to your lender is very important so they do not act by the law. Talking to them will help them understand your current situation.  If they do not hear from you, they are more likely to sue and repossess your house. During discussion, keep your mind open and sharp. Do not commit to new payment schemes that you cannot fulfill.

In summation, problems with mortgages stem from mismanagement of funds. This may not be true in some cases considering that a person might get sick or if a calamity hit the neighborhood and you need to spend on other important things. The lesson is simple and that is to save for the rainy days. Without adequate savings, you will not be able to recuperate from your financial crunch and solve mortgage payment problems.

Always keep in mind that there are also other institutions and people who can offer extending hands to you. Do not hesitate to call a financial adviser if you think it is absolutely necessary because these people are experienced about these things. They can do the math for you and help you manage your money efficiently. Always be responsible and pay your mortgages first before spending for a vacation or any other things like a new car or new appliances. If possible, maintain two jobs so you can have a back up just in case you get into a financial crunch.