Eliminating the Buying Fear in Barrie Real Estate

General Real Estate Investing
1

Hello again,
I am new to this forum so I just wanted to begin providing some real value. I am going to do a series of 3 short posts, each with 1 tip for eliminating the buying fear associated with real estate that I see here in Barrie. This comes from my team’s combined 25+ years experience and much research

Barrie Real Estate Buying Fear #1

Declining Property Values
Contrary to the common belief that real estate is always a good investment because it’s on a constant rise, property values do plateau or even decline in certain markets for a variety of reasons. This makes buyers tentative and a little research is necessary. We want to avoid neighbourhoods in gradual decline because of newer subdivisions being built nearby making it appear less desirable. Unattractive developments like prisons and highways can reduce value as well. It’s important to know what is going on as far as growth in your area. In Barrie, we recently avoided development of an ethanol plant. The musty corn-dryer smell could have made back yard life unpleasant for miles around. A poor or mediocre economy can also keep home values down. But we all know about that already. Don’t we?

There’s truly nothing we can do to completely eliminate the potential of decline, or the risk in Real Estate investing. All we can do to eliminate the buying fear is to do our due diligence to avoid areas that will reduce the appeal of a home. Areas of ill repair where there are a lot of rental units. Areas with new schools usually mean areas of low crime as well, and make good long-term areas to buy. An area with a variety of industries and lots of employment choices levels the playing field too. If the mine shuts down in mining town, for example, you all know what happens. In Barrie though, we have many people who commute to Toronto, there’s tons of retail and service related jobs, a hospital, the Honda plant is 45 minutes away… We have a vast employment pool, so if one company goes out of business, there are still many others employing people and keeping the unemployment rate down.

Regarding the developments of industry, highways or even prisons, you can reduce the fear with in depth knowledge of your city’s future development plans and avoid purchasing nearby. If, however, the development will increase value, buy near it. You can find this type of information by contacting the city government and ask about the developments or they may have them posted on the city’s website. If you aren’t a realtor, save yourself the research time because it’s your realtor’s job to find all of this out for ou so you can make an informed decision.

I hope this helps, and stay tuned for Tip #2

Cheers,

2

Hi Everyone,

Back with tip #2 to eliminate buying fear.

I’m going to brush on “Buyer’s Remorse”

This is where people are concerned about buying the wrong house? This may happen if goals and desires regarding the home you want aren’t clearly defined. This anxiety over making the wrong decision as to which house to buy can be solved by thinking about the house you want so that you have a good idea of what you want.

The next step is to make 3 lists

  1. List those features your home must have
  2. List the features that you’d like to have but aren’t deal breakers.
  3. List features you absolutely don’t want
  4. List features you’d prefer not to have but aren’t deal breakers.

Next, look at a bunch of houses to see what’s available in your price range. If you find a home you think you want to buy, sleep on your decision before making an offer.

Also, don’t exceed your budget, as you will quickly regret buying any house that strains your finances. And, don’t be afraid to walk away from a house. There’s ALWAYS another great deal you’ll love coming on the market next month

Cheers,

3

Hi all,

I’m back with this week’s tip #3

Let’s eliminate the buying fear in Barrie Real Estate.

Unmanageable Maintenance Costs are avoidable, when you know what to look for. Here are some tips.

Buy a well-maintained home to reduce your work requirements.
Buy a home with recently upgraded or replaced major components (example; roof, furnace, water heater, plumbing, electrical)
Buy a new home (though new homes sometimes have undiscovered defects).
Prevent small problems from becoming major repairs. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

If maintenance costs are unavoidable, prepare for them. Build up a generous emergency fund and continue to add to it every month for future major repairs. Your shingles will not last forever. Prepare for things that may even be 10 years down the road.

Last but not least. Maybe the MOST important, is invest in a home inspection before you buy. $300 or so is peanuts compared to the investment in your home. Well worth knowing what you’re getting into before you jump, so you can pull away from the deal if the repairs will be too much.

Fearless buying
Elliot,