Your New Year's Resolution: Pay Down That Mortgage Faster!

Among the top resolves on many peoples' list of New Year's resolutions involves their budget – saving money, cutting back on expenses, paying off debts, etc. If one of your resolutions is to try and pay down your mortgage faster, call today to see if any of these options might work for you.

1. Change your payment frequency. If you currently pay your mortgage monthly, here's a way to make an extra month's worth of payments each year without too much hardship: Take your monthly payment and split it in half. Now, pay that amount every two weeks. By the end of the year you'll end up making 26 half-payments, or the equivalent of 13 full payments instead of 12!

2. Reduce your amortization period. The less time you stretch your mortgage over, the less you'll pay in total interest. Ask how a shortened amortization could affect the amount of your monthly or bi-weekly payments, and how much you could potentially save on total interest.

3. Increase your payments. If you received an end-ofyear bonus or a recent pay raise at work, consider applying it toward your outstanding mortgage debt. Even a little extra payment on a regular basis can shave years off your mortgage and save you thousands in interest charges!

Please call today for more tips on how to meet your 2014 financial resolutions!

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Routine Maintenance

When your home is for sale, you need to be prepared to show it to buyers at short notice. To that end, here are some things you (or someone else) should do every day until your home sells.

• The dishes, or, at the very least, load dirty dishes into your dishwasher so they're out of sight. Nobody wants to see a sink full of food-encrusted plates and cutlery in a home they've come to view
•  Make the beds, complete with bedspreads for that polished look. Incorporate the task into your household's morning routine.
• Take out the garbage. Garbage means odor, and odor is one of the quickest ways to make uyers turn their nose up at your property. In addition to the kitchen bin, don't forget wastepaper baskets in bedrooms and bathrooms, etcetera.
• Vacuum/sweep, especially if you have children and/or pets. Spot-cleaning – cleaning up spilled crumbs or pet hair with a hand vac, for example – at the start or end of each day may be all that's necessary.
• Make your kitchen shine. Dirt is especially off-putting in kitchens, perhaps because that's where we eat. Clear off and clean surfaces such as the stove and countertops, and make sure your sink, faucet, and appliances gleam.
• Make bathrooms sparkle. Like kitchens, bathrooms are intimate spaces where the presence of dirt is particularly objectionable. Clear off and clean surfaces, and make sinks, faucets, toilets, and showers shine.
• Tidy up. Toys, paperwork, clothing – if it's out of place, throw it into some sort of catchall (e.g. a basket) and stow the whole thing out of sight until you have time to put everything in its rightful place.

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Recession Resistant

While you can't control the economy, you can make choices in buying and maintaining a home that will help ensure it retains value and sells more quickly even in a slow market.

As always, choose your location carefully. Homes in good locations are always in demand, even when markets are slow. What makes for a good location? A safe, low-crime neighborhood in which properties are well maintained, proximity to good schools, public transit and/or major transportation routes, and amenities like shopping and essential services.

Don't buy the most expensive home in the area. When markets soften, the disparity in price between the most expensive home and comparable homes will be even more apparent (and off-putting) to buyers. As well, buyers are even more likely, when markets are soft, to pass over a more expensive property in favor of a less costly home that's in a better neighborhood.

Don't over-improve. High-end upgrades like chef's kitchens can be difficult to sell to the average buyer at any time, but especially when the market takes a downturn. If you want to improve your home, the savvy move would be to stick to renos that appeal to the greatest possible number of buyers, like modernizing outdated kitchens or adding a second or third bathroom.

Stay on top of upkeep. It can be tempting to defer general repair and maintenance around the home, but doing so could really cost you, particularly in a slow real estate market. Like properties that boast a good location, homes that have been well maintained are always sought after – as such, they sell faster and for more money in markets both hot and cool.

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Happier Home Decor

Have a happy New Year! No, really – make 2014, and the years to follow, more happy and less stressful for you (and other members of your household) by resolving to make some changes for the better where your home's interior is concerned.

• Get a better night's sleep. Do you have a TV or computer in your bedroom? If so, it needs to go – screens and sleep don't mix. What about exercise equipment? The bedroom is no place for that either. The only things that should be in your bedroom are those that contribute to an atmosphere of serenity. Outfit your bedroom windows with light-blocking drapes; ditch the synthetic sheets (which are chemically treated) in favor of a set that's made with natural fibers; and introduce a good air purifier into your bedroom. 

• Lighten up. Blackout curtains are great for sleeping, but darkness during the day often makes us feel lethargic and depressed. Natural light is the cure for a gloomy mood, so open your window treatments during the day to let in the light and the sun. The yellow dullness of regular incandescent and fluorescents light bulbs makes for a dreary interior and can contribute to low-grade stress; adding even one full-spectrum light bulb to a room can really brighten it up. Used in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder, full-spectrum bulbs mimic natural light

• Clear away the clutter. In addition to posing some practical problems, such as making it more difficult to quickly find what you're looking for and (in extreme cases) to navigate through your home, clutter has been associated with a host of negative psychological effects. Stress is the most obvious, but living in a cluttered environment can also engender feelings of lethargy, shame, hopelessness, and loss of control over one's life (effects that can be felt by anyone in the home). As well, it can have a negative impact on one's social life.

• Create an in-home retreat. How about a spa-inspired bathroom in which you can rejuvenate? Think raindrop showerheads; accessories that can turn your regular bathtub into a whirlpool; towel warmers; heated flooring; super-soft, high-quality towels; plants; aromatherapy candles; and music. Or perhaps you'd like a sumptuous bedroom sanctuary where you can relax? Comfort is king (-size): upgrade your bed and pillows (most people are sleeping on ones that are well past their prime); introduce bedroom furniture for lounging; and incorporate luxurious, textured fabrics and mood lighting
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• Harness the power of paint. Neutral walls are ideal for when you've decided to sell your home, but while you're still living in it, why not use color to help shape your mood? Active hues – reds, oranges, and yellows – are energizing and cheering, making them ideal for social spaces such as kitchens and living and dining rooms, as well as for exercise rooms and home offices. Passive hues – blues, greens, and purples – have a calming, relaxing effect (particularly when soft shades are used), making them perfectly suited for bedrooms and bathrooms.

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A New Year, A New Approach

Today's homebuyer is recognizing that in order to have an edge in the real estate market, they must have a complete financial plan in place before even starting their home search.

A professional financial advisor will get you on the right track, giving you suggestions on how to clean up your personal finances and organize your current debts. You'll also want to run a credit check on yourself and verify that the information shown in your file is correct. There are two national credit bureaus in Canada: Equifax Canada (www.equifax.ca) and TransUnion Canada (www.transunion.ca) - check with both of them. You can get a copy of your credit file mailed to you for free or, if you prefer to see it immediately, you can request it online for a nominal fee. Note that while your mailed credit report is available to you for free, there is no free service to access your actual credit score.

Once you have an idea of your current financial status and therefore the general price range you'd like to stay within, we'll sit down together and begin the process of searching for your ideal home. You may even want to talk to your loan provider about a pre-approved mortgage, as having this in-hand can often give you the edge over another bidder when making a competing offer on a house.

Thinking of moving in 2014? Please call today for the latest updates on today's real estate market, especially local conditions in your area of interest.

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Stable Conditions Define Market

While there were some ups and downs in the Fraser Valley real estate market last year, overall it continued on a steady path, similar to the 2012 market.

Ron Todson, President of the Fraser Valley Board, says, "It wasn't the best of years, nor was it the worst. Generally speaking, 2013 overall was quiet. Earlier in the year, our market felt the impact of the tighter mortgage regulations, rebounded some in the summer and then flattened again come fall."

"The positive for both buyers and sellers has been the stability in home prices. Although our sales last year were amongst the lowest they've been in the last decade, we didn't see significant price declines because our inventory also remained lower. When both buyers and sellers take a breather it has a balancing effect on the market where neither has the upper hand."

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board confirmed that average prices yearover- year showed detached homes rising to $615,852 in 2013 compared to $597,608 in 2012, townhomes dropping slightly from $340,253 in 2012 to $337,811 in 2013, and the average price of apartments decreasing by 0.4 percent from $220,033 in 2012 to $219,196 in 2013.

Wondering how your home would fare in the upcoming spring market? Please call today for the latest market update!.

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