Imagine if, for whatever reason, you suddenly needed to find and buy a new home in a hurry. What if you had just a few weeks?

If you’re like most people, your first instinct might be to panic. Well, there’s nothing wrong with having some apprehension about having to find a new home quickly. But, there are steps you can take that will make the process a lot less stressful and, ultimately, make it more likely that you’ll find a great property you’ll love.

The first thing you need to do is determine your budget. That will give you a price range you can confidently shop within. Your budget should take into account how much your current home will likely sell for, how much you qualify to receive on a new mortgage, as well as any other funds you can put into a new home.

Next, decide on areas or neighbourhoods that have listings within your budget to target in your search. Narrowing your scope will actually help you find the right home, sooner.

When viewing properties for sale, be as flexible as you can. You don’t necessarily need to compromise on what you want. However, if you need to buy in a hurry, it makes sense to consider listings that may be less than perfect, yet still check most of the boxes on your wish list.

Keep in mind that if you purchase a property that isn’t exactly what you want, a renovation or other improvement could potentially turn it into your dream home.

Having to find a new home quickly can be challenging. But if you get the right professionals working for you, it’s going to be a lot easier — and achievable.

Throughout the history of journalism, reporters would pride themselves on getting the “inside scoop” on a story. In fact, that’s where that expression came from.

So imagine you’re shopping for a new home and click on a listing online. Up comes all the property information. But, chances are, there is more to the story of that property than is presented in that listing. For example, you might want to know more about:

• The empty field behind the home.
• The addition that was added to the house. (Was it professionally done?)
• What the neighbourhood is really like.
• The age of the roof shingles. (Will they need to be replaced soon?)
• Noise levels on weekends.
• Upcoming new development that might change the character of the area.

Most property information listed on MLS and elsewhere is incomplete. There’s almost always more to the story of a listing than you can find online.And, even after viewing a listed property, you may still have lingering questions or concerns.

So, you’ll want to get the “inside scoop” and find out more.

But how?

To get the inside scoop on a listing, call me. I can get the additional information you need on a property so that you can make a more informed decision.

When preparing your home for sale, you need to fix things up, declutter, perhaps slap a fresh coat of paint on a few walls. That’s all part of getting your property ready for buyers.

But there’s another type of preparation that you also need to do. And, the sooner you do it, the less stressful your move will be. You need to get all your paperwork together.

Here’s what to gather:

• Property documents such as deeds, easements, surveys, liens, etc.
• Mortgage documents, plus any other loans (i.e., line of credit) that use the property as collateral.
• Maintenance and service agreements that may continue with the new owners.
• Warranties and guarantees that are transferrable to the new owners.
• Recent utility bills, such as water, electricity, etc.
• Rentals (i.e., water heater rental.)
• Home security agreements and codes.
• Contracts for any work done on an ongoing basis. For example, lawn maintenance.

Getting these records together early will ensure you’re not scrambling at the last minute to find them. Some of these documents, such as warranties, also make for attractive selling features.

November 1, 2021 

A total of 745 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this October, 24.7 per cent fewer than the 990 properties sold in October 2020 and 2.1 per cent fewer than the previous month of September. Condominium sales were down 18.1 per cent from October 2020 with 249 units sold. 18.6 per cent fewer condominiums sold in October 2021 than in the previous month of September. Sales of single family homes were down 30.4 per cent from October 2020 with 339 sold. 2.4 per cent more single family homes sold in October 2021 than in the previous month of September.

"Once again – it's anyone's guess what our sales numbers would be like had we been in a market with a historically average number of homes for sale," said Victoria Real Estate Board President David Langlois. "Over the previous ten years, the average number of properties for sale in October was 3,210 - we are one third of that this year. We continue to see record breaking low levels of homes for sale and with continuing competition for homes, we see pricing pressure persist."

There were 1,036 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service® at the end of October 2021, 51.2 per cent fewer properties than the 2,122 available at the end of October 2020 and 7.8 per cent fewer properties than the 1,124 active listings for sale at the end of September 2021.

The Multiple Listing Service® Home Price Index benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core in October 2020 was $880,500. The benchmark value for the same home in October 2021 increased by 25.3 per cent to $1,103,600, a 0.3 per cent increase from the previous month of September. The MLS® HPI benchmark value for a condominium in the Victoria Core in October 2020 was $482,200, while the benchmark value for the same condominium in October 2021 increased by 14.4 per cent to $551,800.

"The only solution to our current market is to create more supply," added President Langlois. "And creating supply isn't something that happens overnight, so we need to make a commitment to build in the coming years. That takes cooperation. It takes public acceptance of increased density in some areas, the ability for builders to staff and supply their developments and for investors to be able to make their plans a reality within a reasonable timeline and at a reasonable cost. We need to continue to focus on densification of our urban areas – the idea of encouraging duplexes and small plexes in neighbourhoods and building up in core areas. Thoughtful densification will allow us to protect our greenspace, leverage existing infrastructure and take advantage of existing amenities."