The importance of reading and understanding an offer.

When you make or receive an offer to buy a property, it's important that you read and understand every clause. It is especially important to understand any conditions or any changes that are made to the standard offer.

An offer may contain several types of conditions. The most common are "conditional upon arranging financing" and "conditional upon passing a professional home inspection." However, there may be other conditions as well.

You should be aware of – and fully understand – all of them.

In addition, the wording of an offer may change during the back and forth negotiations that often happen. Aside from changes to the price, other clauses may be added, removed or reworded as well.

A good agent will always ask you to initial changes. This is done primarily to ensure you know and approve of what you're signing.

A recent newspaper article tells the story of a buyer-seller legal dispute that resulted in a six-figure judgement against the seller. This was due, in part, to a lack of understanding of one of the clauses in the agreement.

                                             You don't want that to happen to you.

Take the time to carefully review and understand an offer.

Want to make sure everything goes smoothly with your next move? Call
today.

The 2014 housing forecast was unveiled yesterday.  It was an interesting seminar - listening to the various forecast for both the greater Edmonton area as well as the counties surrounding Edmonton.

Overall the forecast looks good - showing consistent growth on most sectors.  If you want to take a look at the information the link is below.

http://www.ereb.com/News&Events/2014HousingForecastSeminar.html

If you have any questions please give us a call.  We love chatting about the market!

All the best in 2014!

How to Choose the Right Size HDTV

How to Choose the Right Size HDTV If you don't own one already, you may be tempted to purchase a widescreen digital television to enjoy your favourite movies, shows and sports programs. However, it can be difficult to select the right screen size, especially if you've been accustomed to viewing a TV with a traditional 4:3 screen.

When it comes to size, there are many factors that come into play, such as screen resolution and personal preference. However, the last thing you want is to purchase an HDTV that is too small for the room, or so big that it dominates the space.

Here's a tip: The rule of thumb is to take the distance you'll be sitting from the television and multiple by five to get the screen size you need. So if you'll be sitting eight feet away, you'll want to look at HDTVs with screens that are in the 35- 45 inch range.

A good electronics dealer can help you make the best choice.

How Long Does it Take to Find a New Home?

If you're planning to look for a new home sometime in the future, you may be wondering how long the process will take. How much time should you set aside for viewings? How many of the listed homes should you see? Of course, the process varies from person to person. According to the Department of Housing & Urban Development, home buyers view an average of 15 properties before finally choosing to make an offer on one of them. That number may be a good benchmark for you.

On a Saturday afternoon, you can comfortably look at three or four potential properties. You can see more if you want to make a full day of it. One factor that impacts the home shopping process is how clearly you know what you're looking for. For example, if you're certain you want a three bedroom backsplit, backing onto a wooded area or ravine, in an upscale neighbourhood, then the process is going to be fairly simple. You're just going to view properties that closely meet that criteria. But if you're the kind of person who simply says, "I'll know it when I see it", then you'll need to look at several homes on the market. That means carving out plenty of room in your schedule for viewings. A good REALTOR can help you understand what's available on the market and which homes are worth seeing. He or she can also help you determine how long the process will likely take, and show you ways to make the process go more quickly and smoothly.

Looking for a good REALTOR? Call, tweet, or text us today.

Monte Gannon - 780-975-3918

Cindy Gannon- 780-975-3918

We wanted to send out a big THANK YOU to all of our clients - past, present and future.  Monte and I had a banner year in the Edmonton Real Estate market.  Monte was one of the top 10 clients in our Remax Real Estate office.   A huge accomplishment - considering we have over 125 agents in our office.  And I was Remax Rookie of the Year!!  An amazing start to our team!  It really goes to show what the right team can do together.