Recent Blog Posts by Samuel Wong

How long should you leave your house on the market?

Ever wonder why that house on the corner of your street has been on the market for two years? So does everyone else. Keeping a “For Sale” sign parked on your lawn for more than three months is a mistake, says Gary Bachman, a real estate agent in Winnipeg. “People start saying, ‘What’s wrong with the house?’” In Toronto, where homes, on average, don’t ...

Top 10 Hottest Residential developments in the GTA

The Top 10 Hottest Residential developments of February 2010, for the GTA are (in order of 'most hot'): 1. Number One Bloor, Great Gulf Homes 2. Art Condominiums, Triangle West Development Inc. 3. Liberty Place, CanAlfa 4. The Berczy, Concert Properties 5. The L Tower, Cityzen Development Group / Fernbrook Homes / Castlepoint Realty Partners Limited 6. Pears on the Avenue, Menkes ...

10-Step Program to Buying a Home

1. Get a pre-approvalIn a hot real estate market, pre-approved home buyers get preferential treatment when negotiating home purchases. Why? Because pre-approved buyers are financially qualified to purchase the home and are considered more serious than buyers who are not. Nothing feels worse than finding the ideal home in the perfect area, and then not being able to get the financing to close the deal. ...

BMO first to slash mortgage rate

There were preliminary indications Friday that residential mortgage rates could be drifting lower after Bank of Montreal announced a "special" offer of 5.25 per cent on its benchmark five-year, fixed-rate home loan. BMO said the new rate takes effect today and would be available to "all new and existing" customers. Its current posted rate on that product is 7.2 per cent. A spokesperson said the new ...