Cowichan Valley's Real Estate Blog – Johannsen Group

Regular maintenance of your home is key. A regular schedule of seasonal maintenance can put a stop to the most common – and costly – problems before they occur. While most maintenance is year round, here are a few important tasks to take care of this fall:

• Have your furnace or heating system serviced by a qualified service company;
• Lubricate circulating pump and bleed air from hot water heating systems;
• Check chimneys for obstructions such as nests;
• Check condition and clean ducting, clean or replace filters on your furnace, HRV or forced air systems regularly;
• Check smoke and carbon monoxide detectors & replace batteries;
• Remove screens from windows to allow air from heating system to keep condensation off glass and let in more solar energy;
• Ensure windows, skylights and doors close tightly, replace weather stripping where necessary;
• Clean leaves from eaves troughs and roof, test downspouts to ensure proper drainage;
• Drain and store outdoor hoses, close valves to exterior faucets;
• Winterize landscaping, store outdoor furniture, prepare gardens and young trees and shrubs for winter.

These are just a few of the regular maintenance tasks you can do to help keep your home a safe and healthy place to live. Visit the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s website at www.cmhc.ca for more tips on protecting your investment.

Many people look at purchasing a foreclosure because the price is right.  If you are thinking of buying one, here are some things you should know;

Once a property is listed as a foreclosure on the MLS it has gone to a court ordered sale.  The dealings will be through the realtor the bank has appointed so there is no way of dealing with the seller directly because the bank is now the seller.

If you are lucky enough to be the first accepted offer on the foreclosure then you will usually have time to organize your financing like any other purchase.  Your realtor will likely write in a financing clause in your favor giving you a week or so to get your ducks in a row before you have an unconditional offer.  The things your bank will require are verification of your employment, down payment and an appraisal etc.  This is great because you have time to remove your financing and have confidence that you are in a position to close on the deal.

Most buyers looking at a foreclosure are not the first bid in and in this case there is more risk in putting a bid in to purchase the property.  The way you will present your offer will be in court without the opportunity to remove a financing condition…this is because the bank will not begin to process your application on the property until you have a right to finance it – which means not until you have an accepted offer.  Your offer would then be presented as a cash deal meaning if you don’t get your financing together, you are prepared to close on it cash.

Most people are not in the position to close in cash so being pre-approved is extremely important in this case.  You should know how much you can afford in advance.  You should have your lender review your employment, debts, down payment, etc all in advance.

To the best of my knowledge, all lenders will require an appraisal and sometimes a home inspection on a foreclosure… if the property is not in good condition, the bank may not want to finance the property regardless if you have been pre-approved so it is a good idea to have the home inspection done and sometimes even an appraisal at your expense, before going to court.  It is a good idea to show your bank a copy of these items as well to make sure this is a property they would look at securing.

Another tip would be to research the property to make sure that it has never been deemed a grow-op.  Even if the property has been remunerated, many lenders will not touch the property which means you will really have to scramble to get another lender to look at the deal.

If you have questions about this subject or any other mortgage financing questions, don’t hesitate to give me a call!

Marla Daniels

Mortgage Consultant

Pro-Link Mortgage (BC) Inc

Phone 250-733-2201

Toll Free 877-733-2201