Decorating. This should be the fun part when it comes to a new home, but sometimes the sheer volume of things to be done can outweigh the excitement of embellishing your home. It’s helpful to have as many resources as possible at your fingertips. A good friend with a keen eye, our handy little guide Show and Tell: Unlocking the Secrets of New Home Buying and some insider advice from the home and interior design gurus at this week’s Home + Interior Design Show will calm your nerves and set you in the right direction.
Starting today for four days only, the new Vancouver Convention Centre will be home to the Vancouver Home + Interior Design Show. Take advantage of the over 325 retailers in attendance – all of whom can give you the low down on the latest in products and techniques for your home.
And if you haven’t signed up to receive a free copy of our homebuyer’s guide, it’s not too late. Simply register here.
In the meantime, here are some helpful hints from interior designer and owner of Vancouver’s Inform Interiors Nancy Bendtsen, as outlined in Show and Tell, to help you decorate for the long term.
Be honest about the way you live Being honest about your lifestyle can have major implications for your list of must-have furniture. “If you don’t like to cook and you don’t like to entertain, why bother having a dining room? Put your nice comfy stools up against your breakfast bar where you can sit and have your tea in the morning with your paper or laptop and call it a day,” Bendtsen says.
If you’re just starting out, ask yourself the fundamental questions: What do I touch? What do I sit in? What do I feel?
Take your time Prioritize your spending and make smart decisions about where you can save. A bed frame, for example, is nowhere near as important as the mattress that lies on it, Bendtsen contends. “A good mattress is super important, so team it with a perfectly serviceable frame from Ikea.”
Use colour A coat of paint is the most amazing thing,” says Bendtsen with a smile. “Or a colour feature wall. Remember that if you have a shallow nook area, if you put a darker hue on that wall, it will recede; put a lighter colour and it will move forward.”
Make the space reflect who you are “Your home is supposed to be about you and the people in it. Break the rules if that creates what you need,” Bendtsen urges. “The exciting thing is you may come up with things that aren’t normal but really work for you. And that is very cool.”
Picture this: you move into your dream home, only to discover that the local school for your child or children is shockingly terrible. You start to seriously regret not researching a little before making such a major investment.
There can be no doubt that finding the right catchment area for your children is one of the most high-ranking decisions when it comes to buying a new home for your family. So knowing just where to find these facts and figures about the area are absolutely key to finding the right one.
Our new free book called Show and Tell: Unlocking The Secrets of New Home Buying reveals the key websites to turn to for the best schools – and a host of other information to look at before you pick an area in which to live.
Once you’ve seen the statistics in cyber space, don’t forget that there is nothing like a physical meeting. Arrange to visit the school, see the principal and get a feel for whether it is the right fit for your family.
Doing this research now will save a lot of headaches later.
Unless you’re a skilled tradesman or construction manager, there are certain structural details within a new home that you simply won’t know how to spot on the surface.
But there have been some key advances in construction in recent years, so it’s worth finding out whether your home has been built using them. We turned to Intracorp’s site superintendent, Jeff Saunders, for help.
Ask: Is the building sealed?
Look at the building envelope – the roof, walls, windows, etc. Rainscreen technology allows any water that enters the area between the building paper and the exterior siding to exit and dry before it can enter the building itself.
Check out what’s happening with rainwater. Is rainwater collected rather than being fed back into the storm system? More and more developments are taking water off the roof via downspouts, which is then entered into buried perforated pipes that seep the water back into the ground.
Look for: Good Workmanship
The attitude of the construction crew as well as the cleanliness and tidiness of the construction site is a good indication of a professional team.
Look at the visible aspects of the work. Is the drywall smooth? Is the caulking between surfaces clean and even? Do the baseboards come together perfectly in every corner of every room? You’ll be able to tell fairly quickly if these jobs have been slapped together.
Is their proper landscaping with a green belt and visitors’ parking? Landscaping may feel like eye candy, but it’s very important.
Look at the density or general crowdedness of the project. Good construction should never make you feel cramped.
Ever wish there was a list of all of the little extra costs associated with buying a new home? Look no further – we’ve included one below.
Mortgage loan insurance premium
Appraisal fee
Deposit
Down payment
Estoppel certificate fee (does not apply in Quebec – condominium or strata purchase only)
Home inspection fee
Land registration fees (sometimes called a property transfer tax, deed registration fee, tariff or property purchases tax)
Prepaid property taxes and/or utility bills
Condo/strata fees
Property insurance
Cost of survey or certificate of location
Legal fees and disbursements
Title insurance
New Home Warranty Program fee
Home and property insurance
Life insurance premium on outstanding mortgage
Moving expenses
Furnishings
Buying a home is one of biggest purchases you’ll make in your lifetime. Needless to say, remembering all of the little details that go into that purchase can be overwhelming. So we thought we’d create a compact guide that gave potential homebuyers the inside scoop. We hope you found the above list helpful. For more tips like this, register online to receive you free copy of our new book for new home buyers called Show & Tell: Unlocking the Secrets of New Home Buying.
The New Home Advantage
Older homes may have bedrooms lacking built-in closets and a main floor carved up into little rooms. It is not [in Annika Quin’s opinion], how people interact anymore. “Modern homes nowadays tend to understand how modern families live,” she explains. An open-plan concept with different “conversation zones” is more conducive to our lives today. “We’re more interested in spending time in the kitchen: the kids are at the table doing homework while Dad is cooking dinner and Mom’s working on the computer,” Quin continues.
A new home also works on other levels. “People move into a place that is set up for them,” she says. “The are able to choose their own finishes, they are able to come in and not feel, ‘Oh, OK, I’m going to pay this price and have to spend another $40,000 on renovations.’ They are coming into something that they know is designed for them.”
While they may have less square footage, new homes do not feel smaller. “Condos now are often designed to be all useful space,” she says. The appeal of living in a space that is well designed has also led to many people enjoying condo living outside of the downtown core. “Regardless of where condos and townhomes are located, they are appealing to a large number of people,” she says.
To read the entire interview with Annika Quin, register for a free copy of Show & Tell online by clicking here.
If you’re looking for a new home or are thinking about selling yours, we’ve recently published a new book called “Show & Tell: Unlocking the Secrets of New Home Buying” filled with insider tips and useful information. The following is a short excerpt from the book:
The way we live has changed greatly since our grandparents’ – and even our parents’ – generation. For an explanation of the modern landscape, we spoke with one of Vancouver’s foremost architects James Cheng, who apprenticed with the late Arthur Erickson. Since setting up his own practice in 1978, Cheng has become known worldwide for his large-scale condominium towers.
To understand great architecture, Cheng points out, it’s important to remember that you don’t need to be an expert. Follow your heart, he says, and you’ll know you’re in a unique city – whether it’s London, New York or Vancouver. ”When we design, we have to understand why people choose to live here. There’s a certain feeling here,” he says, pointing out that the city is designed to be walked around. Its design allows most homes to enjoy a view of the natural landscape: the water, the mountains.
“People like the view, so they like windows,” he explains. ”At the same time, they want natural light to come in, even on a grey day.” Vancouver is often dubbed the City of Glass because of its mostly glass-covered condo skyline.
If you’re in an urban setting and your home is smaller than the traditional home, he adds, having an abundance of glass works well. ”It makes everything feel more open,” he says, “and the connection to the exterior via a balcony is the same thing. You can expand your space, borrow from the outside in.”
To read the full interview with James Cheng, register now to receive your free copy of Show & Tell.
It’s easy to be blinded by myriad mortgage terms – and find yourself utterly confused when deciding which product has your name on it.
In actual fact, however, in simplistic terms it all boils down to knowing yourself. Be really truthful (this is about you and you alone) when you are thinking about what suits you and your lifestyle. Then ask the question: are you a risk taker who easily copes with possible change each month, or do you want to know precisely what will happen?
As mortgage specialist Jason Chiang of TD Canada Trust explains in a our new free book called Show and Tell: New Home Buying Secrets (register here for your free copy), this is the starting point in working out whether a fixed or a variable rate mortgage works for you. “Mortgages,” Chiang emphasizes, “are really dependent on each individual situation.”
A fixed rate is for a set period – three or five years, perhaps – and affords the security of knowing what your payments will be – no matter how the bank rate fluctuates. “With a fixed term product you never have to worry during that term about interest rates moving, so your payments are set,” he says.
A variable rate brings more risk: your usually lower payments will be affected by any change in overall interest rates. Bank rates are based on the Federal interest rate and look out for press reports of expected shifts: is there an expectation that the rate may change significantly over the next year or two? If it does go up, will you still be able to make your payments?
Just remember, whichever you decide, it’s all about you.
If you’ve relied on the odd story in the media on people who pre-bought a home then found the development folded before they even moved in, it may well feel like a scary time for a potential real-estate purchase.
However, knowing all the risks – and, more notably, knowing how to avoid them – is key to making a sound home-buying decision, according to the experts in a new free book from Intracorp called Show and Tell: New Home Buying Secrets.
Ask the right questions before, and immediately after, signing a contract. First, research the developer, says Glenn Leung, a partner at the Vancouver law firm McCarthy Tétrault LLP. What are their prior projects, what is their reputation, what kind of developments have they built before?
In addition, says Don Forsgren, Intracorp’s president, try to find out if they are well established with a good track record over many years. “And will they stand behind their product?”
Then, when the contract is signed, it’s important to know you have a rescission period of seven days during which time you can either go forward with the deal or call it off. At this point, Leung adds, it is always worth taking the contract, as well as the disclosure statement (where the developer tells you everything about the development), to a lawyer to check it over. “Make sure that everything makes sense, because sometimes you just need to clarify things,” Leung concludes. “Good developers should be able to answer all your questions,” Forsgren adds.
Ask the right questions, and it looks like your informed decision will let you rest easy with your new home purchase.
It’s all about the ‘hood when you’re buying a new home. But how do you find the one that suits you? You have to do your homework, of course, but you also have to listen to your gut – and that comes straight from the mouth of a leading real estate academic.
You’re checking out a hood, and you unconsciously register that you like the fact that many buses pass by; you enjoyed the feeling you got inside a coffee shop or the esthetics of a book shop. “There is also a lot of this emotional stuff,” explains Michael Goldberg, emeritus professor of the Sauder School of Business at UBC.
“You have to get as much information as you can, then analyze it and at some point your gut takes over.”
So, firstly, really think about what floats your boat, he points out along with information about where to find neighbourhood facts and figures, and how to spot the upcoming areas, in our new book Show and Tell: Unlocking the Secrets of New Home Buying. Are you a gym aficionado, or a person who will only use it if it’s close by? What will make your life easier? Do you need a school that your kids can stroll to, or are you happy getting in the car? Need to be near public transit for the commute to your work, or can you live further away from the city? Do parks, stores or coffee shops register on your radar?
So, happy ‘hood shopping – and remember buying a home may be one of your most significant decisions of your life, but the gut has to have its say.
ON TUESDAY, JUNE 1ST WE UNVEILED OUR NEW BOOK SHOW & TELL: UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF NEW HOME BUYING
Hosted by Fred Lee (CBC’s The Early Edition), we invited guests and a panel of industry experts – including architect James Cheng, professor emeritus of the Sauder School of Business at UBC Michael Goldberg, and vice president of Intracorp sales Sue Rutledge – down to Gastown’s Inform Interiors, to weigh in on the real estate market in Vancouver through a question-and-answer period. Along with some good food and good wine, guests were treated to a lively and interesting discussion about new home buying and the future of real estate in our city before the book reveal.
We are thrilled to announce that since the launch last week, Show and Tell has been featured in The Globe & Mail, the Vancouver Sun, and on Global Television.
See what all the hype is about. Pick up your copy today by registering online or by visiting one of our sales centres.
