The grey and lifeless winter landscape can leave your home’s curb appeal… lacking. If you’re selling your home and are hoping to channel your inner Norman Rockwell in a cozy, welcoming scene, take it from the experts: it is a lot simpler than you think! Homeowners who want to give their front yard a facelift or prepare their home to sell during the winter season should be aware that it does not require too much of an investment. From a fresh coat of paint to a modest bird feeder, it is the little things that count, and can add the most charm to your home’s exterior. We have compiled a list of tips from real estate experts on how you can enhance your curb appeal this winter.

6 Tips to Enhance Your Curb Appeal This Winter

Give Your Numbers an Update

How old are the numbers on your house? Better yet, can delivery drivers even see them as they try to drop off your pizza (or the signature brown boxes holding the evidence of your 2020 online shopping addiction)? Whatever state the numbers on your front porch may be, consider investing in some new numbers for an easy, affordable and striking outdoor refresh.

Investing in a new mailbox can also instantly upgrade your exterior aesthetic. So, scrap that rusty eyesore and trade it for a sleek, metal letter box that can usually be affixed to the wall with a couple of screws.

These simple updates can do wonders for your curb appeal during the winter months.

Apply a Fresh Coat of Paint to Your Door

Oftentimes, the best way to spruce up any part of your humble abode is with a fresh coat of paint.

Your door is usually the first thing that appeals to somebody’s eye. Many homeowners might choose to fully replace their old door with a new one that has a lovely glass insert. But if you are on a tight budget, all you need is some paint and a colour that suits your home.

As an added tip, bold primary colours can look extremely striking set upon a white winter backdrop. But take note, you may want to proactively paint before the cold winter weather hits or during a window of unseasonably warm temperatures, as most paints need at least three days of 12-degree weather to properly cure.

Install a Bird Feeder

What better way to liven up your front yard than by hanging a well-placed and colourful bird feeder to attract some feathered friends? Winter provides us with plenty of gray days, so placing a bird feeder can show some colourful signs of life like blue jays and cardinals.

Add Functional Lighting

Exterior lighting offers a myriad of benefits. The first thing homeowners will point out is the safety aspect of light installations, providing added visibility during the shorter and darker days of winter. Opt for downward soffit lighting to create a warm glow that makes your property look inviting and cozy.

Clear the Snow and Clutter

The snow certainly looks nice after a fresh snowfall, but the longer winter continues without proper up-keep, the more unkempt your home will appear. While it is perfectly alright to let the snow accumulate on your lawn, aim to shovel the front walkway and the driveway to keep paths clear and safe. Remember, if you are hosting an open house, you want your home to be accessible and safe for prospective buyers.

Plant Some Seasonal Greens

Like a colourful bird feeder, cold-weather plants can liven up your front entrance. Unsure what to plant? Here are a few recommendations from our wintery green thumbs:

• Evergreen trees and shrubs for all year long.
• Winter berries, which will attract hungry birds.
• Winter-flowering shrubs, such as jasmine and daphne.
• Early spring bulbs that will flower in late winter or early spring.

Winter Brings New Decorative Opportunities?

Many homeowners typically think about what they can do to add seasonal holiday touches to the interior of their home, but tend to neglect outdoor winter décor, which can create a bold, inviting statement to elevate your curb appeal. Whether a wreath or planter made of cold-hardy perennials, or a faux fur blanket draped over your porch-side Muskoka chair, there are so many ways to bring the beauty of the season to your home’s exterior!

Have more questions about the home-staging process, or are you ready to move forward with your sale? Contact us today!

Here at the Barnett Real Estate Team, we strongly urge our homebuying clients to not only see their home purchase as a new start for their family but also as a smart, long-term investment.

Even if our home buying clients intend to live on the property themselves, important factors such as size, location, layout, and more all contribute to the long-term appreciation of a property and can stand to make the home’s owners a lot of money if they decide to eventually sell later on.

However, there are quicker ways for homeowners to start seeing returns on their real estate investments than simply waiting for its value to appreciate over time.

If you’re interested in earning regular passive income from your home while you still own it, consider acting on one or more of these four ways you can start earning money from your home today.

1. Basement Apartments

If you’re lucky enough to own a home with a basement, one of the best ways you can start earning passive income immediately is by renting it out to a tenant. These days, polished basement apartments are very desirable among the renter crowd, and can make ideal homes for singles and couples who want to live in safe, family-friendly residential areas.

Of course, first, you’ll need to ensure your basement actually qualifies as a safe, rentable basement apartment. Depending on where your home is located, you’ll have to consult with your local municipal planning and building departments about your plans to add a second unit or convert your basement into a rentable apartment.

They will be able to help guide you on what constitutes a safe and rentable basement suite and which zoning, by-law, and building code regulations you’ll need to follow and/or implement in order to have your apartment up to code.

There are a number of different codes your apartment must pass in order to comply with your municipality’s safety regulations, with the most common relating to ceiling heights, room sizes, window placements, heating and ventilation, fire safety, electrical codes, and more.

However, once you’ve either had the approval to rent your basement out or to being renovated in order to get your basement up to a safe, rentable standard, you could easily be looking at this method of passive income paying for the majority of your mortgage. Through regular rent payments from your tenant, this is a great way to earn some extra monthly cash flow from your home.

While owning a home with a basement apartment sounds like a great idea on paper, there are a few things you should know about the process before committing to it the idea. To help, here’s our Guide To Basement Apartments And Secondary Suites.

2. Coach Houses

If you don’t currently have a basement, it isn’t up to rentable standard, or you simply don’t want to rent it out at all, you can also explore the route of earning passive income through a coach house or detached guest suite on your property too.

Of course, if you want to be able to legally rent out your coach house, you’ll have to jump through a few of the same zoning, by-law, and building code hoops to get it approved by your municipality and provincial governments as well.

However, considering the current need across Ontario for more affordable housing options, the provincial government actually passed some legislation just a few years ago that encourages homeowners with coach houses to explore renting them out. Although they are currently rare in our region, they may begin to gain popularity as the legislation becomes more widely-recognized.

The list of safety and zoning standards for coach houses are quite similar to those for basement apartments, though they also include regulations surrounding things like the coach house’s size and distance from the main dwelling and street.

Just like our basement apartment example, you may need to spend a little time, effort, and cash getting your coach house up to a rentable standard. However, once you do that, find a tenant, and start earning regular passive income, you’ll soon start to see returns on your coach house investment and make your money back completely — and then some!

How will recent changes to the real estate market affect your buying or selling decisions? Here are some updates you might want to know about:

• Everything You Need To Know About Buying A House In Milton
• How Will Rising Interest Rates Affect Buyers?
• Is Now A Good Time To Sell Your Investment Property?

3. Short-Term Rentals

If you don’t plan on living in your new home full-time, a great option for you to explore while you’re away is to list your home as a short-term rental. Through apps and services like Airbnb, renting out your home for the weekend, week, or even longer is easy — and the best part is, you can tailor it to your personal schedule.

Short-term rentals are ideal if you regularly travel out of town or you’ve invested in a holiday home elsewhere. And the thinking behind them makes sense — if you’re not currently living in your home, why not make some extra cash from it while you’re not there?

As always with short-term rentals, however, you’ll need to make sure the concept is suitable with your lifestyle before committing to listing it on a service like Airbnb. Just like staying in any hotel, your guests will expect certain accommodation standards from their hosts. If you’re not able to easily clean and maintain your rental home between each and every guest visit, you’ll have to hire a property manager or third-party service provider to do that for you.

Ultimately, the success of this concept comes down to how much you stand to make from your short-term guest rentals versus what it’ll cost you to maintain your home for them. If the math checks out, however, and you successfully host your first few guests, you’ll no doubt become more efficient at the entire thing and will start regularly earning some very useful passive income.

At the Barnett Real Estate Team, we help home buyers at every stage of their real estate journeys reach the next stage of their homeownership career. Find out more about our unique home buying process and how we can help you achieve your biggest real estate dreams by reading through our informative home buying guides here:

• How We Help Buyers
• Buyer’s Guide
• Start Buying

4. Long-Term Rentals

Of course, one of the best ways to earn consistent passive income from your home is to list it as a long-term rental. This option is obviously for homeowners who don’t permanently live in their space and have most likely purchased a home for the sole purpose of renting it out.

Whether you’ve got a comprehensive real estate portfolio or this is your first time investing in an income suite for passive income, being a landlord is no easy job. If you thought the sound of setting up your home for short-term Airbnb rentals was a lot of work, you’ll be responsible for doing even more as a permanent landlord.

As the property owner of a tenant’s home, any issues with the home, its functionality, regular maintenance, and any damages will come directly to you, and ultimately your tenant’s problems will become yours. That’s all part and parcel of being a landlord, however, and while it certainly is a lot of responsibility, the rewards can be very much worth it in the long run.

Depending on the size, location, and demands of your long-term rental’s local renter market, you could end up earning enough passive income from your tenants to pay the majority if-not-all of your monthly mortgage payments on the property. Now that sounds like a pretty good system, right?

If you want to recruit a permanent tenant for your long-term rental property, you should also strategize an exit plan if you want to sell your home while they still live there. That’s why we wrote this guide on Selling a Tenanted Property: What You Should Know.

Spring is a great time to put a home on the market. Buyers are out in full force, and the average sale price tends to be higher—while the time it takes to sell is often shorter. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to make the most of these springtime conditions. It starts with preparations that make your property stand out in the crowd.

Here are five tips for making your home shine in the spring real estate market…

1) Bust the clutter

From rarely-used furniture to old clothing and magazines, clutter has a way of building up. Unfortunately, these items can make your home feel smaller—and prevent buyers from seeing its many possibilities. The good news is, by thoroughly decluttering, you can create the right canvas for staging.

First, start looking into local donation centres. Then, go through your belongings room by room, deciding what you’ll keep, donate, and toss out. You can rent a storage locker if need be, or use this as an opportunity to rid yourself of possessions you don’t use! (Here are some tips on decluttering to sell)

The market has changed! Here are some updates you might want to know about:

• How Will Rising Interest Rates Affect Buyers?
• Is Now A Good Time To Sell Your Investment Property?
• Everything You Need To Know About Buying A House In Milton

2) Clean every inch

Once your home is clutter-free, it’s time to make it sparkle—top to bottom. The truth is, buyers often look at every inch of a property before they seriously consider buying it. From the inside of your cabinets to the grout between your bathroom tiles, there’s a good chance it will all be scrutinized.

While you may choose to break out the broom, vacuum, and bleach, it’s best to also enlist help from the pros. The right full-service real estate team can connect you with reliable, professional cleaners.

3) Think about the outside

Your home’s exterior is the first thing a buyer will see before they step inside for a viewing. It can make a strong impression, so it makes sense to ensure it’s a positive one. That’s where curb appeal comes in.

From making sure your lawn is green and trimmed to touching up any chipped or faded trim, maximizing the appeal of the outside of your property is crucial. Remember that the little details also count, from fresh flowers to sleek porch light fixtures.

4) Freshen things up with paint

Once they step inside, one of the first things a buyer will likely notice is your walls. They form the backdrop of a room, and they look best when they’re freshly painted. This is especially true in spring, when the sunlight reflects off of interior surfaces.

Make sure you choose a high-quality formula—and the right colour. Warm neutrals tend to work best since they appeal to the largest pool of potential buyers. Studies show that the ideal hue can lead to a higher sale price, so be sure to consult with your agent and any staging or professionals they recommend.

5) Add some decorative touches

Spring is a time of renewal. To make the most of any positive feelings it evokes, why not bring the season inside? The best way to do that is with furniture and decor that makes your home feel big, bright, and airy.

Tasteful spring colours, light fabrics, and vibrant plants are the name of the game. A talented stager can determine which aesthetic decisions will have the best overall impact.

Spring market may be the ideal time to list, but that doesn’t mean you should forgo preparations. After all, making your home shine is one of the keys to securing fantastic results. Are you ready to take the first step?

There’s no denying it. Buying a home can be challenging, especially when the market is hot. While saving up for your down payment is one thing, competing with other home hunters who all want the same property is quite another. Fortunately, if you find yourself in a multiple-offer scenario, there are steps you can take to increase your chances of success—and make the process as stress-free as possible.

Here are a few tips you can try if you’re competing for your dream home…

1) Understand the market

Whether you’re purchasing in Milton, Burlington, or elsewhere, it pays to understand the local market. That’s because current conditions will directly impact what constitutes a good offer—which is especially important when there are multiple bids on the table. Fortunately, an agent with up-to-the-minute insight on market trends, local prices, and comparable homes will be well-positioned to help you craft a winning strategy.

2) Know your own limits

Of course, it’s not just the market you should have a handle on. Understanding your financial situation is equally crucial. It’s all too common to get swept up in a bidding war and offer more than you can comfortably afford. As a rule of thumb, your housing expenses (including mortgage payments) should be no more than 30 per cent of your monthly take-home pay. Obtaining pre-approval can also help you budget, as it will give you a strong sense of how much financing you’ll likely receive.

3) Be prepared to act quickly

Here’s another great reason to obtain mortgage pre-approval: it will allow you to act fast when you find the perfect property. You’ll know what you can afford—and sellers will see you as a serious buyer. In a market where inventory moves fast, it could make all the difference. Other tips for taking quick, decisive action include setting thorough home-buying criteria, understanding your dealbreakers, and ensuring you’re mentally prepared to make a move when you find the right place.

4) Make the strongest offer possible

Buyers often assume that they’ll have an opportunity to up their bid during negotiations. It certainly happens. That said, in a multiple-offer scenario, you may not get that second chance. That’s why it’s often wise to make your best bid the first time around. Of course, every set of circumstances is different, and there are times when leaving room to bargain is the best course of action. Luckily, a skilled local agent can help you determine which strategy is right for you.

5) Work with a true professional

Buying a home presents challenges in the best of circumstances. When there are multiple bids on the table, the process only becomes more complex—and the consequences of making a small misstep can be much steeper. In other words, getting it right is key. From understanding seller motivations to crafting the ideal offer, a local agent with a proven track record can walk you through the process, answer all your questions, and empower you to make a truly informed purchase!

To help you make an informed home purchase, we’re providing our handy buyer’s guide.

Decluttering When Selling Your Home

Selling your home is all about taking a step forward in your life’s journey. While you may be eager to make your next move—and get the highest possible return on your investment—there are a few major tasks you’ll have to tackle first. Without a doubt, one of the most challenging is decluttering your property to stage, show, and sell it.

If you’re preparing to sell your home, here are five tips to paring down your possessions first…

1) Start Early

Even the most organized family can start to feel like time is the enemy once they start decluttering. From junk mail to winter wear, you’ll probably find that there’s a lot more to go through than you thought. That’s why it’s important to get started before you start to feel the crunch.

The first step is creating a sorting system (many sellers find that categories like “keep,” “toss,” and “donate” are helpful). Next up, figure out where you want to make donations—and call ahead to avoid any unforeseen hassles.

2) Let Go

If you have a tendency to hold onto things past their expiration date, you’re not alone. Most homeowners keep duplicate kitchenware, worn-out furniture, and clothing that’s two sizes too small—all with the misguided notion that it will come in handy someday. Usually, it won’t.

Don’t make the mistake of carting possessions you’ll never use to your next home. As a general rule, if it’s been out of commission for at least a year, you’ll never miss it.

While it’s always okay to hold onto items with sentimental value, try to imagine where they’ll live in your next home. Whether it’s on a photo wall or atop the coffee table, you should have a designated place in mind for everything.

3) Focus on Selling

One of the trickiest things about decluttering before you sell is knowing not only what you want to keep, but what buyers will want to see when they tour your home. This is where an agent with selling expertise and an eye for detail can be helpful.

An experienced professional will know which items enhance your property as part of a cohesive aesthetic. On the flip side, they’ll also be able to tell you which ones should go (even if it’s just into storage for a short time).

If your agent suggests packing away an old armchair or piece of artwork, try not to take it personally. They’re simply ensuring that your property will appeal to as many buyers as possible!

4) Make Time

Decluttering can take weeks of sustained effort, so make sure you schedule it into your family calendar. An hour or two every couple of days can help you tackle the job piece-by-piece—without being overly disruptive to your lives.

Choose times when everyone will be home, whether that’s before dinner or on Sunday afternoon. While longer time blocks may be daunting for your kids (and you), breaking it down into fifteen-minute intervals followed by short breaks can help everyone feel good about what they accomplished.

5) Create a Routine

There’s a reason why homes need to be cleaned often. Unfortunately, clutter has a way of sneaking back into our lives—even after we’ve put in the effort to get rid of it. From old magazines and overfilled coin trays to loose toys and craft supplies, things will pile up quickly if you don’t have a plan to stay on top of them.

To keep your home in show-ready shape, mentally commit yourself to putting items back where they belong when you’re done with them. This can be especially challenging if you have kids, but there are steps you can take to help them stay motivated (like offering small rewards if they keep their rooms clean).

Decluttering a home before a big move is a challenge, and it can even feel downright impossible. The key is to take it one step at a time, celebrate your progress, and listen to your agent’s advice when it comes to home preparations!

Are you ready to start the process of selling your home? Reach out today to get started!

Common Mistakes Made By First-Time Buyers

There’s nothing quite like buying a home for the first time. It’s an almost indescribable excitement, joy, and pride that you’ll feel when you set foot in a place that’s truly your own. Of course, there are a few steps you’ll have to take before you can get there—and on the journey, there are plenty of opportunities to make mistakes. Fortunately, knowing what not to do can help ensure that the process is smooth and successful.

If you’re purchasing a home for the first time, here are five mistakes you should avoid…

1) Forgoing pre-approval

One of the biggest missteps many home buyers make is forgoing pre-approval. Taking this first step towards securing a mortgage is simple—and the benefits it can provide are well worth the effort.

During the process, a lender will look closely at your finances to determine how much they’ll likely offer you. While pre-approval isn’t an absolute guarantee that you’ll be fully approved, it is enough to show most sellers you’re a credible buyer who’s ready to make a home purchase!

2) Being unrealistic

You deserve to find your dream home. We’re talking about a place where you can imagine spending some of the happiest moments of your life. A living space like that should just feel right—but it won’t be absolutely perfect.

The truth is, flawless homes don’t exist. Unfortunately, some buyers don’t know that until it’s too late. They pass over beautiful properties capable of meeting their needs because they’re waiting for absolute perfection. Your best bet is to look for a place that checks all of your most important boxes, while giving you that “at home” feeling.

3) Overlooking serious flaws

Some features are easy to fall in love with, like an incredible layout or beautiful architectural details. While it makes sense to factor these “pros” into your purchase decision, it’s not a good idea to ignore any major issues a home might have because of them.

From mould growth to a shoddy foundation, some potential problems deserve your attention. No matter how much you adore a home, make sure you investigate any suspected red flags.

4) Not protecting yourself

Purchasing a home isn’t something you do every day, which is why most buyers don’t know what their due diligence should entail. In most circumstances, it will include a thorough inspection—and possibly the right set of conditions added to your purchase agreement.

In the simplest terms, a home-buying condition is a requirement that must be fulfilled for your purchase to be finalized. For example, a financing condition states that you don’t have to complete your transaction if your mortgage falls through. Your agent can help you take steps like this to reduce the potential risk associated with your purchase.

5) Underestimating costs

A home is the biggest investment most buyers will ever make. Given the price tag involved, it’s not surprising that many forget to factor in (comparatively) smaller expenses. The problem is, they have a way of adding up.

To pave the way for a smooth purchase, leave plenty of room in your budget for ongoing homeownership expenses. You should also make sure you understand the closing costs involved—such as legal fees and land transfer tax.

Buying a home for the first time may seem daunting, and it’s natural to worry about making mistakes. The good news is, an experienced agent can provide the guidance you need to make a smooth, low-stress, and all-around successful purchase.

Are ready to start the search for your first home? Reach out today to get started!