Tyler Tim Realtor

The verdict is out and forecasters are predicting a "classic" Canadian winter with plenty of snow! Keep your family warm this winter season and your money in the bank. Here are a few tips and tricks to winterize your home before the bitter cold arrives. Change Furnace Filters Easy to forget but important to do.  Replace or clean your furnace filters once a month during the heating season. Built-up dirty restricts airflow and forces your furnace to work harder than it needs to and shortens its lifespan. Remember, replacing your entire furnace will cost a lot more money.   Run Ceiling Fans in Reverse Many ceiling units actually come with a switch that reverses that direction of the fan. Switching the blade to rotate clockwise produces warm air. In essence, by switching the direction of the fan, the cooler air is drawn upwards, which forces the warmer air near the ceiling back down.  Doing so could reduce your heating costs as much as 10%! Winterize Y...

New mortgage rules have been introduced and will take effect next year! But what does this mean for you? In layman's terms government will be raising the minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages. Therefore if you were thinking about buying next year, those putting down 20% of greater than their home price will be affected. This new qualifying rate is set to be the greater of the five year benchmark rate (presently 4.89%) or 200 basis points above the mortgage holder’s contractual rate. “The main effect will be felt by first-time buyers. No matter how much money they put down as a down payment, they will have to pass the stress test.” However, realistically this change will effect anyone buying a house; resulting in a 20% decrease in affordability. According to Ratehub.ca here are two scenarios that are likely to occur and what it will mean for your family’s bottom line: Scenario 1: Bank of Canada 5-Year Benchmark Qualifying Rate In this scenario the family’s ...

As people from all over decorate their houses in ghouls and goblins, increasing the freak appeal of their homes, let’s take a look at the creepy things that can spell doom for your property value. Starting from the most ghastly to merely morbid, here are 10 things that murder the value of your home. Gruesome Acts Unsavory events such as murder and suicide leave a certain stigma on the house. Although there may be nothing physically wrong with the house, it is hard to sell a home where someone was beheaded. Not only may these events lower your property value, but it also may command your property to sit on the market significantly longer.     A house can even be stigmatized if a killer resided there. In the case of the Sandy Hook School shooter Adam Lanza, the stigma was so strong that his house was simply demolished. Death In The House Not every death has to be bloody to deter someone from buying a house. Natural deaths are sometimes enough to creep ...

Handing over your hard earned money is a big decision. Choosing between a down payment on a new house or funneling it straight into the pocket of a landlord is one of the biggest financial decisions you will ever make in your life time. Unfortunately, there is no cookie cutter answer that will satisfy everyone. However, here is how to figure out whether you are ready to dive in purchasing your own home. Are you a drifter?        Renting a house allows you to be more mobile in a sense. Entering into a one- to two-year contact doesn’t mean you are signing your soul away. At this point you are not bound by long term financial commitments or repercussions. Therefore if you’re planning on running away to Paris or simply changing neighborhoods, you may want to rent for the time being.     Worried about the varying cost of rent?        Prices never seem to stay the same, unfortunately rent is no exception to the rule. It conti...

Touch economic times shouldn't stop you from renovating your house. Follow my tips and tricks on how to revamp your home on a budget!  1. Give your home some texture with “Peel-and-Stick” wall panels. Or even create contemporary accent walls with “Peel-and-Stick” wall paper. All of which can easily be removed. 2. Upgrade your boring kitchen with faux granite counter tops. Instead of spending and arm and a leg, get your hands on a DIY paint kit for under $100. 3. Make your bathroom look new again. Give your bathroom a face lift by resealing all those unsightly cracks around your tub and tiles with caulking. 4. Visually stimulate visitors at your next dinner party by adding crown molding.   Crown molding is an easy and affordable way to spruce up your home and increase resale value. 5. Add a fresh coat of paint to give a dull room that pop of colour. Simple and effective way to give your home a touch-up without breaki...

       1. Having to scan through a broad range of listings Decisions, decisions … Condo, townhouse, semi-detached, freehold, condo townhouse? City or suburbs? New construction or preowned? The decisions you face ahead of you are endless.        2. Having to gain that coveted preapproval. Your credit report is your personal dating profile in the eyes of lenders. Based this they will determine whether or not they are in this relationship for the long haul, or if you were just a one night stand.        3. Learning real estate lingo. FSBO? SPAC? Q POS? DD Entrance? GDS? Looks and sounds like gibberish right? That is until it is translated by a real estate professional.        4. Seeing a house that seemed much different in pictures. You can be catfished in the real estate world to.        5. Having to watch the love of your life slip away. Somewh...

Over billions of people are engaged in different forms of social media platforms across the globe during all points in the day. Therefore, social media is an enormous tool to use when trying to build your brand in real estate. " While many  industries have been disrupted by technology and the integration of social media in daily life, the real estate industry has been transformed". People are now using twitter to market the listings they have while friends are informing online communities that they are looking to buy/sell. Each platform has its own benefit and intended audience, and "as a result, the real estate industry has be en heavily influenced by social media and the way people use their favourite platforms".  Looking at Twitter firstly, it is quite clear that all your tweets will reach a massive audience, if done right. "If you can get a  real estate listing trending , you can reach  a lot  of people in a specific area or demographic. The My...

So what is really going on with the Toronto Condo Market? The only real segment that hasn't been hit by Ontario's foreign-buyer tax as hard as the low rise segment is the condo market. This has created an even bigger demand for condo's as the market experienced a cooling off period.  "In this year’s second quarter, contractors were working on more homes than in any quarter in recorded history, largely due to major condo projects in Toronto". This means that supply should start to meet demand. Toronto's market for luxury high rise rents are amongst the fastest in the world, with Toronto placing fourth due to the increase in population correlating with the demand in rental apartments. Condo pricing is also correlated to what subway station they're closest to. "If you’re looking for an affordable home in Toronto these days, you may want to check out condos in Scarborough".  The severe shortage of supply in the GTA w...