It is the final wait, the longest wait, the wait for the magic words;

“Keys are releasable.”

While not the end of your home journey, it is certainly the beginning of the next chapter. But what happens the day before? The day after? 

Before Key Release

The Week Before

A few things are going to happen the week before, here is what to expect. Something of note, even if key release happens at 10AM, the sellers do not need to provide access to the home until 12PM per the purchase agreement. It is important that your realtor get it in writing that they are allowed in before 12PM if keys are released early. 

• Meet with the lawyers to sign everything away (don’t forget your firstborn, they will be required as part of the down payment). 

  • Note: Do not print the Bank Draft before your lawyer reaches out to you, the lawyer will provide you the exact number needed after legal fees, disbursements, etc. 

  • Additional Note: Send your confirmation of home insurance to the lawyers! They need it! 

• Make sure your utilities, home insurance, condo fees, and HOA fees are all set up. 

  • If having internet connected the same day as possession, book them for 2PM or later, I’ll explain soon. 

• Book your pre-possession walkthrough, this should have been added to the terms of the purchase agreement.

• Book your movers or arrange your friends, you likely won’t be able to move in until after 12PM, so either have your friends be prepared to sit around for a bit, or have them arrive after 12PM. 

The Day Before

• Pre-Possession Walkthrough: The purpose of the pre-possession walkthrough is to make sure the home is in substantially the same condition as when you bought it, and that all the appliances are still present. Small holes from hanging paintings, mirrors, minor scratches from moving etc. do not fall under this, this is to help protect your from substantial damage such as missing fence, destroyed walls, flooring etc.

  • Holdbacks; a holdback is the legal term for withholding money due to excessive damage, or breach of contract. For example, if the seller had the fridge mentioned in Inclusions on the purchase agreement, but it is missing for the pre possession walkthrough, then chat with your lawyer and you can usually withhold money equivalent to the fix required. 

  • Home Cleanliness: We do not recommend having the sellers professionally clean the home, we’ve been on both sides of the equation, more often than not, you as the buyer will not be satisfied with the level of cleanliness. Unless this is something mentioned in the agreement, or if the home has been turned into a literal pigsty since you last saw it, a holdback will be difficult to enforce. 

• Check with your lawyer (your realtor should do this); more often than not, the only answer you will get will be an annoyed “everything looks fine on our end”, but it is always good to check. 

• Your realtor will check with the listing agent about how everything is looking on their end, no news is good news. 

Before Key Release

• That morning, you may receive an email stating that the money has been sent, that is only half the battle. The money still needs to get there, sometimes it is couriered, sent electronically, or by some other electronic means. This can still take time, and a lot of time if something goes wrong. I had a possession once, money was sent that morning, but was lost in electronic limbo until 4PM that afternoon. 

• Where to wait for your realtor to call: You can wait outside the home if you’d like, you cannot step foot on the property until keys are released, but public parking is fair game. I usually recommend going and sitting down for a meal, because 9 times out of 10, that means that keys will be released right around the time that you finish ordering food. 

• The Longest Wait: There is going to be some waiting going on, and then a little more waiting, and then a little more. Eventually, your agent is going to call you to say “Congratulations! Keys are Releasable!” at which point, you are able to get access to the home via your agent or a One Day Code for the Lockbox (or other means, there are so many). 

After Key Release

NOW you can pop the champagne, happy dance, or happy cry, I don’t judge, do what you feel is best to celebrate! 

• Time to Move In! Put down some carpets or mats, and start trucking everything in. Don’t forget to order pizza or an easy food to eat, I find it is best for the small boxes stage that you have an outside and inside team, outside team brings it into the foyer, inside team distributes the box to the right room. For larger items that aren’t easy to hand off or put down, try to have slip on shoes or just have a vacuum ready to clean up after yourself. 

• Home Ownership: The home is yours, the best time to plant a tree is 20yrs ago, 2nd best time is today; start maintaining your home! Caulking, filters, keep on top of the little things. If you want a handy checklist for that, please reach out to me and I’ll email you my Home Maintenance Workbook! 

Congratulations on your new home! It is a very exciting time, and you should try to cherish the moment or take a moment to just admire your new home. 

• Things to Do in High River (Recommendations from a Resident!)

  • High River Library: There is always something going on. Need to tucker the kid out and tired of reading “What Will Fat Cat Sit On” for the 50th time today? Go grab a book at the library! Does your teen want to make some stuff, or play DnD? They have that too. For the adults, there are quiet places to read or  get work done, or you can join the fun during one of the adult craft nights. 

  • Trivia Night at The Vinyl Cafe: Every Thursday, Nick (not me, a different Nick!) runs a trivia night, each week there is a different theme. The topic could be something as “normal” as  TV Shows or Music, or something completely random. . It isn’t the only thing they run there, you will also be able to experience live music, bingo, or euchre.  There is something for everyone. If you do go, please tell Nick that the 2nd coolest Nick in town says “Hi”!

  • Dudes, do you need a haircut? Need a place to sit, chat, and have a cold one? The Daily Male is the place you want to go.

  • Archery: Who doesn’t like feeling like Robin Hood every now and then? Our local outdoors store, Flys Etc. has an archery range! You can rent bows here, so don’t worry if you are a beginner!

  • Evelyn’s Memory Lane Diner: Want to enjoy a milkshake and some food in a 1950s diner? Located in the movie-ready downtown of High River, Evelyn’s Diner is a great place to stop for lunch after a hot day walking around our beautiful downtown. 

  • Go for a Walk, Bike, Jog, or any pathway-safe method of locomotion around the Happy Trails, you’ll see some beautiful lakes, parks, and homes. If you’d prefer more of a theme to your walk, you can do the Scenes to Stories walking tour!

  • Museum of the Highwood: Visit some of our local history in our museum! They also do exhibits with local artists from time to time, which are a blast to see. 

  • Our beautiful Downtown and Rodeo Plaza.  There is not enough space for me to mention all of my favourite shops, and if I tried, I’d run the risk of leaving one out  so I’ll make it quick, we have something for EVERYONE.  Want to go be a kid in a candy shop? Check. Feel like finding your next favourite book series? Check. Artisan goods like soaps and sourdough? Check. Beard Care products? Check. Different foods? Absolutely check! I know it is early in the season for this, but you can easily knock out half of your Christmas shopping in a quarter of a day here. 

  • Go see a movie at Wales Theater! It is one of our older buildings in town, and it has kept up the character for almost 100 years (built in 1927!). Reasonable admission and snack fees, they have upper balcony seating, and some of the comfiest chairs you will find. 

  I know I have missed things, but there is simply too much to cover, so I am going to work on more seasonal stuff as we approach Fall. 

  Like what you’re reading? Want to experience High River, or LIVE here? Please let me know, I’d love to help you out and show you all the reasons that you will love High River! 

  
  

I’m sure you’ve heard someone throw around the term RPR or Real Property Report at some point, and if you’ve seen one, you may think it is as simple as a schematic on a home lot. However, there is a lot to them on the back end of a deal, and a lot of work is required on the front end before listing to ensure a smooth sale. 

What is a Real Property Report? 

So glad you asked! A Real Property Report (RPR going forward), is a legal document created by a Land Surveyor that outlines where a home and any permanent fixtures are located in relation to property lines. It is a legal document that is required for the successful sale of your home in Alberta. 

What Sellers Need to Know

Per the purchase contract, and listing agreement, it is your responsibility to provide this to us within 10 days (ASAP!). If you need help, call your agent, they may have a few tricks up their sleeve to help find it. You may need to order one, or get yours updated, for that, reach out to your local Land Surveyor. 

To make sure you have the right RPR, make sure the Legal land description lines up with what you have on title. To have a Compliant RPR, it must have a stamp from your local city, town, or municipality stating that everything is within compliance. Fortunately, RPRs do not expire, but they can go out of date if you do substantial changes to the property such as building a garage, deck, or even adding AC. 

Why do we need Real Property Reports?

The reason they are important is that it helps ensure when you sell your home, you are not handing off any major issues to the buyers. The primary purpose on an RPR is to make sure your home is compliant with local bylaws, especially regarding setbacks (distance from property line or other structures). To have a Compliant RPR, it must have a stamp from your local city, town, or municipality stating that everything is within compliance. Fortunately, RPRs do not expire, but they can go out of date if you do substantial changes to the property such as building a garage, deck, or even adding AC. If your RPR is not compliant with local bylaws, it is your responsibility to make sure those problems are fixed before possession, or have otherwise received an exception. I will always recommend getting your RPR updated right after you’ve done major changes to your property, it is substantially easier to get an exception or “grandfather in” changes if you already have the updated RPR and Compliance Stamp. The reason they are important, is that it helps ensure when you sell your home, you are not handing off any major issues to the buyers. 

My home is not compliant! What do I do? 

Buckle up, time for a lot of “if-or” statements! If your home is not compliant, you have a few options: Fix the issue, or get a relaxation (exception). For fixing the issue, this can sometimes be as simple as moving a shed 3cm, othertimes, you may be required to tear down a fence or garage and rebuild in the right spot. 

Asking for a relaxation from your town would be option #2, this will be easier if you still have all the building permits, best case scenario they say “sure”, add a compliance stamp, and something called an Advisory Notice, what that Notice will say is “This is grandfathered in, so is compliant, however, if you tear down the garage you will not be allowed to build it in the same spot a second time.”

I cannot find my RPR, what are my options?

There are a few things you can do, my tried and true is reaching out to whichever lawyer you worked with when you bought the home, sometimes they have the RPR from your purchase. 

Another option is calling the land surveyor who did the RPR previously, only catch is that you have to remember who did it for the sellers. 

Another option is offering Title Insurance in lieu of an RPR. Basically buying an insurance policy that will protect the buyer’s from any financial harm if the lack of an RPR leads to further financial issues. This does not protect them from known issues, so will not work if you know that your RPR is non-compliant. Don’t even think of it.

What Buyers Need to Know

Largely, the act of getting the Real Property Report lies on the seller’s plate, however it is yours (and your agent’s) responsibility to make sure there are no nasty surprises. First, compare the Legal Land Description matches the one on title and the purchase agreement, make sure it matches. 

Now you have to check for compliance, fortunately, they are commonly done with a big red stamp that says “Compliant as of x date assuming no substantial changes bla bla bla” with a signature and date at the end. 

Always check the date, and compare what you see on the RPR to what you see at the home, is the deck accounted for, the permanent shed, AC? Some towns don’t care about the smaller things like AC, so don’t be alarmed if you don’t see the occasional item, but it is important that you confirm this with the Land Use Bylaws and the town. 

“Why should I check this if my Realtor and Lawyer are going to check it anyways?” Because I am a believer in “Trust, but verify”. It is the smart thing to do, I like to relate it to automatic braking and deer. If you are looking out for the deer while driving, and see one in the distance, you can start slowing down gradually to give the deer lots more time to move out of the way, or give yourself time to come to a gradual stop. And then you’re on your merry way after the issue is resolved. 

Compared to automatic braking (lawyers right before closing), who will slam those brakes so hard it’ll throw that prized chili you were taking home all over your dashboard, the prized chili in this metaphor being your dream home that you are now locked in to buy. Yes, unless it is a weird loophole or negotiation, the seller will be responsible to fix the issue, but do you really want to deal with that headache? 

The Lesson: 

Update your Real Property Report!! 

This was written and researched by a real boy (me!), AI was not used. 

If you pay attention to real estate news, you have likely hear a smattering of terms, Buyers Market, Balanced Market, Days On Market, Months of Inventory, Benchmark Price, among others. I will try to help you understand these terms, and how to calculate what “type” of market it is. Why am I giving you this info? Isn’t it my job to do this for you? Correct! However, I like to provide too much info as opposed to too little, if I tell you there are only 3 months of inventory for bungalows in High River, naturally, you’re going to ask: What does that mean? How did you get there? 

Remember when your teacher said you’ll use math one day? Here it is! 

Lets Start with Terms

Buyer’s Market: Ah, a buyer’s market, these are the ones where buyers get to choose from a litany of homes, there is a lot of supply, but very little demand. This usually means buyers are in a stronger position to negotiate in their favour, and homes will stay on the market for longer. We usually have 5 to 12 months of inventory for this market. 

Seller’s Market: This is the market where you hear about bidding fights, over asking sale prices, and back to back showings. During a sellers market, they have the power, and can more easily negotiate in their favour. In this market, we usually have 0 to 2 months of Inventory. 

Balanced Market: This is the happy place, it doesn’t happen often, but this is where there is enough inventory coming onto the market, and enough buyers out looking for a new place to keep inventory at 3 to 4 months.  

Absorption Rate: This is how quickly homes are selling, and how many, usually this gets represented as a percentage. 

Days On Market: Days On Market (DOM) is how long a home stays on market, starting at 0 when it is listed, and finishing at x when the home is firm sold. 

Benchmark Price: This is where your average, run of the mill home, in a run of the mill community should be selling for. 

Average Price: Average sale price of homes over a period of time. These numbers are fun, because you get some homes as cheap as 250K, and as high as 2.5mil, so it is not the most accurate number. 

Median Price: The middle price of homes, the peak of the bell curve for pricing. 

Home Pricing Index (HPI): A really advanced version of benchmark price, this takes into account attributes that buyers assign to a property and uses over 15 years of MLS data to give us a more accurate number. This is usually represented as a single digit with 2 decimal places (x.yz). 

Active: Homes that are active on the market, and do not have an offer. 

Pending (Conditionally Sold): Homes that have accepted an offer, and are waiting for conditions to be satisfied. 

Sold: Sold Firm homes, these are no longer for sale. 

Terminated: The seller took the home off the market, this could be for a multitude of reasons (stale listing, unhappy with performance, change of heart etc). 

Withdrawn: Like terminated, except it is just a pause on the listing. 

Expired: Seller Representation Agreements (Listing Contracts) have an expiry date, an expired listing just means that that date has been reached, so the home has been removed from the market. 

How to Calculate the Market

So, to do this, we need to find some data first. I will be pulling data for the Calgary Area, you may need to find different sources for data. 

There are a few places you can find the data, most require you to leave some contact information as they require you to sign up/login. Zolo, House Sigma, Honest Door, My Website as well allows you to search solds. What you need to know is how many homes sold over the last 3 months. The other pieces of data are: how many homes are Active, and how many homes are Conditionally Sold, this is a lot easier to find as the information shows up easily on realtor.ca. From there, the math is pretty easy. 

Active Homes + Pending / (Homes that sold in the last 3 months / 3) = Total Months of Inventory

So for High River detached homes as of August 17, 2026 (when I typed up the blog post, sorry, forgot to click “schedule” on posting it!), it would look like:

33 + 4 / (47 / 3) = 2.36 months of inventory. 

See? Easy! The trick is finding reliable data that isn’t filled with clutter. If you are looking for months of inventory for detached homes, make sure you aren’t included Semi-Detached or Townhomes, and if you want to get really granular with it, break it down by type of home (bungalow, 2 storey, etc). Just be cautious about getting too specific, because it limits your data pool. This data can be pulled for both the whole city, or your specific community. For Calgary, you may just want to focus on your community and the nearby surrounding ones, but for a smaller town like High River, you can pull the whole dataset. 

You’ll also notice the number is falling somewhere between Seller’s and Balanced Market, so now we should look at the Days On Market, this is a bit more interesting to find, I pulled it up on Zolo and apparently for today it is saying 0 Days on Market, which is not right. 

Through the Calgary Real Estate Board, I am seeing this trend: 

April Average DOM: 40
May Average DOM: 66 days
June Average DOM: 34 days
July Average DOM: 39 days

First rule of Statistics: They lie. Remember when I described averages up at the top of the page? This is where it can come into play, May saw a huge jump in DOM because 3 homes sold after over 200 days on market, and another sold after just over 100 days. 

But, I hear you say “Nick, none of this is helping and I am even more confused than before, besides,my uncle’s brother second detached cousin said that it is a Seller’s market right now!” Well, he could be right, market type is very much a shades of gray calculation, I prefer to get some details about what you are looking for first, type of home, price point, condition of home even, and from there I give my opinion as to where that home that you are looking for or selling will fall as far as market type. 

If you want some details and a rough estimate of the type of market you would experience for the home you are selling, or the home you are looking for, let me know! 

There are many great reasons to love this town, it's not limited to this list of course, but it's worth a read if you’re looking for a great reason to live here!

1. Water - A common thing among southern Alberta towns is a water restriction during some months, High River has fewer of these (due in part, to the High River we have).

2. Great downtown - Might be a touch controversial, but I like the layout of downtown. Everything is easy to get to from one parking spot, and there are a lot of great businesses to visit (see #10). The controversial part is that after the 2013 floods, the town had downtown renovated to have a more walkable feel and fewer parking spots, this left a lot of people upset. There is still plenty of parking along 1st Street, you just may need to walk a touch longer, and the few stalls we do have left on the avenues are accessible enough for folks with mobility issues. 

3. Affordable homes - Affordable being a spectrum of course, but when compared to surrounding areas, for all the amenities and home design diversity, it's a pretty darn great place to get a home!

4. Our hospital - Such a great hospital! You can find parking easily, its small enough to get around easily, and everyone there is so incredibly nice. Either for welcoming a newborn or providing care for already established families, the hospital here in town is amazing. It is where my daughter was born, I know I had the easy part of the whole birthing process, but the team there was absolutely amazing. Some of the beds you see on the 2nd and 3rd floor are a little more dated, but that is easily made up for by amazing staff and the attention to detail that they provide. 

5. Small town vibe, big town amenities - High River is quite easy to traverse from one end to the other, whether you walk, bike, or drive. Being that easy to traverse, usually means that you lack amenities, however, in this case we have just about everything you need, groceries, convenience stores, cafes, food, and shops! 

6. Quiet - so so quiet, I love it here. I can bike around and at times rarely see a car, and parking is always available if I need to drive, and being able to hang out outside without hearing much road noise is a massive plus. 

7. Incredibly supportive community and town spirit - lots of towns support their small businesses, High River thrives around them! On our Rant and Rave Facebook pages, you will also see so much excitement for new businesses, and afterwards constant posts raving about them. Local businesses are not a passive thing however, you do need to support and nourish them (even if it is just sharing their post, or occasionally stopping in for a coffee). 

8. Public events - there is always something to do! Whether you go to the library for one of their events, a local business for a craft day, or one of the many repeating events around town! 

9. Accessibility and welcoming for everyone - When we moved here, we were almost immediately accepted into the community. Our neighbour was standing at the base of our driveway saying “Hi!” before we even got the first box into the door, and where else can you have a genuine conversation with the folks at the grocery store? Among that as well, we have some great Accessibility programs (such as Inclusion Foothills, who strive for accessibility for all).

10. Diversity in small business - Lots of towns have small businesses, so do most cities, however for density of selection, High River is hard to beat. We have tons of selection, from One Stop Shops, to Bookstores, bakeries, a shop to get pop culture stuff, cafes, candy shops, all within a few minute walk of each other. 

If you still don’t see a great reason for you to live here, give me a call, and I will talk your ear off about some of the other great stuff this town can offer! And if I have convinced you to move here, drop me a line and I’d love to make that dream a reality!

As much as we may want to delay it, the end of summer is nigh. Best to take care of a few housekeeping items before it gets too cold outside. Here is a quick list of things you can do to prepare your home for the winter (your future self will thank you!). 

Cleaning

Cleaning the small stuff now will help your spring and winter go better. 

• Clean out your Air Conditioner (gently!). A leaf blower or a garden hose should be all you need to get the fins all cleaned off. Don’t forget to cover it when you are done so all your hard work isn’t for naught. 

• Gutters. Clean them out to allow good flow of meltwater off your roof, double check that your downspout extensions work and are not threatening to fall off. 

• Shut off and drain your outside lines if you can, this will help prevent them from freezing up. 

• Trim up the plants outside so that they are ready for the winter nap. 
  

Repairs and Maintenance

Don’t let home issues get too big! Stuff is easy and cheap to fix when it is caught early. 

• Weather-stripping. Cheap, easy to replace, and keeps your home cooler! Check your doors, garage door, windows, make sure there are no sizeable gaps. Might as well check your attic hatch while you’re at it. 

• Have your furnace professionally serviced. You don’t want this crapping out in the dead of winter. Stock up on filters too! 

• Test your thermostat, and give it some fresh batteries if it uses them.

• Caulking. Make sure that the caulking around any exterior penetrations is up to snuff, if the caulking is torn, it can let heat out, or moisture in, neither are ideal. 

Shopping and Preparation

Time to stock up! 

• Sand or Snow Melt (quick note on snow melt, avoid using it on concrete steps and patios, it can lead to that ugly chipping and cracking you sometimes see)

• Are your shovels going to susrvive the winter? Check on them

• Furnace Filters

Prefer an easy to use checklist? Download your Fall Home Maintenance Checklist below!

Need some know-how to get this all done? I’ve got a playlist for most of your home maintenance needs right here!

Hope this helps! Got questions? Reach out to me below! 

Nick Salmon

403-472-8325

soldbysalmon@gmail.com

Well, here comes the cold again! 

Wait? What do you mean we still have time? Why am I typing this blog post instead of doing something? Oh right, so I can help folks out with their summer plans. 

I hope you’ve been enjoying summer so far! Beautiful things don’t last, and neither will our weather, so here are some things to do in and around High River before the summer season is over. 

• Splash Park: Our pool is still closed, so this may be your best option to have fun in the water this summer! It is a great place to cool off, tire the kids out, and get some sun. 

• Pump Track:  Tired of hollering at the kids to stay on the bike path or sidewalk? The pump track will be a great place for them to burn off some of that wild energy, and as long as everyone is going the direction of traffic, collisions are unlikely to happen. 

• Brian Chipchase Sr Memorial Car Show, September 27: One of the largest car shows in Alberta, if you are a gearhead (like yours truly), you have to check it out. Also, they section off one of the streets in town the day before to have a BURNOUT competition. I hear you, “But Nick, isn’t September already past the end of summer?” Yes, yes it is, in my time going to the car show, we’ve only been snowed out once! Pack for the car show like you pack for a day trip to the mountains, zip-off pants that can be used as shorts, wool sweater, breatheable T-Shirt, and a Toque that double as a sun hat. 

• George Lane Park: The flexibility of this park constantly amazes me, they will set up a Car Show here one day, have live music in the gazebo another, and always have it looking immaculate. There is also a massive playground for your kids, I was a free range child, and the height on some of these had me going “woah”. If you want to go camping close to home (or if you are visiting, and if you are, Hi! Welcome to town!), they have a campground set up and ready to work as your launchpad to our beautiful downtown. 

  • Here is where you can find some details on the Music in the Park! 

• Heritage Day Celebration at Sheppard Family Park: A great way to spend the day outdoors, you can see some live music, walk the greenspace, watch a blacksmith forge a horseshoe, enjoy lunch. 

• High River Book Bike: Every summer, the High River Library runs the book bike around town to help bring books closer to folks, and make the library more accessible on those hot days you do not want to leave the house. 

• Hitchin Post: Enjoy a burger and milkshake while you do some people (or car) watching at this High River Icon. They usually close late December, so you have plenty of time to check them out! 

• Walk, Run, or Bike the Happy Trails: Our 19km pathway system around town, it will take you just about anywhere in town, and is lovely to walk along.  

• High River Half Marathon September 12: With all proceeds going towards FAIM (Foothills Advocacy In Motion), this is a great excuse to dust off the running shoes for a good cause. There are options for a kids run, 5K, 10K, and the Half Marathon. See you there! 

• High River Farmer’s Market: Every Thursday until September 17th. Great place to pick up some local produce, or grab artisan goods from local artists and makers. 

• Fishing: Want to tell a tale about a fish that was “THIS BIG!”? High River has some fantastic fishing spots, with both river and lake options. Emerson Lake is a stocked lake. Not sure where to get started? Visit Flys Etc. in High River for all your fishing needs!

• Golfing at the Highwood Golf Course! I don’t have much experience golfing, so here is a fun tangental story: My brothers and I built a potato cannon when we were younger. We were trying to be safe about it while we held it like a bazooka, so we had to figure out a way to warn the neighbours and each other that we were about to fire it. So we settled on yelling “FORE” before pressing the BBQ Sparker. 

By no means is this an exhaustive list, there are a few other places you can find what is going on, see below! 

High River Online Community Events Calendar

Town Of High River Events Calendar

What is Happening in High River | Facebook Page

Love what you read here, and want to move to High River? Reach out to me here! 

Just curious about what is for sale in High River? You can take a look below:

Detached Homes

Semi Detached Homes

Townhomes and Apartments

What is my home worth?

So, you’ve decided to get into the market, whatever your situation, renting, leaving home, finding a new city, you will probably need a place to live. Maybe you aren’t looking to rent this time? How do you enter the market with limited finances? We will take a look at a few of your options below! This is by no means all encompassing or cut and dry, your situation may differ, but these are just some quick ideas for you. 

There is no silver bullet to affording a home, it is a lot of little things that will add up in the end. 

1. Think smaller; Rome wasn’t built in a day, your dream home probably won’t be either. There is also something liberating about a smaller space, less to clean, less to keep warm or cool, and therefore, less to pay for. There are a lot of great 1 or 2 bedroom options out there, usually they will come as part of a condominium, so those fees are automatically used for some insurance, improvements, and utilities, potentially saving you some money. 

2. What do you need in a Condo? Try to avoid condos that offer bells and whistles, pools and gyms are expensive to maintain, so your fees will be higher as a result. Make sure you know exactly what your condo fees cover as well, if they are suspiciously low, make sure you review the condo docs and/or get a condo document review. Maybe the condo doesn’t cover exterior maintenance, and that is where they found cost savings? 

3. Saving Up: 

   1. The Latte Factor; Hasn’t been relevant in some time, assuming you have a large latte from the Seattle Company every day, that costs $6 a day, roughly $2,100 a year. For a down payment alone, you need 5%, let’s assume you are looking at a $250K condo, your down payment needs to be $12,500, plus closing costs. You’d have to go nearly 6 years without your traditional morning latte to work. However, constantly eating your meals out will tank your ability to purchase, best case scenario you’re spending $10 a meal, that $10-$30 a day is better spent grabbing ingredients for meals. All that being said, save where you can, and support a local coffee roaster for $18 for a 454g bag of coffee that will last you 2 weeks. 

   2. Staying home for as long as you can: Assuming your family doesn’t charge you rent, or if they do give you a good deal, you are going to save a lot of money. Put the money that you’d be otherwise spending on rent into savings for your down payment. 

   3. Chat with your bank, maybe pitch that money you’re saving from not eating out into a savings account. A financial advisor is going to be able to help you out, usually, your bank will allow you to chat with one for free. Financial advisors at banks are more like financial salespeople, they are going to try to get you into an account, which depending on your situation can be a good idea. If you want to go to an outside-of-the-bank advisor, you will have to pay for a chat and advice, but they may not try to sell you something. 

4. Close Friends or Partners: Got someone you want to move in with? This might be a great reason to do just that, pool your resources to nab a slightly larger place to accommodate you both. It may not be best to have you both on as purchasers, depending on financial situation, credit scores, etc. One of you may be better to be the purchaser, and the other, the tenant. Basically renting out a room to your bestie. 

5. No Money Down Mortgages: These do not exist anymore, they were banned in 2008, I suggest reading up on the 2008 Financial Crisis for why. Why did I mention them if they aren’t a thing? Because if I don’t mention it, someone may give you outdated information about them. 
   

Will all of these tips work for you? Probably not, everyone has a different situation going on, so I won’t pretend that it’s going to be all peaches and unicorns saving up for your first place, you may have to give up on a few hobbies or luxuries to help this next step along. No matter your situation, there is help and advice out there that will work for you, it is up to you to take on that next step.

So you’ve accepted an offer with a home inspection, what’s next? Time to get ready and have your home put it’s best foot forward! In a perfect world, this was all done before listing, but we live in a world where Firefly only got one season, so here we are. 

A lot of these fixes seem tiny, but this is all about optics. The scariest home inspection reports are the long ones, buyers start fretting about every item (rightfully), and see the scope of work that needs done to make the home right again. It’s death by a thousand cuts, except it’s the home you’re trying to sell. Compared to the inspections that have only a couple of big items, these long lists can be intimidating. 

By making this segmented, hopefully it helps provide you with an achievable to do list that can be done relatively quick. I’m going to break it down by price, so that depending on the situation you have a better idea about what can or cannot be done.

Before taking any of these on however, it is important that you do a little self-evaluation; is this something you can, or want to do? Will your unwillingness to do this impact the quality of your work? If you don’t know how to do something, you can either learn to do it, or hire someone. A lot of these are pretty straightforward, however, there is nothing wrong with hiring someone. It will cost you a little bit more, but you will save time, and usually have a higher quality product at the end. 

Just something to consider. 

Under $200

Under $200

The cheap and easy, these are my favourite repairs. 

Price isn’t everything, these relatively cheap fixes will help your home show better. Buyers will be more attracted to a home that is obviously well maintained. It is unlikely these items will get negotiated on, however, if the buyer sees these items and the more expensive one, they may just want a bulk price reduction.

1. Replace your Furnace Filter. In most cases, no higher than MERV 8, higher than that can cause undue stress on your system. $13 (2 pack)

2. Windows and Screen. Make sure your windows all open and close, repair any torn bug screens $6 (patch kit)

3. Caulking. Dryrotten or torn caulking gets caught by just about every home inspector. $15 for Caulk, $9 for scraper/spreader, $10 for the caulk gun. This is the one task I will usually hire out for my own home. 

4.  Receptacle and switch face plates. Make sure they’re all protected. $2-$10

5. Smoke Detectors. If this is expired, you should replace it anyways for safety. $40 each

6. Clogged Drains. You can snake them, or hire someone to do that, because it can be nasty. $19 for a Drain Snake (tool)

7. Leaky Shower Heads. Sometimes it is as simple as tightening the screw, or taking the head off and applying some plumbers tape. Worst case scenario, you have to replace it. $2-$50

Under $500

Little pricier, little bit more of a important part. These items may get flagged as something the buyer should do sooner rather than later, so can impact negotiations.

1. Duct Cleaning - this is different from furnace cleaning, duct cleaning is for the ducts and clears out dust, pet dander, and any toys dropped in the ducts. Furnace cleaning is for the mechanical portion of the furnace. $200+

2. Have your furnace and fireplace serviced. $200 for the Technician’s time, sometimes $200 for parts (most of the fixes I’ve seen done were around $70 for the part). If they find out you need a new furnace, this cost will obviously balloon into the thousands. It is better to find out about it now, rather than scare off the buyer. 

3. Hire a handyman to do all of the under $200 items

4. Electrical. Got some broken or loose plugs, maybe an exterior light that had a high-speed interaction with a basketball? Get them fixed! 

5. Sump Pump. Does it work? Less important, but helpful when the inspector catches it - do you have a spare pump ready to install? 

Under $5,000

These are the big items that buyers may negotiate on.

Woah big price jump! Homes are a bit of an all or nothing when it comes to time and money, it’s either a cheap fix, or not. Because these can also vary a lot more, I won’t be adding prices, sorry! 

1. Exterior Repairs. Now is the time to fix that loose piece of siding, or the soffit that flew away. 

2. Grading. Your home doesn’t need new weeping tile and latest water control technology to control the water around your home, you need to fix the grading so the water flows away from the home. 

3. Windows. Do you see condensation in your window? Maybe a big ugly crack? Might be time to replace it. 

4. Roofing. Is it due to be replaced? Maybe some shingles need reaffixed. 

If this seems like a lot of work, that’s because it is. It is better to spread these items out over the span of a couple months (ideally, as soon as they become a problem, or in the months before you list your home). You’ll notice that a lot of these items would be a pain to get done before the possession date, so these are way better to get done before you even list. It will help your home stand out against the competition.