Buying 
Buying 
Welcome To Martin Homes
For over 37 years, Martin Homes has been making a difference in the lives of its clients in Kelowna, West Kelowna, and throughout the Central Okanagan.
Our Listings: Find your Next Dream Home Here
The Facts
1
Team Members
1
Awards Won
1
Satisfied Customers
1
Satisfied Sellers
All About Our Team
Welcome to our site dedicated to Central Okanagan real estate. Picture yourself where you really want to be – then let our team take you there. You can use this site to assist you in the buying or selling process of a home. From listing to community information, market statistics and more; our aim is to make sure that your real estate goals will be reached successfully.
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Realtors!
Start Your Search: Mouse Over Areas In The Map Below
Frequently Asked Questions
Lean on our expertise and get informed, up-to-date answers to some of the most common questions about buying or selling a home.
BUYERS
Step 1 is to get pre-approved for a mortgage. A pre-approval lets you know how much you can spend and locks you in at the current interest rate for 90 days or more, allowing you to shop with confidence. This is especially important with a potential interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada, which may impact your mortgage rate and ultimately, your home-buying budget.
There really isn’t. Prices depend on a number of factors like supply, demand and other housing market conditions. These can vary greatly from city to city, and from one neighbourhood to the next. Rather than season, the number of days on market is the biggest indicator of your negotiating power. If the home was recently listed, the seller will have had less time to test the market and gauge buyers’ response to the price, and will be less likely to negotiate
The down payment is an essential part of your purchase. There are private lenders who offer mortgages with zero down, but the interest rate will likely be much higher and the cost to you will be much greater in the long run. This is generally not recommended. Don’t cut corners and risk your home and investment. Save up at least five per cent of the purchase price, and consider reducing your home-buying budget to make it more affordable.
Aside from good ol’ scrimping and saving, you can also take advantage of the first-time Home Buyer’s Plan to borrow from your RRSPs – tax free!
There is a common misconception that mortgage loan insurance protects the borrower. This is not the case. Mortgage loan insurance is there to protect the lender against default in payments by the homebuyer. If the buyer has a down payment of less than 20 percent of the purchase price, the lender will purchase default insurance and pass that cost on to the borrower. This can be paid up front or tacked on to the mortgage payments and stretched out over time. Mortgage loan insurance is offered by companies like Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., Genworth Financial Canada, Canada Guaranty, or another approved private insurer.
Closing costs will typically range from 1.5 to four per cent of the home’s purchase price. These include things like legal and administrative fees and are payable on closing. You can expect to pay for your home inspection, mortgage default insurance if your down payment is less than 20% of the purchase price, the Land Transfer Taxes, lawyer fees, appraisal fee and property taxes, among other things. Make sure you budget for this! On a $500,000 home, closing costs can range from $7,500 to $20,000
The new mortgage rules require that all mortgage applicants qualify at a rate that’s two per cent higher than your contracted rate or the Bank of Canada’s five-year benchmark rate. This is to ensure that borrowers will be able to make their mortgage payments should interest rates increase.
Home shoppers pay little or no fees to an agent to buy a home. For most home sales, there are two real estate agents involved in the deal: one that represents the seller and another who represents the buyer. Agents who represent buyers (a.k.a. buyer’s agent) are compensated by the listing broker for bringing home buyers to the table. When the home is sold, the listing broker splits the listing fee with the buyer’s agent. Thus, buyers don’t pay their agents.
SELLERS
This frequently asked question cannot be answered with a simple or general answer. Every real estate market is different, therefore, the best time to sell a home will be different from real estate community to real estate community. In most cases, the spring months are the best time to be selling a home. The spring months will vary from community to community; area to area. Since every home seller’s situation is different, you should discuss the timing of your home sale with your Realtor. In some cases, selling a home during the fall and winter months actually may be better than waiting until the spring real estate market. This is due to a combination of many factors including lower competition and that serious buyers are always looking for a home, just to mention a couple factors.
A frequently asked question from home sellers before listing their home for sale is related to the local real estate market. There are many market indicators that a top producing Realtor should be able to share with you to help explain the condition of the local real estate market. One of the most important indicators on market conditions is average days on the market. The average days on market can indicate to a seller how quickly homes are selling when listed for sale. Other examples of market condition indicators that a top producing Realtor will provide a home seller before listing their home include market absorption rates, number of closed transactions year-over-year for a given month, average sale prices, and average list price to sale price ratios.
There are several things you need to know before listing your home for sale! A frequently asked question from home sellers before listing is what steps should be taken before listing their home. Not properly preparing a home for sale can put a homeowner at a huge disadvantage. The expression “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” is absolutely true when it comes to selling a home. When selling a home you must be sure that your home presents itself in the best possible light. Making sure clutter is at a minimum, freshly painting rooms, installing new carpeting, or ensuring odors are non-existent are just a handful of things that should be done before listing your home for sale.
When selling a home, it’s important you disclose to potential buyers anything you are aware of in your home. Nobody likes “getting the raw end of a deal” when it comes to buying a home, car, or anything for that matter. If you’re aware of defects with a roof, appliance, or home in general, you’re always going to be better off being honest and upfront. If you’re aware of defects, whenever possible, fixing them before going on the market is best. This can avoid potential issues and/or lawsuits once your home is under contract, after inspections, and even years after you have sold your home.
Assessed value is not the same as market value or appraised value. There are many homes that could be sold for significantly more than an assessed value and others that may be sold for significantly less. The assessed value of a home is used for the purpose of taxes in your local municipality. The assessed value of a home is multiplied by the local property tax rate to determine what your yearly taxes are. The assessed value has no impact on how much your home is worth to a potential buyer in the marketplace. Unfortunately, there are many home buyers who believe that a home that is listed higher than the assessed value is overpriced. This is the furthest from the truth. Home buyers also question if something is wrong with a home if the list price is much less than the assessed value. The bottom line is the assessed value has no impact on how much your home is worth. There are homeowners who don’t pay attention to their assessed value, just to find out their municipality has been slowly raising it, year after year, even though the market value hasn’t been increasing.
This frequently asked question often leads to a common pricing mistake that sellers make. Many sellers believe they should price their home $5,000 higher than what a top Realtor suggests to leave room for negotiations and low-ball offers. A well priced home will sell quickly and will sell for close to the listing price. There is no need to leave room for negotiations, as today’s home buyers are very well educated. A seller who prices their home high to leave room for negotiations can actually be costing themselves more money than if they price it to reflect the suggested market value.
There are a handful of methods that Realtors use to determine the value of a home. The most common method to determine the value of a home is by completing a comparative market analysis. A comparative market analysis is an in-depth evaluation of recently sold “comparable” homes in the past 6-12 months. A comparative market analysis, also known as a CMA, isn’t a crystal ball that determines what a home will sell for; however, if performed by a top Realtor, it should greatly narrow the sale price range.
A professionally completed CMA will take into account many features of not only a home, but also the local area and neighborhood. A professionally completed CMA includes, but is not limited to, the following considerations:
- Square footage / Lot Size
- Number of bedrooms / bathrooms
- Upgrades / Condition
- Location; primary or neighborhood street
- Style / Layout of residence
- Age
