Simmi Minhas Real Estate Inc.

🏢Investing in a condo? Here are some features you should look for! *Based on a 1+1 unit* ▫️1 bedroom plus den, since a lot of people work from home now ▫️1 parking space ▫️open balcony ▫️ensuite laundry ▫️central air conditioning ▫️over 500 sq ft of living space ▫️maintenance fees under $650/monthly, ideally even less ▫️the building being newer than November 15, 2018 so there’s no rent control ▫️majority of people prefer higher versus lower floor units in a building 💰Remember, all of this is contingent on price range! #simmiminhas #soldbysimmi #firsttimehomebuyer #firsttimebuyer #fthb #homes #condos #buyingahome #realestate #realtor #torontorealestate #greatertorontoarea #realestateagent #realtorsofinstagram #investment #investing #rentcontrol #tenant #landlord #lease

❓You just bought a home, but you haven’t sold the one that you’re still living in, what happens now? ✨You would get a bridge loan! 🤏🏼It’s basically a short-term loan that helps you bridge the gap between buying your new home and selling your current home if the closing date of your current home is after your new home. 📅So for example, let’s say your new home closes on December 1st and your current home closes on December 15th, you would need a bridge loan between the 1st and the 15th to close on the new home until you get the funds from your current home on the 15th 💰The loan is calculated by subtracting the deposit from the down payment needed for your new purchase. 🏡This total amount is contingent on the equity in your current home. If there’s not enough to cover the entire bridge loan, then borrowers would have to cover the shortfall increasing the loan amount. 😮💨Bridge loans are a great way to alleviate the stress of aligning closing dates when looking to buy and sell around the same time. #simmiminhas #soldbysimmi #firsttimehomebuyer #firsttimebuyer #fthb #homes #condos #buyingahome #realestate #realtor #torontorealestate #greatertorontoarea #realestateagent #realtorsofinstagram #bridgeloan #mortgage #loan #financing #bank #equity

🎄Submit your offer on holidays! 🤏🏼This is because there’s usually less people in town, which leads to less showings and in turn less competition for when you submit your offer. 🤝All of this can also translate to getting a lower purchase price on the property than you would’ve if it wasn’t a long weekend or during the holidays. 📅Getting a good deal like this is more likely to occur especially for properties that have been sitting on the market. #simmiminhas #soldbysimmi #firsttimehomebuyer #firsttimebuyer #fthb #homes #condos #buyingahome #realestate #realtor #torontorealestate #greatertorontoarea #realestateagent #realtorsofinstagram #holiday #longweekend #showings #competition #negotiation #deal

❌Sellers don’t make these mistakes❌ 💰Incorrectly pricing: pricing too high will lead to a lack of showings and traction and pricing too low can undersell your property. 🤝Not countering a lowball offer: the offer might be offensively low, but through countering and negotiations, you just never know how high a buyer might actually go in price. 🪟Not fixing the small things: this includes broken window screens, leaky faucets, stained bathroom caulking, holes in the walls, etc. These little repairs make a world of a difference on how maintained the home feels. 👀Being home during showings: this can be incredibly awkward for buyers and their agents since they’re unable to freely discuss the property and their thoughts. ✋🏼Restricting showings: Try to be as open to showings as possible especially between 9am to 9pm. You want the most amount of people to see the home because you never know who can be your buyer. #simmiminhas #soldbysimmi #firsttimehomebuyer #firsttimebuyer #fthb #homes #condos #buyingahome #realestate #realtor #torontorealestate #greatertorontoarea #realestateagent #realtorsofinstagram #sellers #lowballoffer #negotiation #showings #viewings #price

🏢Investors own 65% of small Toronto condos! 🤏🏼Small condos being 600 sq ft or less. ⬇️Investors only owned 44% of units that were larger than 800 sqft. 💰This unequal ownership is due to the fact that investors are the main purchasers of pre-construction condos allowing developers to secure financing for the project. And projects need to be 70% sold before construction begins. 📉Since investors fund projects, their desires sway what’s built so the rent per square foot of living area tends to be higher for smaller units, which are the type of units investors look for. Because of this preference, condos have been shrinking over time. 📊Lately, investors haven’t been as interested in pre-construction condos as previous years because of the low demand and high interest rates. ❌This has lead to more projects being delayed or cancelled since investors are the number one consumer for pre-construction condos. 👎🏼Unfortunately, this will add to our supply crisis in the future. #simmiminhas #soldbysimmi #firsttimehomebuyer #firsttimebuyer #fthb #homes #condos #buyingahome #realestate #realtor #torontorealestate #greatertorontoarea #realestateagent #realtorsofinstagram #investor #investment #preconstruction #precon #developer #builder 

⬆️GTA home prices are up $33,000! 💰The average selling price for all home types in the GTA was $1,107,000 in September, which is up from August. 📊However, there were 4,996 sales last month, which is almost the same number as August. 🏃♀️Buyers are starting to take advantage of the dropping interest rates and lower home prices, which is adding some life back into real estate market. 🤝Right now, buyers have more negotiating power especially for condos and townhouses, which aren’t selling as quickly. #simmiminhas #soldbysimmi #firsttimehomebuyer #firsttimebuyer #fthb #homes #condos #buyingahome #realestate #realtor #torontorealestate #greatertorontoarea #realestateagent #realtorsofinstagram #marketupdate #realestatemarket #listings #sales #townhouses

⛽️Avoid buying near a gas station! ❌Here are some reasons to avoid buying a home near a gas station: ▫️The soil may be contaminated, which can have an impact on your long-term health ▫️There’s more noise especially from the trucks and deliveries ▫️Heavier in and out traffic ▫️More crimes especially robberies ▫️More light in the area from streetlights to headlights, which can be annoying at night #simmiminhas #soldbysimmi #firsttimehomebuyer #firsttimebuyer #fthb #homes #condos #buyingahome #realestate #realtor #torontorealestate #greatertorontoarea #realestateagent #realtorsofinstagram #gasstation

📉Housing supply is the lowest in 50 years! 😱The housing supply and population gap is the widest its been in 50 years. 📊Between 2021 and 2023, immigration levels in the GTA hit 1.9 million creating more demand, but we aren’t keeping up with creating enough housing supply. 📈Building costs have gone up extremely, with development fees up 74% this year. 😮💨This increase along with taxes and charges from all levels of the government has led to fees being around 25% of the total cost a new homebuyer might pay for a house. 💰Today, if you were to buy an average priced low rise home in the GTA which would go for approximately $1,126,000, the municipal fees would be $164,000. ✅To help improve affordability, governments have to accelerate approval processes and reduce the tax burden being placed on new homebuyers. #simmiminhas #soldbysimmi #firsttimehomebuyer #firsttimebuyer #fthb #homes #condos #buyingahome #realestate #realtor #torontorealestate #greatertorontoarea #realestateagent #realtorsofinstagram #supplyanddemand #supply #demand #population #populationgrowth #immigration #housingsupply #housingdemand #affordability #preconstruction #precon

❌Most homes don’t sell at list price! 🤔They’re usually underpriced or do not reflect the negotiation room on the home. 🤑If you’re a buyer, I’d strongly recommend focusing on sold homes versus listed. 🏡I know it sounds counter intuitive, but I would strongly suggest seeing what homes have sold in your range to see what homes are actually selling for Bbut many properties are not listed at the actual price that they’ll sell for. They’re usually underpriced or do not reflect the negotiation room on the home.EFORE starting your search. ⏰This way, you aren’t wasting time considering at homes that aren’t in budget and feeling disappointed once the sold prices are posted. #simmiminhas #soldbysimmi #firsttimehomebuyer #firsttimebuyer #fthb #homes #condos #buyingahome #realestate #realtor #torontorealestate #realestateagent #realtorsofinstagram #listed #sold #listprice #soldprice #negotiation #negotiating #underpriced

🏡You can buy a $1.5m home with 20% down! ⬆️As of December 15th, the price cap for insured mortgages will be $1.5 million dollars. 💰Currently, if you purchase anything over $1m dollars, you would have to give a 20% down payment, which also means that you have an uninsured mortgage. 📅The $1m dollar price cap has been in place since 2012, when home prices were much lower. Now the average price of a home in the GTA is $1,074m so it was long overdue that the cap shifted. ✅This change will help more Canadians qualify for a mortgage and receive loan insurance. #simmiminhas #soldbysimmi #firsttimehomebuyer #firsttimebuyer #fthb #homes #condos #buyingahome #realestate #realtor #torontorealestate #realestateagent #realtorsofinstagram #insuredmortgage #uninsuredmortgage #downpayment #mortgage #financing