Kevin Slemko AACI appraiser on Canada mortgages
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Mortgages in Canada: A range of options

It's best to understand your options before you shop If you've been thinking about buying a home in Canada, you've probably also been thinking about mortgages. If you've ever spoken to anyone at your bank or other financial institution about mortgages, you probably know there are a sometimes-bewildering number of options. But what do they all mean? Here, we break down your choices, and provide a high-level outline of the differences. Conventional mortgages This is probably what most people think…...
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How Ontario farms are appraised

How are Ontario farms valued?

Per-acre farm values in Canada have been rising more slowly than residential home prices (about 5% in 2019 vs 2018), but, like residential properties, values are largely dependent on regional locations and southern Ontario values can be as much as 35% higher than the provincial average. With as much of 75% of Canadians' wealth tied up in real estate, and given that we're at the beginning of the largest generational transfer of wealth in Canadian history, the next decade will…...
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Process of home appraisals by Midtown Appraisal Group

Home appraisals step by step

No one loves them, but they're not that bad Whether you're a homeowner looking to refinance your mortgage, a home buyer with your heart set on the dream home you finally found, or a home seller hoping that the conditional offer you got will finally firm up: Sooner or later there'll be a need for a home appraisal, and you'll spend at least a little time worried about the process. But you shouldn't worry so much. Appraisers aren't going to…...
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Kevin Slemko Midtown Appraisals on new homes

You’re buying a new home. What do you need to know?

If you're like many Canadians, you've grown up thinking that one day, you'd be buying your own home. It seems like a pretty normal thing to do - until you're actually doing it for the first time, yourself. When you find yourself actually signing paperwork committing you to hundreds of thousands of dollars over a couple of decades - well, it can suddenly seem like a very big deal. But the more you know, the less stressful it can be.…...
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factors in real estate valuation

What are appraisers looking for?

How do appraisers arrive at a valuation of your home? We've talked before about the step-by-step process involved in the residential appraisal process. But what are appraisers really looking for when they're walking around your property, making notes on their clipboard or tablet? It's important to remember that appraisers are looking to arrive at a value of the home given 'average' circumstances. They're not valuing the home based on what the 'ideal buyer' (the one who'll take one look at…...
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