Megann Willson's blog

Last week, I had an opportunity to guest on a LinkedIn Live session with one of my favourite Financial Mavens, Jackie Porter. We were talking about the real estate market during inflation, and it was a wide-ranging conversation with something for everyone, from the first-time buyer to retirees. We talked about whether this is a good time for older people to downsize their large home and move to a smaller place, or even out of town.

As with everything, context is key. A lot of it has more to do with you, and what your life’s wants and needs are. As far as the price of homes is concerned,...

Are you waiting to buy a home until the economy is better? It’s my expectation that we won’t see big changes, although there are some forecasters who suggest that prices will continue to drop (slightly) through the fall. Interest rates are likely to stay where they are for the time being. The same pundits are suggesting that then the market will heat up, and prices rise, in the springtime. What does that tell us?

To my mind, it tells me that the market will, largely, behave just as it has been for decades now. Usually we see a slowdown or even decrease at this time of year; and we see a...

Have you been outside for a walk in the last couple of days? The wind has really come up, and there’s a distinct chill in the air! Brr!

This reminded me that I wanted to share some thoughts on showing your home, if the season is changing. When we show in the summer, we focus a lot on gardens, pools, patios…all of those wonderful outdoor spaces that homeowners crave. Even in condos, I recommend staging the balcony to ensure there is another “room” prospective buyers can admire during their viewing. As seasons change, though, how your home shows must change as well.

Of course, that...

I’ll admit, I come from a handy family, although my dad’s skills are often called into question. And although my husband’s family were more likely to use the phone to get some jobs done around the house, he still came equipped with some basic maintenance skills. So when I see new homeowners who simply shrug and say, “I’m not handy”, I worry that they’re going to end up leaving money on the table. With that in mind, here are some basic tasks you can learn to do around your home. Back in the day, you might have been gifted a home-repair book, but these days, like most things, the most...

This week I interacted with a couple of people who made some pretty nasty comments, slagging real estate agents. More specifically, they were insinuating that I was one of these heinous people they blamed for everything from their rent being too high, to the homelessness problem, to short-term rentals taking over buildings, lax security in caring for sellers’ property…. well, the list goes on and on. (Oh, and I must never forget the one that we are all rich moneybags, walking around, rolling in dough).

I did clap back at one or two comments, before I got my feet under me and realized...

Many home searches begin with a “wants and needs” list, shared between clients and real estate agents. However, in truth, lots of clients aren’t very good at expressing what they want, and although they go through the motions of helping their agent, they’re more of the “I’ll know it when I see it” type. It’s important when you’re house-hunting to know yourself, and to know whether this is true about you. If you can’t explain or express what it is that you like, and you go through the “checklist” exercise, you may end up just leading your agent on a wild goose chase. Everything they propose...

The “latté magic” of yesteryear, used to suggest that you could save up a downpayment with tactics like skipping a fancy latté every day. That, of course, is unrealistic if you’re looking at a city like Toronto, where the average home is over a million dollars. Even if you are able to get a high-ratio mortgage (leveraging 95% of your property), which means you’ve found a home for under a million, that’s a down-payment of 50,000. That’s a lot of cold, hard cash.

On an average salary of 75,000, possibly 60,000 is left after deductions, and I’m being generous. That’s 5000 per month. Put...

When you make an offer to purchase a property here in Ontario, one of the choices you can make is the closing or completion date. That’s the date the title will transfer to you. In some cases, the seller is very specific, for a number of possible reasons. For example, they may have already purchased another property, or they may want time to sell their property. Oftentimes, there is no guidance given, and the choice is up to you.

Which is better, clients ask me: a short closing, or a long one? First, short is relative. You’ll need time for all the legal activities to take place, and for...

Congratulations, you’ve bought a new home (and perhaps sold your old one)! Now you need to plan your move. With my clients, I always recommend that you use a professional mover – even if you’ve moved dozens of times, as I have, they’ll usually be faster and better at everything, including packing up your precious possessions.

As soon as you have a closing date, it’s time to reach out to a mover, as well as your insurance company. Are you thinking of moving yourself? My experience is that many homeowners find, as closing day approaches, they simply don’t have time. Movers are booked...

You may have noticed this if you and your agent are doing your research on properties of interest. The agent checks the listing and finds that it was only purchased last year…AND they paid more for it than their current list price. Why might this happen?