Megann Willson's blog

When you buy your first home, you've probably been renting up to that point. So you sign the paperwork, make your deposit, give your notice, and start packing. But if you've outgrown that home, or you're ready to downsize, it's a whole new ballgame. Now you need to decide when to list, and when to buy. What if you sell your home, and then can't find one you like? Or conversely, what if you buy a home, and then can't sell yours?

So, you've decided to move to a new home - a smaller one! You may have already spent a lifetime buying increasingly larger houses, so you know a lot about getting bigger. But what if now, you need to go small? Whether it's by choice or by circumstance, disengaging from the idea that every real estate purchase must be grander than the last takes some doing. We're hard-wired to want to achieve, to gain, or to build. 

When we're house hunting, most of us consider how far the location of the home is from work. That's important, for sure. After all, we spend at least 30% of our time working. But what about the rest of the time? It's also important to think about where else we want to be able to go, when we leave our condominium or house. 

©©©House hunters often find the process stressful, especially if they are working to a deadline, because they have already sold or given notice on their current home. It's doubly so if they have been transferred from another city and have a pre-determined time for their real estate search. As REALTORS©, we have many tools in our toolkit to help you search, view, and select your next home.

You've found your perfect home. You've put in an offer. Now you wait. You wait for the other side to respond. It's hard.

When you're actively searching for the right property, it can feel like you'll never find it. You think this is the most difficult part, but for most buyers, it isn't. It's the waiting. Why is that? Because when you submit an offer on real estate, it's out of your hands until the other side responds. They have three options: 

One of my clients has been thinking about a move to a smaller city - they're looking for affordability, sort of. More like value for money, really. They want a home that has many of the luxuries they can't afford in their place in the big city. But can they have it all? 

Whether you've outgrown your current home, or you're downsizing, or you're looking for your very first starter home, it can be so exciting! It can also be overwhelming, disappointing, and frustrating, if you're not ready. Here are five steps to make your next home search a success, whether you're looking for a tiny apartment, a sleek condominium, a practical family home, or a relaxing estate in the country.

Have you ever wanted to live downtown, but you're afraid you'll miss the wonderful relaxation of the country? What if I told you, you could have both? You really can!