Thinking about buying a house: Just Do It!

Just do it! Nike got to the point. Don’t think about it too much, don’t worry, don’t just dream about it, just do it. They want you to buy shoes; I want you to buy a house.

Here’s a quote from Mark Twain that has more for you to chew on:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

I like the image of taking to the water to explore and dream. I love being on the water, fishing, and dreaming, even working.

I’m getting to the point in my life where I’m starting to look back and evaluate things. I think about these things when I’m on a lake or in the woods. When I get back to “reality” I feel inspired to make a change, to go ahead and shake things up a bit.

I like to quote Newton’s first law of motion too: A body at rest tends to stay at rest. This appeals to me because it’s simple physics but it means so much more.

If you’re satisfied with who you are, what you’re doing, where you live, your weight, your hairstyle, then don’t make any changes. If you don’t change anything, chances are things will tend to stay the same- your weight, your income, everything. But, get out of your routine and you’ll see some changes, improvement. Leave the safe harbour behind.

Almost twenty years ago, Renate and I made some big decisions, took some risks and sailed off to Newmarket. We scraped together a down payment for a house, went over-budget, and bought our first house, a tiny old thing near Main Street and Davis Drive. That was the best thing we ever did! We could not have done it in Toronto. If we had stayed, we’d still be renting, stuck in the city. We never imagined that we’d someday own a house like the one we live in now!

Take the first step today. Call me or email me, Tweet or message me and ask me about getting into a house in Newmarket. We could also look at something in Bradford or Keswick. You can get a lot of house for your money up here. And, these communities are great places to raise your family and do business too.

Do it.

Location? Price? Size? What's most important?

There's that old Real Estate story that everyone knows: When asked to state the top 3 factors in determining the value of Real Estate, a British tycoon said: "Location, location, location!"

I think it might be different when you're in the market for a family home. Sure, it's an investment. But, it's your home. Home is a powerful thing. Home is a powerful word. It conjures up all kinds of feelings, emotions, memories, associations that have nothing to do with dollar value. Location is a big factor, but I don't think that it's related to dollar value when it's considered. It's more likely to be in relation to other family members or work or school. If it's thought of in terms of cost, then it's likely about cost of travel to work.

Here is one possible list of Top 3 Factors in Home Buying

Price:
What can you afford? What are you willing to pay? This is where you have to start, really. How much do you have and how much of that are you willing to pay for your home? Will spending more on a home mean fewer holidays? Will spending less on a home mean more travel time, or will it just mean more travel-to-work time, commuting? You'll have to look at your finances and you'll have to talk to your family to see what they value. First, you have to determine the bottom line.

Location: 
Where would you like to live? What has value for you? Do you want to be close to or far away from family, parks and schools, work, nature, urban amenities, fishing holes? How far are you willing to go from your workplace? How far from Mom do you want to be? You'll need to think about the cost of your commute in terms of time and dollars. It might be a question of space vs time. In any case, the bottom line will be the determining factor.

Size/ Fit:
How much space do you need? Is your family growing or shrinking? Do you need an in-law suite, rooms for the grand kids, a fenced-in yard for your dogs, spaces for entertaining, space for your car, space for storing your boat, a wine cellar or a man-cave? When you consider how much room you need, the easy measures are the number of bedrooms and parking spaces, lot-size, and square feet (or metres). The numbers alone can't measure how your family will fit into those spaces. You'll have to walk through and visualize yourselves using the space. In the end, the cost might make you change your mind about what you "need."

You can use these 3 factors, Price, Location, and Size, in your preliminary home search, on my website. You can indicate a price range, a location, and the number of bedrooms or square feet, for example.

Other variables available on the property search are: garage spaces, bathrooms, acres, year built, and number of stories. Variables you can't type in: style, colours, smell, landscaping, does it feel warm and homey, will you fall in love with it?

You don't have to do an online home search at all. You can call me (416-716-3112) or email me (harrynaghavi@gmail.com).

Call me and I'll make it easier for you. We'll meet and discuss your needs and your desires. We'll talk about all the things your family has to consider in your specific circumstances. And, then I will search for you and provide you with lists of possibilities. I'll send you emails of listings, and we can meet and look at listings too if you prefer. I'll make appointments to go and see the houses you like. When you choose, I'll get you the best deal possible!

I will save you time and money.

And, buying a home will be as stress-free as possible. 

We'll find you a house you'll love, a house to call  home. 

Move your Family and your Business to York Region

I love living in York Region, and most of my family and friends are here too, mostly in Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill, and Vaughan. Newmarket is the centre of York Region, and my home.

If you're the kind of person who likes to see numbers, here are some impressive numbers for you to consider.

York Region has about 1.1 million residents. It’s the third largest municipality in Ontario and sixth largest in Canada. York Region is big; it covers 1,762 square kilometres from Lake Simcoe in the north to the city of Toronto in the south

The York Region Administrative Centre, on Yonge Steet in Newmarket

Here are some more facts about York Region from Invest in York, the region's business attraction program.

• 1st in population growth among Canada’s largest municipalities

• 42,000 Local Businesses - Ontario’s second largest business centre after the City of Toronto

• 528,000 Local Jobs - 0.8 million jobs projected by 2030

• 14 Fortune 100 Corporations have operations in York Region

• 3,700 ICT Firms - Canada’s second largest Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry cluster

• 70 Employers with over 500 employees; 20 ¬firms with over $0.5 billion in revenue; 98% of businesses are Small-Medium size Enterprises (SMEs)

• 3rd largest residential construction market in Canada after Vancouver and Toronto

• 140M North American consumers within a day’s drive (500 mile radius)

The numbers add up nicely, don't they? So, come on! Give me a call and we'll work together to move your family and your business to York Region.

TGIF! Time to get away from it all -right here in Newmarket

Another Friday, and the 400 is a parking lot. Tons of people are all heading north from Toronto to get away from it all. Heading to a lake, to the woods, to a cottage, a cabin, a trailer, a tent, they just want to have some space and fresh air away from the city.

Another bunch of people are at home in Newmarket, enjoying a big backyard, maybe a pool, maybe a walk in the park. They're going to the lake tomorrow, fishing, or to the beach for a couple of hours after going to the Saturday Farmer's Market in the morning. Lake Simcoe is just up the street. And, maybe tomorrow night, they'll go to a game in Toronto, or meet with some friends. It's not that far.

A weekend at home can be as good as a holiday.

Thinking about getting away from it all in Newmarket?

Give me a call. I'll help you find a home that gives you a weekend getaway every weekend, without the traffic. 

Interest Rates

Surprise!!! Surprise!!!  The interest rates remain untouched today but "they" still warn us about future rises!

Going back to 2010, "they" said the economy was too weak for a rate hike and the cold dark days of 2009 were still fresh in our memories. Too many folks had lost their jobs, closed their businesses and gone bankrupt in 2009.

However, as if by MAGIC, and after having a sunny and warm February, "they" decided to hike the rates anyway!

All those promises of not touching the rates until the Third Quarter simply went out the window in an instant. The results were quietly catastrophic!

More businesses suffered and fewer people found jobs. The weakening of the US Dollar resulted in the strengthening of the CDN Dollar which didn't help our manufacturing sector at all. The real estate market did not cool off as "they" had predicted either!

This year "they" seem to be smarter and are keeping their hands off the interest rates in hopes of stimulating the economy for real.

Having a Majority Government must have helped this decision if you ask me.

People are still buying and selling homes in the GTA, York, Peel, and Durham Regions and although activity level has gone down somewhat, home prices have not gone down.

I am no expert in financial matters, but I have learned not to listen to "them".

Just like the Weatherman, "they" can be wrong everyday without fear of losing their jobs!

So do what is best for YOUR family: If a move will help the quality of life for you, then just do it, and in my humble opinion, interest rates cannot go up that much in the near future (:-D