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Celebrating the Earth Day

Achieving a green world lies in the hands of the nurturers. How do we care for our mother earth?

What can we do to contribute?

A celebration such as the Earth day is a good way to remind us of our natural responsibility to take part in energy conservation or taking on green jobs, among other activities.

Everything begins from doing our own personal commitment to lead a green lifestyle. Spreading the word to celebrate the Earth Day or setting an example in school, at work and at home could create an impact.

We do not have to take huge steps. Simple things count, such as recycling, or buy reusable containers and bags. You could grow some plants, take a walk, ride a bicycle, or do carpooling. There are so many things that could be done.

It could start from how we do our daily activities. Make a green routine, until it becomes like your second nature.

If we are conscious of our environment, then we know that we are doing our share to make a liveable, healthy, clean and green world.

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

:~)

"Could I Do the Home Selling on My Own?"

As a homeowner, you are well aware about the many aspects of your home. If you have occupied the property, you know how good you've maintained and worked on it over the years. At some point, you may need to do some repairs. In fact, you may even consider doing some upgrade or any improvement necessary to make the home even more attractive, neat and functional.

Now, the point has come when you wish to sell your biggest investment: your home.

When you are thinking of selling your home, the very first thing that would come to your mind is the price. And why not? Of course as a homeowner, your concern is to know what would be the amount of return from your original investment, should you decide to really sell your property.

There, your question goes, "Could I do it on my own?"

Have you been looking at your neighbourhood? If there were some properties that were sold in your area, would you know the amount of the purchase and sale? Would these properties have exact characteristics, floor area and lot size compared to your property? Were there some renovations done?

In other words, how familiar are you of the factors that contributed to the sale of the home in your neighbourhood?

If you are to do it on your own, would you be confident enough about how you will package your property as a product and set aside your emotional attachment to your well-priced possession? Do you have the time to do the research and other aspects that go with selling the home? How about the disclosures, financing, and legal contracts?

To most people, the process of purchase and sale of a property may seem complex.

Therefore, the person doing the work of home selling which includes research, marketing, negotiation and closing, should have the skills and competence to carry out the job.

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Sheila Atienza,
Book Author, Canadian Home Financing Simplified: How to Qualify as a Real Estate Buyer
Book Author, How to Prepare to Own a Home in Canada: Recession-proof Lifestyle for Immigrants and First-time Buyers.
You can get your copy through the online bookstores.

How Much is the Property Worth?

Before a person can do any business of either buying or selling a home, one should be able to assess how much it will likely sell in the market.

Usually, the buyer should be concerned about how much a seller is willing to accept the price that is being offered on the purchase of the property, considering all other factors.

A consumer seeking the help of a real estate agent is often given a market evaluation to review.

The CMA or what we call the Comparative Market Analysis is about looking at the properties that are currently on the market or have been sold in the last few months (usually three to six months on average) or depending on the market area.

Both the buyer and the seller need to understand this aspect, in order to have a better idea how much a given market will likely respond to the property price. How high could a seller reasonably put the price on the subject home? How long will it take to sell the home given the price aspect?

On the other hand, a buyer looking into purchasing the home in a particular market should know whether a particular property is being sold at the right price. A buyer would have a better picture through the comparative market analysis or CMA that has been prepared by the real estate agent.

With this, you could be comfortable whether you'd like to give it a go or not.

There may be other factors affecting the purchase and sale of a home. Some are dependent on the personal circumstance of the party concerned.

There are sellers who may need to adjust the price because they may have found a place in which they can move as a new homeowner.

Others simply need to lower the price for personal reasons and they would like to have immediate access to the home equity (instead of doing some changes in their mortgage like refinancing or applying for a secured line of credit).

Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved by Sheila Atienza

How Canadians Are Responding to Changes on Mortgage Rates

We've been hearing the news lately about the interest rates increase and somehow, we can't help but wonder how it will affect us.

Some consumers have started locking in their mortgage while others are in the wait-and-see mode.

An article in the Financial Post published on April 20, 2010 reveals that Canadians are taking the news on the mortgage rates increase in a not-so-alarming position. After all, we've been there at some point and the recession has given us so much time to understand, plan and prepare for our needs.

Putting our priorities in place would obviously make a difference.

Consumers should look at their financial position, individually and as part of the household, whether they are comfortable with their spending or they need to set aside some more funds for some future undertaking.

In fact, we should all look at and review our contingency plans, in case, things don't work out.

So, have you thought about your plan B?

Sheila Atienza,
Book Author, Canadian Home Financing Simplified: How to Qualify as a Real Estate Buyer
Book Author, How to Prepare to Own a Home in Canada: Recession-proof Lifestyle for Immigrants and First-time Buyers.
You can get your copy through the online bookstores.

Is It Time Already to Look at Your Mortgage?

Here's an article I've posted recently in my book blog site

http://Canadian-Home-Financing.iClickProperty.com

Thinking of Getting a Mortgage?
Copyright 2010 by Author Sheila Atienza

Some of us may have an existing mortgage which may be up for renewal at some point. Others, with different reasons are intending to have an access to their home equity by way of refinancing. Some circumstances could lead many of us to consider various financial options.

Even those who are yet to be in the position of a homeowner may need to understand what it takes to qualify for a mortgage, which is an integral part of home buying.

The question is how many of us are aware of what the process entails?

Do we know how healthy is our credit position?

How many people do we know who have tried to apply for a mortgage yet ended up disappointed as the bank turned them down?

Sometimes, it takes going back to the basics to learn the whole process again, so we could be more comfortable looking at the world of home financing.

Sheila Atienza,
Book Author, Canadian Home Financing Simplified: How to Qualify as a Real Estate Buyer
Book Author, How to Prepare to Own a Home in Canada: Recession-proof Lifestyle for Immigrants and First-time Buyers.
You can get your copy through the online bookstores.

Home Financing For Canadian Homebuyers Simplified

Press Release courtesy of the Publisher, Privilege Solutions Integrated

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Are you quite ready yet to apply for a mortgage? Are you aware of the factors that will make your mortgage application successful?

BC-based publisher, Privilege Solutions Integrated has recently announced the release of the book "Canadian Home Financing Simplified, How to Qualify as a Real Estate Buyer", written by Sheila Atienza.

In the book, "Canadian Home Financing Simplified, How to Qualify as a Real Estate Buyer", Sheila Atienza has outlined the integral factors on how typically banks and lenders in Canada look at, qualify and approve applications for a home purchase mortgage.

"Real estate buyers should have at least some basic knowledge of what they are getting into, before they apply for financing, whether they have the appropriate amount of income to service their mortgage payments, or whether their employment and credit could qualify under some lending guidelines." says Sheila Atienza, who is dually licensed in British Columbia as Realtor and Mortgage Professional.

The book will help the homebuyers get a grasp of the steps in applying for a mortgage and assess themselves whether they meet the basic requirements in the application before they search for a home.

Copies of the book may be obtained through Chapters.indigo.ca, all Amazon sites, Barnes and Noble and other online stores.

Sheila Atienza is also the author of the book: "How to Prepare to Own a Home in Canada: Recession-proof Lifestyle for Immigrants and First-time Buyers" which was released in 2009.

You can get your copy through the online bookstores.