Close the purchase

Your offer has been accepted and you can't wait to move in. But don't break out the bubbly just yet. You have to close the deal. Your REALTOR® and lawyer will do most of the closing work, but here's your checklist.

Immediately begin satisfying any conditions of the agreement that require action on your part. Your REALTOR® can fill out the documents stating that the conditions have been satisfied.Have your lawyer begin searching title to the property. This can take a while, so make sure you allow ample time

Well before closing, get your homeowner's insurance to be effective on your closing date. Your insurance broker will give you a 'binder' letter certifying that you're covered.

You can't get a mortgage without this letter! 

Contact your lender and have them finalize your mortgage documents.

Have your lawyer review them before you sign.

Your lawyer will transfer essential utilities like hydro and water, but you'll have to make sure telephone and cable companies switch their services to your name.

(your realtor can also help you with names of utility providers & numbers)

If you rent, give notice to your landlord or sublease your apartment.

Begin planning your big move!

Where are those cardboard boxes?

(ask your Realtor they may have a contact for boxes)

Send out your change of address information and fill out a card at the post office.  (do this in advance if you can)

Contact the Ministry of Transport about changing your driver's licenses. 

* new address 

Walk through your new home one more time with your REALTOR®.

* ensure this is writen into the purchase contract 

A day or two before closing, you'll meet with your lawyer to sign the closing documents.

Your lawyer will tell you in advance what certified cheques you'll need to seal the deal.

Get a Mortgage Pre-Approval

It’s a very good idea to get a pre-approved mortgage before you start shopping. Many realtors will ask if you’ve been approved. A lender will look at your finances and figure the amount of mortgage you can afford. Then the lender will give you a written confirmation, or certificate, for a fixed interest rate. This confirmation will be good for a specific period of time. A pre-approved mortgage is not a guarantee of being approved for the mortgage loan.

Even if you haven’t found the home you want to buy, having a pre-approved mortgage amount will help keep a good price range in mind.

Bring these with you the first time you meet with a lender:

• Your personal information, including identification such as your driver's license
• Details on your job, including confirmation of salary in the form of a letter from your employer
• All your sources of income
• Information and details on all bank accounts, loans and other debts
• Proof of financial assets
• Source and amount of down payment and deposit
• Proof of source of funds to cover the closing costs (these are usually between 1.5% and 4% of the purchase price)

One conversation with the man the bedding industry has dubbed the “Wizard of Ahhs” is all it takes to be convinced that with his mattress-design expertise he can and will solve the greatest sleep discomfort.

“Mattress making is like cooking to taste: We have the idea and we make the first rendition and we keep remaking and tweaking it until it's perfect,” Earl S. Kluft, owner of the luxury bedding brand E.S. Kluft & Co., told FoxNews.com.

Priced at $33,000, Kluft’s Palais Royale bed, sold exclusively at Bloomingdale’s, is his hand-tailored take on the 1940s “Rolls Royce” of mattresses -- the “Aireloom.”

Bloomingdale’s wanted to develop an “ultra-premium bed” and tapped Kluft to design “a line that would accommodate their customers’ affluent lifestyles,” he said.

The Palais Royale features monogrammed handles and more than 10 lbs. of cashmere, mohair and Joma wool. Inside the mattress, layers of Talalay latex and certified organic cotton felt allow for airflow, while thousands of hand-sewn cotton-wrapped steel springs give it a strong support.

“This mattress is fabulous!” reads a costumer review by looking4comfort on Bloomingdales.com. Another customer, Balzacnyc, writes, “This is far and away the most comfortable mattress I’ve ever tried.”

With his mattresses he aims to merge exclusivity and accessibility. The goal is to get consumers hooked on the brand, so that they stay loyal and eventually graduate from the “entry-level” mattresses offered to the pricier models.

Kluft is a third-generation mattress maker. In 2004, he founded the company hoping to revitalize Aireloom luxury mattresses -- a beloved American mattress brand.

What distinguishes from other luxury mattress makers -- think Sealy Posturepedic, Shifman, Tempur-Pedic, Stearns & Foster -- is that it is a very basic design handcrafted with top quality products.

“It’s not designed in mass based on a single test,” Kluft said.

For those who can’t afford Kluft’s higher-end beds, there’s a new design, the “Aireloom Aspire,” which starts at $1,999, also at Bloomingdale’s. He compares it to Mercedes-Benz’s C Class.

The Aspire Collection will be available in three models. Each mattress is finished with a unique heavy-weight, double-knit cover, and features a stylish chenille fabric.

Kluft promises that once you try one of these beds, “you won’t want to sleep on anything else.”

For more information visit KluftMattress.com.

Terri Stephens 

CIR REALTY

403.827.4663

Calgary

Throughout 2013, Calgary has led Canada’s upper-end real estate market in nearly every category.

Calgary ended the summer with a strong finish and experts predict sales momentum to continue into fall, as resale and rental inventory remains tight. Strong employment and migration numbers reflecting the city’s continued economic health will drive demand- it is estimated that for every 300 square feet of new office space created, an additional person is added to downtown Calgary.

The high number of executive level jobs created will continue to fuel demand for top-tier real estate specifically, as newcomers take advantage of the city’s relatively affordable real estate market to “buy up”.

In spite of the floods experienced by the city this summer, there is not enough data to date to show any long-term impact on the housing market, particularly in the high-end.

According to Statistics Canada, about one-quarter of Canadians are spending too much on housing costs. “Too much” is defined by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) as 30% or more of household income. Are you house rich and cash poor?

First off, it’s important to understand what CMHC’s “household income” refers to in order to measure if you are over or under the suggested 30% threshold. They define household income as pre-tax household income, which is a questionable metric due to our tax code.

We have a graduated tax system in Canada where every taxpayer files their own tax return, so there can be a big difference in after-tax income between two households with identical household incomes. A household where two people are earning $50,000 each in Ontario, for example, has after-tax income of about $75,840. A household where one person is earning $100,000 – the same gross income as the $50,000 times 2 household – has only $69,841 of after-tax income. That’s a difference of about 8%, so not immaterial.

What are “housing costs”? According to CMHC, these costs include rent and utilities for renters. For homeowners, included are mortgage payments, property taxes, condo fees and utilities.

Several factors are ignored by the 30% rule of thumb. What if a couple has two cars and they drive long distances to work, so transportation costs are higher than a couple with no cars? What if they have kids? They’re not cheap either.

Airdrie has seen more sales this summer than in recent years.

With limited inventory - buyers are out there 

Call Today