Posts Tagged ‘realtors’

Hey Everyone and welcome to our  series we are producing around the career that we love… real estate.

This is going to be your source for some real estate straight talk – the real deal, real scenarios, myths and myth busting, the rules, the ethics, the process, the expectations – what you really need to know. So here we go!

What type of REALTOR® are you?

This is a really important question to ask any real estate professional. The industry supports all kinds of business models and we support that, but it can be important for you to ask the question.

Today, we are going to have some straight talk about the differences you might experience when working with a full vs. a part time REALTOR®.

A full-time REALTOR® – well, that’s pretty self-explanatory – this is their only job. It is the primary way they earn their income.

A part-time REALTOR® can be many things – someone dipping a toe into the real estate world to see if they like it, someone who would like to supplement their income, someone that just wants to be able to service a small number of people a year.

Before you choose someone to help with your next real estate transaction, consider these pros and cons of working with either a part-time OR a full-time real estate salesperson.

Pro: A good REALTOR® is a good REALTOR®. As in any other profession, there are good, just “OK”, and bad REALTORS® regardless of the number of hours per week they work. What matters is the individual’s knowledge of the market, industry savvy and willingness to advocate for his or her client.

Different REALTORS® have different goals. A part-time REALTOR® can work with fewer clients and at the same time and still give those fewer clients a high level of service. A full time REALTOR® can want to get to a certain financial goal and then enjoy long term vacations.

Some full-time and part time REALTORS® work in teams, where there are people to help you at any given time, no matter what.

It is really important for you to sit with several REALTORS® and ask this question to see if they way they do business is going to be the right fit for you!

Con: Missed opportunities, limited availability and missed nuances in negotiations. There are many days when timing is of the essence, and if your REALTOR® isn’t free to get you into that listing in a hot market, it may pass you by. And limited time working in the real estate market can mean limited experience, which can lead to unintended consequences and experiences.

So what is the Straight talk here? – Mostly, the pros and cons can apply to both full AND part time REALTORS®. You don’t know if you are going to get this,

Credit – Ferris Bueler’s Day Off

or this…

It’s important to meet with more than one to get a feel for how they work, when they work and how hard they will work for you. And don’t be afraid to google them and see if they have reviews, or social media where you can get a sense of who they are.

Find the one that fits with YOU so you can REST easy.

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We’ve all seen the home design shows that turn old ragged houses into stunning, modern, and even a little over the top, homes.

• How do they do it… and on such a small budget?
• What’s right for you? Should you buy a move-in-ready home or one that requires some much-needed TLC?

Homeownership.ca states that you should consider these 3 components when making the decision whether to purchase a turnkey home or a fixer-upper:

1. Financial Consideration:
   Compared to a freshly remodeled home, a fixer-upper will get you more bang for your buck, allowing you to purchase something bigger and/or in a more established neighbourhood.

   On the flip-side, renovations are costly and can uncover unbudgeted issues that need fixing, even if a professional home inspection was done.

   In either case, we always recommend you hire a professional home inspector to evaluate the home and identify, as much as possible, any issues the house may have.

2. Lifestyle Considerations:
   A turn-key home allows you to start getting settled in as soon as you move in.

   A fixer-upper might require you to find other accommodations, for a short period of time during the renovations, or may require you to live in a construction zone for some time.

   Renovations are dirty, encumbering and can be extremely stressful. Choosing to purchase a fixer-upper means living through the difficult times in order to reap the benefits later. We can help make you aware of what it all means and help you decide whether you are willing to go through it or not.

3. Logistical Considerations:
   A more cost-effective way to fix up a property is doing it yourself (DIY). A DIY project of this scope requires a lot of resources, often limited to homeowners, such as time.

   Hiring professionals to do the renovations reduces the time required on your behalf but increases the budget.

   Either way, resources need to be invested in the fixer-upper that would otherwise not be required from a turnkey home. If a fixer-upper is right for you, we can help you make the right decision on professional or DIY solutions.

We can help:

Buying a home is a big decision and adding yet another decision on top of it can add more stress to the process. We can help you through it all to make the process a more pleasant one for you and your loved ones. Contact us and we will ask you the right questions to help you make the best decision for you and your current and future situation.

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Wow Ottawa, was that a crazy two weeks or what?! From 40cm of snow to 90mm of rain all in 14 days! Apart from not knowing whether to take out your parka or your umbrella, the past two weeks of Ottawa April showers have seen a definitive influx of calls to our inspectors about basement water seepage and leakage and conversely, we have seen evidence of seepage in the homes we have shown.

Being homeowners ourselves, and knowing that at some point 98% of all basements will have a water leakage issue at some point in its lifetime, we are still taken aback when we step into our finished spaces and draw back a wet sock!

Immediately you have visions of peeling back carpet, replacing underpad, what if it’s in the walls, what if there’s already mould, what if there’s a crack you missed, what if the foundation needs to be fixed, what if….what if….next thing you know you’ve spent $100,000 on a basement/foundation redo!! Well let’s roll it back a bit and go over the list of things to check before you start shopping for contractors.

With this kind of winter to rapid spring thaw, some yards became lakes and the melting snow had no way to work it’s way down the frozen ground. With water sitting close to the foundation the subsoil around your house is likely to thaw first, given that your home is giving off heat. So, following the path of least resistance, the water will make its way downhill, following the grading around the house.

What to do?

So here is check No. 1….walk around your house this spring and look at the grading – does the land slope in towards your house, or away? It is the nature of back-fill to settle over time, and most of us don’t pay a whole lot of attention to what happens at the sides, back or front of our homes. A nice gentle slop away from the house in all directions is what you are going for.

Grading

Check No. 2 – look for any downspouts that are letting water sit next to your foundation – if they are, run out and pick up some inexpensive downspout extenders to get the water at least 6ft away from your home.

Downspout extenders

Nine times out of 10 this will take care of the seepage issues. Remember, concrete is a porous material. Any amount of water that stays near the foundation will make its way through. With seepage that migrates through concrete over time, the evidence is in something we call efflorescence – it looks like chalk on the inside of the concrete. Completely normal if your grading lets water sit close by.

water migration through concrete

If the efflorescence is on the floor instead of the walls – then this may be an indication that your weeping tile system is blocked, or due for a change.

Ok – now the outside of the house has been dealt with but you still have seepage – NOW call a professional, but 9 times out of 10 the simple grading and downspout fixes will work!

For more information, or to know what professionals to call contact us at www.myottawateam.com!

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Another Miracle Home for Sale

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HIGH DEMAND AND LOW SUPPLY CONTINUED TO CHARACTERIZE VANCOUVER’S AND TORONTO’S HOUSING MARKETS THROUGHOUT 2016 AS COMPETITION FROM BUYERS FOR LIMITED INVENTORY OF SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES PUSHED PRICES HIGHER.

The average residential sale price increased 13 per cent in Greater Vancouver to approximately $1,020,300 and rose 17 per cent in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to an estimated $725,857. Although demand remains high in both urban centres, limited inventory in the freehold market, the new 15 per cent foreign-buyer tax in Vancouver and the recent tightening of mortgage rules by the federal government are expected to soften market activity in the short term. In 2017, RE/MAX estimates average residential sale price will increase by two and eight per cent in Greater Vancouver and the GTA respectively.

Regional markets in close proximity to Canada’s highest-price cities continued to experience steady interest from local move-up buyers and buyers from these cities (“move- over” buyers) who are looking to nd a balance between affordability and square footage. This year there were considerable year-over-year average price increases in Barrie (16 per cent), Hamilton-Burlington (20 per cent), the Fraser Valley (20 per cent) and Kelowna (14 per cent).

Click to Read the Full National Summary

The RE/MAX 2017 average residential sale price expectation for Canada is an increase of two per cent as Canadians continue to see home ownership as an important milestone as well as a good investment.

Download Full Report

Victoria

Greater Vancouver Area

Fraser Valley

Kelowna

Calgary

Edmonton

Saskatoon

Regina

Winnipeg

Windsor-Essex

Sudbury

Kitchener/Waterloo

Hamilton/Burlington

Barrie

Greater Toronto Area

Kingston

Ottawa

THE HOUSING MARKET IN CANADA’S CAPITAL REMAINED STABLE IN 2016 WITH MODEST INCREASES IN BOTH THE NUMBER OF SALES AND THE AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL SALE PRICE.

The average residential sale price grew one per cent year-over-year, from $367,632 to $370,940. The number of sales between January and October rose to 13,834 in 2016 compared to 12,964 during the same period in 2015.  For more information, please call the BGM Real Estate Team at 613-558-8000!

Read Ottawa’s Full Report

Montreal

Quebec City

Saint John

Halifax

Charlottetown

St. John’s and Area

(more…)

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It’s that F-word season again…FALL!

Fall colours

Air conditioners are turned off, gardens are put to bed, leaves turn into colours that become so vibrant you have to stop and stare. Mornings and evenings are filled with smells that are unique to fall…a mix of earth, water and summer campfires smoldering to their winters end. Sometimes we are more like bears than we think…dreams of warm sweaters and comfortable flannel bring small smiles and feelings of hibernation…and maybe hot chocolate!

BUT WAIT! 

Before Fall becomes winter

If you are anticipating a move, a relocation or a posting this coming 2017 APS, head on out to your front and back yards over the next week before fall officially begins and take some pictures of your green lawn, that pool you used all summer, the trees full of leaves, the flowers and gardens you spent hours tending to on your knees.

You will thank yourself, and we will thank you too, when you list your house in the winter or spring when the pool is still covered, frozen or green, your grass is brown or snow covered, trees are bare… you get the picture!

Grab those fall shots before its too late

Your summer and fall photos of the front and back of your yard will help to effectively market your home no matter how much snow is in the forecast! When we list your home in the “off” season it helps if we can show any prospective buyers how amazing your home looks in the spring and summer. It is particularly helpful in the dead of winter when buyers can’t even see the topography of your lot.

This is your mission, should you choose to accept it. 🙂 Have fun and don’t forget to call us at 613-558-8000, email us at [email protected], visit our website www.myottawateam.com if you are considering a move in 2017!

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Here at BGM Real Estate Team we pride ourselves on the service we provide to our clients across the Ottawa region and especially the East end. We work from Carleton Place right through to Rockland. Now, we are proud to announce that we have a new home in the East End…a place for clients to visit, a place for us to coordinate our long days, a place close to the highway so we can get to all of you that much faster! We anticipate opening our new home in November 2016!

BGMs East End location 3B-2160 Montreal Rd.

While we service the entire city, we have worked just as hard to have an impact on the communities we live in. We are extremely fortunate to be the REALTORS® of choice for over 35% of the homeowners in Blackburn Hamlet, and we are now opening the office close to them so that we may continue not only our business service, but also our good citizen service to the community that has trusted us. We look forward to continuing our participation in Hockey Day in the Hamlet, the Blackburn Hamlet Fun Fair, the Cancer Chase and we look forward to new community participation…to be unveiled very soon!

As we set our roots in Beacon Hill North in the East End of the city, our wish is to become as big a part of the community as we are in Blackburn Hamlet. (Laurie is very excited to be back in the neighbourhood she grew up in!) We have lots of ideas for the community and we would love to hear from any of you in the area that may have even more ideas! We will start with small offerings as we begin to offer our expertise, knowledge and caring to our neighbours. So….

Big things coming to the East End!

But if you really can’t wait…you can check us out anytime at www.myottawateam.com or call us at 613-558-8000! We would love to hear from you.

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Our Initial Idea about Websites

In this business, we are all expected to make decisions fairly quickly. It was no different with the decision to update the website…quick and easy move to freshen up our look. Shopped around for a website developer, decided on the look we wanted, filled out some questionnaires. Not hard, right? WRONG! We all surf the web, look at everyone’s sites, play with cool widgets – but have you really counted the layers on a website??

Reality

About 5 weeks into the project we looked around at each other and tried to stave off the need to roll under our desks and adopt the fetal position. No doubt our web developer was on the other end of the line chuckling to themselves. Design, features, widgets, text – all 90+ pages deep – which one of us was going to tackle all that AND sell homes???? Well, we hitched up our big kid pants and dove right in. 25 weeks later – TA DA! And only one of us is still looking longingly at the space under the desk. (We will let you guess who that might be.)

No one prepares you for the amount of time, or discomfort it takes to 1. talk about yourself, 2. Succinctly get your point across about real estate, 3. Find a written “voice” that is true to who you are, 4. Learn all you can about widgets, SEO (Search engine optimization for those NOT familiar), Jetpacks and WordPress and 5. Actually sit down and write out 90 pages of content!!

Creating BGM’s website

The best advice we can give to anyone out there about to “freshen up” their website – think long, think hard, and when they tell you 5 weeks – add 20 more – because if you are trying to sell homes and make your clients happy at the same time – you need breathing room!

We hope you enjoy the site and you will stay awhile and play with our phenomenal calculator, and take in some of the highlights under the resource links.

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