buying and selling: Buying a Cottage - Fractional Ownership Can Cause Friction - 08/10/12 03:45 AM

There are so many benefits to spreading the cost, maintenance and use of a cottage between or among family or friends.  In fact, you may just decide to buy a fractional ownership with a stranger in a managed property.  The idea that you are not wholly responsible for something that you will not be using daily is appealing.  To be happy on a long term basis, have a long and detailed discussion with the person or people who you are considering partnering with on the cottage - snowbird condo - ski chalet etc.  I advise you to have a few … (44 comments)

buying and selling: Buying a Cottage - No Cell Phone Coverage - 08/09/12 03:13 AM
Here is a simple little test to do when you are out shopping for a cottage, ski chalet or summer home.  Take out your cell phone and try to call a friend. 
We all think that there are communication towers everywhere and that cell phone reception (and the accompanying data transmission) will work throughout North America.  Not so.  Telephone companies need to know that there are sufficient users to warrant having a communications tower installed.  In addition, the range for some towers may not go too far with geographic interference such as hills and mountains.  Of course cities and towns will … (81 comments)

buying and selling: Buying a Cottage - No CNN in the AM! - 08/07/12 06:15 AM
Can you guess what this contraption is?

This is a television aerial.  It may be the only way to get some television and only locally broadcast television.  What is missing is the cable.  You know, the three hundred plus stations (of which 290 are useless) that you get at home. Are you like me and need a news fix every morning.  Well, with this aerial, you might get the local news and then again, it might not be working because of the wind and clouds and gawd knows what else.  
So, if you are buying a cottage, ask about … (19 comments)

buying and selling: I want it right now and I want everything on my list. Get it for me. - 07/19/12 03:49 AM
 
Very late one evening this week, I was watching one of those TV shows on buyers heading out with an agent to get a new home.  As we know, these are shows so they have been staged, edited, cut, and the buyers have probably been assigned roles.  In this show, the young wife had some very specific things that were requirements for her to buy and she handed the agent a long printed list.  The agent, well into her fifties or sixties, tried to be kind-generous-calm and a good listener.  She tried, but she failed.  The agent’s exasperation with the … (28 comments)

buying and selling: Seven Things to do After You Get the Key to Your New Home - 04/27/12 08:52 AM

You have just left the lawyer’s office with the key to your new home.   The lawyer has ensured that you have insurance for the house and that the title will be transferred in due course.  Everything is set up for you to go to what is now your new home.  What things should you go within the first few days or weeks?
Quick Walk Through
1.  Be ready to do a quick walk through of your home – before you move in any boxes, furniture etc.   You want to see: that the home is move-in ready; that the owners have … (13 comments)

buying and selling: If People Knew How Much Work was Involved, Would They Move? - 09/04/11 08:21 AM

 
I have read that the human memory is a miraculous thing.  It does not remember the feeling of pain.  You remember that things hurt but you cannot relive it.  Now, that same memory is working when you move.  You remember that it was a hassle but you cannot remember how much work, physical effort, stress and organizational skills were required.  Thank Goodness!!!!!
Let’s just stop of a minute and think of the work involved in getting your home ready for a sale.  You start by paring down on the things in each room and then clean it the house … (57 comments)

buying and selling: Exact Estimate - 08/28/11 10:57 AM

(as if).  
 
When you are pricing your home, you will want to know the sold price of other homes in your neighbourhood.  Using this information, you can adjust for the plus and minuses of what your home contains.   One less bathroom, one more parking spot, no updates, lot size differences,  etc.  Remember, your improvements were to your taste and your values.  Be realistic.  Will others think that your man cave in black is worth what you paid or that your IKEA kitchen (which can be very nice, especially when professionally installed) is equivalent to the custom built kitchen your … (27 comments)

buying and selling: Now I am a willow. Now I can bend. - 07/12/11 06:33 AM

In the well known song, Until it is time for you to go, Neil Diamond sings:  "  I was an oak now I'm a willow now I can bend."
For couples that are moving there is often one person who is the cause, the source, or the creator of the idea or need to move.  When that happens, the other person has options, resist forever or, like a willow, bend to the move. 
When I was growing up, my father was relocated to new cities twice.  My mother made it a game to move and created excitement around all of … (25 comments)

buying and selling: Dead as a Door Nail - 06/01/11 05:52 AM

And that is dead.  If you are buying or selling your home and a deal does not go through, you need time to adjust.  Mourn for an hour.  Pine and sigh.  You may have started dreaming and planning based upon that sale.  If the home has gone to someone else or the Buyers have found another home then there is no going back. 
Don't take too long before moving(every pun intended) on.  I want you to get your house ready for the next showing, have a long talk with the real estate agent about why the deal was lost and make … (25 comments)

buying and selling: What is Selling in Westboro Ottawa Canada? - 03/28/11 12:27 PM
Today the MLS shows that there are 59 properties available in the Westboro MLS areas 5001, 5002 and 5003.  These properties are either active or conditionally sold.  There are:
 4 - Commercial                          3 - Rentals  1 - lot  2 - Multiple Family 18 - Residential 21 - Condos The price range for the 18 residential units ranges from $349,900 to $850,000 with an average of $720,194
The price range for the 21 condo units ranges from $227,900 to $1,600,000.  The average price is $512,945.
Westboro is a wonderful place to live - active, commercially vibrant and involved.
 
 
 
… (7 comments)

buying and selling: Things are bubbling with DOM - 01/13/11 07:32 AM

Buyers and Buyers' agents are very interested in knowing the number of days that a particular house has been on the market.  The question is "How long has this house been for sale?"   
A house that has been on the market for less than a couple of weeks is still hot.  If it is just listed and properly priced then it may be sizzling hot - subject of a bidding war in a Sellers' Market.  A potential Buyer may want to avoid newly listed houses just because of the bidding war situation.  Conversely, some Buyers will only look at new … (28 comments)

 

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