FINDING THE RIGHT MORTGAGE BROKER
Nobody said it would be easy. But it’s all a matter of perspective. By it I mean finding a good and reliable mortgage broker. In many instances the decision can be an extremely simple one. You have a relative or a very close friend that you trust implicitly to give you the best quality service and really look out for your best interests. Even these scenarios come with a certain level of risk. As long as you ask the right questions and stay engaged in the process you should be
7 days ago2 min read
BUYERS HABITS CHANGING
Was sitting with close friends the other night and we got to talking about needs in a home purchase. Now I have always believed there is a vast difference between a need and a want. Most times buyers confuse those two so called priorities. A need is something you absolutely MUST have. Number of bedrooms. Good sized living area large or small lot depending on your needs. Access to schools and transportation. Hospitals if you are older or in need of health care. That list could
7 days ago2 min read
SCARY STUFF
It’s That time of year again and in honour of the scary season how about a look at some scary stories in the Real Estate world? More than a few of those for sure. First one up. Years ago I had clients looking in Prince Edward County. They weren’t sure what exactly they were looking for so we showed as many as possible. We came across one place that looked like the owners were big collectors. Sure enough every room seemed to have lots of stuff in them. The lady I was showing t
Nov 172 min read
ETHICS IN REAL ESTATE
I know the title sounds like a bit of a joke to many, but there ARE Realtors out there who care and carry themselves and their business with honesty and integrity. Really. But too often we hear about the “bad apples” and there are more than a few of those. Recently a brokerage was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Their trust account was audited and the was a $10 million dollar shortfall. The case is still under investigation but may have also cost one of the higher
Nov 172 min read
Tell your Numbers To Shut Up
The title of this week’s piece comes from a classic baseball book written in 1970 by then Seattle Pilots pitcher Jim Bouton. It is a CLASSIC. If you have never read it, do yourself a favour and set aside some time to do so. What he was saying was loosely based on a line from a Peanuts comic strip that said “Tell your statistics to shut up”. At any rate it was credited to his manager at the time Joe Schultz. Now there was a character. What this is all leading to is that you ca
Nov 72 min read
When Agents Aren’t doing Their Job Properly
I was perusing the listings the other day and came across something I have seen all too often in the last 20 years. An agent not doing their job properly and clients dictating what they feel the market should be doing. That, folks, is a recipe for disaster no matter how you cut it. A good agent (or at least a semi-competent one) will do their homework prior to going to listing appointment. Armed with pages of data that is RECENT the agent can pretty much give their client a g
Nov 72 min read
SCARY STUFF
It’s That time of year again and in honour of the scary season how about a look at some scary stories in the Real Estate world? More than a few of those for sure. First one up. Years ago I had clients looking in Prince Edward County. They weren’t sure what exactly they were looking for so we showed as many as possible. We came across one place that looked like the owners were big collectors. Sure enough every room seemed to have lots of stuff in them. The lady I was showing t
Oct 312 min read
