Archives

When to Consider Buying a “Diamond in the Rough”

Let’s face it. When you visit a home during a scheduled viewing or open house, you’re usually seeing it at its best. The rooms are tidy. The sinks are clean. The closets are organized and uncluttered. Even the lighting is set to its brightest. That’s just good old-fashioned marketing. However, ...

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Increasing Foyer Appeal

You’ve heard of curb appeal. It refers to the good impression buyers tend to get when they first see your house “from the curb”. The greater the curb appeal, the more enticing your house will seem. But there’s another type of appeal you may not be aware of: Foyer appeal. ...

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Lighting Matters When Selling Your House

Remember the last time you were in a furniture store or other major home retailer? Remember the fully decorated displays of furniture, appliances and other products? Some of those may have even been organized as model rooms. What did most of those displays have in common? Chances are, they were ...

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Preparing Your House for Sale in Less Than a Week

It’s great when you have lots of time to prepare for something important. But life doesn’t always happen that way. Sometimes you have to move quickly, and do the best you can with the time you have. Say, for example, you had to get your house ready for sale, and ...

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For Crying Out Loud, Just Say Something

We are all staring at our smart phones days and nights. From the age of 1 to the age of 99. The phones are ringing, beeping, and making all sorts of sounds to be noticed. So, why on earth don’t we respond? Why on the phone, via text or e-mail ...

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Rentals are Not a Joke!

It often surprises me how lightly some of the home owners and also some of my colleges treat rentals. I might be wrong, but I treat rentals just as seriously as I treat sales. I will not offer to do open houses or print super expensive brochures, but the rest ...

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Shopping for the Right Neighbourhood

When most people shop for a new home, they think about the kind of house they want: three bedrooms, two bathrooms, trees in the backyard. But it also makes sense to shop for the right neighbourhood. Think about it. In what type of area would you most like to live? ...

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Stay or move? How to decide

Do you sometimes review the real estate ads in your local paper? Do you drive by an open house sign and feel the urge to stop and check it out? Those are common indications that, at least on some level, you’re thinking about the possibility of making a move. But ...

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Understanding Market Value

If you were going to sell your car, what would you do? Well, you would probably check to find out how similar vehicles to yours are priced. Then you would set your advertised price within that range. What you would be doing, perhaps without knowing it, is determining the “market ...

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Foody Thursday – Chocolate Valentines

Here is what me and Alissa made for our boys this Valentine’s Day  – chocolate Valentine’s   We baked a basic chocolate sponge – the one from the package, where you add 3 eggs, cup of water and 1/3 cup of oil Then, we cut out hearts of various colour ...

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