Category: Uncategorized

Gardening With Kids

With spring just around the corner, it’s time to think about your home garden; but before you think about doing all that work yourself, consider getting the kids involved. There are many lessons to be learned with a shovel and some dirt! Gardening is a great way to spend time outside, learn basic plant science, and have loads of family fun.

How to Prepare Your Home for Photo Day

Ensuring that your home is ‘Show Ready’ is something that you’ll need to keep in mind once you have decided to offer it for sale. Before we start to create your homes unique listing display, our home marketing specialists have some general tips for ‘Photo Day’ that will ensure your home makes a magnificent first impression. Like a fine piece of art, buyers will spend countless hours examining offerings online. That is why we take great time and care in crafting your home marketing materials, and we need your help to better prepare for this creative process. Follow these tips to prepare your home for the best real estate photos possible.

Holiday Hosting Tips

T’is the season, it’s time to celebrate and if you are hosting a party or gathering this season that means it is time to get organized! Many of us lead busy lives, making time a luxury we can’t necessarily afford, so to help you stay on track and impress your guests we have put together a few holiday entertaining tips.

November 2016 Market Report

In October around 399 single-family homes sold on the MLS® System in the Vancouver Island Real Estate board, compared to 368 last October, an increase of eight per cent. Month over month, sales decreased by 24 per cent from September, which saw 528 unit sales. Nanaimo completed 114 of those sales, and is up about 20% over last year in sales. The reduced sales activity in October is likely caused by typical late-summer cooling and continuing low inventory challenges. Active listings of single-family homes dropped once again in October, dipping to 1,158, the lowest VIREB has seen since the board began tracking inventory levels in 1999.

Real Estate “Titles” Explained

When lawyers and other real estate professionals talk about “title,” they are referring to who has legal ownership and the right to use a piece of property. Although the idea of legal title can be applied to anything, people most often use it in reference to real estate and automobiles, because those are substantial purchases which can have complicated ownership arrangements.

5 Decorating No No’s

As home marketing professionals there are days when we have to remind ourselves that it takes time, patience and sometimes a few odd choices before we get it right. Although scouring Pinterest for inspiration decorating is great, we thought it would also be helpful to identify some of the most common blunders.

A New Set of Rules For Canadian Mortgages

The new mortgage rules announced by the Federal Government on October 3, 2016 caught the entire industry by surprise and it’s something we are watching, as to if or when it effects our local market. Our view is that the new rules will make it more difficult and more costly for many Canadians to obtain a mortgage.