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Now that winter has officially set in, the days are shorter, the nights are longer and we are spending more and more time in our homes, its time to practice what the Danes like to call HYGGE.

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.

Many homes built before 1990 contain asbestos, whether it is in old floors, ceiling tiles, roof shingles, insulation, or any number of other places.

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.

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.

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.

You’ve heard of all the wonderful, futuristic things virtual reality can do, but did you ever think it could be used to sell your very own home.

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.

When is a home NEW? Newly-Constructed Homes – this is the most obvious category to which the Homeowner Protection Act will apply. Home Warranty Insurance coverage must apply.

Many people can understandably get confused by certain aspects of real estate law, and one such area which often causes confusion are matters involving fixtures and chattel.

We lead the industry in quality marking, exposure, and take our time to ensure each home is featured and marketed in a special way to bring out the very best impressions. Throughout this listing process, Seller’s tend to have similar questions, so we thought we would share these with you …

The report notes that MLS® residential sales in the province are forecast to climb 10.4 per cent. The August 2016 benchmark price of a single-family home in the VIREB area was $384,000, up 13.23 per cent from one year ago. Prices increased in every zone, ranging from 9 per cent in Port Alberni to 16 per cent in Nanaimo and 17 per cent in the Parksville-Qualicum area. You can see by the attached Nanaimo graph that we had a slight increase in August.