Expecting a .25% hike.....
http://www.financialpost.com/news/Week+Ahead+Rate+hike+cards/3288001/story.html#ixzz0u7teJzQu
Monday, July 19, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
June Stats
Here are the June Stats for KW sales. *Take note that effective this month, rentals have been removed from the stats.
http://www.kwreb.on.ca/Stats/June_2010_Media_Release.pdf
And here's a reference from a fellow agent whom I recently worked with on a deal:
"Thanks for everything Krista. It’s always so refreshing to work with someone as professional and pleasant as yourself. I look forward to working with you again! "
http://www.kwreb.on.ca/Stats/June_2010_Media_Release.pdf
And here's a reference from a fellow agent whom I recently worked with on a deal:
"Thanks for everything Krista. It’s always so refreshing to work with someone as professional and pleasant as yourself. I look forward to working with you again! "
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Reference
Here's another reference from a happy client. I'm not quite as superhuman as they make me seem, lol! Thx J&H!
" May 2010. We need to move to Waterloo within a couple of months. We have a 2-year old son and a weeks-old daughter. We are moving from West Virginia, and we have one weekend to make a trip to the area to find a home. We have very specific ideas about what kind of house we want, and the neighborhood we want to live in. In a very hot market, the houses available all seem out of our price range. Most homes are selling at over asking price, and within days of listing. We meet Krista almost by accident, and she offers to work with us.
For a solid month Krista stays in close contact with us by phone and email, providing excellent advice on the Waterloo market, and even helping us think through the listing, marketing, and selling of our home in West Virginia. While we are still in another country, she also personally visits dozens of homes for us and gives us feedback. She knows how busy our lives are. We never have to ask for anything – she is on top of it.
We sell our house at way under our asking price. The Waterloo market is exploding, and it is looking pretty unlikely that we will find a house. We set aside two days to travel to the area. Krista sets up 8 viewings, having pared the list down herself by visiting homes ahead of time and ruling out houses that aren’t going to work. We can trust her completely, because she has really taken the time to understand who we are and what we want.
When we tour homes with her, she pays close attention to all of the important details, and has a lot of knowledge about electrical, plumbing, foundation, insulation and other issues, with an added sense of some key problem areas in the homes in our region and of a particular age. She also knows the cost and difficulty of specific repairs, giving us a real sense of the value of a home. When there is a question she can’t answer, she finds the answer for us right away by making a few calls.
Still, we aren’t finding anything.
After viewing 8 homes, we are exhausted. The toddler and the baby have had a long day, and so have we. We are a bit discouraged. We decide to take a break for coffee. Instead of taking a break, though, Krista secretly heads back to her office and starts working the phone and the internet. She finds a house that hasn’t been officially listed yet. It is in our desired neighborhood – the best part of that neighborhood – and in our price range. Somehow, she gets us into the house for a viewing. We love it.
Because Krista is so motivated, connected, and persistent, we get the house without going over the asking price – a small miracle. Her “pitching” of our offer is creative, honest, and persuasive. Krista handles all of the negotiations skillfully, professionally, and with grace.
Krista even actively helps with our arrangements for insurance, lawyers, and banking. She follows through on the small details of our contract to make sure the sellers complete their end of the deal. She makes everything easier than it should be, and always emails or calls us (and others) back within an hour. When a key document needs to be faxed or delivered, she always gets it where it needs to be, on time. Within a month, we are moving into our new home.
We can’t imagine working with anyone better than Krista; nor can we imagine having found a home if we hadn’t worked with her. We will recommend her to everyone we know. Krista is a wonderful person and a terrific real estate agent.
J&H, Waterloo
" May 2010. We need to move to Waterloo within a couple of months. We have a 2-year old son and a weeks-old daughter. We are moving from West Virginia, and we have one weekend to make a trip to the area to find a home. We have very specific ideas about what kind of house we want, and the neighborhood we want to live in. In a very hot market, the houses available all seem out of our price range. Most homes are selling at over asking price, and within days of listing. We meet Krista almost by accident, and she offers to work with us.
For a solid month Krista stays in close contact with us by phone and email, providing excellent advice on the Waterloo market, and even helping us think through the listing, marketing, and selling of our home in West Virginia. While we are still in another country, she also personally visits dozens of homes for us and gives us feedback. She knows how busy our lives are. We never have to ask for anything – she is on top of it.
We sell our house at way under our asking price. The Waterloo market is exploding, and it is looking pretty unlikely that we will find a house. We set aside two days to travel to the area. Krista sets up 8 viewings, having pared the list down herself by visiting homes ahead of time and ruling out houses that aren’t going to work. We can trust her completely, because she has really taken the time to understand who we are and what we want.
When we tour homes with her, she pays close attention to all of the important details, and has a lot of knowledge about electrical, plumbing, foundation, insulation and other issues, with an added sense of some key problem areas in the homes in our region and of a particular age. She also knows the cost and difficulty of specific repairs, giving us a real sense of the value of a home. When there is a question she can’t answer, she finds the answer for us right away by making a few calls.
Still, we aren’t finding anything.
After viewing 8 homes, we are exhausted. The toddler and the baby have had a long day, and so have we. We are a bit discouraged. We decide to take a break for coffee. Instead of taking a break, though, Krista secretly heads back to her office and starts working the phone and the internet. She finds a house that hasn’t been officially listed yet. It is in our desired neighborhood – the best part of that neighborhood – and in our price range. Somehow, she gets us into the house for a viewing. We love it.
Because Krista is so motivated, connected, and persistent, we get the house without going over the asking price – a small miracle. Her “pitching” of our offer is creative, honest, and persuasive. Krista handles all of the negotiations skillfully, professionally, and with grace.
Krista even actively helps with our arrangements for insurance, lawyers, and banking. She follows through on the small details of our contract to make sure the sellers complete their end of the deal. She makes everything easier than it should be, and always emails or calls us (and others) back within an hour. When a key document needs to be faxed or delivered, she always gets it where it needs to be, on time. Within a month, we are moving into our new home.
We can’t imagine working with anyone better than Krista; nor can we imagine having found a home if we hadn’t worked with her. We will recommend her to everyone we know. Krista is a wonderful person and a terrific real estate agent.
J&H, Waterloo
Monday, July 5, 2010
WETT - Fireplaces, wood burning appliances
One course I took recently was a great course put on my Gerald Moore, RSM Building Consultants. He spoke on being WETT certified.
WETT stands for Wood Energy Technology Transfer. Basically it's a certification for those who inspect fireplaces, wood stoves, etc. He had a lot of information for agents, but also had some great tips for homeowners in general.
The building code in Ontario did not come about until 1975 and has changed quite a bit since that time. If you have an older home with a fireplace or woodstove, it may be a good idea to have an inspector who is WETT certified come and take a look at your chimney and wood burning appliance. There's a good chance that if your home was built before the 1960's it may not have been built to any particular standards at all.
Wood Burning stoves should have some sort of certification label on them somewhere. That label indicates how that particular stove should have been installed..and of course it's slightly different for every apparatus.
As far as energy efficiency is concerned a great wood burning stove can be an efficient way to heat a home. Most wood-burning fireplaces on the other hand are pretty to look at, but aren't the most efficient way to heat a home as most of the heat goes straight up the chimney.
One last tip, that I found interesting is that getting yourself a flue thermometer is a great way to be efficient and keep your fire at the right temperature. Gerald suggested using some newspaper and start your fire and warm up the chimney. Then get your fire going to between 300-500 degrees F. It's best to keep the fire between that temperature. A smoldering fire will create creosote which is what builds up in the chimney and can cause chimney fires. The less smoldering, the safer fire.
If you have any other questions or would like to be referred to a WETT certified inspector for your fireplace or wood burning appliance, just let me know!
WETT stands for Wood Energy Technology Transfer. Basically it's a certification for those who inspect fireplaces, wood stoves, etc. He had a lot of information for agents, but also had some great tips for homeowners in general.
The building code in Ontario did not come about until 1975 and has changed quite a bit since that time. If you have an older home with a fireplace or woodstove, it may be a good idea to have an inspector who is WETT certified come and take a look at your chimney and wood burning appliance. There's a good chance that if your home was built before the 1960's it may not have been built to any particular standards at all.
Wood Burning stoves should have some sort of certification label on them somewhere. That label indicates how that particular stove should have been installed..and of course it's slightly different for every apparatus.
As far as energy efficiency is concerned a great wood burning stove can be an efficient way to heat a home. Most wood-burning fireplaces on the other hand are pretty to look at, but aren't the most efficient way to heat a home as most of the heat goes straight up the chimney.
One last tip, that I found interesting is that getting yourself a flue thermometer is a great way to be efficient and keep your fire at the right temperature. Gerald suggested using some newspaper and start your fire and warm up the chimney. Then get your fire going to between 300-500 degrees F. It's best to keep the fire between that temperature. A smoldering fire will create creosote which is what builds up in the chimney and can cause chimney fires. The less smoldering, the safer fire.
If you have any other questions or would like to be referred to a WETT certified inspector for your fireplace or wood burning appliance, just let me know!
May Stats for KW and update
With the busyness of June I didn't realize that I had not yet posted the May stats, so here they are....with the June stats to be available sometime later this week.
http://www.kwreb.on.ca/Stats/May%202010%20Media%20Release.pdf
June was quite the month. Working with clients who just began their search for a new home, other just moving into their new homes, and a few who have decided to change thier plans and await a better time for thier situation.
I also took a number of courses over the month and will post some tips and info in my next posting.....momentarily! :)
http://www.kwreb.on.ca/Stats/May%202010%20Media%20Release.pdf
June was quite the month. Working with clients who just began their search for a new home, other just moving into their new homes, and a few who have decided to change thier plans and await a better time for thier situation.
I also took a number of courses over the month and will post some tips and info in my next posting.....momentarily! :)
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