Celebrations and Family Law

Last week I attended a course on Family law put on by two local lawyers. They had some great information on some of the latest judicial decisions coming down the pipes affecting various real estates transactions. Thinking about living common-law with someone and purchasing a house together? Be sure to protect yourselves with a co-habitation agreement. Seperating? Be sure to have the seperation agreement in place before making any major decisions about real estate. Obviously the lawyers are a little biased, but the key is to seek the advice of the lawyers early in the process to avoid needing much more of their services later on!

The pic is of first time home-buyer's L and D....so excited to move into their new digs in about a month. Nothing like plastic wine glasses and sparkling grape juice to celebrate! :)

This week I've been busy following up on some market evaluations and brushing up on the new City of Waterloo rental housing bylaw. The new bylaw has proven to be quite the nightmare already for some. It's been hard to get anyone from the city to give any answers on present licensing and even harder for clear answers on the bylaw set to come into effect April 2012. Generally though it's going to cost landlords more money, IF they can even get the licenses. Lots of bugs to work out and certainly not a pleasant thing to deal with for landlords in the city. The demand for investment properties in Waterloo has been rumoured to have gone down by about 30%....yikes! And if you've ever wanted to purchase an entire street, now is the time as an entire street in Northdale will be putting their homes up by auction because of the new bylaw. Tighter rental housing bylaws and licenses are certainly a positive thing, especially in neighbourhoods, like Northdale where students are everywhere, but this particular bylaw leaves landlords wondering how much more they will have to pay in inspections and licenses IF they can even get the license. The bylaw has limits on the number of people, limits on the amount of bedrooms in comparison to living space, and limits on proximity to other licensed properties. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Any questions as to how this may affect your rental property, pop me an email at krista@kristajonker.com

May 2011 Stats

May Stats http://www.kwar.ca/spring-market-finally-arrives/

A slower start to the spring market has now arrived and in full swing. Hopefully, with it's late start maybe it will stick around a little longer!

This week I've been busy with a couple of market evaluations. V&C had me into their beautiful home to to an evaluation and I was able to meet with K(a referral) to chat with one of her properties and give some suggestions as to how to get it ready to sell. C&H firmed up on their fantastic bungalow in Northlake and are looking forward to being close to the market and Laurel Creek.

Yesterday I went to a course on environmental concerns. Although there was a commercial spin to much of what what taught there were certainly some nuggets I took away from to keep in mind in residential sales. The sins of our past have a lasting effect on our environment and it's certainly important to be able to recognize the signs of issues for concern. Underground oil tanks, asbestos, radon gas, methane, contaminated groundwater are all things that are good to be aware off when purchasing properties that may be at risk for these items.

I've got a few buyers looking for the perfect property, maybe you can help out with! :)
I have buyers looking for a great lot in Waterloo to build a dream house, buyers looking for a 4 bedroom home in Waterloo, buyers looking for an older home in the East Ward of downtown Kitchener, a bungalow in Uptown Waterloo, and another buyer looking for a bungalow on a great greenspace property. If you think you might have or know of a home that might be appropriate for one of my buyers let me know!

If you're looking for a property I may have one coming up that might be right for you! How about a 4 bedroom home in Waterloo in an affordable price range? or a luxurious bungalow in Laurelwood? or a spacious starter home in East Ward of downtown Waterloo? How about a backsplit in Country Hills? or a raised bungalow in East Ward? or a backsplit in Northlake? or a rental property in Waterloo with or without the tenants?

I've often got a few things up my sleeve, if you're thinking of buying or selling I may have some ideas for you!