Call me! Tell me something…have you heard? I though she said…but when I think about it it had to be like this…
Hmm, hearing and listening. Understanding and repeating. Life is full of incredible amounts of information from a myriad amount of people, and as such we have a seemingly short time to assimilate and disseminate this information. We “Pack” things in to look at later, lol! Its tough getting through the lists sometimes. ….do you have a list? I seem to have multiple lists which I constantly “Re-List” onto a newer master list.
Honestly. we forget so much, but we are also learning so many new things, constantly. Today for instance I discovered “Adele 19″ Holy cow can she ever sing! LOVE her VOICE! see now I’m off track, which is why I have lists. My son Reid, would probably verify the list thing for you. Actually anybody I know would. The point is unless I write it down I will probably forget it, because something new has come into view, or the telephone rings or my Black Berry pings/dings or some other noise happens like the door bell.
In real estate there is far more than meets the eye, and for a lot of people it means everything to them. The outcome of a negotiation can be exhilarating and joyous; it can also be exhausting and difficult to deal with. Which is why it is so important to communicate clearly and openly with your “team”, which includes your solicitor, financier, partner/wife/husband and your real estate salesperson. If not, the outcome of your negotiation may not be what you visualized.
Talk with each other, be open, be honest, and kind. If the other party of the conversation does not understand, try again, until everyone understands. This does not mean agree…that is something else entirely. Write down ideas and thoughts and refer back to them, keep the notes and file them. Read the proposed “Counter Offer”, be clear what you wish conveyed to the other party. Edit it all, refine it all, and if possible be concise. A simpler concept is easier to grasp, so then should your agreement to the other side!
lol! I was just looking at the photo to the right of my son Reid. I remember him when was just a tiny boy learning to walk. We lived in the country and had just moved to the city on a busy corner lot. I was concerned for him so I made sure I talked with him about the road, and where he was, and about the danger of going off of the lot. He listened, and asked a couple of questions which with my answers helped him understand the danger of the road and the safety of the garden.
He never went onto the road.
He listened, and he understood.
Love you Reid!
It’s a question that comes to mind only because of what I do for a living and because we have just purchased a hobby farm. The question/answer that came to mind when I was thinking about it was odd, bear with me. I was thinking of different answers and different people, some would give you their address, for example; I live at 3206 Vance Street. They might not give you the town or village or city, assuming that you already know they are from there. Others might say; oh I’m from Osgoode township, and I wouldn’t know what they are assuming but they might be wary of you and not want you to know their address…maybe, I’m just saying. And others might say, oh I live on a farm.
The differences above are subtle. But, they are not the imagery that popped into my head. I was thinking of a HEAD. A lot of people now are so connected to technology, that they/we/myself, are sometimes living inside our heads, looking out at the world. eh hum, let me explain further if I can. This isn’t easy, but here I go. Of course we all look out from ourselves at the world, but my imagery was, us looking into a world we have on screen in our homes, our computers, our plasma televisions and our blackberries or ipods…we are looking into another world, from this one.
I bought a hobby farm for many reasons, not the least of which is space, space so I can get outside, sit, and look around, at where I live. Recently I have become aware of the enormity of the earth, as well as the smallness of it all. We are because of technolgy, and sheer incredible size of population very much linked to each other.
I will be looking forward to living there, we are going to call our farm “Longfields” or “Longfield”. I will when asked Where do you live, say oh I live on Longfield Farm, south of Osgoode Village. And spend less time looking into screens that I have been looking at.
I will probably live a different style of life, and likely spend an enormous amount of time outside doing photography, like the one posted here, that is one of my shots from P.E.I. last fall. I may try my hand at growing crops and setting up a shop again, now that I have space.
I think it is important to visualize where you want to live, not just the place. But the style of life you want, the qualities of the existence and the meaning you will derive from living that life. We are all different, thank goodness for that, and we all change, so please, keep on dreaming, keep on looking at and out, and when asked where do you live, you may be surprised at how you answer next.
I live on Longfield Farm.
You might think so. The big question to ask is, why.
That is THE question. Why did you do it?
I thought that it made sense, and then there was the whole supply and demand curve thing, so if I didn’t so it, I wouldn’t get it.
Why now, why not later, why didn’t you sell first?
Because it was the dream, the goal, the right thing to do. Get the dream home and land and then sell.
Aren’t you worried?
You bet, but the thing is if I stage it, and price it right, it should sell quickly.
In this market? Are you nuts?
No, I have updated the house, decluttered, cleaned up the yard, painted, and now I am bring in a stager and decluttering even more.
What do you mean price it right?
I’ll sell it at market value or below, because, the end game is more important than a couple of thousand dollars.
What was the dream?
A bungalow on acreage, oh and by the way, my house is for sale!
When you are selling your home the chances are that you have a specific home in mind, or you have an idea/dream home in mind that you want to purchase, once your home sells. Because, you need to sell in order to buy, you need to “Conditionally” list your home upon being able to purchase a specific home. Problem here? In Ottawa it has to be a specific home and not an idea or dream home.
If you for example listed your home with the condition that you are listing so that you can find that dream home and somone comes along on day ONE and makes you an offer for full price with a 30 day closing and NO conditions, what do you do? You would be very frustrated, and elated and quite frankly caught off gaurd. You haven’t even started to shop yet, you don’t even know what is out there? And you cannot accept the offer because of that fact, not having found a home you want to buy.
Frustrating the market. That is why we have to have a specif property in mind, so that we do not frustrate the market by not being able to enter into an agreement, and putting off the “Market” by not accepting full price offers on your home. So what do you do? Start working with an Agent and go looking at homes, find one you like, and then come home and list yours with the condition that you are able to reach an agreement of purchase and sale on “that” home. Perfectly reasonable and an elegant solution, however not without it’s moments of stress and doubt.
I learned a long time ago from a law teacher of mine, that “If you can say it, it can be written down”, this was alluding to writing clauses for contracts. True, and also, the more logical and simple the clause the easier it should be for all parties to be able to understand the meaning and implication.
So, when you are looking at a contract, or Agreement of Purchase and Sale, ask questions of your real estate salesperson and try and get a clear understanding of the meaning of, Conditional Upon….
Market bubble about to collapse? That was the latest headline my friend Jay told me about yesterday. Really? Enough already. Two years ago the world apparently stopped spinning and the sky was so porous viruses from space were about to invade the earth. Not really, but if you read enough headlines, you would get a picture that was off centre.
Two years ago, the market, globally caught up with itself as greedy unethical banking practices became the reality of the global population and governments had to come to grips with the realization that things had to change. Fine. What a big huge mess. Then to top that story we had Pandemic flu added to it, and no it was not funny, it was scary for a lot of people. Thankfully responsible governments helped with vaccines. Ergo the viruses from space bit above…sorry but this ongoing bad news headline topic is bothering me.
Now we have a series of localized, regionalized and interconnected economies on planet earth. I work in one of them in Ottawa Ontario, which by the way seems to be OK for the most part. Slower maybe, but still rolling along just fine thank you very much. Bubble? Ottawa has a bubble? What kind of pipe was that guy smoking when he came up with that headline? Ugh.
Ottawa is one of the most stable, consistent, quasi predictable real estate markets in Canada. Homestly we never have record spikes, except for 2002, 14%, but overall over 50 years the growth is calm, consitent, and fair. Bubble? Show me the bubble!
I have 56 happy clients this year so far, oops sorry as of last night that would be 58, and that ties last years number for me. And I have three months left in my fiscal year! Bubble? No.
Real estate is not about headlines, it is about understanding the market and how it impacts your home. I have a saying, “Everything is manageable”, and for the most part I think that is true. I market, I research, I adapt and try and assist my clients and customers understand the market, which , By the Way, is always changing, even as I write this article. When you are reading this it will be out of date. However, I assure you, that you not get wet or stained when the,
Bubble bursts!
lol! Have an awesome day, and if I can help you sell or buy, just call me, I’d love to hear from you.
Cyril
Still a seller’s market in Ottawa; prices rise steadily
August 5, 2010 : Still a seller’s market in Ottawa; prices rise steadily
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,149 residential properties in July through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,578 in July 2009, a decrease of 27.2 per cent.
Of those sales, 294 were in the condominium property class, while 855 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.) which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.
“Last July saw a record high number of sales in Ottawa, which was the result of pent-up demand as the market came out of a downturn. What we see this year is a return to more seasonal sales volumes,” said Board President Pierre de Varennes. “The ratio of listed properties to sold properties indicates that Ottawa remained in a seller’s market last month, and sale prices continued to rise at a steady pace, as they generally do here in the national capital,” he added.
The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in July in the Ottawa area was $321,827 , an increase of 7.1 per cent over July 2009. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $249,674 , an increase of 15.2 per cent over July 2009. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $346,638, an increase of 7.1 per cent over July 2009. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board is an industry association of 2,590 sales representatives and brokers in the Ottawa area. Members of the Board are also members of the Canadian Real Estate Association.
The MLS® system is a member based service, paid for by the REALTOR® members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. The MLS® mark symbolizes the cooperation among REALTORS® to effect the purchase and sale of real estate through real estate services provided by REALTORS®. MLS® commercial and residential listings are available for viewing on the Board’s internet site at www.OttawaRealEstate.org and on the national websites of The Canadian Real Estate Association at www.REALTOR.ca and www.ICX.ca. Information about listings and open houses is also available in the Board’s weekly newspaper, Ottawa Real Estate Guide, available free at 700 locations across the Ottawa area and now online at www.OttawaRealEstateGuide.ca.
Summer time is that magical time of the year for everyone. The temperature rises, the days are longer, the light is sweet and cool in the evenings and gently wakes you in the morning. On some days you could probably cook off of sun-baked stones it gets so hot, yet we love summer because of all of these things.
For Sellers it allows for the trees and lawns and flowers to burst forward and flesh out into their individual full glory, showcasing a lovely home or estate. Summer is king, and the prince is spring for real estate sales people. It is when 70 to 80 % of the sales are made for the year, and when I or example work 7 days a week for 7 week stints without a day off, that is until Janet makes me take one or one and a half days off.
We used to own a cottage with the view above. That was “our” dock on Buck Lake, truly one of those Candiana type cottage locations with fresh clean deep water. It was our haven and being on an island it was peaceful and relaxing. I remeber one day up at the cottage, actually doing nothing but relaxing. It was a lovely time. Now that we have sold the cottage, and the boats, and work hard all summer long we look forward to serving our clients and then taking a break during the fall.
For me “Back To School” means so many things and reminds me of many more. It first of all signals that slow down in our business, leading up to Canadian Thanksgiving, when it virtually slows to a slugs pace. Secondly it means that we are entering our fourth quarter and look forward to our Award levels for the year. So far I am a Platinum Award winner with Royal LePage for 2010 meaning I am in the top 5% in Canada in sales. Third it means we are on the countdown to our vacation on the west coast of Canada. Janet and I will be heading out to Victoria for a couple of days and then on to Tofino on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It is one of the highlights of our year.
Back to school also has many fond memories for me of school and old friends and newness, it is a time for me that is in a way the New Year. January in Osgoode can be bitter sweet, usually cold and dark and not the kick off I look for, my New Year is “Back to school”. It is when I sit back and count my blessings, my friends, my health and happiness. It is the Harvest of all of those things and I suppose having farmers and gardeners in the family tree makes this an understandable realization.
Living in the rural farm area of our nations capital gives you a closer sense of contact with nature and with oneself. The seasons mean so much more out here, the weather is a companion and a foe. The sun and summer leading hopefully to a bountiful harvest. The land and home giving shelter and refuge and solce and return on investment. It is poetic, but, it does allow for Being in touch.
Selling you family home, your investment property, land, or business, is what I do, and do fulltime for you. I love doing it. I love working hard. I want you to be able to attend to your families needs, to be able to enjoy your weekends, to have comfort knowing that we, TeamCook are out there working for you, and that as the seasons allow, we will sell your home, and take our time off when it is appropriate.
Enjoy the last part of this summer, have fun getting ready for back to school, and if you need me, just call, I’m still working hard for you!
Cyril
August 29th, 2010, we have two great listings for you to come out and see between 2-4pm:
3361 Elizabeth Street, Osgoode
102 King St, Chesterville
to view any of our listings, or for a free home evaluation, call (613) 692-3567.
As I drive from one customer or client to another, I see all sorts of things. Yesterday I notice Ian Drew had paved his road, Lombardy Drive, in Osgoode Ontario. I an is a local second generation home builder and our village has been waiting for this road for a while. What it means to Osgoode is that we are growing, and growth means property values are going to go up.
I have noticed that the farms have been cutting hay and harvesting corn, which means money is flowing in the local economy of Osgoode and Rideau Townships. Petrol suppliers, small and large engine repair shops are assisting with repairs and equipment dealers are making sales to replace older equipment.
I have seen boats, tent trialers, recreationvehicles and small cars with roof top carrriers, coming and going to and from their vacations. Money is flowing and people are, generally happy about it, their state and their place in the economy.
It seems to me, that wheels are rolling and sales of all kinds are being made. The same is true in my world, in real estate sales. Albeit a bit slower than we would all like, but progressing none-the-less.
I have witnessed this past week a couple, who with a dream, determination, and some help from family and friends, have; put in an offer on a dream property, and bent over backwards to prepare their property for sale. And it’s mid August.
So? Mid August? Isn’t that the end of the season? NO, it is not. There are still plenty of Buyers in the market and plenty of homes for ssale. And, regardless of wt the media reports, the home values continue to rise and Buyers continue to enter into the market looking for homes.
Remember, your first home and when you bought it? Remember when you sold it? That’s right, it was bought because you wanted it, needed it and felt you could buy it. And when you sold, it was because it was the right time to sell it and move onto your next home…sometimes the time is NOW, not later and certainly not always perfectly planned out for a specific date and year.
August for us is very busy. We are working with several different buyers and sellers and completing sales and closings, almost as busy as we were in June! It’s not too late to think of selling in 2010, or buying in 2010. Call me for stats and information and if need be representation.
Update is, sales are still strong, and, the hay and the corn are being harvested.
Looks good outside.
Open Houses, do they work? I think so. I remember attending my first one as a consumer, wow, what a beauty of a home. I was very impressed, and no, I couldn’t afford it, but I did mention it to all of my friends and acquaintances. Was I a “look loo” ? Maybe, but it was the beginning of the buying process for myself, and if the sales representative and I had connected he might have had a new client. Someone bought the home though, and it sold quickly I remember, so maybe it was one of these people at the open house who bought it.
I sell about 10% of our listings through open houses. 10% is a big number. In theory then if you let me do 10 open houses of your home, we should have it sold! Theorizing is fun, isn’t it? Stats only go so far, but the premise remains, is 10% too much? What do I mean? If you do not let me do an open house of your property, then in theory you are reducing the opportunity to have your property sold by 10%. Which in my world is a big amount to be reducing your chances by. So you don’t want the neighbors or “looky loos” coming through, but, they may not buy your home, but they may know someone who can and perhaps will buy it. So I say, do have an open house or four, and try to expose the home to as great an audience as possible.
Need to sell your home? Looking to buy one? Both? Call me and lets talk, 613-355-5010. Or come visit my Open House at 1109 Rideau Bend on Sunday from 2-4 pm August 15th, 2010, I’m Cyril and I’d love to see you there! Who knows maybe your the 10% I need to sell Rideau Bend!
What does Friday the 13th mean to you? To me it signifies a few things. It reminds me of my Grandpa Cook, Cyril John Cook,(Yes I am also a Cyril, as is my Father), who was terrified of leaving his room on Friday the thirteenths. Grandpa lived with us for 9 years and this was one of his most significant superstitions. I loved Grandpa and still think of him now and then, and when this day rolls a round it brings a smile and a chuckle.
Today though this particular Friday the Thirteenth has a few other meanings for me andd for my family. Four years ago while on vacation with my Father, my Mother, Jeanne, had a heart attack and was transported from Picton by ambulance to the Ottawa Heart Institute. It was a Sunday, but this was the day she while on a gurney, in an ambulance driving through Ottawa on the Queensway, my Mom was givig the driver directions to the Hospital. Apparently she talked non stop from Picton to Ottawa, almost 4 hours worth, and apparently this encouraged the driver to make the trip in 3! lol! (love you Mom!).
Mom had successful triple bypass surgery and will be at our home on Saturday to celbrate her 75th Birthday.
But today marks 6 weeks fromn now when I shall be flying from Ottawa to Vancouver and having a ferry ride to Victoria for the beginning of our vacation…ahh seafood here I come.
Happy Friday the 13th!
The Sky Is Falling!
You would think with the current content in the press that the “Bubble” if there was one has not only burst, but annihiated the City of Ottawa. Devestatetion abounds and people are wondering hopelessly and homelessly through the streets looking for Shelter. Really?
Come on people, this is a “Bounce”, I mentioned this would happen last year and the analogie is taking off of a runway with a very heavy load going into the wind in a heavy downpour with only three of the four engines running….yeesh. Anyhow you tear down the runway, jump ino the air, and what happens? The back end of the plane sags while you are flying sort of horizontal to the ground…a bounce in mid air if you please.
Back to real estate, HST and the Bank of Canada and some members of the press temporarily lost their minds and a) implemented HST, b) raised the bank rate and c) wrote terrible stories and published them. Causing people to run and hide because, “The sky is falling”, again. Come on fellow members of Ottawa and area, take a depp breathe and have a look around you. The world is going through a correction, not a depression.
Cheer up, keep planning for the future and when you see a Chicken Little, ignore him.
It was raining cats and dogs yesterday afternoon and evening; combined with thunder and lighting. The power went out and then on again several times forcing computers and clocks and other elctronic hardware to restart. With rural living we have at iour house invested in a Natural Gas Generator that is hardwired through our electric panel. This allows the generator to be able to tell when the power has gone out and start automatically giving our home much needed electricity. Today I shall be calling to find out if there is such a thing as an uninteruptable power supply that will bridge between the outages and the restart so that there is less strain on our computers and other electronics.
There is much more to owning a home, it seems that it is about customizing it to your life and needs.
