Your Next Home Awaits

My online marketing presence:  Automated and  available 24/7

My online marketing system allows me to make information accessible 24 hours a day, and to respond immediately and directly to each and every prospective buyer. From my website, prospective buyers can inmediateley access information about your home.  Through my Personal Home Search, your listing will be sent by e-mail to every prospective buyer in my database, when your home meets their criteria. Plus it will also be automatically emailed to future prospective buyers whose criteria matches your home.

Traditional marketing

As soon as you list your home with me, I will enter your home in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) database. Other agents can immediately access your property information by computer. Plus, your property will be included in any printed MLS books. I also regularly publish in magazines and newspapers in the area and send out direct mail pieces to potential buyers.

Pricing your home

As there are likely many other houses on the market that are in direct competition with your home, I will help you price your home competitively to attract qualified buyers. I will complete a detailed Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) report, which will show you a range of prices being paid for homes in your area. You can complete my online form to get a feel for your home’s market value.

Every step of the way…

Remember, I will be working for you every step of the way to make sure that you get the highest possible price for your home in the shortest period of time.

Increasing the value of your home:

In 2008 the Appraisal Institute of Canada conducted a survey among its members who are experts in residential real estate about which improvements add value to the sale price of a home.

Respondents were asked to rank the renovations currently being done in the marketplace which, in their opinion, have the highest recovery rate. The recovery rate is the likely increase in a home resale value which could be attributed to a renovation as a proportion of the cost of the renovation. For example, if a $10,000 renovation increases the home value by $6,000 over the home’s previous value, then the ‘recovery rate’ is 60%.

Among the list of perennial home improvements, bathroom and kitchen renovations continue to be the most popular with a recovery rate of between 75 and 100 percent according to the respondents.

Several other renovations that were identified as having higher recovery rates are:

1. Energy efficient upgrades have an average recovery rate of 61%
2. Use of non-neutral interior paint colours (67%)
3. Addition of a cooking island in kitchen (65%)
4. Installing Jacuzzi or whirlpool bath separate from shower stall (64%)
5. However, these were not mentioned by as many respondents as energy efficient upgrades

When asked to rate five energy efficient upgrades in terms of their impact on the resale value of a home, respondents agreed that:

1. The type of heating system, heating system efficiency, window efficiency and insulation were considered to have “significant” positive impact on the resale price of a home;
2. Efficient hot water heaters were judged to have a minimal impact on home values;
3. High efficiency windows received the highest level of agreement among respondents as the energy-saving home improvement that would have a significant positive impact on the appraise value of a home

Home owners thinking about making improvements to their home should consider the following tips which are drawn from the survey:

1. Renovations that add features to a home that other homes in the neighbourhood already have such as a second bathroom for example, have a higher recovery rate than features not shared by neighbouring properties.
2. Renovations done on a home with a lower market value than the others in the neighbourhood provide a higher recovery rate than renovations done on a home which is worth more than neighbouring properties.
3. Poorly done renovations may have no positive impact or worse, actually reduce the value of a home.
4. Ensuring that a home is in good repair and well maintained is essential. However, renovations done on a home which has maintenance problems will have a much lower impact on its resale price.
5. While most renovations will not increase the market value of a home by more than the amount spent, it is hard to put a price on the enjoyment owners get from home improvement.