After a long, cold winter we are finally starting
to feel confident that it is safe to put away
the boots and bulky coats! Flowers are blooming
and the trees are starting to bud, all good signs
that the seasons are indeed changing.
Not only will we be changing our attire, but
many families in the Quinte region will also be
changing homes and even towns. There is no question
that the House Hunting season is also well underway
and that many homeowners have already sold and
bought in other locations. The word on the street
is that posting messages for military members
have been slower coming this year but don't despair.
Team David Weir is red
hot and we can help you get sold in
time to have a good selection of homes to buy
at the other end. While we are slightly ahead
in our own Team numbers, the local real estate
board is seeing significantly less numbers in
March compared to this time last year. Specifically,
there were 306 properties sold in March '07 with
only 208 this year. This represents a 32% drop
in units sold. The good news is that the average
residential sale price in our real estate board
has seen a 4% increase from March '07 to March
'08. So, if you are posted but have not yet received
your message, now is definitely the time to list.
Give us a call today and we will be happy to deliver
a Seller's package to your door. And don't forget
about the 2 hours of complimentary
'Handyman' labour or Professional Home Staging
that we offer to all our Buyers and
Sellers.
I would also like to thank everyone who took
the time out of their busy schedules to join us
last month for our Annual Home Buyers & Sellers
Seminar. Despite the inclement weather, we had
an excellent turnout. It is definitely a great
opportunity to re-connect with old friends and
to get some of those questions answered as the
posting season approaches. This year we also introduced
a Home Staging Seminar featuring Kim Andrews of
Market Ready Staging Services. Many of you will
have already met Kim who is always happy to assist
you with getting your house ready to market. I'm
sure you'll agree that her energy and vibrant
personality are hard to keep up with!
I would like to remind everyone that Team
David Weir is always willing and able to help
new clients, whether they be friends, family members,
or business associates. With over 75% of our business
coming from referrals, we must be doing something
right! And on that note, I would like to mention
that we are always looking for feedback on how
we did. Over the next couple of weeks, we will
be adding a link to our homepage that will take
you to a 'feedback form'. Simply answer a few
questions, submit, and you will automatically
be entered in a draw to win a free digital camera
at the end of the year.
And finally, in other news, we have been asked
to assist in the marketing of the Forest Ridge
Development in Frankford where you can get a well-built
home with nice upgrades for under $210K. What
a deal!
Well, that's where we are so far in 2008. Don't
forget to visit my blog
on a regular basis to see new postings and to
find out what's going on between Newsletters.
Congratulations to Adam and Sara
Emond who were the lucky winners of this year's
draw for accommodations at a luxury resort in
Florida. Sara and Adam are working around busy
schedules to plan their trip, but we will be sure
to check in with them once they have been. Thanks
to everyone who entered! 2007 was our best year
ever for entries, with just over 200 names in
the hat!!
Empire
Theatre Ticket Winners
Lorraine McGee took home the Sex and the
Second City tickets and Donna and Brian Power
were the winners of the Blue Rodeo tickets. I
understand Brian was on TD and had to turn his
ticket over to Donna's sister. Maybe next time
Brian!
Summer
Draws
To date, we have acquired tickets
to the Big Music Fest featuring The Tragically
Hip, Sam Roberts Band, Sarah Harmer, and Attack
In Black. This event is being held in Zwicks Park
in Belleville on Saturday June 21st, rain or shine.
You know the routine. Send Donna
an email to enter. Draw will take place on June
1st, so keep your calendar free until then. For
more information, check out Ticketmaster here.
Every summer, Mark Rashotte, owner
of the Empire Theatre, amazes us all with his
ability to provide the Quinte area access to some
of the most talented entertainers in the music
industry. Although not announced yet, rumour has
it that the Empire Square will be hopping again
this July with some of the best rockers on the
continent. Keep watching the 'Giveaway'
page of David's website for details. There is
sure to be unprecedented demand for tickets to
these shows!
Mary Rushlow, our local RBC Residential
Mortgage Specialist, has provided us with brochures
and scratch tickets for their RBC Gold Key Giveaway
campaign. If you have a Royal Bank Mortgage you
could log on to win $250,000 toward paying off your
mortgage. Email Janet
to pick up your tickets. Contest runs from March
1st to May 31st!
A heat pump is the only system that can provide
both warm and cool air from the same unit.
Air source heat pumps operate on exactly the
same principle as a central air conditioner. They
extract heat from the air and put it either inside
or out, wherever is desirable depending on the
season.
Another type of heat pump is the geothermal heat
pump which extracts heat from the earth through
a series of pipes buried in the ground. This system
is more efficient than air-source systems and
operates on the principle that, at a certain depth,
the earth remains more or less at a constant temperature
throughout the year. So, in cooler months, it
contains more heat than the air and vice versa.
The earth absorbs 47% or the sun's energy which,
with the help of a heat pump, can heat homes,
offices, and can even provide hot water.
Regular cleaning of your patio furniture is a
good way to keep it looking like new. Contact
with pollutants in the air can cause chemical
reactions on certain materials that can deteriorate
the material. Using soapy water and a cloth, clean
the furniture every two weeks and be sure to rinse
well. This may not be best for wood furniture
since water can raise the grain, giving it a fuzzy
feeling, but it works well on coated metal and
other surfaces.
For vinyl furniture, car wax
is a good protectant. Over time, patio furniture
gets worn out by UV rays from the sun but
car waxes contain UV protecting agents which
will make your furniture look better for
longer.
Suntan oil protects people
from the sun, but has the opposite effect
for patio furniture. If not removed, the
caustic chemicals in suntan lotion will
become baked into the vinyl and this can
cause it to degrade over time, eventually
leading to cracks in the material.
There are some common causes of
deteriorating decks which are simple to treat.
Dirt that accumulates between
the boards can cause premature rotting as well
as mold and mildew problems. There are a variety
of tools available to clean out the cracks, but
it is important not to let dirt and leaves accumulate.
Another problem is dry rot. This happens
when moisture seeps into the wood causing
a fungus to grow which eats away at the
deck. In areas affected, once dry rot starts,
infestation by termites becomes more likely.
Regular cleaning and sealing can prevent
these problems. Perform a water test to
see if it's time to seal your deck. Give
an area on the deck a quick squirt of water.
If the water is immediately absorbed by
the wood, your deck might be ready for re-sealing.
Here are three weekend projects to reduce both
your environmental impact and your utility bills:
1. Replace your toilet with a new low-flow model
and cut your water use in half. The toilet is
the single largest user of water in the home,
accounting for up to 28 percent of water use.
Replacing an old toilet with a new model will
instantly save water and money -- up to $50 a
year. For shopping advice, read 5
Tips for Choosing a Low-Flow Toilet.
2. Install water-saving fixtures on showers and
faucets. If your bathroom was built or remodeled
before 1994, your shower is using as much as triple
today's standard.
3. Don't neglect routine maintenance. Check your
toilet tank for leaks and repair dripping faucets.
As green designer Lili Wright points out in 8
Steps To A Water-Wise Bathroom, if your faucet
is dripping at a rate of one drop per second you
will waste 2,700 gallons of water per year!
The advent of extended amortizations has extended
Canada's real estate boom but, according to Ellen
Roseman of the Toronto Star, consumers should
look at 40-year mortgages like long-term renting.
Here are some of the downsides she notes:
• You have less chance of being debt-free
in retirement or retiring early.
• You won't build equity in your home for
many years.
• You may owe more than what the house is
worth if there's an economic decline.
• Spreading the payments over 40 years will
boost the cost of mortgage insurance.
For greater detail, read Ellen's article in
its entirety here.
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• IRP • Military Relocations • Quinte West Real Estate
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For Sale • Trenton • Frankford • Belleville • Brighton
• Royal Lepage • Military • DND • National Defence
• MLS Houses • Quinte Homes • Houses For Sale •
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• Realestate • Buyers • Sellers • Mortgages •
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