In this, our final newsletter for 2007, I would
like to reflect back on where we have been, where
we are going in 2008, and what we are doing to
give back to you, our clients, the community,
and the environment.
As another year draws to a close Donna, our Team,
and myself, are proud to say that we have helped
200 families buy or sell Real Estate in 2007.
While this is the business we are in, it is not
something that grows old or is a responsibility
that we take lightly. Ensuring you successfully
buy or sell your most expensive investment is
what we strive to achieve.
While we will, once again, be well within the
Top 1% for all 14,000 Royal LePage REALTORS®
nationwide, we reached an even more important
number this year. 2007 was the first year we conducted
a post-transaction client survey, with the results
showing that 99% of our clients surveyed were
happy with the services we provided. While that
is well above the industry standard we have taken
steps to further improve our client satisfaction
level.
We will continue to offer
2 hours of complimentary 'Handyman'
labour or Professional Home Staging to our
Buyers and Sellers. We have also just updated
our national referral networks at www.dndirp.com
and www.governmenttransfer.com.
This is only one way we find Buyers for those
Sellers who list with us. We
will also continue to use the electronic Home
Feedback system where comments from showing
REALTORS® are sent directly to your email
account. Earlier this Fall, we started
sending you a quarterly edition of a Home &
Lifestyle magazine featuring home renovation ideas,
cooking tips, and related topics. Finally, our
Team books designed to help you prepare to Buy
or Sell have been so well received that Donna
has just updated them for 2008.
In 2008 we also want to upload videos of our
listings to the internet. This won't be like the
old dizzying panorama of digital photographs,
but it will include video and audio describing
the features of homes we have listed for sale.
Our goal is to set our clients' listings apart
from the competition so they will be sold quicker
and with minimal stress. In other words, we want
to maximize the exposure of your home to Buyers
via a 24/7 Open House without all the aggravation
of having the 'wrong Buyers' through your home.
Finally, let me say that we do more advertising
locally and nationally than any other local REALTOR®
in this area. While this exposure certainly generates
business for us and our seller clients (because
we always try to sell our listings first), by
far the bulk of our business comes from past client
referrals. Your support of our business allows
us to concentrate on doing more for you because
we don't have to spend time and resources to find
new business. Therefore, we are able to offer
the additional services mentioned above. We can
also continue to support local and national charitable
organizations and to underwrite initiatives such
as www.quintewestconnections.com.
Your referrals to friends and associates are
truly appreciated and we are never too busy to
help your friends, family, or colleagues with
their Real Estate needs. Best wishes to all for
a very Happy Holiday Season and for a very successful
year in 2008!
We will be hosting our 11th
Annual Home Sellers/Buyers Seminar
at CFB Trenton's Military Family Resource Centre
(MFRC) in March. New for 2008 will be a second
seminar that deals exclusively with Staging a
Home for Sale and what to do with your home once
you have bought it. Staging, whether it be arranging
furniture, painting, de-cluttering, or creating
a first impression, not only makes your home more
appealing to you while you live in your home but,
just as importantly, it will make it more saleable
to potential buyers. Dates for these events are:
Home Sellers/Buyers Seminar - Tuesday March
4th from 7 - 9 PM
Professional Home Staging Seminar for Sellers
& Buyers - Wednesday March 17th from 7-9
PM.
Location is the MFRC, just off RCAF Road at CFB
Trenton. Both events are open to the public. As
always, we will be providing refreshments and
door prizes. Mark them on your Team David Weir
calendar today!
Empire
Theatre Ticket Recipients
Ed & Mary Jarick and Shawn & Jodi
Duffy were the lucky recipients of tickets to
see Paul Anka live at the Quinte Sports
Centre. Born and raised in Ottawa, Paul Anka is
our original Canadian Idol with international
success that spans 6 decades with countless millions
of albums. Truly a rare opportunity to see this
legend in our own neighbourhood and, from all
accounts, this was one of the best shows ever
presented in Belleville!
Upcoming
Draws
You could be the next winner of
tickets to an Empire Theatre event. David will
be giving away seats to the upcoming Sex and
the Second City production being held on Saturday
February 23, 2008. This will be a tuneful, fast-paced
and hilarious evening of musical comedy that proves
that there’s nothing as funny as the battle
of the sexes. For more information about the show,
click HERE
and to throw your name in the hat, simply send
Donna
an email. The draw will take place on 15 February.
Good luck!
Luxury
Resort Giveaways
As the year
draws to a close, David is once again offering
all Team David Weir clients an opportunity
to win accommodation for one week at a Florida
luxury resort such as the Westgate
Lakes Resort & Spa.
Anyone who
has bought or sold Real Estate with Team
David Weir, or who has referred clients
to the Team, is welcome to participate as
a token of our appreciation for your business
and your confidence in us as your Team of
choice. Draw date is Friday 15 February,
2008. To enter, simply send Donna
an email with your name and contact information.
Don't delay. Make sure your name is in the
hat. Odds of winning are usually better
than 1 in 200!!
It's that time of year
when homeowners with functioning wood fireplaces/stoves
should be checking the safety and compliance of
their wood burning appliances. Did you know that
home insurance companies make it mandatory for you
to have a certified inspection? To get a stove certified
a WETT inspector has to check it for you. WETT stands
for Wood Energy Technology Transfer and local WETT
certified inspectors can be found at www.wettinc.ca.
If you are buying a home with a wood burning stove/fireplace
why not use a Home Inspector who can do both inspections
at the same time? If you are selling next year,
this inspection may be mandatory.
Winter is the time of
year when piles of coats, slushy boots and soggy
mittens collect in your front hall. This season,
make your entryway organized and inviting. Here's
how:
• Make first impressions count. Give your
door a fresh coat of glossy paint, and put down
a new doormat that doesn't show dirt easily. Put
a mat outside, too; wiping your feet before you
go in will mean less muck and less cleaning.
• Store your stuff out of sight. If you
don't have enough closet space, add storage by
adding a garment rack, an armoire, or installing
a coat tree or hall stand.
• Stay in season. Move non-winter items
to a different part of your home. Leave some extra
space and extra hangers for your guests' coats.
• Set a limit to how many pairs each person
can keep by the door, and install a shoe rack
to keep footwear organized. A perforated tray
with a mat underneath will let your footwear drip-dry.
• Hook it. Heavy-duty
hooks keep backpacks, scarves, purses and coats
off the floor. Hang them at a height where kids
can reach them to make it easy for them to put away
their things.
• Make a place for your misplaceables. Dedicate
a basket or bowl to keys, sunglassess or dog leashes
and leave them by the front door for easy access.
• Don't forget to decorate. Paint your entryway
an inviting colour, hang a graceful mirror, incorporate
family photos or a favourite piece of art, add
a table lamp and an accessory or two. Hang a nice
winter wreath or plant an evergreen in a sturdy
urn. Make it welcoming and beautiful. After all,
it's the first place people see when they come
into your home.
With the coldest part of the year yet to come,
combined with a strong Canadian dollar, many of
us will be seeking warmer climates to thaw the
chill. Help ensure a safe and problem-free trip
by taking these steps before leaving Canada:
Pack
a copy of Bon Voyage, But ... and a
copy of the Country Travel Report for your
destination. See www.voyage.gc.ca.
Carry
a passport that is valid well beyond the date
of your anticipated return to Canada; keep
a copy of the identification page separate
from the original.
Plan
your itinerary and budget.
Arrange
for health and travel insurance.
Leave
copies of your passport identification page,
itinerary, and insurance policy with friends
or family.
Obtain
any required visas well in advance.
Check
whether dual citizenship is an issue for you.
If
travelling with children, carry documentation
proving your right to accompany them (consent
letter, court order).
Take
care of health needs: vaccinations, prescriptions,
medical certificates, supplies, extra eyeglasses.
Obtain
an International Driving Permit, if required.
Register
online with a Canadian government office abroad,
if required.
Anticipate
financial needs: local currency, traveller's
cheques, departure tax.
Prepare
for your flight by carefully attending to
luggage, documentation & airport security.
While
abroad, keep receipts for purchases and make
special arrangements for food, plants, and
animals brought back to Canada.
Courtesy of Foreign Affairs
and International Trade Canada
From low-cost to big-buck-spending,
there are a multitude of options when it comes
to giving the rooms in your home a facelift. Check
out these articles for great tips on how to get
your home in tip-top shape easily and economically.
The fragrance and majesty of a natural Christmas
tree are as much a part of the season as candy
canes and Santa. Here are a few tips on the selection
and care of your natural Christmas tree.
Examine
the room where you want to put your tree.
Trees have a way of looking "taller"
when you get them home so be sure to measure
ceiling height and floor space beforehand.
Pick
a tree lot. Look for an established, reputable
grower or retailer but resist the temptation
to simply head to the nearest woods with a
saw.....you may be trespassing and stealing!
Lift
the tree a few inches off the ground and then
drop it on the stump end. If outside green
needles fall off, the tree may not be fresh.
However, some needle drop is normal and is
not the sign of an old or dry tree.
If
you won’t be decorating for a few days,
keep the tree outdoors, away from the drying
effects of wind and sun.
Make
a fresh straight cut across the trunk about 2 cm
up so the tree can absorb water and plunge the trunk
into a container of water so that the end of the
trunk is covered. If the water level drops below
the fresh cut, a seal will form and reduce the adsorption
of water.
Bring
the tree into a partly heated area such as a porch
or basement, the night before decorating. This will
help it adjust gradually to warmer temperatures
and allow the branches to "relax" to their
natural shape.
Water
your tree daily throughout the holidays . The average
tree will consume up to 4 litres of water per day.
Place
the tree away from heat sources such as radiators,
heat vents, fireplaces, wood stoves, or television
sets. Do not block doorways or exits.
Information
Courtesy Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources
The
manufacturing of plastic bags accounts for
4% of the world's oil production.
In
Canada 10 to 15 billion bags are used annually
... or about 1 bag per day per Canadian.
In
this century, an estimated 46,000 pieces of
plastic are floating in every square kilometre
of ocean worldwide.
Over
200,000 plastic bags are dumped into landfills
every hour.
A
plastic bag can take over 1000 years to decompose.
What's
the Environmental Impact?
Coral
reefs are damaged by plastic bags, whether
dumped overboard from fishing or cruise ships,
or blown out to sea from land. Plastic bags
can drift for years on ocean currents and
become entangled on the sharp coral, suffocating
it.
More
than 100,000 animals are killed by plastic
debris annually, primarily from ingesting
it. These animals include turtles and whales,
as well as shorebirds. For every 15.4 kg of
matter skimmed and consumed by humpback and
grey whales, 13.2 kg are actually plastics,
styrofoam, and other non-edible, man made
debris.
Trenton Real Estate • CFB Trenton • Trenton
Ontario Real Estate • 8 Wing Trenton • Trenton Realtors •
Trenton Homes for Sale • CFB Trenton Housing • Trenton HHT
• IRP • Military Relocations • Quinte West Real Estate
• Quinte Real Estate • Quinte Homes For Sale • Real Estate
For Sale • Trenton • Frankford • Belleville • Brighton
• Royal Lepage • Military • DND • National Defence
• MLS Houses • Quinte Homes • Houses For Sale •
Real Estate Listings • Home Sales • MLS • Relocations
• Realestate • Buyers • Sellers • Mortgages •
Ontario
David proudly supports
Women's Shelters locally & nationally.
