Fantastic job to all my colleagues at RE/MAX of Duncan. A great start to the year. Thank you so much to all my wonderful clients.
Giveaway Winner!
Congrats Connie Ann McAllan, you won the giveaway!! https://www.facebook.com/warrenchaserealestate
Thanks to everyone who joined!!
There will be many more giveaways like this in the future, so stay tuned and best of luck next one!!
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!!!
Christmas Giveaway
Hi Folks!
I'm feeling the holiday spirit and I've decided to gather a few gifts (that I love) together to give a HUGE thank you to everyone supporting Warren Chase Real Estate. It was an amazing year and I appreciate each and every one of you that helped make this year a success. One lucky person gets it all!
What are the gifts? Things that I love!:
Power Tools! (Brand new in box Makita 18V six-piece set including a driver, hammer drill, angle grinder, sawzall, skill saw, flashlight, 2 x 3.0Ah lithium ion batteries, and bag.)
Beer! (Heineken, Corona, Blue Buck, & Alexander Keith)
Scotch! (Glenfiddich)
Tequila! Jose Cuervo (Who invited him!?)
December 20th I will announce the winner using a random number generator and I will personally deliver the gifts on December 21st.
RULES:
1. Like the Warren Chase Real Estate facebook page, share this post, and tag a friend/family member in the comments section.
2. You must live in the Cowichan Valley (Malahat - Ladysmith, sorry Port Alberni and Victoria folks!) and be over 19 years of age.
3. If you've bought/sold a house with me in 2019 you are automatically entered TWICE and if you satisfy the requirements in rule #1 I will enter you again for a total of 3 entries. Spouses/partners are treated separately, so a household could potentially get a total of 6 entries.
Thankyou to Masika May Photography for the help making this presentation look pretty.
Someone's going to have a very Merry Christmas! Good luck everyone!!
4 tips for making 2019 the year you buy your first home!
1. Make January the month you take a deep dive into your finances and get 2019 off to a good start! If you have a partner, get together with them and talk about your expenses together; Print out last year’s credit card and bank statements and figure out where all the money is going. Which of these expenses are essential and which ones can you decrease (or even cut out altogether)? You’ll be amazed at how much money you can save quickly when you’re both on the same page and trying to reach the common goal of being homeowner’s in 2019! Just hoping your finances will improve in 2019 isn’t enough, take action!
2. Set up an appointment with your bank or mortgage broker! Seriously! Even if you think you don’t have enough money for a down payment, they will let you know exactly what you need to do to get you in the house you want; and it will help solidify your 2019 goals. My main point here is that goals tend to slide unless you take action (again)!
3. Find a great REALTOR to work with - This is perhaps more important than any other time in your life. The right REALTOR will know the industry, know your area, will fight tooth-and-nail to get you the best deal possible, can point out flaws in houses you’re interested in, and understands your needs. This is SO crucial because a good buy can kick your financial success into warp speed and alternatively a bad purchase can be catastrophic for a new home owner. For example, buying in an up-and-coming area can lead to expediated appreciation in home value, which in turn can lead to more financial options like a home equity line of credit. I remember searching for our first home and thinking I found an amazing deal… until my REALTOR at the time pointed out that the house’s foundation was severely compromised. Thanks Dave ;).
4. Formulate a game plan and write it down somewhere that you can view daily! This one’s simple; Keep your eyes on the prize throughout the year. Also, statistics show when you write down your goals, they happen more often than just talking or thinking about them.
I wish you all an amazing 2019!!!
Posted by: Warren
4 features you’ll want in your dream home for retirement!
There are a few considerations when buying a house for retirement that are obvious, such as a location close to amenities and preferring single-level homes. However, there are a few features that you may not have thought about which may cost more of an initial investment, but I promise you won’t regret them!
1. Walk-in showers: Too often I hear of elderly (and everyone else for that matter) falling in their bathtubs while taking a shower. Instead of having a tub-shower combo, consider having a separate walk-in shower and standalone bath tub.
2. Wide rooms, doorways, etc.: I don’t think I can overstate how great it is to have extra space to maneuver. An extra couple feet around your kitchen island can make a huge difference when taking that big thanksgiving turkey out of the oven. Having wider doors and hallways will also make it so much more pleasant to bring out the chairs from storage when company comes over. Also, narrow halls and doorways can become especially frustrating when using a wheelchair or walker.
3. Heated tiles: Often I hear comments explaining how walking on cold tiles without slippers on during the winter “makes their bones ache” (especially in ranchers with slab or crawl space foundations). Heated tiles introduce a wonderful comfort that you can enjoy while still heating your house in a more energy efficient manner than baseboards.
4. Solar energy: Solar panels have been consistently increasing in efficiency while becoming cheaper year-over-year while electricity fees from utility providers have been steadily increasing. These opposing trends will soon render this decision a no-brainer for retirees (or soon-to-be retirees) looking to minimize their future living costs.
I hope this information was useful! Contact me here if you’ve got any questions or want the contact information for some great tradesmen in the Cowichan Valley!
Posted by: Warren
The greatest home-selling tip!
If you asked a professional home stager if you could do just one thing to help your home sell, they would likely respond with one word: neutralize. The one thing you want is for potential buyers to see your home as if it were theirs. But unfortunately, personal preferences often get in the way: a bathroom is hot pink, a bedroom is black and red, and another has striped wallpaper.
So put away the velvet Elvis paintings, posters, pet and personal items. Yes, you love them, but try to make it their place. The more you create a blank canvas, the easier it will be for your buyers to paint themselves in your home! For more tips on selling your house contact me here.
Posted by: Warren
The one thing that home buyers won’t compromise on!
Many home buyers are willing to compromise on certain characteristics. They’ll give in on price (21%), the condition of the home (19%), the size of the home (18%), and even the distance of the home to their place of work (13%).
But according to the National Association of REALTORS®, the two characteristics home buyers are least willing to compromise on are the quality of schools and distance from schools. Just 4% of recent buyers compromised on the distance to schools, and a mere 2% compromised on the quality of schools.
Twice as many recent buyers were willing to compromise on both the quality of the neighborhood and the distance of their home from family and friends.
Posted by: Warren
November Cowichan Valley Market Update!
After our record-setting 2016/2017 our long-term seller's market is transitioning to a more balanced one partly due to new government policies (including the mortgage stress test and interest rate increases) and other various economic changes. However, despite lowered demand, the benchmark prices of homes has steadily increased (with November being an exception) over the past year due to low inventories and an influx of retirees from throughout Canada.
Price: Single-Family Benchmark $473 600 (-0.4%)
November prices for single-family homes saw a slight decrease in price from October's $475 700 (-0.4%) and up (12%) from November 2017's price of $421 600.
Sales: 64 Single-Family Residential Unit Sales (+1.6%)
November saw 64 sales of single-family homes; Up (1.6%) from 63 sales in October and down (-17%) from 77 sales in November 2017.
Inventory: 155 Single-Family Active Listings (-21%)
November saw an inventory decrease (-21%) to 155 active listings from 197 in October and 169 last November (-8.3%).
Average Days to Sell: 38 (-7 days)
It took an average of 38 days to sell your home in November; 7 Days shorter than October's 45 days and 1 day longer than November 2017's 37 days.
Posted by: Warren
All statistics courtesy of Vancouver Island Real Estate Board