By Warren McNeil

As some or most people are aware, there is an upcoming plan to integrate a rapid transit system to link Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge together. Looks like the plan is being fastracked and could be approved as soon as next summer (2009). Based on previous votes, the favourite mode of transportation will be electric trains LRT (light rapid transit) instead of BRT (bus rapid transit). As far as the approval is concerned, apparently the province will not accept objections of impact on property values or business disruptions. Those types of concerns will be left up to regional council. The province will be concerned about impact on waterways, groundwater, rare and endangered species, aboriginal treaty rights, nursing homes, group homes and hospitals, designated historical buildings, and park and trail systems. I expect there will be some opposition from people. There always is.

I understand from reading on the http://transitea.region.waterloo.on.ca/ website that they expect our population to grow from 500,000 – 729,000 in the next 25 years. As a realtor, this means continued new construction and a very active real estate market. I think that if you are an investor, this should be an indication that the future of our area looks really promising. Anytime large developments occur in an area, property values will be affected positively or negatively. Investing in the right area will depend on careful due dilligence. I think it will be interesting to see what the next 10-15 years looks like. I expect that in 10 or 15 years, I will look back on this time and say, “I remember when the only modes of tranportation were, Grand River Transit, taxi and automobile.” or “When I went to school, I wore paperbags for shoes”. Ok maybe that last part is a little bit far fetched. My dad use to tell me that all of the time.

But seriously…

Our community is really starting to show major promise. Take for instance, the Breslau airport. We just flew out of the Breslau airport two weeks ago. What a rush! We didn’t have to drive down to Toronto, we were five minutes from our office. It was great! Just another example of one convenient resource we have access to.

I noticed we are even getting a Popeyes chicken over on Ottawa now. I can here the angels playing their harps. . Too bad the Krispie Kreme didn’t make it! Oh well… The restaurant that took it place serves terrific food.

Another thing! We must be the Tim Hortons capital of the world because we sure do have a lot of them. I find that really convenient because if I miss one, I just have to go down the street for five minutes and catch the next one. Heck there is even a Timmy’s at the hospital. We definitely can’t live without our Timmy’s.

Ok I am just rambling on now. For more information about the Waterloo Region Rapid Transit initiative, see the following links:

http://news.therecord.com/article/355321

http://transitea.region.waterloo.on.ca/

Check out these videos:

http://transitea.region.waterloo.on.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=30&Itemid=1000002

Thanks for reading!

Kitchener Real Estate Board Statistics for July 2008

Here are board statistics for the Kitchener-Waterloo real estate board. Please note that the information here is only based on residential real estate. If you would like a more detailed report, please contact Melanie or Warren.

May 2008 – July 2008

(Single-Family All Categories (Condo, Towns, Semis, Singles), All Areas)

May 2008 – July 2008 (Single-Family Detached, All Areas)

All information deemed to be accurate and based on monthly statistics of the Multiple Listing Service gathered by the Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate board.

Thanks for reading!

By Warren McNeil

So you’re thinking about buying a condo. Here’s a list that might help you to see the benefits:

1. You want indoor/underground parking

2; You don’t want to shovel your snow or mow you grass anymore. Virtually no upkeep!

3. You want to be able to come and go without worrying about doing landscaping every other day. Ideal if you want to travel. (Maybe this is similiar to 3!)

4. You are tired of renting. It’s time to build equity.

5. You would like access to facilities such as a pools, fitness centre’s or game rooms.

6. You could rent it out and receive rental income. Diversification people!!!

7. You can socialize with other condo owners or not depending on your level of friendliness.

8. Controlled entry

9. Usually more affordable. Great entry level/first-time home buyer housing.

10. Strong part of our Kitchener-Waterloo market right now. They are outperforming everything else right now according to our board statistics.

Happy condo hunting!

Hope you found this information useful.

Thanks for reading!

By Warren McNeil

Buying a house is a large decision that includes many little decisions. Most people make this large decision once in their life while others make this decision several times throughout their lives. I have made the decision a few times now and I still find it tough. Here is a list of all the decisions one could make when deciding to buy a home.

• deciding if you want to buy a home 
• deciding on a Realtor
• deciding on a location
• deciding on home type or style
• deciding on age of home
• deciding if you want a pool-sized lot or a house that already has a pool
• deciding if you want to build
• deciding if you want to buy a resale home
• deciding if you want to be close to schools (catholic, public, high schools, French immersion)
• deciding on closeness to amenities
• deciding if you want to back on to green space
• deciding what you should offer when you find a house you like
• deciding on what conditions you should put in the offer
• deciding if you should accept, counter or reject an offer
• deciding what home inspector to use
• deciding where you should go to obtain financing
• deciding what insurance company you should use
• deciding what colour to paint the baby’s room
• deciding whether you should finish the basement now or when you sell

This list can go on and on. There are lots of decisions and that’s why I decided to write this post.

Life is full of decision. Indecision creates stress; stress creates headaches and headaches require Tylenol. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. People make the decision to smoke, eat, stand, sit, speak etc etc. We all make our decisions analytically or through emotion. (There are others like flipping coins, psychics, astrology, a little bird told me) I tend to use a bit of both. Obviously we don’t want to pay too much for the house so we need to see the facts. we use our gut or intuition as well. Sometimes we can over analyze things and then if we waste too much time, opportunity might pass us by. We all make mistakes as well. While I was in Vancouver, I made the mistake of asking a cab driver how much it would cost to get from point A to point B. He told me 12 dollars I said OK. Half way to my destination the cab driver shut off the meter. This struck me as odd but I didn’t say anything. Once I got my destination I gave the cab driver 15 dollars. There was a 3 dollar tip added on. I took a cab from point A to point B two mores times within my visit and the trip only cost 9 dollars. Therefore the original cab driver ripped me off 3 dollars. Not a big deal to me. He obviously needed the money if he had to resort to that measure. My point is, I made the decision to ask the cab driver how much the trip would cost instead of just letting the meter calculate for me. I guess this is a bit of a stretch to get to my point. But nonetheless, I made it!

Example of an emotional decision to buy a house:

Somebody walks into a house and decides to buy it because they liked the way they felt when they saw their child playing on a swing in the backyard or they liked the quiet cul de sac because it made them feel safe.

Example of an analytical decision to buy a house: 

1. Define problem or purpose of decision: Need to buy a house because tired of paying rent

2. Identify criteria, goals and objective: Want to stop paying a landlord and start building equity

3. Weigh criteria: How much money will it cost to buy vs rent. How much down payment. What is my TDS/GDS. Can I afford it? What will my  short-term and long-term return on investment be. Should I just invest in the stock market instead.

4. Generate alternatives: Homeless, rent, live with parents

5. Computing optimal decision: This could be any of homeless, rent, live with parents or buy. It will depend how you were able to calculate the decision. Parents don’t want you to live at home anymore, you have no money to buy or rent, you can’t get a mortgage because of bad credit. You have been saving money for 25 years and you can afford to buy a house outright. Best decision because you can probably negotiate a better price with a firm cash offer. Possibilities are endless.

Analytical decisions can be overwhelming. You can be analytical about more then just the initial decision to buy. You can perform the above five steps on literally every single step of the way. Lets face it though. There are not many people who analyze everything they do like a mathematician. Most of us use a stripped down version of analytical combined with emotion when making decisions. I can’t speak for everybody but many of the people I have worked with operate that way. I read in a cartoon once, "I’ve done the numbers and I will marry you.". Sometimes you can be too analytical! I had a gut-feeling about Melanie and it was a good decision

I definitely don’t have all the answers but I can help with quite a few of the above decisions. Whatever your reasoning is, buying a house is a good idea. No If, Ands, or Buts! I am saying this as a Realtor and a homeowner. I find comfort in being able to drive by my investments. Trust me when I say is they are not making any more land.

If it’s been a decision of yours for awhile to buy a house, I would encourage you to go for it!

Thanks for reading!

By Warren McNeil

Buying a house is a large decision that includes many little decisions. Most people make this large decision once in their life while others make this decision several times throughout their lives. I have made the decision a few times now and I still find it tough. Here is a list of all the decisions one could make when deciding to buy a home.

• deciding if you want to buy a home 
• deciding on a Realtor
• deciding on a location
• deciding on home type or style
• deciding on age of home
• deciding if you want a pool-sized lot or a house that already has a pool
• deciding if you want to build
• deciding if you want to buy a resale home
• deciding if you want to be close to schools (catholic, public, high schools, French immersion)
• deciding on closeness to amenities
• deciding if you want to back on to green space
• deciding what you should offer when you find a house you like
• deciding on what conditions you should put in the offer
• deciding if you should accept, counter or reject an offer
• deciding what home inspector to use
• deciding where you should go to obtain financing
• deciding what insurance company you should use
• deciding what colour to paint the baby's room
• deciding whether you should finish the basement now or when you sell

This list can go on and on. There are lots of decisions and that's why I decided to write this post.

Life is full of decision. Indecision creates stress; stress creates headaches and headaches require Tylenol. Don't be afraid to ask for help. People make the decision to smoke, eat, stand, sit, speak etc etc. We all make our decisions analytically or through emotion. (There are others like flipping coins, psychics, astrology, a little bird told me) I tend to use a bit of both. Obviously we don't want to pay too much for the house so we need to see the facts. we use our gut or intuition as well. Sometimes we can over analyze things and then if we waste too much time, opportunity might pass us by. We all make mistakes as well. While I was in Vancouver, I made the mistake of asking a cab driver how much it would cost to get from point A to point B. He told me 12 dollars I said OK. Half way to my destination the cab driver shut off the meter. This struck me as odd but I didn't say anything. Once I got my destination I gave the cab driver 15 dollars. There was a 3 dollar tip added on. I took a cab from point A to point B two mores times within my visit and the trip only cost 9 dollars. Therefore the original cab driver ripped me off 3 dollars. Not a big deal to me. He obviously needed the money if he had to resort to that measure. My point is, I made the decision to ask the cab driver how much the trip would cost instead of just letting the meter calculate for me. I guess this is a bit of a stretch to get to my point. But nonetheless, I made it!

Example of an emotional decision to buy a house:

Somebody walks into a house and decides to buy it because they liked the way they felt when they saw their child playing on a swing in the backyard or they liked the quiet cul de sac because it made them feel safe.

Example of an analytical decision to buy a house: 

1. Define problem or purpose of decision: Need to buy a house because tired of paying rent

2. Identify criteria, goals and objective: Want to stop paying a landlord and start building equity

3. Weigh criteria: How much money will it cost to buy vs rent. How much down payment. What is my TDS/GDS. Can I afford it? What will my  short-term and long-term return on investment be. Should I just invest in the stock market instead.

4. Generate alternatives: Homeless, rent, live with parents

5. Computing optimal decision: This could be any of homeless, rent, live with parents or buy. It will depend how you were able to calculate the decision. Parents don't want you to live at home anymore, you have no money to buy or rent, you can't get a mortgage because of bad credit. You have been saving money for 25 years and you can afford to buy a house outright. Best decision because you can probably negotiate a better price with a firm cash offer. Possibilities are endless.

Analytical decisions can be overwhelming. You can be analytical about more then just the initial decision to buy. You can perform the above five steps on literally every single step of the way. Lets face it though. There are not many people who analyze everything they do like a mathematician. Most of us use a stripped down version of analytical combined with emotion when making decisions. I can't speak for everybody but many of the people I have worked with operate that way. I read in a cartoon once, "I've done the numbers and I will marry you.". Sometimes you can be too analytical! I had a gut-feeling about Melanie and it was a good decision

I definitely don't have all the answers but I can help with quite a few of the above decisions. Whatever your reasoning is, buying a house is a good idea. No If, Ands, or Buts! I am saying this as a Realtor and a homeowner. I find comfort in being able to drive by my investments. Trust me when I say is they are not making any more land.

If it's been a decision of yours for awhile to buy a house, I would encourage you to go for it!

Thanks for reading!