By Warren McNeil,

I get many requests from people wanting to know more information about the Seagrams Lofts. This building is located in uptown Waterloo at 3 & 5 Father David Bauer Drive. The buildings were built in 2001 and there are 40 units in the seven story building and 63 units in the 10 storey building. The style of these units is a more modern loft style apartment with 20 foot ceilings,  floor-to-ceiling windows, hardwood floors, juliette balconies and much more. To the best of my knowledge, all the units except the penthouses are multilevel with the master bedroom and ensuite bath in the upper loft. The buildings are close to dining, shopping, and the “University of Waterloo’s  Balsillie school of Internation Affairs“.

Seagrams Lofts Recent sales for the past 12 months:

7 Sold Listings

High: 390,000 (3 bedrooms)
Low:  290,000 (1 bedroom)
Average: 338,500 (2 bedrooms)

Average days on market for list date to sale date is 48 days and the average sale price to list price ratio is 96%.

 ”Seagram Lofts, the redevelopment of two, former whisky-barrel warehouses in downtown Waterloo”

“Seagram Lofts is adaptive reuse of a brownfield site, which created residential property in the heart of Waterloo’s downtown core from two, heritage, whisky-barrel warehouses. As part of downtown Waterloo’s revitalization, the project was the subject of much public interest.The project created 103 loft-style condominium units with high ceilings and large windows. Complementing these features are original brick walls and barrel-wood, evoking the old warehouse feel.”

If you would like more detailed information about this development, please check out this “Residential Instensification Case Study of the Seagrams Lofts” Case Study by CMHC

 If you would like to know more about the Seagrams lofts or any other condominium or loft in Kitchener-Waterloo area, please send us an email or give us a call…

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for reading!

Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil RE/MAX Twin City Realty, Brokerage ( 519.579.4110 | 519-498-8118

Connect with us on the following social networks Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeamMcNeilRemax

websites: www.TeamMcNeil.com, www.ClickThatHouse.com, www.LoftStyle.ca, www.ElmiraRealEstate.ca

Thanks for reading!

Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil RE/MAX Twin City Realty, Brokerage ( 519.579.4110 | 519-498-8118
Connect with us on the following social networks Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeamMcNeilRemax
websites: www.TeamMcNeil.com, www.ClickThatHouse.com, www.KitchenerLofts.com, www.ElmiraRealEstate.ca

By Warren McNeil,

Yesterday around 1:40 we had an earthquake here in Ontario. I didn’t feel it because I was driving to a showing appointment. However if you Google Ontario Earthquake you will see many accounts of the earthquake from different people.

According to reports the earthquake was originally reported as a magnitude  5.5 but later was downgraded to 5.0..

“…buildings shaking in Toronto and Ottawa and all points in between and it’s as far west as Kitchener and possibly down into the London area as well, which is about a 7 hundred kilometre wide swath across Southern Ontario. I’m also hearing reports from Montreal from people who felt this which is another 2 hundred kilometres east of Ottawa…”

Then only a few hours later,Midland Ontario was hammered with a tornado. Midland was under a state of emergency and Smiths trailerpark and car dealerships were heavily hit.

I hope everyone is ok and nobody got hurt!

Check out this news report covering the devastation of the Tornado.

Thanks for reading!

Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil RE/MAX Twin City Realty, Brokerage ( 519.579.4110 | 519-498-8118

Connect with us on the following social networks Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeamMcNeilRemax

websites: www.TeamMcNeil.com, www.ClickThatHouse.com, www.LoftStyle.ca, www.ElmiraRealEstate.ca

By Warren McNeil,

If there weren’t already enough reasons to relocate to the Waterloo Region, more reasons keep popping up! Waterloo region and Guelph received an “A” for family friendliness.

There were five factors that the family friendliness grade was based on: community feel, education choice, cost of living, economic strength and family independence.

“The region received “A”s for charitable giving, a low homicide rate, low commute times, high family income and population growth; also low government transfers and a high level of family independence.”

All was not perfect though. The region needs to improve in areas of greenspace, the number of long-term residents and high monthly mortgage payments.

The region also scored an “A” in average family income.

I always knew that Waterloo Region was a grade A community. Now its official!!! Now all we have to do is shoot for straight “A’s” and  “A+’s..

For more information about this report see,

http://www.imfcanada.org/article_files/JUNE_2010_FINAL.pdf

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/731545

Check out this video I did a little while ago

Thanks for reading!

Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil RE/MAX Twin City Realty, Brokerage ( 519.579.4110 | 519-498-8118

Connect with us on the following social networks Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeamMcNeilRemax

websites: www.TeamMcNeil.com, www.ClickThatHouse.com, www.LoftStyle.ca, www.ElmiraRealEstate.ca

Thanks for reading!

Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil RE/MAX Twin City Realty, Brokerage ( 519.579.4110 | 519-498-8118
Connect with us on the following social networks Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeamMcNeilRemax
websites: www.TeamMcNeil.com, www.ClickThatHouse.com, www.KitchenerLofts.com, www.ElmiraRealEstate.ca

By Warren McNeil,

Many people are asking me if now is a good time to sell their house. I think the reason why they’re asking this question is because of the HST. I’m not talking about the hubble space telescope, I’m talking about the new Harmonized Sales Tax that the Ontario government is implementing July 1st. The HST is going to cost sellers more money to sell their houses. There is going to be an additional 8% on top of commissions and other service fees associated with the sale of a house.

Yesterday Tim Hudak was in Kitchener-Waterloo and sat down for a roundtable discussion with members of the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate board.

” Hudak asked roundtable participants to share their thoughts on the upcoming implementation of Dalton McGuinty’s $3 billion HST tax grab. According to the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA), the HST will add $1,500 to the cost of a real estate transaction, hurting the resale-home market and prolonging the housing industry’s recovery from the recession. “

So back to the original question, to sell or not to sell? In my opinion, it is still a good time to sell in Kitchener-Waterloo. Just last night I was watching the news and they were saying the 2010 is going to be another record breaking year for Kitchener-Waterloo real estate sales. In our own experience, there are still many buyers out there and we are seeing houses selling quickly in very desirable areas.

 Unfortunately we can’t control what taxes we have to pay. That is up to the government. I don’t think that now was a good time to implement a tax like this but I am not the person running the country. Is any time a good time to implement a new tax!!!! 

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for reading!

Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil RE/MAX Twin City Realty, Brokerage ( 519.579.4110 | 519-498-8118

Connect with us on the following social networks Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeamMcNeilRemax

websites: www.TeamMcNeil.com, www.ClickThatHouse.com, www.LoftStyle.ca, www.ElmiraRealEstate.ca

Thanks for reading!

Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil RE/MAX Twin City Realty, Brokerage ( 519.579.4110 | 519-498-8118
Connect with us on the following social networks Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeamMcNeilRemax
websites: www.TeamMcNeil.com, www.ClickThatHouse.com, www.KitchenerLofts.com, www.ElmiraRealEstate.ca

10 Reasons Why Wellesley Ontario is a Great Place to Live

By Warren McNeil

This is an updated post to the one I did previously. I wanted to write about the small town of Wellesley but I didn’t want to have to re-write everything that I wrote before.  Therefore I am mixing the original post in with this new one.

 I have fond memories of living in Wellesley when I was a kid. I lived there for three and a half years and I often think back on these wonderful times. Some of the memories I have of Wellesley are: tobogganing on the park hill, picking asparagus & raspberries, picking apples at the apple mill, Halloween trick or treating and going to Wellesley Public School. Other memories include playing baseball, going to the Apple Butter and Cheese Festival and the fall fair. I remember one time getting bonked on the head with a baseball while standing at the arena canteen. Many of my friends found this experience quite humourous. Amazingly it didn’t hurt much and I don’t think I even had much of a bump.

 Here is a bit of a writeup from the Township of Wellesley’s website:

“Located in the north west corner of Waterloo Region and once part of a vast Clergy Reserve known as “The Queen’s Bush”, Wellesley Township waited until 1843 to be completely surveyed for settlement. The Township got off to a good start, had nearly 6,000 people by 1861, and showed signs of matching other areas for growth and development. At one time, one of its villages, Hawkesville, vied with Berlin (present day Kitchener) and Galt (part of present day Cambridge) in becoming the county seat.” read more…

 Here are a couple more reasons why Wellesley is a great place to live:

1. Apple butter and cheese festival
http://www.township.wellesley.on.ca/apples/index.html
Want apple products such as apple butter, cider or syrup?
See http://www.wellappleproducts.com/product.html

2. 20-25 minutes to Waterloo
Click http://tinyurl.com/2nwjvo to see a Google map

3. Quiet and safe environment to raise family.

4. Population of Wellesley Township is 10,260 in 2919 households. See http://www.township.wellesley.on.ca/popfigures.htm for more information on population. Not exactly sure what the population of the town of Wellesley is. I will try and update this another time. The figures represented here are for all of Wellesley Township

5.  Several really good restaurants

• Olympic Pizza – Wellesley
• Schmidtsville Restaurant – Wellesley
  I just ate there the other day and the food was amazing. The ribs tasted like my mother-in-laws recipe. If you want a delicious dessert, checkout this restaurant. They have a little store inside with all kinds of collectibles.

6. Wellesley Fall Fair which is held once every year on the first consecutive, non-holiday Monday and Tuesday of September.

7. Fishing in the big pond, down by the waterfall, the Grand and Nith rivers.

8. Lots of snowmobile trails surrounding the town

9. There is a real sense of community. Everbody is friendly when you walk down the street. It doesn’t take long to learn who your neighbors are.

10. Wide range of homes to choose from in all price ranges. If you like the country or smalltown living, then Wellesley is the place to be.

The nice thing about Wellesley is that you are close enough to the city and nearby towns so that you won’t feel isolated. The town is constantly growing and whenever I go there I am always impressed by how they have been able to preserve the character while enabling new families to take residence there.

You should really check Wellesley out if you havent’t already. Take my word for it, it’s a great place to live!

Thanks for reading,

Thanks for reading!

Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil RE/MAX Twin City Realty, Brokerage ( 519.579.4110 | 519-498-8118

Connect with us on the following social networks Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeamMcNeilRemax

websites: www.TeamMcNeil.com, www.ClickThatHouse.com, www.LoftStyle.ca, www.ElmiraRealEstate.ca