What an interesting three days I had, I just came back from lovely Las Vegas. What an amazing time. I had the wonderful pleasure of visiting many of the hotels and casinos. On our first day we visited Freemont Street and took in the “Freemont Experience”.
I don’t have any night photos. I think one of my friends may have some and will add them later.
What a wild time. There was a really good band performing songs from Journey, Pink Floyd, Bon Jovi and Foreigner. They even did a Queensryche song which I found was interesting for a cover band.
In addition to the music, there was lots of other things that kept us busy. Casinos, a Hawaiian festival, and lots of food.
For the next two days we went to the main strip which was also really cool. I couldn’t believe how many hotels there were. I think the most impressive hotels were the Venetion, Caesars Palace, The Belagio and the MGM Grand. I didn’t go through all of them but I am sure they are all cool. When I go Back to Vegas, I would like to checkout Mandalay Bay, Aria and the Stratusphere.
I also had the chance to learn about the real estate market. I guess the market is a little soft right now due to the recession. The cost of living seems to be lower there but so is the income. You can buy a nice sized family home for around 120,000-150,000. Propery taxes are around 1%. I did a bit of research and also found a Trump condo for around 150,000. The interesting thing about this condo is that it was originally purchased for 550,000. If I had a spare 150,000 kicking around, I might be tempted to buy a Trump condo. Here is the link to the condo…
I must of walked 10-15 miles and my feet were a bit sore after the three days. Here is some advice if you are thinking of going to Vegas. Wear sunscreen during the day, bring proper footwear for walking (Running/Walking shoes) and be prepared to lose money if you decide to gamble. There is no secret formula for winning at gambling. Its all a game of chance.
Next time I go, I plan on taking in one or two of the shows.
Thanks for reading and Viva Las Vegas!
Thanks for reading!
Warren & Melanie McNeil | Sales Representatives, Team McNeil RE/MAX Twin City Realty, Brokerage ( 519.579.4110 | 519-498-8118
This past Saturday we had the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival in Elmira. Each year this festival seems to attract more and more people. This year was no different. On Saturday the weather was perfect to host such a wonderful event. I live about half a kilometre away from the festivities and I could smell the aroma of pancakes from my house. My wife and I walked down to the main street which is Arthur St. They close off Arthur St for the day so that all of the vendors can setup their booths in the outdoor mall. They have every kind of vendor that you can imagine.
If you like food, then then you came to the right place. My personal favourites are the back bacon on a bun and the Lions Apple Fritters. Some of the more interesting eats were the pickle on a stick and deep fried Mars bars.
Some of the other events that people could take place in were:
You could enjoy the yummy pancakes. The line was pretty long so we passed on the pancakes this year
Mega Mutts dog show
Old MacDonalds farm
Sugar Bush tours
There are around 2000+ volunteers to support the event. Proceeds from the festival go to support local charities and non-profit organizations.
I did a little video to show the size of the crowd.
Sorry about the audio
We are a full-time real estate team in Waterloo Region, Woolwich & Wellesley Townships. We enjoy assisting buyers and sellers with the purchase or sale of real estate in the Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Elmira, Wellesley, Wilmot, Drayton and everywhere in between. If you would like us to help you with your home search, please check out our brand-newfree search website or if you are thinking of selling, get a free market evaluation.
Many people are getting ready to sell their houses this year and some will be deciding whether to sell privately or with a real estate agent. The purpose of this blog is to let sellers know their options. My goal here is not to slam any particular method. Just to point out the options.
Here are 4 options for selling your house:
FSBO or for sale by owner. There are many people who head to Canadian Tire, pick up the black and orange sign and put it on the front lawn. This way could work if the timing is right or you already know someone who might want to buy your house. People do successfully sell there house this way but is not for everyone.
Using private for sale companies. This is a step up from selling totally on your own. There are two popular private for sale companies in our area. They are Property Guys - www.propertyguys.com and By The Owner – www.bytheowner.com. These private for sale companies help sellers by providing them with a sign, a website where they can showcase all the information about their house along with providing potential buyers with easy access to contact the seller. These sites give the private seller an added advantage over going at it completely alone. I think these services work well for people who want to do it themselves but just need a little bit of an edge.
Discount brokerages. These types of services are similar to the FSBO service providers. The big difference between them is that they are licensed brokerages registered with the Canadian Real Estate Association. Sellers are able to work with these brokerages to help them sell their house. With some plans, you can even get MLS services. This will allow you to have your house showcased on realtor.ca. This is an option for people looking for a alternative to the private for sale companies. This will also give you an edge over going at it completely alone.
Full Service real estate brokerages such as Re/Max.. This is where our team falls into the mix. The majority of homes sell though this method. Full service real estate brokerages offer a full range of valuable services to home sellers. Sellers can benefit by having licensed, skilled and motivated professionals to help them through this sometimes challenging and tedious process.
These services will appeal to the following types of people:
-people who don’t want to be involved in the process at all
- people who lack the ability to negoitate or don’t like to negotiate
- people who live out of the area
- investors that don’t want to be involved in the sale of property
- divorce
- power of sales
- distress sales
- estate sales
The list goes on and on. This is a really good option if you are afraid to go at it alone or don’t see the value in using a discount brokerage.
I also want to add that buyers are better off working with a realtor when buying a house. Especially first time home buyers who know nothing about the process. Buyers are able to benefit by the knowledge of a good realtor. Buying a house without knowing market knowledge could lead to over paying for a house or worst then that buying a money pit.
I want to reiterate that this blog is not intended to alienate any one method. It’s main purpose is to show sellers that they have options. They should choose wisely when choosing which one will give them the greatest result. There will always be people who want to sell privately and those who want to work with a real estate agent. There is room for both…
Good luck and happy selling!
Take care and 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
According to the Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate board the numbers are in for January 2010 and we are up 64% in unit sales over 2009. This is great news and the main reason for this is increase is because of the low interest rates and a high level of consumer confidence.
“This year we are off to quite a different start compared to last year, which is really encouraging,” said Ted Scharf (pronounced Skarf), the President of the WREB, “January is traditionally a slower month for residential sales. These results show that there is definitely demand in the market and the traditional mindset of waiting until spring just doesn’t seem to be as strong. ”
Another interesthing point that I read is that the average house price in Kitchener-Waterloo increased by 12.3% because of an increase in sales of homes over $400,000.
My experience with the market is that stuff is selling really quickly. I find it difficult to get into see properties fast enough. The good deals seem to go really quick!!!
We are a full-time real estate team in Kitchener Waterloo area. We enjoy assisting buyers and sellers with the purchase or sale of real estate in the Kitchener-Waterloo or Cambridge areas. If you would like us to help you with your home search, please check out our brand-newfree search website or if you are thinking of selling, get a free market evaluation.
I put together another video that will be helpful for people who are thinking about selling their house. I give you 5 good reasons why you should hire a realtor to sell your house. If you have any questions or comments please leave them below. I hope you enjoy it!
Hello again, I’m Warren McNeil. Real Estate Agent with Re/Max Twin City Realty in Kitchener
Today I am going to talk about the “Top 5 Reasons to Sell Your House with a Realtor”. I know there are many sellers out there right now getting ready to sell their house this year. The primary goal when selling you house is to get the most money possible. And having a good realtor on your side will make sure this process is successful. Here are the “Top 5 Reasons to sell Your House with a Realtor”.
Number 5
Pricing: We know the real estate market and can recommend a price based on recent sales in the area. We also take into consideration the condition of the home and its location. Properly pricing your house could mean the difference between your house selling quickly or sitting on the market forever. The question you need to ask yourself is, do you want to sell your house or do you want to just put it on the market?
Number 4
Market Exposure: A good realtor will market your home to the fullest so that it gets the best exposure possible. The effectiveness of various marketing is always changing, therefore we must remain cutting edge and research what works and stay on top of current trends. In addition to the traditional marketing methods such as print advertising or direct mail we also utilize the internet and social media such as Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube to name a few.
Number 3
Experience: A good agent who sells lots of homes will be able to provide a high level of experience that will ensure that you get top dollar for you home and will also make sure that the process goes as smoothly as possible. Our experience will help reduce your stress!
Number 2
MLS and realtor.ca. MLS or multiple listing service is a database created by realtors which keeps track of all the homes that are currently for sale and those that have sold. The data in this database is very valuable and provides the realtor, sellers and buyers with information about the local real estate market. Realtor.ca is the main interface to this database and is searchable. Having your house listed in the MLS database will ensure that your house gets the maximum exposure to all prospective buyers anywhere in the world. There could be a buyer in China right now looking to relocate and is using realtor.ca to search the MLS for homes for sale in Waterloo.
And the #1 reason to hire a realtor is to minimize risk and shift the responsibility. To act as a buffer between you and the buyer to ensure that emotions don’t get in the way. To protect your best interests and seek out qualified buyers. Dealing only with licensed realtors instead of complete strangers who may not have your best interests at heart. Shouldn’t you use a trusted professional to protect your single largest asset.
Thanks for reading!
We are a full-time real estate team in Kitchener Waterloo area. We enjoy assisting buyers and sellers with the purchase or sale of real estate in the Kitchener-Waterloo or Cambridge areas. If you would like us to help you with your home search, please check out our brand-newfree search website.
I also had the chance to learn about the real estate market. I guess the market is a little soft right now due to the recession. The cost of living seems to be lower there but so is the income. You can buy a nice sized family home for around 120,000-150,000. Propery taxes are around 1%. I did a bit of research and also found a Trump condo for around 150,000. The interesting thing about this condo is that it was originally purchased for 550,000. If I had a spare 150,000 kicking around, I might be tempted to buy a Trump condo. Here is the link to the condo…
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Rant — Tags: aria, belagio, bon jovi, caesars palace, casinos, cost of living, foreigner, freemont experience, game of chance, hawaiian festival, mcneil, mgm grand, night photos, pink floyd, proper footwear, stratusphere, trump, venetion, walking shoes, wild time —
wmcneil @ May 5, 2010 11:47 pm
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