The things I do for Real Estate

First impressions are everything, especially when you’re trying to sell a house. I’ve experienced some rather humorous moments when I’ve run into obstacles that would prevent this excellent first impression.

1. Me against the moss

I was listing a home in the spring and it had moss on the front drive way. No big deal! Several people told me we could sprinkle Tide with bleach on it to kill it and it would simply sweep away… wrong. The moss turned a lovely brownish orange colour and would not budge. My client was leaving town and there was no time to have a professional come do the job. With the help of one of my dearest friends, we borrowed a power washer, got some gasoline to fuel it and headed out to blast the moss. It came up quite well with the high pressure water, but of course we were out there until it was dark, the day before the listing hit the market. I think it did the trick because the drive way looked amazing and it sold very quickly!

2. Little bird

Another time I was hosting an open house for a vacant home in Cordova Bay. I arrived at the home stocked with a trunk full of Febreeze, just in case. I wasn’t expecting to find a dead bird on the deck. Of course there was no paper towel to pick it up with and frankly I didn’t want to touch it at all.. so I left it. The first people through the house stopped at the back window.. “UGH! There’s a dead bird on the deck!” Right, the little thing had to go. I tried to kick it off to the side where you couldn’t see it from the window. The next set of people commented after they saw it from another window. So out I went, in the pouring rain, to pick up this bird thinking to myself “I didn’t sign up for this!”

3. Shopping Cart

More recently I went to host and open house. I got to the corner where I usually put down my directional sign only to find a shopping cart. What are people going to think of this neighbourhood if there’s a shopping cart on the corner?! It had to go. I went to push it away and of course, it was one of the ones with the locking wheels. I couldn’t stop laughing to myself as I struggled to get the cart across the road wearing a suit and high heels.


The things I do for real estate!

Timing is everything

Do you ever have those days when you give yourself just enough time to not be late?

I arrived at my open house on the weekend with exactly 30 seconds to spare. Don't get me wrong, I'm usually the girl who arrives 15 minutes early to every appointment and sit in my car or drive around the block to pass the time.

My girlfiends and I decided to do a Saturday morning hike and I gave myself 3 hours from the moment I left my home until my open house at 2. We finished our rapid paced hike in the pouring rain, jumped in the car (sopping wet), and sped home while we cursed the slow moving vehicles in front of us. My friend appreciated the urgency of the situation and risked running out of gas for me. No we did not have 5 minutes to spare!

When I arrive at my condo I had exactly 7 minutes to get in there, get changed, wipe the dirt off my legs and arms, blow dry my bangs and put makeup on. I literally run through my home to make sure I have everything. I drive to my office (conveniently located a block away on the same one way street), printed off some information and drove to the open that's 5 minutes away if you hit every green light on Pandora.

My heart is pounding, I've started to sweat a little and I'm driving way too fast. "Why do I do this to myself?" The sad thing is the stress was totally avoidable. More time or better planning could have solved everything!

Although sometimes I don't get the luxury of planning. There are days, where I can't create enough time to get everything done. Unexpected to-do items come out of nowhere. There have been days when every minute is planned but then clients I have not heard from in weeks need to see a house that afternoon. I’m in the car driving to appointments while there are 5 urgent emails that need attention. I’m trying to coordinate signatures, offers, inspections and finish a report for a presentation that evening. I often find myself running, I mean sprinting, through the office. Why waste time walking to and from the printer?

I write to do lists every time I have a spare second so I don't miss anything. Every item is in a list, prioritized, chronological, mapped out. I could write a whole blog on the lists I write. I’ll add that to my “Topics to blog about” list. I’m a Virgo, can you tell?

Lesson learned. Always over estimate the amount of time you need to hike. Especially when you’re going to Mt. Work because you know you’ll want to stop at the Big Barn Market for a sandwich or some sort of nougaty treat.

Property Transfer Cash Grab

I've been reading up on the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) Government Relations Briefs and I came across a little tid bit of information which really surprised me!

The Background:
The Property Transfer Tax is a tax implemented by our provincial government that applies to all home purchases (unless you're part of the First Time Buyer Program).

When you buy property and register it at the Land Titles Office, you are taxed 1% on the first $200,000 and 2% on the balance of your purchase.

The Reality:
It turns out the property transfer tax started in 1987 and was supposed to be a "Wealth Tax" with the 2% portion of the charge only applying to 5% of home sold. In 2009, the 2% portion applied to about 88% of homes sold. These are provincial numbers... imagine what the percentage is in Victoria.

Shocking.

In my opinion, this is a huge cash grab for the Provincial Government. The BCREA is working to have this property transfer tax abolished by 2012. Read more in their brief on sheleter taxes here

The Story of Stuff

Some thoughts on stuff

Anyone brought up by parents who lived through the Great Depression or the Second World War was probably taught to keep everything as a means of survival. I recently heard a story of a woman who was forced to move from Europe to North America with only one suit case. She left behind every childhood memory and consequently instilled in her children the importance of holding on to these keepsakes.

Others spend their whole lives spending money and accumulating “things” as a means for status or perceived practicality. Then there are emotional items such as wedding gift, birthday gifts or items which belonged to a loved one who has passed away.


My mother (and I) had a wakeup call after we lost our mother (grandmother) last year. Aside from grief, there was one other thing that had to be dealt with: the stuff. Days were spent going through possessions trying to either give away items to family members or sell anything of value. During this long process, it dawned on us “If we were to die tomorrow, how much stuff would my loved ones have to sort through?” Some see this as morbid; we saw it as an eye opening opportunity.

One woman and her family moved from Victoria across Canada. They packed away most of their belongings and got their home ready for sale. When an interested buyer looked through the home they offered to purchase all of the furnishings as well. It was probably a bit shocking at first, but after calculating the amount it would cost to transport all the furniture across Canada, it made sense to sell it. They are renting here, for now, with minimal possession and could not be happier.

There’s a real movement in Victoria to ditch large high maintenance houses for condos and townhomes where strata takes care of building maintenance. Many people I’ve met like the ability to lock the door behind them, go out of town and not worry about the security of their home. I’ve worked with several downsizers who are making the move from 2000-3000 square foot homes with ample storage into condo-size homes where they consequently must purge and simplify. It’s a long hard transition to make this type of move, but I’ve never met a single person who regretted it. The abandonment of stuff; freedom to be mobile; letting go of emotional baggage;

Another thing I’ve noticed is my generation has a tendency to either not want to or not be able to collect stuff. We’re too busy saving money to travel or spending money on partying to accumulate very much. Housing is often unaffordable for young people because we have no savings or accumulated debt from post secondary education.

In ways we are given the opportunity to take advantage of innovation which doubles as space savers. Mp3s & players instead of CDs or cassettes, laptops instead of desktops, digital movies on hard drives instead of shelves of DVDs/VHS. If you can afford to live in Victoria maybe you have a 450 square foot condo with no parking. Welcome to the world of fold up bikes, small condo couches with built in storage, coffee tables that store chairs, bar stools instead of kitchen tables… the list goes on.

Then of course there are people who look at all the material possessions in the world and realize none of it will make them happy. I can see rebellion burning in the eyes of my friends who choose to not support our consumerist society and contribute to the story of stuff. Buying experiences instead of things.

Use Your Words

As a realtor, it is our job to take care of our clients and provide valuable service from start to finish and also after a transaction has completed. When people understand the process of buying and selling and there are no surprises, expectations can be met and often exceeded.

So what happens when during the process of a real estate transaction, something is said and misunderstood or perception of a situation becomes skewed? Scenarios can sometimes arise where there is a breakdown of communication or a lack of understanding.

Here are some tips to remember if you’re in any sort of conflicting situation:

1. There are always two sides to every story and there isn't always one right or wrong person. Try to be open minded.

2. Perception does not equal the truth. Take two steps back and try and view the situation from the other person’s perspective. How could they have viewed the situation? What were they feeling? Why are they acting the way they are?

3. No one is perfect. People mess up. Everyone has a lot going on and sometimes balls get dropped. Understanding and compassion is key.

4. Communication is critical so keep your ears open and use language. Don’t let situations escalate that can be cured with words.

5. It probably could (have) be(en) a lot worse, so please take some deep breaths. Try to see the positive in every scenario.

Comic credit: prometheuscomic.wordpress.com

Paper Crusade

One thing I’ve been meaning to write about which has been bugging me since day 1 in this industry: WASTE. More specifically, PAPER WASTE. Real estate is a paper-heavy industry because there are copious amounts of paperwork (contracts, agreements), paper products (feature sheets, postcards, business cards) and general junk mail.

Considering it’s the 21st centry, isn’t it about time we cut back. There are innovative ways to get around all the paper and yet I still see realtors printing out 4 copies of every contract. I’m trying to take a new approach: contracts will be printed once, double sided. When it is filled out I will scan and e-mail copies to all parties involved.

Every little bit helps!

For example, when listing a home the sellers must sign a Multiple Listing Contract (3 pages) plus a Property Disclosure Statement (4 pages).

Let’s do a brief analysis. In 2009, 4117 houses sold in Capital Region. Let’s assume we are looking at just the listing documentation.

Realtors print two copies
(2x7x4117) 57,638 Pages
(Worse) Realtor print 4 copies: 115,276 pages

Realtors print double sided, one copy, scans and e-mails
(4x4117) 16,468 Pages

See how much paper we could be saving! And that’s just one side of the transaction. Granted not everyone has access to e-mail, but in this day, many do! Let’s not forget about the minimum 7 page contract of purchase and sale. The list of printed documents goes on and on and on AND ON.

One thing I love about Royal LePage is our electronic filing system (Realty Nuance). Every document (including inspection reports, contracts CMAs, photos) for each client is uploaded into the system. From there we can e-mail it to anyone necessary and have easy access to our files on the road. It’s so simple and we don’t have filing cabinets full of paper. The paper can be shredded and recycled. What a novel concept.

I’m thinking of going on a crusade to save paper. It shocks and disgusts me how much paper I have wasted myself since the beginning of the year and I’m only one of 1323 realtors in the Capital Region.

More to come on this topic…

Garage Sale for Shelter!

I feel like I’ve barely been posting anything lately but there is one cause that certainly deserves some attention. The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation is Canada’s largest public foundation dedicated exclusively to funding women’s shelters and violence prevention and education programs. I was lucky enough to meet the executive director today, Sandra Diaz, who spoke with the Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty members, as well as representatives from the women’s shelters and transition houses in Victoria and Sooke. She spoke to us about the importance of our local shelters as well as raising awareness and teaching violence prevention.

Last year Shelter raised 1.5 million dollars and made a considerable impact in shelters across Canada. In British Columbia, $91,000.00 was raised and of this amount, $39,000 came from the Royal LePage Coast Capital offices in Victoria. This money went straight back into our community shelters:

Victoria Women’s Transition House
Sooke Transition House
Margaret Laurence House
Cridge Centre for the Family

How does the money get raised? Many Royal LePage agents (including myself) donate a portion of their commission from every transaction they complete. There is also a National Garage sale which is taking place on May 15th!


The National Garage Sale for Shelter is an initiative which started last year across the country. Royal LePage offices from coast to coast went out seeking donation of household items to sell at a community garage sale. All the funds raised went straight back into the local women and children shelters. On a national level, $120,000 was raised last year!

In Victoria, the event will take place on Saturday May 15, 2010 from 9am-3pm at 137-2924 Jacklin Road (AMJ Campbell Van Lines).

If you have any good quality household items you would like to donate, please get in contact with me or your closest Royal LePage office! This year we are teamed up with the moving company AMJ Campbell Van Lines to pick up any large household items.

If you have nothing to donate, no worries! Come down to the sale and get some good deals for a good cause!