Peterborough and Lindsay Stories and Headlines: Quote of the day, How not to get screwed from a real estate agent, City of Peterborough, City of Kawartha Lakes and Selwyn Holiday, Recycling and Garbage collection schedule, New changes to the Landlord tenant act in Ontario, huge changes!

Quote of the day: 
I haven’t failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.  -Thomas Edison

How not to get screwed by a Real Estate Agent:
The screw Story: "My Agent locked me into a long term listing contract and I had no idea that I agreed to the length of time. They have done a poor job, I have not heard from them for months and now I can’t get out!"
How to protect yourself: The very first page of the listing contract has the dates that the listing will commence and expire. 

It is normal to see a 3 month listing period as listings generally take 45-60 days to sell in a balanced market. Where you see the red circle is where the dates are agreed to. Look at this before signing the contract. If the listing date is over 6 months the area must be initiated for extra attention. Make sure you understand the length of the listing and contract. You are locked into this contract unless you hire someone like myself who offers an easy exit listing agreement guaranteeing my work and if you are not happy you will be released from the contract with 24 hour notice.

City of Peterborough, City of Kawartha Lakes and Selwyn Holiday Recycling and Garbage collection schedule:

Selwyn

City of Peterborough

City of Kawartha Lakes

New changes to the Landlord tenant act in Ontario, huge changes!

For more local content subscribe to this blog at the top of this article!

Written for you by:

Your local Realtor®

Brad Sinclair, Sales Representative

Flat Rate Realty

The HOUSESOLD name for buying and selling real estate in Peterborough and local waterfront!
www.bradsinclair.ca 

Peterborough and Lindsay Stories and Headlines: Ice conditions on Chemong Lake, Serena Ryder & Reuben and the Dark, www.bradsinclair.ca

Ice Conditions:
 Back 6 days ago on Tuesday December 12th I took a picture of the first thin layer of ice on Chemong Lake. Remember this shot?The Lake just froze over.

We have had a few really cold nights and days since then. More ice has built up. Here is my message. The ice is not thick enough to use yet! Over the weekend there has been snowmobiles and ice fisherman out on the ice using it. You are risking your life and the first responders who are going out to try to save you. Please, a little common sense goes a long way people. Stay off the ice for now. 3-4 days are not enough time to make good safe ice.

Quote of the Day:
The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want.
                                   -Ben Stein

Serena Ryder
World class singer and musician from Millbrook Ont preformed a full concert on Friday in Peterborough. The concert was excellent. Check out this tune!

The opening band for Serena was Reuben and the Dark. They did not have the glitz or glam as Serena did but did just as good of job entertaining by good old fashioned singing. If you never heard of these guys check them out.

Real Estate Website:
I have created what I feel is an amazing website for real estate and my clients. This website is packed with so much information that you can educate yourself before you buyer or sell your next property. On the site you will find MLS listings, home evaluation tools, new listing notifications and neighbourhood sales alerts. Check it out! www.bradsinclair.ca

For more local content subscribe to this blog at the top of this article!

Written for you by:

Your local Realtor®

Brad Sinclair, Sales Representative

Flat Rate Realty

The HOUSESOLD name for buying and selling real estate in Peterborough and local waterfront!
www.bradsinclair.ca 

Peterborough and Lindsay Stories and Headlines: Quote of the Day, Your home on the market for over 6 weeks? If so, it’s time to do something about it.

Todays thoughts: We have had a lot of tragedies in the news in the last few weeks. It is heartbreaking to know so many are in pain because of losing loved ones. I love Christmas and the holiday season but if I read one more time that someone lost their life and it is more tragic because of the time of year I am going to scream. Think of others everyday of the year. Not just Christmas. Lend a hand if you can in July. Pain is there too. My thoughts especially goes out to the Hydro One workers that lost their life yesterday. 

Quote of the day: Focus on things that are small enough to change, but big enough to matter.

               -Kat Cole

Real Estate Advice:

Your home on the market for over 6 weeks? If so, it’s time to do something about it.

The holiday season might traditionally be a slow time of year for the property market, as buyer inquiries tend to slow down, but that might not be the only reason your home hasn’t been snapped up yet. 

Here is a few tips to help you get the SOLD sign up.

PRESENTATION:

Research shows seven seconds is all it takes to make a lasting first impression.

Is the driveway and sidewalks clean of snow and ice? Is the entrance of the house bright, cheery and also clean? Leave a big mat for boots.

PROMOTION:

How are you marketing your home?

If you’re only advertising through one media source, then you’re probably not exposing the property to a big enough market. 

Make sure it has a presence online, through all forms of social media, and in print.

PRICE:

Ask yourself if you’re asking too much for the property. If your expectation is out of line with the market, it’s less likely to attract a buyer.

The data shows that the longer a property sits on the market, the less the market thinks it’s worth the price.

“If a buyer turns up (to an inspection) and the agent has had the property sitting on the market for six months, you’ll have a totally different opinion of the property, compared to if it was its first day on the market.”

AGENT:

Your real estate agent could be holding you back. If you don’t think they’re working for you, meet with them and get things back on track.

“There’s an old saying in horse racing — sometimes if you change the jockey, the horse will win. It’s not always the horse.”

AVAILABILITY:

Your property needs to be available to a buyer when they want to inspect it as real estate is an ‘after hours’ business.

This can be hugely dispiriting, especially for people with young kids, but it’s a case of short term pain to avoid a long time on the market.

For more local content subscribe to this blog at the top of this article!

Written for you by:

Your local Realtor

Brad Sinclair, Sales Representatie

Flat Rate Realty

Offering you exceptional service at 3.75% commission. Why pay 5% and get less?

www.bradsinclair.ca 

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Peterborough and Lindsay Stories and Headlines: Quote of the Day, How not to get screwed by a Real Estate Agent, Lindsay, a beautiful town, Devil's Elbow Ski Hill

Quote of the day:
You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you’re hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. THAT IS HOW WINNING IS DONE! 
                           -Rockey Balboa

Devil's Elbow Ski Hill opens for season on Saturday:
Got the skiing itch? Scratch it for the official season opener is on Saturday December16th in Bethany! OPENING WEEKEND TICKET SPECIAL...$25/day ages 6&up. Click here for more details

How not to get screwed by a Real Estate Agent:
The screw Story: "My bid was the best and I got the house. I was told there was 7 other offers. Was there really 7 other offers? How do I know for sure?"
How to protect yourself:
If you want to make sure that the number of offers you were competing with was actually 7 you can have your Brokerage that represented you request to see the 801 forms for each of the 7 offers. What is Form 801? 801 form is a summary sheet of each offer that must retained by the Listing Brokerage. This way you can be satisfied that their was 7 other offers but at the same time keeps the competing offer amount confidential. You will not be told the amount the other offers came in at. The 801 form is to assist in compliance with the Real Estate and Business Broker Act.

Lindsay, a beautiful town and waterway:
I meant to take more pictures of downtown. I left the truck and started taking pictures. It was -19c and the cold got to me quickly. However I still got some great shots of Lindsay to share with you on this cold December day!

For more local content subscribe to this blog at the top of this article!

Written for you by:

Your local Realtor®

Brad Sinclair, Sales Representative

Flat Rate Realty

The HOUSESOLD name for buying and selling real estate in Peterborough and local waterfront!
www.bradsinclair.ca 

Peterborough and Lindsay Stories and Headlines: Quote of the day, How not to get screwed by a real estate agent(first segment), East City sights

Quote of the day:
The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.
                           -Henry David Thoreau

How not to get screwed by a Real Estate Agent:
The screw Story: "My Agent under priced my house so it sold easily and quickly so they did not have to work to collect thousands in commission and it left my money on the table"
How to protect yourself:
When you are ready to list your home and choosing a Realtor® to sell your home I recommend calling in 2 or 3 sales representatives from different Brokerages. Each sales representative should bring you a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) showing you comparable homes in the area that were listed and sold. The CMA should also contain active listings that would be your competition and expired listings to show you listings that did not sell. (usually because price to high).  Using this information you should be able to determine if the recommended list price is too low. Just don't fall into the "my house is so much better then those houses" trap. It could fool you into listing too high. You should also receive the detailed marketing plan on how your house will be marketed by that person. Make sure this person is not a part time Realtor®. Full time effort must be given to you to sell a house for top dollar. If you are not provided this information, show that person to the door.

The job of the Sales Representative you are going to hire to sell your home is to educate you as well as represent you. You are the boss.. This is your property. You choose the list price. You choose the sale price. So choose your Realtor® wisely, their experience and advice will bring you more value then it will cost you in commission every time!

East City Peterborough, the city within a city:

East City has a unique, one of a kind feel to it. The East end is separated from the rest of the city because of Otonabee River but connected by the Hunter St bridge. East City has a long history, from Quaker Oats (providing the smell of cooked oats throughout East City), Hunter St Bridge and St. Joseph Hospital.

For more local content subscribe to this blog at the top of this article!

Written for you by:

Your local Realtor®

Brad Sinclair, Sales Representative

Flat Rate Realty

The HOUSESOLD name for buying and selling real estate in Peterborough and local waterfront!
www.bradsinclair.ca