Holy Moly! We are doing awesome kicking the year off!
Right now in the CITY OF GRANDE PRAIRIE, we have a total of 285 HOUSES for sale.
Out of that there are only 101 new homes, and aprox 26+ bank owned property.
Kick this in the pants—> We had 93 houses sold since Jan 1, 2011!!
We have less that 3 months worth of inventory!! whahooo!! (28 of those sold were new)
Looks like we are gonna see a turn around due to lack of inventory.
Jenn & her darlings. I had forgotten about this pic. I love it....
Lately I have been working with 6 different banks with all their foreclosure listings. It can get pretty depressing knowing some of the situations people have lost their homes to. I was updating my testimonial page yesterday and as I was looking at the pictures from all my wonderful clients it brightened my day considerably. Some of the pictures of clients I had taken were sitting on my hard drive forgotten. I know sometimes you can’t please everyone, but going over the well wishes and thank you’s of the people I have worked with, sure made my day. Pulling them up and posting them reminded me instantly of the day they were sold, or the day they had moved in. It reminded me of why I love what I do. I love my job, and I love who I work with. I just wanted to post a reminder!
Being a REALTOR in Northern Alberta is a pretty awesome gig. We have the clearest blue skies most days and with enjoying all 4 seasons showing and selling property… what could be better?
However, a problem has come up over the past week or so. Some parts of our grand city is experiencing what I like to call “Newfie Snow”. Yes, yes, I have seen snowbanks this past week over 15 feet high. Driving down roads where you can’t see the on coming traffic due to the snow piles in the center.
Relating to Real Estate…. Signs!! I have spent the last week digging out all my signs. And as you can see, most of them were buried over the top. I have my kids little red plastic shovel in my trunk.
So during this week, off I went. Digging out my signs around Grande Prairie. There is still one totally buried in ROYAL OAKS, no where to be seen. The snow plow devoured it as it cleared the roads.
Here is an after shot of my little shovel work! 
However, the biggest problem is now in Sexmith, They don’t take the snow away, as in the city. They pile it to the sides of the road. And here in lies my dilemma. Should I sign this property or not sign it!
Will it become buried in the snow, or fall over as the weather gets nicer in the next few days?
Are you looking for a special project to play with! Check this baby out. This home has a great location in South Patterson, close to the schools and parks and on a quiet street! The main floor has wide open spaces and room for plenty of furniture or play. Some renovations have been done (drywall, laminate flooring). This home is just waiting for some TLC to make it home. Priced under $200,000 on a large lot, fully fenced. Check it out on MLS or the V.Tour. You can also book a showing anytime by calling or texting Sandra at 780-832-5606.
One of my clients bought a new home a few years ago and is outgrowing it with his family. The would love a property with a bigger yard and maybe some trees. I have another client who bought an older property that has a huge yard. He is looking to move to a smaller, newer home. The property values are similar. Smaller-Newer and Bigger-Older.
First, I recommend they get independent appraisal done, along with a Realtor evaluation. If property values come in equally within a few thousand dollars of each other, it is the most ideal situation! If they are $20,000 apart, it requires the lower party to obtain more financing.
A purchase and sale agreement is then drawn up on each property conditional on the sale of the other.
Mortgage wise, you need to talk to your Mortgage Broker about the following options to see what they would like to do:
- Close out the one mortgage and open a brand new one on the new property.
- Port the existing Mortgage to the new property
- Assume each others mortgages ( I don’t recommend)
Whatever the situation, swapping can work. In this market you can get creative! Any questions, drop me a line, or call me at 780-832-5606
