Come and see this lovely unit at 203 – 15809 Marine Drive – Vista Del Mar at my open house on Sunday, August 14, from 2:00 to 4:00 in South Surrey/White Rock. This is a beautiful building that has been completely rainscreened and has new windows, new balconies, a new roof, and a totally refinshed interior. This condo is at the front of the building, perfectly situated to enjoy the views of the park, ocean, and mountains. At over 1200 sq ft, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, spacious rooms, and two parking spots you won’t be giving up anything to move in here. There is also a large in-suite laundry room with storage as well as a separate storage locker.

This building has no age restrictions, does  not allow rentals, and allows for one cat. At $467,000 it is waiting to welcome you home!

One of the advantages to living and working as a realtor in South Surrey/White Rock is that it helps me when recommending local businesses to my clients. As part of my website I would like to recognize on an on-going basis local businesses that I feel provide great service.

One such business I am happy to recommend is the restaurant Share Small Plate and Wine Bar located at Five Corners in White Rock. Share is a recent addition to the local restaurant scene.

Share has an appetizer based menu that allows diners to try a variety of dishes over the course of the evening. The dishes are always excellently prepared and beautifully presented. I have been advised that they are always changing the menu. Having eaten there a few times now I can definitely vouch for the truthfulness of this statement. There is always something new and interesting to try on the menu.

The only caution I would give is that the majority of the dishes are meat-based so vegetarians might be challenged with the menu. That said, I have found the chef to be very responsive to requests. For example, I have celiac disease and so cannot eat wheat, rye, and barley. If a particular dish does not work with my diet, I am advised of this fact and where possible, changes are made to it.

The service is always excellent, the food is superb, and the wine list is varied. Definitely a restaurant worth trying out!

Address: 1 -15223 Pacific Avenue

I will be holding an open house from 2:00 to 4:00 pm on Sunday, July 17th at 16047 8th Avenue in South Surrey. This is a lovely and spacious home with four bedrooms and five bathrooms, including a one bedroom in-law/guest suite, located at the top of a cul-de-sac. This home is set back from Marine Drive/8th Avenue, allowing for views of the greenspace but quiet from inside the house and the backyard. The large 9797 sq ft backyard is private and tranquil.

I do open houses in South Surrey/White Rock on a regular basis and one of the questions that I commonly ask buyers is whether or not they are working with a realtor. I always appreciate it when buyers tell me that yes, they are working with a realtor and here is his or her name. The buyers often seem surprised that I am happy to be given this information. They seem to be concerned that I won’t be as helpful with regard to the property that they are viewing at an open house. Not so. I will always be informative about the property. After all, it is in the best interests of my seller to help buyers know about the property so that maybe they will be motivated to put in an offer.

So telling me that you are working with a realtor will not be detrimental to your success as a buyer; in fact, it may be quite the opposite. As a realtor, here are some of the reasons why I value being given information about your real estate agent.

1. Should I determine that there is multiple interest in the property, I would be able to contact your realtor to let him or her know that you were through the house and had indicated an interest in it. As a result, you will not miss an opportunity to put your offer in on the property.

2. As a realtor, I am a professional who values the relationships I have not only with my clients but with my colleagues in the industry. I want other realtors to know that I respect the relationship that they have with their clients and that I am not intruding upon it.  Identifying buyers who are already working with a realtor helps ensure that this happens.

3. Real estate is a referral business. Realtors who are successful have built their business on the hard work that they have done for their clients. I respect buyers and sellers who appreciate their realtors and have established relationships with them. Again, knowing that they are working with a realtor ensures that I respect that relationship.

4. Oftentimes buyers coming through one of my open houses will ask me to send them information regarding other properties that better match their housing needs. I am happy to do this for them. However, if they are working with a realtor, doing so would inadvertently be intruding upon the existing relationship that they already have. It would also involve my time in searching the mls system for them. While I am happy to do this for my clients, doing it on behalf of another realtor’s client does not make a lot of sense . In this case, I would recommend that you contact your realtor.

So next time you are at an open house and the realtor asks you if you are working with a realtor, if you are please do let them know.

I will be holding an open house Sunday, July 17, at 14752 32nd Avenue in South Surrey from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. This is a great home for the extended family. The main floor has 3 bedrooms, including the master bedroom, and is a traditional floorplan. The kitchen and master bedroom both open onto a large patio looking onto the southern backyard. Upstairs is an additional bedroom plus a games room. Downstairs, enjoy the 2 bedroom guest suite with its own entrance, as well as another bedroom and a rec room. This home is in excellent condition and shows well.

*Please note that the suite is available to be seen on second showings only.

I have just sold this lovely 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo in the Heritage building in White Rock. Condo sales have been slow in White Rock/South Surrey as there is a lot of inventory on the market given all of the new construction in Grandview Corners/Morgan Crossing, as well as in the area around Semiahmoo Mall. What made this condo stand out from the crowd were the stunning renovations the homeowners made to the unit. They truly did an outstanding job by ensuring that they used quality materials and that the work was well-done. The unit showed beautifully and every buyer that saw it commented on the quality of the renovations. Lesson to be learned – doing it right can really make a difference.

Wondering if you should do any renovations prior to putting your home on the market? Many sellers do.The big concern I hear from sellers is that the new buyer will “want to decorate it to their own tastes” and so anything the sellers do will be changed anyway and therefore a waste of money. Well, yes and no.

Most buyers prefer to be able to move in to a home and live in it as is until they can afford to do renovations that may be more in keeping with their tastes or today’s interior design styles. Remember, buying a home itself is a major financial investment and buyers may not have money left over to do home renovations. A home that needs new flooring, new paint, updating in the kitchen and bathrooms, a new roof, the list goes on … will daunt many a buyer. Furthermore, buyers typically overestimate and sellers underestimate the cost of renovations. As a result, even when the buyer can see beyond the many updates needed they may want to take more off of the listing price than the seller feels is warranted making a deal difficult to negotiate.

There are certain renovations homeowners can do that have a big impact on how well the house shows and the price the home will sell for. The quickest, least expensive, and easiest thing a homeowner can do is paint the interior walls. If you can’t afford to paint the whole house, just do the main living areas. When choosing a colour, pick something neutral. Don’t worry about it being boring. People can always add colour but that shade of green you adore may turn off a lot of potential buyers.

If you have dated cabinets in your bathrooms and kitchen, consider painting them and adding new handles. Again, this can have a major, and positive, impact on how well your house shows and therefore the price for which it sells.

If your exterior looks very shabby, you should consider repainting it as well. Yes, it is not likely to be inexpensive but the first thing buyers see when they look at your house is the exterior. A house lacking in street appeal fails to get buyers in the door. A house with peeling, faded paint does not have street appeal.

Another good investment is a flooring upgrade – especially in main living areas. When considering new flooring be sure to have it properly installed. There is not much worse than listening to “Snap, Crackle, and Pop” as you walk around a room.

One investment I would strongly suggest homeowners not make is granite countertops on old cabinets. This is typically viewed by buyers as a waste of money. Buyers will usually want to replace the old cabinets and the granite is unlikely to be usable. If your countertops are in rough shape or are an unatttractive colour but you won’t be replacing the cabinets, go for an attractive laminate instead.

If you would like more ideas on how to prepare your home for resale I would be happy to look at your home with you and make some suggestions. You want to ensure that any renovations you do provide a good return on the investment and I would be happy to help you in that regard.

I was very happy to see that the weather managed to clear for Canada Day and that we had perfect viewing weather for the fireworks. One of the many things that I appreciate about living and working in South Surrey/White Rock is the fireworks White Rock puts on for Canada Day. There are many spots along the promenade and the pier that allow for an excellent view of the show. These aren’t the only fireworks we get treated to in the summer. On July 4, the Americans give us a wonderful show as well and, good news, the weather is supposed to be clear. I hope that everyone enjoys the long weekend, the sun, and the fireworks.

I had a busy open house on Sunday at 15012 35th. The unfortunate piece of news for the buyers was that I had to advise them that we had received an offer the night before and it had been accepted by the sellers. It was still in subject and so we decided to hold the open house anyway as deals don’t always go through. Many of the buyers were understandably disappointed to hear of the accepted offer.

One of the things we discussed was the importance of working with a realtor. In today’s active market, houses that show well and are properly priced are selling quickly. Quite honestly, there are just not a lot of family homes on the market at the moment. Therefore, if you are seriously looking to buy, it is really important that you are working with a realtor.

Why is this? Listings come on the realtor website up to two days before they appear on realtor.ca. It is usually a week or more before they appear in newpapers as ads or open houses.

Having a realtor working on your behalf will ensure that someone in the industry is looking for you everyday. In a market such as the one in South Surrey/White Rock, where there are not many family homes currently available, your realtor will ensure that you see a listing as soon as it comes on the system thereby beating out those buyers who wait for it to appear on the public websites.

So don’t be afraid to work with a realtor to find yourself a home. It will be time well invested!

I will be holding an open house Sunday, June 26 at 15012 35th Avenue, South Surrey between 2:00 and 4:00 pm. This is a family friendly neighbourhood in the Rosemary Heights Elementary school catchment. This house has over 4500 sq ft and is a 2 storey home with a basement. The upper two floors have been well-taken care of and the house shows very well. The basement has a 2 bedrm in-law suite and is only availabe to be seen on second showings. See you Sunday!