Ottawa Neighbourhood MLS® Sales 2009 - Alta Vista

Posted on February 8, 2010 
Filed Under Comparable Properties Sales Statistics, Ottawa Neighbourhoods, Valerie Zinger | Leave a Comment

Alta Vista MLS® Areas 3601 through 3609

 

Residential              258 Units

Detached                 207 Units; Average Price Sold $421,090, Average DOM – 34

Row                           41 Units; Average Price Sold $327,960, Average DOM – 29

Semi Detached         10 Units; Average Price Sold $285,788, Average DOM – 63

Condos                    73 Units - Average Price Sold $270,982, Average DOM – 54

Multiple Family      2 Units

Photo credit:  Adrice Smitton

 

What a waste!

Posted on February 5, 2010 
Filed Under Listing and Selling Your Home, Valerie Zinger | Leave a Comment

Everyone has garbage.  What you do with your garbage when your house is on the market is an issue.  It is obvious that the household garbage should be emptied into the trash cans outside each morning before leaving for work.  Even empty, large garbage cans are an eyesore.  It amazes me how many people think that leaving a huge trash / garbage can in the middle of the kitchen is okay.  Now, as we get closer to having to green bin the kitchen waste, there is an increased opportunity for some type of offending sight or smell. 

Don’t we all think that the garbage is under the sink?  Even if you need an industrial size garbage can for your large family, during the house marketing period, get in the habit of using only the bin under the sink. 

 Remove your large bin.  It will make your kitchen look bigger and cleaner. 

 Photo credit:  Close @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/kellysue/986904611/sizes/o/

Zingers #84 - Towel dry

Posted on February 3, 2010 
Filed Under Valerie Zinger, Zingers | Leave a Comment

Buyers have aversions to other people’s bathrooms.  It may be a perception of germs or just our current phobias.  In any case, if you want your bathrooms to look extra clean, hang fluffy white towels before every showing.  New towels add a clean sanitary-looking touch.

Towel dry your sale.

Ottawa Neighbourhood MLS® Sales 2009 - Westboro

Posted on February 1, 2010 
Filed Under Comparable Properties Sales Statistics, Ottawa Neighbourhoods, Valerie Zinger | Leave a Comment

Westboro MLS® Areas 5001, 5002 and 5003

Residential              129 Units

Detached                 73 Units; Average Price Sold $465,602, Average DOM – 22

Row                         18 Units; Average Price Sold $393,527, Average DOM – 32

Semi Detached       38 Units; Average Price Sold $489,221, Average DOM – 55 

Condos                    35 Units  Average Price Sold $437,906, Average DOM – 71 

Multiple Family      2 Units

Painting Makes All the Difference

Posted on January 29, 2010 
Filed Under Listing and Selling Your Home, Valerie Zinger | Leave a Comment

If your house is looking a bit tired and dated, the quickest way to make it attractive to Buyers is to paint the principle rooms in a neutral but modern palate.  A quick trip to a paint store will be invaluable.  Find the cards that show the trends and use one that will complement your existing furniture and furnishings but still let the Buyers notice how updated the rooms look. If you need colour in the room, look for a big picture, pillows and some accessories. 

Two trends that seem to be less popular are feature walls and painting techniques such as rag rolling and other special touches.  Putting sand in the paint does not fool Buyers into thinking there are no issues with bad walls.  Finding the faux suede technique fun is still no reason to inflict it on Buyers. Combing through the paint to make it look like linen or denim just means more time sanding the walls when a Buyer sees himself trying to get rid of the technique.  Classy, plain painting in neutral colours - voila  - the vanilla flavour of painting.

If your baseboards and window frames are in good shape, it could take as little as a half day to edge and paint a room.  Remember, red is not as popular as it once was and it takes up to four coats to get the right intensity.  Avoid anything requiring more than two coats.  Use a tinted primer and that will speed up the process.  If you have a good edging brush, try goingg without tape.   If you cannot get a nice clean line, tape before you paint and it will safe you hours of touch up work. 

Finally, if you accidently put paint on the ceiling, immediately remove it.  I have seen too many houses with bad paint jobs and the roller marks on the ceiling is always the first sign of an amateur job.  

Photo credit:  Brushes at the ready @ flickr.com/photos/alancleaver/4121413457/in/set-72157606825074174/

Zingers #83 - Black sheep of the family

Posted on January 28, 2010 
Filed Under Valerie Zinger, Zingers | Leave a Comment

Did your teenager, the black sheep in the family, insist on black/navy blue/blood red/forest green walls in his bedroom?  These walls are going to require three or more coats of primer and paint just so you or the buyer will not see the colour bleed through.  Start painting those walls now. 

Baa, Baa Black Sheep, have you any white?

Ottawa Neighbourhood MLS® Sales 2009

Posted on January 25, 2010 
Filed Under Comparable Properties Sales Statistics, Ottawa Neighbourhoods, Valerie Zinger | Leave a Comment

Mechanicsville

Hintonburg and West Centre Town

(MLS® Areas 4201 - 4205)

Residential              135 Units

Detached                 71 Units; Average Price Sold $299,034, Average DOM – 27

Row                           33 Units; Average Price Sold $321,407, Average DOM – 24

Semi Detached       31 Units; Average Price Sold $327,364, Average DOM – 23

 

Condos                    42 Units

Average Price Sold $274,393, Average DOM – 20

 

Multiple Family      14 Units

Average Price Sold $380,142, Average DOM – 43

 

 

Photo credit:  Adrice Smitton

Don’t be cheap - Making Offers on a House

Posted on January 22, 2010 
Filed Under Buying Your New Home, Listing and Selling Your Home | Leave a Comment

Who does not want a bargain?  Also, who wants people to think that you paid too much for anything, including your house?  There is going to be a fine balance between paying the “right” amount for a house and paying too much.  Where is that point?

Ask your real estate agent for comparable information in the market area.  Ask for information on similar style houses and those that have just recently sold.  Take note of houses that were or are on the market for long periods of time.  Think that one of the issues for these houses is the price. 

If you develop a long list of things that you would change in the house (kitchen counters, bathrooms, flooring), do not expect the seller to agree with you that these are needed or that they influence the negotiations.  Rather, if there are issues that the house inspector found that will cause major expense, you may want to either walk from the deal or re-negotiate on the basis of these issues - roof repairs that were not visible from the street, foundation issues, etc.  If the problem was readily apparent to you when you first saw the house, such as a falling apart garage and fence, the Seller will expect that you to have already taken these into account with your initial offer. 

When putting in your offer, don’t be so cautious with your price that the Seller will be insulted and reject the offer.  Try to find a balance between what you would like to pay and what the Seller would like to get.  Art and Science.

Both under and over paying may leave “egg on your face”.

 Photo credit:  Eggs in perspective @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/alancleaver/3319673607/in/set-72157606825074174/

Zingers #82 - Kitchen clean-up

Posted on January 20, 2010 
Filed Under Valerie Zinger, Zingers | Leave a Comment

Are you going to paint the kitchen?  Most of us have been using the kitchen for cooking which means grease.  Even the best fans cannot pull out 100% of the air borne grease.  Before painting, clean the walls and cupboards with a solution of TSP (Trisodium phosphate).  This will cut the grease before putting on a base coat and then the colour.

Try Sprucing with Paint

What the Ottawa House Inspector Saw - Shingles

Posted on January 18, 2010 
Filed Under Valerie Zinger | Leave a Comment

You, the Buyer, can rest assured that your House Inspector will look at the roof of your prospective house as a matter of course.  He or she is looking for damaged or old shingles and any issues resulting from the installation of skylights, the chimney, flashing, etc.  If there are age or installation problems, the most significant impact is potential water damage inside the house. 

During the inspection, listen to the home inspector and make sure you ask questions about the roof. 

One challenge that cannot be easily conquered is Ottawa winters and several inches of snow on the roof.  Almost all inspectors will qualify their inspection by not including the roof - if it is too dangerous to go on the roof and it is impossible to do a visual inspection from the ground.  Snow is snow and underneath it is often a layer of ice.  Be ready not to know everything about your house if it is January and there is no way to get on the roof.

Replacing a roof is costly - quickly done by professional roofers but at a significant expense.  Where possible, make sure that there is some life left on the roof.

Photo credit:  V.Zinger

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