As a buyer, you will legally have possession of your new home right after midnight on possession day.   Your ownership happens even before you have the keys and signed all final documentation. It is not possible to transfer insurance from one owner to the next.

Make sure that your house is insured the day of possession.

The neighbourhood has been synonomus with restaurants, the activities on Elgin and the proximity to downtown offices and the Parliament Buildings.  For those living in the area, there is no problem walking to productions at the National Arts Centre and grabbing a coffee on the way home.  While others circle the blocks looking for any kind of parking, the residents can either get by without a car or with reduced dependence on their cars.

There are a number of long term hotels in the area.  Military personnel and government employees, on temporary assignment in Ottawa, find themselves staying in the Golden Triangle.  This is often the out-of-townees’ first taste of Ottawa. 

There are a lot of hotels, condominiums and apartments in the area.  Sitting right beside these are many older single family dwellings being maintained by people who have embraced the urban lifesyle.

What has been selling in the Golden Triangle?  Since January 1, 2008 until the end of July the Multiple Listing Service on the Ottawa Real Estate Board’s site for realtors shows the sales for the area of Elgin over to the Canal (MLS area 4104) as follows: 

Residential

                Detached:                        9 sold with average price of $609,567

                Row:                                 5 sold with average price of $455,000

                Semi-detached:                9 sold with average price of $584,849

Condominium

                20 Sold with average price of $335,355     

The Golden Triangle is a choice neighbourhood for singles, seniors and professionals.  There are schools and parks in the area so it is more than possible to raise a family here.   

 You may want to go for The Gold.

Children

Not that children are lined up to be viewed but that all the paraphernalia that is synonymous with children is open for viewing. 

Recently my Buyers and I were looking at a home that was immaculate in every nook and cranny.  Based on the two children’s bedrooms, it was apparent that there was a pre-schooler and a baby living in the house.  Both rooms were wonderfully decorated - not too many items, not too many toys strewn about and no smelly baby things.  What was more wondrous was the family room.  There were no toys in sight.  Just when we thought the people did not have fun, we found the toys stacked neatly in the cupboard under the stairs.  The house had been cleaned and staged for an Open House.  Still!!!

There were baby proof items such as the spinning door knob covers and the kitchen cupboard door latches in the house.  All other items related to children (such as that ever present net with $500 of bath toys hung over the tub) were boxed and put away.  It was amazing.

My Buyers were not planning to have children.  In other houses we had seen, the toys and heaps of children’s laundry were ever present.  Not in this place.  It was immediately possible for the Buyers to see themselves living in the home and to see that, with only painting the two children’s rooms, this house could become their haven.   

We made an offer to buy the home.

Photo credit:  Shelf System for Toys @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wendycopley/2354794207/

Valerie Zinger ~ Ottawa, Canada ~ Ph. 613-723-5300 ~ Email vzinger@royallepage.ca

Be ready to take a final bow.

Many people have grown up with oil fuel and have no concerns.  Others find it unsettling to have to remember to have the tank filled and to have a tank of oil in the basement.  With the cost of oil increasing substantially, there are buyers who are planning to convert to gas. 

If you are buying and plan to convert to gas immediately, this reminder is for you.  Ensure that your offer to purchase the home includes the instructions that the owners are NOT to fill the tank before possession.  As a buyer, not only would have to pay for the full tank, as part of the adjustments, but then you will have to pay an additional $500.00 (approximately) to have the tank drained and removed. 

If gas lines have not been run into a rural community, oil is one of the most common heating fuels.  Conversion is not possible until the gas lines are installed. 

Talk to plumbing and heating specialists to find out what kind of furnace is best for you and your heating needs.

Photo credit:  58 E. Mountain Street @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/richspk/2579445904/

Valerie Zinger ~ Ottawa, Ontario ~ Ph. 613-723-5300 ~ Email vzinger@royallepage.ca

Buy some toss cushions.  Winners/ Homesense stores have a great pillow selection and some are dirt cheap.  These will freshen up the living, family and bedrooms.  If your dog sleeps on the sofa, you might want to put out the pillows only when there is a scheduled showing of your home.  

Feather your nest.

• Not everyone is an expert but everyone has bought or sold or is contemplating buying or selling a house.  They all have something to say.  Valuable?  You will have to determine the value.
• Listen to your real estate sales representative.  Listen to the building inspector.  Listen to the mortgage lender and to the insurance company.  Listen to your mother and dad, if they are coughing up the cash.  Try not to listen to the barista at Starbucks or the guys at your lunch table.
• Listen to those people you respect and who you consider to have some expertise.  For everyone else, be polite but ignore them.
• At the very end of the day, it is you who will be living in the house and paying for it.  If you can hear your heart and head use that information to help you with your decision.

Trust yourself.

Photo credit:  Advice @ Flickr http://flickr.com/photos/wurzle/659315/

Valerie Zinger ~ Ottawa, Canada ~ Phone 613-723-5300 ~ Email vzinger@royallepage.ca

As I go out with Buyers looking at houses and host Open Houses on Sundays, there are things buyers seem to repeatedly notice.  This series looks at the good and the not-so-good things that buyers have noticed.

Several years ago I was a buyer looking for a new home.  At one location, the huge basement had been converted into an artist’s studio.  It was a home in Alta Vista, a rambling bungelow with a basement the same size as the ground floor.  After touring the first floor (a disappointment as no renovations had been made to keep the home current), we descended to the basement.  Not only was there studio space but each and every wall was hung with paintings with price tags attached.  There must have been six or seven rooms with paintings on the walls.  I can only assume that 1) the owner was running a full time gallery from the basement; or 2) having the house for sale meant visitors so the owner hung the pictures with prices to market the paintings to visiting home buyers.  In any case, it was confusing, distracting and almost all of our time in the house was spent evaluating the painter’s skills.  (The photo is from the 2008 Ottawa annual Art in the Park event.  This is a fantastic opportunity to see the work of local artists and not in their homes.)

Years later, I was hosting an Open House.  Strategically situated by the front door was a price list of all of the furniture available for sale in the home.  One piece was spectacular and, almost without fail, visitors were drawn to look at, touch and discuss this piece of furniture.  I am sure that, like the paintings, buyers were unable to focus purely on the house. 

If you are selling your home and need to sell some of the contents, make sure that you separate the one sale from the other.    Buyers can be easily distracted.  It is easier to make decisions on items under a couple of hundred dollars than a home for several hundred thousand dollars.  

Photo credit:  Arts in the Park 2008 @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/ming2046/2562180598/

Valerie Zinger ~ Ottawa, Ontario ~ Ph. 613-723-5300 ~ Email vzinger@royallepage.ca

Okay, none of that either but I want you to toss out the pot pourri.  The perfume is always awful.  Nothing says “sad and desperate” like a big bowl of dead leaves, acorns, pine cones and bark. 

Say “Bye Bye” to the Pot