“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”
CommunityReal EastateNewsNouvellesOn LifeReal EstateReal Estate News
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”
2021, august 19

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” This famous Charles Dickens quote was in my head today as I reflected back on a gruelling 3 weeks of training that I recently completed in California.  Train the Trainer is the toughest course offered by Empowerment Partnership,  and I am thrilled to say I stared

And Just When you Thought it Was One Thing, It Turns Out To Be Something Else!
CommunityReal EastateOn LifeReal Estate
And Just When you Thought it Was One Thing, It Turns Out To Be Something Else!
2021, july 12

I thought I was ready…and yet when push came to shove and a buyer showed up with a price I really liked, I couldn’t do it.  I could not bring myself to sell my home.   What the heck!?  After all those albatross references I made in my last blog?  Yup.  Couldn’t do it. What I

Boom or Bubble? Buy now or wait?
NewsReal EstateReal Estate News
Boom or Bubble? Buy now or wait?
2021, april 07

You see it splashed in the headlines almost every day,  the constant references to Canada’s red hot housing market and homes selling for crazy amounts over asking price are enough to make even the most wealthy buyer consider sitting it out.  What on earth does it all mean? Click here to read more.     What

DON’T CHEAT YOURSELF
OpinionReal Estate
DON’T CHEAT YOURSELF
2018, february 07

A recent article about a vacant institutional building not selling for 18 years because the vendors could not get the price they wanted led me to thinking about a few residential situations I have just seen. In one case, an inherited house was put on the market at a very high price after some quickie

ON RACISM, REAL ESTATE AND MEDIA-FED HYSTERIA
OpinionReal Estate
ON RACISM, REAL ESTATE AND MEDIA-FED HYSTERIA
2017, april 27

 Earlier this week I shared a post about media jumping on the wagon of mass hysteria about Montreal real estate prices that are about to ‘shoot through the roof’. I think it is critical that we all recognize a few things: 1. There is very little new independent journalism out there…much of what we read

Why I Love Conversions
CondoConversionLoftReal EstateRenovation
Why I Love Conversions
2017, february 11

I love industrial conversions.  Whether it be the Lowney in Griffintown, La Biscuiterie in HoMa or the  Dominion Preserving Co in Villeray, these buildings have a history, an identity…a place in our neighbourhoods that helps us remember what used to be.   I love conversions for  another reason, too.  Way back when, ceilings were high,

How To Sell Your Home For More
CondoReal EastateReal Estate
How To Sell Your Home For More
2016, april 12

How To Increase Your Selling Price By Thousands. Compared to many other provinces and states, Home Staging is a relatively recent addition to the real estate world in Quebec, and is still not practiced in many areas outside our metropolitan centres.  The fact is, you would be hard pressed to find a better return on

Discipline: The key to successfully leveraging equity
CommunityReal Estate
Discipline: The key to successfully leveraging equity
2016, march 17

There was a quick little article on the GMREB website last week that pointed out a few  benefits of remortgaging your home.  Certainly,  with today’s low mortgage  interest rates, it makes absolutely no sense to carry a balance on a credit card at 19% if you have equity on your home you can tap into. 

Montreal Millennials Savvier About Real Estate?
CommunityReal Estate
Montreal Millennials Savvier About Real Estate?
2016, march 07

Quebec has always been the province with the highest tenancy rate in Canada and rising home prices and strict rules on rent increases have maintained tenancy as an attractive option.  But since the 1970s, Quebec has also seen Canada`s  highest rate of increase in home ownership.  There was a lot of attitudinal catching-up to do