Friday, October 29, 2010

JUST LISTED: Lovely Family or Retirement Home in Creemore

SOLD

This 3 bedroom home in the quaint village of Creemore has great potential for a young family, retirees or as a rental property! This double wide lot is 132' x 165' and has plenty of room for a pool or trampoline. Close to many ammenities. Thanks for taking a look.

Priced to sell, this could be your opportunity to get into the real estate market in this desireable community. Call or email today!

www.clearviewlistings.com
jtalbot@remax.net
705-428-4500 Office
705-733-5821 Direct Line

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Should You Rent??

Good question. Well one way to quickly determine what to do is to consider whether or not you have at least 5% down payment and closing costs for a house.  If not, well, renting is a good option. It may beat living with mom and dad for the rest of your life!  Even if you love them very much.  Most financial institutions and private lenders will not lend 100% of the purchase price.  You need to show a financial interest in the home, so that the lender feels confident that you are not just going to walk away if money gets a little tight. If you are not in a position to buy this way, there is the rent to own option. However there is still a down payment required and interest rates will be higher.

Some of the types of renters are:

1. Good folks without the 5%.
2. Retired folks that are not interested in owning any longer, with good reason. (We will talk about this later.)
3. Good folks with financial difficulty (This can happen to ANYONE.)
4. Seasonal renters, for ski seasons or summer holidays.
5. Young couples or families not sure about where life is taking them.
6. Relocations, (i.e. the military, new jobs, etc).
7. Renters who just don't want the responsibilities of owning.
8. Students.

These are just a few benefits of renting :

1. You do not have the liability of ownership.
2. You do not have to maintain the buildings or grounds.
3. You do not have the fix anything that wears out or breaks. (Unless, of course, you broke it.)
4. You do not have to cut the grass unless it is in your rental agreement.
5. You do not have to do the snow removal unless it is in your rental agreement.
6. If something happens to the building you do not have to deal with it.
7. If the building needs upgrading, it is not your expense.
8. You are not responsible for paying the taxes.
9. You are not responsible for paying the building insurance.
10. You do not have to come up with 5% down to live there.
11. You may only need the home for a short term and don't want to have the hassle of selling.
12. You may be retiring and only need it for a few years, before going into a retirement community.
13. You may not be able to find just the right house, instead of buying the wrong house, rent shortterm.

These are just a few reasons why renting may be the best option for you.  Homes come up for rent on the market all the time as do folks looking for rentals. I get calls for both periodically. There are many ways to get the word out you are looking to rent a home. Call me any time and I can help you start the looking process. Whether you are looking in the Clearview, Creemore, Stayner, Wasaga Beach, Collingwood, Grey county, or Mulmur township, I can help you get the ball rolling. It can take some time to find the right rental.  Start as early as you can, so you don't miss out on a good deal. These are just a few thoughts on renting.
Thanks again for reading this blog.  I hope that you found something useful in its content. Please check back in a few days for more blogs. 

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Just Listed a Georgeous Property, on a Large Lot, in Stayner.

You have got to see it to believe it. Absolutely incredible potential here for bed & breakfast, extended foster care, etc. Beautiful formal dining room with real wood fire place. A kitchen a chef dreams about. A gentleman's room with the perfect ambiance for pool, library or study. Massive great room with cathedral ceiling and lots of natural light. Perfect for entertaining special guests. Garden doors from the great room lead to a patio and heated inground pool and sauna & shower house. Don't miss out on this 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom home on huge, well-treed in-town lot. Way too much to list. See it before it's gone! Call Joseph Talbot, RE/MAX Clearview, Stayner, ON Office: 705-428-4500 Direct Line: 705-733-5821



View more photos of this beautiful Stayner Home.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

TO RENT OR NOT TO RENT

TO RENT OR NOT TO RENT, THAT IS THE QUESTION
Well there is a lot to think about when it comes to renting, selling or buying. They are all intwinded together. Today we are going to talk about the SELLING END OF THINGS. If you are a seller you may want to rent instead of selling. You may want to Keep it for future income. Or you may want to avoid capital gains at this time. Rentals are a good investment overall. However there are a few challenges that come with it.
First you need to make sure you are making the best decision for you and your family.
Then make sure you find the best tenant possible for your property.
Make sure that you look at the potentials renters credit history, this you need their written consent.
Check the past two landlord referrences, very important, unless they never rented before
Check at least two personal referrences, that are not related. ( if possible)  
Check their employment, speak with their employer.
Make sure that their income can meet their living expenses or your will be paying them
Most important of all, trust your gut instinct.

Having the income each month is nice. If you have a mortgage on the property the tenant help you pay that. Also it is not a great idea leaving your property vacant. Unless of course you live in it. Keeping it and renting right now may be a good idea in today's economy. You MAY get more for the property in the future. Just take into consideration the cost to upkeep the property. Such as maintainance and repairs. Remember a happy tenant is usually a longer term tenant. Everytime a tenant moves out it will cost you money. Do your best to make the home as nice as possible, within your budget. It is a good idea to go into the home at least twice a year and check for repairs and maintainance, like leaky taps, clean out the eavestrough, check for mold in the basement. You may also have to do the grass cutting, yard work or snow removal, just depends on what is in your rental agreement. Be sure to keep open lines of communication with your tenant.
In my experience, and we have some rental properties, we feel it is a great investment. You must remember, whether you already own the property or you want to buy one as an investment, it is for the long term. In today's market it is a great time to buy. As for the selling end, it takes a little longer and prices are not as high. This will likely change in the future. Real estate cycles aways prove to increase over the year. When it dives it always comes back. It just takes time.  However at least you have something that you can liquidate if you need to. However at least you have something that you can liquidate if you need to. This is just a few things to think of when you are considering to rent your home. If you need any help making this decision, or would like some more information or help renting, just give me a call or email.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope that it was helpful.
Have a great day!!
Until next time! Be sure to check back.
705-733-5821
jtalbot@remax.net
 

Friday, October 8, 2010

Here's a Driving Tour of Wasaga Beach

Have a look at this drive through the Beach, from Superstore to the Main End. Near the end, you'll see a short clip of Kite Surfing. I'd sooo love to try that! Listen for my daughter pointing out some important tourist attractions.

Wasaga Beach is a great place to live, no matter what the season!

Monday, October 4, 2010

Check out this Tour. It is a Must!

Well here we are. It is October already!! Wow! All the fall colours are here. We have been driving around videoing all the bits and pieces of our little piece of Heavenly real estate area. You will have to check it out. We have recorded some really neat places. Like the fishing Islands on Lake Huron, which are quickly becoming the non fishing, non islands. We were there and could just about walk to them. If the water was not soooo cold we would have. Someone drove their jeep right through the water, so it can not be that deep. We also were checking out the salmon jumping up and over the Sauble falls. WOW! Now that is cool. The power and determination these fish have is incredible. They must have a real keen built in GPS system. God designed them well. There is a lot of water running over the falls right now. We also checked out the Coran ruins at Spirit Rock, just outside of Wiarton. The ruins are really interesting . . . the size of the cut stone they used and how heavy the stone must have been. They also did not have the equipment that we have today to do all the heavy lifting. Also what was really interesting was the steel spiral stair case the led us down over the cliffs. We were about 150- 200 feet above the Bay at Wiarton. Look for the video on our website under current videos on the right side of this page. Would you like a really scenic drive that will take you about 2 to 3 hours round trip? Well, start in Collingwood head west on Hwy 26 towards Thornbury. Just past the mountain and Craigleith provincial park turn left on Grey road 40 towards Walters falls, continue on that until you come to Hwy 10. Then turn left and head south. Go into Markdale. At the lights turn left (the only stop lights).This goes east. Then turn right onto cty road 30 and follow to the stop sign, turn right, this is still 30, go to the next street and turn left, this is still 30. Go down the really big hill. Follow this to the stop sign at County road 13. Then turn right and go up the big long hill into Eugenia. Then turn left onto the 8th line on the edge of the village of Eugenia. This goes east. Travel until you come to the stop sign in Feversham. Go straight through. Keep going until you come to a T in the road, this is the 10 th line. turn right. Take this road until you come to the next T in the road and turn left this is county road 31. Then go for about 500 meters and turn right onto county road 91 and go east. Go down the big hill and this takes you into Duntroon and you can go straight to stayner or left to Collingwood.
I guarantee that you will not be disappointed with this trip. I promise you that it is one of the most beautiful drives in all of southern Ontario. There are many great things to stop at and take a look at along the way. Most important, do not forget your camera and or video camera. Your will really enjoy the fall colours and the beautiful hills. It is a VERY scenic drive. You will pass through Clearview township, town of BlueMountains,  Artemesia, Osprey, and other townships all in Grey County and Simcoe county. Please let me know how well you made out with my directions and how much you enjoyed to the trip. Thanksgiving weekend is coming up and the colours will be at their peak. Enjoy and thanks for visiting my blog. Stop by and visit my website as well http://www.clearviewlistings.com/ Have a great day! Joseph Talbot, ASA, sales representative, Remax Clearview Inc. 705-733-5821 direct line if you get lost.

Friday, October 1, 2010

See the Potenial In Real Estate That May Not Seem Quite What You Are Looking For

Sometimes, when you are in the market for real estate, viewing a property can be a little disappointing. You see the photos online and when you get there, it's not quite what you had hoped.

If you dig a little deeper though, you might be able to visualize something different.

That's what we did when we bought this investment property in Stayner, Ontario. It was pretty run down. It needed new doors, new windows, new siding, and we replaced just about everything else.

Now, the main floor is a large, finished, 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment and the basement will begin soon. We'll keep you posted on the progress.

In the meantime, you can see Before, During and After photos at http://www.clearviewlistings.com/ and see view the finished video walkthrough of the Stayner Renovation Project below.




With my design qualifications and 20+ years in the building industry, I have an eye for detail and a knack for visualizing the potential in a property. Give me a call, at RE/MAX Clearview, Inc, and let me help you see your future home!

Joseph Talbot, Accredited Senior Agent, Green Agent
RE/MAX Clearview Inc. (705) 428-4500
Direct Line (705) 733-5821
www.clearviewlistings.com