Moving: Your Story Changes Scenes and the Plot Thickens

As a Realtor, I get to play a role in people’s life stories. I am a witness and an agent to transformation. It is always exciting to help a family along as they end one chapter in their lives and begin another. It is a very rewarding role that I honour and treasure. I feel a great responsibility, an obligation, to use my knowledge and experience to help my clients make the best change possible.

Moving is a big deal. Home determines so much of your life story. Your past and present homes are the settings of major events in your life and anchor the chapters. The place you call home, the country, town or city, neighbourhood, the house you live in, has a great influence on your life. It is not just background scenery; it shapes you.

Sometimes, a life event is the catalyst. Your youngest has finally gotten married and left the nest. Your partner landed a great job in another city. You just discovered that you are expecting a third child, and you are already feeling like sardines in your starter home, or apartment. You need a new home.

When we moved out of our little starter home into our bigger house, I remember how excited my daughters were at the thought that now, when they were sent to their rooms, they would have a dramatic walk up the stairs, like on TV! Halloween treats in the new neighbourhood were fancier and more plentiful. The school was closer, and so was the playground. We did not have our little backyard swings anymore, but we had the big, schoolyard ones where my daughters had hours of fun and independent time together to bond. When they disagreed, they could each go their own rooms to be alone. Moving to a bigger house, in a new neighbourhood will change all kinds of things!

My biggest move was over 30 years ago, when I came to Canada as a student. The plan was to go back home, but it didn’t end up that way. Plot twist! Plans change; life changes, and your story moves along. In my story, I end up in beautiful Newmarket, with a wonderful family, a big brick house in a good neighbourhood, a minivan and an SUV in the (4-car) driveway, a dog on the couch (Get down!), and I’m loving this chapter of my life! My beautiful home- this country, this town, this house- plays a huge role in what is happening in this story and shapes the characters too.

Thinking about buying a house: Just Do It!

Just do it! Nike got to the point. Don’t think about it too much, don’t worry, don’t just dream about it, just do it. They want you to buy shoes; I want you to buy a house.

Here’s a quote from Mark Twain that has more for you to chew on:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

I like the image of taking to the water to explore and dream. I love being on the water, fishing, and dreaming, even working.

I’m getting to the point in my life where I’m starting to look back and evaluate things. I think about these things when I’m on a lake or in the woods. When I get back to “reality” I feel inspired to make a change, to go ahead and shake things up a bit.

I like to quote Newton’s first law of motion too: A body at rest tends to stay at rest. This appeals to me because it’s simple physics but it means so much more.

If you’re satisfied with who you are, what you’re doing, where you live, your weight, your hairstyle, then don’t make any changes. If you don’t change anything, chances are things will tend to stay the same- your weight, your income, everything. But, get out of your routine and you’ll see some changes, improvement. Leave the safe harbour behind.

Almost twenty years ago, Renate and I made some big decisions, took some risks and sailed off to Newmarket. We scraped together a down payment for a house, went over-budget, and bought our first house, a tiny old thing near Main Street and Davis Drive. That was the best thing we ever did! We could not have done it in Toronto. If we had stayed, we’d still be renting, stuck in the city. We never imagined that we’d someday own a house like the one we live in now!

Take the first step today. Call me or email me, Tweet or message me and ask me about getting into a house in Newmarket. We could also look at something in Bradford or Keswick. You can get a lot of house for your money up here. And, these communities are great places to raise your family and do business too.

Do it.

Backyard Pool: Pros and Cons

I've got you thinking about summer.

You're looking at my Canada Day Moving Promotion and thinking, "I could have a new house by Canada Day, a new house with a pool?"

Make sure you know what you're getting into with a pool. Here are some pros and cons to having a pool in your backyard.

Swimming Pool Pros: 

• Cooling off after a long day at work. Ahhhhh, daily vacation all summer long.
• Being "cool". You'll be the popular house on the street, the popular family to visit.
• Pool parties!
• Exercise
• An excuse to be outdoors and off screens
• Family time
• Kids will be good swimmers
• Potential income from swimming lessons

Swimming Pool Cons:

• Daily maintenance. Another job to do after work, before you can relax.
• Being the neighbourhood babysitter/lifeguard might be less fun than expected.
• Hosting all the summer parties and family events can become costly and stressful
• Upkeep costs and time (winter closing, liner, pump, and filter replacements, and landscaping issues, fence and gate, etc)
• Cost of water and chemicals, and electricity to heat the pool early and later in the season.
• Insurance and legal issues to consider (accidents)

As soon as the snow melts, we start dreaming about summer. We remember how hot it was last summer, and think how nice it would be to have a pool to cool off in. But, do you have the time and money to maintain a pool? What else do you have to think about? Make sure you think it through carefully.

If you're looking for a house with a swimming pool in Newmarket, or in Aurora, Bradford, Richmond Hill, or anywhere in York Region and the GTA, call Harry Naghavi, Your Friendly Realtor! You'll be working with one of the best Realtors in Newmarket or anywhere.

Move your Family and your Business to York Region

I love living in York Region, and most of my family and friends are here too, mostly in Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill, and Vaughan. Newmarket is the centre of York Region, and my home.

If you're the kind of person who likes to see numbers, here are some impressive numbers for you to consider.

York Region has about 1.1 million residents. It’s the third largest municipality in Ontario and sixth largest in Canada. York Region is big; it covers 1,762 square kilometres from Lake Simcoe in the north to the city of Toronto in the south

The York Region Administrative Centre, on Yonge Steet in Newmarket

Here are some more facts about York Region from Invest in York, the region's business attraction program.

• 1st in population growth among Canada’s largest municipalities

• 42,000 Local Businesses - Ontario’s second largest business centre after the City of Toronto

• 528,000 Local Jobs - 0.8 million jobs projected by 2030

• 14 Fortune 100 Corporations have operations in York Region

• 3,700 ICT Firms - Canada’s second largest Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry cluster

• 70 Employers with over 500 employees; 20 ¬firms with over $0.5 billion in revenue; 98% of businesses are Small-Medium size Enterprises (SMEs)

• 3rd largest residential construction market in Canada after Vancouver and Toronto

• 140M North American consumers within a day’s drive (500 mile radius)

The numbers add up nicely, don't they? So, come on! Give me a call and we'll work together to move your family and your business to York Region.

Family Getaway at Home in Newmarket

I had to work on a Sunday, as I often do, being a Realtor. But, I piled the family into the van and we all went on a beautiful drive in the country and then enjoyed a peaceful walk in the woods. We were only gone for a few hours, but we had an amazing afternoon retreat, reconnecting with each other and with nature.

From Newmarket, you can take a short drive or a longer drive and spend time in one of the many conservation areas and York Regional Forest tracts like this one. 

We extended our drive all the way up to Lake Simcoe, to Willow Beach, where we saw the incredible number of ice fishing huts that dot the lake in the winter. We also drove past our fishing spot on Cook's Bay, a little closer to home and not quite so busy.

Living in Newmarket, you can enjoy a good life in a great detached house in a quiet and safe neighbourhood with every amenity nearby, and you'll also be close to nature. 

Choose Newmarket for your Family and Business

If you’re considering moving to Newmarket, good thinking!

I moved up here from Toronto in 1996 and I love it. It’s been a perfect place to raise a family, to do business, and to enjoy life.

Take a look at the Wikipedia page for Newmarket. There is a ton of good information about our town, and lots of great reasons to make it your home. You can follow this link. 

Here are some simple facts from that page:

“According to the 2011 census, the town's population was 79,978. The York Region Planning Department projects a population of 98,000 by 2026. Newmarket's population density is just over 2000 inhabitants per square kilometer, ranking it third in Ontario and 33rd in Canada. 

English is the mother tongue of 77.4% of Newmarket residents, according to the 2011 Census. Italian is the mother tongue for 1.8% of the population, followed by French at 1.4%, and Russian and Spanish, each at 1.3%.

In 2005, the average household income in Newmarket was $96,680.00, far exceeding the provincial average for the same year of $77,967.00”

Check out that bottom line!

If you’re thinking of starting a business, start it here. Newmarket is not only a perfect place to raise a family, but also a great place to do business. People from all over the region come to Newmarket to shop at the Upper Canada Mall, along Yonge Street, on Historic Main Street and all around town. Highway 404 conveniently brings people up into town at Mulock, Davis Drive and Green Lane. 

Although many Newmarket residents commute to jobs in Toronto, something I did for a number of years as well, there are lots of jobs right here. And, the town is growing and improving constantly.  

Here’s what Wikipedia says about our economy:

“Newmarket features a diverse and growing economy based largely in the business services and knowledge industries, and the administrative, manufacturing and retail sectors.

The following are some of the Town's major public sector employers:

• Southlake Regional Health Centre

• Regional Municipality of York

• Town of Newmarket

• York Regional Police

• Royal Canadian Mounted Police Headquarters

• Ontario Court of Justice

• York Region District School Board

• York Catholic District School Board

• Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority

• The following are some of the town's major private sector employers:

• Allied International Credit

• Flextronics

• TS Tech Canada Inc.

• Effem Foods

• CeDe Candy

• Exco Technologies

• Magna International

• Snap-On Tools

• Cintas

Notwithstanding these major employers, a large percentage of Newmarket's population commutes to Toronto for employment.”

Stuck in the house? Declutter!

One of the biggest jobs that you have to do to prepare to sell your house is something that most of us aim to do anyway. It's on most lists of New Year's Resolutions. It's usually right up there with going to the gym.

Get organized.

Get rid of junk and put all the stuff you want to keep away neatly and smartly.

Declutter.

It's been a long winter, and we're having another cold and icy weekend. If you're stuck in the house, why not get some work done? If you're considering moving this spring, you'll need to get your house ready to show. People will be looking at how well it works, how well the space can be used. You'll have to declutter.

You might as well do it now. When the weather is good, you'll want to be ready to go out and play.

One reason that people move is that they need more space to put stuff: more rooms, bigger rooms, more storage, a nice garage, a good basement, a shed in the backyard, etc. When you're a young couple, the two of you will accumulate things, and then when the kids come, the amount of stuff you have seems to increase exponentially. You'll need a bigger, better house to hold your growing family and all your stuff.

Even when people are downsizing, they want to see that a smaller space will hold all the things they want to keep. The space has to work. It has to be efficient.

Look at your home through a stranger's eyes. You'll see that a lot of the things you have and love, objects you cherish, will appear to others as clutter. Art work, souvenirs, wedding gifts, your parents' antiques, collector's items, knick-knacks make your home feel like home, but take up space. The wall of family photos going up the stairway is really cool, but might just be a messy bunch of strangers' snapshots to a buyer. If you can't walk through a room easily, maybe there's too much furniture. It's hard to think of the things you like as clutter, but if you try to see your home from a buyer's perspective, you start to see the unnecessary extras. Get rid of all the clutter.

If you don't know where to start, there are lots of helpful lists on the internet.

Here's a link to a simple list of tasks.

Here's a link to a more detailed method of decluttering from Home Storage Solutions.  I like their visuals, so here's one to get you inspired. All it takes is some time, some boxes and garbage bags, and you'll have a decluttered home.

Good luck!

Closer to the Action

Have I mentioned how great it is to live in Newmarket? :-)


The best ice fishing I've had so far has been right here in my backyard (so to speak) on Lake  Simcoe at Virginia Beach. Non-stop action. 


I spent last weekend fishing in the Belleville area at the fishing derby on Big Gull Lake. It was a nice trip, good fun with friends at a cottage. But, not one fish was caught by our whole group. 


Living in Newmarket, we're also very close to great skiing. It's no big deal for some of the kids in my younger daughter's class to take a day off to go skiing. And, in the high school parking lot, I frequently see kids piling into vehicles with skis and gear in the back.


Every season has its perks. We're a bit closer to the action here.