New Season: New Beginnings

Transformation is in the air. Take advantage; sell now!

Summer is officially over. Today is the first day of Fall. The kids are all back to school and all the clubs and lessons have started their new seasons. New shoes and outfits have been bought. Maybe there's new project at work. People have switched gears and are ready for change and challenges.

Take advantage of this positive mindset and put your house on the market. You'll also be taking advantage of the beautiful fall colours and temperatures, not to mention the warm and homey decorations. It won't be hard to look good. Your house will look its best.

Give me a call or send me a message and I will help you make this big change, and I will make it as stress-free and positive as possible, and I will save you thousands of dollars.

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.

Yard Sale: Do it!

If you need to declutter to get your house ready for sale, and even if you're just thinking about moving or downsizing, you really should consider holding a yard sale.

We had our first yard sale last summer, and it was quite an experience! 

There's a lot of advice online about how to hold a yard sale. People will tell you how to price stuff, how to display things, warn you about theft and early birds, and suggest where to buy supplies. You can make it as simple or complicated as you want. Google 'yard sale', search Pinterest, or do whatever you like to research, and you'll find all the information you need and more. I'll give you just a few words of advice. 

1. Make your signs clear. Keep it simple and big. You really just need the words Yard Sale and an arrow. Don't make it complicated. 
2. Let your neighbours know in advance. It's common courtesy, since your street will be busy early on a weekend morning. Plus, some of your neighbours might want to do a yard sale too, and you'll get more traffic. 
3. Be prepared for the weather. Have shade and cold drinks for yourself and your visitors if it's hot, and coffee for a cold morning. We had a very hot day and sold cold drinks for a good profit. Tarps are a good idea if rain is in the forecast. 
4. Talk to people. Say hello, and talk to people when you have a chance. You'll have great stories to share afterwards.

A yard sale takes some planning and a full day of work, but you will make some money and you will get rid of a lot of things. You'll spend some time with your neighbours and meet lots of interesting people from all over the place. You'll be surprised to find out how far people travel for yard sales. The best part will be how great your house looks with less stuff in it! You'll feel ready to sell, and you'll feel better about moving. 

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.

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!

Don't Do the Spring Cleaning on Family Day

There are lots of opportunities for staying indoors and organizing and cleaning in the winter, especially this winter! Clean out the closets, the storage spaces, the garage. Spruce up the kitchen and bathrooms. Have the draperies and carpeting cleaned. It's a great time to prepare your house for sale. Spring is around the corner (really!) and the housing market is going to pick up and take off soon. A long weekend is perfect.

But, I hope you didn't spend the long weekend doing any spring cleaning. Family Day is for having fun with the family. I hope you went out ice fishing or skiing, skating or shopping.

Today is the day after Family Day and we have another foot of snow.

Today, you'll be able to stay in and clean out the hall closet, or take a look at the kitchen cupboards (maybe you could update the hardware, count the handles). This weekend, you can paint the laundry room and fix the leaky faucet.

When you're ready, give me a call and we'll get your house on the market and find something better for you to move into once the snow is all gone.

Call me now and I'll give you some tips on what you can do to get your house ready to sell without too much time and effort. 

TGIF! Time to get away from it all -right here in Newmarket

Another Friday, and the 400 is a parking lot. Tons of people are all heading north from Toronto to get away from it all. Heading to a lake, to the woods, to a cottage, a cabin, a trailer, a tent, they just want to have some space and fresh air away from the city.

Another bunch of people are at home in Newmarket, enjoying a big backyard, maybe a pool, maybe a walk in the park. They're going to the lake tomorrow, fishing, or to the beach for a couple of hours after going to the Saturday Farmer's Market in the morning. Lake Simcoe is just up the street. And, maybe tomorrow night, they'll go to a game in Toronto, or meet with some friends. It's not that far.

A weekend at home can be as good as a holiday.

Thinking about getting away from it all in Newmarket?

Give me a call. I'll help you find a home that gives you a weekend getaway every weekend, without the traffic. 

New Year: New Home!

Happy New Year!


January is New Year's Resolution time. 


Every year you have the chance for a new start. There is always hope that this year will be better. 


Things can improve. Your life will improve if you can make a few changes. 


>Maybe this is the year that you will finally take the plunge and buy your first house. 


>Maybe this will be the year that you finally move out of your starter home and settle down in a house that will be big enough for your growing family.


>Maybe this will be the year that you finally bite the bullet and get rid of your kids' old skis and school books, have the big garage sale, and down-size to a house that's just right for the two of you and the occasional visiting grandchild. 


>Maybe you've had it with shovelling the driveway and cleaning a big house and are ready to move into a condo.


When you're ready, I'm here.


I know how hard it is to make that big change. I work through this with people all the time. I can help you make it easier. 


Contact me and tell me you're ready to move, and I'll help you. 


Let's talk.