Sirens Blaring
I set off a house alarm this week. Not once but twice …. all within about 15 minutes. Two things the prospective buyers now know is that the alarm works and their realtor is technically challenged. It is quite intimidating to have those things go off and you wonder how long before the cops show up, or at least my clients did. Security did show up and they weren’t too worried when they saw the “for sale” sign, as realtors tend to set off alarms. These days many people have alarms on their houses. Here are some tips for when you put the house up for sale. It can save you money as...
Read MoreBorn a Feminist?
I met someone recently who said she was born a feminist. Not that she knew what the term was nine decades ago, but she had five brothers and she wasn’t going to be pushed around by them. Her mom taught her sons to be gentlemen, for sure, but this gal wasn’t going be overshadowed by her brothers, gentlemen or not. She met her future husband in Grade 3 and said she ‘hated him at first sight’. He was just another boy to contend with. They didn’t meet again until after the second World War. He didn’t know what to make of her, but knew she was different and liked what he saw. They were...
Read MoreTreasure Hunt
It started out as a routine trip. I went to put up a sold sign on one of my listings and congratulate the seller once more. She invited me in and we sat down and started to chat. Knowing a move was coming up, she had begun the task of sorting and packing. For her, this is a downsize move, so she is being ruthless. Initially we chatted about some of the things she had found … some to discard and some to keep. Then she hands me a small stack of envelopes, all tied together. She tells me these are keepers. I glance down and see the blue-outlined envelope on top, something I haven’t seen in...
Read MoreA House Full of Memories
I sold a house that completes this coming week. What strikes me about this one is that the owners had the house built and lived there for 60 years. Yep that’s right 60 years … that’s longer than I’ve been on the planet. They moved in as a young couple with a baby. They had four more children and raised them all in this house with only 1.5 bathrooms. It was a happy home and holds a lifetime of memories for the owners, their children, grandchildren and friends. Although the owners have moved out already, it has been a big move with lots of emotion. Sorting through...
Read MoreAround the kitchen table
Today’s house interior designs look vastly different from those in past decades. This past year, I listed a house built in 1905. The seller was a widow and she had been in the house for 60 years. She and her husband had raised their family there. The kitchen was a large old-style country kitchen with a big table in the middle and built-in cupboards all around three walls. The room was so large that you could access the counters and cupboards even if the whole family was seated at the table. The table also served as extra working space to knead bread or cool fresh baked cookies. I sat...
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