New Listing! One Buxton Lane, Bowmanville, Ontario

Robin and I have a gorgeous new Exclusive listing in Bowmanville - it's a custom finished 4 bedroom two-storey home and it absolutely sparkles.  The first time I walked into this home I was in awe - the lighting in the kitchen looks like raindrops - come on people - that's pretty cool!  Amazing finishes everywhere you look, custom artful fixtures, fully finished basement - this place is truly a showhome.  We'll be hosting an open house in the near future (we'll post it on the websites and twitter/blog, etc.) and if you'd like to book a private showing, feel free to contact us. We are having our photographer out to the house tomorrow to take proper photos (which this home definitely deserves!) but in the meantime, below are a few shots that we took ourselves.  This neighbourhood also has two incredible elementary schools (one Catholic, one Public), both of which have great daycare centres within them, and it is just up the street from the proposed new GO station coming to Bowmanville.  If you're like many buyers on the market who are frustrated by a lack of inventory on MLS, this might just be the hidden gem you've been waiting for!

 http://www.OneBuxtonLane.com

Newcastle Homes For Sale....Wanted!

Attention Homeowners in Newcastle, Newtonville, Orono and Bowmanville - if you have a 3-bedroom bungalow or split level and are considering selling, I'd LOVE to hear from you!  I have a lovely set of clients who have been looking for a new home to call their own and we've yet to find them a perfect match.  They're highly motivated, ready to make a move, qualified and very serious.  This isn't a ploy or a trick - inventory on the MLS system right now is very low and I've promised them I'd do everything I can to find them their new home so......if you're thinking of selling, give me a call and see if we can make a deal!

Get your Clarington home ready for spring!

Yay!!  NON sub-zero temperatures today!  Blue skies!  Spring is on the way!  Here are some quick and easy tips on getting your home ready for a new season - get crackin':

1. Power wash the exterior of your house
It can be a bit of a rude awakening to take a good look at the exterior of your house after a long, cold, windy, salty winter.  Bust out that power washer and give things a good once over.

2. Try some new colours
Don't get stuck in a colour rut - the world around us is about to be renewed with bursts of green, yellow, purple, pink.....why not take inspiration from mother nature?

3. Switch up the layout
Just because the builder's plans for your house say that the long bowling alley room is supposed to be used as a "living/dining" room doesn't mean that's what you have to do.  Think about how YOU use your home, and how a different layout might better service your individual lifestyle, and give it a try!

4. Clean up
If you still have the ghosts of holidays pasts cluttering up the corners, nooks and crannies of your home, for the love of all things tidy, grab a garbage bag and deal with it.

5. Take down your Christmas decorations!!
I'm sorry to have to say this (because I am currently guilty of this myself) but please guys, take the Christmas lights down.  Nobody likes it.  Nobody thinks it's cute.  Get a grip.

HAPPY SPRING!

Tourism Clarington

Tourism Clarington has a Facebook page!  If you're wondering what to do this week-end around town, check this out, and have fun! 

 

https://www.facebook.com/TourismClarington

 

Where are people looking for Real Estate Online? RE/MAX!

Those of you who have known me over the past decade or so, know that I have worked at a few different real estate brokerages.  All had their benefits at the time, but there was always something about Re/Max that I was drawn to.  Now, to be honest - I was like many consumers in the marketplace, and felt that working for Re/Max was going to be too expensive - that all brokerages were pretty much the same, and that the services I was able to offer my clients were a direct reflection of me - what I had to offer - and the brokerage was just a facilitator.  Kinda true....but kinda naive.  Yes, I'm proud to say that Robin and I offer the absolute best we possibly can to our clients, and that would be the same no matter where we worked, but why not combine that with some turbo power?  Since joining Re/Max last year, I have noticed a HUGE jump in the attention my listings and my websites have received.  I was just looking at the Google Analytics report for my sites and was blown away to see that the pageviews for my main site alone (www.HouseValuesDurham.com) are in excess of 30,000 for 2013 (that's over 30,000 pageviews in less than two months as we're Feb.16th today).  Now, it's true that I have always worked incredibly hard at my sites - I knew early on in my career that a strong online presence was probably going to be a smart thing to create - and this was at a time when a majority of my colleagues didn't think they needed a website at all.  So, nerdy me worked away at my sites (and those of you in the business know that when you first start out, you have a LOT of time on your hands...not the case anymore, so I'm glad I put the work in way back then! LOL) and it paid off.  I thought that was it - I built a name, SEO'd the hell out of it, and that was that.  What I didn't anticipate was how much aligning my own presence with the worldwide branding and recognizition of a company like Re/Max would actually pay off.  I know this sounds a little like a cheesy commercial endorsement for Re/Max, but honest to goodness, it's true.  I LOVE this company.  I love that people see the name Re/Max as synonymous with Real Estate.  I love that when I post my new listings online I know, without a doubt, that they are getting the BEST expsosure possible.  I love that I can tell my clients "You have an awesome hard working Realtor working for you, and an absolutely kickass worldwide network of awesome hard working Realtors working with her!"  And here's the data to back it up - I'm going to attach a realtime screenshot of Google Trends specifically comparing a bunch of the local real estate companies here in Durham - Re/Max, Royal Lepage, Royal Service, Century 21 and Keller Williams - for the past twelve months, in Canada, within the category "real estate" and you can see for yourselves why I think it's pretty nifty to be aligned with Re/Max folks!

Win your downpayment Contest!

The awesome folks at Re/Max are running a "Win Your Downpayment" contest.  It's very easy to enter, and while you're there, check out the video with Mark Weisleder, one of my personal favourite people to learn from - talking about how buyers benefit from using their very own Buyer Agent.

http://www.fittobuy.ca/Contest.asp



10 Low Cost Decorating Ideas

If you're like me, you may experience a little sadness with the taking down of holiday decor and merriment at this time of year (I'm actually a little embarrassed to say that a great majority of my bobbles are still up....dusty...but up...).  That corner in the family room that once glowed with the sparkle of all that's good and lovely about Christmas is now just a sad dark abyss.  Not to worry!!  Here's a link to a great article on HGTV's website entitled "10 Inexpensive Decorating Ideas" because let's get real people - you're probably still paying for all that holiday fluff - you gotta get this done on a budget!  Happy decorating! :) HGTV 10 Inexpensive Decorating Ideas