On Saturday March 26th 2011 there will be a by-election for one councillor position. There are 6 candidates to choose from. Brian FillmoreIan GartshoreTed GrevesBill MckayMurray McNabbDarcy Olsen You must be 18 to vote For more information go to the city web site www.nanaimo.ca Voting will take place 8am to 8 pm in most locations except the hospital and Protection Island Fire Hall. You can vote at the hospital, the conferance centre, Mcgirr elementary, Oliver Woods Community Centre, Quarterway elementary and Chase River Elementary. Douglas BelcherRE/MAX of Nanaimo 03/21/2011

PUT THE FUN IN!   Shopping for a home got you stressed? Would you like to make the entire process fun foreveryone involve - kids included? With a little planning, you can. Here's how you can put the fun in: • Get the whole family involved in deciding what kind of homesto consider. The more everyone, especially kids,feels they are a part of the process, the more likely they'll be adjustingwell to the idea of moving.• Bring healthy, light snacks and drinks with you whenviewing more than a couple of homes in a row. It's toughto have fun when your energy level's somewhere in the basement.• Easy does it. Don't see too many properties at one time.Feeling burnt out after viewing the tenth home on aSaturday afternoon will impact your judgment. Your fatiguemight cause you to pass on a property t... 03/19/2011

Prepare your house to sell - top three things to do It takes a little time and thought to prepare your home to sell.    There are three things that are very important to do when trying to sell your home. •1.        De-clutter, de-clutter, de-clutter •2.        Remove and store any excess furniture •3.        Move furniture around to give home a spacious feel. If you have been reading my blog you might wonder why I am writing about this topic again.  Sometimes reading how-to blog posts can seem to be just about giving out information.  However, I would like to share a story with you that reinforces just how important the above three steps are when you want to prepare your house to sell. Yesterday I was working with an out of town couple looking for a home in the Nanaimo or Parksville are... 03/19/2011

Bridge and Interim Financing- What is the difference? Have you wondered what the difference is between Bridge and Interim Financing?  It is a question that often comes up when clients are buying a home. I asked one of the mobile mortgage specialists that I work with to answer this question.   Kim Ross, of TD Canada Trust in Nanaimo explains the difference as follows: Bridge and Interim Financing- What is the difference? 1.  Bridge Financing:  Clients must have Firm & Binding Agreements for both Sale of current home and purchase of new home   this is used when the completion dates do not match in that the client will be purchasing the new home prior to the current home being sold.  We will lend the sale proceeds to the client to allow them the down payment to purchase the home before the... 03/18/2011

Housing in Nanaimo for the 55+ market My client base is often made up of clients seeking housing in Nanaimo for the 55+ market.  Often at this point in life couple's find themselves to be empty nester's and choose to be less tied down to their homes.  Perhaps they want to travel more and don't want to leave a large, family home, un-attended.  The other possibility is that couples are thinking ahead to a time when either age related difficulties or health concerns may make owning a traditional home too difficult to manage.  According to stats from Nanaimo's City Data the Median age of the population in Nanaimo is: 43.3 years of age.  According to this data it is obvious that in the next 12 years the median age in Nanaimo will be 55+. It makes sense that City planners and developers will ... 03/17/2011

Selling your own house in Nanaimo There are pros and cons to selling your own house.  The obvious pro is saving on Realtor Fee's.  However, the cons may well outweigh the pros when trying to sell your own house. Firstly, let's look at the three elements required when selling your own house: •1.        Product •2.       A price •3.       Exposure     FSBO's have the first two elements but lack the most important element which is exposure.  In fact many FSBO's eventually come to the realization that it is very difficult to sell their own house without market exposure. Below you will see some stat's from the National Association of Realtors in the U.S.   It stands to reason that FSBO stats would be similar here.   For Sale by Owner (FSBO) Statistics FSBOs accounted for 9% of home sales in ... 03/15/2011

Nanaimo real estate statistics VIREB recently released the Nanaimo real estate statistics from February 2011. The market appears to be more of a balanced market in comparison to the fall market. The Cumulative Residential Average Single Family Sale Price is in line with sale prices from March 2009.  The following are the market changes for Feb. 2011 compared with Feb. 2010 - There were 10% more units listed this Feb. compared to Feb. 2010. -  29% fewer units were sold this Feb. compared to Feb. 2010 -  The average sale price per unit was 40% higher this Feb. compared to Feb. 2010 -  The average days to sell this Feb. were 81 days compared with Feb 2010 which was 112 days. For additional information regarding the Nanaimo Real Estate Market please contact me. 03/13/2011

Move to Hammond Bay Nanaimo Are you considering a move to the Hammond Bay area?   Hammond Bay is a neighbourhood in Nanaimo which runs along a lovely coastline.  The area is made up of hillside looking over the ocean.  There is one main road in Hammond Bay called Hammond Bay Road which runs from the old Nanaimo Highway near Woodgrove Mall and meanders along until it reaches Departure Bay Road. The Hammond Bay area is very hilly which allow for homes to enjoy spectacular views.  There are many innovative, luxury homes in the area... There are pros and cons to the hilly geography.  The pros are of course the views the cons are that these hills can make walking a challenge for some and the occasional snowy day can make driving a vehicle sometimes quite hazardous.  The area has pretty good ... 03/11/2011

 Should you stage your house Should you stage your house to help it sell faster?  Is it worth the time and expense to go to all that trouble?  I say YES! I do a number of open houses as a Realtor.  I have been in homes where the owners took the time to stage their home.  Quite honestly, there is no comparison between a home that has been staged and one that has not.    As an example:  I did an open house yesterday that was a family home.  The only way I knew that a baby and a toddler lived in that house was that I had seen their beds.  If you have ever tried to sell your home while you have small children around you will know how exhausting and trying it can be to keep everything tidy.  The parents in this house had de-cluttered so well that even the toddlers room was uncluttered.  The ... 03/10/2011

February home sales are up 19% over last year at the same time. Year to date figures are -18% however. The was some pent up demand I suspect over the last few months. How March turns out will depend on market confidence and interest rates. The HST change seemed to have a big effect on last year. The price of a single family home in Nanaimo is down 2% from last year. One has to remember that average home price statistics can be scewed by the sales mix. If we sell 10 new homes for $525,000 and only one home for $320,000 it would appear that homes are worth more. This only suggests that this month more people want new homes not that the $older homes grew in value. To view all of Nanaimo's real estate statistics: http://www.dougbelcher.com/nanaimo-mls-real-estate-stats/doug-belcher-mls-sale... 03/09/2011

 First time home buyers in Nanaimo Part 4 This is the fourth in a series of posts that will assist first time home buyers prepare themselves for the experience of purchasing a home.   Today we are going to look at what to do once you have found the right house. Step FourYou've found the one!  Now what? Once you have found the right house what do you do?  It is time to make an offer.  At this point your REALTOR should supply you with a list of what similar homes have sold for in that area.  This information will assist you in knowing what to offer for the house.  In addition, as a first time home buyer, your Realtor may make suggestions to you as to what subjects you might want to consider placing on the offer.   Once you have decided on a price and your subjects your Realtor will write ... 03/08/2011

First time home buyers in Nanaimo Part 5 This is the fifth in a series of posts that will assist first time home buyers prepare themselves for the experience of purchasing a home.   Today we are going to look at what to do once you have found the right house. Step FiveYour offer has been accepted - Now what? Once your offer has been accepted it is now time to work on getting your subjects removed.  You may have placed a one week or two week subject in the contract to allow yourself time to get everything done. The most common subjects for first time home buyers are:  Subject to inspection, subject to financing and subject to receiving approval for fire/property insurance, subject to approving property disclosure statement and subject to approving title. I usually give my clients a to-do... 03/08/2011

RAISE THE BAR! I thought I'd let everyone know  what I was up to last Thursday morning in preparation for the official launch of my hospital fundraiser, "Raise the Bar". Above is the photo that was taken at the construction site of Nanaimo Regional General Hospitals' new emergency ward. The weather was perfect and the crew were fantastic! This is my first ever attempt at fundraising and a very exciting experience. Although I have competed at multiple National and World Championships, this is the first time I've been able to use my physical strength to help my community. We need a new emergency ward, so I'm going to do my part and, with a $15,000 goal in mind,  pull some big weights off the mat for them in 2011. I am now 22 days away from competing at the Canadian Powerlifting Championsh... 03/06/2011

Real estate in Departure Bay consists of some townhouses, a few condos but primarily single family homes.  The area is established with many of the homes being 30 plus years old.  Many homes offer sweeping views of Departure Bay and out into Georgia Strait. Housing prices range from a low of $250,000 on upwards.  I have detailed below an idea of what is available currently in real estate in Departure Bay.  I have broken it down by different price ranges. Under $300,000 - Options that are currently available include a 3 bedroom, 1600 sq. foot older home, 8150 sq. foot lot with a view.  The house is in need of some repairs and is currently rented out.  Also available is a two bedroom 1150 sq. foot condo in Seacape Manor with stunning views for $299,900. Under $350,000- In this price range... 03/06/2011

First time home buyers in Nanaimo Part 3 This is the third in a series of posts that will assist first time home buyers prepare themselves for the experience of purchasing a home.   Today we are going to look at the process of looking for and choosing your first home. Step ThreeThe fun part - Looking for your first home As a first time home buyer it is important to spend some quality time with your real estate agent discussing your list of things you are looking for in your first home.  Things to think about are:  choice of neighbourhoods, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, do you want single family or strata, schools, shopping and transportation.  You may find that some of your choices are not going to be available in your price range.  Many first time home buyers find that they need to... 03/05/2011

  The Home Buying Process: Do You Understand It? The more you know about the best way to achieve your goal, the better your chances of being successful are.  This holds true whether you’re job-hunting, assembling furniture, or training for a sports competition.Using a proven process will help you get there every time. So why not use this when shopping for a new home?There is a proven process to acquiring the home you want, in theneighborhood you want, at a price you can afford. So let's break it down: 1. Get Ready BEFORE YOU HOP IN THE CAR: If you own your current home, youneed to get it ready to sell. Call your REALTOR® for guidance with this. Be sure to also get financing for a new home pre-approved, so you know exactly how much you can afford. 2. Go shopping Your next step is to view... 03/04/2011

Why Should I Bother Getting Pre-Approved Before I Start Shopping?   Do you want to ensure that you get the home you want? Then it's extremely important that youarrange for financing before you goshopping: get “pre-approved”. To define getting pre-approved: Your lender has calculated how much of amortgage they’re willing to offer you,depending on your down payment andcurrent financial situation. Here are the two advantages to having apre-approved mortgage. You know exactly what you can afford when shopping for a new home. When you make an offer, you’re likely to be taken more seriously. Here's the power behind it all: Knowing the numbers and having the seller know that you are pre-approved means you can also negotiate more powerfully, obtaining the best possible price. For more informati... 03/03/2011

Yes, It's True!   First-time homebuyers who are Canadian residents can withdraw up to $25,000 from their RRSP TAX FREE. In a nutshell here's how: Through Canada’s Home Buyers Plan (HBP) you and your spouse can each take out up to $25,000 (as of the 2009 federal budget) to build or buy a home that qualifies.    It's really a fairly simple process to get access to your RRSPs through the Home Buyers Plan. Fill out form T1036 at your financial institution for each withdrawal. Then make sure to file an income tax return for the year of the withdrawal and each year thereafter, until the RRSP is fully repaid.   If you feel this information is of value to you and would like to know more, feel free contact me.   As well, check out the Canada Revenue Agency website.   03/02/2011

Move to Departure Bay Are you considering a move to the Departure Bay area?  Departure Bay is a lovely ocean side community showcasing a fabulous beach and stunning views.  The area is very hilly which allow for homes to enjoy spectacular views.  There are pros and cons to the hilly geography.  The pros are of course the views the cons are that these hills can make walking a challenge for some and the occasional snowy day can make driving a vehicle sometimes quite hazardous.  The area has pretty good bus service.  The Departure Bay area is also recognized as a fairly safe area for families and seniors alike. A move to the Departure Bay area offers a choice of three Elementary schools and one high school.  The schools in the area are fairly old but have good reputations.  The high school... 03/01/2011

New homes for sale in Nanaimo There are many new homes for sale in Nanaimo including single family homes, townhouses and condos.  However, buying a new home is a bit different than purchasing a resale home.  For one thing HST is charged on new construction.  The HST can be a very confusing thing to calculate when buying a new home because of the HST rebates.   An experienced mortgage broker that I know -Jim Delorme with Dominion Lending Centres Vanisle - sent me this very helpful link on calculating HST on the purchase of a new home.  It will calculate how much HST you will owe after the rebates. BC REAL ESTATE NEW HOME HST CALCULATOR http://www.bcrealestatelawyers.com/pricing/hstcalculator.html   When you put an offer on a new home you may wish to include different subjects on the offe... 02/28/2011