The purpose of this "blog" is to create a means to present various documents to my potential clients so that I can send them to one source for their information requirements.  If I understand "blogging" properly, they can then read the document and respond with any questions they may have. The first document that I would like to deal with is the one page form created by OREA, Ontario Real Estate Association, which briefly deals with the Agency Relationship.  The document is called "Working With A Realtor".  Working With A REALTOR® The Agency Relationship 1. Seller representation When a real estate brokerage represents a seller, it must do what is best for the seller of a property. A written contract, called a listing agreement, creates an agency relationship between the seller and the b... 12/08/2008

Blogs can be boring. I debated many times before I committed to start one. The main reason blogs can be boring is that creating interesting, meaningful content takes time and commitment. Many people see the trend of blogs, see the benefits behind developing a dedicated reader base and want the results – they don’t understand that the fabric of the result is in the content. Many do what they think is a short cut – they cut and paste market trends or other standard industry news into their blog thinking they are adding value. I would tend to disagree with this approach. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for market trend summaries, thoughts on the marketplace in general and those types of entries – but a blog is supposed to be a personally opinionated medium. They are also intended to show the ... 11/30/2008

Effective negotiation is key to success in real estate. As an investor or as an agent having strong negotiating skills will give you the little extra edge. Imagine yourself as a buyer or seller - if using a realtor who knows how to negotiate versus someone who knows how to shuffle paper was worth $4,000 to you, wouldn't you prefer the money in your pocket? In my opinion, proper negotiating techniques account for as much as 5% of the outcome in a residential real estate transaction. I consider myself a skilled negotiator - the reason I feel this way is not because I have a big ego, more it's how many times I've seen weaknesses in other agents skillset cost their client money. I figure if I'm not making those mistakes, by default I am a strong negotiator! In this entry I am going to brief... 11/30/2008

link 2 realty ltd. Real Estate Brokerage & Andrew Young, Scotiabank will be presenting Free Real Estate Seminars to London Ontario. Admission is free and open to anyone interested. Seating is limited, so reserve yours today by calling 519-642-0619 or email andrewr.young@scotiabank.com Home Buying Seminar Date: December 9, 2008 Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00pm Location: Scotiabank 301 Oxford St. W, London Thinking of buying a home or property? Come check out our Home Buying Seminar. Learn about: Renting vs. Buying, Legalities, the Real Estate Market, and more! Speakers will include a Real Estate Agent & Mortgage Specialist. Mortgage/Investment Seminar Date: December 19, 2008 Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00pm Location: Scotiabank 301 Oxford St. W, London This seminar is two in one! For anyone who wants to lea... 11/27/2008

Thanks to you that have made a comment.  Since my last post, I have successuly started my new website (www.robertmiedemaphotographer.ca) geared to Virtual Tours, taken addtional training in virtual tours, registered and become a business associate with my local real estate board (introductory meeting day after tomorrow), started and completed my first business portrait session in St. Thomas. and begun my "100 list.  Not to ignore my portrait and wedding business, but I tell you, what a ride this new journey is taking me.  This outreach (blogging) is totally new to me, so if I do it wrong, then bear with me.  I need to take time a associate myself with others out there who are on the same path or have been on this path past.  There is a lot to learn from each other.  Take Care. Robert 11/25/2008

When I first started in the real estate industry, it constantly amazed me the amount of turnover a newly developed neighbourhood would experience in the first 5 years. Over time I realized this is a natural occurance for many reasons. In my opinion the main reason is that a younger demographic tends to be attracted to new builds. The younger demographic tends to have more major lifestyle changing events that inspires moves. I've worked with many sellers having a home under 5 years old - for this client it is imperitive to understand the new home buyer because they will quite often cross over into recently built resale. Below are some tips on how you can cater to new home buyers on the most important levels. 1) Bring out the list of upgrades: if you are in a position where he builder is ... 11/23/2008

Gas prices are falling! Do you remember the last time gas prices were in the 70s? Just a month ago, we were looking at gas prices at 101.405. One year ago, they were 106.808. If you didn’t fill up your tank during the week, you will be paying more to do so this weekend. Gas prices are higher during weekends, than weekdays. Save money. I have a great website for you. Visit www.londongasprices.com. This website compares all gas prices in the London Area, and it shows you where you can get the cheapest prices. 11/21/2008

It seems to be the overwhelming trend - first in the United States, the the Western parts of Canada, then Toronto and now even London - it's official - buyer's market is the new reality. I am writing this entry mainly because it's information I seem to be covering almost on a daily basis with my clients. If clients are asking, there is a good chance that the general public would appreciate the information as well. Here is the bottom line: What does a buyer's market have to do with me and my financial health? Fortunately, it's an easy answer. The logic I am about to outline is intended to put you in the correct state of mind to really evaluate if this is a "BAD" market. That is the wrong terminology - for some people a seller's market is a bad market - let me illustrate. Thinking in CURR... 11/20/2008

Greetings All In todays world top placement in GOOGLE is hard to beat for real world results . That being said .. check out this url http://www.google.ca/search?q=london+ontario+real+estate+for+sale&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a Search words are .. drum roll please  london ontario real estate for sale How did I do it ? I will never tell ! (lol) More importantly or a better question would be...... Why ? The answer to the above question is simple .. I want my clients to have the edge in selling there property and it is a given that a Successful Internet Marketing Approach is vital in todays world. Tough times reguire a tough  bottom line and results focused approach ... and I can deliver both ! If you are looking to Buy or Sell  Real Estate in Lond... 11/17/2008

Wow! What a great time to sell and obtain a 7 to 9% interest rate if you are willing to take back a First or Second Mortgage. With the banks tightening up on their lending policies, there are many first time buyers and repeat buyers that are just shy of qualifying for a mortgage, however these buyers have good credit, good jobs, and are definately willing and ready to buy real estate. For those sellers that have a lot of equity in real estate, this is the time to sell, and assist with Buyer financing, and achieve a great rate of return on their Mortgage take back. What an opportunity for a select group of Sellers  that find themselves in that scenario. 11/16/2008

Recently I posted this on another SEO Blog and a few othe SEO oriented sites\blogs Re: Getting into Yahoo Although I was ranked high in Yahoo ,I am now way down now .When I see the sites that are ranking for haveing search terms in thereurl I have to ask myself .. how pointless is that .I mean do you even need a se for that ?IMO I would never use Yahoo and wait they should not rank for a search on the serps for a se cause there domain is not a search term !   Suddenly this   Re: Getting into Yahoo or something really odd http://asia.search.yahoo.com/search;...4&ei=UTF-8&vs=In the above yahoo dir I am # 1SAME SEARCH TERMS real estate london ontariohttp://ca.search.yahoo.com/search;_y...-8&pop=1&rd=r1SUDDENLY # 4 . from the voidWow ! go figure ,perhaps my recent efforts have accomplised s... 11/15/2008

Welcome to my Blog.  Today brings on another facet to my existing business - Virtual Tours.  As a current business owner of Professional Photography in Portraits and Wedding, I have over 13 years in serving the London Ontario business base.  My skills behind the camera and computer combined with current photographic equipment and latest software allow me to complete tasks at hand quickly and efficiently.  Years of satisfied customers allow me to enter this new facet of business with confidence to service my new customers with quality, reliability, and speed.  Dont forget to inquire about our introductory special.  We service the Middlesex County - Alisa Craig, Arva, Belmont, Delaware, Denfield, Dorchester, Glencoe, Granton, Hyde Park, Ilderton, Kerwood, Komoka, Lambeth, Lobo, Lucan, Mel... 11/12/2008

Results are in for October Real Estate sales for London and surrounding area. The number of home sales are down from last year in October. The information can be found HERE. Judging by the activity in November, it looks like the number of homes sales will be down when compared to November of 2007.Some of the reasons for this are obvious. Some home buyers are sitting on the sidelines to see what happens after the turmoil in the world financial markets the previous month. Some are no longer in the market due to the economy. We had a record number of sales in September - some of this was because of people rushing to take advantage of the no money down program from federal government which expired in October, and nice weather helped too. So those people who might have normally purchased in ... 11/12/2008

The London- St.Thomas Association of Realtors have recently reported that sales volume in October of 2008 was down 15% compared to October 2007. Year to date the sale volume is down 7.9% and average house price is up approximately 5%. For those currently living in White Oaks, I thought they might find the following stats interesting. White Oaks subdivision was built in several phases but essentially it can be looked as two sections. Those homes 25 years or more old and those less than 25 years old. Summary of White Oaks Semi Detached  Homes   2007   2008 to date     Sales Avg Sale Price   Sales Avg Sale Price Change% Under 25 Yrs Old 11 $162,173   13 $161,669 -0.3% 25 Yrs and Older 33 $148,870   32 $148,938 0.0%                 Summary of White Oaks Split Level Homes     2007   2008 to ... 11/05/2008

I haven't commented too much on the current state of the economy in Canada or London. The media and it's entourage have managed to blow things out of proportion again, which is normal. It's created a lot of unknown, uncertainly, and panic amongst the public. Most of it's needless, but you can't avoid it.The United States' "give anybody who breathes a mortgage" financial problems have come back to haunt them (along with such things as poor fiscal responsibility of the government ie racking up huge debt over the past 5 years) and have thrown the world for a loop. I'll be the first to admit, I'm very glad I don't live in some of the US markets or sell real estate there. It must be tough.The US economy definitely has an effect on Canada and the world. However, this doesn't mean Canada is go... 10/31/2008

Recently I was invited by RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic to speak at a convention series called “Trading Secrets”. I was only able to participate in two sessions, GTA and Sudbury, due to a conflict with my  broker registration course. The premise of the event is to have a panel of 4 top producers converse on how-to’s from the eyes of a successful Realtor. I knew going into the event that I would learn more than simply being in the audience. Keeping at the top of your game is the result of many things - determination, consistency, organized planning AND having new, fresh ideas constantly. Walking into the event I could feel the anticipation of the audience as they mingled in the lobby and common areas, music played in the background of the convention center - there was a lot of excitement! Even... 10/18/2008

London Ontario's real estate market continues to produce strong numbers. September 2008 was the best September ever for the real estate board in terms of number of sales. See the News Release below.For where the economy is, and where it is headed, London, Ontario is in a good position to withstand any major negative impact from the economy. It will be interesting to see how sales go for the next 6 months. Sales will likely slow down, but there is no bubble to burst so we shouldn't see any noticable decrease in prices. In fact, if interest rates are reduced as is predicted, I have a very optimistic view for real estate sales in 2009.Last month, 769 homes exchanged hands in the jurisdiction of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR), including 625 detached homes (up 19.... 10/07/2008

Best September ever for home sales! Last month, 769 homes exchanged hands in the jurisdiction of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR), including 625 detached homes (up 19.3% from September 2007) and 144 condos (up 14.3%). Year to date, 5,664 detached homes and 1,449 condos have been sold - down 6.7% and 8.3% respectively compared to the same period in 2007.   The next-best September was in 2005, when 746 homes were sold. In September of 2007, 650 homes were sold.  In 2008, the area has seen its third-best February, its second-best May (also its third-best month ever) and its second-best July on record.   Year-to-date sales are at 7,113, which is just 7.1% below the same period for 2007, which was an outstanding year. Year-to-date sales are just below the five-year ... 10/06/2008

Someone said you should not invest now because history will repeat itself; the recession in the U.S. is expected to hit Canada really hard, putting us in a recession by the next year. The unemployment rate in the U.S. is at an all-time high, Canada has reported that 50,000 jobs were lost in July alone, the biggest number since February 1991.What does this mean for London? If there is a recession, mortgage rates increase and loans are more difficult to obtain. For people who have over extended, they will start selling assets-typically investment property, then cottage, then home. As a result, real estate prices fall.However, the London economy is slightly different. A majority of the Canadian job losses were in the manufacturing sector; London is a service economy. The 2 largest employer... 09/26/2008

The London Free Press had an article detailing London's construction industry. It is a good read and is posted below. It touches on London's diverse economy weathering the economic uncertainly in Ontario and paints a good future for the construction industry and London's economy.With the manufacturing industry really struggling and all the negative news we hear in the media, it's good to keep things in perspective and understand where London is now and where it will be in 5 years or 10 years down the road.The value of construction in London is about to top $800 million for the first time, despite the region's economic slump. "This is going to be the biggest year ever. We are at $640 million now with four months to go, we will top $800-million," Rocky Cerminara, the city's director of bu... 09/19/2008