Tips for selling in the winter

We all know that winter in Southern Alberta has its challenges. We never really know what the weather has in store for us. It can change from one hour to the next. When you have a property for sale in the winter, here are a couple of tips to help improve your chances for getting an offer: - make sure your sidewalks are shoveled. This includes access to the garage, if you have a detached garage. No one wants to be trudging through three foot high drifts to get to the front door, or to check out the garage. Plus, you do not want to have anyone falling down your steps and getting hurt. Keep the sidewalks clear of snow and of ice. A little investment in a snow shovel, (or hiring someone to clean the walks for you), and some de-icer are a good investment. This is even more important if you are selling a lot with an RV unit already on it. This winter we have not had all that much snow yet, but we still come across RVs that have snow drifts up the side of the unit, making it very difficult to try to get in if we have to dig our way to the door. This does not make a good first impression on potential buyers. - have your furnace checked. Replace your furnace filter and make sure that your furnace room is free from junk. Potential buyers will want to have a look at the furnace and like to see one that has been taken care of, especially when they are more aware of it during the cold winter months. Too much debris around the furnace does not look good and also hinders air flow. Things like this cost little, but could be worth a lot. - if your property is vacant, make sure someone is checking on it daily. At least have someone drive by to check that there is smoke coming from the chimney. If not, get in there right away to make sure that the furnace is running. A frozen house and frozen pipes are no good! On that note, I suggest putting a sign on the switch for the furnace. I found out the hard way that people like to turn switches on and off when looking at a house for sale, and sometimes they do not leave things they way that they left them. I had my house for sale and it was vacant. Someone looked at the house and flicked switches, and turned off my furnace. It was not labeled and they must not have realized that this is what helped keep my house warm. Well, to make a long story short, I had frozen pipes that burst and there was damage in my basement. It was a mistake someone made and now we will just classify that as a lesson learned. If you have an RV unit, you should have already had your unit winterized, so you should not have too much to worry about. However, things can happen and it's good to have at least a walk around inspection done on a regular basis. Sometimes windows can break, doors can blow open, or other "stuff". Best to be safe than sorry. - one more thing, if you house is vacant, pour a little bit of liquid fabric softner down the floor drain in the basement (usually in the laundry area). This helps keep the drain from drying out and getting some unpleasant odors in the house. Basically, make sure that the property is being taken of, that there is still pride of ownership, even though you have decided to let this property go. Ask yourself, what would I like, or dislike, if I were looking for a property. Then act accordingly. Strangely enough, we have made sales at the lake on some of the coldest days of the whole year. Thus, it's always good to be prepared.

Aerial View of Phase One at the resort

Budget facelifts that add value to your home | The Chronicle Herald

Budget facelifts that add value to your home | The Chronicle Herald

Plans for Christmas?

As an owner at Lake McGregor Country Estates, did you know that you could book part of the clubhouse for a Christmas party? Have friends and/or family out, got for a swim, play some pool, and maybe do some dancing, enjoying the facilities. Call management to check for available dates and times.

It's beginning to look alot like.....

Old man winter rolled into Lake McGregor Country Estates this past week and welcomed us all to the season! We all knew the storm was coming and, yes, the weather guy got it right - we got a dump of snow! Talking with a local RCMP member, the snow plows were out at 2am, clearing the highways, laying down whatever they lay down to make it not so icy. The morning of the snowfall was a little quiet. The residents that were still at the resort slowly started the whole shoveling show thing. Management had their snow removal equipment in high gear. I was out a day or so after the storm and saw a few good sized drifts up against the sides of some RVs. Yes, winter has arrived! Then again, the forecast is for plus 6 degrees and higher starting Monday or so. Thank you chinook winds! As far as sales go at the resort, we are in to the slower time of the year. We have had one or two people asking about the resort this past week. I also am working on listing a foreclosure property, a cottage, and hope to have that on the market by this time next week. Not exactly the best time to be marketing a property at the lake, but a couple of years ago, I sold two properties on what I am guessing was the coldest day of the year! Thus, we keep moving forward.

Winterizing

The sun has had a busy summer and does not get up as early as it did what seems like only weeks ago. The leaves are falling... The weather guy has started talking PLUS degrees and MINUS degrees. I guess this means that winter is coming. We have had a really nice summer. We were not drenched in rain. We did not really have many windy days, but when we did get the wind, we REALLY got the wind! Anyhow, it's time to get units winterized. For those owners who live at the lake full time, it's just classified as a fall clean-up. But for those other RV and cottage owners, it's time to get ready for the freeze! A good start is to make arrangements with management to get the water shut off at the curb. RV antifreeze is a must. And make sure you have your "stuff" cleaned up and stored away in your unit or shed, such as lawn chairs, awnings, toys, and more. We all know that the wind CAN come up and make a mess so best to plan ahead. One more thing that I suggest is to let your neighbors and management know your plans for the winter season, and leave them your contact information in case they need to get in touch with you. And remember, the resort is open year round so if you get a chance to come out this winter, you can still go for a swim in the clubhouse pool, and enjoy the other facilities inside. Enjoy!

Go figure!

So much for my theory about the weather and the recreational real estate market. We had a mild winter so I figured that we would be having a busy spring at Lake McGregor Country Estates. Nope. We did sell a few places, but not as many as we would have liked. Then August rolled around. Last month of the summer season. Who is going to buy anything now? Well, with one or two properties selling per week, I would say that there are quite a few people who were looking at buying themselves some recreational property. We had a prime lake view cottage lot that we almost had multiple offers on. We also sold a couple of the larger lots we had for sale, and two interior lots. Those lots were picked as they were close to the playground and clubhouse. We even had an RV with lot sell. Most of the sales were bargains. That is why they sold now compared to one year ago. Sellers were holding out for more one year ago, but now some just wanted to cut their loses and get the sale done. It worked for them, and it worked out good for the new owners. There are still more places to sell though. Still more sellers anxious to see me with an offer to purchase in my hands to show them. With a warmer than average fall predicted, do I see the market staying strong? If my spring prediction is any indication of my theories, I think I should just keep my mouth shut! Zip!