Is Your Chimney Ready For Santa?

Santa isn’t as young as he used to be and I think he put on a little extra weight this year.  Getting down those chimneys is hard enough as it is, so if you have a chimney for your fireplace, make sure that it has been cleaned before you use it this season.

According to my sources at the North Pole, a chimney used for a wood burning should be swept and inspected at least once a year by a WETT certified Person.  WETT stands for Wood Energy Technology Transfer.  People that are WETT certified are also Santa Approved!  They have been trained in the cleaning and inspection of chimneys and they often can do any repairs if needed.

The flammable deposits, such as creosote, should be cleaned out.  Creosote, is that black stuff that sticks to the sides of the chimney.  A spark from the fire could ignite it and cause a chimney fire.  Two other common repairs are to dampers that no longer work properly and the removal of blockages in the flue.  Just like we wouldn’t want smoke to get stuck on the way up, we want a clear passage for Santa on the way down.

Old brick fireplaces may need a metal liner.  Some older homes had coal burning fireplaces, which didn’t burn the same way wood does and may not have the proper clearances.  Today, they might be mistaken for a wood burning fireplace and that may not be safe.  If you cannot burn wood in the coal burning fireplaces, chemical logs might be okay but consult with your chimney professional first.  If you bought a home with a gas insert into a wood fireplace, the damper MUST be fixed in the open position.  If you don’t know if that was done properly, you may want to have that inspected too.

Santa will appreciate the work you’ve done and it will be one more reason for you to be on Santa’s Nice List this year!  Have a Safe and Happy Holiday Season and a Happy New Year Too!

Switching the Thermostat from “Cool” to “Heat”…

Switching the thermostat from Cool to Heat has always marked a point during the year for me when I finally admit to myself that the warm season is over and the cold season begins.  It is also a reminder to do some Autumn maintenance in preparation for those colder days to come.

Replacing the furnace filter and getting your furnace serviced is always a great way to start.  Winter tends to be dry, if you don’t have a humidifier you may want to consider having one installed.   If you have a humidifier, check that it is clean.  Like your furnace, the cleaner it is; the better it works.  

Have you ever noticed through past winters that some rooms of your home are colder and others much warmer?  A Home Heat Balancing may help.  Heat balancing changes the way the heat flows around the home to make it the most comfortable and efficient.  Hot air naturally rises so ideal air flow is different in the Winter.  In the Summer, upstairs supply vents are often opened up and the downstairs ones closed.   You may find that you need to do the opposite in the Winter.  If a room isn’t used during the winter, you may want to redirect the heat elsewhere.  Check out AskStevenSilva.ca for more tips on Do-It-Yourself Home Heat Balancing.  

Check the weather stripping around doors, windows and electrical outlets on exterior walls.  Under exterior doors there is a weather stripping known as a “sweep” those are often forgotten and do need replacing from time to time to prevent cold air from getting in.

Scott Ratcliffe, local Small Engine Repair Service Technician, suggests mowing the leaves once they’re dry (his full advice is published on AskStevenSilva.ca).  If you wait until all the leaves have fallen and dried up before cutting the grass one last time, you will find come spring time the lawn will be healthier and clean.  Consider cleaning out the eavestroughs.  Clean eavestroughs prevent them from icing up easily and overflowing.  Since the ladder is out, why not get a head start on putting up the Holiday lighting before the ground is covered in ice and snow.

With a little advance preparation we can be ready to enjoy the “Most Wonderful Time of the Year”!

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New Home Builders In Bradford

Currently The Builders in Bradford are:

Country Wide, Westin Homes, Rosehaven, Brookfield, Great Gulf Homes, Regal Crest Homes, Emery Homes

If you are thinking about buying new or re-sale, contact Steven Silva.  Steven can email you current homes for sale and help introduce you to Bradford.  He is a full time Realtor who works and lives in Bradford.

You can also read “Do I need a Realtor when Buying a New Home” 

As of June 12th 2011 Currently for Sale by builders in Bradford Ontario:

Builder Development Product Type Bedrooms TREB Zone Price From Size (Sf)

CountryWide Homes Dreamfields Townhouse 4 bdrm N18 $283,990 1,546
CountryWide Homes Dreamfields Townhouse 4 bdrm N18 $283,990 1,546
CountryWide Homes Dreamfields Townhouse 3 bdrm N18 $286,990 1,546
CountryWide Homes Dreamfields Townhouse 3 bdrm N18 $286,990 1,546
Westin Homes Grand Central Detached 3 bdrm N18 $287,490 1,318
Brookfield Homes Grand Central Detached 3 bdrm N18 $289,990 1,146
Rosehaven Homes Dreamfields Townhouse 3 bdrm N18 $289,990 1,381
Rosehaven Homes Dreamfields Townhouse 3 bdrm N18 $289,990 1,381

When can a Landlord Enter a Rental Unit? (via Ask Realtor® Steven Silva)

Hi Steven, I need your advice….my landlord is asking me to co-ordinate a time with her for a home inspection of the house I am living in, and renting from her.  I have never heard of this? Why would she be doing this? Please help! 🙂 The Residential Tenancies Act (the Act) is the Law that governs Residential Rentals and Leases in Ontario.  According to the Act a landlord may enter a tenant's unit only under certain circumstances.  Generally, th … Read More

via Ask Realtor® Steven Silva

October 2010 BWG Market Watch

Market Watch for N18: Bradford West Gwillimbury

BRADFORD WEST GWILLIMBURY

MARKET WATCH

Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 29 sales in Bradford West Gwillimbury [N18] through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in October 2010.  This represents a 10 percent decrease compared to the 32 sales recorded in October 2009.  However, the average price of homes sold was $359,534 for this month up 17 percent from October 2009’s average price of $306,062.  This increase is substantially higher than in areas such as the GTA which increased by about 5 percent.  As shown in Figure 1, Active and New listings have also increased since last year.

Figure 1: Bradford West Gwillimbury Housing Market Comparison
	OCTOBER 2009	OCTOBER 2010	% CHANGE
ACTIVE LISTINGS	122	130	+6.5%
NEW LISTINGS	51	56	+10%
SALES	32	29	-10%
DAYS ON THE MARKET	44	54	+22%
SOLD AVG. % OF LISTING PRICE	98	98	SAME

Figure 2 shows data derived from the MLS indicating that the majority of single-family homes sold this month in Bradford were Detached Houses.

Note: Bradford’s Housing Market does not include New Home Sales.  Information used is based on the Toronto Real Estate Board Market Watch for October 2009, 2010.

Preparing for a New Home Warranty Pre-Delivery Inspection Seminar

The Pre-Delivery Inspection, known as PDI, is the first and best opportunity that new home purchasers have to assert their home warranty claims.  Items not discovered during the PDI may not be covered under the warranty and could cost the purchasers thousands of dollars.  The builder may also dispute whether or not the items in question are covered.

Visit me, Steven Silva, on Wednesday, November 3rd from 7pm to 8pm @ 107 Holland Street (Royal LePage Your Community Realty Board Room) for a free Seminar on Preparing for a New Home Warranty Pre-Delivery Inspection.  Registration is not required but seating is limited.  Register to ensure seating by calling 905-775-7965 or email me at steven.silva@rogers.com

Topics to be discussed:
Quick Overview of the Warranty Process.
The New Home Warranty Program Lowers the Bar of Excellence.
Why is the Pre-Delivery Inspection so Important.
What happens during a typical Pre-delivery Inspection.
Who should attend the Inspection.
Should I hire a Home Inspector (the answer may surprise you).
What are common mistakes New Home Buyers make (avoid these to save thousands of dollars).
A simple process for maximizing your Pre-Delivery Inspection Process.
After You Move In: What are the next steps.
Questions and Answer period.

Do I need a Realtor when Buying a New Home from a Builder?

Technically, you do not need a Realtor to buy a newly built home but I hope after reading this you will not consider buying without at least consulting a Realtor first.

In Ontario, the only people legally allow to trade in Real Estate are Realtors through a Brokerage.  There are two important exceptions : Firstly an owner call sell their own property and, secondly, Builders (who can hire a non-Realtor to act as a Sales Representative).  This means the person representing the builder might not be bound by the code of ethics that a Realtor must follow.

A Realtor must be honest, not misrepresent or withhold information which may impact on the sale of the property.  Most builders do not have Realtors as their sales representatives.   In that case, the sales representative is not bound by the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act.  Even if the builder does hire a Realtor to be their sales representative, the purchasers do not sign buyer representation agreements which means that this Realtor would only represent the interests of the builder.

Most home purchasers think that if they don’t use their own Realtor when buying a home they can reduce the purchase price.  Usually, that isn’t the case as most large builders will claim they never lower their prices.  Since it has been proven that builders who work with Buyer’s Realtors sell faster and for more money than those that do not.  Many builders will co-operate with a Buyer’s Realtor.  Which means the builder pays the commission to the Buyer’s agent.  Which in turn means that a buyer will not pay for the benefit of having their interests protected.

As Your Agent I can:

• Negotiate the Sale,
• Help select the property (location, size and style)
• Suggest which features (and extras) will add value and which won’t
• Identify which extras can be done afterwards possession (usually for 1/3 of the cost) and which cannot
• Identify which features will hurt the resale of your home
• Find out information that the average purchaser cannot such as previous sale amounts
• Compare the builders product with current properties for sale (sometimes a resale home can be a better value than the one being sold by the builder)
• Provide unbiased information about the builder
• Assist you with the Home Warranty Program
• Provide access to specialists in the type of property you are considering (condo Lawyer vs House Lawyer)
• Assist in arranging financing though my network of banking specialist
• Assist in finding local trades to perform work after possession is taken
• Be a third party and sounding board for questions
• Provide you with local information on schools, businesses, possible future development that may affect your home etc.

In my community, Builders do not change the pricing of their homes, except for the occasional increase in price.  They do change the amount of “Extras” offered at their decor centre.  One week they may offer $15,000 and another nothing.  Sometimes one builder may provide the purchaser with the best value and other times different builders offer the best value.

Location is still important even in sub-divisions.  Realtors know what is in the development plan and have insight into local communities and problems.

This is just the tip of the iceberg but in short, you do not need a Realtor when Buying from a Builder though why wouldn’t you?

Bradford West Gwillimbury 2010 Final Tax Rates

When buying a property, one of the items I always review (and buyers should always ask about) is Land Taxes.  When listing a home most realtors get a copy of the previous years land taxes then post it on the MLS for Buyers Agents.  In Toronto, the formula on how land tax is calculated seems to be a tightly held secret.  So, when we want to get an idea of what the tax rate might be for a particular home, we typically look at nearby properties.  Bradford has made it simpler.   Below is a document that I came across on the Bradford West Gwillimbury site.  It lays out their method of calculating land taxes.  For residential properties in Bradford take the assessed value and multiply it by 1.192575% and you should get your total tax rate.  For example, a house with an asking price of $300,000 would expect to pay $300,000* 0.01192575 = $3577.73 per year in land taxes assuming the city will re-value your home at the purchase price.

Note! If the taxes posted are lower than the above calculation, be prepared your taxes may increase.  For example, if the tax for the above home was $2981.44,  the city assessment might be only for $250,000.  When you purchase the property the Town may re-assess the value based on the new purchase price thereby increasing the amount of taxes due.

Click Photo To Enlarge Source: http://www.town.bradfordwestgwillimbury.on.ca/ (June 2010)

For more tax rates click the link or visit the Town’s web site for the latest information.

How To Find An Open House

As much as every Sales Representative and Broker wants you to search using their website to look for homes,  Realtor.ca is the best and most complete option for homes listed with Realtors.  Realtor.ca can also be used to search for open houses.

The first place a professional Realtor posts their open house is on the MLS for other Realtors to see.  Realtor.ca is the public version of the Realtor’s MLS and uses the same database .  Every website other than Realtor.ca is missing information and is just a subset of what is available.  Don’t waste your time, either ask your Realtor or if you don’t have one yet, visit Realtor.ca.

Keep in mind that the chances of finding the home you will purchase by driving around to open houses is 1 in about 400 (according to the National Association of Realtors).  The sooner you start working with a Realtor, the easier the overall process will be.  In Ontario, it is the seller that usually pays the commission of Buyer’s Realtor.  That means the buyer does not have to pay to have a Realtor protect their interests.

Don’t Have a Cow Man… Actually A Cow Might be good

The great Bart Simpson made famous the phrase “Don’t Have a Cow Man” but In Bradford Ontario having a Cow might be really great.  I’m referring to the mobile storage company of Cows Canada.

If you are thinking of moving and need a storage solution for the move you can consider a mobile storage container.  They will drop it off at your home.  You fill it up. Then they can either deliver it to you new place or store it for you in their storage facility until your ready.

When getting ready for sale, this can help you de-clutter.

Watch this video below to see it in action:

Visit them at www.866-get-a-cow.ca to get up to date pricing or call 905-778-0777
email them at newmarketca09@866-get-a-cow.ca
Their Location: 20070 HWY 11 P.O. box 93056    L3Y 8K3
Ask for Norm Ballum (he’s the Trailer Boss) let him know Steven Silva of Royal LePage Your Community sent ya!

Royal Le Page .. I’m Seeing Double

Driving west along 88 Today on my way to a Royal Le Page office meeting I saw something a little strange.  The previous Prudential Office has changed their stripes. and is now a Royal Le Page office too.

So it is official, Royal Le Page Your Community is number one in Bradford and Royal Le Page At Your Service is number two.  Either way, Royal Le Page is the dominant name in Town.

Like Macdonalds, every franchise carries the same name but is independently operated.  The power of Macdonalds lies in the fact that no matter where in the world you go, those fries taste the same.  With a Real Estate Brokerage it is different.  Your Community Realty (No Point is stressing Royal Le Page) is a different that At Your Service.  They have different cultures, different management, they have access to different resources but have the same corporate head.

What does this mean to you?  Well if you already have a relationship with a Realtor and you are happy then not much.  If you  are looking for a particular person you might call the wrong office (thinking they are the same) and depending who answers the phone you may or may not get directed appropriately.  Realtors understand the difference so it will not confuse the professionals.

Considering currently there are only Two Brokerages in Bradford and they are both Royal Le Page. We expect some confusion. I hope to make it simple. Call me 🙂 and I will take care of the rest.

Steven Silva – Royal Le Page – Your Community Realty

Hello world!

My Name is Steven Silva.  I was a Toronto Realtor, a Home Inspector, I built 30 Houses in Toronto but have decided to move to Bradford.  I currently Focus on selling Real Estate.  I’ve joined Royal Le Page – Your Community Realty In Bradford and have just bought a home in Bradford and look forward to discovering the town and meeting new people.

I look forward to getting to know you.  Please contact me if I can be of service.