Vern McClelland's (mccl) Blog

Emotion Trumps Logic The dictionary describes emotion as a "heightened feeling" about something or somebody.  In real estate you never know when emotion will enter in the equation, but it almost certainly will.  Let me give you an example or two. Some of the toughest property to sell for a client...

Don't be a Victim I would be the first to admit that my Scottish heritage makes me somewhat cautious with my personal spending, particularly if it is a big ticket item.  A number of years of experience as a Realtor have also opened my eyes to the number of things that can go wrong in a real estat...

Small Towns It struck me the other day as I pulled into one of the many smaller communities scattered throughout the Midwest region we serve that towns and rural districts are truly indeed special places to live, most of it positive. Let me give you some examples drawn from my personal experience...

Debatable Home Improvement Ideas We are often asked in to clients' homes to offer recommendations on what improvements will provide increased value upon re-sale.  Here are some of things on the "do" or "not to do" list. Swimming pools, saunas and hot tubs are wonderful personal choice enhancement...

Life at the Lake It is almost everybody's concept of relaxation - a lot at the lake to retreat from the stresses of daily living.  It may have a cabin, tent, or a recreation vehicle on it; it doesn't matter, life just seems to go at a slower pace. Even the neighbours are usually friendlier (at le...

Who should our client be? Thank you to the reader of this column who recently dropped off an article for me to read taken from a University magazine emphasizing the need for first time buyers to appreciate how important home ownership can be to their future, particularly in building wealth for th...

When Governments Need Land So what happens when a local, provincial, or federal government decides that they need land that you own?  Bottom line - in Canada a municipality or similar public body has the right to acquire private property for public use.  This is called the "power of eminent domai...

Unique Properties By far the most difficult, and yet in contrast, the most interesting properties to market are those that are unique.  Unique in location, presentation, age, or purpose; in other words, not easily replicated or compared.  Fun to look at, difficult to place a fair market value on,...

This is Canada Today   We get to meet a lot of interesting people in real estate requiring us to work with a number of ethnic groups, each with their own customs and preferred ways of doing business.  In my own practice, I am also in regular communication with clients currently residing in five a...

House Hunting in a Buyers' Market In the last few weeks we have seen considerably more interest in real estate than this region has experienced since mid 2008.  However, along with increased buyer activity have come some new twists that can make the house hunting process quite a bit more stressfu...