Although I have a couple of hundred photos of the dogs, this one of Tulipe is a favourite of mine.  I exported it to Fotosketcher and applied the Painting option.  This is free software that turns photos into interesting variations.  I want to remember this little dog as she was... healthy, just before Christmas and just after coming home from the groomers.  09/04/2011

  I have read that the human memory is a miraculous thing.  It does not remember the feeling of pain.  You remember that things hurt but you cannot relive it.  Now, that same memory is working when you move.  You remember that it was a hassle but you cannot remember how much work, physical effort, stress and organizational skills were required.  Thank Goodness!!!!! Let’s just stop of a minute and think of the work involved in getting your home ready for a sale.  You start by paring down on the things in each room and then clean it the house to a new level of immaculate.  You may have to organize people to come in and get the home ready – certainly a real estate agent and a home stager, painters, handymen, installers, gardeners, movers (to shift some of your things to a storage locker),... 09/04/2011

Sometimes it is a tough to convince a Seller that inviting the neighbours is a good thing.  Most curious neighbours will slip in during an Open House anyway.  Now, if you want to be proactive, set aside a special time just for the neighbours.  Walk around the street and hand out invitations or drop them in the mailboxes.  Try for 10 - 15 houses on each side of the street.  Remember, the neighbours can see the sign on the lawn and also will see the Open House sign.  If they are asked to come early, then you, the agent, can spend some time with them talking about the neighbourhood, sales in the areaa and ask them to promote the house to their friends and family.   Who better to talk up the neighbourhood than those living there.  It just gives increased credibility.  Here is a sample of an... 09/01/2011

(as if).     When you are pricing your home, you will want to know the sold price of other homes in your neighbourhood.  Using this information, you can adjust for the plus and minuses of what your home contains.   One less bathroom, one more parking spot, no updates, lot size differences,  etc.  Remember, your improvements were to your taste and your values.  Be realistic.  Will others think that your man cave in black is worth what you paid or that your IKEA kitchen (which can be very nice, especially when professionally installed) is equivalent to the custom built kitchen your neighbour had done?    One of the best ways to determine the value it to ask a real estate agent and an appraiser.  This will likely give you a bit of a range in asking price.  Now, you can hope that a Buyer w... 08/28/2011

Last week I was planning an Open House on one of my listings.  During the week, a house across the street had come on the market and the agent scheduled an Open House for the same day and same time as mine was scheduled.   Wow, I thought, this is terrific as we will have increased traffic.   Sure enough, it was a very busy afternoon.  I never got around to visiting the other house but the people who came to my Open House commented and compared both homes.  A lightbulb came on that day. If you are planning an Open House, check top see if other homes in the area are for sale.  Call the listing agents and determine if they would like to plan a joint Open House tour.  It may be two houses.  It may be 5 or more but the greater the number, the more people who will attend.  Picture your sign ... 08/23/2011

As agents, we are often asked by friends and relatives to look up the price of the house for sale on their street, find out how much they could get if they sold, asked for staging tips (even when I say I have no taste) and generally comment on the housing market.  I like doing these favours but they do get repetitive.  Sometimes friends ask for favours that have nothing to do with real estate - except by a very tenuous link.  I was never interested in photography until I started studying house photos and talking to the photographer that I hire for my listings.  Eventually this got me interested enough to ask for a Nikon DSLR, a camera recommended to me by my very talented niece.  Once I had the camera, I bought a couple of additional lenses, based upon the recommendations of the very ta... 08/21/2011

Nothing strikes more fear (next to attack dogs) in the hearts of some real estate agents than to know that an alarm system is on at the home you are about to show.   Once you have conquered the lock box and feel pretty smug that you can actually get in the house or condo, the next wave of anxiety is the alarm system.  Sure the booking office has given you the code.  Sure you know you have a few seconds to enter the home and disable the alarm but it doesn't always go as planned. 1.  Where is the box located?  I have scrambled looking for the box.   Sometimes it is near the door, sometimes you are asked to enter the back door only to find the box at the front door.  The whole time you are looking there is a high pitched beeping and you know the seconds are ticking by before the alarm sou... 08/19/2011

On Monday, I was the hostess for the August e-meeting of the Reading in the Rain Book Club.  In anticipation, I had chosen some very tasty refreshments.  Due to the sad departure of my little Tulipe on Saturday, I was not up to 'preparing' the repast but, if I had been, then here is what we would have e-eaten.   LOL The book open for discussion was The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.  There was an interesting discussion about the book, some of the characters and how cancer has taken so many lives.  If you are interested please read the reviews.  Because the setting was auto racing, I thought I would serve champagne.  Only the best.  So, tip your glass of Clicquot.  While you are drinking, may I suggest that your next book be the The Widow of Clicquot.  Available at Amazon.com.... 08/18/2011

Last Sday I did an Open House.  Across the street another agent was holding an Open House too.  As visitors came from that house to where I was, they almost all commented on the smell in the other house.  One person thought that the doors were opening too much and that the exterior humidity had invaded the home.  Well, my house was getting the same number of visitors and there was no musty smell.  Another couple said that the smell made the house seem dark and dank!!!!  There is an example of the strength of our perceptions.  A third person thought that everything in the house would have to be removed and new insulation and drywall installed.   To me, that was an example of a Buyer overestimating the cost and extent of what would be required.  Finally, I asked someone if they had notice... 08/17/2011

I had a very difficult time starting this book.   As the owner of two senior Westies (Hoover 15 and Tulipe 14), the first chapter was a tear jerker and I suspected that it wasn’t going to get any lighter later in the book.   I picked it up and put it down several times.  It was my husband who said that reading the book made him at peace with the inevitable demise of our dogs.  I guess I just wasn’t ready to accept this but thought that I would recommend the book for the Reading in the Rain group.  It would force me to come to grips with the life of my dogs (and of people).  Once I was past the first part of the book, I found that I liked the writing style and the life views from a dog’s perspective.  Okay, we know that most dogs are unlikely to be as smart and introspective as Enzo but... 08/14/2011

This week I was in cottage country.  The neighbour received a delivery of a new stove and bed.  The delivery men had to drive up to cottage country, find the lake, get past the locked gate and back up to the cottage.   It was a struggle but worked.  In went the stove and then the new mattress and box spring.  Okay, you guessed it, the bed could not make the turn into the bedroom.   Too big or the doorway and hallway were too small.  I think the resolution will be to tear down a part of the wall to get the bed into the room.  The guess is that the wall was built after the initial bed was located there.  This incident reminded me that there are daily problems with mattress deliveries, moving to new locations and staging homes.  I know of several cases where my friends and relatives had a... 08/12/2011

I read in the Ottawa Citizen (our newspaper) today that there is a movement from Canada to US on the establishment of Grow Ops.  Don't thank us.   Thank the economy, the housing market, the change in laws in some states AND the cost of shipping product to the US across the border.  I have been the agent for a home that was a former grow op and know a little bit about the damage that comes from having hundreds of marijuana plants growing in a home.  Not fun and certainly not pretty.  Photo credit:  Marijuana You might find it interesting to read the article.  Here is an excerpt and a link to the full article.  Grow ops go south for cheap housing U.S. more profitable, RCMP report says   By Chad Skelton, Postmedia News August 8, 2011   The U.S. housing c... 08/08/2011

Birds of a feather stick together.  Buyers don't.    There is no way to make your house appeal to every potential buyer.  However, there are a lot of people with ornithophobia - a fear of birds.  If you have a cage or two of birds, you might want to put a cover on the cages when visits are scheduled. Another way to deal with the birds is to move them to a friend's home until after the sale.  Never, ever, let them fly free while showings are taking place.  Alfred Hitchcock may not be one of your buyers Photo credit:  365/14 Budgie in the Tree 08/06/2011

If you are worried about bad karma coming from the neighbours, buy a small crystal pendant to hang outside, near a door or window that faces the neighbour.  You will not want Buyers to feel something 'odd' about your house but not be able to put their finger on it.    Before hanging the crystal, cleanse it with salts to remove any negativity.  Feng Shui principles say that the crystal will bounce the negativity back to the source.    A good feeling when entering a home may just be the work of crystals.   Photo credit:  A Crystal Waiting For The Sun 08/05/2011

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein Pancakes:  Enzo's Favourite Food                   Peppers:  Enzo's Get Even Food       The Crows:  Those who live by intent with malice and forethought   The Toy Zebra:  It is something inside of us - our fears.                     Finally:  The Ferrari Racing Car for having a steering wheel to hold on to so that everything would be all right.   Dreams achieved for 'that which you manifest is before you". Hope you read the book and enjoy these references.  These photos were all taken from the Creative Commons on Flickr as follows:  Pancake pile    http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcstanley/355945388/ Mt Olive Imported Pepperoncini  http://www.flickr.com/photos/afiler/225794189/ Zebra  http://www.flickr.com/photos/beigephotos/489150854/ Crows  ht... 08/03/2011

  At least this is what women and appliance sale people say.  Before buying a new washer and dryer, check out the size of the new appliances and ensure that they will fit in the space you have available.  If your washer and dryer are tucked into a closet on the second floor, you may be surprised to learn that the new front load washers and dryers are significantly deeper than the older top load washers.  You may get them delivered and find out that there is no way that they will fit in the space you have available.     The same is true for refridgerators and stoves.  Did you know that there are at least 4 standard sizes of stoves?  So, you are going to replace some of your appliances before putting your house on the market or you are buying appliances for your new home BEFORE getting p... 08/02/2011

It was a good day in summer when I was carted outdoors to start learning how to pose and put on the look that says  "Hey, you over there.  Yes, I mean you.  Looking for a house?                  Not many years, later, I was mastering the skills of steering my way through tough obstacles.  Smile and the world and Buyers smile with you.  It was still a long way from three wheels to a car.  Now my look says: "Hey, you over there.  Yes, I mean you.  Have I got a 4 bedroom semi-detached with lots of parking."     The long and rigorous real estate training continued.  Learn how to wear a dress and smile without squinting into the sun.  Yes, I really was a blond. Now, my look is saying:   "Hey, you over there.   Yes, I mean you.  Did you really chose me to be your agent?  Aw shucks."         ... 07/29/2011

    If your garden is full of tomato plants, put in some stakes and tie the vines.  Tomatoes get leggy and start to flop with the weight of the fruit.    In the summer, Buyers will be looking at your garden, the same way that they look at the interior of your house.  Weed, tidy and stake any vines.  Your garden should have Buyers dreaming of  next year when planting their own garden.    Make it look a-peal-ing.       Buyers should not be at the end of their rope when looking at your garden. Photo credit:  Tomato Plan   07/29/2011

This is what Buyers say when they start testing things in a home.  Hey - what about hiring a home inspector before you take apart the owner's plumbing, running the tub water and seeing if the toilet is firmly placed on the floor.  STOP IT!!!!  If you break the wax seal on the toilet and it leaks after we leave, who is going to pay for the damage?  I know I will expect you to pay for your damages and so will other real estate agents and the owner.  I don't think I have to ask you to respect other people's belongings.  Maybe I should just set a couple of guidelines before we enter someone's home. Do NOT get in the tub with your shoes on with those heels that are going to wreck the acrylic.  STOP IT!!!!  Open the cupboards and the closets but stop inspecting the homeowners' belongings.  D... 07/27/2011

If you have a counter in the bathroom or kitchen that has a lot of little containers, collect them and put them on a tray.  Your eye sees many little things such as tissues, cotton ball container and a soap pump as three things BUT if they are on a tray, they look like one item and less cluttered to the eye. The photo was taken in my kitchen.  I put the paper towel holder, the kleenex container (see the black item on the left), salt and pepper grinders, the dogs' treat bowl and one or two little bags of treats all in that little tray.  It has freed up counter space and looks organized.  In addition to this tray, I also have three on the kitchen table - one for the condiments and serviettes and one for my husband and me (we put all those little things in them that just seem to float aro... 07/26/2011