I sat for a while trying to come up with a witty title for this entry, and finally decided…why? I’ll just call it exactly what it is, and what it is is fresh, fun, and a welcome addition to the beautiful town of Waterford. (more…)
This probably isn’t news to most people at this point right now, but the real estate market is hot! Especially in certain places…Hamilton has been called the best place to invest in Canada by some, and a properly priced and listed home can often times sell in one day (I can attest to this from personal experience). Brantford is another where the demand is so high, and the supply is so low, that properly priced and listed homes are not only selling in record short times, but also in competition…sometimes grabbing over $25,000 OVER the list price! (note the key phrase: properly priced and listed!) How sweet it is to be a Seller in a market like that! But what about the other end of things? What about the Buyers? Buying a home is already a very stressful and sometimes overwhelming process, but now you have to do it in a rushed manner with the odds stacked against you. So what do you do? Let me give you some personal insight here and some tips and strategies. I’m not going to tell you I can make it easy, but just maybe I can help to make it less frustrating and stressful. (more…)
Lots happened in 2015, whether you’re discussing world news, domestic politics, economy, and personal movement from a lot of people. It was a fantastic year for some, a slow year for others, and a painful year for a few. But 2015 is behind us now, and it’s time to look towards 2016! Part of my job is to speculate things to come in the market and advise people when it’s a good time to make their move. Guess what I’m about to say? (more…)
Ok, so it’s raining and not snowing, and the weather is milder than we’re used to. But what is it that really makes the holiday feel like Christmas? A lot of people come to Simcoe to witness the lights (even without snow, they’re a sight to be held). Scents are a huge thing…the smell of baking and roasting turkey or ham, for us it was putting up the very large Christmas tree and having the scent of pine fill our home. But more than all of that, it’s the actions that we do. The heartfelt charity that reminds us that we’re all in this game together. So when I went in to pick up a few things at my local pharmacy, I was overwhelmed by what they were doing. (more…)
I am super excited to launch my new website here! Hopefully you’ve all been reading my blog here, and you’ll recognize the format and appearance of the new site. If you follow my blog, you can still get to it through the old url (mjohnston2.com), but it’s now the second page of the whole site Norfolk County Homes! Or NorfolkCountyHomes…I’m still not sure if I should refer to it with the spaces or not.
Having control of my own site allows me to do a few things that I wanted to do before, but I couldn’t. One of which was bring both the website and blog together into one place. Now, if you’re reading my stuff, you can also swing over and check out my new listings, or link right up to MLS, Re/Max, or my office website! I’ve also embedded some forms to make it easier for you to search for the perfect home, or to get a market evaluation for your current home. My goal is to make things as easy a possible for you when it comes to your real estate needs, and help provide all the tools necessary. (more…)
We all know this is an important decision. And we all know that your home is most likely your single most valuable possession. So why do so many people just go with the first agent they meet? Or only ever call the listing agent? (bad idea, btw).
There are a few simple things you can do to make sure that you’re making the right decision, and instead of going over it myself, I’m going to refer to the video that really inspired me to post this. It’s short, sweet, to the point, and it’s spot on.
YouTube really has become an incredible repository for information. It used to be a place for people who owned a camcorder and a cat to upload really cute (read stupid) things, with the occasional just as irrelevant/sometimes entertaining short clip. Oh, and music.
But it’s grown and morphed into something completely different now… (more…)
