Marjorie and Doug's Blog: June 2009

MAXIMUM LIFESTYLE. Over 5,000 sq. ft. of estate living on the lake less than 1 year old. Fully developed this 4 + 1 bedroom home has a lot of room for friends and family. With 4 bedrooms up and a master bedroom with a retreat overlooking the lake, you are sure to enjoy the residence level. All the bells and whistles are here. Gas fireplace, steam shower, deep jetted tub, huge walk-in. The main floor has a flex room with double sided fireplace, large great room, open kitchen & nook overlooking the lake. There is a sweeping spiral staircase, a 2 storey vault and great use of windows. The walkout has a games area, media room, rumpus room and 5th bedroom. Priced at much less than they paid the builder, before they added landscaping, concrete patio and more. Call today their loss can be your gain! Chestermere Lake is a 750 acre lake that you can waterski, sail and windsurf on. Only 25 minutes to downtown Calgary, Chestermere is an easy commute to the air-port and has quick access to the deerfoot.

Not another cookie-cutter home-this home is truly unique! You'll love it for the kitchen. He will love it for the triple garage. You will both agree it is the most beautiful home on the block. Imagine a master craftsman finishing his own custom bungalow. Not burdened by someone else's budget or imagination he builds the kitchen he has always wanted to build. He also builds in desks, custom closets and wall units. The mill-work in the home is second to none! He knew the developer so he got an over-sized corner lot that he could fit 871 sq. ft. of garage with an over-sized triple with middle bay sized to fit an RV. Stunning design with great-room floor plan, fully wired for sound. Many exceptional finishes. Walkout basement has roughed in in-floor heat. Seller will develop basement to same standard for new owner at $40/sq. ft.

Have you run out of room? Need more space, can't find a home on the lake that will take all of your toys? Then look no more! This home has on over-sized triple that is heated and insulated, a large driveway and room for more toys down the ramp on the side of the house. This home has 6 bedrooms and a guest suite or office over the garage. Custom designed for this lot, this home takes advantage of the view from every angle. Nascor construction makes this home warmer, quieter and cleaner than a home with conventional fiberglass insulation. This home also has radiant heat throughout that is generated from two full size boilers. There is so much more to say about this home but you really just have to come and see it. Call Doug McKay at 207-1776 to view.

As RE/MAX is a sponsor of Spruce Meadows we have free family tickets available on a first come-first serve basis. 

On June 10th  to 14th there is the Nationals

Agrium presents "Growing the Next Generation."  Friday Saturday and Sunday

Spruce Meadows Canadian Show Jumping Championship

Spruce Meadows Prarie Dogs Presented by Kozy Shack. Friday Saturday and Sunday

On July 1-5 the is the North American Show Jumping Championship

Sunlife Financials' International Plaza Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday

The Canadian Forces "Feau du Joie" Saturday and Sunday.

Spruce Meadows Prairie Dogs Presented by Kozy Shack. Friday Saturday and Sunday

On September 9-13 there is the Masters featuring best show jumping athletes from 15 nations

over 200 exhibits in t Equi-fair

BP festival of nations

Spruce Meadows Prairie Dogs Presented by Kozy Shack. Friday Saturday and Sunday

Please contact our office at 403-569-2900 for free tickets subject to availability.  If you are not in Chestermere please check with the RE/MAX office nearest you for tickets.

Visit the Spruce Meadows Website for more information.

http://www.sprucemeadows.com/

Rainbow Creek Elementary is holding a comedy and magic night to raise funds for their playground.  Tickets are $20 and there will be a silent auctions, door prize and 50/50 draw.  

There will be a cash bar and appetizers will be served.

This event will be held at the Chestermere Community centre on Saturday June 20 for 7pm to midnight. 

 For tickets call Lori Skehar 403-235-0845

We are sponsoring free movie nights for teens.  We  had a problem getting a place to show them as the library has limited hours.  Our town council has been kind enough to open the large foyer area so that we can show them there.  Doug and I bought the rights from ACF films to show pre-release movies to the public, so the kids would be able to go to a movie right here in Chestermere.  We are showing Knowing, a thriller with Nicholas Gage on the 11th and Push another thriller on June 18,  On the 11 the movie will be shown from 6 to 8 pm. and on the 18th from 8 to 10 pm.  These are pre-release movies, so they are still fairly new, they have not been released to the video stores or cable TV.

There is no charge for this YELL  (Youth Encouraging Lasting Leadership) event.

One would think that with digital cameras it would not be too difficult to get new photos posted that don't have snow on them.  Particularily with the primary photo, as it is the first photo they see.  When buyer's see a home with snow on it they know that it has been on the market for a while.  They will assume that there is something wrong with it.  With so many homes on the market it is easy to just go to the next photo that has green grass and shows the landscaping. 

Your clients will appreciate the effort if you take the time to go out and take new photos.  Perhaps they will even take them for you and email them to you so you can uplaod them to mls.

With the enhancements to MLXChange we can now have 20 photos of our listings for clients to view.  Have you taken the time to add extra shots so that your listing has an extra shot at getting sold?  Good photos are essential to getting a home sold. 

Before you do a price reduction, take a look at your photos and see if they really represent the house well.  Buyers love virtual tours and it does not cost much more to have the home professionally photographed at the same time.  Take a look at this tour done for us yesterday by Inner Circle. http://innercircleimaging.com/1mckay/707/east_lakeview_place.html

The tour also includes a slide show of the home. 

We see a lot of sellers get into trouble when they list their homes, before they have an up-to-date real property report. 

A real property report used to be called a survey, but the real property report has more information than the survey did.  It shows where all the improvements are on the property;  such as the deck, the shed and of course the house and garage. 

This website will answer any questions you may have about real property reports.

http://www.alsa.ab.ca/GeneralInfo/rpr.htm#What_is_a_Real_Property_Report

The town of  Chestermere and all municipalities have bylaws as to how close your shed can be to the house, to the end of your property etc.  The real property report will show all of these things, after you have the real property report you need to take it to the town of Chestermere and ask for a stamp of compliance.  Here is the form you will need to complete for the town.  This will cost you $85 for normal service or $185 for rush service. (at the time this blog was written).

http://chestermere.ca/images/uploads/Compliance_Cover_Letter.pdf

The standard real estate contract asks for a real property report with compliance to be sent to the buyer's lawyer 10 days before closing.  So it will save you money if you have it before your home is listed.  Please note that the town will not look at a RPR that is over one year old. 

These are the things you have to look out for.

If you have a rpr with compliance that is not more than a few years old and nothing has changed that will likely be acceptable to the purchaser.  

If you have added a deck over 12 inches in height or a fence, or added any accessory buildings larger than 11.2 square metres. (120 sq. ft.) you will need to update your real property report.

Here is the town brochure on building a deck

http://chestermere.ca/images/uploads/16_Deck_Brochure.pdf

Here is information on sheds. http://chestermere.ca/images/uploads/AccBuilding_Brochure_Jan_2009.pdf

We hope that knowing this will save you some headaches.....Next blog what if my RPR does not comply?