St. Catharines Real Estate Blog
St. Catharines Real Estate
Hey Bloggers,
November’s CMHC Press release: 2008_12_08_0815_eoc.pdf
In summary, Niagara Region housing starts in single-detached homes year-to-date declined 10%.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
T.
Timothy Salisbury
Broker
The Salisbury Team
Royal LePage Niagara Real Estate Centre Inc., Brokerage
Toll Free – 1-800-467-8498
Office – 905-937-6000
View My Website and my Blog at www.timothysalisbury.com
P.S. The best compliment we can ever receive, is when you tell others about us.
UPDATE: This property has been SOLD!
Please use our online complimentary St. Catharines Ontario real estate search to find similar available listings.
Priced at $699,900
Bungalow with 3 bedrooms, 4 piece bathroom
Minutes to the QEW, Peace Bridge and Main Roads.
Just imagine having you own Hobby Farm with 100 acres to play on!!
Also a Mechanic’s Dream with double attached garage and a triple detached garage!
Here’s a story that caught my eye in today’s St. Catharines Standard, written by Monique Beech:
Sixteen people left homeless by a fire at a downtown St. Catharines rooming house last week may face the holidays without a permanent place to live.
Fire and smoke damage to the two-storey building at 131 King St. will take at least three to four weeks to repair, building manager Jackie Goldin said.
St. Catharines fire officials peg the cost of the damage to the insured building from the Dec. 4 fire at about $300,000.
“We’re trying to do (the repairs) as fast as we can,” Goldin said.
“They’re really working hard up there…. The sooner the better, of course.”
Residents were able to get back into the building Friday to pick up their belongings, Goldin said.
The Canadian Red Cross Society’s Niagara branch put up the displaced residents at the Q-Way Motel for three days until Sunday.
Since then, eight residents have sought help from the Niagara Homelessness Initiative Outreach Program.
Some are staying with friends, but several have no place to go, said A.J. Heafey, program manager.
Program staff helped connect residents with local emergency shelters and will try to help them find new affordable housing, if need be, Heafey said.
Residents, most of whom are on fixed income, paid a very affordable rent of about $420 per month at the King Street rooming house, Heafey said.
“So now trying to find something that is in that price range can be difficult,” Heafey said.
“It’s just a matter of losing everything, you know, and trying to obtain affordable shelter. It’s kind of upsetting for some of them.”
St. Catharines fire officials suspect careless smoking by one of the tenants caused the early morning blaze that sent three people to hospital with smoke inhalation.
One man was still in hospital on Tuesday. His injuries were non-life-threatening and he was expected to be released soon, said Bev Moore, director of social services with the Salvation Army in St. Catharines, which is also helping fire victims.
The organization is working with a social worker to help the man, who is a regular client of the Salvation Army, Moore said.
The non-profit agency is trying to help other victims by finding them shelter at the Salvation Army Booth Centre on Church Street, giving them clothing, and helping them replace belongings that were damaged in the fire, she said.
Donations of furniture and clothing or money would be appreciated, she said.
To help, call the Salvation Army at 905-935-4311.
Fire officials are still investigating the blaze, including whether the building had proper safety equipment, such as smoke alarms.
UPDATE: This property has been taken off the market!
Please use our online complimentary St. Catharines Ontario real estate search to find similar available listings.
The price has been adjusted!!! This St. Catharines home, with lots of character, is now priced at $159,900.00!
This St. Catharines home, with lots of character, is priced at $164,900.00!
This centrally located downtown home features 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and has hardwood flooring throughout. This home has a eat-in kitchen plus a dining room complete with a window seat. The décor has been freshly painted in neutral tones. On the upper level, you will find three generous-sized bedrooms plus a home office/nursery. There is a bright newer loft within the master bedroom as well as some new windows. This home has hydro on breakers, private fenced yard with a driveway. A great place to start!
For St. Catharines attractions, you can visit:
Tour St. Catharines
St. Catharines on WorldWeb
St. Catharines Website
For other pictures of this home, please go here. I also have other listings and you can see them by visiting St. Catharines Real Estate listings page or the listings section of the blog.
For further information, please contact Timothy at 800-467-8498 or email him.
In one moment, the idea has entered your mind to sell your house. In the next, you realize how much needs to be done to accomplish this. How will you find the right Realtor®? When will the house be ready? How much is your house worth? What will you do to get your house ready and how much will it cost?
There is a lot to consider and you will get all kinds of advice. Realtors® may be suggesting that you don’t have to do a thing and your house will sell. Beware of this train of thought. While you may sell your house quite quickly, if a buyer has to strain to see the qualities of the home they aren’t likely to pay anywhere near your asking price. If the house appears in disarray the buyers will wonder what else is wrong and become discouraged. They’ll assume there are more repairs to be made and take that into account when contemplating an offer.
“It’s a big mistake to think there’s no need to decorate your home to sell. By decorating your home to appeal to the greatest number of buyers you dramatically improve the odds of having more offers. Clearly if you have 10 couples bidding on your home it will sell for more than if only 2 or 3 are bidding on it. I’ve seen homes sell for over asking because of the ‘feeding frenzy’ that can be created by home staging.
A professional home stager will be focused on preparing your home, ideally, before the Realtor® views it, attaches a sale price or lists it. Realtors® run into the awkward position of wanting your listing yet not having a polite way to say, “You need to do some serious work in here.”
Staging Spaces will be able to pinpoint those unflattering aspects of décor, clutter, filth and disrepair. They will bring out the home’s best features and ensure that the owners’ belongings aren’t hindering the sale.
Home staging directs a minimal investment for huge impact. Your home should represent a complete package to the buyer and nothing should be ‘as is’. Your budget, whatever it is, should pack punch. Are you getting directed towards spending over your budget? Do the suggestions seem too intensive or lengthy for your target time frame?
Hiring a home stager also comes down to training. There are several home staging companies offering courses through out North America, all founded by people who have built successful staging companies. While home stagers receive certificates of completion, there is no independent organization or school that provides testing, who grant accreditation or monitors their work.
However you should be able to determine their qualifications through the following guidelines:
• Ask to view a portfolio of completed projects, ask about the projects to ensure that they are showing you their work, not someone else’s
• Ask for testimonials, references and success stories
• Are they recognized as being a leader in their field?
• Can they work with a variety of styles?
• A website with information, examples and portfolio
• Email address
• Liability insurance
• In house consultation services
• Access to physical samples of paint chips, laminate, textiles etc.
• Experience, training and “know how”
• Client support and understanding
• Rental items such as plants, art, and decor
A consultation should include:
• A consultation checklist for you to keep
• A minimum of one to two hours in length
• A start to staging your home to give you an idea of what to do
• The option to complete the work yourselves or to hire their services
• Before/after photos of the home
• Referrals for professionals to assist with repairs etc.
Home staging services can run anywhere between $75-$125/hour plus there is usually an initial consultation fee. This should be kept in perspective, however. You may be someone who just needs a direction and can take the project from there. The initial consultation may be all that is required in some instances.
A staging bill could save you considerable money and wasted time on the market… even if it has saved you a week. Your staged home will have a more accurate asking price and could attract multiple offers to sell within days.
Home staging has some huge benefits. Not only will it keep you organized and prepared, it can also save you from considerable stress. Once you discover how great your house can look to sell it you may decide to enlist Staging Spaces to help settle you into your new home! Many clients have!
Stacey Haluka
Staging Spaces
The first stage to selling your house
www.staging-spaces.ca
Mortgage rate reduction notice: BMO Bank of Montreal has reduced the 5 year fixed rate term interest rate from 5.25% to 4.99%.
Quote of the Week
Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won’t make it “white”.
Bing Crosby
Have a great week!
Paul Croteau
Mortgage Specialist
BMO Bank of Montreal
31 King Street
St. Catharines, ON
ph: (905) 321-3230
fx: (905) 641-7854
Paul.Croteau@bmo.com
