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02/17/2012 07:21 AM
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I am losing it !
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I figure with the title of the post some may assume it is in reference to my state of mind. Thankfully I am pleased to pass along the fact it happens to refer to my weight :-) I have been overweight for many years and have at times given lip service to the fact I am going to lose weight and get in better shape. This year, starting January 3rd, I made a decision that enough was enough. I am blessed with a beautiful wife and two kids and I owed it to them to smarten up and start doing something about my weight and personal fitness. I also own a business with my partner and a very active real estate career. This issue of time always crept into my thinking and a perceived lack of it for things like working out. My eating habits were very poor too as I had an issue with portion control and I grazed on snacks that were around the house and not paying any attention to calories or fat intake. I hate being average at anything so I became excellent at eating too much and keeping weight on and this problem has plagued me for many years.
Coinciding with my decision to dramatically change some personal habits and to begin emphasizing personal fitness, we in Gravenhurst are so very lucky to have a first class facility which once was our Centennial Centre and now it's locally known as "The Y". The YMCA facility is tremendous with a great fitness centre, a new gym and two pools. Couple that with wonderful staff and we have a real gem in our town which is the best thing to come along in many years. There were definite issues pertaining to cost overruns and building issues, however the amount of people using it and getting in better shape will no doubt save medical costs in the future that will far surpass the costs of the building.
On January 3rd I climbed onto my personal treadmill at home and started my morning with a healthy shake and I have not stopped since. I have been on a treadmill or exercise bike literally everyday since and in addition to the cardio exercise I have lifted over 200,000 pounds in weights at the Y and made a 180 degree turn in my eating habits. As of Valentine's Day I have lost 26 pounds and made some major changes in my shape as I have lost over 6 inches of girth and clothes are fitting much better and in fact I can now wear clothes I could not before. Because of my size this is just a start as I have many more pounds to go but it is crystal clear in my mind that I am going to get there and I truly enjoying working out and the benefits it brings. Obviously perceived lack of time was just an excuse before - once I made the decision to make personal fitness a priority it is amazing how the time has been made available. It is also great to have my wife join me at the Y as we work out and my son absolutely loves going there and is there all the time doing various activities. Last night we worked out while my son used the pool with some friends and we ended the night playing some basketball.
My post is rather lengthy but I appreciate you reading down this far. You are always welcome to call or email me anytime at david@enjoymuskoka.com I am not about to start dispensing any tips on weight loss or personal fitness as I am far from an expert for sure, however I will commit to you if you need to make a similar change, just start doing it and you will be amazed at how much better you feel.
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01/19/2012 07:19 AM
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Wrapping up 2011 - Real Estate Stats
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Well it is time that we can look back at 2011 as we are moving nicely in January and it appears that winter has finally arrived as people are flocking to ski hills and sledders are out roaring on the trails. Nice to see as local proprietors need the winter business for sure as Gravenhurst has had a very tough summer to say the least. I think things are only going to improve as it cannot get much worse and with the new town facility situated with our Rec Centre and the YMCA running it, there is no doubt it is a tremendous asset and one that will be used by so many people.
When you look at the statistics for last year it is nice to see that in most towns in Muskoka the residential numbers increased from previous year. Overall there is a 12% increase from 2010. The cottage market was down somewhat but the previous year winter ended early and the market got off to a very strong start and last year cottagers were much slower to start buying as winter kept us in its icy grip. So far this year it has been a pretty timid winter and with interest rates at all time lows we are hoping to see a strong start to the market.
I was away overnight this week to a leadership course run by the Ontario Real Estate Association and we stayed at an incredible facility called The Kingbridge Conference Centre & Institute. What an incredible facility and geared towards higher learning and as a bonus the food is world class. It was my third time being there and it is a wonderful environment for learning as the property sprawls across beautiful well-treed acreage and you literally do not see any other buildings anywhere nearby. The course was excellent too as we delved into Leadership Styles of people and how to cope with major change. Our industry is certainly poised for change and as President of the Muskoka and Haliburton Association of Realtors it is important for me to stay on top of the issues and I welcome the training that comes with this position. It is very enjoyable and a privilege to represent the area in this capacity. If you have any questions about the stats you see here (they are compilied from the listing statistics provided by our MLS system) please do not hesitate to contact me. Touch base again soon!
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01/02/2012 07:27 AM
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Happy New Year and Yes the Blog is Back !
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I am amazed as I just reviewed my blog and see my last entry was from April of last year. Has it been that long? One of the thought processes I had was who is even reading my blog - is there anything interesting? do people really care? how much personal stuff do I put in here or should it be all business - many questions that for whatever reason seemed to paralyze my blogging efforts. In the meantime much has passed since that last post and I have decided I am going to make blogging an active part of my routine. I have been to a conference in Anaheim California - perhaps a future blog entry - which is the biggest in North America in terms of real estate. Social media was of course a huge topic and blogging definitely has a place and it is surprising how many people really enjoy reading them. Twitter is a very active world too and I maintain the company twitter account where I do not put any personal stuff on there because it is not the place when tweeting in regards to the company.
I encourage you to send along any feedback you have to me and my email is david@enjoymuskoka.com and I know you can post comments in the blog here too. I sit here typing on the morning of January 2nd and I feel like I am bursting with things to write. I have iPhone and IPad apps I want to talk about, I have real estate stories, there are personal experience I would love to share and I wonder where to start.
Happy New Year to everyone! How is that for a start :-) I hope 2012 is a wonderful year for everyone and as is the case for so many it is a time to set some goals. I strongly encourage you to write them down as there are numerous studies proving how powerful goals can be once they have been written down. Personally I am no different and I have some very strong goals that I have committed to for this coming year and it is not going to be easy. I will share some of these goals through this blog and one that I am looking forward to is my personal commitment to read at least 15 minutes per day 6 days a week. To start with I am reading the biography on Steve Jobs - so far it is excellent.
In regards to my business side, I am proud to say I am the President for the Muskoka Haliburton Association of Realtors for this year and it is very exciting to say the least. I have been a Board member for two years prior to taking this post and I am blessed to work with some great people and it provides a great window of opportunity looking forward to the future of real estate. It has been a very interesting year in 2011 and I am looking forward to the challenges that the coming year will bring. Change is something we need to be able to adapt to in life and some find it easier than others to manage. We don't know what change is coming in our business and personal lives but recognizing that it can happen and how we handle it is very important. It is just one reason that I am going to do a lot of reading this year as there are tremendous books and resources out there to help us work on our self-improvement. To quote Stephen Covey in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People the 7th habit he speaks about is the importance to "Sharpen the Saw" and YOU are that saw. A great book by the way.
Another question I grapple with when writing this blog is how much should I write? I tend to want to keep typing but at the same time it might be better to keep it shorter and people may be more inclined to read it. I am going to work on this premise and for that reason I shall stop this post and look forward to returning very soon to update my blog. It is a commitment I am going to make for this year. Get working on your goals and I look forward so speaking to you soon.
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04/07/2011 07:14 AM
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One door closes and another one opens
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Well we survived the hockey tournament on the weekend and the kids and parents had a great time. We were overmatched in the hockey games for sure as we are a D centre and we played 3 games against B centres. I won't get into the differences but suffice it to say we were in over our heads but the kids still enjoyed themselves and that is why we do these things. Good time was had by all.
In my last blog entry I had wrote about my son's new hockey stick and the genesis of his desire to get it about two years ago. He decided not to use it too much this past weekend as it is a little longer than his current stick and he has a strong comfort level with his Rebellion stick. We had to cut the new Reebok stick to make it a little longer as he is growing and at that price he hopes to use it for a couple of years at least. In addition to the hockey the entire team also went to a fantastic place called Fleetway where the kids could bowl, play glow in the dark mini-putt, rock-climb and also do some rope-climbing which was very interesting. The Dairy Queen inside the massive building was a nice touch too :-)
Hockey is now officially over for the year and now we moved on to Rep Soccer in Bracebridge which Devon started last week. He really enjoys it and they have an excellent program up there so we are looking forward to watching some soccer for the summer. Alissa is finishing up her dancing over the next month or two and is really looking forward to her grad too. Her dress is absolutely beautiful and I am trying to figure out where the time has gone since I walked out of the delivery room with her in my arms to introduce her to her Grandparents for the first time.
On the real estate side of things I have been busy with two deals on the go in the last couple of days. For the second time this year I ended up in multiple offers on a property and happy to say my client ended up getting their offer accepted. I have a few more listings coming on within the next week or so and continuing to hunt down cottages for other clients as the weather is finally improving. We have some exciting things happening with Enjoy Muskoka Realty too. Gravenhurst stats for the end of March showed an increase again in the number of sales. I shall report in my next blog a more detailed summary for our work area but we are very pleased with the start to the season.
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03/31/2011 08:08 AM
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A son's dream come true - at his own expense :-)
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Well here we are on the last day of March - and hopefully the last few days of snow on the ground too. Most everyone is usually pretty sick of the white stuff at this point as some of our clients and friends begin the trek home from sunnier climates. I would have loved to have gone away this winter however it is very difficult as a hockey family to do that. This weekend we say goodbye to hockey with a final end of year tournament in London which is going to take us away for a few days. The kids and parents are all looking forward to it and my son is so excited to debut his brand new Reebok 8.0.8 stick
This story began over 2 years ago when I took my son Devon to a playoff game in the OHL between the Brampton Battalion and the Belleville Bulls where we went down to watch Matt Duchene - whose Dad I have known from working with the same real estate company from Haliburton for a few years. At the time there was tremendous hype about Matt and John Tavares and the potential #1 pick in the NHL draft. Matt is a tremendous talent and by everyone's account a tremendous person too. My son was very excited to get the chance to go and meet Matt after the game.
We got to the game early to watch pre-game activities and we were right down at ice level. We were watching Matt warm up when he took a shot and his stick split. We were beside the bench and Matt picked it up and started to the bench. Devon started jumping up and down in excitement and Matt spotted him and he signaled to the trainer to give the stick to Devon. Well, you could not imagine how Devon reacted - excitement is not a strong enough word. We sat and watched the game - Brampton won in a tremendous game - featuring Matt of course and also Cody Hodgson who starred for our Junior hockey team - not a bad group to watch!
After the game we assembled down at the end of the rink where other kids and parents waited anxiously for the players to exit. Devon was walking around with these two broken ends of a hockey stick and kids were asking him why he had it. Once he told them it was Matt Duchene's stick kids starting coming up and asking to hold it and Dev stood their beaming as they passed it around like an ancient talisman. The players came out 1 by 1 and when Matt finally emerged we had a chat and he signed the blade for Devon. That stick become Devon's prized possession and it was a Reebok 808 stick. It still hangs in his room today.
Devon has always wanted to have the Reebok 808 stick since that day and this past weekend was his 11th birthday. He had a sleepover with some buddies and at the conclusion of his party, through gifts from friends and some family he had about $ 150 in cash and certificates. After a load of pancakes and sausages were vapourized by the kids and they were picked up, I couldn't resist taking him down to Pro Hockey Life with the family where he very proudly walked out of there with his brand new Reebok 808 hockey stick that he has been wanting since that night he met his very favourite hockey player Matt Duchene. Matt is a great example to follow and Devon most certainly follows Matt - he has seen every highlight of every goal for sure and can quote every stat of Matt's. This Christmas Devon asked for a Matt Duchene Colorado Avalanche jersey and when Devon saw that gift Christmas morning he exploded. It was 3 days before we could get it off him :-)
This weekend marks the end of Devon's hockey season but at the same time it begins his new life as the proud owner of the Reebok 808 stick. You will hear me crying if something happens to it over the weekend but rest assured Dad will replace it after watching my son's dream materialize. I realize this post has nothing to do with real estate, however it does represent the number one thing in my life and that is my family. I am a blessed man with a wonderful family and friends.
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03/15/2011 11:33 PM
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March Break - no break in business though
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The kids are finally asleep after going out to the movies tonight - we watched an excellent film called "I am Number 4". Bedtime has been thrown off due to the March Break but business has been busy so I am still getting up and out to the office as there is a lot to do. Just listed a new property for $ 197,500 on Walton Road here in Gravenhurst. I also was out showing higher end cottages on the weekend and there has been a lot of work digging into the property since then. Part of the service a realtor provides is the followup to showings once a client says they are interested. I was out this past weekend with 3 different clients so there has definitely been lots of activity.
Getting balance in life is always something I strive to do and during March Break I am caught trying to work business in along with family time. It was nice to get out tonight and watch a movie. I am hoping to get away for an entire day for some fun during the week. On the positive side we setup a new bed for my daughter so she is happy tonight too :-)
Our company has got off to a fantastic start for the year and we are very excited for the coming year. Some good signs are appearing and we hope to continue buying and selling and if you ever want to discuss your personal real estate needs please give me a call at 705-644-3441.
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02/13/2011 10:03 PM
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Happy Valentine's Day
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As I write this I must admit it is not Valentine's Day however it will officially be her in a couple of hours. It will always be a special day for me as it is the anniversary of my getting engaged to my beautiful wife Sheri. It was 1994 and we were in Myrtle Beach and we played a Jack Nicklaus course called Marsh Harbour earlier in the day. I had hidden the ring in my running shoes - figured it was a safe bet :-) - and couldn't wait to present her with the ring. That night we went to a very nice restaurant called The Old Pro's Table and I actually ordered the Bobby Jones special for dinner - it was a 28 ounce cut of beef - and the waitress was a little concerned for me. There was no need to worry - dessert disappeared too!
We got back to our hotel and as fate would have it Sheri was not feeling very well so my plans of a romantic walk on the beach were shut down. I did my best to create some atmosphere however it was not easy. I shall not go on but I am very pleased to say she said yes and we were eventually married the next year. Valentine's Day in 2011 represents 17 years since that day. Hard to believe but it has been that long but we have 2 fantastic kids - most days - and we are still going strong. We are going to celebrate our Valentine's Day with another couple and I hope there are some more lucky people about to be engaged on this special day.
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02/11/2011 10:59 AM
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Competition is good !
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Competition in relation to real estate is a great thing for sellers. Already this year our company has had 2 listings go into competition which means we have had multiple offers on the listings. Considering we are just starting into February we are feeling very positive about what we have seen so far in terms of action on our listings. The phone is ringing and we have been out with various buyers looking for property which is a positive sign.
There are lots of things happening locally too and one of the biggest is the Gravenhurst Winter Carnival http://www.gravenhurst.ca/residents/gravenhurst-winter-carnival on Feb 25-27th. Breakfast Television is doing a remote from Gravenhurst on the Friday morning and our Rotary Club is proud to be involved with the Pancake Breakfast early in the morning. I have some wonderful memories of the Winter Carnival when I was a kid. My favourite was the ice sculpture competition and I went in it a few times. One year I made a large blue whale that covered our entire front yard. I even hollowed out the whale and you could enter inside from beneath the tail. I made a couch and chair out of snow. I even painted the whale blue and ended up giving a lot of tours inside that whale :-).
Tonight we head to Woodville to start a playoff series for my son's hockey team. Could be a real tough match as the Woodville team has a tremendous record. Regardless it is going to be fun and the weather looks good for travelling. They are coming to play us in Bala on both Saturday and Sunday so let's hope Mother Nature cooperates. That is it for now and enjoy your weekend and try and stay warm.
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02/01/2011 09:11 PM
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The Blog is Back !!
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Well it has been too long for sure since I have done a posting on my blog. Last time I blogged our new brokerage did not even have its doors open! I am very happy to say they are open and people have been coming through them too :-) I am very proud to say that our new company Enjoy Muskoka Realty finished 2nd in Gravenhurst with number of ends completed for 2010 and also 2nd in dollar volume for 2010. Considering our company was born March 16th and our doors opened July 2nd this is something we are very proud of. Thanks to everyone who put their faith in our team and we welcome your business in 2011. Drop in anytime to our office on Bethune Drive in Gravenhurst.
We are located next to Tastebuds and during the winter we are enjoying their fresh coffee and of course in the summer they have the best ice cream on the planet! Our office looks great and in the fall we had commercial carpeting installed from our friends at Muskoka Carpet www.muskokacarpet.com. Our board room is state of the art with a 50" plasma screen flush mounted on our wall and makes for a great experience for training and showing clients properties online. Stay tuned for more updates and I will be getting back rolling with weekly posts for sure on my blog.
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06/13/2010 05:35 AM
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Update on Enjoy Muskoka Realty
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As some of you know we are still not quite officially open at our office location. Yes it has been very frustrating but out of our control however on the positive side we continue to work with clients buying and selling property. We have heard from other agents that they say we have figured out the secret - don't have an office. We respectfully disagree and cannot wait until our doors are open to the public. Inside we are rolling along as we have our big Xerox printer/copier up and running and we have had meetings in our boardroom with our agents. Phone system works great and our office number is 705-687-5656 and our fax is 705-687-5626.
Tastebuds next door continues to amaze us as the traffic is staggering that goes in and out of that place. Great ice cream and delicious soup are two great reasons to go in there. They have excellent coffee too.
I look forward to posting some pictures of our facility as we near the end of construction and the opening of our office. If you get a chance check out our website at www.enjoymuskoka.com and if you want to see some nice virtual tours click on the link at the top of the page and you can see a number of properties done in this format. You can check out my tours at www.muskokajewel.com My next post will have some stats on the market and bring you up to date on what is going on throughout Muskoka.
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06/02/2010 10:24 PM
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Virtual Tours and Social Media
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I thought I would start putting in my new listings into my blog. I have just listed a nice home in Bala for $ 244,900. The kitchen is stunning and was designed and built by Fred Orchard who has developed a wonderful reputation for higher end kitchen design. Click here to view the virtual tour.
In regards to Enjoy Muskoka Realty I hope you have had a chance to look at our social media content. We maintain a Twitter account, a Facebook page and a YouTube channel. All relatively newer forms of communication but very interesting for sure. I have been studying social media for about 6 months and I have attended a number of seminars. It took me awhile to see the business use of some of them but it is proven that they can be very powerful if used properly. YouTube utilizes video and it is one of the most emerging technologies for use in real estate. We will be using this quite heavily as we move forward with our company. Facebook is used my millions and our page allows us to update people on our company and how things are going. New listings will be posted there and it will be fun to see how this develops over time.
For now I am going to check out our Facebook page and then review some stats from the month of May. I shall report on them in my next post.
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05/24/2010 10:58 PM
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Breakfast Television comes to Muskoka
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Well it was an early morning start for sure but even getting there at 6:10 am I still was over an hour later than my Mom! Last Friday Kevin Frankish and the gang from Breakfast Television broadcast live from the Muskoka Wharf and the top deck of the Wenonah. My Mom is a big fan and went with my Aunt Cleone down to the Wharf to take in the festivities and I told my mother I would attend too. It was actually very interesting to see how it worked behind the scenes and it was a great chance to chat with a lot of people. Many had questions about my new company and some had seen the ad in the paper. Regardless there was a large group of people that showed up to the Wharf and it was tremendous advertising for the town. I have included a picture from the deck of the Wenonah.
Also there was some beautiful boats roaming around the bay and I was able to snap a nice picture of a gorgeous majestic boat that was close to 36 feet long.
Finally there was my Mom pointing out to Kevin Frankish who I was :-) and you can see her below pointing me out to him. Mom always looks great in a hat and this morning she was pretty in pink!
I must say I am not a regular watcher of Breakfast TV however I was very impressed with the people and Kevin was a real gentleman walking around the boat visiting people and signing autographs for an hour after the show had wrapped up. I am glad I went and my Mom had a great visit with friends and family. It was gorgeous weather for the event and whoever was responsible for bringing this event to town kudos to you! Thanks to all and talk to you soon. Looking forward to watching a little more of Breakfast Television.
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05/18/2010 07:38 AM
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Website is online and nearing completion
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Welcome back! That is for me and for you as it has been some time since I posted something online here. My previous website became the domain for our company so I felt it appropriate at the time to remove my personal stuff for the time being until I was able to get it incorporated into our new site. Now that has happened and as of this morning my blog is back online within the enjoymuskoka website. Special thanks to Mark Wigston of Muskoka Graphics who has done a great job of working on our website and creating the professional look that we wanted to have.
Our office is very close to being ready as the long wait is nearly over. As a company we have had a lot going on for sure considering we have not had an office to go and work. We have been working out of our homes and vehicles and we are very excited as to how it has been going. We have over 40 listings as a company and a number of sales to start and we are just coming up to the May 24 weekend. Our sales team is comprised of myself, Brian Guerriero, Jim Pattinson, Mary Gauthier and Ray Sander. We have another recent grad of the real estate training courses who is just waiting for the final paperwork and then Paul Schofield will begin his career with Enjoy Muskoka Realty.
Situated next to Tastebuds on Bethune Drive in Gravenhurst we think we are going to have a lot of traffic coming around our office as people come from all over to have their delicious ice cream. They also have wonderful baking and some tasty soups which I know I look forward to on the cold winter days. They have a great business there and we are excited to be working next to them. Gateway Fibreworks is at the end of the building with their retail location and their mill which is really an interesting place. Drop in their sometime and checkout their alpaca products. It truly is amazing stuff.
That is it for now but I look forward to many posts in the future. Our company is working hard at dynamic communication and embracing social media so you can follow us on Twitter @enjoymuskoka and also our business page on Facebook. We have our own YouTube channel too so you will soon start seeing video coming soon to a screen near you! Thanks for reading and drop me a note anytime.
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03/17/2010 12:10 AM
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New Company is born !
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The day has finally come - Enjoy Muskoka Realty Inc. is officially my new real estate brokerage. After a successful and enjoyable career with the RE/MAX brand I decided timing was right to begin a new brokerage and I have been using the website enjoymuskoka.com for quite a few years in preparation for this eventual move to a new company. I am happy to be involved with two other high quality people Brian Guerriero and Jim Pattinson. We are going to work hard at creating a first class brokerage with a strong work ethic and integrity.
Our new company is going to utilize a lot of technology as we move forward and we hired a professional media company to create our logo. Today we received our initial concept designs and we are extremely excited. I can't wait to get the logo finished off and I shall certainly share it in this blog. Blogs are going to be important to each sales rep in the company and we are going to keep all of the company listings on the http://www.enjoymuskoka.com/ website. Youtube and Facebook are going to be used in conjuction with our other tools and we look forward to integrating them all into our model. No doubt a challenge but an exciting one to explore too.
Stay tuned for more updates as we get ready to move into our new location for April 1st. More on that in my next post.....
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03/13/2010 10:44 PM
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Exciting news coming soon!
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Well it has been a little bit of time since I sent out a note on my blog. I will soon have an exciting announcement which has had me very busy of late. I have been continuing to work on my treadmill and I am very excited to say that I have lost 17 pounds. Finally I have managed to sustain a workout regimen and that has translated to much improved eating habits. I have not weighed myself in a few days but I know I need to keep on my treadmill. Hope I am soon able to report I am down 20
Today we said goodbye to a long time family friend Gerry Bray. Gerry died suddenly in Florida two weeks ago and the family had a nice memorial service celebration today. Best wishes go out to the family. As someone said today it was hard to believe because Gerry was "larger than life". One of the memories that sticks out about Gerry is from about 25 years ago when Gerry came back from Louisiana and they had a party that our family was invited to. Gerry had a large bag of "cajun crawfish" that he wanted me to try. I took one look at the bag and said no way on earth was I going to grab one of those things. Well somehow Gerry managed to get me to try one of them and I could not believe how tasty it was. It was not long before Gerry regretted letting me try them! I don't think I have had them since but I shall never forget that first time.
Weather has been very nice and it is helping to get people out looking. Hopefully it continues and we shall see sales move along at a nice pace. The sooner we get rid of the snow the better. Besides, I cannot golf with snow on the ground. Speaking of golf, the Leafs will be one of the first teams playing this summer as they will be missing the playoffs. As I write this though the Leafs are playing very well in dominating the Oilers tonight - winning 6-3 at the moment. I was lucky enough to get down to see them this week. It has spoiled me though as the friend who invited me had tickets in the NHL box. It was the first time I have ever been in a box and once you have been in one of those it will be hard to just sit in a regular seat :-) What a great way to watch the game though.
Stay tuned to my blog for my exciting news.
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02/18/2010 09:38 PM
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Wii Fit as a fiddle
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As those of you who have read my blog have read I have pledged to work on getting in much better shape and working at losing weight. I began my odyssey in earnest over 4 weeks ago and I am happy to report I have been getting on the treadmill religiously at least 6 out of every 7 days. The workouts have been helping and I am down over 10 pounds now without any crazy diet plan. I have reduced my intake for sure however I still have eaten quite well including my favourite breakfast of steak and eggs at Rombos :-) There are a million diets for sure and I have never been a big dieter (obviously) although I know there is certainly merit to the different plans. To me it is vitally important to enjoy my food but I have really cut back on the useless calories such as chips and snacks at bad times of the day. I will only eat whole wheat pasta which is excellent actually - my kids love it so that is a good thing.
The Wii Fit is a fantastic addon to the Wii as it works extremely well. It has the pad that you climb on that acts as a weigh scale too and it is very accurate. There are a number of exercises that you can do that are fun and at the same time very healthy for you. They even have yoga exercises which I found to be very enlightening. The balance drills are fun - my favourite is the ski jumping which seems appropriate during the Olympics.
This post does not have much about real estate however I like the accountability that this blog provides me as I think it is important to keep myself on track. It has been a long time since I worked hard at losing weight and it is an important journey for me to take. I look forward to sharing my future results.
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02/12/2010 07:24 PM
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Vacation Planning 101
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I don't know about you but it seems like everybody and their brother is planning to get away or has gone away. I have friends who are out at the Olympics, many down south in Florida, another couple of people in Portugual, a buddy in the Dominican, and family getting ready to head to Jamaica. We are certainly in the cool of winter and I don't blame people for taking off. For those of you looking for some great deals on airfares take a minute and look at the website http://www.cheapoair.com/ It has impressive software that searches a massive database of all the various airlines and I utilized it last year. I purchased 4 tickets return to Orlando from the Buffalo airport and it cost me just over $ 800 Canadian for all four. Not a bad deal.
Its funny to see how much time people take in planning their vacations. Careful planning often goes into vacation planning yet so many don't seem to take the time to plan for their own future. There are stats around that support that thought and it really is something we need to think about - myself included for sure. We can have a tendency to live in the present and keep motoring on with day to day living and often can neglect our need for planning towards the future.
On the real estate front it seems to have been a little bit slow in terms of showings as people are staying inside or not in the buying frame of mind. I have another listing coming up which is going to be a true fixer upper so I hope to get that introduced to the world next week. This is traditionally a slower time anyway and it does allow time to work on the logistical side of the business. Updates websites, prepare listing plans, research new software and tech tools.
Tonight is opening night for the Olympics which sadly have started with a horrible tragedy as a luge athlete crashed at over 144 km per hour and died. I couldn't imagine his poor parents trying to cope with that after the euphoria of seeing your son reach his Olympic dream of getting there. There are no words that can make it any better. Lets hope with the coverage they are able to give it the dignity he deserves and then be able to move forward and have a wonderful Olympic Games.
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02/01/2010 11:05 PM
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Jan stats here - looking good!
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I am sitting here after a bout on the treadmill and reviewing the stats that were released today for January. Some encouraging signs for sure in Gravenhurst and Bracebridge. The residential sales in Bracebridge improved from 6 sales in Jan/2009 to 11 sales in Jan/2010. A nice increase for sure and Gravenhurst went from 5 sales to 6 sales so a modest increase comparatively. Obviously this is a pretty small sample size however it is nice to see 2010 start off in a positive direction. In regards to actual listings as of Feb 1st there are 88 active listings in Bracebridge and 68 in Gravenhurst. This compares to 104 and 66 in 2009. The entire Muskoka and Haliburton real estate board processed 340 listings in January compared to 351 in January of 2009. It shows that the market has not been flooded with a major influx of listings.
Speaking of real estate board I am looking forward to going away for two days to do some strategic planning as part of my role as Director on the MHAR board. This is my first year in this capacity and I really do not know what to expect however I certainly have a strong interest in the session. We are heading to the Trillium Resort in Port Sydney so that will be interesting. I think I am going to take a peek at their website to get a preview of the property.
Big news in the sporting world as the Toronto Maple Leafs did a major shakeup. Being a diehard Leaf fan personally I am pleased with the move and it will be interesting to see how Phaneuf plays for the Leafs along with Giguere in net. Those of you who read this blog know of my sad loyalty to the Leafs however it will be interesting to watch what happens. Speaking of hockey my son's Atom Rep team finished off the Almaguin Ice Devils in 3 straight games so now we move on to face Fenelon Falls in the All Ontario quarter finals. It should be a real battle and I can't wait. It has been a long season for sure however the playoffs are very exciting and the kids and parents are having a great time. Go Flames go !!
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01/28/2010 10:12 PM
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The iPad is here
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Well it is finally been announced - the long rumoured tablet PC is about to be unleashed on us all - welcome to the iPad. I have long been a Windows user and Microsoft fan however I must admit I think I may get one of these new iPad's in 2010. It has been described as an iPhone on steroids but there is more to it than that. I have been watching a video podcast from San Francisco from the day of the announcement and there have been a number of speakers a lot more in tune than I am who say it is going to be a very compelling device. I can really see a benefit as a realtor when I go in for listing presentations or I want to show virtual tours or showoff some listings - this is going to be extremely impressive. Reading newspapers and books is supposed to be incredible based on the comments from a few of the reviewers. Pricing has been said to start right around $ 500 which is lower than original projections. For more info go to www.apple.com.
The white stuff started flying again after a month of almost nothing. I am happy to say the snowblower still works although I am happy to put it into hibernation once again. In regards to real estate, I have had a few calls from people looking to potentially list property. Confidence seems to be running quite high as interest rates are still excellent and the media is not nearly as negative as they were this time last year. I was at a function yesterday where there were a number of realtors (free lunch was served) and most were quite excited at the prospects for the coming year.
I had mentioned in a previous blogpost that I was telling the world I am very serious about wanting to get in much better shape and I had a physical done, bloodwork done and a stress test at the hospital. Without a doubt I am excited to report my stress test went extremely well and I have a very strong heart. I did the test last Tuesday and I was on the treadmill the next day as my excuse was taken away which is exactly why I did the stress test. My goal is to be on the treadmill 6 days of the week and I am pleased to say at this point I have worked out 7 days out of 8. Long way to go for me but I shall continue to talk about it and keep myself accountable here in this space. I shall take off at this point but thanks for reading my blog. Stay tuned.... video blogging is coming soon!
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01/25/2010 11:15 PM
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Making our profession professional
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Does your realtor feel they are a professional? Is real estate a profession? You bet it is but unfortunately not everyone seems to treat it as such. Some startling statistics were released recently and frankly I found them rather shocking. They were sent to us from Michael Polzler, Regional Director and Executive Vice President, RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada Inc. In one of the largest real estate boards in the country one in four agents did not do a single transaction last year! 53% did not quite do one deal a quarter - hard to believe those numbers. Our profession has a large number of part-timers and people who frankly are just not working the business and as a result are sadly lacking in the skills and knowledge that is necessary to properly help people with what for many is the largest transaction they will ever complete in their life. Real estate is far more technical than it used to be and there are so many elements to be concerned with. How are you marketing the listing you just took? How informed are your buyers? Is the shore road allowance closed on that waterfront property? Do you know how to explain title insurance? The list of questions goes on and as realtors it is imperative that we know the answers to these questions and come across as professional.
I don't sit here beating a drum that I am the top dog of real estate. One thing I can say is I take my business very seriously and I work hard at being professional. I am constantly trying to take new courses and learn new technologies and try to understand today's buyer. Things have really changed and those that stay in tune with what is happening will succeed. My personality is such that I am never content so I am driven to try and improve. I am well aware of where my strengths and weaknesses are and I am trying to improve my strengths and lessen my weaknesses. Michael Polzler, whom I have a lot of respect for, called on making the requirements harder to achieve to get into real estate. One of the nice things, and also one of the worst things, is that it is not that difficult to become a realtor. Becoming an excellent realtor however is a different story and that is what separates those who succeed from those who show little or no production. Don't be afraid to ask some tough questions of your realtor. We need to be able to tell you what we have done and how we go about our profession. I always welcome the chance and any realtor who actively works the business feels the same. We have some wonderful realtors in Muskoka and I hope when the need arises, you are working with one of them.
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01/18/2010 09:54 PM
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Social Media - what is it?
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It was an early morning today as I got up at 4:30 in preparation for driving to Toronto early with a couple of agents to take in a 3 hour course on Social Media and how it relates to real estate. We got down there just after 8 am and I just can't imagine driving like that group of lemmings on the highway each and every day. Thankfully I live in Muskoka and I am able to make a nice living that allows me to stay here.
Social media are things like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and other things. Blogging was discussed a lot too and obviously that is what I am doing here. I understand that not everyone is going to be utilizing these different elements of social media however I was interested in seeing how they incorporate into real estate and how I could perhaps do a better job of using them. There was a lot of ideas presented and some new websites were given. I am looking forward to implementing them into my own business model.
Facebook is an incredible phenomenon for sure. I find it is great at connecting with people you may have lost touch with years ago. That alone is a wonderful feature however some people seem to take their Facebook involvement to the extreme. Countless updates as to what people are doing various times of the day can be very boring to say the least and certainly not how I will ever use Facebook. However, it is a fantastic form of media and one that cannot be dismissed - it is just too large to overlook.
LinkedIn is more business in nature and does not have all the fluff that Facebook has in terms of applications and games. It is certainly lesser known but take a minute to check out www.linkedin.com. I won't go into great detail about the course but hopefully you shall see some changes coming in my site and other forms of media that I shall employ in my business. Stay tuned and talk again soon.
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01/15/2010 08:16 AM
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Should I get a home inspection?
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Anyone that has ever turned on a television has probably seen a real estate show and odds are you may have heard an opinion on home inspections. Mike Holmes certainly talks about them from time to time and it is important to know that just like anything else some are better than others. Why does someone want to get a home inspection? First of all I think as an agent it is very prudent to recommend getting one. Personally I know I do not have any construction background, nor am I a renovator. There are many elements to a home and a home inspection will give the buyer a lot of excellent information and certainly they are far more qualified to comment on the home than I am as an agent. It will detail out the plumbing, electrical and mechanical aspects to the home, where the shut-off valves are for the water, how fireplaces work, plumbing clean-outs, how to properly use an air-exchanger and many other things a new owner would find useful. These are some of the benefits of an inspection.
An inspector obviously will point out any latent defects in a home that were not visible during an agent walk-thru with the buyer. A cracked window for example is something that is readily seen by a potential buyer and an agent and is not deemed a latent defect. Finding disconnected wiring in the electrical panel is a latent defect. Even new homes there are elements that will be found that are not perfect and buyers cannot expect a perfect home. If something major is discovered during an inspection ie. bad septic tank or furnace is not working then it allows an opportunity for negotiation with the seller. A buyer can always walk away however most of the time they want the house and the buyer and seller work towards an acceptable solution.
If you are a seller and an offer comes in asking for an inspection do not get defensive about it. It is extremely common in real estate today and remember that it is not there just to find out all the problems and try to get a better price for the home - it is an education tool for the buyer. Don't forget they WANT the home and are not paying over $ 350 dollars just to walk away from a potential sale. As agents we have to explain to sellers the process of a home inspection and its purpose. I just wanted to take a bit of time here to discuss them a bit and don't hesitate to call me or ask your agent for some clarity in regards to inspections. Sometimes sellers actually hire an inspector before they list the property to try and determine what may need to be fixed or updated prior to selling. It is an investment but it can be a valuable tool when selling. Having a reputable firms' inspection report available to potential buyers can be very useful tool. As I type this I have a home inspection to attend tomorrow morning!
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01/12/2010 11:58 PM
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Wow how technology has changed
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As any of you who know me I have a background based on technology including a Computer Science Degree from University of Guelph. How did my love of technology start? I can pinpoint it very easily as it began in high school when I remember selecting a computer course that was taught by Mrs Reid - no relation. Almost as soon as the course began in September I started to become enamoured with these devices which were Commodore 4040's for those techies in the crowd. I started to program them and the course was becoming an important part of my day. I could not wait for the class. I was reading whatever I could find in regards to computers. I even was offered the chance to teach a little bit of the class on a subject called arrays. I was in heaven as I learned more and more about these devices. My parents soon realized how infatuated I was with the computer and at the time ads were all over the TV with the Commodore 64. For those of you who remember they had a slogan set to music called "I adore my 64" I ended up getting one for Christmas that year and I was on that thing all the time. I began programming it and creating my own software and the love affair was on. I joined a Commodore club called COMVIC - short for Commordore and Vic 20. We had a lot of fun with that club and I still know a couple of people that had joined that club years ago. It was in the mid 80's when I was with that club. Eventually I ended up pursuing a career in computers when I attended University of Guelph and there I obtained my Computer Science Degree. Oddly enough I never had a chance to use the Internet in University as it had an entirely different look to it. It was not until 1991 when Tim Berners Lee invented the World Wide Web when things really started to take off with the Internet.
Fast forward to 2010 and here I can turn on my iPhone and communicate with virtually anyone in the world and get hi-res images as I zoom in on a street in downtown Toronto and look at the front door of my clients home! It is truly incredible what technology exists today and the telecommunication field is extremely hot right now. There is a real buzz on the Net as they are talking about a pending announcement from Apple which may happen at the end of the month. Rumours persist about a new tablet PC that may be called an iSlate. It could be a real breakthrough for the tablet format and it may be enough to get me to buy an Apple pc after over 20 years of buying IBM/Microsoft based PC's. Stay tuned.
Technology has done wonders for the real estate industry. It gives much better access to qualified information for clients mostly due to the Internet. As a result they end up coming to us realtors in a more educated state. It is not unusual for clients to contact me with a list of properties they want to see. They have already seen most of the pictures from each of the homes, viewed a map with exact location, and have all the square footage and tax info on the home. This is so different from years ago. We as realtors really need to know our product and as technology changes we have to adapt and move forward. It is ever-changing and a real struggle to stay up to date. It just so happens technology excites me so I enjoy this challenge and I like to think it helps to give me an edge.
Here I am sitting in a chair with my laptop watching TSN highlights as I write this blogpost. I have a wireless connection and at the same time I just had an email come in on my iPhone where someone had to cancel a meeting for tomorrow. I embrace technology as part of my life but it is important to never let it rule your life. My wife is asleep on the couch beside me and the kids are long asleep. Earlier tonight I helped two kids with homework and took my sons friend home after coming over to play. We need balance in life and at times you need to unplug. This year I got involved helping coach and be the manager for my sons hockey team. What a thrill being on the bench of his hockey team. The last thing I think about is my cell phone which is nice. Speaking of hockey I received an email from a friend I met this summer on the golf course in a charity tournament. He once played in the NHL and now is the CEO of a technology based company. We shared a golf cart and it gave me a chance to learn about his business. He does well with his business but what a change from NHL hockey. Technology gives so many people new opportunities and reduces the barrier of entry for many. Take an idea and move on it - Bill Gates did. Anyway, I shall wrap this rather lengthy post up and wish you well as the time has come to unplug.
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01/05/2010 07:48 AM
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Muskoka Real Estate Stats for 2009
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As they say on Oscar night - the envelope please! Well I am sitting here this morning reviewing the end of the year stats published by our Real Estate Association and the numbers are quite interesting for sure. The cottage market definitely saw an improvement over the previous year as the entire board saw 768 recreational properties sell compared to 566 the year before. That is quite significant for sure, although in 2007 there were 819 sales. When most people think of Muskoka in terms of cottages for the most part that represents the township of Muskoka Lakes which saw a major increase from 2008 as there were 217 cottages that sold in 2009 versus only 128 the previous year. That averages out to almost 2 more cottages sold per week!
On the residential side, Gravenhurst saw an increase in sales from 129 units in 2008 to 143 sales in 2009. That was a nice increase as Gravenhurst has seen quite a bit of growth over the last year as it appears we are not quite the sleepy town we once were. Friends dropped by over the holidays who had not been here in over 2 years and they were shocked at the development. Bracebridge has actually seen a drop in residential sales as they dropped from 234 sales in 2008 to 195 sales in 2009. Their cottage and condo numbers were a little higher though than 2008.
I like to try and stay current in terms of market trends and what other qualified people are saying about the real estate market. There is no shortage of opinions for sure but often you need to consider the source to try and validate their comments. Typically the major real estate companies are good sources of data. I will quote the following press release from RE/MAX - Mississauga, ON (December 3, 2009) -- "In the midst of one of the most tumultuous economic periods in recent history, residential real estate has proven to be a safe harbour, with sales and average price expected to post gains in most major Canadian cities in 2009, according to a report released today by RE/MAX." For more details here is the link to the entire press release - http://www.remax-oa.com/MediaNewsroom/Pages/ReadMore.aspx?ItemID=54
On a personal note today is going to be very exciting as I am taking my son to a Toronto Maple Leafs game at the Air Canada Centre. He has been bubbling ever since he opened his gift Christmas morning. The only sad part of it is we have been watching our Canadian Juniors pursuit of the gold medal and darn it all if the gold medal game isn't tonight ! Oh well, we are going to have a great time and I am sure they will give updates on the scoreboard at the ACC. Until my next update try and stay warm.
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01/02/2010 11:08 AM
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Happy New Year to everyone!
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A new decade is upon us and it sounds like a cliche for sure but boy did the last one go quickly! My son was born at the start of the last one and one thing is for sure I shall not have another child at the start of this century - or I will be having a chat with a certain doctor :-) This time of year so many people and news media come out with their best of lists for the past year and in this case the past decade. They certainly make for some very interesting reading and it sparks debate which is of course the reason people do them. Personally I enjoy the sports lists the most because they are usually full of top plays and incredible feats of athleticism. Sharing that passion with my son is fun too as he is right there with me to watch them.
At the start of a New Year it seems to be the one time when people really take a pause to review where they are at in life, what they would like to improve upon and what they want to change. I am no different of course. I spoke in my last blog about resolutions. It is very interesting to see how many of us invest so much time into planning a vacation and we do not spend as much time reviewing our own business plans and where we are at personally. As the saying goes "if you fail to plan you are planning to fail". We get comfortable with the status quo many times and as an example how many of you just renew your insurance when it comes due? Why not check around - are you getting the best rate, is everything included in your policy, do other companies offer more? Quite often we just write the cheque.
In the coming decade I will see my kids graduate high school, go on to post-secondary schooling, my wife and I will turn 50, and who knows what else lies ahead. It is that unknown that is both terrifying and exciting. I pray for great health for my parents as it is hard to contemplate life without them. Sadly we lost my wife's parents in the last decade and that was a really tough pill to swallow - especially for my wife. What is going to happen in real estate? How will my kids cope as they become teenagers? What changes in technology are coming? So many things lie ahead of us and it is going to be an exciting run for sure.
On the business side of things typically January is a month where I do a lot of planning and organizing for my business. There are certainly changes I want to do and create some systems for my business. I have been very thankful for the business I have had and I appreciate the clients who have utilized my services. Without a doubt there are improvements that I can make and that is what drives me as I move forward. Working a business that relies heavily on word of mouth and references from friends and family I have to keep trying to improve. I want to keep in better touch with all my clients and my mailout system which I have been using sporadically is going to be done each month. This blog will be updated at least weekly and perhaps even more. I am going to adding some new features too which should be quite interesting. That will come within the month I believe. Stay tuned....
To wrap us this column I want to wish each and everyone of you a very Happy New Year and I hope that 2010 is a fantastic year for you. Don't forget to invest in yourself too!
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