Sheri's Featured on Urban Rush!

I was featured on the TV Show Urban Rush on Shaw Cable this week. I have been using the new technology of Txterrific for my listings recently. I feel in this market you need to do whatever you can to spread the word about the homes you have for sale!

The Delta Police and the case of the Missing Address Sign!

As a resident of Delta, I must say I am happy that we are protected by what I think is the finest Policing Service, the Delta Police. A couple of days ago, I had a "property crime" happen, my beautiful marble address plaque was stolen! Although, I never reported it missing, I did happen to run into one of Delta's very helpful officer's and it came up in conversation. I mentioned to him about the "Missing Marble Sign". A couple of interesting facts came out of this, one being that it is a by-law issue to not have your address clearly visible from the road, I didn't know this! As I was describing the cool new sign I was going to design with slate and nickle numbers he started shaking his head no, upon asking why, he stated that it should be a lighted sign (preferably lighted numbers) in a clear and visible area from the street. Great information! As a homeowner, I was only thinking about the aesthetic look and not at it from a safety aspect whereas in the event of an emergency Police, Ambulance and Fire need to see your address clearly! So, homeowners please take a moment to check your address from the road! Also, if you would like to know more about the Delta Police Department check out their very informative site at www.deltapolice.ca

My Real Estate Blog

Long Weekend...Look for Real Estate!

The Long Weekend is upon us! I have had a flurry of activity from past clients this week wanted to start shopping again! Great time to get out there and look for properties this weekend...or you can enjoy some of our hot weather finally! ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!

Terella at Sunstone UPDATE!!

I had the opportunity to see the Show Homes at Terella-Sunstone today. WOW! I have to say they are phenomenal. I have always loved the product from MORNING STAR HOMES, but they do get better and better with each development. In the first show home I viewed there are shutters in between the kitchen and the dining rooms that come standard. They must be about 10 feet tall and 8 foot wide, amazing! The homes have different accents throughout that come standard, opaque glass inserts in the Master Bedroom on one home looking out to the den area, glass inserts on the staircase in another. The open concept, deemed to be a very green home, with the granite and real hardwood would make coming home to this grand house a treat!! Made me want to move!

One of the other coolness factors was the automatic sensor lights in the guest bathroom that I noticed! I went into the bathroom to turn on the light and low and behold the light turned on automatically! An amazing energy saver and a great conversation item!

Prices will start at $550,000 an up Plus GST. Showhomes will be open as of Friday!

The sales team at Terella welcomes a REALTOR to represent you and I would love to help you out if you were interested in this very amazing site in North Delta. Please feel free to contact me at 604-590-4888 or sheri@sheribrown.ca

The town homes should be ready by October for sales! Stay tuned!

Home Buyers Seminar Tommorrow Night!

Come Join Jenny Matches and myself for this informative Buyer's Seminar for First Timers or to see the Investment Opportunities that are out there right now! It is a Buyer's Market! Take advantage of this good time to buy! Jenny and I will have a few guests to talk about all different aspects of the Topic. Email for more info: sheri@sheribrown.ca

Terella at Sunstone

The new Morning Star by Polygon homes are fast approaching completion! I am on the Guest list to go in and see the first four show homes completed on June 17th! I will keep you posted as to how these new "green" built Show home's look. The Sunstone Development is going to be one of the most sought after area's in North Delta. The townhomes look as if they are well on their way to being ready too! The Townhomes are going to be I think extremely desirable for the area in the new little "city" within the City of North Delta. Please feel free to email me your questions on this or find out if this move to Sunstone would be right for you!
sheri@sheribrown.ca

New Townhouse Listing! $309,900

Great location in the Heart of Newton. Close to Schools, shopping, recreation and transit.
View this video!
http://marketing.remaxdesigncenter.com/65061/627370

Moving...Stressful...YES!

Well, we have moved and wow what an experience! I said before the process of buying a home was an experience, but the actual move in has been much more! I fully understand down to the painting, changing lighting fixtures, door handles and dealing with boxes. When my clients now say to me they would like a couple of extra days in between possession from their old place to their new, I have to say I really do get it now! I think every Realtor should move once every 10 years just to re-live what our clients go through on a regular basis!

I certainly do not plan on moving in the long distance future any time soon! It was very much worth the stress and chaos! You can rest assured I know what you as my clients need!

Comments

The Ultimate Home Buyer's Seminar June 18th, 2008

June 18th, 2008, 7-9 PM
The ULTIMATE HOME BUYERS Seminar, brought to you by our Team.
Join Jen Matches and Myself for this amazing info session on everything you need to know about Buying your first home, Apartment or Townhouse. Get in the Market and know all the facts!
Sponsered in part by Jeremy Laughren of Freedom 55 Financial

your Financial Security Advisor
Also speaking will be Darren Rossi of Dominion Macklem Mortgages your Mortgage Specialist.
Location: Freedom 55 Suite 1800-13401 108th Ave, Surrey, BC
Free Parking available if RSVP
Call Sheri or Jen to Place your name on the RSVP List

604-590-4888 or email sheri@advantagehometeam.ca

To Get Mortgage Insurance or NOT?

From what I have heard over the years Mortgage Insurance through the banks may not be the most practical way to go. Usually costing between $50-$75 per month added onto the monthly payment. Another option could be a term life insurance policy. This, you can get for a set amount at a fraction of the cost in most cases!
Says, Jeremy Laughren of Freedom 55 Financial in Surrey, "You've worked hard to find just the right home. Shouldn't you take the time to find the right mortgage life insurance protection for you and your family?"
With Mortgage insurance through the bank, the payment stays the same even though you are paying down your debt monthly. With a life insurance policy the payment stays the same (lower) but you will always get the set Insurance amount! Make sense?? If you need more information on this it really is best to talk to the Insurance Guy!
Jeremy Laughren is at file://www.jeremylaughren.com/

A New condo Project in North Delta?

I have found out some very exciting and interesting information! There may be some building going on in the area of 115th and 84th in North Delta soon, that is if the residents will approve this new Develpoment. The project is slated to be a 24 unit small low rise building geared for Seniors and Empty Nesters. It's supposed to have all the amentities for the Senior population such as extra large hallways and optional hand rails in the bathrooms. The last condos/townhomes built in the area were in 1990, we've only had about 100 units built since then. I was very excited to hear about this project, but even more so to learn it was for the Senior type of client. There are so many Seniors I know that are still trying to maintain a 2000 sq foot Delta homeas they do not want to move from all they have know for the last 30 years. Let's cross our fingers and hope this project can get approved for our Community!

Identity Theft! Learn More in a FREE Seminar!

Join me and our Team, Advantage Home Team, as we sponser this great FREE Seminar with author George Greenwood, of the Book "In Your Good Name,Identity Theft, a Canadian Respective"
When? Tuesday, April 29th
IDENTITY THEFT: "We NEED to CHANGE our HABITS"
doors open at 6:30 pm
7:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Where? EAGLEQUEST Coyote Creek Golf Centre
7778 152nd Street
SURREY, BC
Sponsered BY Advantage Home Team of RE/MAX Performance Realty
Sheri, Jen, Phil and Janet
http://www.itcanthappentome.ca/40.html

Email me for more information at sheri@sheribrown.ca

Realtor Buys Home!

Well, I have not done this for a while. Being a client! It's a very unique experience to be on the other end of the transaction. My partner and I recently bought a house. It was exciting, stressful and eye-opening as to what my clients go through! With everything from finding the home, (that was the easy part for us), placing an offer in on the home and then the back and forth of negotiating (my partner was a pro at this, he was the constant Realtor, I was more of an emotional Buyer!). We did get to an acceptable offer and the rest is history.....now it just packing and moving in that's the next hurdle. So, the bottom line is I have learned dramatically from this personal experience and what the stages my clients go through!
I totally understand you now!!

Happy Easter! May you and your family enjoy this holiday. From Sheri

Staging, WHY?? and HOW??

The hot "Buzz" word, Staging. Staging is one of the coolest ideas to hit Real Estate in the last 5 years. Everybody is starting to do it, but I caution to actually get a professional who has taken a course! Our team, Advantage Home Team and myself use a stager. Her name is Susan Wells and she is the Decorating Coach. Check our her website at http://www.thedecoratingcoach.com/
I had the opportunity to stay with her for a session with one of my clients. She was amazing! There was not much furniture but, she transformed the space with some simple changes by moving one mirror to another wall! She also instructed the Owner to change around some furniture to one end of the room and place it at the other end out from the wall and WOW! It made the space look that much more spacious and livable! She has made me a beleiver that by moving things around without spending a forture which can increase the sale price and cuts way down on the time it takes to get a great offer! For the higher end and vacant homes she also will rent out furniture and completely stage the home.
As most of my clients know I do offer this service with every listing for no charge to you! I have found my listings have sold faster and for more money this way! Be sure to check out her website too!

Preview my new Listing! City Loft 2 bedrooms (SOLD)

THIS LISTING IS NOW SOLD!
Please take the time to preview my new listing in Central City, the New Yaletown of Surrey!
1127sq foot 2 level Loft
$329,900
413-10866 City Parkway @ The Access
Watch the video for more....
http://marketing.remaxdesigncenter.com/65061/524186
if you have trouble opening this please copy and paste into your browser
2 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. Stunning hardwood flooring, entertaining kitchen, open westcoast loft and fantastic views from your roof top deck.

FINTRAC Changes to Real Estate

I attended the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board's annual general meeting this morning and found out some interesting info coming up for later this year in 2008. FINTRAC is the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre for Canada (WOW, that's a mouthfull!) This government section of Canada tracks illegal monies from drug trafficing, money laundering and other bad activities! They are now going to impliment a new system for the purchase of Real Estate in Canada that with every transaction REALTORS will need to get proper ID, Name and birthdates from clients making an offer, and of course no "cash" deposits. On the upside I will now know everyone's birthday!

Sunstone Development

From what I've been seeing at the end of 84th off of 112th, the new Sunstone Development is on it's way being cleared and getting ready for the construction stage. I have been reading that the presales should start in the Summer of 2008, very fast approaching us! It's already February! There is finally a website to give you a little more information about this Development coming to town.
http://www.sunstonecommunity.com/

This website has a little more information about the units and floorplans. Although I had trouble logging in for some reason! With any new development or pre-sale situation you can still use a Realtor, such as myself, to help you with the "fine print" and to represent you for your interests! It's going to be an exciting new area for our Community!

Spas and Condos??

Anyone who knows me, knows that Spa's are in my list of Top Ten great things to do! When I worked at the high end Spas and Wellness Centers in downtown Vancouver it was my second best career ever! Real Estate of course is number one! Now I have recently noticed something in the Real Estate Weekly...there is now two new condo/townhome developments coming later this year that promote they have A Wellness Centre or Spa in the complex! Both of these "urban sanctuary's" advertise there will be a new Balance to your life by living in a World Class resort atmoshere.
I look very forward to seeing finished properties coming to the areas of Langley and Surrey on the border of North Delta.
These new Projects are:
Waterstone @ 194th and 64th - One and Two bedroom with den Condos. There will be a Yoga room, Movie theatre, Steam and Dry Sauna, and a Wellness Centre!
Salus @ 66th and Scott Road in Surrey - Certified Green Built apartment flats and city homes that will be spa inspired and have a relaxing and rejuvinating First Class Spa Centre! WOW
** Remember when you goto Register or Purchase any new development take your Buyer's Agent with you to represent you and your interests.**