Blog Articles

Building a Pool vs Buying a Home with One

Jun 30, 2021

Building a Pool vs Buying a Home with One

  Summers in Sarnia-Lambton are hot and nothing is more refreshing than having a pool ready for you and your family to relax in. But if you don't have a pool, and would like a nice in-ground one, you are faced with a dilemma.   Should you build one in your backyard, or buy a home with an existing pool?       If a pool is an ...

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Questions You Must Ask Before Buying a Home

Jun 23, 2021

Questions You Must Ask Before Buying a Home

  Buying a home is one of the biggest decisions you will make in your lifetime. Whether it's for yourself or as an investment, there are many questions that you must ask and things to look into before accepting a deal. Let's go over Questions Must You Ask Before Buying a Home.       What is your budget? Vague assumptio ...

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How to Help Your Children Buy a Home

Jun 09, 2021

How to Help Your Children Buy a Home

    Buying a home can be challenging in today's market. And a lot of young people who are really eager to buy a home, are now finding it difficult to break into the market, with rising real estate and rent prices.   The cycle can be vicious. You want to build equity as a homeowner, but you need to first save enough money for a down payment ...

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May 2021 Housing Market Update for Sarnia-Lambton

Jun 01, 2021

May 2021 Housing Market Update for Sarnia-Lambton

       May had 370 listings active and 221 sold for a total of around $102 million in sales volume. Compare this to May 2020 where we had 121 sold homes that totaled just under $41 million dollars in revenue.   May had an average of 14 days to sell, vs last May where it ...

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7 Ways to Sabotage the Sale of Your Home

Jun 01, 2021

7 Ways to Sabotage the Sale of Your Home

  When it comes to selling a home, sabotage - especially self-sabotage - is the worst thing that can happen. Luckily, if you know what to look out for, sabotage is largely avoidable.   Let's look at some of the main things that sabotage a home sale.   1. Not knowing the local market. Without comparable properties to price your hom ...

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A Common Seller Mistake That Can Cost Thousands

May 27, 2021

A Common Seller Mistake That Can Cost Thousands

  Your home sale is too important to mess up. But there is one avoidable thing sellers often do that costs them on their home sale.        Many sellers make a big mistake when it comes to their first offer. A mistake that can cost them thousands. Something we see quite often is that after listing their home, sellers recei ...

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April 2021 Housing Market Update

May 06, 2021

April 2021 Housing Market Update

    There were 346 active listings in April 2021, and 216 sold, totalling around $100 million dollars in sales volume, compared to April 2020 where we had 85 sold and around $29 million dollars in sales volume. April had an average of 16 days to sell vs 28 in April 2020.   The average sale price was around $467,000 dollars, vs $352,000 in ...

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5 Sources of Down Payment Money

Apr 30, 2021

5 Sources of Down Payment Money

  A bigger down payment means paying off less interest over time, and a shorter mortgage term. Making a larger down payment is in the buyer's best interests. But most people don’t know how to access, find or save nearly as much down payment funds as they’d like.   Here are 5 Secret Sources of Down Payment Money.     ...

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The Effect of Good and Bad Photography in Real Estate

Apr 22, 2021

The Effect of Good and Bad Photography in Real Estate

  For most of the real estate’s long history, real estate photography was virtually nonexistent. Nowadays, with the Internet, e-mail, the MLS, and social media, you could say that professional real estate photography is the most powerful marketing tool at a Realtor’s disposal.   The reason for this is obvious, photography is usuall ...

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5 Tips for Maximizing Curb Appeal

Apr 08, 2021

5 Tips for Maximizing Curb Appeal

  When people decide to sell their home they often focus on the inside, doing renovations, decluttering, and organizing. But with spring's arrival, this is a great time to think about making the outside of your home as attractive as possible.   Five Tips for Maximizing Your Home’s Curb Appeal     Landscaping First, let&r ...

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March 2021 Housing Market Update

Apr 01, 2021

March 2021 Housing Market Update

    There were 322 active listings in March, and 188 sold, totalling around $88.6 million dollars in sales volume, compared to March 2020 where we had 139 sold and around $47 million in sales volume.   With around 8 median days to sell vs 12 median days to sell in March 2020, the average sale price was around $476 thousand dollars, vs $3 ...

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Why Real Estate Experience Matters

Apr 01, 2021

Why Real Estate Experience Matters

When it comes to choosing a Realtor, why does their real estate experience matter? For buyers and sellers, having a realtor at their side to help them through unfamiliar waters and difficult decisions is a great idea.   Much like captains who guide their ship through rough waters, interpret the weather, and know where the rocks are hidden just be ...

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How to Find Reliable Tenants

Mar 25, 2021

How to Find Reliable Tenants

  When you purchase a rental property you want to make sure you find reliable tenants. But what can landlords do to make sure their tenants meet their criteria?   How to Find Reliable Tenants     When buying a rental property you may inherit tenants who have been living in the unit prior to the sale or you may have to find new t ...

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Why People Are Buying Homes in 2021

Mar 11, 2021

Why People Are Buying Homes in 2021

  Real estate experts expect the real estate market to continue growing in 2021, largely due to the major impact of the pandemic. We’re spending more time at home than ever. It’s important now to figure out what home really means, and the things that we might need in our homes going forward. Today we're looking at why people a ...

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Own a Home To Build Wealth

Mar 11, 2021

Own a Home To Build Wealth

Homeownership has historically been one of the most tried and true ways to build wealth. Homeownership provides an avenue for building real wealth over time which is built in large part by building equity.   Every time you pay your monthly principal payments on your home, you gain equity. And, over time, appreciation is a critical part of homeowners ...

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How Long Does It Take to Get a Home Ready to Sell?

Mar 05, 2021

How Long Does It Take to Get a Home Ready to Sell?

  Many people who consider listing their homes in Sarnia-Lambton wait until the last second to get things ready. And when the time comes to put the home on the market, they find themselves rushing to catch up. It would be helpful to these sellers to know how much time it takes to prepare their home for selling.   Today we’re asking How L ...

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February 2021 Housing Market Update for Sarnia-Lambton

Mar 04, 2021

February 2021 Housing Market Update for Sarnia-Lambton

  There were 306 active listings in February, and 154 sold, totalling just below 79 million dollars in sales volume, compared to February 2020 where we had 125 sold and around $42 million in sales volume.   With around 7 median days to sell vs 13 median days to sell in February 2020, the average sale price was around $508 thousand dollars, vs ...

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The Importance of Open Communication

Feb 25, 2021

The Importance of Open Communication

    All great relationships rely on solid communication. And for real estate transactions communication is incredibly important. The problem is, not every realtor shares this point of view.   Here at the Blue Coast Team, we hold ourselves to high standards and we would like to explain exactly what you can expect from us in ...

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How to Get Started Selling Your Home

Feb 18, 2021

How to Get Started Selling Your Home

  Homeowners who are considering selling their property in Sarnia Lambton have the advantage of selling their homes in the largest city along Lake Huron. Housing costs in Sarnia-Lambton have historically been lower than in many other parts of Southern Ontario but home costs are starting to catch up with the rest of the province.   Sarnia- ...

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When Is It Time to Reduce the Price of Your Home?

Feb 11, 2021

When Is It Time to Reduce the Price of Your Home?

  So, you’ve had a property on the market and it just doesn’t seem to be selling. At what point do you decide to reduce the price of your home?   Today we’re asking When Is It Time to Reduce the Price of Your Home?   In a seller’s market, homes can sell in as little as one showing, and this is the market we curre ...

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