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What do Rental Furnaces and Bad Tenants Have in Common?
I was chatting with a Realtor friend in Arizona when hot-water heater rentals came up. I mentioned that a recent Seller couldn’t even figure out what they were paying each month. My friend stared at me like I’d just said Canadians lease their snow. “People rent water tanks in Canada?” Apparently in Arizona, that’s not…
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How Pricing Homes has Changed in 2025
October in southern Ontario smells like wet leaves, espresso, and hesitation. Open houses are quieter. Agents linger in doorways pretending to check their phones. And though no one wants to admit it, the market has taken a pause. We’re not in a full buyer’s market yet — but you can smell it on the wind.…
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Durham Region: Why buying now may be like a lottery win
Ontario’s housing market has a meteorological streak—it changes moods like the weather. One season it’s all bidding wars and bravado; the next, it’s silence and sweaters. Right now, the market’s in that rarest of states: still. In Durham Region, east of Toronto, the data suggest a pause. Homes that once vanished in a weekend now…
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The Homes That Gave Up: What Expired Listings Reveal About Real Estate in 2025
In real estate, there’s a quiet heartbreak called the expired listing. A homeowner stages, scrubs, paints, hides their life in the oven, and lives in an endless state of “show-home readiness.” Then—sixty, ninety, one-hundred-twenty days later—the listing expires, unsold. The dream doesn’t crash; it just quietly times out. From early August to the end of…
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Small Upgrades, Big Returns: How Simple Fixes Can Help Your Home Sell
Every now and then, a home sale reminds me just how much the “little things” matter. Recently, we worked with a family who sold quickly — not to the first buyer who toured, but to the second, who paidthe full asking price. Before listing, I had walked through the property with the sellers and shared…
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When Trust Breaks Down: The Silent Risk in Real Estate
Trust is the invisible currency of professional life. When you hire a lawyer, an insurance broker, a financial advisor, or a real estate agent, you’re not just buying a service — you’re buying confidence. Confidence that your interests will come first, that your money will be safe, and that the rules of the game will…
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Pay down the mortgage or Play the stock market? That’s the $200,000 question
Every so often, a client calls with a question that makes me think, “Now that’s a nice problem to have.” Recently, someone reached out after receiving a $200,000 inheritance. Their question: “I’ve got a $400,000 mortgage on my home. Should I invest this in the stock market or pay down my mortgage?” Let’s break it…
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Durham Rentals 2025: The Lease You Could Do
Finding a rental in 2025 should be simple. You find the place, sign the lease, and move in. Easy, right? Not exactly. We recently worked with two tenants who had everything landlords dream of: excellent credit, solid employment, glowing rental history. And yet, the hardest part wasn’t finding a place—it was running the gauntlet of…
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So… What’s My House Actually Worth?
Let’s be honest: the current real estate market is kind of all over the place. There are more homes for sale than we’ve seen in years, and asking prices range from “Wow, that’s a steal!” to “Wait… they want what for that place?!” Now, say we’re working together (yay!) and a house pops up: 123…
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Pre-Inspections: Are They Smart Strategy or Risky Business?
We recently worked with a homebuyer who was set on doing a pre-inspection before submitting an offer. It wasn’t our suggested strategy, but we respect when clients bring their own perspective to the table — so we moved ahead, curious how it would play out. Let’s break down what a pre-inspection is and whether it…
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