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We are 4 women realtors chatting about all things Real Estate, Home & Community and showing our support of local business'. When some might think we should be competitors, we are friends collaborating & showing support sharing our take on the Ottawa Market. Get 4 different but similar views.
Please keep in mind, it's our 1st episode, so please be kind, lol! We would love to have you Like/Subscribe and Share. 🩷
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We are looking for our Next local business to shine a spotlight on. If you have a local business and want us to give you a shout out - please email us! shesellsottawa.podcast@gmail.com
Sonya Crites (00:00)
Welcome to She Sells Ottawa, your go -to podcast for all things real estate and beyond. Featuring your hosts, Sonya Crites, Tamara Vallati, Cori Kugler and Tara Kugler. Fun fact, we're not just colleagues who work on different teams, we're amazing friends with a passion for real estate and uplifting our local Ottawa community. Join us for each episode as we dive into the local market trends, share insider tips and provide invaluable insights.
Whether you're a seasoned investor or a first -time homebuyer, SheSells Ottawa is your one -stop shop for useful takeaways and entertaining conversations. So grab your coffee and get ready to be inspired.
Sonya, Tara, Tamara & Cori (00:36)
Welcome to another episode of She Sells Ottawa. In today's episode, we're going to be discussing what we're seeing in the current market, all the buzz around capital gains and how they might affect you. We're also going to zero in on last week's sales in Canada. And later we're going to dive into the do's and don'ts of home showings for both buyers and sellers. And of course, we're excited to feature a fantastic local business. We had the pleasure of visiting.
Sonya, Tara, Tamara & Cori (00:59)
So let's kick this episode off. I'm one of your hosts, Tara Kugler with Right at Home Realty. Hi, and I'm Tamara Vallati with EXP. And hello, I'm Sonya Crites with Right at Home Realty and part of Ottawa Property Gals.
Sonya, Tara, Tamara & Cori (01:13)
Hi, I'm Cori Kugler and Tara Kugler and myself are the Kugler team with Right at Home Realty. Welcome everybody. It's been a busy week. Lots of showings are happening. We're going to dive into showing etiquette later in our tips and takeaway segment. But first, who here by show of hands has had a funny showing story? yeah. How many? How about a funny showing story that involves a cat?
God. Okay, so we all have our hands up. Let's set the scene. You've booked an appointment to show home and the showing instructions say, don't let cat out. Automatically you know that this is not going to go smoothly.
So I have a funny cat story. So imagine, you know, you're in the house, you're not supposed to let the cat out and we don't see the cat, but we go to the backyard. We're checking things out, make sure the patio door is closed, go back inside, close the patio door, looking around a little bit. And then all of a sudden I see the cat outside the patio door. no. So like, my God, somehow the cat got out. So I'm trying to lure it back inside.
get it in, everything's okay. So we leave, lock everything up. Anyway, I got a call later from the listing agent and the seller was not too happy. Apparently there was a bit of a mess in their home, a few things knocked over. It wasn't their cat, it was their neighbor's cat. So their own cat was not too happy. Someone had come in on their domain.
That was not good. No. my God, I can just imagine. That's hilarious. That's so funny. Yeah. So ladies, what's going on in the market this week? What have you been seeing? What's happening? What's the scoop?
Yeah, lots of multiple offers actually. I've been seeing a few things with our own listings, but also with others. Yeah, we had a multiple offer situation last week, Cori and I did. We were just two of us in a multiple offer situation.
Sonya, Tara, Tamara & Cori (03:26)
Yeah, so this week we were in a multiple offer situation and there were just two of us competing and it ended up coming down to the length of conditions. That was what set us apart. Our offer was actually stronger in terms of money, but the other offer was $25 ,000 less than ours, but they ended up winning. So...
It goes to show like in situations and offers, it's not always the price. There are other factors that make it more attractive for the seller. Right Tara? Yeah, no, definitely. It was definitely kind of a surprise, but it just does go to show you that it's not about the price every time when making an offer. Some people got creative. They understood that the seller was looking for a shorter conditional period, which ended up clinching it for them. So yeah, that was interesting. Definitely a learning experience for sure.
Yeah, and it would have been nice maybe to hear from the listing agent that that was such an important thing, that the length of the conditions was such an important thing. Yeah, I mean, I know how they can't divulge the details of the offer, but to, you know, maybe a tip that that was very important to them and not letting us know all the details, but maybe that this particular factor was definitely one of the more important ones would have.
helped us figure that out. So potentially potentially open offer might have been good in that situation. It could have been, yes. I think that would have been a really great situation. Yeah. We had a listing out in the country outside of the Carleton Place and beautiful property. We listed it and actually we had a few local agents that thought we listed it just at the right price or even a little high compared to the comparables. But it was a really hard home to price because it had all these other great features.
So we did get a lot of interest, tons of calls. Anyway, we got an offer right away within the second day. We did have a 24 hour irrevocable. So spent that time trying to make sure we could try and get another offer or two. We ended up with five. Wow, excellent. So it was fantastic. And with conditions. So we did have a conditional period. That's so good. And we ended up getting 40k over asking. So that was exciting. That's great. So five offers, 40k over asking.
Amazing. That's a win for your sellers for sure. They must have been thrilled. Yeah.
Sonya, Tara, Tamara & Cori (05:42)
we're definitely seeing a lot of multiple offers happening a lot of pricing strategies where the prices of homes they're listing at really good prices some are being set up so that you have You're opening up the public to view the home for five to six days and then you have an offer date set So we've been watching the markets and watching what's happening and just to keep our listeners an idea of
many offers are coming in and how much things are going over asking price. We're looking at what's happening. This amazing property came up. This attracted all of us this week. This beautiful Manotick waterfront property that is rare and when they come up they go quite quickly. This was a 1970 high ranch that was listed at $769,900k. They received 10 offers on this property and
Final sale ended up being at $850 ,000, which was $80 ,000 over asking price. And we were actually, Tara and I were actually at that property. We saw it in person and we feel that the $850 ,000 is very well justified. So, so good for them.
Sonya, Tara, Tamara & Cori (06:47)
So speaking of sales, I did a little bit of research in Kanata and I looked up the sales over the past week to see what was going on there. And yeah, there's a little bit going on and it was kind of interesting. So there were 14 detached homes that sold last week in Kanata. Now I'm looking between 9001 and 9009. So for anyone who understands that, that's just Kanata. Those are the areas. Those are the neighborhoods in Kanata. realtors will know. realtors will know.
So there were 14 detached homes that sold last week and of those nine went for over asking price. Yeah and five went for under asking. Okay so I found that interesting two town homes sold in Kanata.
one for over and one for under asking. And six condos also sold last week. Three went for under asking, two for asking price and one for over asking. So I've noticed that the ones that went for the under asking were on the market for a lot longer and had had several price reductions. So they obviously started very high and ended up chasing the market down, which tends to take a little bit longer. And the ones that sold for over ask were only on the market for a few days. So they were priced for
right and attracted the buyer. So I found that quite interesting. Again, as we covered another time, pricing is so essential in the first place. And probably the presentation too. And probably show better. There's a lot of factors there. And some paint. Well, those are interesting statistics. Yeah. Yeah. And it could be very well that the houses that went under asking value were priced right at the time. It's just they weren't presented properly.
That's true. And kept it on the market for a little bit longer than it should have been. So all of these factors are at the end of the day going to result in a price reduction for the buyers. So there's still opportunity for buyers, even though we're talking about a lot of multiple offers happening. Yes. We also have some great news where we're getting in first. So we just did a deal in Westboro on a townhome and fantastic opportunity came up in Westboro.
Buyers got in quickly, they got the offer in quickly. And I think that's probably was really beneficial because once the offer came in, all of the other buyers wanted to. Didn't want to compete. They didn't want to compete. They wanted to keep looking. Yeah. So being first in sometimes is really advantageous. Coming in with a strong offer. First off, we still have conditions. You always want to protect the buyer as much as possible. Bring the conditions in and make sure everybody is happy at the end of the day.
Yeah. And so also.
There was another property, it was a cottage property, and we all noticed that one, and I had buyers that wanted to see it but couldn't see it in time. Anyway, they had an offer date for yesterday listed at $399,900k on the water. Wow. And it was a great property. And that's on the Ontario side. It is, yeah. So it seemed like it was a little underpriced for where it was and what it was. Yeah. But so it was interesting to see. So I was in touch with the agent and they got two offers.
and they ended up selling for asking price $399,900k. But I noticed that the date was June 20th for the closing date. So then we thought, okay, it must be trying to beat the June 25th capital gains. There's our segway. Take it away. Well done. She came to play.
Sonya, Tara, Tamara & Cori (10:26)
Okay, so let's dive into the recent proposal of capital gains changes. So first of all, it's really important to note that selling a primary home does not trigger a taxable cap gain. So if you're selling your primary home, this change won't affect you. What a capital gain is, it's the difference between an asset's cost, so what you bought it for, and its total sale price, so what it's sold for, an asset could be a cottage.
could be an investment property, could be a stock or a mutual fund. And what's interesting is that the 2024 budget proposed an increase to the inclusion rate from one half to two thirds on capital gains above 250K per individual. So for the first 250 ,000 in capital gains, an individual taxpayer would continue to pay tax on 50 % of the gain.
And then for every dollar beyond the 250k, two thirds would be taxable. So that's significant in changes and will definitely affect some people. But what's also interesting here is the budget also proposed to tax all capital gains earned by corporations and trusts at the two thirds rate. So this news is not great for a lot of people. We're seeing it trickle down into the market where buyers are savvy to this.
They're negotiating prices and quick closing dates, which is before June 25th. We've been dealing with that lately. And then we'll take a look and see what actually happens on June 25th.
Yeah, because it hasn't passed yet, as we know, so we'll see what happens, but pretty sure that, you know, that'll be going through. We just don't know what changes they're going to make. Exactly. Yeah, it's not finalized exactly. Yeah. And I found a few things that were interesting about, you know, some questions that people were asking. So one was, what can I deduct from capital gains on property? So basically, you know, just like any investment property, but you can deduct any renovations, transfer taxes, legal fees, those things.
can all be deducted from the proceeds from capital gain. And then someone else asks, what is the six -year rule for capital gains tax? A lot of people may not realize this, but as long as you move back into your home, your second residence within the six years or before six years, then you can avoid capital gains. And then how do people know, how does CRA find out? How do they find out? How do they know that you owe capital gains? Well your lawyer
It's through the transaction. So your lawyer files something. Yeah, so you just cannot hide that. Okay. Well, there's the goods on your capital gains. Yeah, that's interesting. I wasn't aware of the six years that you know that you could move back in and then defer. It's good to know. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Sonya, Tara, Tamara & Cori (13:26)
Whether you're in the market to buy yourself, chances are you'll find yourself either hosting or attending showings. In today's episode, we're diving deep into our tips and takeaways segment, focusing solely on everything you need to know about showings. Yeah, so both buyers and sellers will become acquainted with the RECO Information Guide that details everything you need to know about working with a realtor and representation agreements.
Sonya, Tara, Tamara & Cori (13:50)
Yes, so you may have noticed that your real estate agent really does need you to sign this RECO information guide and also the bra. The bra is... What? The bra? The bra? What's the bra? We need you to sign our bra because it's the buyer representation agreement. So basically it tells you everything that we can do for you. We can sign it for the short period of time just for that property, but it allows us to show you the home.
Sonya, Tara, Tamara & Cori (14:16)
Okay, so let's get into some buyer do's and don'ts on showings. Yeah, buyers have a lot of questions about that. A lot of times they've never been to see homes before. So the first one I would say is do you have a pre approval before showing? Definitely. When you're in the showings, do be careful of what you say there could be cameras or listening devices in the home. Yeah.
Sonya, Tara, Tamara & Cori (14:40)
And if you really must.
Do you use the bathroom? You can. That's a constant question we get asked.
We need to stop here and discuss. Yes, we do. This is a topic. This is a topic. So bathroom etiquette. When you're seeing a few homes, you got to go sometimes. Yes, you can use the bathroom unless the seller has strict rules or a sign up saying, please don't use the washroom. Right. Or if it's a vacant home and the water is not running, you better test it. Run the faucet first.
Sonya, Tara, Tamara & Cori (15:12)
you can definitely use the bathroom if needed. Just be respectful and keep it the way that it was.
Do wear easy on easy off shoes and please take the shoes off when you're showing in the home. Absolutely. And do not eat inside the home. Don't eat. Yeah, for sure. No food inside. But do bring snacks and water for the car rides, especially on multiple showing days. Yeah. And do watch your kids. Please make sure that they're not touching everything in the home. They're not jumping on the beds. Do open the cupboards. Do check the fridge.
but don't drink the milk from the carton. Yes, we had a terrible story. It was in the States, thank goodness, not here. Yeah. Somebody was caught on camera drinking from the carton. Yeah, the sellers weren't pleased with that. No. So don't. So don't. Don't do that. Don't smoke outside or anywhere near the home. Don't take photos and don't take any video of the home. And.
please don't cancel last minute. If you've booked a showing, the sellers have taken all their time to make sure that it's ready and they're very excited that you're going, so make sure you don't cancel last minute. And do drive by the neighborhoods that you're interested in. One step further, you can Google Earth the locations and the homes that you're looking at and get a lot of information before you go to the homes.
That's the best. And I think I would end with do be excited. It's so fun looking at homes. Absolutely. Yeah, it is. There's nothing like it. Those are great tips. Well, for us, if you're a seasoned seller or if this is your first time selling your home, these tips can make a big difference in making your home appealing to potential buyers. So we have a list of those two for sellers as well. Yes, we do. So first thing, do turn on all the lights in your house, including lamps. Good lighting makes so much the world of difference. And also make sure to open up
all of your curtains and let in that natural light. Yes. Yeah, so do keep your toilet seats down in all your bathrooms. It's a small thing, but it helps maintain a tidy appearance in the bathroom. And speaking of tidiness, make sure to take care of any smells. Odour control is crucial. Bad smells can be a huge turn off for buyers. Any kind of scents and aromas. Yes, definitely. And also, if it's a last minute showing, just make sure you have a bin handy to throw in all of your clutter.
Put that stuff away quickly and just do a quick sweep or a mop to get that fresh scent in there So just make your home look its best without spending hours cleaning but just a quick Swiffer and Do always accommodate showing requests so never turn down a showing if you can help it because you never know what showing is going to bring in the right buyer It's true. And if you have pets, especially dogs
Do you make arrangements for them to be walked or taken to a doggy daycare during showings? This not only prevents any pet -related disruptions, but also makes your home more appealing to potential buyers who might not be pet lovers.
Do step outside if you're working from home and there's a showing. If it's okay to just step outside and come back in a little while. Or you could take your dog for a walk or run an errand or anything like that. So it's important to leave the property and give the buyers some privacy and space to explore comfortably. Yes, absolutely. And also keep the temperature at a comfortable level. Never too hot or too cold. It's very important.
So do have some extra information, some seasonal photos available in your home for buyers to see and extra information about the home. This can help them visualize what your home looks like year round and provide additional details that they might be interested in. Those are great tips. Fantastic, I love those.
Sonya, Tara, Tamara & Cori (18:54)
So let's talk about local now. This week we went to, the four of us actually went to this fantastic Lebanese restaurant in Barhaven. It was located in the Longfield Station. It was so fantastic. It's called Phynicia Restaurant and it was small and quaint and beautifully decorated and girls, what did you think? We were transported to another country. It was amazing. Isn't it? I could see the decor and I've walked by it so many times and I never noticed it.
I know same with us. We had just yeah, we just sort of stumbled in onto it one day and then we've been fans ever since. Yeah, service is outstanding. I was just gonna say that so warm, welcoming warm. You do feel transported when you arrive there and I have to say the food. my god, the food is over the top.
I think we tested a bit of everything. We ordered way more than we needed. And it was Instagram, the way they had it presented to, not only did it taste good, but visually it was just beautiful. It was excellent. I still remember this pillowy soft bread coming out of their oven. And as it came to the table, Cori's eyes, as I'm talking about it, are lighting up right now. And Cori's eyes, she dove for it. And she... One bite!
What was the comment? This is better than any man. It was better. It was good. And she took some home. And then she took it home. And then she took it home. That was amazing. But it was a wonderful restaurant. The service was really great. So we're going to attach some photos to our social media about our experiences there. And we're also going to put the link to the restaurant into our social media and our show notes as well. So please do stop by. It is...
local business even if it's just for a coffee I have to say the coffee if you're a coffee lover like the Turkish coffee we are and especially if you like espresso this is coffee that you don't add any cream or milk to it is the flavor credible the flavors incredible it is an experience in itself don't miss this one guys definitely check it out yeah yeah agreed and as we're winding down our podcast today I just wanted to let you all know
We have one listener! Mary Brunton! Thank you for listening! Shout out to Mary! She wrote us a lovely email and said congratulations on the podcast and asked us to cover a few things which we're hoping to do in the coming weeks. So thank you Mary for writing to us and for listening. Yeah and none of us know her, it's not a family member. I just want to point that out. It's not my dad.
That's fantastic. So before we wrap up, let's take a moment to manifest your dream home. Close your eyes and envision your ideal home. Maybe it's a condo with a beautiful view of the sun setting over the Ottawa River. Or perhaps it's a lush backyard with gardens and trees where your puppy and children can run freely in bare feet.
take a deep breath and step inside. Sunlight streams through large windows, illuminating your warm and inviting home. The kitchen is a hub of activity where delicious meals are being prepared and shared with family. Now open your eyes and remember manifesting your dream home is just the beginning.
Take action today by subscribing to our podcast for more tips, insights and inspiration in your journey to finding and creating an ideal living space. And remember, your dream home is closer than you think. See you on the next episode.
Sonya, Tara, Tamara & Cori (22:37)
Thank you for tuning in to She Sells Ottawa. Remember, manifesting your dream home starts with believing it's possible and taking those steps towards making it a reality. If you enjoyed today's show, don't forget to hit the like button, follow us for more great content, and subscribe to stay updated with all our latest episodes. Until next time, keep dreaming big and happy house hunting!
Sonya, Tara, Tamara & Cori (23:04)
Tequila. Tequila. Tequila. Tequila.
Whether you're in the market to buy or sell, chances are you'll find yourself either hosting or attending showings. In today's episode, we're diving deep into tips and takeaways. that's okay. I'm like, aw.
I'm just a word and there's no way. There's no way we're going to grab the clouds. No, I tried. I'm like, I can put a word after it. No, it doesn't work. No. I'm with you. Yeah, you saw that? Okay. me. It's hot like a breathing. Somebody fan this word. I know. It's so hot in here. It's a coffee. It's getting hot in here. It's a coffee. So take off all your clothes. I love it. It's getting hot in here. It's my clothes. So take off all your clothes. Okay.
Okay, here we go. Okay. Okay. We're recording. Yep.