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In this episode of She Sells Ottawa, the hosts discuss funny stories from the real estate market and share their experiences with multiple offers. They also highlight the importance of home inspections and suggest getting pre-inspections done for older homes. The market is becoming more competitive, and buyers need to be aware of what they're getting into. The hosts emphasize the need for buyers to have information about the house before making a decision.
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.
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Welcome to She Sells Ottawa, your go to podcast for all things real estate and beyond, featuring your hosts, Sonia Crites, Tamara Velati, Corey Coogler and Tara Coogler. 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 home buyer, she sells Ottawa is your one stop shop for useful takeaways and entertaining conversations. So grab your coffee and get ready to be inspired.
Cori Kugler:A warm welcome to our second episode of She Sells Ottawa where we're going to discuss what's happening in the market right now, some tips and advice for first time home buyers, some of our favorite tips and tricks, and lots more. So let's get started. I'm your host, Cori Kugler.
Sonya:And hello. I'm Sonya Crites. Hi. I'm Tamara Vallati. And I'm Tara Kugler.
Sonya:Welcome, everybody. Welcome. So, guys,
Tamara:this week, let's talk about this really funny story that came across MLS. MLS is the multiple listing service that us realtors work on every day. And Tara stumbled upon a really funny, section in our realtor remarks where the realtors communicate with each other, and, it was about a certain price reduction that was happening.
Tara Kugler:Yes, exactly. So it actually made my week. I laughed so hard. So
Sonya:we so
Tara Kugler:there was, a real estate agent. She has her own home right now listed for sale and, yeah, we all, you know, we tell our clients, we also have to tell ourselves that it's it's hard to list your home. You have to keep it in a certain way. When you have multiple showings, you're always constantly cleaning up and having it hotel ready, that hotel feel not lived in. So it's stressful to always keep your home like that.
Tara Kugler:So I guess she was finding she was getting a lot of showings and no bites just yet. So the remarks that she put into the MLS that only real real estate agents can see was price to sell, real talk. I'm tired of showing my house. Reduction is not reflective of any issues. I'm just over it.
Sonya:Love it. And we know this agent, she's a great colleague of ours, I'm such, so it was really fun Yeah. I just thought
Tara Kugler:it was so true. I mean whether you're a real estate agent or not, I mean we always have to direct, you know, if a home is sitting on the we have to direct our clients to eventually take that price reduction. So having to tell yourself that as well is not easy, but I just checked the listing and so she did reduce the price. It's actually conditionally sold now.
Cori Kugler:Oh, yes. So it actually worked,
Tara Kugler:but I just thought that was kind of cute
Cori Kugler:and funny. Really funny. We really laughed, we all laughed.
Sonya:Yeah, absolutely. Good one. That is good. So ladies, how was the past week in the housing market? How was your week?
Cori Kugler:Yeah, so this week Tara and I had some buyer clients that, that we're working with and, we found the perfect house for them. It came on the market. We went to see it within several hours of it being listed. We put in an offer right away. The only condition was a home inspection.
Cori Kugler:Their financing is fine, and they had a 24 hour year of bookable on it. So the next morning, the other agent called the listing agent calls and says, we're expecting another offer. Of course. So anyway, so the long story short, you know, my people kept in their home inspection. They did improve their offer.
Cori Kugler:So they kept the right to the home inspection in. Mhmm. And they lost, due to the others, the other offer being a little bit stronger with money, but having no conditions whatsoever.
Tara Kugler:So And So And it was an older home too.
Cori Kugler:And it was an older home. Exactly. So they we discussed, you know, we discussed not putting in a home inspection, but they were not comfortable. And I've got to say, I I sympathize.
Tara Kugler:Yeah. But we are gonna see more of that. I mean, people that market is getting more competitive again, and I hate to see people buying the most expensive investment of their lives and having no idea what's behind those walls.
Sonya:Yeah.
Tara Kugler:You know? So and and it's getting it's heating up and you know what the seller, not every time, but most of the time, if there's an offer that comes in with no conditions and the price is kind of up there with the rest of them, they're gonna go for that. They're gonna take it. I mean, of course, there's no risk, right? It's sold firm, but for the buyer I yeah, I really think that being able to at least read something Yes.
Tara Kugler:A copy of some information regarding the house would be you know very helpful.
Tamara:Yeah. So coming from the seller side, we were ready we're getting, our homes ready for the market, pricing them properly, and hoping for multiple offers to come in. When we just had a listing that, was one day on the market, went to MLS and we right away got a lot of interest in it. We had buyers coming in from Montreal to see it. Within 5 hours, we had an offer.
Tamara:We had a 24 irrevocable as well. And we really tried to stimulate more interest more offers. That's what we're gonna do for the best interest of our sellers. And, the agents, the clients, the buyers, they just didn't want to compete.
Sonya:Yeah. That that's the other side. For sure.
Tamara:The other side of it. So this offer we received, it was a great offer. It was everything the sellers wanted. It was their asking price. It was their perfect closing date, and it had no conditions.
Tamara:Oh, my gosh. Okay.
Tara Kugler:There you go.
Sonya:That's a dream.
Tamara:That's a
Tara Kugler:dream. It's
Tamara:a dream for the wizard girl.
Cori Kugler:It's a dream.
Tamara:Absolutely. Absolutely. So that was a successful case for the seller, but how do we think about our buyers buying properties without inspecting them? Yeah.
Sonya:So tricky. Yeah, absolutely. I think, I know we did actually a pre inspection for an older home recently. Not that we're anticipating multiple offers, but just in case and we wanted to know that there were going to be no surprises coming up. Right?
Sonya:So that's the other part. But if you do a pre inspection, then you do have to disclose anything that does come up and possibly fix a few things. So I think you're also doing a pre inspection too,
Tamara:We're we're listing a property and we're expecting to get a lot of interest that it's a desirable home in a very desirable area. Nice. So we know what what to expect. So we are doing a pre inspection to make sure that we have, everything covered.
Cori Kugler:Yeah. I think that's a great idea. And I think we've also advised some of our seller clients with upcoming listings that this is what they might wanna do. And one one person has said they're on board with that because they don't wanna be surprised. Because the last time they sold the property, the inspection didn't go so well and they had to reduce the price a little bit.
Cori Kugler:So Yeah.
Tara Kugler:So to what Sonya was saying is that it's good to have on hand for the buyers, but it's also great information for the seller to get ahead of what is to come down the road. So fixing up anything that you need to take care of. Yeah. I always find that buy in buyers minds, the problem is more way more expensive than what the actual solution is.
Tamara:So true.
Tara Kugler:So if the seller can go ahead and get that fixed, first and foremost, That buyer does not have the opportunity to say, well, actually, to fix this, it's gonna cost $10,000. Well, we know it's not, you know? So you go get ahead of it and you fix these things first. So I think that's really important for pre inspection.
Sonya:Yeah. I agree. Yeah. I like that.
Tamara:Yeah. Yeah. So I think we're seeing a lot of new buyers, new buyers to the market, first time home buyers. We have, I think, Sonja, you've you've had your fair share of the new home buyer this this past week.
Sonya:All my children's friends. Love them. Love them. Yeah. No.
Sonya:We have, really sweet first time homebuyers. And, so a bit of a success story, but, they were looking within the city. So Nepean and Bar Haven and Kanata. And at that, mean, they really wanted a freehold. So anything under 600, you know, you're looking at the older townhomes, the things that you have to fix up.
Sonya:So they were kinda comparing, okay, this is what we can get for 560, and then something came up in Russell, a detached home. And when they compared the commute, it was actually a little shorter for one of them to get to work than to go to Kanata. So, looked at that, listed lower than 550. Fenced yard, no one behind. Amazing.
Sonya:It's so cute. Yeah. They fell in love with it. And, so luckily put an offer in and was able to get the house, but it was the 1st day on the market, so we went in fairly strong, but with conditions. So luckily, got it with home inspection and financing.
Tara Kugler:Wonderful.
Sonya:So, yeah, and it was his birthday. So it was a wonderful birthday present. So very exciting.
Tara Kugler:That's
Tamara:Happy birthday to your client. Yes. What a
Cori Kugler:great birthday gift. Oh my god. There's it's such a young community there because it is so affordable for our buyers. Yes. Absolutely.
Cori Kugler:Russell.
Tamara:Yes. So start we can start looking outside of the normal spaces that you're looking for.
Cori Kugler:A little further out.
Tara Kugler:Yeah. We had we had actually some first time home buyer clients as well, Corey and I and so young couple and they just didn't have the resources from their parents to help the gift for a down payment. So they really had to be scrappy and start saving money on their own in order to afford this down payment. So what they did was they ended up renting this little tiny place in Vanier for 3 years and it was at a very, very low price. They were upstairs, very small quarters and they just knew that that money that they were saving, they were just gonna take it and put it away into a savings account.
Tara Kugler:And they lived, like, modestly for 3 years, didn't go up to Starbucks, didn't go for dinners, saved up for a down payment, and then they were able to get into the market. It was so inspiring and then they contacted us and we put them in touch with a mortgage broker. And then I think Corey can
Tamara:Yeah.
Cori Kugler:So yeah. So they were in touch with a mortgage broker at first and, they weren't preapproved. They didn't get approved by this particular mortgage broker. So I said, you know what? Something doesn't sound right.
Cori Kugler:You know, just try out this other person. So they did and sure enough they got, you know, they got they got pre approved and they were able to buy their first home.
Tara Kugler:Yeah. The other mortgage broker was just a little bit more creative and had some other ideas up their sleeves which I think is so important. So second opinion sometimes don't get discouraged, just keep trying, you'll get there.
Tamara:Yep. Yes, don't get discouraged. That is definitely a big theme and we're seeing a lot of trends where we have older kids living in the home still, probably maybe getting a little discouraged looking into finding a home for themselves. But, we have some really great strategies and great techniques. There is a really great tool, that we can that we share with our clients.
Tamara:It's the affordability calculator on realtor. Ca. This is fantastic tool if you have, young younger, children living at home or maybe going to university and they want to start thinking about maybe venturing out and buying their own property one day. Well, the affordability calculator is a really simple tool, that they can plug in income and get their living costs. So property taxes, if there's condo fees, the heating costs, all these can be estimated on the calculator.
Tamara:It also takes into consideration any debt payments you have. So a student loan, car loans, credit
Tara Kugler:cards. They can really budget this way and see if they can
Tamara:Exactly. You can move and you can move the numbers around. So if you have, you know, if you you may need more income in order to afford exactly what you want.
Tara Kugler:But then you know what to do. Right? You need to
Tamara:Then you have to create that plan. So then you can just upload, in load all your all your information and then you click on, how much I can afford and it actually spits out what your monthly payment looks like, what your down payment looks like, as well as, land transfer tax. So it will calculate for you the land transfer tax, which is, you know, a big unknown to a lot of buyers, a big shock when they get to the lawyer's office and realize there's this extra big bill of lunch
Cori Kugler:on our tires. We can tell them all about it. Exactly. All of us. Exactly.
Cori Kugler:So
Tamara:on the affordability calculator, if you're a new if you qualify as a new, new home buyer, then you can click the box where it says first time home buyer, and it gives you your deduction on your land transfer tax right there. Brilliant. Love that. So it gives you a really good idea and assesses all the costs and it gives you a fantastic tool to start engaging the conversation with with the kids at home or if you're in a rental situation where you've been out of the market for a little while and wanna get back into it and see what you can afford, this is a great tool. And we will link it to our show notes.
Tara Kugler:Yeah. It's a great place
Cori Kugler:to start
Tara Kugler:for sure. Yes. Yep. Again, speaking about affordability, I know that the prices have gone up so much over the past couple of years, but there are still some great places out there in the city. So Corey and I have found 2 places actually that we love and one is in Bar Haven.
Tara Kugler:It's 523 Ensatina, and it's a 2 bed, 2 bath, townhouse. So it's not a condo. There's no condo fees, and it's listed at 4.99. And I've looked at pictures, it's still listed on the market. It's so cute.
Tara Kugler:Cute upgrades, a great neighborhood, so under 500,000, which is just fantastic. And then I think you saw 1 too on the other end of the city.
Cori Kugler:I saw 1. Yeah. So if you wanna go from sort of west to east, I found 1 at 105 Hellenium in Orleans, which is also still available at the same price. Again, it's a freehold, so there's no condo fees. And at a $500,000 purchase price, if you put 25 if you put 5% down, so that's $25,000.
Cori Kugler:So if you're carrying a $475,000 mortgage, your payments are a little well, at the at these rates today, will be a little bit less than 3,000 a month. So, you know, some you know, just you know, you'd have to speak to a mortgage broker, obviously. But those are some figures that, you know
Tara Kugler:But considering what rent is the
Cori Kugler:same, it's,
Tara Kugler:Exactly.
Sonya:This is
Tara Kugler:at least you're gonna build your equity again
Cori Kugler:in the art. Equity. Exactly.
Tara Kugler:There's also condos that we've seen too, of course, that are lower than you can find them in the $300,000 range, but just take note of the condo fees because that also gets added into your monthly payments. So look out for that. But lots of affordable options I'm finding out there right now. There's, we've seen few 20, 30
Sonya:There are some deals.
Tara Kugler:Good condos. Have to look.
Sonya:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So on the staff side, I love this part. So for the month of April so far, up until today, so I did it this morning.
Sonya:So affordability as far as Bar Haven, Kanata, Orleans, our main suburb areas, so I'll do townhomes because that's a lot of our first time buyers are looking at townhomes or condos. So in Bar Haven, the average townhome sold so far this past month for 611,000, Kanata for 628,000, almost 629, and Orleans 648,000. So Bar Haven is the winner for being the most affordable for a home. I know. We're shopping.
Sonya:And Orleans is the most expensive. It's surprising. Yes. So I think everyone's hearing Orleans is less expensive. I'm going out there.
Sonya:I don't know. Not anymore, apparently. At least for April so far. We'll see what happens. Yeah.
Sonya:We'll see. And it's surprising because during the high, you know, COVID time, I actually tracked, and every townhome in Bar Haven was selling over 700,000 at 1 time.
Tara Kugler:I remember that.
Sonya:Yeah. So crazy crazy turn. And then you can get a cheap con well, I won't say cheap, but you can get a condo for, yeah. So Orleans was actually the winner for that at 400 and almost 20,000. Okay.
Sonya:Yeah. Yeah. So something to look at. Yeah.
Tara Kugler:I mean, they're out there. So like you said, you just have to look.
Sonya:As we had mentioned in our last episode, we really wanted to touch on the home buyers plan. There's some amazing incentives that are happening. Some are just directed really towards new builds, but we also have some other government incentives. So we have a fantastic link that we're gonna put in the show notes. But as far as the home buyers plan with the new incentive for new builds, what do you ladies think?
Sonya:I know we were talking about the fact that really it's only relevant for certain buyers.
Cori Kugler:Yeah. That's true. It's I mean, any help is help. Right? So it's going to even if it helps a few, it's it's a good thing.
Cori Kugler:I think maybe it's it could, you know, I wish it were more inclusive. I would I wish it wasn't just on new new construction.
Tara Kugler:Exactly. Yeah. I think, like you said, anything any help is help, but, yeah. It's I find a of for some home buyers are still looking in the resale market. So this is only specific to, 30 year year amortization on new home builds, so new construction, and that takes effect actually in August, I believe.
Tara Kugler:So it hasn't been activated just yet. I mean, it will help those particular clients, but I think the bulk of people are still looking at resale so maybe something more inclusive will come out down down the line hopefully.
Tamara:Yeah and just remember with all these plans there is a payback. You have anything you're
Cori Kugler:withdrawing Absolutely.
Tamara:You have to pay back within 15 years. So make sure you have that as part of your plan as well.
Sonya:That's very true. Yeah. Mhmm. Yeah. So we're here to help all of you, first time home buyers and any buyer.
Tamara:Absolutely. And let's continue with some great tips and takeaways for the spring season.
Cori Kugler:Oh, wants to start.
Tara Kugler:Okay, well my tip slash what makes me feel really great at this time of year is having my windows professionally cleaned. So every spring I call my guys and I'll link their names into the show notes. They're wonderful window cleaners and just having all that dirt and grime of winter washed away and letting in the light and it's lovely too when you're listing your home to have your windows professionally cleaned. Clients, the sun is setting later now and the sun shines right through the window. So you can see every little smudge and dirt.
Tara Kugler:So I definitely recommend as my tip is to have your windows clean. It'll make you feel great. Love it.
Tamara:Amazing. So I'm gonna take you outside this spring. We're getting outside and we're taking care of our lawns, we're taking care of our houses. Just we've had a lot of weather changes. We've had a lot of wind.
Tamara:We've had a lot of water. So just take a look at the downspouts. They may have moved, you want them moving away, make sure the water is moving away from your home, away from your neighbor's home. And take a look at the shingles, Take a look at the roof. See if you can walk away from the home, get a good look at what's happening.
Tamara:If you have any loose or lifting shingles, or maybe they have blown away, or maybe your neighbor's shingles have blown away.
Cori Kugler:Yeah.
Tamara:So make sure Hook them up. That
Tara Kugler:happens. That's happened
Sonya:to me. Yes. Love that. So I'm gonna keep you outside. And, so my tip would be, it was a little tip that I heard from last year, and I haven't tried it yet, so I'll let you know how it goes.
Sonya:But, to buy pool salt, and even if you don't have a pool, buy pool salt, and you put it into all the cracks of the stone, for your pathways. Just be careful that it doesn't go into your gardens, but it will actually keep those weeds away from growing up. And I mean, right now with our weather, everything's getting lush and green and everything's coming up, including the weeds. So tackle them as quickly as possible and
Cori Kugler:I'm gonna get to it.
Sonya:You're kind of getting ahead of the game. Yeah. I'll try that too.
Tara Kugler:That's a
Cori Kugler:great one. I love that. I didn't know that. So that's that's a first for me. So, yeah.
Cori Kugler:I love that. I'm gonna try it. For me, I guess, what I really like, I'm just a stickler for the exterior of the house. If you have siding, if you have it, like, siding around most of your houses, most houses do that are in the suburbs, yeah, they get so grimy over the years. So, and there's something about a pressure washer that I just love.
Cori Kugler:I just love hosing down a house. It's very satisfying. It's very satisfying so I actually enjoy doing it. So it's it and it makes your house look a lot newer and a lot cleaner so that's Great tip.
Tara Kugler:Love that. Cori's pressure washing service.
Cori Kugler:You never know.
Tara Kugler:She's not just a realtor. She's
Cori Kugler:It can happen.
Tara Kugler:So let's move on to, a place that you went to this week, Corie, that we wanna talk about, somewhere local in the community.
Cori Kugler:Yes. And I love this. I love this. I'm so grateful that, No Go Coffee Company is now in Osgood where I live. They are at 5488 Osgood Main Street in the village of Osgood, which if you don't know where that is, it's about 30 minutes from downtown.
Cori Kugler:So it's really not that far. It's not nowhere. It's
Tara Kugler:A stone's throw from Manateek.
Cori Kugler:A stone's throw from Manotick. Exactly. And this place, No Go Coffee Company, has only been there for a few months, but they are getting so successful and rightly so because they have such a great vibe. They have Archeried coffees, all organic, freshly roasted beans, all types of coffees, homemade goodies of which we have several here. If you're
Tara Kugler:watching on YouTube, you can see the homemade goodies. Yeah. That will be devoured later.
Cori Kugler:They're beautiful. And, they also have workshops, they have, live music, open mic nights, and it's just a wonderful vibe.
Tara Kugler:Yeah. I was there with you and it was amazing. It was such a cool vibe and they had the coolest little merch table set up with local jewelry and clothing and homemade candles. And anyway, we're gonna post all the pictures to our Instagram so you can see the cafe. You can see all the goodies and all the clothing and all that stuff.
Tara Kugler:But it was, yeah, a very good place. Can't wait to go back.
Sonya:That is awesome. So stay tuned for next week where we are gonna discuss the new changes to capital gains tax starting June 25th. What is capital gains and who does it affect? What about those cottages that people bought pre COVID, or those that bought or buying income properties as a means of retirement, you know, they don't necessarily have a pension like all of us. Those are all things that we wanna get into and and have a good discussion because, it can be a concern for some.
Tara Kugler:Definitely. The deadline for that is coming up soon as well, so we'll have to talk about that ASAP.
Sonya:Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. So you won't wanna miss the next episode of She Sells Ottawa.
Tamara:Thanks for tuning in to today's episode of She Sells Ottawa. We hope you've gained valuable insights and feel more empowered in your real estate journey. Remember, every property tells a story, and we're here to help you find yours. If you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to like, follow, and share our podcast. Until then, stay inspired, stay informed, and we'll see you in the next episode.
Sonya:Okay. Recording now. Looks like you're wearing a stethoscope.
Tara Kugler:Like a doctor.
Sonya:Do you think like a doctor?
Tamara:You know what? Doctor.
Sonya:Corey F off now. I'm Okay.
Tara Kugler:She's gonna give us the, prescription for how to buy a house.
Cori Kugler:Using the bird? That's what's happening. That's
Sonya:what's happening.
Cori Kugler:Okay. Now let's now I have one and I feel lopsided, but that's okay. That's okay. Okay. Boobs out.
Tara Kugler:Boobs out.
Cori Kugler:Oh, that's right. Tits up.
Tara Kugler:Tits up. Tits up. Alright. And