I returned from holidays last week to a very dirty car. As a business woman who is in her vehicle around the city meeting people and working with clients I pride myself on keeping my car fairly clean inside and out. In fact I would typically expect that of my staff as well, since we all transport clients in our cars from time to time.

But I cannot in good faith WASTE water to wash my car just so it LOOKS good….so if you see me around town in my unusually dirty car it’s because I am trying to do my part. If we all observed a little more how we use water maybe we can help to reduce our water consumption before we are forced into having no choice but to. (I started to write this blog yesterday and looks as though today stage 3 water restrictions are in place and now we are being forced into not washing our cars, houses, driveways, etc or watering our lawns. But then I come home today to sprinklers on in our community...very frustrating)

California has been going through some pretty sever drought situations for the last few years….Now British Columbia is starting to go down a very similar path. 

But I think most British Columbians think it couldn’t happen to us…..I came across this article, I don't imagine these people thought it could ever happen to them either: California drought

I’ve lived here for 10 years now and this past year has been pretty amazing weather wise, I can remember a few summers where we were lucky if the average temperature stayed above 20 and others where our winter rain seemed to carry into the summer. Last winter we had very little rain and our mountains got very little snow. As much as we all enjoyed the lack of rain part, that lack of rain and snow is having its impact on us now. 

I also remember a summer not too long ago where we went through a drought and ended up with brown water not recommended as drinking water. The way we seem to abuse one of our natural resources I imagine we are well on our way to that brown water again but my guess is it will hit us a lot sooner than last time and possibly last much longer if we don't all reduce our consumption. 

I am frustrated when I am out on my run in the morning to pass houses with green grass or worse to see their sprinklers on. Then even more so when I see the various complexes and buildings that have their sprinklers running, keeping their communities green. No matter how little the amount of water it is that they might be using, if together we added all of the water consumption for every community and residence that continues to ignore the fact that we may very soon be in a water crisis, if we added it all up and shut it off. It would surely bring our overall consumption down, hopefully enough to avoid or minimize the crisis in general. 

I am happy to see big corporations and companies taking a positive stance on water consumption:

My husband and I had to pick something up from Guildford town centre today and I was proud to see that even though they use recirculated water in their water features they have decided to shut them down to respect Metro Vancouver’s stage 2 of water restrictions. (Which as I mentioned above we are now in Stage 3)

Translink also announced yesterday that they too will do their part in reducing their consumption by not washing their buses everyday as they would normally. Even though they too use recirculated water to wash the buses, they use fresh water for the final rinse. For now unless they absolutely need to they will only be cleaning the interior of the buses each day and by doing this they will be conserving 30,000 litres of water a day.

Let's hope we can all reduce enough to keep us from falling into stage 4, I am not looking forward to that if it happens.

What will you do to help reduce your families water consumption????

Closing day is an exciting time. After all, you’re moving into your new home! However, it can be stressful as well. The last thing you need is to be confronted with something you don’t understand. So here is a quick list of common “closing day” terms.

• Disbursements. This is the allocation of funds to the appropriate parties, such as the seller. Your lawyer will take care of this for you.

• Possession. This is the moment on closing day when you are legally able to take possession of your new home. It’s usually when your REALTOR® or lawyer hands you the keys.

• Title. This is a legal document that identifies the property and its owner.

• Closing costs. These are expenses, excluding the selling cost of the property, that are due on closing day, such as legal fees, reimbursement for pre-paid utilities, utility deposits, insurance, and taxes.

• Closing adjustments. These are expenses pre-paid by the seller that need to be reimbursed on closing, such as strata fees when moving in the middle of the month or property taxes if moving day is after July 1st, etc.

  There may be other terms you come across on closing day as well. Don’t worry, a good REALTOR® can help make the day go smoothly for you and your family.

  Looking for a good REALTOR®? Give us a Call today. 

If you're planning on finding your next dream home, then you're probably going to view several homes on the market that meet your criteria. You will want to make the right purchasing decision for you and your family. So, it's wise to be savvy when viewing properties for sale. Here are some

• Bring a notepad. Take notes, not only of the home's characteristics, but also of how you feel. For example, can you imagine yourself happily cooking up a storm in the kitchen? Do you see yourself entertaining family on the back deck?  

• Bring a measuring tape. Will the furniture you plan to bring fit? Your dining room suite? Your home fitness equipment?

• Ask about maintenance. Is the property in a good state of repair? Will anything need to be replaced soon, such as the windows?

• Bring a camera. Take lots of pictures of the home's exterior features. Don't make the mistake of thinking you'll remember how everything looked.

• Check out the area. Do other homeowners take good care of their

• properties? This shows pride of ownership. How is the noise level? Is

• Make a list of compromises. For example, are there only two bathrooms instead of three and, if so, can you live with that?

• Make a list of bonuses. What features does the home have that, are

• not a necessity, but would be nice to have? For example, an

• Remember your budget. Is the price within your range? Can you afford to buy this home?

The savvier you are when viewing properties on the market, the more likely you will be to find your next dream home.

Happy Father's Day to all the amazing Dads in our lives frm All of us at the Bettina Reid Group. We hope everyone gets a chance to spend the day with their Dads making memories!

I know the day for this Cloverdale Market Days poster is May 30th...which I somehow missed. But I couldn't find another photo to use. I don't plan on missing this Saturday's Cloverdale Market Days. 

Tomorrow Saturday June 20th from 10am - 3pm come on out and check out Cloverdale Market Days and see what downtown Cloverdale has to offer. This is the 2nd of 5 Cloverdale Market Days throughout the summer. There are around 30 vendors or more participating in a sidewalk sale type event, along with food trucks, local artisans and probably my favourite part next to seeing what the local vendors have are the local farms with their fresh produce. One of my favourtie parts of summer are all the local fresh fruits and vegetables.

Downtown has some great local shops, some of our favourites are La Belle Vie (offering gifts and home decor), Love Those Shoes (self explanatory :), Mallory's (womens clothing), Trish's Charms (jewellery and gifts) to name a few....not sure which of these are participating in Cloverdale Market Days but they will all be open. If you haven't had a chance to visit, I am sure you will find many great finds in each and everyone one. There are many more great downtown Cloverdale shops.

If you miss tomorrow, you can catch one of the last 3 Cloverdale Market Days July 25th, August 29th and October 3rd. 

 

We still haven't visited the Surrey Night Market yet, it is now in its 2nd year and is supposed to be even bigger and better than it was last year. My family loved the Richmond Night Market, it is nice to have one closer to home. Before the summer is over I plan to drag my family out to Surrey Night Market. As long as there is food (which there is) it shouldn't be a problem to get them out. :) I don't think I will have to twist any arms. 

The Surrey Night Market started Friday May 29th and runs both Friday and Saturday every weekend until September 20th from 6pm - 11pm.It is located at the Cloverdale Fair Grounds at 17726 62 avenue. Parking is FREE and the cost to get in is $2 for adults. I love that the following people get in FREE Surrey Night Market. 

• families of all Canadian Forces personnel and Veterans living in BC

• children less than 48″ in height when accompanied by their families

• people in wheelchairs

• seniors over 75 years

It is not only a great Family Event but a Cultural event with all the different types of food to try, the Surrey Night Market offers approximately 50 food vendors and over 125 merchandise vendors which includes local artisans, craftsman and businesses. Every night offers a variety of entertainment, rides and games for the whole family.

More details on the Surrey Night Market visit their website at the following link:

Surrey Night Market

Hillcrest Elementary School Fun Night is coming up this Thursday from 4-8pm. Always lots of fun for the whole family. Kara, Erinn and I will be out helping out once again. Its a great way for us to support our community and its always so much fun to see all the neighbourhood children having a blast. Be sure to stop by and say hi if you see us. Come bid on the basket we are donating put together for us by La Belle Vie in downtown Cloverdale.

This article was originally published on BloombergBusiness here. By Katia Dmitrieva. Updated June 3rd. 2015.

Plankton and Other Reasons Canada Housing Won’t Crash

Stuart Levings, head of Genworth MI Canada Inc., the country’s largest private mortgage insurer, has a message for U.S. investors: red hot housing markets in Toronto and Vancouver aren’t about to plummet.

The chief executive officer has his work cut out for him. Figures Tuesday showed Vancouver prices soared 9.4 percent in May from a year ago and the average price of a detached home reached a record C$1,417,409 ($1,143,994). In Toronto prices rose 11 percent on average to C$649,599.

Prices are up 71 percent nationwide over the past decade, prompting organizations from the International Monetary Fund to the Bank of Canada to label the market overvalued, and investors such as Steve Eisman, of Neuberger Berman Group, to have shorted housing stocks.

Levings maintains the market has solid underpinnings and is traveling to the U.S. to make his case. Here’s his argument:

1) The Canadian Real Estate Ocean Is Full of Plankton

“We look at the housing market like a food chain,” Levings said in an interview at Bloomberg’s office in Toronto May 28. “The first-time homebuyers are really the plankton. And if you don’t have plankton in the ocean, you’re going to eventually starve out even the big whales and the sharks. You need that first time homebuyer to buy that home so the next person can move out to buy their own home.”

The demand comes from millennials and the roughly 250,000 annual immigrants buying their first property, according to Levings.
“There is strong demand in this country and there will always be,” Levings said. “Why? Simply because of our immigration policy. We bring in first-time buyer pipelines through our immigration policy. They are great future first-time homebuyers that become plankton.”

2) Mortgage Regulations Worked

The federal government has introduced several mortgage rules since 2008 to take the froth off heady real estate markets. Shorter amortizations and higher down payments have kept the riskiest of buyers out of the market, Levings said. Average credit scores of Genworth customers remained steady at a high 737 points.

The trick is for the government to keep this balance and avoid making further changes that will entirely squeeze out first-time homebuyers and poison the food chain, Levings said. Outside Vancouver and Toronto, markets have cooled.
“We’ve squeezed the first-time homebuyers down into a small group who are qualified, good-quality borrowers,” he said.

3) Where’s the Correction Catalyst?

For a major correction to take place there needs to be forced sales, Levings said. During the 2008 financial crisis in the U.S., mortgages often became bigger than property values, so owners walked away from their homes.

“We don’t see the herd mentality in Canada that we’ve seen in other markets,” Levings said. “Even in the 2008 crisis in Alberta, where prices dropped 25 percent, we did not see people walking away.”

Unlike in some U.S. states, mortgages are typically “full-recourse” loans in Canada, which means the borrower continues to be responsible for repaying the loan even in the case of foreclosure. Lenders can take legal action to recoup the money.

Furthermore, low interest rates keep the plankton alive. The Bank of Canada has held its overnight policy rate at 0.75 percent after a January cut and banks followed suit with mortgage reductions.

4) Oil Slump Not a Big Issue

Housing sales in Calgary dropped 28 percent in April from a year ago and prices have dipped 1.5 percent since November as the oil industry cut thousands of jobs.

Levings said the reality on the ground isn’t as dire as people imagine. In meetings with brokerages and equipment-servicing companies in the province, Levings said he’s learned that many companies have opted instead to retain employees but pay them less. Albertans continue to pay their mortgages. The delinquency rate is still below 0.1 percent in the province, according to the company’s financial documents.

5) Subprime Minuscule

While some estimates of the shadow banking industry range as high as 10 percent, Levings said it’s lower and too small to matter. The non-federally regulated lenders only make up about 2 to 3 percent of home loans in Canada, according to Levings, who arrives at the estimate from conversations with lenders.

Growth in the sector, which includes mortgage investment corporations and private lenders, has picked up since tighter mortgage rules have pushed borrowers with low income and little documentation from the banks.

“It’s like the flea on the tail of the dog,” Levings said. It’s not going to cause a problem in its current state. When you get to the situation where like in the U.S. it got to as high as 30 percent, you’ve got a very big issue on your hands.’’

Today's Guest Blog was posted by Ainsley Beattie Mortgage Professional from Xeva Mortgage Group to visit her website for more great morgage tips visit the following link:

Ainsley Beattie

We have been quite busy during the 1st half of the year working with a number of Buyers and Sellers. Usually with each offer that is made either on our Sellers property or with our Buyers there comes an inspection. We always recommend to our Buyers that they have their own inspection done by a reputable inspector. Gary from A-Z Home Inspections previously shared some great advice for Sellers on how to ensure your home is prepared for a successful inspection. This doesn't mean you can prevent the inspection from coming up with maintenance issues, but it will help the inspector being able to provide a detailed and accurate report to help the Buyers in their decision making when purchasing a re-sale home. 

To contact Gary, please visit the following link: A-Z Home Inspections

Preparing your home for a home inspection, a request to the seller:

Please ensure access to:

1: The back yard: make sure to have gates unlocked. And larger animals restrained.

2: Remove items that may be leaning against the structure or blocking the visual sight lines.

3: The crawl space panel if present. Remove stored items from around and on top of hatch.

4: The attic scuttle hatch or door way. Remove shelving and personal items from the area.

5: The main electrical panel and any sub panels. Remove objects covering or blocking.

6: Furnace utility room. Stored items on or near furnace should be removed to allow access to open the panels.

7: Water heater area. Stored items on or near water heater should be removed to allow access to open the panel.

8: Kitchen and bathroom vanities. Please remove stored items to allow inspection of plumbing supply lines and drainage pipes.

9: If there are tenants, make sure they have adequate notice of the inspection.

These simple things will help the inspection process move smoothly and efficiently; as well as offer peace of mind to your buyer that a comprehensive inspection was performed.

Thank you.

Gary Ladwig

A-Z Home Inspections

Certified Master Home Inspector

2nd Annual Garage Sale in Encore at Hillcrest Sponsored by the Bettina Reid Group with Homelife Benchmark Realty. If you are looking for some new treasures why not stop by this 198 unit townhouse complex in behind the Hillcrest Village Save-On foods on Fraser Highway anytime between 9-2pm today Sunday June 7th. The Bettina Reid Group will be walking around offering FREE Tim Horton's coffee and timbits to owners and patrons. Be sure to say hi!

We will also be holding an Open House for one of our new listings stop by and get a sneak peak of unit 136 before it hits the market later this week!

If you are from Ontario you will surely recognize the above logo for one of the best fast food Pizza places. Here in BC we are lucky to have Pizza Pizza being offered in our local Cineplex Cinema Langley. But not all of the Cineplex theatres offer Pizza Pizza. Many have changed to Panago...which simply does not compare.

Perhaps its because we are from Ontario but we really missed a good pizza place here. Most places here don't actually use a pizza oven they use conveyer belts to pump out pizza...which is just not the same. The best pizza we have found is in White Rock - Emilio Finati's and then there's Famoso Pizza in South Surrey. But they are a little too far on nights like tonight when I don't get home from work until late and want to pick up pizza. Since moving to Langley we have discovered living close to the movie theatre has one major benefit...being able to pick up a large pizza to take home to the family for dinner. With our scene card it really isn't any different, maybe even cheaper then any of the other local pizza joints and we all love the pizza. Although we do get a few funny looks as we take our pizza out of the theatres instead of into a theatre to watch a movie. 

If you live in Langley, next time you want to pick up a basic cheese, pepperoni or Hawaiian Pizza...consider popping in to Cineplex and 10- 15 minutes later you will get to take home a fresh pizza for the whole family! 

 

5 years ago a family went through what no family should have to and that was to bury their son Kaiden Henderson. Now they are fighting for children like him by throwing a fundraiser in his memory to raise money for families to be able to send their children to CNIB Children's Camps.

The CNIB Childrens Camp Fundraiser will be held on June 25th 2015 from 5:30 - 11:30pm at the Cascades Casino in Langley. Tickets are $40 and only available until June 15th. So be sure to click on the following link to order your tickets today:

CNIB Childrens Camp Fundraiser