Honda Celebration of Lights finish up tonight. If you are looking for something fun to do with the family and have missed the last 2 nights. 

Be sure to head downtown early today for good seats or visit the website - Honda Celebration of Lights to purchase VIP seating tickets for what is sure to be an amazing show!

One of these days I am going to make it down to see the show.... Have you been?

When you purchase a home, you’re hoping it will continually go up in value — just like a good investment.

However, there’s something else that you want to see go up in value as well: the neighbourhood. In fact, the neighbourhood plays a key role in what the home will be worth in years to come. If the neighbourhood goes down in terms of desirability, so will the market value of the home.

That’s why, when shopping for a new home, it’s important to get a feel for the value of the neighbourhood, and whether or not it’s on the upswing.

How do you do that? One way is to simply take a walk. Look at the properties. Are they well maintained? Is the landscaping groomed and attractive? Those are signs of “pride of ownership” — a clear indication that owners value their homes and the neighbourhood.

Another way is to do some research. Has crime gone up in the neighbourhood? Are there improvements planned, such as new parks? Is the neighbourhood attracting the kind of people you want as neighbours? How does the neighbourhood school rank?

Some of this information may be difficult to get on your own. A good REALTOR® can help you. Call today.

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 Independence Day to all our American clients, friends and family! We hope you enjoy the day with friends and family!!!

Happy Canada Day from all of us at the Bettina Reid Group! We hope you enjoy the day with friends and family!!!

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!

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

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.