Archive for the ‘Military Blog’ Category
Posted on: November 23rd, 2016 by Chris Scott
As a member of the Canadian Forces you are responsible for arranging a door to door move when you are relocating. By doing so, you are ensuring a smooth transition between households which allows you have a stress free relocation, be back to work sooner and incur fewer expenses during the moving process. This style of relocating is beneficial for you even though it requires a bit more planning. In order to coordinate the dates effectively, you must establish your “target” moving dates in advance. These dates create a timeline for you to plan your move. With your target dates in mind, you can then begin to plan your moving timeline which can include:
– Obtaining approval from your Chain of Command
– Planning a HHT
– Selecting your Property
– Negotiating the possession/occupancy dates to be close to the date you are to report to your new posting
– Coordinating your travel days with the packing of your home and travel to the new location
– Having your household goods delivered directly to your new home to eliminate the need for storing them
– Avoiding peak moving periods such as long weekends
While relocating can appear overwhelming at times, creating a timeline in advance will help plan a moving experience that will be easier on you and your entire family. If you are being posted in or out of the Ottawa area, I can help arrange a perfectly executed door to door move with your timeline in mind.
– Chris Scott
Posted on: November 23rd, 2016 by Chris Scott
Posting messages came in a bit earlier this year in Ottawa.
If you have been transferred to Ottawa and are booking a house hunting trip there are a few important things to consider. Here are my top 3 tips:
1) Resale: Find a house that does not have any major strikes against it. This could be power lines in the backyard, house on really busy street, it has an usual layout, or some type of stigma attached to the house/area. You have to make sure the house can be sold quickly on the other end when/if you are posted outside of Ottawa. Exceptions can be made if the price is very good.
2) Location: Find a location/neighbourhood close to transit, has good resale, and is accessible to good schools. I can help guide you in this respect. I have good knowledge of all the areas in Ottawa.
3) Realtor: As you know this week is going to be very important for you. Your new home/area can in some ways dictate how you will enjoy your time in Ottawa. It is important to get aligned with a great Realtor who is familiar with house hunting trips. There is no time for mistakes.
If you have any questions about your posting to Ottawa please feel free to get in touch. I am always reachable via my cell at 613-863-6999 or email.
Chri
Posted on: November 16th, 2016 by Chris Scott
Effective Jan 1st/2017 Ontario Realtors will be paid less from Brookfield on all listing sales. This is on top of the already reduced rates they introduced a few years ago. This rate drop may have an impact on the services Realtors in Ottawa can offer to a military client on the listing side of the transaction. It will not affect buyers relocating to Ottawa.
It was a frustrating announcement for many of my military clients. The cuts are surely a result of the overheated markets in the GTA where average prices in the core are 1M. The effect this will have on Ottawa military sellers is yet to be seen. Likely it will afford Realtors less flexibility on value add services like videography and staging. It will also mean that co-operating buyer brokerages in Ottawa will get a smaller split. It is too bad because the main objective for military clients is to sell quickly for top dollar. I am not sure these new polices are in alignment to these objectives. I am working with my network of Realtors throughout Ontario to figure out ways to bring the best value to my military sellers in Ottawa. We have some creative solutions that can bring my clients the best possible services for the new Brookfield rates. Call or email me if you would like more information on this.
Posted on: November 2nd, 2016 by Chris Scott
Maybe the title of this blog is a slight exaggeration, but the Stittsville community of Fairwinds is very popular with military families. Just this year I have had 4 military families decide to purchase a home in this location. The reason is VALUE. The neighbourhood has a unique combination of newer construction, open floor plans, access to transit and lots of amenities nearby. The prices are also very reasonable in this area compared with other locations in the west end. The new DND Nortel campus has certainly made the commuting time much easier from this location.
If you are interested in a neighbourhood profile, shoot me a quick email or text me at 613-863-6999.
Chris
Posted on: October 26th, 2016 by Chris Scott
In August of 2015 I had the pleasure of working with Erick and Mandy for the fourth time. One of my favourite clients! They originally relocated to Ottawa from the Petawawa base about 9 years ago. They bought a small townhouse in Kanata. It was the perfect place for them at the time. A few years later they were ready for a larger detached home and purchased a great family home in Stittsville. Like most military families, their time in Stittsville was fairly short lived as they were relocated to Oshawa. Now they are moving back to Ottawa. The house they purchased this time around is their dream house. It is truly an amazing home. 3600 sq/ft of luxurious living space – complete with a full theatre in the basement and every upgrade one could ask for. It has been so cool to be a part of their rise through the property ladder. Home ownership is an amazing opportunity for people to build wealth and open up the possibility of one day living in their dream house.
Don’t forget to give me a call if you have any real estate needs. I would love to help you find your Dream Home!
Chris
Posted on: October 19th, 2016 by Chris Scott
If you have been posted to Ottawa this year and are relocating to the city I have a few tips for you.
As you may know, DND headquarters is moving from its current building in downtown Ottawa to Nepean (Ottawa west) to take over the Nortel campus. This is a major project and will happen starting this November (2016)over the next 4 years. This is definitely something to keep in mind if you have been posted to Ottawa. Some very popular neighbourhoods for my military clients are now Kanata and Stittsville. In previous years it was always Orleans. These neighbourhoods offer great schools, lots of amenities, and the homes tend to be newer. The house prices also tend to be reasonable compared with other marketplaces. Resale is also usually quick as this is an important consideration as you never know when your next posting message comes in.
It is important to note that there are buildings downtown, in Gatineau, Leitrim and on Startop rd in Ottawa east that will still be fully operational for years to come. It is important to know where you will be working. Stittsville is a great commute to the new DND but is across the city to Startop rd. and even further to Letrim.
Please feel free to get in touch with me if you are planning to relocate to Ottawa. I specialize in HHT’s and would be happy to be of service. I am always reachable on my cell at 613-863-6999.
Chris
Posted on: October 12th, 2016 by Chris Scott
Ensuring your House Hunting Trip (HHT) is successful is my top priority. A standard HHT is 5 days and 5 nights for which you and or your spouse travel to the new location to find your new house. Having planned many Military HHTs within Ottawa, I have created a checklist to help prepare you for your Ottawa house hunting. Here are a few top tips:
Pick Your Dates!
Plan your trip at least 40-60 days before your report date. This will give the sellers enough time to move out and help accommodate your door to door move. The more time in advance the better.
Research, Research, Research
Familiarize yourself with your new location before your trip. Google Maps can be a great resource to search out the downtown core, schools, amenities and public transit. Ottawa has a variety of neighbourhoods in different price points. Your agent should help you understand what areas might be the right fit for you based on your unique circumstances. Communication with your agent before you arrive is key. We build a listing website of all available inventory that matches our clients needs and work from there. This site gives our military clients the ability to track listings, set-up favorites/possibility lists, and get a sense of the market activity.
Brainstorm & Communicate With Your Agent
Knowing exactly what you want in a new home is often difficult but expressing your needs to your agent can help them select the right properties for your HTT. Consider your lifestyle choices along with your “must haves” and communicate them to your agent. The clearer picture your agent has of your situation the more accurate your property matches will be.
Another great resource if you plan on taking public transportation is http://www.octranspo1.com/travelplanner/travelplanner
Of course these are just a few tips. If you would like to book a house hunting trip in Ottawa, please click on the link below.
Plan and book your house hunting trip with me today.
Chris
Posted on: September 24th, 2016 by Chris Scott
As per an article in the Globe and Mail (Friday, Sept 2, 2016), the new $1 billion headquarters is not secure enough to house top secret intelligence work and sensitive military operations. The facility at the old Nortel campus does not meet the security standards of Canada’s international intelligence allies.
After years of delay, the first wave of 3,400 military and civilian employees will begin the move into the 10-building complex in November. A total of 8,500 employees will eventually be transferred to the site by 2020.
Extensive work has been done on the complex, including clearing it of listening devices planted by corporate spies in its Nortel days…..but not enough for the rigid security requirements. Ultra secret military intelligence operations, and Canadian Special Operations Forces as well as Canadian Joint Operations Command, will stay in their current locations. A security shield will be installed in the dome of the complex’s main building that will house the offices of the defence minister, chief of the defence staff, deputy minister and senior generals. These top officials are scheduled to move into the campus in 2020.
The move, which will result in the number of rented and leased DND locations being reduced from 35 to 4, is expected to save taxpayers $750 million over the next 25 years.
For those of you who are moving into Ottawa – or who live in the far east end and are thinking of moving closer to work, I specialize in Military moves and would be happy to help you.
Chris
Posted on: September 21st, 2016 by Chris Scott
This year was one of the most active posting seasons we have had here. I had the opportunity to work with some wonderful military clients relocating to Ottawa. Every HHT is different. Just to give you an idea where my 2016 Ottawa HHT clients have purchased so far:
- Fairwinds, Stittsville 4 clients By far the most popular military area right now.
- Jackson Trails, Stittsville
- Pineview, near Blair
- Orleans
- Arnprior
- Munster
- Carp
- Greely
- Bridlewood, Kanata
- Byanston Gate, Stittsville
The trend seems to be west of downtown for many of my clients. It is important to consider the future DND headquarters that will be at the Nortel Campus about 15 min west of Downtown Ottawa.
I look at my clients this year and I am so privileged to work with such great people. Thank you.
Cheers,
Chris
Posted on: September 14th, 2016 by Chris Scott
It has been such a pleasure to have worked with so many military clients who have been posted into or out of Ottawa over the years.
This year was a busy relocation season. I had the opportunity to help long-time clients Anny & Martin sell their Ottawa home. It was the fourth time they have used my services and I take that as a sincere compliment. I must say I felt privileged to be able to work with them again. They are off to Kingston. They are my second 4-time military transfer in Ottawa. Heather and Alex were the first 4-timers and they are currently out East on a posting.
I guess for many with upward mobility in the military, you are bound to come through Ottawa a few times. If you do get relocated here, please feel free to get in touch. I would be happy to help.
Chris
