We recently had the pleasure of assisting a military couple with their house hunt in Ottawa, turning it into an efficient and exciting adventure. The journey began with setting up a personalized portal tailored to their preferences,
allowing them to interact with listings by favouriting, disliking, and commenting on homes. This interactive approach helped Chris develop a strategic itinerary to maximize their limited viewing time.
To ensure efficiency during their brief visit, Chris pre-booked an inspection with a trusted home inspector before the couple’s arrival. This foresight was crucial in accommodating the tight timeframe and guaranteed that they could work with a reliable inspector.
Upon their arrival on a Sunday, the couple dived into their home search, visiting 28 homes over four days across Ottawa and its surrounding areas. Chris’s deep knowledge of the region helped them explore a variety of neighbourhoods, from the small-town feel of Carleton Place & Kemptiville to the notable suburbs of Kanata, Barrhaven and Stittsville. We explored them all! More inventory in the 2024 posting season has made military house hunting in Ottawa easier than in previous years. Good to see more balanced conditions in our marketplace.
The highlight of their trip was of course finding their dream home in Kemptville and swiftly fulfilling the home inspection condition, providing them with essential peace of mind.
This story exemplifies the success of a well-planned House Hunting Trip (HHT). If you’re preparing for your HHT in Ottawa or surrounding areas, our team is ready to guide you through every step, ensuring a smooth and successful home-buying experience.
Interested in starting your house-hunting journey? Contact us today to learn how we can assist you!
Why settle for just any realtor when you can choose a team that truly understands your unique needs? Our focus is crystal clear – we specialize in serving the military community, making us the top choice for your real estate journey in Ottawa.
Navigating the intricacies of military relocations is our forte. Our team members bring invaluable experience from countless house-hunting trips and seamless transactions involving military purchases or sales. When you choose us, you’re not just getting a realtor; you’re gaining access to a network of BGRS-approved vendors, ensuring a smooth journey from the beginning to well after your deal is closed. With an impressive track record of dozens of military deals under our belt, we proudly stand as Ottawa’s leading military real estate experts.
What sets us apart is not just our focus but the people we bring to the table. We have carefully curated a list of top-tier professionals, from specialized BGRS lawyers to inspectors well-versed in the intricacies of the military process. Having the right people at every step ensures a seamless and stress-free transaction for you.
But we don’t stop there. We proactively search for the perfect home on your behalf. Annually, we dispatch over twenty thousand letters to the most coveted neighborhoods, giving our military clients exclusive access to homes in Ottawa that aren’t available to the general public. Our proactive approach has proven successful, creating matches that go beyond what’s readily available, making your real estate experience truly exceptional.
In a sea of realtors, choose the team that not only knows the military but also has the expertise, connections, and dedication to make your real estate journey in Ottawa a resounding success.
This year, Colin, made us proud by participating in the Army Run, where he excelled in both the 5K and 10K races. Notably, he achieved personal best times in both events and ranked 58th out of 715 participants in the Sergeant Majors Challenge. Colin’s dedication extended beyond the race, as he also raised significant funds for the military.
Our commitment to supporting military families in Ottawa is unwavering. We understand the unique challenges they face during relocation, and our local expertise and tailored services ensure a smooth transition. Colin’s exceptional performance exemplifies our dedication to making a positive impact on our military clients.
Special thanks to all our 2019 Ottawa military clients who bought and sold with our team. Our house hunting trips took us to every corner of Ottawa and the surrounding area this year. Colin and I worked as a team to make sure everyone was well taken care of. It was a challenging Spring house hunting season in Ottawa but I am proud to say that everyone left with a house they were happy with. If you are relocating to Ottawa and need some assistance with your move always feel free to reach out.
It is no secret that Ottawa is the hottest housing market in the country right now. In Ottawa, one of the most active segments is the $400,000 to $480,000 price range. Our team was engaged by Heather and Byron who were relocating to Ottawa. Unfortunately for them, they were in this HUNGER GAMES price range. This is their story!
Day 1
We spent all day looking through various neighbourhoods in the city. We found a great house in Chapel Hill. It was a bit underpriced and judging by the multiple showings during our visit we knew it was going to be competitive. In the end we were notified there was 11 offers on the table! Let the games begin.
Offer 1
List Price$400,000
Our Bid$426,000
The winner was $451,000 with no conditions in the offer. 11 offers total. We were told our offer was in the top 1/3 of offers.
Me learning the news:
Day 2
More viewings and a new listing came up in the afternoon that we are the very first buyers into see. Excited at potentially doing this quickly. It is a holiday Monday and we figure this gives us an advantage. Beauty house on Steeple Chase in Kanata. We have our offer in within hours of listing. Afterwards, 3 other offers come in that afternoon. We know we have to go high to secure it. We make a very strong offer.
Offer 2
List Price$489,900
Our Bid$521,000
We felt very good about our offer. Unfortunately, they get a higher offer and we lose out again! The hunger games continue…
Pretty sure this is what the seller looked like:
Day 3
Time is starting to play a factor here. We need to secure something. A listing comes on the market at 9:30 am in Stittsville. We are in the house at 10:30 am and can’t believe our luck! It is a beauty. It is grossly underpriced for today’s market. They basically priced it at last years numbers. We head back to the office to chat about it. Before we can do much the agent calls and they have an offer on the table already. An hour later they already have 4 offers. They are presenting that afternoon at 4:30 pm. This is a bit of a problem because another house we liked was presenting at 6:00 pm. What one do we choose? We ended up putting an expiry of our offer of 6:00 pm for the first one so if we lost we could pursue the next. We go way over asking on this one!
Offer 3
List Price $439,900
Our Bid$476,000
Feeling a bit overconfident on this offer. Really strong but we ended up in second place! Luckily we found out just before 6:00 pm and bid on another home.
A surprising loss, time for a drink!
Offer 4
List Price$424,900
Our Bid$441,00
The house was really one of their favourites all along. We just didn’t want to overpay and felt our offer was a bit conservative. Funny that we were all not feeling overly confident on this one and then the call came in that the house was secured!! The hunger games were complete!!
WINNER!
The inspection was flawless and my clients went home happy.
Imagine all of the showings, paperwork, emotions, and stress of the 3 days above. It is not easy buying a house on any HHT let alone one in this market. At the end of the day, we got the job done and the clients are super happy with the process and the house they secured. That is what it is all about and why I love my job. It can be long days but it is hard to have a more rewarding feeling than making the call to let my clients know they have secured their dream home.
With our team the odds will always be in favour of our clients!
Being posted to Ottawa this year could mean a fairly challenging house hunting trip. Statistics released from the board in March revealed that sales were down almost 12% over last year. This is due to the lack of houses available for sale. There are so many buyers just waiting for houses to get listed. The lack of supply and strong demand continues to put upward pressure on prices. It also brings a unique set of challenges for our military clients. Many homes this year are listing on one day and then holding offers for about 5 days. This is something to take into account when you are planning your Ottawa HHT. We could always do what’s called a bully offer whereby one submits a strong offer before the presentation date but many sellers might not go for it.
FaceTime showings?
I had a recent military client put an offer in, based on a FaceTime walkthrough we had. This strategy is not for everyone but can help narrow some houses down before you arrive for your Ottawa house hunting trip. We will do everything we can to make your HHT as smooth as possible.
Relocating to Ottawa? Fill out our HHT Buyer Criteria Form to start your Ottawa home search today.
We are always doing everything we can for our military clients. This year in Ottawa the real estate market is tight. We are putting together a list of off market homes this year for our military clients to look at. Many of these will be focused in the areas of Kanata and Stittsville. This is where many of our clients are looking on their house hunting trips. See video for more details.
