Posts Tagged ‘Specialize’
Posted on: February 20th, 2024 by Chris Scott
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.
Posted on: January 14th, 2020 by Chris Scott
3 Biggest Challenges Facing CAF Members on their HHT’s
Our team has specialized in helping military families buy & sell their Ottawa homes for over 15 years. It has always been the most enjoyable part of what we do. The current market conditions in Ottawa have created some real challenges for our military clients relocating the capital. It is a seller’s market and the absorption rate is at an all-time high. Here are the 3 biggest challenges facing our HHT clients in Ottawa:
1: Available properties to buy
In many neighbourhoods within the city there is not much inventory available. It is even more prevalent in the areas our military clients like to purchase. Kanata, Stittsville, and Nepean are all grappling with a shortage of available listings. These are historically low levels. The graph below illustrates this well. When supply is down and demand is strong it puts upward pressure on prices. It also tends to make house-hunting trips a bit more stressful!
2: Speed of Sales
Homes in Ottawa are selling at record speed. Before you arrive on your HHT the properties you may hope to see are sometimes sold. It is challenging when we have a full list of houses to look at, only to discover that many have been put under contract. It also means that when you are on the ground here the houses can sell quickly. Decisions on properties need to be made quicker than usual.
3: Multiple Offer Dates
This was the biggest hurdle for my military clients in 2019. Many sellers in Ottawa are not entertaining offers until a certain date and time. For instance, a house may come for sale on a Wednesday. Showings will begin but there will be no offers until the following Monday. Then on offer day, you may be competing against 3-5 other buyers for the house. I don’t have to explain the logistical concerns involved for clients coming in for a few days on their house-hunting trip. It is something that we had to overcome in 2019 for sure. All our HHT’s were successful last year.
Ok, so I have given you a few of the challenges that one might face. It is also important to know the solutions. Here are some of the solutions to tackle this challenging house hunting trip environment:
Relocating to Ottawa? Fill out our HHT Buyer Criteria Form to start your Ottawa home search today.
Want to know what your Ottawa home is worth? Fill out details of your home below to receive a complimentary home evaluation.
Posted on: January 14th, 2020 by Chris Scott
How to have a successful Ottawa HHT in a tough market
First let me say that 2019 was the most challenging posting season ever in Ottawa. In these extreme market conditions, we managed to secure over a dozen houses for our clients and nobody left empty-handed or even settling for a house. I think a reality show on my client’s HHT experiences this year would win an Emmy for best reality show!! We had some adventures for sure and it wasn’t always easy but we got the job done. Here are a few keys to success in this market:
Adaptability to Conditions:
We need to act fast in this market. Whether it is reorganizing a day of showings to get into a new listing first or having an offer prepared and ready the instant our clients need it. We had one client purchase only 3 hours after they landed because that is when the offers were being presented. Clients need to be adaptable too. In that particular case, our clients beat out 5 other offers and secured the house. They love the house and neighbourhood to this day! Trust was important for them. They needed to trust us that the house was a good value and a good fit. They got a perfect house because they were adaptable to the conditions and our team was prepared to act fast with them.
Exclusive off-market opportunities:
We plan our whole year around the HHT season. We are determined to find off-market properties for our incoming military families. Here is an example of a letter we sent out to over 20,000 households.
We do targeted Facebook ads and postcards for Kanata and Stittsville. Both areas have been very popular for our military clients. Each year we have many clients who buy our off-market opportunities. In many cases, they are outgoing military clients who love selling to incoming CAF members. It works out great! Our team is proactive in creating the best experience possible.
Experience:
Simply put, there is no team better equipped to handle house-hunting trips. We work together on our HHT’s and are extremely organized to make sure every detail is taken care of. There is no team that knows BGRS policies or can get quick information on them faster than us.
Adaptability to market:
Every HHT is different and requires the ability to adapt to different situations. Let me give you a quick example of this: In 2019 posting season Andrew and Liv were about to put an offer on a house they didn’t really love in multiple bids. On the morning of the offer date, we are getting a pre-inspection done to give us the best chance. We are sitting there and this perfect house comes to the market (send to us via email). We booked the appointment for the inspection. We raced to the house and we were in there 30 mins after it hit the market. The clients loved it!! I knew the other agent really well and we had an offer in the seller’s hand within an hour (we have Steph in the office coordinating things). It was accepted an hour later (we had a tight timeline). Interestingly, another offer came in just after ours was already accepted. We dodged a bullet for sure. The moral of this story is that we do what it takes to get our clients the best house possible. If it means switching gears completely then that is what we will do. Andrew/Liv got their dream house! We need to adapt to the market conditions that are presented to us.
Communication before you arrive in the city is also very important. If you want to connect with our team and talk about your real estate needs or have any general questions please feel free to reach out.
Relocating to Ottawa? Fill out our HHT Buyer Criteria Form to start your Ottawa home search today.
Want to know what your Ottawa home is worth? Fill out details of your home below to receive a complimentary home evaluation.
Posted on: August 27th, 2019 by Chris Scott
I recently had some clients in from Edmonton on their HHT. They thought they found the perfect house for their family. Unfortunately for them, the inspector discovered some serious issues and our clients walked away from the deal. We were fortunate to have the expertise and guidance of an industry leader. This is the kind of support we make sure our clients have when they come to Ottawa for their HHT. Our preferred inspector is on the approved list and uses an infrared camera inspection as part of his package. He is the best in the business.
Many Ottawa military house hunting trips are during the busy spring market. This is the time where inspectors are also hard to book, especially on short notice. As an extra service to our clients, we have our home inspector tentatively book us a time. We are one of the few teams he does this for because we work with him so often.
Other inspectors that we use on HHTs when needed:
|
Water Inspectors
Our guy will test the volume of the well, the water treatment equipment, and of course have the water tested. |
|
Septic Inspectors
We want to test the system to make sure it is in working order. It is one of the most expensive home components so we want to make sure there are no unexpected costs coming up. |
 |
Pool Inspectors
If you have a pool it is a good idea to have this inspected prior to purchasing. We have a company that specializes in this. |
Whatever your needs are on your Ottawa house hunting trip, our team has you covered! Call or text us anytime if you have any questions 613-863-6999.
Relocating to Ottawa? Fill out our HHT Buyer Criteria Form to start your Ottawa home search today.
Want to know what your Ottawa home is worth? Fill out details of your home below to receive a complimentary home evaluation.
Posted on: June 19th, 2019 by Chris Scott
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.
|
|
Arnprior
|
Stittsville
|
Tunney’s Pasture
|
Findlay Creek
|
Emerald Meadows
|
Playfair Park
|
Kemptville
|
Orléans
|
Fallingbrook
|
Kemptville
|
Fairfield Heights
|
Stittsville
|
Orléans
|
Casselman
|
Riverside South
|
Stittsville
|
Fairfield Heights
|
Fallingbrook
|
Half Moon Bay
|
Renfrew
|
Morgans Grant
|
Avalon
|
|
|
Posted on: June 18th, 2019 by Chris Scott
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! |
Posted on: June 28th, 2018 by Chris Scott
House hunting trips can be challenging for buyers who are not familiar with Ottawa. We really only have a few days to explore its neighbourhoods and secure a house. In the east end of Ottawa, many of my military clients are comparing the markets of Orleans and Rockland. Here is a brief summary of the two locations:
Rockland: This is a rapidly growing neighbourhood that is outside the city of Ottawa boundaries. It is situated about 40 km to downtown Ottawa. Housing prices are much more appealing to families looking to stretch their dollar. You drive further but get more. In many cases, you can get a detached home for the same price as a newer townhouse in Orleans. For many this is enough to take on a longer commute each day. It is, however, important to note that resale can be a bit more challenging in Rockland. Houses tend to stay on the market longer.
Orleans: This is an Ottawa East suburb with a population of over 100,000 people about 16kms to downtown Ottawa. Always, a very popular location with lots of amenities, schools, and good transit connections to downtown. The future LRT line will make access even easier in the years to come. Resale is much easier when compared with Rockland but prices can be 100k more than Rockland for the same detached 2 storey/double garage house.
In a recent house hunting trip, my clients who were up from Washington ended up looking in both Orleans and Rockland. He was posted to Letrium and felt like Rockland would be the better choice because of its value proposition. They ended up securing their dream house there for $425k. That house would have been 550k plus in Orleans. It really is that big of a price difference depending on the style of housing.
If you are debating between these two locations on your relocation to Ottawa please feel free to get in touch. I would be happy to send you options in both locations.
Relocating to Ottawa? Fill out our HHT Buyer Criteria Form to start your Ottawa home search today.
Want to know what your Ottawa home is worth? Fill out details of your home below to receive a complimentary home evaluation.
Posted on: February 10th, 2016 by Chris Scott
One question that is often asked of me is Why specialize in military relocation?
The answer is quite simple. The people I have been fortunate to work with over the past 11 years have been incredible. There is lots of repeat business if you do a great job too.
I have had one military client move to Ottawa, get transferred out to Edmonton, then back to Ottawa and then relocated out East. They have plans to come back for 2017. I have gotten to know them so well over the past 11 years. As a military Realtor if you do a good job it is amazing how loyal your clients will be. Having the right real estate agent in Ottawa can definitely make all the difference. Keep me in mind if you are transferred into Ottawa.
Thanks,
Chris
Posted on: September 15th, 2015 by Chris Scott
Ottawa is a very popular destination for military postings. This has given me the opportunity to help dozens of military families get settled in Ottawa. Working with military families has always been the favourite part of my job. Military clients understand the process and do what it takes to get their home ready for sale. As buyers, they realize that relocation is just part of the job.
I had the pleasure of helping Heather and Alex sell their Ottawa home this summer. This was the fourth transaction I have helped them with. I also got them setup with a great Realtor in Fredericton. They are such a joy to work with. It was the fourth time in 7 years they have moved cities. Think about that! That is incredible! It is not easy to just pick up and move to a new city – especially with a young family. These sacrifices often go unnoticed. They are among the many reasons why we should all hold our CAF members in such high regard.
Thank you for all you do!
Chris
Posted on: September 22nd, 2014 by Chris Scott
Following a number of high-profile news stories describing some very expensive same-city moves, a change has been announced for the Canadian Military Relocation Policy.
The federal government will no longer cover moving costs for retiring members who are relocating within a 40km radius. This change will align the IPR policy with those of other federal departments and agencies, such as the RCMP.
DND said they will make “compassionate exceptions for medical reasons and extenuating personal circumstances”.
The retirement resettlement policy was designed to allow soldiers and their families to expense one final move when they retire so they can choose where they will live. It makes fiscal sense to exclude same-city moves, however, this will put significant pressure on the last house-hunting trip. It is very difficult to find the perfect retirement home on a 5-day, jam-packed, HHT, often handled without input from the spouse.
If you are posted to Ottawa, I would be happy to help you with your HHT.
Chris
