Category: Starbucks with Sarah

Designer Brings Dream Homes To Life

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link="https://youtu.be/I7NJ4KLTcjI"][vc_column_text] <h2>[Video Transcription]</h2> Sarah here. We're going to take a morning Starbucks with Darren Sanger-Smith at Structured Creations a fabulous designer taking an uplift to many old homes. He puts on beautiful faces to homes within the city providing character within character subdivisions. If you're looking for your next project or how to renovate  your home Darren has great ideas. I am Darren Singer Smith owner of Structured Creations for a residential design firm, boutique residential design firm and in business for just over 15 years. Thanks for having us in, very cool office right downtown, very your style I love all the accent pieces  we're very fortunate that so many of our clients have had the pleasure of using  your design services and the incredible things that you make some of these scary houses turn into. Our clients are always impressed at what you come up with,  we really appreciate it. So give me an idea of some of the problems or some of the neat projects that come into your hands and what you do for our clients  and for you know, other people looking for great design ideas. One of the things we find is that renovations  up make them bigger they become very costly  because you almost turn the whole house apart right so sometimes it's  better just to take it right down to the deck. So the big confusion of trying to  get clients to understand cost benefits, right piecing a puzzle back together or just taking apart, building brand-new. So that's one big puzzle and then the next big step is teaching and educating clients on the level of design and detail that we can get into. Some of the details outstanding. I  mean I personally love the detail you added to our house and I wouldn't let  you tear it down. I love the style. So I'm one of those clients but the detail you added really facelifted it basically into this era and it looks incredible, but it didn't stretch so far to take it out of the design in the  neighborhood. So I love that you look at the surrounding and don't obviously put  in something doesn't fit within the community and that's that's really important too. So you know part of that decision on taking ours down and upgrading it is what the environment is, I mean is it sensitive to all those houses around you right? You know it's not necessary to build the monster home and a house in a neighborhood that's filled with  beautiful little bungalows so there's a balance but it is comes down to budgeting. Housing that doesn't design and budget together - and that's  why we always recommend that people meet with our professional services to make sure that the budget works that they don't make a number of mistakes that are gonna be costly and at the end, results are satisfying and that's the biggest thing with the services that we try and provide. The level of drawings is the key right? Right. If you've got a really really thorough detailed instruction  manual you're gonna get a very very thorough detailed construction. Perfect. So that's that's the key to it so if someone's looking to find a certain  neighborhood that they must be in and they want a certain house style that they must have this is a good starting point. Correct. Absolutely. Okay great. I appreciate the information. Look forward to our next project![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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Selecting Paint Colours For Your Home | Starbucks With Sarah

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link="https://youtu.be/-7SrKkpo-II"][vc_column_text] <h2>[Video Transcription]</h2> Morning, Sarah here. I'm at Colour Land, Benjamin Moore where Peter the owner is offering 20% off to our clients using the keywords, 'Team Logue'. The best thing to come to this store for is, Peter, his great expert advice on how colours work for flooring, cabinetry and more. Hello, I'm Peter from Colour Land Paint a family owned business for 18 years. Good morning, Sarah here with our morning Starbucks, I'm joined by Peter at ColourLand. Thank you for having us in. You're welcome, Sarah. I really appreciate it, we've got a ton of questions every time Benjamin Moore launches the colour of the year. All our client's call and say, "Sarah should we go with the colour of the year?" I'm really true especially that we have you guys so entrenched in our community that people come in and get the expertise advice that you offer, I know our clients love coming in and learning, what the best colour is that's going to match for their space in their home. And you do a great job coaching people on that front. We know what colour of the year is, Metropolitan. Very cool colour, it's challenges as you said to me is that it's a gray. It is a gray and in these days there are grays that have a predominant tones and there are, I think what people are looking for these days are grays that look neutral with their fixed elements. The worst thing that you can do is just put the colour of the year on the wall without even checking it with your fixed elements because you'll be surprised at the end of the day especially with if you have a lot of natural sunlight it'll look blue'y or green'y. When you say fixed elements you mean hard-ways, cabintery, back splashes, items that when you sell the house, they're not going to leave the house. So if a client's trying to get a neutral colour or trying to switch to that gray, what would you recommend they do? First step would be to come in to a local store like mine with pictures but better yet would be with the actual flooring or cabinet or something that shows us the true blender tones and whatever the fixed elements are. Pictures don't really do justice because colours don't really get transpired in true life with pictures. You sound like a colour expert. So you have a sample here of the colour and you have a number of grays that you recommend to clients. I can see what you're trying to do here can you just give us a rundown when you talk about those colurs against the hardwood with the colour of the year versus maybe a warmer gray? Grays are a challenge. They are. Here at ColourLand I developed a colour system of 800 colours or custom colours called graymoned colour collection. Just because with Benjamin Moore's 3000+ colours, they didn't have the grays people were looking for. I used my formulation techniques to create some neutral grays that work very well with today's fixed elements in flooring. And grouped them into colour categories. In the past everyone was doing beige and everyone had traditional woods for all their trim and railings. But now the trends are everythings going more gray. You got your neutral grays, your warm grays, your 'grayiege', which are a combination of gray and beige and beige which is really not so popular anymore. When it comes to picking which colour category to get into its very dependent on your fixed elements. If your flooring is very dark and subdued then you can get away with the warm grays and neutral grays, but if you do have a warm tone floor that's when the graiege's are very popular because you don't want an overwhelming amount of gray in your paint because it's going to end up looking blue. If you're thinking of colour of the year before you paint this colour you're recommendation, bring in some floors, bring in some cabinetry and lets match some of your gray collection and see what works best. We know the overall return on investment can be as a high as 100% on paint. So get some good coaching before you paint your new gray. Thank you so much, Peter.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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Today’s Real Estate Market

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link="https://youtu.be/MwRHIv3s1lU"][vc_column_text]Join Sarah Logue and Lynn Hoffmann, Broker Manager RE/MAX Escarpment Realty Inc. to discuss the current real estate market. Learn how this year's market compares to 2017. Is 2018 a Buyer's or Seller's market? What do the numbers support? Why has the condo market average price increased? Hear advice for sellers in this competitive market. Get the key factors that are critical to your sale.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] <h3>[Video Transcription]</h3> Sarah here. I'm just enjoying my morning Starbucks at our Brandt Street location where they're so fortunate to have a Starbucks right across the street. We're gonna be chatting a little bit about today's current market for 2018. Hi it's Lynn Hoffman. I'm Broker Manager for Remax Escarpment. I manage two locations Itabashi Way in the northern part of Burlington and also the 502 Brandt Street office which is the luxury office, the first of its kind in Canada. Lynn, you are the expert, you follow all our numbers, you track everyone of us in detail. Give me an understanding on how our best way to pitch back to our buyers and sellers, what's different this year VS last year? Well actually, we are going to be better this year than last year. Surprisingly enough. The Hamilton Real Estate Board stats show that we are down 14.1% but Remax Escarpment is actually up 10% in unit sales for year over year 2017 to 2018, which puts us right now at a minus 3 position. Now we're still going into November and December and surprisingly enough those are still good sales months. So I'm very confident that we are actually going to beat the 2017 year for unit sales. Well I find even this November just the last 5 days, I was mentioning to you, we've had this great spike because inventory is going down again. So the buyers that are out in play right now are going "Sarah I need a house, what do you have?", I am going, "We only have this little tiny place." So they're jumping on product and we're even finding some competitive offers. It's kind of an interesting November to be quite honest. So you're saying basically, that yes, we had a crazy year last year and we're feeling the change and the shift towards some more balanced position, however Remax is still pushing forward and going in a growth cycle. Yes. That's what I'm saying. That's fabulous. But I don't say this about the balanced to buyers to sellers market, it really is dependent on pricepoint or price range your home is in. Oh true. So for example, properties that are over 2 million plus, they're typically always in a buyers market. There is not as many buyers. But a great area for our 635 to a million, that number, inventory for those properties is definitely declining. So we are coming in to more of a sellers market. Now we just need to teach the general public that that's actually what's going on. So that they can feel it too. You've covered some of the major factors that have caused this shift, is there anything that you really wanted to point out to people that have made that jump? That have made that change? Well I think it's always inventory. So as the inventory depletes, we call that the absorption rate. Yep. Supply and Demand kicks in. Again, it's in the price point, so if you're looking for a house between 800 and a million and change, which is a very strong pricepoint for our town. You're definitely going to find the inventory has gone down. Again that's going to push up the competitiveness of the sales. I definitely believe it is supply and demand. They're not making anymore land and they're not building too many more new detached homes, so you're going to see a little bit more condo growth that's affordable for the young people that are families, parents, grandparents, are still living in Burlington. So we're seeing a bit of a growth trend in that area as well. Yea, the new builds for our condos are outstanding and are absorbing our first time home buyer group and they're absorbing my downsizing group. And it's leaving a nice middle level for all of those upsizing families. It's really nice to see. I asked a quick question here about, "What advice would you give to those in the marketplace today?" Well I think some of them are still firmly rooted in the craziness of the beginning of 2017. What I suggest they do is work with a trusted real estate professional, and follow that real estate professional's advice. And get the house priced right the first time. And by that I mean price it and position it in a spot where the market will accept that pricing, for that property. Too many people say, "Let's try it for two weeks and see what happens". Well what happens is, they end up not getting as much money as they would have if they had priced it in the right pricing point for that property, location and area and they would get more and it would sell faster. When they price it wrong it sits and according to our statistics, it takes 12.3 showings to have it sold. So if you overpriced your house, you're not getting any showings, then you don't get to the 12.3 to sell your home. It's so true and it's what we preach everyday, right? If we're priced right we can get your house sold, if you're priced wrong, you're gonna sit there and people are going to forget about you and the product has become stale. And you'll actually make less money. Absolutely because the timeframe is going to keep pulling your price down and people are going to play that waiting game with you. So my advice is listen to your trust real estate adviser, also any suggestions that they make about staging, because condition is very important. Pricing and condition, absolutely critical. So my takeaway is continue to price your home correctly, make sure you're talking to an agent whose solid on their pricing and is bringing you great statistical information to help you understand why that price is good.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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How will the Bank of Canada Rate Increase effect your Mortgage

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link="https://youtu.be/5skBKt1EehY"][vc_column_text]Join Sarah Logue for a Starbucks with Amy Thompson from City Mortgage Group as they discuss the impact of the recent rate increase and how it will effect your variable mortgage rate. Learn how to best prepare and maximize your buying power by getting your pre-approval in place. Amy was awarded first place in the 2018 Reader's Choice Awards Best Mortgage Agent. Congrats Amy Thompson! Thank you for helping Team Logue clients with all their mortgage needs.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] <h3>[Video Transcription]</h3> I'm joined with Amy Thompson from City Mortgage Group. We're so excited to look at how this new rates going to impact our buyers and sellers. I'm Amy Thompson from Citi mortgage group and if you're in the market for buying a home it's good to know all your options and where your financial comfort lie. Amy thanks for joining me at Starbucks. Thank you for having me. So yesterday I'm reading an email from you and I'm like "Shoot! What is going to happen with this new rate increase?" I know we've been, you know preparing for it all year and our buyers we've been coaching them to talk to you, make sure their pre-approval is in place. But I think it sends out more of a panic when I start talking to clients yesterday about it and we actually have in front of us. So let me understand what is 1.75 percent BOC Bank of Canada mean what does this increase mean for us? So some people don't realize that the Bank of Canada rate is actually their prime rate. Right. So this being said prime has now increased from 3.7 to 3.95. Okay doesn't sound so painful that way. No it doesn't sound so painful but this affects buying power. So people who are looking to purchase with a variable mortgage, some products now qualify at this higher rate where we've been safe with a benchmark but now this new rate change effects that qualifying part where on some variable mortgages. Okay now the big question I may not ask regularly and as agents I get asked this, "Do I stick with the fixed? Or do I go with the variable?" Because now there's almost a full point spread there right? Well I like to say there's two kinds of people out there. There's someone who can sleep at night knowing that tomorrow their mortgage rate may change and there's people and there's people who need to sleep at night knowing their mortgage payment will not change. There is a premium on a fixed mortgage but with this rate increasing you need to know your affordability on how many increases you can afford before it makes sense to secure in a fixed rate. That's sort of in alignment with the stress test though right? So if you're gonna do a variable rate you're already of qualifying under a stress test rate you have to know where you can max out. So that's not too different. So give it to me in plain numbers I have four hundred thousand dollar mortgage, what does that mean? With this new increase it's just shy of thirteen dollars for every hundred thousand dollars in your mortgage. Meaning that if you have a four hundred thousand dollar mortgage this rate increases probably up to your monthly payment by about fifty dollars. Okay so weekly I have to cut out two lattes a week. Exactly. That could be challenging but thirteen dollars truly isn't that painful to protect our industry overall. Alright so best advice though and we're constantly preaching your name and congrats on your readers choice that is so amazing! You've been wonderful in helping our clients get your pre-approval. Your pre-approval lasts for 120 days. So those pre-approved before this rate change have locked into their rate for a hundred and twenty days from that pre-approval date. But with rates on the rise and they're continuing to rise get your pre-approval in now so that we can lock in a rate for you for one hundred and twenty days so that you when you're out there looking for the perfect home you have it in your back pocket. And I think you always make a good point our banks are amazing to work with but you're a great option for someone just looking for that mortgage piece and looking for another piece of advice they can shop a mortgage rate for them. Well there's so many different products out there banks typically fit one perfect product where there's a lot of business owners, new business owners people that don't typically fit that perfect box that we have a home for. Alright we will make sure our buyers contact you before they get the financing done on their next purchase. Thank you! Appreciate it thank you for joining us today. If you have any further questions on how the new rate increase is going to affect you please feel free to reach out to us and check us out at teamlogue.ca[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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Starbucks with Sarah

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link="https://youtu.be/UzSF5mrbArg"][vc_column_text]Find Sarah Logue from RE/MAX Escarpment Team Logue Realty at any Starbucks and join her for a chat over coffee. If you have a question on the market, interest rates, need reno advice, what the hottest colour is to paint your house or any inquiries on a neighbourhood or community event, Sarah is happy to answer all your questions. Always happy to share a coffee with you![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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