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I came across an interesting article by the City of Kingston that detailed the benefits of using an “Electronic Energy Meter” on your appliances. This gadget is a new tool to help consumers determine their actual energy consumption for various appliances/electronics in there home. The goal is to encourage consumers to make more informed choices regarding the purchase of new appliances or electronics and to help consumers realize how much energy and money that could be being wasted by older household items. For those of us who are conscious of energy consumption, this may truly help us to determine which household appliances are energy wasters!

So where can you get one of these meter’s – oddly enough you can take one out from the Kingston Frontenac Public Library! They have 10 meters available to borrow. You might need a library card to borrow this item, but if you can get
your hands on it, it’ll be a good way to identify where you can start saving money – at home.

When it comes to signing an agreement, it’s understandable that we get little bit nervous. Often the uneasy feeling is due to the lack of understanding the agreement and the benefits signing this would bring to you. To help you understand the point of signing a buyers representation agreement, I thought I would shed some light on how this agreement truly helps YOU.

Simply put, this is an agreement that works in favour of buyers – it guarantees that you will receive service that protects your interests as the buyer. As a real estate agent, I am mandated to disclose my role at the earliest opportunity. In doing this, I would discuss the difference between the various type of agreements, the duties I owe you as my client, and overall how the entire partnership between myself as your Real Estate Agent and my buyers will work. And contrary to what some may believe, signing of this agreement does not have to cost you money. In 99% of real estate transactions, the seller pays the commission. In the other 1%, I’ll make sure to consider this in any offer to purchase you decide to make. This means that at all times you are fully aware of the possible outcome. So you see, in the end it’s about ensuring that you have an experienced real estate agent on your side, negotiating for YOU, protecting YOUR interests and managing the sale from start to finish. The next time you head out to look at available properties, think about who is working for YOU in the sale. Contact me if you’d like more details or if you want our team working for YOU. We proudly serve buyers and sellers in the Kingston Area.

The role of a REALTOR is sometimes misunderstood. The role of a REALTOR comes down to a qualified representative to work on your behalf. While this sounds straightforward, a REALTOR is there to work for you and through a Listing Agreement or Buyer Representation agreement we become legally obligated to look after the best interest of the person we are representing. This is very important because when you enlist the assistance of a REALTOR, we keep your best interest in mind throughout the entire process – we use our knowledge of the real estate market to help you make informed decisions, we can help you to achieve the goals you have with your next home purchase or sale and we become your trusted partner throughout the entire process.

To help make sure that our role is easy to understand, the Ontario Real Estate Association has provided agents with a brochure titled “Working with a REALTOR” which should be provided by your agent to you at the beginning of your relationship. This brochure ensures that our role as a REALTOR is fully disclosed to you, so that at all times you understand who’s working for you. After all, when you seek out a representative to help you with buying or selling you home, you want to know where you fit into the equation! So the next time you meet with a Real Estate Agent ask for this brochure or better yet, call me to set up an appointment!

Welcome! I think it’s only fitting that my inaugural post highlight an honour bestowed on Kingston this past week by Canadian Business Magazine. For those who follow such comparative studies on Canadian cities, this may be old news. But without a doubt, as a proud Kingston resident this article confirms what I already know – Kingston is a fantastic place to live!

Kingston ranked as the 6th Best Place To Live In Canada. We beat out big city contenders like Toronto & Vancouver. Why is Kingston a great place to live? These are some of my reasons:

• Kingston is home to some of the finest post secondary education facilities in the world: Queen’s University, Royal Military College and St. Lawrence College all call Kingston home.
• Kingston has a perfect blend of good job opportunties, family friendly neighbourhoods, social life and city events.
• Kingston is the original home town of The Tragically Hip, Avril Lavigne (Kingston Area-Napanee), Dan Aykroyd, Doug Gilmour, Kurt Muller, Don Cherry, and Ryan Malcolm (Canadian Idol).
• Kingston was home to the first Prime Minister of Canada - Sir John A. Macdonald.
• Kingston offers old city charm but with big city amenities.
• And finally, Kingston still has a number of great affordable housing options whether you are buying new or resale.

Kingston tops my list for the best place to live! Call me to make it your home!