Menno van Driel

As some like to put it: if you really need the money, it's quite hard to get. If you don't need the money, the banks are bending over backwards to give you some.

Haha, if only it ...

Nobody would pay $25,000 extra for a home because the furniture is so nice and the wall hangings match everything else so perfectly? Of course you wouldn’t. The furniture isn’t even included with the real estate!

It looks particularly nice so you're willing to pay more for it. This principle applies in real estate and in just about everything else: cars, food, furniture and so on.

Although ...

Imagine two houses for sale, side by side. They are the same. Everything is exactly the same, even the price, the size, the features. In that unlikely scenario, which one of the two will sell first?

Similar houses don't really exist. There's always something that's different - this being one of the principles of the uniqueness of real estate. One location - one home.

Obviously, we never run ...

Do you like a property with a view? A house on acreage? An affordable town home close to the village centre; or perhaps you prefer ocean frontage? The Sunshine Coast has choice properties available for everybody.

It's hard not to like a setting like this: the Sunshine Coast is surrounded by great beaches with magnificent views. What a lifestyle: clean air, wildlife, forests and friendly peop ...

In real estate, anybody is allowed to make an offer on any property at any price. This means that, from time to time, people choose to make absurdly low offers. Sellers tend to find these low-ball offers terribly offensive.

It's no fun to receive a low-ball offer. After all the hype, expecting the incoming offer, it's a total let-down to have to deal with such a low (and insulting) offer.

T ...

I just finished uploading this House for sale, 1415 Sundance Place, Gibsons, BC

This luxurious high-end lottery prize home features an ocean view and is now for sale as a turn-key offering, located less than 10 minutes from all of Gibsons’ amenities, including the marina. The 3100 sq ft open-plan home sits on a beautifully landscaped corner 1/2 acre lot on a cul-de-sac in prestigious Bonniebr ...

If you quickly put a $20,000 kitchen in your home, it’ll sell faster and for more money. If you put $20,000 in the garden: same thing. Bathroom: also the same. The question remains: are you going to recover that $20,000?

As a gardener, you know that it's not hard to spend Thousand of Dollars on soil, plants and flowers. There's no doubt that it can make the house look a lot nicer.

It’s easy ...

I just finished uploading this 1/2 Duplex for sale, 1138 Sunnyside Drive, Gibsons, BC

When do you think that the mortgages rates will go up? Or down? Or might they even stay the same for a while longer? Here’s the latest news about what some people think might happen next in the world of finance.

Specialists keep on making sincerely meant predictions of mortgage rate developments. Sometimes they are right and usually they aren't quite right. Yet, we keep on listening.

We’ve ...

You want to buy a house? Easy! You see one you like and you just buy it. Or … you need to sell a house? Easy! You list and sell it. If only real estate were as simple as that, which unfortunately it is not.

Real estate would be so simple if everything went smoothly and as hoped for. Since you never know where the hick-up might be coming from, you'd better be prepared.

The market changes con ...