Best of the Season from Cheri Crause

I am writing this on Christmas Day. It’s a relatively rare white Christmas here in Victoria. Snow started falling just last night. Perfect timing, and now I have a few minutes to enjoy the vista outside, and write this before the day’s festivities begin.  

I enjoy Christmas and the time spent with family. It’s an occasion to appreciate the things we have and reflect on what matters most. I’m especially lucky that both my parents are still alive (in their late 80’s now), and all five of my grandchildren are now back living in Victoria as well. It is nice to know you are not alone.

In looking back, we have had a great year in business, and there have been many memorable moments.

We sold a home for an older gentleman, who had originally designed the home with his wife several decades earlier. He received a number of offers and was able to pick and choose, opting to sell to a lady who loved the birds and the garden as much as he did. In the end, that is what mattered to him.

We helped several investor clients find revenue properties. Some of these buyers were first-time investors who needed a little extra assistance in working through the process and the numbers. Seeing them move their portfolios forward is a thrill.

In the spring, we finished another one of our own building projects. Relieved that the rental market made it easy to fill the building with good tenants. It seems the learning process never stops in real estate.

We continue to learn new aspects of the agent side of real estate too. Working with a foreign seller who was out of the country during the entire sales process was an education in itself, with time zones, tenant challenges, accounting/accountant issues, and income tax consequences being just some of the new considerations to deal with.

At one point this year we put a property on the market for a lady who was in failing health. When we finally received an offer after some time, she was in hospital, and she decided not to accept it … because she was feeling so much better that she going to be able to move back into her home. It was great to experience this unexpected reversal of fortune for her!

This year we managed to find a house for my son and daughter-in-law … without her here to see it. That was challenging.  When she did see it, she liked it, and that was a BIG relief.

Again this year we helped people in all kinds of different ways. Whether selling a home full of memories, buying an investment property, wanting to build, managing a transaction, dealing with renos, wanting to purchase for the first time, helping a family member, managing an estate, or downsizing.  We do have many years of experience under our collective belts now, but that just means we are certain we have much more to learn, and there is so much we don’t know and have yet to come across. Nevertheless, we think it’s nice to know that you don’t have to face these real estate unknowns alone.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May 2018 be a year where you see obvious and tangible progress toward your own goals and dreams.