Abatement is most frequently associated with a reduction of rent, interest or an amount due. In the case of rent, a landlord may be unable to complete various improvements with a resulting delay for the tenant gaining possession. This circumstance could give rise to rent abatement.

In residential sales, a situation might arise where the buyer’s lawyer upon closing discovers unpaid amounts by the seller. The buyer, in making such payments on behalf of the seller would normally receive an abatement (credit) that would appear on the statement of adjustments upon closing.

- Real Estate Encyclopedia (Canadian Edition)

Keith Marshall is a realtor with Prudential Grand Valley Realty, serving Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge. If you’re thinking of buying or selling your home, please give me a call. I aim to take the stress and mystery out of the home buying and selling process.

Filed under: Buying Real Estate, real estate vocabualry, Selling Real Estate by Keith Marshall
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I had a few comments and some emails about the posting I did last week – For Sale by Owner franchises, what exactly are you paying for? I guess I opened up a can of worms. I pointed out a couple of things that didn’t make sense to me (claiming to be the best online listing, promoting listings that never expire) and I said there was a lot more misleading information contained on the Property Guys website. One email asked me, “what other misleading information?”

Lots.

Today, let’s explore the money you’ll save by selling your home privately.

Home selling franchises’ value proposition is “You’ll save the commission”. But how much will you really save? How much will you spend (upfront) to save the commission?

The Property Guys website claims you’ll save $18,000 when you sell your $300,000 home yourself.

$300,000 x .06 = $18,000

This is based on a commission rate of 6%. However, the typical commission rate in Kitchener Waterloo is 5%. Some houses sell at 6% commission, but not very many. The commission saved realistically is $15,000.

$300,000 x .05 = $15,000

If you save $15,000 in commission that is still a great savings! But what are the expenses you’ll have to pay (in advance) to save this possible commission?

Assuming you go for the Property Guys recommended package, which includes “taking fantastic photos and uploading them to your listing for you”, you’ll spend $1833.

$15,000 – $1,833 = $13,167.

If you advertise in the Waterloo Region Record, it will cost you roughly $100/week. Other publications like This Week in Real Estate, Cambridge Homes and the Real Estate Book should also be considered, so over the course of six to eight weeks you might spend $500 for print media advertising.

$13,167 – $500 = $12,667

You should probably hire a “posting agent” to put your home on MLS, where most home shoppers begin their search. Posting agents fees, I’ve been told, can be anything from $99 to $999. Let’s split the difference and say $500.

$12,667 – $500 = $12,167.

There may be fees for professionals you’ll need to employ. Lawyers, inspectors or home staging consultants will be your responsibility. Let’s talk about lawyers. With many deals, there are conditions (for financing, insurance or home inspection). If your lawyer has already approved the paperwork but the deal subsequently falls through because the new buyers couldn’t come up with the mortgage, you’ll still have to pay your lawyer for his work. But this time, let’s just say that today is a perfect day and this is a perfect world. The deal sails smoothly through. No charge.

$12,167 – $0 = $12,167

Because I like round numbers I’m going to say you’ve spent $167 on miscellaneous expenses: gas for running around, parking, maybe missed a half day of work here and there, your cell phone bill went over the limit…miscellaneous expenses = $167.

$12,167 – $167 = $12,000

This still represents a great savings in commission.

If you’ve priced your house at the market rate, you’ve attracted a buyer, but this buyer has an agent. If you pay the buyer agent, he’ll want 2.5% of $300,000 which is $7,500.

$12,000 – 7,500 = $4,500.

Oh really? You will not entertain any offers from agents with clients? No problem. Private home sellers are a small piece of the pie. The agent will help his client buy something else. No harm done.

They’ll be another buyer coming along soon and he won’t have an agent.

This buyer won’t have an agent because buyers know you are saving the commission too. They want to split the commission you’re saving by selling your home yourself and if they’ve gone to the Property Guys website they think you’re saving $18,000 and they’ll want half of that ($18,000/2 = $9000). They want you to cut your price by $9,000.

$12,000 – $9,000 = $3,000

Oh dear. You’ve sold you home yourself and saved $3,000. Thank you Property Guys.

$3,000 is 1% of $300,000. Houses typically sell within 1%-2% of market value. By selling you house yourself, you might not have saved anything. What you could have done instead was hire yourself a realtor, one who is good with numbers.

Ok, so I’ve made some assumptions here, taken some liberties there (and had some fun too). Maybe you didn’t spend any money on advertising, or have any miscellaneous expenses and you negotiated like a champion with the buyer. You still haven’t saved $18,000, have you? And that’s the point, by selling your home yourself, how much (if anything) did you truly save (and is it worth the time, trouble, risks and costs)?

Filed under: advice, Selling Real Estate by Keith Marshall
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It’s unavoidable. It’s undeniable. Christmas is on the way, less than a month away. I was in the Fairview Park Mall the other day and it was bustling with shoppers. In downtown Kitchener and uptown Waterloo too, the patrons are patronizing their favorite retailers. It’s getting so bad, to get my favorite booth at the Conestoga Mall, I have to get there at the same time as the mall walkers.

For Christmas, I’m not ready. I’m never ready. I thought I’d share my list of things to remember, in case you’re not ready too.

Postal dates: Make sure your Christmas cards and parcels arrive in plenty of time. December 11^th is your deadline to ensure arrival of your packages inside Canada

Travel plans: Unless you’re in the last minute club, if you haven’t booked your train or plane tickets, you should stop reading this and do it now.

Delivery dates: If you’re doing a lot of your shopping online this year, then make sure you don’t miss out of the final delivery dates. Last year some retailers set their final delivery date as early as the 16 December – so check before you buy.

Neighbourhood watch: Empty homes at Christmas are a burglar’s dream. Ask your neighbor to watch your house if you’re going to be away, and make sure burglar alarms and security lights are switched on.

Heating: Don’t turn your furnace off but you could turn it down to a low temperature. This will ensure pipes don’t freeze while you’re away.

Shop: Take a minute before heading out shopping and think about what you’re going to buy for all those special someones in your life. Make a list.

Insurance: Check your home insurance policy to make sure it covers all those presents under the tree.

Wrap it up: Don’t leave all your wrapping to the last minute only to discover you’ve run out of scotch tape. As well as stocking up on essentials, consider using cheap or recycled wrapping paper.

Stock up on essentials: As well as ensuring you have enough boxes of chocolates and booze (for your visitors) to see you through Christmas, don’t forget the basics. Stock up on bread and milk.

Turkey: Don’t spend a fortune on a turkey that is far too big for the number of people round your table. Get the right sized turkey. As a rough guide, a turkey weighing 6lbs will feed six people, 8lbs will feed eight…

Freeze: Pastry freezes really well. You can make mince pies and snacks like sausage rolls and cheese straws ahead of time. It’s also worth freezing separate portions of food, such as fried garlic, onion or bacon to be added at the last minute to gravies and vegetables.

Last-minute bargains: If you’ve got nerves of steel, or a black belt in procrastination, many shops will reduce a lot of their stock just before Christmas. Don’t forget to ask for gift receipts and check with stores how long their extended Christmas exchange period is – remember, sale items may not be available for refunds.

And one more… Ladies (let’s admit it, you probably did most of the work), reward yourselves with a seasonal pampering by doing something just for yourself – you deserve it!

Filed under: advice, just for fun by Keith Marshall
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By analyzing car collision frequency, Allstate Insurance Company of Canada ranks communities and regions, to identify which communities have the safest drivers. The Ontario Safe Driving Study spans a three-year period from 2006-2009 and offers a comparison to the same data from 2003-2006. According to that data, Kitchener ranks 25^th and Cambridge 23^rd safest cities to drive in Ontario (Waterloo was not included in the study).

The study included:
Communities with at least 900 cars insured by Allstate over the three-year period.
More than 25,000 collision claims paid out in each of the designated three-year periods.
Claims data limited to collisions for which there was a payout. ·
Survey data ranks frequency of crashes, not severity of crash.

The three safest places to drive in Ontario are: St. Thomas, Bellville and Chatham. The three most accident-prone communities are: Maple, Ajax and Thornhill.

Filed under: Around Kitchener Waterloo, editorial, general news by Keith Marshall
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Last week on 365 things to do in Kitchener Waterloo, we started out the week sitting in the dark with popcorn at the Princess Theatre and a great film and talk about high-speed rail in Canada.

As you may know, two of our favorite things are art and yoga. By themselves, they are great, but together they are doubly great. KW/AG had a night of art AND yoga. We couldn’t miss that.

The Jewellery, Fashion and Gift Show kept us occupied (out of trouble) for most of the weekend. It was at Bingeman’s. Where else? (We met lots of friends of 365 things to do in Kitchener Waterloo there too!)

We went out for an Indian Buffet lunch at Classic Indian restaurant in Waterloo. The food was unique and flavorful.

And then, we needed to take a walk, but the weather was rainy so we went to RIM Park and walked the loop like most mall walkers do before the stores open.

We rounded out the week, very close to where we started, in uptown Waterloo where we kicked off the Christmas season with trolley rides and an all Uptown Waterloo open house.

Around the offices of 365 things to do in Kitchener Waterloo, our movember mustaches have grown out from looking like Alex Trebek to Friedrich Nietzsche, well maybe not that great, but pretty great.

What’s still growing is our list of friends to our facebook page and website. We lost track where we are now, can’t count that high, I don’t know, about 550 friends.

Next week, we’re rolling out contests too on 365 things to do in Kitchener Waterloo.

So go on, tell your friends. Be awesome. Make suggestions. Ask advice. Share. You must have a favorite place to go or thing to do that you can tell us about. We will all be richer for the experience.

Filed under: 365 things to do in Kitchener Waterloo, Around Kitchener Waterloo by Keith Marshall
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