All property, except land and the improvements thereon are considered to be personal property.

For real estate practitioners, personal property normally includes various chattels on the property that are referred to as consumer goods. For example refrigerators, stoves, drapes, house maintenance equipment, clothing, toys, books, fireplace equipment and furniture are all considered personal property.

Some personal property items like appliances, and window coverings are often written into real estate contracts as chattels included.

Something new, flat screen TVs affixed to the wall are often written into real estate contracts as fixtures excluded. There has been some confusion with flat screen TVs as it is commonly understood that items affixed to the wall with a nail or screw, like bookcases and bathroom mirrors, are usually fixtures included in the sale of property. Best be safe and address this issue in the offer to purchase.

Past vocabulary words:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O

Keith Marshall is a real estate agent 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: real estate vocabualry by Keith Marshall
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The Stork Family YMCA is just weeks away from opening its doors to the community. Located where Laurelwood Drive and Fischer-Hallman Road meet, the YMCA is a “people place” where people of all ages and abilities come together to learn, play, and belong.

A new 45,000 square foot Family YMCA built on a seven acre site will feature great facilities such as a gymnasium, indoor pool, individual conditioning centre and multipurpose rooms. The Stork Family YMCA’s friendly, non-intimidating environment will be welcoming to individuals of all ages and fitness levels.

Laurelwood is one of Waterloo’s favorite neighborhoods. The schools are good, the demographic better than average the amenities – not too shabby.

Filed under: 365 things to do in Kitchener Waterloo, Around Kitchener Waterloo, Clair Hills by Keith Marshall
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Central to most people’s neighborhood is their own home. Second to that is often their kids’ schools. Many people choose to live in a certain neighborhood, or stay in a certain neighborhood because of a school. But schools get old and neighborhoods change.

We’re nostalgic. No one wants their school to close.

I was talking with an old neighbor last week. His first question was, “Did you hear that WCI might be closing?” I had. There was a story in the newspaper about how old the building is (51 years) and how the neighborhood has changed. He was postulating that Wilfred Laurier University wants the building and the land. He could be right. All around Waterloo Collegiate Institute’s neighborhood is university related buildings, mostly housing for students.

WCI will close. It will happen, I think, but not for a while. “It’s a facility and location under review”. This was the early rumblings.

With more and more development on the outskirts of the city, new schools are built where young families are buying their first home. With two kids playing sports in the public school system, I’m always dropping them off or picking them up at schools I’d only vaguely heard of before.

There is a new public elementary school being built on the corner of Fairway Road and Lackner Boulevard. It will open in September 2014.

With that, Stanley Park School has been targeted for potential closure as has Sunnyside Pubic School. Both like WCI are in older neighborhoods where the demographics have shifted.

Filed under: Around Kitchener Waterloo, neighborhood update, uptown waterloo by Keith Marshall
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Don’t miss this opportunity to live in desirable Beechwood Forest. Quiet crescent location, central to great schools, shopping, 4 bedroom, 4 baths including ensuite.

Main floor laundry, sunken living room, double garage and spacious finished basement. What a great place!

SOLD

Currently for sale

Filed under: Around Kitchener Waterloo, Buying Real Estate, for sale by Keith Marshall
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My mom was in town last week, visiting from Vancouver Island. We went golfing at her favorite local course – River Edge and out to lunch at Sole. We took Cheech (the dog) to Waterloo Park and we went up to St Jacobs Farmer’s Market (note to self: don’t wait for out-of-town visitors to visit St. Jacobs Farmer’s Market).

I put her on the train this morning. She’ll be visiting with friends in Kingston and then up to Ottawa to see my brother and his family. While we were waiting on the platform, out of the blue she asked me, “Why do cows always face the same direction while grazing in the field?” (maybe it was because everyone was looking west toward London for the arrival of their train.)

I don’t know. I’ve never happened upon that little nugget of wisdom. I’m not a cow expert, but I’ve wondered about cows, especially when I was in India many years ago.

But really and already my mind was on real estate.

I have a certain theme that relates to many things in life, but specifically to real estate and how people buy and sell it. This is it:

People do things a certain way because they think it is the way it is done. Another way – People do things the way they think is best (otherwise why would they do it that way).

For example: You are thinking of moving, say downsizing. What do you do?

Visit open houses to get a general idea about house values.

Read the real estate section of the newspaper. Pick up other real estate publications.

Visit MLS.ca and other real estate websites.

Talk with friends and “trusted advisors”.

You do all of the above perhaps over the course of a year (or more or less), don’t you? You do this because that is the way you think it is done. You’re gaining knowledge, testing the knowledge against new information. You’re getting comfortable. Your questions are getting better. You’ll hopefully be ready when the time is right.

That’s a good way. Just like the cows, all facing in the same direction, it’s what most people do.

But what if there is a better way?

Statistics show that 90% of all real estate transactions involve at least one realtor. Most people meet the realtor they work with somewhere during the search for their next home. Working with a realtor – your real estate trusted advisor – makes the process go along smoother, so long as you like working with each other, you trust and respect each other.

Here’s the point:

The sooner you find a realtor to help you understand what you are looking for and then help you find it, the less confusing and stressful the process will be.

I like to do things differently. Maybe you could too.

Filed under: About me, advice, Buying Real Estate, just for fun, Selling Real Estate by Keith Marshall
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