Curtis Leibel 780-438-2500

New listing in the quiet community of Athlone!  These houses are neat because of the entire community, probably about 70% of the houses have the exact same layout.  Standard 1000 sq ft one level home with L shaped living room, spacious dining room and 3 bedrooms on the opposite end.  This community is very well priced, since the houses are so comparable they have to be because of the competition.  This listed house is recently renovated, and also currently the cheapest house in Athlone at $235,000!

Whenever I take a holiday, I like to take some time out of my trip to look into the real estate market/trends of the location.  Not only can it provide a better sense of the global market, it allows me to provide my buyers with knowledge and experience in foreign real estate investment. 

My most recent trip led me to Eastern Europe.  The majority of my time was spent in Croatia, with brief stops in Germany and Austria.  Although I didnt get much time to look into things in Germany and Austria, I did get the opportunity to speak with a few experts and see some properties in Croatia.  Not too long ago (20 years ago), Croatia was admist a civil war as the former Yugoslavia disintegrated into 6 seperate countries.  Although still volatile for a few years after, Croatia has come into its own, offering beautiful landscapes, safe environment and friendly people for the last 15 years.  Although it still off the radar from most north american citizens, it has become a top destination for European tourists.

Although it has recently become a tourist mecca, it still remains relatively cheap.  The main form of real estate is either apartments or condos.  In more popular centers (island of Hvar, city of Dubrovnik) prime real estate will end up costing $150,000-200,000 for a modern 900 sq foot 2 bed, 1 bath condo.  However, if you are willing to go a little bit off the beaten path, to some lesser known locations it is not unusual to find a similar condo in the $100,000 range. 

Croatia is currently trying to enter the European Union.  Of course the pro for this is that the economy should become a lot more stable once becoming part of this group.  The down side could be however that prices of real estate will increase accordingly.  My advice for buying in Croatia:  Best to wait 6 months until a decision has been made one way or another as to whether or not Croatia will be able to join the union.  It is a bit risky to buy there right now.

I have recently listed my second house in southeast Edmonton in the last 2 months.  This one is in the well established neighborhood of Daly grove.  Its a great 920 sq foot bilevel with a beautiful large southfacing yard and deck.  Many upgrades over the years, including roof, windows, flooring and bath.  If you want to live in an older devolpment in southeast in Edmonton and still be close to everything you need, this is the place for you!

One of the most common questions I am asked by potential home sellers is should I invest money and renovate my property before selling, or should I sell it as is because the new owner is going to tear it down and rebuild anyways?  Well the answer of course, is it depends!  The bottom line is, will the time and money you spend putting into the property be returned to you through a higher selling price?  When considering this, there is a lot to take into consideration. 

Here are some points to consider:

Location – if you are on a busy road or not in a very desireable neighborhood is different than being in a great community close to ameneties.

State of repair – if you only need to spend a few thousand dollars doing minor repairs, it may be more worthwhile completing as opposed to spending 10’s of thousands of dollars doing major repairs.

Time spent – if your time is very valuable (whos isnt?!) the effort and time off work consumed trying to line up contractors and materials, or doing the work yourself might cost more than the extra money you see upon sale.

Return on investment – if looking at comparable houses, we can determine you need to spend $10,000 in renovations and you are only get a sale price of $10,000 higher, it may not be worth it (although if time on market is important to you, this will reduce the number of days your house is for sale)

Taking all this into consideration, you can see that the answer to this question is going to be different in every situation.  The best solution – get a proper current market analysis completed by a realtor for your house.  Through this you will be able to determine what the house is worth now as is vs. how much it will be worth if you invest “x” amount of dollars.   Then you can use those numbers to determine if it is worth your time.

I have a great new Half duplex located on 90ave and 63 street.  This property has great income potential.  The home has a separate entrance on the side, comes with 2 kitchens, 2 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms up, 2 bedrooms down and separate laundry on both floors.  Everything has been renovated including both kitchens, both baths, new shingles on garage, new soffit and fascia on house and garage, new furnace, refinished hardwood flooring and much much more.  Live upstairs and rent out the basement, or rent out both as this is a great potential cash flowing property.

One question that my clients bring up often, is what happens if the house isnt in the same condition when we take possession?  Well, if you are a buyer, you will be happy to know by law it has to be in the exact same condition!

With all the rain we have been getting, there have been alot of flooded basements over the last few months.  Some might be because of faulty foundations, and some might just be a once in a lifetime thing because of the record rainfall we have been experiencing – nonetheless, no one wants to move into a wet basement!  Therefore, if a house floods in between the time of sale of the house, and the actual possession date, the seller is responsible (and quite often it is not covered by insurance).  There are a couple ways to deal with this:

1) Either the seller can replace everything with the same products that were used before possession date.

2) the seller can offer cash back (usually through reduced sale price) to the buyer for an agreed amount, and it is then the buyers responsibility to fix.

Either way, there is usually an open dialogue between the buyer and seller so the result is in everyones best interest.   The same principles appy to anything that may happen (ie. fire, hail, damage to the property) – it is the sellers responsibility to keep the property in the exact same condition as it was when the buyer did their last viewing.  However, if something like a flood was to happen the day after possession, it is now the buyers sole responsibility to fix (unless it was a result of something the previous seller knew and did not disclose.)

Now you can rest assured on possession day you will be getting the house you bought!

Another investment condo listed.   This one is a beauty – located in on the second floor in Oliver, with a patio that overlooks the park.  Totally upgraded with new brick in the kitchen, new cabinets, new hardwood floor, tiled backsplash and all new paint and trim.  Take a look as I dont think this one will be around long!

With every listing I do, I try and stress the selling points as to why a house is better than the rest.  In my newest listing: 1715, 64st this is very easy to do as it is very unique.  In a community where many of the duplexs are built to the same specs, this owner decided to spend the extra money on upgrades.  At the time it probably seemed like unnecessary expenses, but when it comes to resale it is these features that are going to sell the house.  There are 3 or 4 comparable properties, but none of them have upgraded cabinets, thicker carpet underlay, triple pane windows, etc….So guess which was is the most appealing? 

In newer communities where owners are picking there layouts from predetermined builder specificationss, there is very little room for individuality and thus the finishing choices are that much more important to obtaining more money and a quicker sale upon resale.

Well spring is here and with it comes my first recreational property listing of the year.  Lake properties have taken the biggest hit over the last 3 years, but with our economy turning a corner now is the time to buy.  I suspect lake properties should see an increase in equity slightly higher than that of the city.

I just listed a beautiful 2000 square foot 2 story home located a block from the water in mulhurst bay at pigeon lake.  Not only does it come with 1.56 acres, its right next to the golf course and boat launch.  It has all the amenities of a municipilality (power, sewer lines and more) but couldnt feel more country.   Located just 45 minutes south of the city.

Hi all,

I have just returned from a trip from the other side of the world.  Everytime i go somewhere I take some time to stop and check in to see how the real estate market in that area is.  I myself plan to purchase some foreign real estate in the near future, but want to do adequate research before I do.  Here is what my thoughts are on my most recent visits:

Hong Kong:  Beautiful space, beautiful people and real estate is at a premium.  This country continues to grow at incredible rates, but the size of it won’t.  If you can afford it, I dont see how you can go wrong investing here.  There is no such thing as houses here, as everything is skyrises.  An average 2 bedroom condo at 800 sq feet would set you back about 800,000-1 million Canadian so it would take a big investment to get in.

Macau:  This city takes in more gambling revenue than all of North America combined.  It is a huge vacation hotspot for Asians and thrives on tourism.  The city has doubled in population in less than 10 years.  However, the vacancy rate is very high, and for that reason, I feel it could be hit or miss.  They expect the population to double again over the next few years, but have already built an enormous amount of skyscrapers in preperation.  I would say this is a classic boom/bust scenario.  You could double your money in 5 years, or you could lose half.  It could go either way but I would stray away for something more stable.  2 bedroom 800 sq foot condo runs about 400-500,000 Canadian there.

Borocay, Philipines:  The biggest tourist location in the Philipines, this island has it all.  Miles and miles of beachfront property, friendly people, and cheap!  There are a few (not too many) luxury condos currently under construction, which will run between 200-400,000 Canadian.  In my mind this would be a great place to invest before it becomes too popular.  There are also many larger islands nearby where you can still enjoy the same amenemities, but at a lower purchase price because its a little further away.

There you have it.  If you would like any more in depth analysis on any of these locations, give me a call!