They say having children

changes your life– and they

were right!

My name is Glen Buchanan–

Real Estate Sales Represen-

tative and entrepreneur.

Outdoor enthusiast, cycling

fanatic, arts appreciator,

DIY’er, lover of music, egg

sandwiches and all things

“local”. Father to 1-year old

Rowan and dog-daddy to

Gryphon the Wonder Dog.

After a 5 year leisure time

indulgence in MLS, com-

bined with having bought

and sold 8 (...make that 9!)

personal properties in the

past 8 years, I have now

settled into my passion as a

Real Estate Sales Representa-

tive.

I am very excited to have

partnered with RE/MAX

Omega Realty (1988) Ltd in

Newmarket and am very

proud to be affiliated with a

brokerage that has been #1

in market share of listings sold

in Newmarket since 1983. In

joining RE/Max Omega, I

have the benefit of a broker-

age that has over 25 years of

marketing, sales and business

experience.

Whether you are looking to

sell or buy this month, this

year, or this new decade, I

look forward to working with

you and making your dreams

come true.

My son, Rowan & I enjoying

a dip in the local pool post-

swimming lessons. One

would think he was born

with fins with how much he

loves the water!

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G L E N B U C H A N A N

S A L E S R E P R E S E N T A T I V E

R E / M A X O M E G A �

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GLEN�BUCHANANGLEN�BUCHANANGLEN�BUCHANANGLEN�BUCHANAN����

Real Estate Sales

Representative

RE/MAX Omega Realty

(1988) Ltd, Brokerage

Independently Owned & Operated

1140 Stellar Drive

Newmarket, ON

L3Y 7B7

Phone: 905-898-1211

TO Line: 416-798-7365

Fax: 905-898-7345

DIR: gbuchanan@trebnet.com

WORDS TO LIVE BY:

“ IF YOU

WORRIED

ABOUT

FALLING

OFF THE

BIKE– YOU’D

NEVER GET

ON”

- LANCE

ARMSTRONG

P A G E 2

Special thanks

to all my clients

who have

referred their

family, friends

and

acquaintances.

I am never too

busy for your

referrals!

Location,�Location,�Location!Location,�Location,�Location!Location,�Location,�Location!Location,�Location,�Location!����It’s the old ‘rule of

thumb’ that everyone

has heard of, but per-

haps, not everyone has

heeded its’ warnings.

Location is one of the

number one predictors

of selling (or buying) a

home. Just as a local

business would not set

up shop in a subdivision

(sure- there is a lot of

traffic opportunity with

the dog walkers, but

the retailing intent is not

a prime focus of the

passers-by!), a home,

for most people, has a

certain surrounding for

its’ comfort and enjoy-

ment.

The first step is choosing

where you would like to

live- there are many

factors to pay attention

to, not only for your in-

terest, but also because

one day, you will likely

want to sell this property

to someone else. Care-

fully choosing your

community is the first

step in “location, loca-

tion, location”, and can

help to maximize your

future resale value.

Your chosen commu-

nity should have a num-

ber of resources to offer

the local residents-

does your community

have good economic

stability? Is there a

downtown core with

local retail, in addition

to a mix of industry and

big-box options for dif-

ferent consumers? Is

your chosen community

rural, and if so, does it

host common benefits

for rural property? How

well is the community

maintained? Do the

residents (and town-

ship) take pride of own-

ership of property and

parkland? What types

of community services

are offered? What are

the schools like? Even

if, as a buyer, you do

not have children of

school age, it is still im-

portant to ensure there

is a strong local school

system, as future buyers

of your home may find

this of interest.

What would you define

as your “dream

neighbourhood”? Re-

member- the home you

are looking to buy (or

sell!) can be reno’d

and refurbished…but it

cannot be moved. In

addition to considering

location as an invest-

ment in the future value

of your home for resale

opportunities, you

should also be comfort-

able in your home for

the years you intend to

live there.

If you are looking to sell

your home, take heed

of the possibility that

location may strongly

play into your ability to

sell quickly. Although

you have enjoyed your

home for the years you

have lived there, it may

perhaps not appeal to

new buyers that you

live next to a major rail-

way crossing, have your

driveway front onto a

major street, or back

onto the new outdoor

patio for the local pub.

Take these issues into

consideration- your

Real Estate Representa-

tive may advise you

that these factors may

contribute to a softer

market price of your

home, or perhaps in-

crease the time it will

take to sell.

Location with respect

to local retail, grocery,

pharmacy and other

town amneties may be

of importance. In addi-

tion, proximity to transit

systems, GO station,

and commutability to

larger city centres also

plays into considera-

tion.

If you are considering

selling your home, or

moving onto a new

one, consult a local

Real Estate Representa-

tive, as they are an ex-

ceptional resource for

local buying and

selling.

3. Impersonal works- try to open

up your space so your potential

buyers can envision their “stuff” in it,

and not feel as though they need

to look past all your belongings to

become one with the home.

4. Keep it “fresh”- homes with

odours are the most difficult to ap-

preciate. Try opening the windows

for 10 minutes once a day to

freshen up the rooms, or make sure

you take out the diaper genie more

often than usual. If you have a pet,

ensure furniture and flooring is free

from hair. Throw out the idea of

room deodorizers…their artificial

scent is often more nauseating

than helpful. Consider warm,

home-feeling scents, such as crock

pot roasts, turkey or chocolate chip

cookies (not sure if they have cre-

ated turkey-flavoured candles yet,

but might be worth a shot!)

5. Clean! Clean! Clean! Make

sure your house is clean- inside &

out. Consider investing in a maid

service for the duration of your sale.

This will decrease stress and time

invested in keeping the house spar-

kling.

6. Fix all the outstanding “fix-it”

projects in your home- As home-

owners, we can often overlook the

drippy faucet, peeling caulking

and poor paint jobs. As a buyer,

these are items of high attention, as

it demonstrates how well kept the

home has been. Tick off your “to-

do” list before the house hits the

market!

7. Colour- Painting is considered

one of the single best return-on-

investments for your home. Con-

sider neutral palettes, and touch-

ups where needed. If your home

has dated wallpaper, it may be

prudent to consider pulling this

down and sprucing up the room

with a fresh coat of neutral, VOC-

free paint.

8. Pare down the furniture- Keep it

clean and simple- consider remov-

ing some pieces from a furniture-

Want to get top dollar for your

home? …or just enjoy a whole

new look & feel in one of your

favourite rooms in your home?

Home Staging professionals per-form their magic by highlighting

the best features of your home-

whilst pulling visual attention

away from less attractive fea-

tures. The notion of a home

staged is to facilitate a welcome

showing to any potential buyer.

This may necessitate packing

away some of your most prized

possessions (note- not everyone

will appreciate the fond memo-

ries conjured up from one

glimpse at the dozen curling tro-

phies adorning your fireplace

mantle, nor be able to see past

the Cinderella extravaganza in

your toddler’s bedroom). Thus

said, you also have to be able to

live in your home while it is up for

sale on the market- a balance of

both show-ability and live-ability

is a must!

The “Top 10” of how to stage

your home for top dollar:

1. Make an impression- first im-

pressions are lasting, and a po-

tential buyer will likely come to

their own conclusions just by pull-

ing in the driveway before even

seeing the front hall! Clean up

your gardens, rake the leaves, shovel the snow and consider

planting some seasonal flowers,

greens or hang a wreath on the

door to spruce things up!

2. Declutter- Purge! Box! Store!

You will need to pack your things

when the house is sold, so invest

some time up front to pack away

items that may clutter visual pres-

entation of your home. This is a

good time to remove all the kid-

die’s artwork from the fridge,

pack away stacks of books, and

magazines and consider making

a new rule of ensuring all foot-

ware is nicely stored in the closet,

rather than on the front hall mat.

heavy room to open up the

space, allow for light to fall into

the flattering corners of the

room, and the future buyer will

have an easier time envisioning

their furniture in its’ place.

9. Light it up- open up the

window coverings, clean the

windowpanes, and turn on the

lights in every room for each

showing. More bright light and

sun in your space makes it eas-

ier to sell.

10. Add a bit of “you” to the

place- After removing all the

clutter, photos, children’s art

and doggie toys, you may

want to consider putting a little

bit of life back into the place.

Consider fruit bowls, a vase of flowers or show-able pottery to

catch the eye of the buyer and

soften up a room. Don’t under-

estimate the power of the

“pop” of a bowl of granny

smith apples on a clutterless

kitchen counter!

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P A G E 4 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

energy into your overall

health to ensure you are in

top form to enjoy the 12

months ahead! Eat a well-

rounded diet, exercise daily,

take your vitamins, stretch

and manage daily stressors.

Easy to say, but not always

Its January– the first month of a

new decade, and what are

you going to do to ring in the

new year? This is often a time

for reflection, resolutions and

deliberation about the year to

come. Start with yourself– con-

sider investing some time and

easy to do? Start small and set

realistic goals for yourself. Con-

sider some qualified insights

from your local professionals

and get started today!

Happy 2010– BRING IT ON!

New�yearNew�yearNew�yearNew�year––––�new�you!�new�you!�new�you!�new�you!����

Renovating can be a great way

to add value to your home. It

can make your house a more

comfortable environment for

you and your family, and even

reduce your energy bills. And

now, with the introduction of

the new Home Renovation Tax

Credit (HRTC), this might be the

best time to begin the renova-

tions you’ve been planning.

As part of Canada’s Economic

Action Plan, the Home Renova-

tion Tax Credit will provide a

one-year, temporary 15% in-

come tax credit on eligible

home renovation expenditures

for work performed, or goods

acquired between January 27,

2009 and February 1, 2010. The

credit may be claimed on eligi-

ble expenses exceeding $1,000,

but no more than $10,000, for a

total credit of up to $1,350. Eli-

gible renovation expenditures

include: renovating your

kitchen, bathroom or base-

ment; installing new carpet or

hardwood floors; building an

addition, deck, fence or retain-

ing wall; installing a new fur-

nace, central air conditioner or

water heater; painting the inte-

rior or exterior of your house;

resurfacing a driveway and

laying new sod. Renovations

which are ineligible for the

credit include: purchase of

furniture, appliances and tools,

carpet cleaning, and mainte-

nance contracts.

To obtain more information on

the Home Renovation Tax

Credit, call 1-800-OCANADA or

visit the Canada Revenue

Agency Web site.

Don’t forget to shop local!

There are a number of tal-

ented, trusted and skilled pro-

fessionals in our community.

I’m happy to point you in the

right direction! As there is little

time left to take advantage of

this great tax savings, be sure

to plan, prep and move for-

ward with your project today!