Jim Datlen - Blog - Jim Datlen

Recent Blog Posts by Jim Datlen
Real Estate Outlook: What to Expect in 2012 Over the last few weeks, I've been watching the real estate market slow down. Really - it's slowing down. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. You might not have heard about a market slow down in the media, and I agree. Often, I read articles in the media talking about the "hot" market etc, but they are reporting what has happened, and not what is happening. ... Posted by Jim Datlen on November 5, 2011		More
The Japanese Earthquake & Tsunami - it affects us here in Ontario too Recently, many north-east coastal towns and villages in Japan were wiped out by a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, killing almost 30,000 people. This horrible natural disaster is a global disaster too. Much of the manufacturing industry in Canada relies on parts supplied by factories in Japan. These Japanese factories are now closed as the country deals with the situation. Without ... Posted by Jim Datlen on April 5, 2011		More
Start your Spring Garden a bit early While skiers and winter outdoor enthusiasts may feel a sense of sadness as winter draws to an end, the thought of spring flowers brings joy to the hearts of most gardeners. Even though there may still be snow on the ground, it’s not too early to begin planning your garden and even planting it – indoors. Indoor planting is especially beneficial for those of us living in northern climates ... Posted by Jim Datlen on March 7, 2011		More
It's All About Respect Today, one of my friends posted a little story on Facebook that has inspired this blog. My friend encountered a rather nasty woman yelling at a senior citizen in a mall parking lot. The reason for the yelling? The nasty woman thought the senior gentleman in question was driving too slowly as he approached a pedestrian crossing at which the woman was waiting ... Posted by Jim Datlen on January 28, 2011		More
'Tis The Season - For Giving. Yesterday morning, our team at Century 21 Millennium had the best day of the year. In sales, you ask? Nope, not even close. Instead of earning money, we gave it away - and for good reasons, too. Every month, we donate a small amount of money to our "Christmas Families" fund. With about 100 REALTORS® giving a few dollars every month, the sum builds up a rather nicely over ... Posted by Jim Datlen on December 17, 2010		More
The Importance of a Home Inspection I had an interesting experience last night. Representing buyer clients, I presented an offer on a home that they were interested in. The offer was quite decent offering slightly more than the asking price (we were in competition against another offer), with a few normal clauses that protect the buyer. The normal clauses I'm talking about included a home inspection ... Posted by Jim Datlen on October 22, 2010		More
From Real Estate to Life I thought a little bit about the headline of this blog, and I kind of like "From Real Estate to Life". I think it describes how a real estate transaction can be the start or end of a particular journey. I absolutely love real estate and I really enjoy helping people take the next step in their life - whether it's buying their first home, moving up to a larger home to accommodate ... Posted by Jim Datlen on September 21, 2010		More
REALTORS® Care™ - and raised $40,500! Just a few weeks ago - the week of July 7th to be exact - REALTORS® raised over $40,500, all of which will be given back to communities across Ontario to help provide better quality housing for people in need. This year was the 5th Annual REALTORS® Care™ Foundation Motorcycle Ride for Charity, and I'm really proud that I was one of the many sponsors of Lynn Martin, the Executive ... Posted by Jim Datlen on August 20, 2010		More
The Market is Balanced The real estate market continues to change and we've now entered a balanced market, which means that neither sellers nor buyers have the advantage. In other words, market conditions are fair on both sides. You might wonder if I'm a little crazy in saying this, especially when reading that the number of homes sold in July in the Greater Toronto Area dropped by 34% compared to July 2009. ... Posted by Jim Datlen on August 6, 2010		More
The Sellers Market is Fading It's a sunny Monday morning on the first day of summer in June 2010 as I write this blog, and it's interesting to see how the Greater Toronto Area real estate market is changing. About six to eight weeks ago, REALTORS® like myself started to see a shift in the market once again. Strangely, newspapers and other media haven't really caught on yet and so the general public still thinks ... Posted by Jim Datlen on June 21, 2010		More
Bank of Canada Rate Change - Does It Affect You? Yesterday, the Bank of Canada announced the first rate increase to the daily rate it charges banks from 0.25% to 0.5%. Does this affect you? That depends on whether you have a mortgage or a line of credit, and if so, what type. If you have a fixed rate mortgage, then no - it does not affect you, at least until your mortgage is up for renewal. If you have a variable rate mortgage ... Posted by Jim Datlen on June 2, 2010		More
Selling Your Home - It's A Business Decision Over the last few months, there have been occasional articles in the media about the Competition Bureau advising the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) that they would be taken before the Competition Tribunal to determine if the rules surrounding postings to the MLS® were anti-competitive. Talks between CREA and the Competition Bureau were proceeding smoothly, and then the Competition Bureau ... Posted by Jim Datlen on April 1, 2010		More
Earth Hour 2010 - Enlighten Yourself, and Sit In The Dark Earth Hour (TM) is coming - Saturday, March 27th starting at 8:30pm local time, to be precise. Are you participating? Sponsored by the World Wildlife Federation, this event is taking place in most communities across Canada. Neighbours will be getting together for moonlight walks, families will have supper by candlelight, etc, etc. Here is a video that ... Posted by Jim Datlen on March 19, 2010		More
Smoke Detector Alarms - Have You Checked Yours Lately? BEEEEP, BEEEEEP, BEEEEEEP, BEEEEEEEEP! It might be annoying, especially when you've burned the toast for the 4th time this week, but smoke alarms save lives. A few days ago in the city of Toronto, a father and his young daughter were both killed due to a house fire. And today on the news, I listened to the announcer introduce a representative from the Ontario Fire Marshal who proceeded ... Posted by Jim Datlen on March 12, 2010		More
It's Maple Syrup Time! The days are getting longer and the daytime temperatures are getting a bit warmer. That means the maple sap is starting to run, and community maple syrup festivals and events are happening in your area! For a listing of Maple Syrup Festivals in the Greater Toronto Area, click on the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association website. Or, here are a couple of highlighted ... Posted by Jim Datlen on March 2, 2010		More
Brampton Lions Club - Dance of the Decades - Charity Dance Feb 27 The Brampton Lions Club is hosting a charity dance this coming Saturday, February 27th from 7:30pm to 1:00am, raising money to help send underprivileged and/or sick children to Disney for a Day! Date: February 27th Time: 7:30pm - 1:00am Cost: $15.00 per person Location: Century Gardens Recreation Centre, Brampton (corner of Vodden St & Rutherford Rd) This ... Posted by Jim Datlen on February 24, 2010		More
A Taste of Downtown Brampton - Today marks the start of a mid-winter restaurant festival "A Taste of Downtown Brampton". Restaurants in the downtown area of Brampton are offering lunch and dinner fixed-price menus for the next couple of weeks, and I encourage all of us to support these local businesses! Restaurants with diverse cuisine from Italian (Fanzorelli's, Mount Vesuvio, etc) to Japanese (Sushi House) ... Posted by Jim Datlen on February 22, 2010		More
Making the Right Decision I've been working with a really nice family lately showing them a few homes for sale in the Brampton area (actually, just three!) and talking with them about the process of moving house. The reason they've been planning on selling - and downsizing - is to save a bit of money as the economy recovers, plus their kids will be teenagers within the next few years and we all know teenagers ... Posted by Jim Datlen on January 26, 2010		More
Real Estate Market Update - west GTA (Brampton, Mississauga, Milton) Happy New Year, everyone! It's January 6, 2010 as I write this blog, and it's very interesting to see how the market has changed over the last year, eh? At this time a year ago, everyone had gone into hibernation, and adopted a "wait and see" attitude with regards to the economy and the housing market. One year later, and the market has changed drastically! Prices are going up ... Posted by Jim Datlen on January 6, 2010		More
Century 21 - Real Estate Commercial (video) I was surfing www.youtube.com today, and thought it might be interesting to see if there were any Century 21 videos. Well, I found a whole lot of them - many of them hilarious! Some of them were from real estate sales representatives showing off their listings (a cool idea), others were from clients showing off the new home they bought with help from their Century 21 REALTOR, and then ... Posted by Jim Datlen on November 15, 2009		More
Have You Taken Advantage of the Home Renovation Tax Credit? If you haven't been paying attention to the news lately, you might have missed information about the Home Renovation Tax Credit. It's part of the stimulus program that the federal government has put into place for this year, as part of the effort to help the economy and shorten the recession. Essentially, it works by reducing your income taxes up to $1,350 for the 2009 tax year. So, ... Posted by Jim Datlen on October 25, 2009		More
The Real Estate Market - Now Is The Time To Sell! So, I've been discovering very interesting things happening in the market - it continues to improve. Today, the Toronto Real Estate Board has released a report to the media showing that the market is still rising. So far in September, the number of transactions has increased by 23% over the first two weeks of September 2008. And prices have increased by 8% in the same time period. So ... Posted by Jim Datlen on September 16, 2009		More
The Value of Real Estate So, how much is your home worth? Hmmm, interesting question and the answers will change depending on whom you ask. To determine a recommended asking and therefore likely selling price, a good Realtor will compare your home to similar homes that have recently sold. What's a similar home? A similar home to Realtors and the public is one that is approximately the same size (square ... Posted by Jim Datlen on August 14, 2009		More
Professional Realtors - and unprofessional real estate sales people I received an interesting email the other day from one of my Seller clients. My client copied me on an email that he sent to a rather unprofessional real estate salesperson who had an appointment to show his home. Here's the email that my Seller client sent to this person - note that I've omitted identifying names, etc: *** "Dear (unprofessional real estate salesperson): I am ... Posted by Jim Datlen on July 22, 2009		More
Brampton Real Estate - the market is normal! As I write this, it's a cooler summer afternoon with rain on the 30th of June - it feels more like a spring day than summer. And that brings to mind thoughts of the "spring" market that we've just experienced. Well, the market turned out to be pretty decent - a little above last year's numbers (before the economic fuddle-duddle). As of last night, there have been 353 house sales ... Posted by Jim Datlen on June 30, 2009		More

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