About North, AB

I invite you to experience an evolutionary online marketing technology for the Fort McMurray Real Estate Market, streaming HD web video tours. I offer high definition web video tours of your home when you list with me that are stream directly from my personal website www.McMurraysBestHomes.com and including MLS^®.

My web video tours are not only comprised of interior and exterior shots, but also include highlighting features to match feature sheets, a visual from Google Maps of the area, a community tours with landmarks and neighborhood shots.

Why Video?

• A real estate web video tour is the next best thing to an open house walk through. Nothing replaces this up close, in person visit, but a web video tour is the ultimate way to promote interest and prompt buyers to make a call to me to schedule a showing of your home.
• I show your home to clients who are genuinely interested and serious about viewing your house.
• Gives your home a one-up over the current highly competition Fort McMurray Real Estate Market.
• 93% of home buyers turn first to the Internet to research real estate. Optimize the exposure of your home today with a web video tour!

This is the future of real estate marketing! It is a natural evolutionary phase. Spinning 360 virtual tours will soon be forgotten and photography alone will simply not be enough. Ensure your real estate advertising is top notch and up to date. Let the power of high definition web video tours go to work for you in selling your home in Fort McMurray.

Marketing and Distribution of Video Tours
Here are a few of the social community video websites, similar to YouTube, available to host and stream your home web video tour to the world.

Did you know that when working with a good mortgage broker, you will always be offered the best rate upfront? Manulife Financial Advisor, Greg MacPherson, says that banks "only reveal the lowest mortgage rate they will give you when you absolutely force them to by coming up with a better competing rate from across the street."

This is the similar to negotiating the price of a souvenir in a third world country marketplace. They always want as much as they can get. You shouldn't have to go through that!

The difference is that banks usually offer retail mortgage rates while brokers always offer wholesale mortgage rates.

Our lenders are offering some extremely low rates right now that are generating a lot of attention. If you are thinking of buying your first home, refinancing your existing home for a lower rate, or buying another property now may be the time to do so.

Did you know that even 1/4% difference in rate on a $300,000 mortgage over 5 years will cost you over $3500 in extra interest? It definitely pays to check with a broker to ensure you are offered the best rate.

If you need help in finding a good broker to help you with your next home purchase visit my website www.McMurraysBestHomes.com and I will give a few names.

There hasn't been a better time to buy in Fort McMurray in the past three years then right now. Since October 2008 we have watched the listing price of single family home drop. The number of sales each month has been in the 30's a compared to the 100's in the past few years. The average price is down about $40,000 over the same period last year, but still up from three years ago. March 2009 will be seen as the turning point in our market, the sales volume has incease to near normal levels for Fort McMurray at just under 100 unit for March.

What has caused this change? Near record low interest rates, oil prices are around the $50 a barrel range. The recent news that Suncor is purchasing PetroCan and the fact that all the major oilsand players are still hiring staff position. Are all signs that Fort McMurray is ready to start leading Canada economy again.

If you have been sitting on the fence waiting for the bottom of the market before you buy, then welcome to the bottom. Things are about to start moving again. Give me Patrick Dardis a call today to find the home of your dreams in Fort McMurray.

Silent Auction and Benefit for Daniel



On Christmas night 2008, Daniel was flown by air ambulance to the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton. Just 14 years old, Daniel was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). The current treatment protocol for children with ALL involves chemotherapy and several different drugs or combinations of drugs delivered over three years. It also involves ongoing testing and evaluation at the Stollery.

Daniel is the oldest of three children. His parents are currently going through a divorce and his mother is the primary custodial parent. She is a freelance writer.

The family is enduring the enormous stress of coming to terms with a childhood cancer. The emotional and logistical burden is heavy, and is compounded by huge financial stress. Because they have to travel to and from the city and take up residence in Edmonton during this initial course of treatment, their out-of-pocket expenses are very high.

Friends and family in the hometown of Beaverlodge are coming together, preparing a Benefit Dance and Silent Auction in Daniel's honour. It is our hope that by easing the financial stress, we can give this family one less thing to worry about. We hope it will allow them to focus more clearly on the most important factor of all - Daniel's wellness.

This beautiful quilt will be donated to the Silent Auction by Matt and Bradie Sparrow. Their creative genius and hours of hard work are very much appreciated by Daniel and his family.

The Benefit and Silent Auction will take place in Beaverlodge on Saturday, March 13. For more information or to make a donation, please call Sandy Arndt at 780-429-5214.

This information was reprinted with permission from my friend Bradie Sparrow for the benefit of Daniel.

Low-Cost Tips to Get your Home Ready for the Holidays
It's that time of the year again and even though getting your home ready for the holidays can seem like a chore, it doesn't have to be. Fortunately, it doesn't even have to take up much time or money, either. You can do it in a few easy steps. Just get in the mood to be creative.

Add colour and texture
Simply displaying some richly coloured pillows or throws in any room can give the room a different feel. Choose warm and spicy colors, or maybe something with mirror work to catch the light and add to the glowing effect and sparkle of the holiday season.

Neutrals, metallic and peacock shades are the hot holiday hues of 2008, so don't feel like you have to stick with the traditional red, green and white schemes.

Artwork, throws and mirrors can also add a new splash to the walls.

Spread some warmth
Changing the shades on your lamps to warm coloured ones can make the light appear richer. By lighting candles in holiday scents - ensuring, of course, they're displayed in safe areas away from flammable objects - your room can take on a warm glow.

Revamping or creatively using what you already own can also create lush looks in leaner economic times. For instance, filling a clear glass bowl or vase with ornaments of a single bright colour can make for an eye-catching display.

Another trick that makes for a pleasing display that is kind to the wallet involves bringing in some evergreen cuttings and using ribbon or other household items to dress them up. And you can make old wreaths look new by attaching fake berries, sprigs or pine cones.

You can also refresh your old decorations by dressing them up with paint or glitter.

Make it cozy
There's no better time than the present to get started on your holiday cleaning. If you rid your rooms of clutter, especially those catch-all coffee tables and kitchen counters, your home will seem much more inviting.

Piles of junk mail, unfiled bills and magazines not only look messy, but can also interfere with your cleaning efforts. It's much easier, and faster, to dust a clear surface than to clean around three months' worth of the latest decorating magazines and some early Christmas cards.

To eliminate - and prevent - clutter, everything should have a designated space. Magazines, for instance, can be placed in a bin under the coffee table, while children's art can be stored in a chest or accordion-style folder.

And to encourage an even more inviting atmosphere, think about arranging your furniture in conversation groups. You have to move the furniture anyway in order to get rid of those dust bunnies, so why not try arranging them in a fresh, new manner?