Li Read

Salt Spring Island Realtor at your service! Call Li Read....

Contact Li Read at Sea to Sky Premier Properties (Salt Spring), on beautiful Salt Spring Island!

• Cell: 250-537-7647
• Office: 250-537-8763
• Managing Broker, Sea to Sky Premier Properties (Salt Spring)
  
• www.lireadgroup.com
• Medallion Club, 2010 sales award.

I love my career!

As a full service/full time real estate agent, on Salt Spring Island, and also selling on the adjacent Southern Gulf Islands (Galiano, Mayne, Pender, Saturna, & water access only options, in between (Wise, Parker, Secret, Gossip, DeCourcy, Phillimore Point), since 1989, I look forward to sharing my expertise and knowledge with my clients.

Living & working on a Gulf Island is very different from a "city scape". Boats & floatplanes are also a part of one's work life, not just cars & highways (although the sea is just a highway, really).

I work under the Vancouver Real Estate Board, and had achieved MLS recognition for ten consecutive years of Gold Award accomplishment, while affiliated through the Victoria Board (MLS President's Award for same). In the various companies i've worked for, since 1989, I have always been a 'top producer', achieving the highest award levels, while connecting several hundreds of sellers and buyers. Most recently, I've achieved the Vancouver Board's Medallion Club sales award (top 10% in sales, in that Board).

Sales awards (at company levels, MLS/Board levels, & internationally -- references upon request) are an indicator, from one's peers in the industry, of excellence in customer service.

By the way, "Li" rhymes with "see". Thanks!

Say hello to Bobbi, my "unlicenced assistant"! Jack Russell Terriers are "smart cookies",and Bobbi

is also a calm one (yes, it's true!). When you view property with me, she's sometimes along for

the ride -- I supply the dog biscuits!

Salt Spring Island and the Southern Gulf Islands are "governed" by the B.C. Provincial Government,under the Islands Trust. The Trust came into being in 1974, with a "preserve & protect" mandate, to keep the Islands as these pristine and park-like enviroments, for the benefit of all B.C. residents.

Two trustees per Island (not representative of population, then) are elected every three years, in the B.C. civic elections, to manage the Trust bylaws/official community plan, on each Island. These strong zoning/density bylaws control (& effectively "cap") growth. Limited supply, and a strong buyer demand, usually result in higher prices, regardless of market trend in play at any given time. There will always be a low inventory of properties for sale, then, on any Gulf Island, due to this Islands Trust mandate and resulting cap on growth.

There is no industry on the Gulf Islands. Salt Spring Island is the largest and best serviced of the Southern Gulf Islands (Gabriola, Thetis, Galiano, Salt Spring, Pender, Mayne, & Saturna Islands are the ferry accessed options, in the Southern Gulf Islands grouping), with a year round lifestyle, and with all the amenities required in the 21st Century.

One doesn't "have to" leave Salt Spring Island for anything, but it's easy to go to Vancouver or to Victoria or to mid-Vancouver Island locations, on day trips. There are three separate ferries that service the Island, plus three regularly scheduled (year round) floatplane services, so it's very simple to do daytrips to major centres, and to return easily to the Island's charm. In the "season", there's also a floatplane service from Seattle to Salt Spring Island.

Low supply coupled with high demand, though, often result in price escalation. The internet erased geography, and so the buyer profile for this area is mainly from out of province now, and often from out of country.

Although the Islands Trust wasn't set up to create an expensive "enclave" area, it has had this result. As soon as one "caps" growth, for whatever reason (in this case, for environmental protection reasons), and the buyer profile is a global one (post-internet), which means more buyers than inventory, regardless of real estate market trends, at any given time, one has a more expensive buy-in locale.

Sellers and realtors do not set a market; only buyers do that. The Islands Trust, however, is responsible for a "cap" on growth policy that guarantees an escalating price point, over time, in the Gulf Islands and the Salt Spring Island real estate marketplace.

My knowledge (of both inventory and trends), expertise, and strong negotiating skills will help you to have a pleasing experience, whether

selling or buying.

This is a magical Island, and I look forward to introducing it to you.

Please ask for me, by name, when you visit Salt Spring Island. I have

an office in "downtown Ganges". A quick call to my cell (250-537-7647) will allow us to connect. My office is located at: # 4 - 105 Rainbow Road, in Ganges Village, across from the Ganges Marina. Easy parking behind my office, & shade for your dog!

P.S. "Li" rhymes with "see"!

"See Li for Successful Solutions" is my promise to my clients.

Look forward to meeting you!

How may I help you to buy your special Salt Spring Island

or Southern Gulf Islands property?

Cell: 250-537-7647

liread33@gmail.com

Salt Spring Island & Southern Gulf Islands local expert!

It's definitely different than selling 
in a city enviroment.   

For one thing, I work in what is known

as a secondary home

or discretionary market.

No one "has to" move to Salt Spring Island

or another Southern Gulf

Island -- it's all by choice!

In a primary residence (city) area, there might

actually be

"comparables".

In a discretionary/secondary home marketplace,

though, it's

full of "custom" homes and even undeveloped

land will be its unique

self, without any "comparable".

Difficult for an appraiser, then, as there is so

much that is specific

to each property, with no real equivalent

anywhere else on the

Island, plus, with a limited inventory "ever"

(there's that Islands

Trust, and its cap on growth), it means the

listing inventory is

never very large, and so the "solds"

statistics aren't very

informative.

Time lags are a part of all sales, too.

First, the prospective

buyer has to hear about this area

and then they make plans to

travel here, to view.

The entire Coast is very appealing,

and so often the Island gets "interviewed", and

then so do other coastal communities.

One has to sell the Island, first, thus, before

one can get around

to selling a particular property on it.

Two visits, then, if not three, become the

pattern, and since the

buyers aren't "local", the time between

trips can be as long as

5 to 7 months!

It can take, then, between one and four 
years to sell any property 
on a Gulf Island, including on Salt Spring 
Island (the largest & best 
serviced of the Southern Gulf Islands), and 
the main reason for this 
is because the buyer isn't "local", and 
the decision to purchase is a 
"choice", both in the "where" and in 
the "when".  

This time lag feature makes a

"days on market" tag on an

mls listing irrelevant.

In my area, there's a weekly local paper,

and a monthly real

estate supplement.

Neither of these are seen until the buyer

arrives on Island, and so they do

not offer an advertising vehicle

that "brings" a buyer. No one googles

Salt Spring Island, or

the Southern Gulf Islands, unless

they're encouraged to do so.

Print ads, then, in targeted venues,

where the buyer profile lives,

are still important in a

non-local/discretionary

marketplace.

If you think you saw an ad by me,

in your area, you probably did!

I hope you responded, and

went onto my principal website

(www.liread.com).

Open houses don't work here,

as the buyer isn't local.

We now have our own radio station,

which is just up and running,

so it's early days for advertising on it.

No t.v. Just that monthly supplement,

from our weekly newspaper. Signage on a lawn

(or up on a tree, if you're going by a property

in a boat, and

would see that more easily) is apparent,

but, again, not viewed

until the buyer physically arrives

on Island.

People don't move around on the Island;

they arrive, they're here,

then, if they have to leave (usually only

for personal reasons), they

list. Then comes the search for the

buyer, who lives somewhere

else in the world! More time lags!

This non-local aspect to the buyer profile

means that a realtor

has to keep an eye on market conditions

in the buyers areas, as

the B.C. market outlook won't have

much relevance. Events in

the home areas of our non-local buyer,

then, have an impact on our

discretionary/secondary home marketplace.

I wouldn't live anywhere else, though!

This is an exceptional

lifestyle choice!

If you drop into Salt Spring, please ask for me 
by name -- I'm 
the Managing Broker, 
of Sea to Sky Premier Properties (Salt Spring), 
and I have an office in "downtown" Ganges Village 
(at the corner 
of the main road (Lower Ganges Road) 
& Rainbow Road. 

There's parking behind, off Rainbow Road 
(shade, if your dog is in 
the car).
 

My office (# 4 - 105 Rainbow Road) 
faces onto the main street, 
is across from the Ganges Marina, 
and enjoys a Harbour view.  

  

A quick call to my cell (250-537-7647) 
will connect us, too.

I look forward to meeting you, and 
to offering my proven expertise 
and my superlative market knowledge 
(of both inventory & trends), 
and my strong negotiating skills, 
all for your benefit, during your 
search for your special Island gem.

Looking forward to your call!

P.S. Here's one of those "differences":

Selling real estate on Salt Spring Island 
& the Southern Gulf Islands 
is not like it would be in a city or a 
town marketplace. 

I was driving up a roughed in roadway, 
on a heavily forested 
acreage, recently, and there, 
at the side of the roughed in 
driveway, were two baby racoons. 
The clients took these photos, 
before we bundled them into 
my dog's car bed, wrapped in towels 
that I keep for wiping off a muddy dog, 
on rainy days, 
so that we could deliver them to 
the Salt Spring Wildlife Rescue 
Centre. 

That was an interesting visit, too! 
Looking for a place to give 
a charitable donation? 
Think of the Wildlife Centre -- on Lang's 
Road, it's not open to the public, 
and they have a unique project 
there. Saving abandoned wildlife 
is one of them. (Yes, we did check 
with the Wildlife Centre before 
we brought the babies in. 
Sometimes the mother is just off 
foraging for food, 
but in the case of these racoons, 
they really were abandoned). 

It was an adventure! 

liread33@gmail.com

www.liread.com

Salt Spring Island & Southern Gulf Islands information!

Large list of satisfied clients upon request.

Privacy is an important

concern, especially in a small community;

I can supply references,

but I prefer not to place same in this venue.

Thank you!

With twenty years in the business,

successfully connecting sellers

and buyers on Salt Spring Island

and on the Southern Gulf Islands

(Galiano, Mayne, Pender, Saturna &

water access only islands

in between: Wise, Secret, Gossip,

Parker, DeCourcy,

Hudson, etc.),

I bring to each sales transaction:

enthusiasm,

expertise, superb market knowledge

of both inventory

and trends,

strong negotiating skills,

and a sincere desire

to create a successful buying

or selling experience for you,

the valued client.

Referrals are welcomed and

are cared for.

"See Li for Successful Solutions"

is my promise to my client.

("Li" rhymes with "see").

P.S. No one wants the cell tower

near them, on this beautiful

and quirky Island, and so when

you call my cell

(250-537-7647), you might get

the voice mail Please leave

me a message.

I do return all calls, asap,

& will find a cell

zone to do so!

Appreciated!

PPS: Check out my website for

podcasts of my interviews with Islanders

(from my live radio show on the new

community radio station, on Salt Spring).

Thank you!

(www.liread.com/radio.htm)

liread33@gmail.com

Cell: 250-537-7647