Real Estate, St. Johns, Newfoundland R. Greg Osmond, Realtor

The H1N1 Vaccine is available and about to be distributed in Newfoundland free of charge. Now what? While it is not mandatory, the health minister is recommending that everyone have the H1N1 flu vaccine.

Is this the right advise from the minister? Should we all have the H1N1 flu vaccine?

Here is a link to the H1N1 Flu Virus Information published by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

There have been no deaths in Newfoundland due to the H1N1 flu virus as of yet. Here are the statistics on H1N1 Flu Virus Deaths in Canada. How big of a risk is it given there has been zero deaths in Newfoundland? How many deaths are we expecting?

Here is my quandary and in truth, I am really puzzled by this one. Do I get the H1N1 influenza vaccine or do I take my chances that I can overcome the flu if it attacks me?

I am not in one of the "high" risk groups....pregnant women, people under 65 with chronic conditions, people living on first nations reserves or in remote communities. That isn't me.

What about the rest of my family? Is this really a measurable risk for any of us?

Health Canada has officially authorized the vaccine believing it to be both safe and effective. But there are still some questions that I have.

Does this really mean it is safe for all?

How long have people been using it?

How long a period should we observe its results before concluding that it is safe for all?

Are there any side effects that we are not being told about?

What if it causes a reaction that is worse than the flue?

Is this hype about H1N1 overblown?

What do you think? Are you wondering what to do like I am? I would really like to have some help with this one. Any opinions offered here are greatly appreciated? I have to decide and right now, I just don't know!

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About the Author: R. Greg Osmond is a Platinum Award winning Realtor dedicated to serving the people of St. John's, Mount Pearl, Paradise, Kilbride, Goulds, Conception Bay South (CBS), Portugal Cove - St. Philips, Torbay, and Logy Bay - Middle Cove - Outer Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador. For over 21 years Greg has been practicing in Real Estate marketing. He can be reached at 709-895-2500.

Want to get in touch? Email rgosmond1@gmail.com. For more information, please visit http://www.rgregosmond.com. Thinking of selling your home? I have a passion for helping my clients with buying and selling real estate! If there is any way I can be of service to you today, please feel free to contact me!

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In fact, one might even think the trip was hardly worth writing about. Not for the company nor because we didn't see an array of Fall colors. Those aspects were great!

It was hardly worth writing about because instead of golfing, we were consigned to just leaving the clubs in the vehicles and taking a long hike.....through the * * * snow * * *, if you can believe it. We don't often get snow this early in Newfoundland but this year, we did. We didn't get as much as Gander at 20 centimetres but we did get about 5. Enough to put a damper on our activity schedule.

"Hello Winter! What are you doing here this weekend?"

Oh well! We are not ones to complain so we decided to make the best of it. We hiked around the golf course and managed to retrieve about 75 balls along the course edges and from the fairway slice zones. I am not one to miss an opportunity to make or save a buck so I didn't resist the temptation to hike through the brush.

Therefore, when it came to golfing, Saturday was a bit of a write off. However, Sunday afternoon turned out to be stellar! The sun was shining and the snow had melted on the nine hole course, Eagle's Creek. It really felt good to get out and swing those clubs while taking in the beautiful Fall colors. One of my favourite golf sayings puts it this way. "Golf is a ball, no matter how you slice it!"

Here are a few photos from my last weekend golf trip at Terra Nova Golf Resort for 2009. I took these when we hiked around the course on Saturday. We had a good laugh and between the four of us, we did our bit to help the environment, get a little exercise and save ourselves about $100.00 in golf balls that we now do not have to purchase next year. You got to love those free Titleist Pro V1's!

© Copyright R. Greg Osmond 2009.

About the Author:

R. Greg Osmond is a Platinum Award winning Realtor dedicated to serving the people of St. John's, Mount Pearl, Paradise, Kilbride, Goulds, Conception Bay South (CBS), Portugal Cove - St. Philips, Torbay, and Logy Bay - Middle Cove - Outer Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador. For over 21 years Greg has been practicing in Real Estate marketing. He can be reached anytime at 709-895-2500.

Want to get in touch? Email rgosmond1@gmail.com. For more information, please visit www.rgregosmond.com. Thinking of selling your home? I have a passion for helping my clients buy and sell real estate! If there is any way I can be of service to you, please feel free to contact me today!

Some parts of Mount Pearl, Newfoundland were underwater after a another major rainfall this past weekend. According to Environment Canada, the city had been deluged with 52 millimetres of rain over an eleven hour period.

To add insult to injury, it had also been hit by high winds with gusts of up to 120 Kilometres per hour. Needless to say, there were a few folks worried about flooding and leaks this past Friday night.

According to a report in The Telegram today, a 90-year-old lady had to be lifted from her Mount Pearl home on Saturday morning after heavy rains caused Forest Avenue properties to flood.

One male resident suggested that at its peak, the Waterford River rose about two metres overflowing its banks. He said he'd been living in the area for 27 years and had never seen flooding this bad.

There are 500 houses going up not far from where the flooding occurred. Some think that such a large development as this will not help matters. They complain that development has contributed to the flooding.

However, development in the area is unlikely the real cause for the calamity according to the Mt. Pearl Mayor, Mr. Randy Simms. He said, "Any developments that have been done in Mount Pearl for the last several years all have water detention ponds attached to those developments,"

"This is a natural flood occurrence as a result of the significant amount of water we've had" he said.

It is interesting to me that for most of the preceding summer, all of St. John's and Mount Pearl residents was bound by a local water ban that prevented them from using city water to wash their cars and houses or to water their lawns.

It is quite remarkable that in just a few short weeks the ban has been lifted and many ponds and rivers are overflowing their banks as a result of the significant amount of rain fallen in the past month.

It does cause you wonder if the ban was really necessary. However, counting on our Fall to be as rainy as it has would probably not have made a great water management strategy. This is likely going to be one for the record books.

R. Greg Osmond is a Platinum Award winning Realtor serving St. John's, Mount Pearl, Paradise, Kilbride, Goulds, Conception Bay South (CBS), Portugal Cove - St. Philips, Torbay, or Logy Bay - Middle Cove - Outer Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador for over 21 years and can be reached at 709-895-2500. For more information, please visit http://www.rgregosmond.com.

Photo by R. Greg Osmond. Copyright protected and may be used upon request.

The thought of relocating from one address to another is a two move or two house process that can be a little daunting for many. Let’s call a move a spade and then, let’s call a spade a spade. There are no easy moves when you must move twice. For some, just thinking about this is overwhelming.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could just wiggle our nose and everything was done in a flash? Unfortunately we don’t live like Samatha. Truth is, we don’t even know a friendly witch to call when we have to make that move. It will have to be done one box at a time. (If you don’t know Samatha, you probably did not watch the 70’s television sitcom, Bewitched.)

Here is something to remember about buying and selling a home.

Buying a new home and selling your existing home is not really a single event. In order to manage it well, you should think of them as two separate but related transactions. Whichever one you do first will depend upon your own level of comfort.

If you want to sell your home before you buy another one, prepare yourself to make two moves. If on the other hand you prefer to buy a new house first and then sell your present home you should expect to own two homes, at least temporarily. In other words, you will either make two moves or you will own two homes. The question is which do you prefer?

It may be possible to close on your purchase and your sale on the same day but those deals are difficult to achieve and usually come at a price. Selling your home quickly requires that you have everything in "quick sale" shape before you list your home for sale. As well, pricing your home for a quick sale will be critical to making this happen.

Bear in mind that selling quickly can be done but it may not enable you to sell for top dollar. I know some people who agreed to sell to a neighbor for quite a bit less than the market value just because it would give them a quick sale. Sometimes, a little interest payable for a month or so while the home is exposed to the market may be worth paying in order to maximize your sale price. In this case, an interested neighbor would pay its real market value or lose it to someone who would.

Moving from an existing house into a rental or the cottage before you buy the next home is the other way around having two houses. This will require that you move twice. I have known some folks to sell their home and move into a rental property for 4 to 6 months until they find the right place to buy. This method will work well for those who don't want to own two homes.

Here are a three suggestions for making the move go well.

1. Make the effort to bring everyone in the family on side. Discuss the need to make the move with each member so they all know what role will be expected of them. Prepare them for a temporary burst of energy requirement for the period leading up to the move. When everyone buys into the idea, it will help eliminate resistance and likely elicit some meaningful help.

2. Solicit the extra assistance that you need from outside the immediate family. Don't try to be superwo/man who can do it all. Perhaps you can call on extended family and friends. Be sure to call on the right professionals to make the move go as efficiently as possible. Good professional movers are worth their weight in moving trucks.

3. Plan on rewarding yourself at the end. Schedule a little break somewhere after or announce to your family your intention to buy a new piece of furniture or something else that you would like to have. The effort required to make the move is not insignificant. Let everyone know that when it is all done, you will all do this or that or you will buy something that everyone wants...like that new flat screen TV. A little reward will serve as some useful incentive to push through the work load.

Whatever you decide to do, I recommend you take the time to think about your options and move ahead one step at a time. Breaking it down in pieces will keep the event from being overwhelming. Not all lights are green when you plan your trip across town but as you move forward, each light will turn green in its time. Give yourself time and be confident. You really can do this!

R. Greg Osmond is a Platinum Award winning Realtor serving St. John’s and surrounding areas, Newfoundland and Labrador for over 20 years and can be reached at 709-895-2500. Visit http://www.rgregosmond.com/ for further information.

In St. John's Newfoundland, a local lender, Mr. John Woodford with the Royal Bank of Canada just sent me an email last evening to say that interest rates have moved up for the major lenders in Canada. It appears that he knew this was coming since Monday but was not permitted to release it to the public. I always knew John was a man of principal. Turns out he is actually a man of principal and interest. OK, bad pun.

Here is the latest news according to John. "The 5 year fixed closed rate is now 4.54%. The 5 year variable open rate is prime + .70 (2.25 + .70 = 2.95%) and the 5 year variable closed (the shining star!) is prime + 0...ie: 2.25%. The latter is proving to be very popular these days!"

Yes, I should say so. A five year floating rate at prime is very nice indeed! I just might like to take advantage of that myself. I wonder if the prime rate will float past 5% in the next five years. Hmmm. I must ask John as he probably has an opinion about that.

There is no doubt that the rising home prices in St. John's, Newfoundland can be attributed in part to the strong economy in the province and as well to the very low interest rates that we have been enjoying for the last couple of years. How long the low interest rates will last is for smarter analysts than I. The bigger question I am interested in is, "Have interest rates bottomed?" If so, then buying a home sooner than later would make a lot of sense, at least for those who are intending to buy a home.

If you have any desire to find and purchase a home as a residence or one as an investment property, simply get in touch with me at your earliest convenience. I would be happy to be of assistance. John Woodford will no doubt be happy to "lend" a hand too. OK, I will stop with the puns now.

R. Greg Osmond is a Platinum Award winning Realtor serving St. John’s and surrounding areas, Newfoundland and Labrador for over 20 years and can be reached at 709-895-2500. Visit http://www.rgregosmond.com/ for further information.