Newfoundland

As I write, another day comes to a close and a new one will dawn in a few hours. Each new day is a gift to us all. The truth is we really don't deserve to have it....we didn't pay anyone for it and we can't change what's done when its over. We just live in it and we can change it either for good or for not so good.

We never know what a day will bring but one thing is for certain. We should always make sure we do our best for the people we serve. In truth, doing our best for others is exactly how we do what is best for ourselves. It's what we call a positive sum game. Serving others is positive for both the one served and the one serving.

I try to live my life to the fullest and make sure I do the very best I can for my clients. I am not boasting about this because I am sure I don't do that 100% even though I may try. But trying to be that person is my Modus Operandi. It's how I can sleep with a clear conscience at night and how I am energized to work again the next day. I work to serve. My own needs are secondary. In meeting other people's needs, my own will all be taken care of.

Tonight, one of my clients decided to withdraw her offer because a couple of things were not right. The information on the listing she offered on was incomplete. We were not informed that the home she was buying was actually a "condo". We thought it was a single family townhome. Strike one.

Also, the home inspection revealed that there had been a moisture problem in the attic at some point in the past. The inspector was unsure if it was still an active problem but something was not quite normal up there. Strike two.

Who needs strike three? That was quite enough for my client to say, "You know, I am just not that comfortable with proceeding with this purchase. Lets look for something else." And that is just what we will be doing.

Do you think it bothers me at all? Not for one second! What is important to me in every transaction is that my client is completely satisfied with his or her purchase. The "after the sale" is so much more valuable to me than the "making the sale". Far better to have a client for lifetime than to just have a client for one transaction, don't you think?

Tonight, I also had another call. It was from a fellow Realtor to say that the offer that another client of mine had made was accepted, even though there was competition for the house. We were very close in monetary value but my client won and deal. So as it turns out, there is balance to this day. Tomorrow we will be happy to do it all over again.

And this is how my day went.....my "birth" day. Life is Good! Let this tip guide your day tomorrow. As you leave each day behind, leave it better than it began simply because you lived it well!

God Bless!

Would you like to search the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for homes in St. John’s, Newfoundland for free? Would you like to know all the homes for sale in St. John's that fit your personal criteria? You can do it, and with no hassle, no driving around waisting money on gas, no reading through pages of advertising, no searching all over the internet and no calling every agent in the book for information.

You can just sit back in your chair and have a list of all available homes on the Multiple Listing Service delivered right to your computer. It’s easy and it won’t cost you a dime.

Home buyers are always looking for information that will help them find the exact right home. Yet with all the searching through a maze of homes for sale on the market and with looking through the Home Buyers Guide or the Telegram one can be totally overwhelmed. One can have too much information and that amounts to real estate "information overload".

There is a much better way! Why not get yourself set up with a free Multiple Listing Service search designed specifically for your requirements. A Realtor can set this up for you simply by asking you a few questions about what you are looking for and then inputting that criteria right into the MLS Search System. Within minutes the system will select every home for sale that fits your specific requirements.

Here is an example. Let us assume that you want to look for a home in the St. John’s East and West end only. You also want it to be a home that is less than 20 years old, and you want it to be a single family home only. Let us also assume that your price range is from $200,000 to $250,000 and that you only want a detached home. (no townhouse or duplex)

If I were setting up this MLS search for you using your above criteria it would be done in a couple of minutes and here is what you would soon receive in your email Inbox.

Dear (Your Name)

Please click on the link below to view the listings that I have found for you. I would be happy to give you a personal tour of these properties or provide you any additional information you may require on any or all of these listings.

New Properties

I look forward to hearing from you in the near future and will continue to monitor and watch for more new and appropriate listings on your behalf. (Please do not reply to this message, however please contact me as noted below)

R. GREG OSMOND SALES PERSON SUTTON GROUP - CAPITAL REALTY LIMITED (709) 895-2500 rgosmond@nl.rogers.com

When you received this you would soon notice that all of these homes are the ones presently on the MLS system that specifically fit your personal criteria that we discussed above. These can now be further reviewed simply by a click of the mouse.

When you click on the link New Properties embedded in the email, you will be taken directly to a page of listings that provides you more detail on each home and will show you any photos that are registered with the listing as well. It will look something like this.

These homes may be available for viewing if there hasn’t been an accepted offer on the home within the last 7 days approximately.

Another interesting feature is that as soon as a home is listed on the MLS system that fits your personal criteria, you will immediately be notified telling you that this home is now available for sale. By receiving these notices in your email Inbox, you will be much further ahead of the buyers who are competing with you by looking through the Home Buyers Guide, the Telegram or any other Real Estate Booklet that advertises real estate listings.

So to avail of this best way to find a home in St. John’s, Newfoundland, call or email me and ask for a personalized Multiple Listing Service search. I will set you up with one for free and with no obligation. Very quickly you will be receiving a list of every home for sale in St. Johns, Newfoundland that specifically fits your criteria.

This is how you can be one of the most informed buyers in the market. You will be immediately alerted to any new listing of interest to you that is added to the MLS. It would be my pleasure to assist you so feel free to call me at 895-2500. Or if you prefer, send me an email at rgosmond1@gmail(dot)com. Be sure to change the (dot) to .

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.

I came home on Monday to a strange and desperate sound emanating from my wood stove. I was startled to hear the steel liner in the chimney bellowing a scratching sound and a rapid machine gun fire as though a Wood Pecker was trying to burrow into metal. There was no mistaking it. Something was inside the pipe.

On one other occasion about three years ago our wood stove managed to snag a Starling that found it’s way down the chimney and stage left at the elbow. I delicately retrieved it from the firebox and the little bird remained quite docile on our deck for several minutes before heading for the trees. But this time it was different.

As it turned out the wayward victim was not a Starling but a Northern Flicker. I didn’t know at first it was one of those beautiful birds. I just thought we had another Starling. So my son and I removed the stove pipe and discovered that this frantic creature was not in the wood stove at all but had gone down to the base of the chimney. It was unable to fly upward toward the hole where the stove pipe joined the chimney.

The only way to extricate the bird was remove the clean-out at the bottom and see if it would fly out from there. The chimney needed to be cleaned out anyway so it was good timing. We began digging out the soot that had collected at the base of the clean-out and it was not long before the anxious bird was hurtling itself toward the light and thankfully into the clear plastic leaf bag that I had placed around the opening.

Once I had the bird safely secured inside, I removed the bag from the house and opened it to the blue sky. The Flicker bolted forward and flew frantically toward the forest without even looking back to say thanks. Because they are very timid birds, rarely will one see them sitting around in a tree. It must have been quite traumatic for the little fellow to be right in my hands.

When I saw how fast it flew away I couldn't help but think of the phrase “Like a bat out of Hell”. Upon reflection though, a new phrase might just stand on its own to discribe a rapid exit into the wild. This one took off “like a Flicker out of a chimney”. I sure hope it passes the word around the local bird community. That black hole at the top of our house is just not a nice place to hide.

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.

Within the last week, it was reported that Moammar Gadhafi was planning a visit to St. John’s on Sept 29th. His plane was to refuel at the airport and perhaps these visitors would take in a few sights and snap a few photos of the oldest city in North America. It’s not a wonder that they would like to visit Newfoundland. Most who haven't would and many who have visited the beautiful province long for the day when they can return.

But, it’s not every day the capital city St. John's is visited by a dictator of notoriety such as Moammar Gadhafi. As he would be streaming a team of trained killers and packing an arsenal of weapons at the side, the scheduled event was catching quite a bit of attention. Needless to say the city was in a stir. The prevailing question that was on many people's minds, itself a play on the first line of the Mummers song, "Any Moammars Allowed In?"

Gadhafi's advanced delegation had booked several luxurious rooms in the city for the one night layover. The Sheraton had reserved a block of rooms and other homes were being solicited. Apparently the owners of the Leaside Manor and Apartments had been asked to reserve their whole property and move any previously booked guests elsewhere. The Lybian visitors would have paid for the upheaval as money was no object.

The Libyan dictator of 40 years travels with an entourage of 40 plus muscular female body guards and he uses a large Bedouin tent for their overnight stay. Local radio talk shows had placed the interest in having the visitors welcomed to the most hospitable place in North America at about 4 to 1 against the visit. Newfoundland is well known as a place outstanding in hospitality, yet apparently it is not that warm a place for a notorious dictator especially at the end of September. Perhaps some were a little suspicious as to why Gadhafi was visiting Newfoundland in the first place. Many people were preparing to receive the tourists with at least a little reserve.

Was it the weather, the lack of genuine love felt or were there just not enough luxury rooms available on such short notice? We don’t know for sure but we do know now that the visit has been called off. One member of the delegation who declined to admit his affiliation is to have said, “It’s all about politics”.

Whatever the case, the Col. and his travel partners are not going to be moose hunting or sight seeing in Newfoundland this year. And in truth, it is probably just as well. Newfoundlanders really don’t find it easy to be inhospitable and as sure as the sun rises, many would expect them to be so.

A word to the Libyan dictator for future travel plans. Try coming to Newfoundland in July when pitching a tent is more like the local practice. You may not be quite as noticeable then as long as you don't complain about the music being played well into the night. Timing is everything in politics, power and travel plans.

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.