About Frontenac County, ON

This is the month where we really need to make sure that the outside is in order for the coming cold months.

Take the time over the next few weekends and ensure that you have gone through the steps of securing and storing your items. Make sure your BBQ is covered and in an out of the way place on the deck or better yet in the tool shed or garage.

Lawn chairs tables, umbrellas packed and covered to prevent damage.

Pool professionally closed, water levels are right, cover secure and ready for the freeze, slide and board in the pool shed, filters, chemical injectors and basket drained.

Gutters cleaned, clear and free from debris, downspout extenders on passing water at least six feet from the foundation, if you have big O drainage is the discharge open and clear from blockage.

Trees cutback from the structure, rosebushes dug up and laying down and buried to protect them for the winter, have you pulled the dead annuals as well.

If your putting up christmas lights have you pre thought how the power cords need to be placed, install a simple track system to prevent accidents and protect the extension cords.

Begin stocking up on some sand or " Icemelt" make ready some bins at the front and back door, maybe one along the driveway.

Get your snowblower tuned up before the rush, call the fella down the road to plow out your driveway and pay for the year in advance for a good savings. Is the teen next door still shovelling or blowing the driveway? A call will answer that for you.

If your in an area that can and has in the past lost power for any length of time PLEASE stock up on those extra needed items remember to make sure you have atleast 72 hours worth for all that will and could be in your home over the winter months. If you are hosting christmas dinner and expect 15 people, if bad weather and power loos happen you can accomadate everyone and keep stress and tension to a minimum.

Candles one per person, for every 8 hours, some bottled water 1 gallon per person per day ( if your on a well ) then you need more water in storage.

Fire up the coleman stove and ensure it is working, extra fuel would be a good idea.

A menu of what can be stored and is still good to eat for the duration, a few jiffy pop popcorn plates will really go along way with kids and adults alike.

spare batteries for the portable DVD machine to watch movies for kids and help pass time. The portable radio does it still work.

flashlights with spare bulbs and batteries ( not the DVD's batteries)

A backpack with provisions in case some one needs to leave the house to get help they can take some and not effect the remainder.

Most important is have a good first aid kit and some one who has been trained in emergenct first aid and CPR.

Oil lanterns, are an upgrade to candles and can burn for days before refilling a few spread out through the house will have them already in proper placement.

Maybe do a one night lights off and dry run the evening and make sure you and your family know the " Drill" so if and when it happens everyone has thier assigned tasks and jobs and can just do and get what is needed, if company is over tis will really prevent any panic from guests as they will quickly see you all know what to do and where to get the required items.

If your inclined to do so, make a safety pack for each vechicle as well.

Above all be safe this winter and enjoy all that comes with the snow.

Easy question to ask but have you really answered it.

Agents say they want whats best for thier clients, they advertise they will go to the end of the world for them, they will be there every step of the way during the purchase process, but why as an agent do you get some of the known soft Inspectors.

Or why do you not reccommend the known thorough inspectors, the inspectors that you know will do a proper inspection, follow the SOP in which we are required to, have the E&O Insurance and the tools to do the Inspection, also the cutting edge tools for an even more indepth inspection.

The question is in a nut shell would you as an agent advise your client to walk from a house if you knew that the burden of getting in would cause them to loose the house a few years down the road. Inspections and Inspectors are in a way governed by the agents, They basically offer up three names to their client and are the ones picking the three names. If the agent knows that you (the inspector) will always find issues as any good inspector should be finding with every house because there just not built to be perfect.

If they were Mike Holmes would be out of a job, and pounding the pavement like every other contractor in Ontario. But given the fact that mistakes are made in construction, building code inspections, things get missed and in the end are found with the Property Inspector being the bad guy when in fact were only the messenger.

So how do we get and keep a good relationship with the real estate agents to keep working and get referrals and still bring to our clients which were kindly reffered from the agent the truth about the house.

So the purchaser has the proper information to make a decision if the house can be affordably purchased and repaired if need be, where if they walk from that deal the agent does not get so upset that they then drop that inspector, instead of saying ok lets find you a better house that will meet your needs and is in better condition or priced at the right amount to allow for the needed repairs.

Thanks for reading the long winded post any suggestion or comments are welcomed I am always looking for a way to better myself and bring forth a professional inspection to my clients and also for the agents involved so everyone is aware of what is going on.

Susan Emo gives this place **** 4 stars!

~Kingston, Ontario

Do you like the convenience of frozen meals but are not too impressed with grocery store, mass produced options? Classic meals such as Braised Lamb Shank with Garlic Mashed potatoes, or Cider Baked Ham with Scalloped Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts - Duck Confit with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and cabbage, Creole Shrimp, Meatloaf . . . the list goes on and all I can say is Dig In!

Well if you're in the Greater Kingston Area, look no further than 250 Ontario Street where Laura and Andy have opened up The Kitschen !!

Fabulous and convenient frozen meals with no muss and no fuss! A wide selection of classic entrees, soups, burgers etc, ALL MADE FROM SCRATCH!! You will love it, I promise.

Laura and Andy have been keeping customers happily satiated for years and years - they are a classic Kingston couple :0) Their new venture is sure to please.

Drop in for a visit : 250 Ontario Street, Kingston (next to the old downtown Mino's)

Picture it . . . the elders of the real estate community placed on ice flows to drift away from civilization!

How many of you opened this post hoping to read that this was now the official plan to rid your market of these seasoned salespeople? NO, that is not my wish nor the intent of this post even tho I've read many comments that come close to this concept recently :0)

This morning as I was enjoying a glass of ice water, and I was again reminded, looking at the glass, that we only see 10% of the ice above the water's surface whether it be in a glass in the form of a cube or in the Arctic Ocean, just a wee bit larger.

80 - 90% of the ice is below the surface and mainly unseen to the majority of us. We don't really know what goes on below the surface of the ocean just as we don't actually see what goes on with our seasoned Realtors.

A modern day Realtor is out there in the social networks, taking advantage of every technological tool available. We see what is working for these Realtors. We hear them proudly declaring their inclusion of these new forms of conducting business. A few will share their actual results but I find too many acting like lemmings racing to the edge of the cliff. Better yet, monkey see, monkey do. They jump on the band wagon without having a full understanding of what, why, when etc. There are so many businesses that are there simply to make money off of Realtors. They come and they go.

What we don't pay attention to with these seasoned experts is what they do that looks to come naturally to them. Maybe it does come naturally or maybe they've been doing it for so long, it has simply become second nature?

These Realtors seem to be known everywhere they go. Always a wave out the car window at people waving back. Known in all the small cafes and diners. They do business with the same shops and businesses year after year. They have often sold the first home to a client that has been loyal to them for 30 or 40 years now. They moved up the ladder with them as job promotions and larger families required a bigger home in a nicer area. They were invited to the children's weddings and then helped them with that all important first purchase. Seasoned agents are called on to help the new Grandparents to downsize perhaps to a nice pricey condo?

They're always thinking ahead, staying one step ahead of the pack. They automatically look for changing trends in real estate purchases. They take in a situation and immediatly try to think of which client could benefit from the change. They look to connect with their age group. The same people who are not computer literate and feel progressive because they have voicemail instead of an old tape answer machine. They don't try to flaunt technology in the face of someone who has no personal need of it. They know that most of their friends and acquaintances do not own cell phones
[on an aside, did you hear that Antonio Bandaras purchased his first cell phone just a few weeks ago? The clerk (about 16 years old) was astonished]

They're working all the time, thinking all the time, connecting all the time. What we see on the surface is just that 10% of their total activity.

In a nutshell, they connect with people of all age groups because they've assisted all age groups with their real estate needs and build relationships with each and everyone of them. That's because, in a seasoned Realtor's mind, that is our job!

That's what I want to be when I grow up - a super star, well seasoned!

Susan Emo, Salesperson, RE/MAX Riverview Realty Ltd. Brokerage

Gananoque/Kingston/Brockville 1000 Islands Region

613 382 2211

Another reason I don't like doing Open Houses!

It is so important that Sellers understand why Open Houses are not the way forward with regard to getting their home sold. This post of Tina's states very clearly why a re-think is required on the part of Sellers and their agents. Thanks Tina!

Susan Emo, Kingston, Gananoque, Brockville, 1000 Islands Region

Via Tina Allen (Exit Realty Tri-County):

It's a question we get from most sellers, "Can we do an open house?" I cringe everytime I am asked that. I do not care for Open Houses and just finished reading another news article out of North Carolina in which a Realtor sitting at a Model Home was raped at knife point. Our world is in such array today that I just refuse to put myself in that type of situation. This Realtor is lucky to be alive...the rapist could have killed her and just walked out of the home, unnoticed.

I know there are steps to be taken, check driver's license, have them sign in, blah, blah, blah, even with that...they could lie, still hurt and kill you, and at that point who cares if you have some information on a piece of paper that could possibly be false anyway. I think a Broker's Open is fine and even an Open House if you can arrange to have more than one or two agents there at all times. There also needs to be in place a more secure type of questionaire. How can we monitor who is coming in and out? Could we use some type of quick background check to inform us what kind of person is entering the home? I know it seems like a lot and most consumers would not want to subject themselves to what would seem like harrasment to just look at a home, but, if people would think about the lives it could possibly save, could they take the extra pre-cautions for the safety of us agents?

Open houses also allow for strangers to come into the home and check for expensive art, jewelry, security systems, and areas that could be easily accessible. Maybe there's a back door that they notice has a flimsy lock that they could pick easily. Burglars and rapists look for easy targets and what's easier than walking in a home and seeing the complete layout and knowing the family works during the day and goes out of town on the weekends.

I try my hardest to appease my sellers, If they insist on doing an open house, I will try to arrange something that will work for all of us. I do explain my feelings on open houses and have been lucky enough that most sellers understand and do not insist. Usually, they have not even thought of these negative scenarios and are grateful that I did not agree to just leave their home wide open to intruders of any kind.

It's not that I don't think Open Houses are a great way to let consumers walk in and fall in love with a home, but, there is just not enough safety precautions in place. My children probably worry enough with their family members in law enforcement, waiting for the day, someone won't come home, I do not want them to be concerned that their mother who sells houses for a living, has a dangerous job and might not come home either.

Susan Emo, Sales Representative, RE/MAX Riverview Realty Ltd. - Brokerage

613-382 2211

GANANOQUE, KINGSTON, BROCKVILLE, 1000 ISLANDS REGION