Gardening season is here! Are you wanting to do some planting in your yard this year? If so, we've put together a list of the hardiest plants—those capable of withstanding temperatures as low as -40 degrees or a long drought when you are at the lake in the summer. These are truly resilient choices worth considering for your garden:

Trees:

• Limelight Hydrangea (tree form).  Its creamy white flowers blossom in late summer and transition to green in the fall. This distinctive Hydrangea tree thrives under almost any conditions.

• Evergreens.  Incredibly hardy and a nice way of keeping colour in your yard throughout the year.

• Globe Blue Spruce.  This plant features striking blue foliage that emerges with a silvery blue hue in the spring. The needles are highly decorative and maintain their blue color throughout the winter.

• Skybound Arborvitae.  This majestic columnar evergreen boasts outstanding cold hardiness. Its narrow, upright shape and dark green foliage make it ideal for mass plantings, hedge creation, or as a privacy screen, all with minimal to no pruning required.

Shrubs:

• Annabelle Hydrangeas (available in various colors).  The Annabelle Hydrangea is a robust shrub known for its impressive blossoms that can grow up to 12 inches in diameter and is low maintenance.

• Ninebark (available in various colors).  Ninebark is a low-maintenance shrub that thrives with minimal pruning and feeding. It is exceptionally adaptable to a variety of growing conditions, including drought.

• Yellow Spirea.  In early spring, this plant's elegant branches burst into bloom with light, airy white flowers, well before the emergence of its bright yellow leaves. Acting like a chameleon, the foliage undergoes a striking transformation. As spring progresses, the leaves turn a vibrant chartreuse green, eventually giving way to a fiery orange hue that persists deep into the fall.

Perennials:

• Karl Foerster.  A cool-season grass that experiences the majority of its growth in the spring, before temperatures rise above 24 degrees Celcius, and again in the fall as temperatures decrease. They typically retain their color well throughout the summer, though they grow minimally during hotter periods.

• Daylily. The daylily is an exceptionally low-maintenance perennial. It is virtually immune to diseases and pests, resistant to drought, and thrives in a variety of soil types.

• Sun King Japanese Spikenard.  This distinctive golden-leafed plant is perfect for shaded areas. Its color shines as a brighter yellow in partial sun, while in full shade, it transforms to a chartreuse or lime green.

Do any of these beauties grace your garden?

Selling your home can be both exciting and daunting. You want to ensure that you get the best possible price for your property, and that often means making some strategic improvements and staging it effectively.

Whether you’re a seasoned homeowner or a first-time seller, there are several simple steps you can take to maximize the resale value of your home without breaking the bank.

1. Enhance Curb Appeal: The first impression matters, and the exterior of your home is the first thing potential buyers will see. Simple enhancements like repainting the front door, adding potted plants, ensuring the lawn is well-maintained and that shrubs and bushes are trimmed, can significantly boost curb appeal without costing a fortune.
2. Paint: A fresh coat of paint can work wonders in transforming the look and feel of your home. Think neutral and light colours that appeal to a broader audience and make rooms appear brighter and more spacious.
3. Upgrade Kitchen & Bathrooms: Kitchen and bathrooms are key selling points for homes. While major renovations can be costly, you can make noticeable improvements by updating fixtures, replacing cabinet hardware, installing new faucets or refinishing cabinets.
4. Declutter & Depersonalize: Clearing out clutter and personal items can help potential buyers envision themselves living in the space. Pack away family photos, excess knick-knacks and any other personal belongings that may distract buyers from seeing the potential of the home.
5. Maximize Natural Light: Natural light can make a space feel more inviting and spacious. Remove heavy drapes or curtains, trim back overgrown bushes or trees blocking windows, and ensure that windows are clean to maximize the amount of natural light flowing into your home.
6. Create Defined Spaces: Help buyers visualize the functionality of each room by defining its purpose. Arrange furniture in a way that highlights the rooms potential use, whether it’s a cozy reading nook, home office, or formal dining area.
7. Invest in Minor Repairs: Attend to any minor repairs such as leaky faucets, squeaky doors, cracked tile, or chipped paint. While these may seem like small issues, they can signal neglect to potential buyers and distract them from the overall appeal of your home.
8. Add Greenery and Flowers: Incorporating plants and flowers into your home to key areas such as the entryway, living room, or dining area adds a touch of freshness and colour.
9. Consult with a Professional Stager: If you’re unsure about how to best showcase your home, consider hiring a professional stager. They can provide valuable insights and recommendations for optimizing the layout, décor, and overall presentation of your home to appeal to a wider audience.

These simple home improvements and staging tips can help you maximize the resale value of your home and attract potential buyers. Remember, it’s the little details that can make a big difference in how your home is perceived!

#AgentSheyla

Sheyla Duncan

Phone: (204) 871-3228
Email: Sheyla@JenniferQueen.com

We have had enough inquiries from fellow Realtors, clients, and partners as to what our Coronavirus Protocol is, so we figured we would post the letter that has gone out to our Sellers below:

As the COVID-19 virus continues to dominate the news, we too are determined to come up with a proactive solution to ensure the safety of our own clients. We are firm believers in everyone doing their part to #flattenthecurve. We are watching and planning non-stop. As a profession that spends time inside the homes of our valued clients, we understand that it is our responsibility to play a constructive role in supporting health initiatives.  In light of the recent cases in Winnipeg, we have reviewed the Novel Coronavirus Bulletin and our own practice. In light of the bulletin, we are now requesting that any agent your home follow the following protocol:

• View the video of your home online in advance of the viewing (one further step to qualify the buyer in advance)
• To not tour the home if any individuals in the party have traveled abroad within the last 14 days
• To not tour the home if an individual feels unwell
• To not touch anything in your home including the restrooms
• If children are present to please hold their hands during the tour
• To practice good hygiene: ensuring hands are frequently washed and in the absence of such to frequently use hand sanitizer with at least a 60% alcohol base

If we are able to get our hands on hand sanitizer and gloves, we do plan to provide them to anyone touring your home. Stay tuned!

To encourage social distancing initiatives:

• We will be postponing open houses to limit the amount of groups in your home at any given time
• We will no longer allow overlapping showings.  We will ensure all showings are staggered.

Similar to the recommendations listed above, we are also asking our team members to stay home when sick and exercise an abundance of caution when visiting your property.

Other important notes:  All lawyers, as well as our contacts at the Land Titles offices have indicated they do still intend to process deals and title transfers as usual.  Many plan to enact their own social distancing policies which does mean that many will be working remotely.  Some lawyers have indicated that they may have paperwork couriered or emailed to their clients in advance so that clients simply need to sign and drop off completed paperwork to limit in-person communication.  Some banks have indicated they may need slightly longer for financing approvals as a result of working remotely. Please be prepared to see longer contingency periods on incoming offers.

Thus far, there has not been a significant change in the market.  Homes are still being listed daily and buyers are still actively out looking.  That being said, we have noticed higher volumes of cancellations for both showings and listing consultations.  Only time will tell what the impact on the market will be, if any.  But for now we are feeling cautiously optimistic.

Again, we are watching this situation daily and will likely be making continued changes based on emerging instructions. As more information surrounding COVID-19 is made available by local, provincial and national authorities, we will strive to keep you updated on ways to maintain a safe environment within your home.

Above all else: Be kind to each other. We will get through it!

#AgentJen

Jennifer Queen

Phone: (204) 797-7945
Email: Jennifer@JenniferQueen.com

Typically, I love to write blogs about new real estate trends, or how you can maximize your real estate knowledge, but today I wanted to share with you something I discovered this last year that I owe a lot of my success to, in real estate as well as in life.

Last year, on December 4^th 2018, I wrote a letter to myself, as my future self. It began, “Dear Ashton Augert…. What a year it has been”. I have to admit, I felt a little silly and not to mention skeptical as I wrote the first few lines. I thought to myself “There is no way ANY of these things are going to happen”. But before I go on, I should first let you know where I was a year ago…

I had just made the big decision to move from my previous brokerage to my current brokerage, and had just began my career with the Jennifer Queen Team.  I had always wanted to be on a team, and when the phone rang with the opportunity of the lifetime, I didn’t hesitate to jump on board. Although I was still fairly new to the business, I was starting to gain confidence in the Realtor I was becoming, and was so excited to be able to join a very successful team, but still had a lot to learn. I had also just recently purchased my first home and was newly engaged. Life was starting to go in the direction I wanted it to, but there were still so many unknowns and goals I wanted to fulfill in the upcoming year.

That was when a little birdie (cough,cough Jen), challenged me to write a letter to myself, as my future self, writing about all of the great successes I had achieved that year. So now here I was, sitting there, writing a letter to myself and thinking, what do I want to achieve this year? And this is what I wanted to share with you. Some of the goals I wrote were so small, that they almost seemed silly to write down on paper, others were so far-fetched at that moment in my life that they seemed more like dreams for another lifetime or at least not feasible in the next year! But the important thing was, that by writing these goals down, and visualizing them as my own future, I was now committed to, at the very minimum, attempting to try to fulfill them (even though I still felt a little silly for doing so).

When I was done writing, I read the letter one last time, signed it Ashton Humphreys (my future last name) and folded it away in a drawer to forget about until the next year.

As I’m sure a lot of you could agree, 2019 came and went in a blink of an eye. Life has a way of making you forget how in only a short period of time, so much can change. Sitting back and reading the letter I had written myself; I couldn’t help but feel proud. The person who wrote that letter a year ago would be amazed to see that I had actually done most of the things I had said I would do, not to mention blew some of them out of the park! We had done the renovations on the house we were planning on doing, our wedding went (mostly) as planned, I sold more houses then I had written down (which seemed unattainable to me at the time) and we did have our new little fur baby. The best part about all of it was it now gave me the motivation to dream bigger.

So, here is my advice to you:

Celebrate the small successes: No goal is too small, seeing the small achievements throughout the year gives you the fuel to reach for those bigger ones. If you don’t quite reach that big goal you set at least you can see that there are so many other things you have achieved, giving you the motivation to keep going.  

Set achievable, yet difficult goals:  Push yourself, if you think you can put aside $5000.00 this year for a down payment, why not shoot for $6000.00? When I say achievable, I mean something that you realistically could achieve. If you are a real estate agent setting a goal of selling 50 houses this year, that is achievable. If you are a real estate agent and your goal for the year is to perform open heart surgery, not so achievable (you get the point). 

Make yourself accountable: By writing down your goals, you will now have to face yourself when the time comes. Just imagine how great you will feel opening that letter a year later and seeing it there in your own writing, all the great things you have accomplished. You may also want to give a copy of your letter to a trusted friend or family member if you need a little more accountability, whatever works for you to keep yourself on track.

Have a good support system: By surrounding yourself with people who also want you to achieve your goals and believe in you will make it that much easier. You don’t have to achieve these on your own.

Reward yourself: It is ok to be proud of yourself. You did it! Give yourself a pat on the back... or maybe treat yourself to that spa day you have been dreaming about. Whatever it is, you deserve it.

Keep going: If you didn’t quite reach the goals you set for yourself this year, keep going. Don’t set the bar lower now because you are afraid of failure. Use it as fuel to motivate you further.

We all have goals; some are smaller such as learning to touch your toes and others are so big that you may not achieve them for years to come. At the Jennifer Queen Team, we truly believe setting goals is the perfect recipe for success. Every Monday we go around the table setting achievable goals for our work and personal lives for that week. The accountability aspect, as well as writing them down motivates us to do the things we may otherwise have brushed off. Setting goals, whether it be weekly, monthly or yearly helps you stay on track.

So, if you are wanting to buy a house in the next year, write it down. If you are wanting to save $300 more dollars a month, write it down. If you are wanting to go see the Eifel tower, you guessed it, write it down. You never know what your subconscious will grab hold of. When you open that letter a year later, you may just be surprised with things you have achieved.

Without that letter to myself, I would not have realized all the small successes I have made throughout the year. It has really given me the fuel to give 2020 all I’ve got. Try it, what’s the worst that could happen?

“By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands—your own.” —Mark Victor Hansen

#AgentAshton

Ashton Augert

Phone: (204) 781-1767
Email: Ashton@JenniferQueen.com