Over the last year I have helped several families move into this amazing Province and it really got me thinking about why I love this city. Initially, I moved to Winnipeg from North Western Ontario (NOW) to attend the University of Manitoba and play hockey. I was never keen on the idea of living in Winnipeg mostly because it was too close to home and at the age of 18 you feel like you need your own space to grow. However, the city grew on me very quickly and honestly, I can’t imagine living anywhere else, even when it is -40! There are so many things to love about Winnipeg but here are a couple of my favourites!

The Food Cultural: I love food. I love cooking. So, the fact that Winnipeg is known for its food culture makes me very happy! Everywhere you go in this city there is a restaurant waiting for you. There is such a variety from Asian, tapas, traditional Indigenous, French, Italian, American, Indian, honestly you name it, you can find it in Winnipeg. I wish I had more time to explore more restaurants. Often times we get stuck in what is easy and comfortable, but I try and make a goal of trying a new restaurant every month in hopes of keeping it interesting! My most recent favourite is Harth Mozza and Wine Bar.

If you’re wanting to be more hands-on and experiment in your own kitchen, try taking some cooking classes. There are a number of different organizations that offer speciality classes. Something I have always wanted to do but never done. Maybe I’ll make it part of my 2022 goals! If you have any suggestions, please send them my way.

Real Estate: Yes, I realize I might be a little biased on this one, and I’m sure you have heard it before, Winnipeg is one of the most affordable cities in all of Canada. Yes, we aren’t a major hub like Vancouver, Calgary or Toronto, but if you are looking to put down some roots, start a family, start investing or expand your investing portfolio - Winnipeg is an exciting and affordable city to do that in. The average price for a single family detached home in Winnipeg is coming in just under $400,000. While other cities like Calgary or Halifax have much higher average prices for homes of closer to $500,000, and don’t even get me started on Vancouver and Toronto where you would need a much large commitment of $1M plus just to break into the market. Winnipeg has always seemed like a smart and safe investment to me!

The Nature Trails and Parks : As you know by now I grew up in NWO. I spent a lot of time outdoors, camping, fishing, sports, etc. Nature and getting outdoors is something that is very important to me and my family. Winnipeg (and surrounding area) has spectacular parks and trails. Parks like Assiniboine, St Vital Park, La Barriere are popular destinations for my family as well as many fellow Winnipegers! They always have so much going on. You can choose to get caught up in the excitement of the crowds or relax and enjoy the serenity. I also have a couple parks closer to home that I take my dog, Provie, and my son, Gavin, to on a weekly basis. There are so many parks with lovely walking trails, I feel guilty for not exploring them more but honestly there are so many it is sometimes hard to choose!

Fort Whyte Alive is something I haven’t explored enough but it needs to be highlighted. It is 660 acres of green space in the middle of the city. They provide programming, natural settings, and facilities for environmental education, outdoor recreation, and social enterprise. In so doing, FortWhyte promotes awareness and understanding of the natural world and actions leading to sustainable living. They have endless things to do: tours, biking, water sports, snowshoeing, ski trails, skating, fit pits. Honesty, there is no way I could fully explain what Fort Whyte Alive is, you need to explore it for yourself.

Culturally Diverse: Winnipeg is one of the most diverse cities in all of Canada. We have a lot of larger industries that attract people with all kinds of backgrounds; manufacturing, aerospace, agribusiness, creative industries, energy and environment, financial industries, information, communications and technology, life sciences, tourism, transportation, distribution and the list goes on. Did you know that there are at least 100 different languages spoken here?  Incredible! Folklorama is a terrific two-week annual festival that explores the multicultural diversity of Manitoba. It allows all of the cultures within our province to showcase their uniqueness during the festival in August. I usually get to 1 or 2 of the pavilions each year and I have never been disappointed!

Manitoba Museum: The Manitoba Museum is the province’s largest, not-for-profit centre for heritage and science learning. They pride themselves on the interpretation of Manitoba’s rich and diverse history and do a wonderful job at it. There are also Planetarium shows, and Science Gallery exhibits, which I haven’t visited yet but need to in the near future. The Museum’s collections are based off the heritage of Manitoba and other regions of the world. There are nine interpretive galleries to explore each with their unique qualities and attractions. The Museum is known for its three-dimensional walk-through galleries. One of which is a full-size 17th-century sailing vessel, and the Urban Gallery, which takes you back in time to Winnipeg during the 1920s. Full disclosure, I hadn’t been to the Manitoba Museum in about 10-15 years but I went a couple weeks ago with my 3-year-old son and it was amazing! I thought my son would only be interested in the “big ship” but he was interested in everything. They have done an amazing job renovating and upgrading the facility. We could have spent the entire day in there – the ship alone is pretty spectacular!

The Forks: This one is a classic and I think most people have heard of this meeting place but I need to mention it. The Forks is such a special place. It is located at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. The area as been transformed over the last 30 years, from Indigenous trading grounds to abandoned railyard and now The Forks. Their goal:

“The Forks shall be developed as a meeting place a special and distinct, all-season gathering and recreational place at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, through a mixed-use approach including recreational, historical and cultural, institutional and supportive commercial uses.”

Everyone should experience The Fork at one time or another in the life, and may I add in every season! The grounds have so much to offer in the spring, summer, fall and my favourite - the winter!

So please join me, in exploring Winnipeg and if you have any other recommendations, please be sure to share in the comments section below!

#AgentAmy

Amy McDermid

Phone: (204) 470-5356
Email: Amy@JenniferQueen.com

As most of you know the 2020-2021 market has been something of a rollercoaster, especially for buyers. With almost every home selling with multiple offers and over asking, the financing condition has become a large topic of conversation between my clients and I. My sellers ask why it is necessary if the buyers are stating they are already pre-approved and qualified and my buyers are getting frustrated when losing to a lower offer because the other offer did not have a financing condition written in. Today, I am going to talk about the importance of the financing condition if you are taking out a mortgage on a home and why I still strongly encourage it, even in this market.

First off, lets start by talking about what the financing condition is. The financing condition is there to protect the buyer in the occasion that the lender (bank, credit union etc.) or the mortgage insurer (we will go in more detail about this later) does not approve the buyer for the amount necessary for them to purchase the property. Without this condition, if the lender does not approve the mortgage, the buyer still technically bought the property under contract and is at risk of losing their deposit and even more, the potential of being sued by the seller for breaking contract. Usually deposits range from $10,000.00 to $20,000.00 here in Manitoba but in a market like we are in, some buyers will increase that amount to make their offer stronger, thus resulting in a big hit to the pocket book if financing doesn`t end up working out.

Now most buyers are probably thinking, “Well that all sounds a little scary, but I`m pre-approved so why wouldn`t the lender approve me?” There are many reasons why even after getting your pre-approval that financing can still fall through and it is very important that you understand all of these risks before writing an offer without the financing condition in it. 

Appraisals: Banks and other lenders rely on the “appraised value” of a home to deem if it is worth the amount you are asking them to lend you. They will often times send in their own appraiser to the property after the offer has been accepted to determine its value as they want to make sure if you default on payments, they will recoup their investment. In a market where buyers are offering 80K over the asking price, there is always a chance that the appraised value and the amount offered do not match and, in that case, it would be the buyer’s responsibility to make up the difference in value IN CASH. Unfortunately if there is no financing condition and the buyer does not have the cash to make up that difference the buyer will not be able to come up with the cash necessary to close resulting in a loss of their deposit and once again the chance of being sued by the seller for breaking contract.

Changes in financial buying power: Buying a home can be long process for some and life still continues to go on while you are in that process. Unexpected bills, job loss and large purchases are just some of the reasons why your buying power may have changed between being pre-approved and getting an accepted offer. Just because the bank told you 6 months ago that you were pre-approved for a certain amount does not mean that after purchasing a brand-new vehicle that they will still lend you that same amount of money. I always recommend getting a new pre-approval every 3 months to ensure you are still qualified for the necessary amount to purchase the property we are offering on.

Interest Rates: Most lenders will lock you in at a certain interest rate for 90 days once you go through the process of being pre-approved but like I had just mentioned, sometimes the process can take longer. If interest rates have changed between when you were first pre-approved and when you receive an accepted offer you may no longer be qualified for the amount necessary to purchase the property you offered on, ESPECIALLY if you are writing at the top of your budget.

New “Stress Test” guidelines: Have you ever heard of a stress test? This is a “test” in where a lender will have to qualify you at a higher interest rate than you are currently being offered so that if interest rates rise in the future you will still be able to afford your monthly payments. During busy markets, like the one we just experienced, the government may impose an increase to the amount they are testing you at to limit the buying power of buyers so that the sale prices of homes can equalize or level out a little to keep the market more consistent.

Mortgage Default Insurers: This is a big one. Mortgage default insurance is required by the Government of Canada when a home buyer is putting less than the 20% down payment typically needed to qualify for a conventional mortgage. If you are putting down less than 20% not only does the lender need to approve your mortgage but the mortgage default insurer does as well. Mortgage default insurance insures the lender NOT the buyer in case of default. There are 3 mortgage default insurers in Canada; CMHC (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation), Sagen (formerly Genworth Canada) and Canada Guaranty. Each one of these insurers have different qualifications on which properties and which buyers they are willing to insure and which they wont and for the most part we are completely blind to what those qualifications are. In my experience, this is where financing falls through the most often and unfortunately the hardest to predict. I have seen them deny financing based on outdated electrical, shared well systems, location, asbestos and a multitude of other factors that we cannot control.  The financing condition really comes into play here.

Due to the market we are experiencing I am unfortunately seeing more and more buyers writing offers without the financing condition even though they are taking out a mortgage. As I have now explained, this can be a huge risk to the buyer but also to the sellers who may need to put their home back on the market if the buyer ends up not being able to close. If you are selling your home and there is an offer without a financing condition make sure your agent is asking the right questions; are the buyers taking out a mortgage or paying cash, if they are taking out a mortgage, do they have a back up plan if they are not approved? How much are they putting down?  Have they been pre-approved? These questions can help you assess the risk involved in accepting that offer.  Also, you will want to make sure they have put down a big enough deposit to cover any costs that may arise from the deal not closing due to the default of the buyer, this is especially important when you’ve received multiple offers as you may be declining offers of more qualified buyers that have financing conditions.

Now buyers, there are ways we can still write a strong offer even with a financing condition. Making sure you have an up to date pre-approval is a must. We can include your pre-approval letter in the offer so that the sellers are able to see you have done the work and are qualified to purchase their home. We can also make the deadline for financing as short as possible by staying in close contact with your mortgage specialist/broker prior to writing an offer. Here in Manitoba we typically see financing deadlines within 2-3 business days of the offer being accepted, although I have had some superstar brokers get it done in less than 24 hours! We can also write in detail (and should) a summary of how much you are planning on putting down vs how much you will be taking out as a mortgage. The more information the seller has the more confident they will be moving forward with your offer.

After everything I just touched on, unfortunately it might still come down to removing your financing condition to get you the house of your dreams. If that is the case, you now know all of the risks involved in doing so and you can be prepared to make an educated decision on how much risk you are willing to take. I always recommend having a back up plan in the event financing doesn’t go your way but sometimes you need to just take the risk in life!

#AgentAshton

Ashton Augert

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

June marks my tenth year in real estate.  To switch things up this year, I’m going to report what I can remember from each year.  I find each year in real estate has at least one significant or impactful lesson to teach us.  So here we go!

Year 1 (2011):

Lessons: Relationships matter.  Be good to those that are good to you.  Walk away from those that just don’t appreciate you. The majority of my business this year came from ComFree listings (before they were a licensed brokerage – which means I wasn’t breaking any rules).  I had many hang up on me, but those that agreed to list with me turned out to be wonderful clients that I still work with today.! 

Sold 12 homes this year.

Fun story from this year: Sold my first acreage (72+ acres)

Year 2 (2012):

Lessons: Relationships matter (again).  Started to learn about the importance not only of keeping in touch with clients throughout the process of their home buying/selling process, but long after as well.  Many of the clients I worked with in 2012, I am still in touch with today.

Sold 38 homes this year.

Fun story from this year: One of the homes I sold had bullet holes in the side of it.

Year 3 (2013)

Lessons: Not all sales are happy sales.  Sold homes for clients that had previously bought in a happy time, but were now selling for sad reasons (death, divorce, job loss).  This career is full of ups and downs, and our job is to help people navigate our clients through the good times and bad.

Sold 47 homes this year.

Fun story from this year: I sold my own house this year.  Still regret it today (would have kept it as a rental)

Year 4 (2014)

Lessons: The importance of pricing (and ownership of bad pricing).  I had more listings expire this year than ever in my career.  Sometimes it is scary to have conversations about pricing with sellers – you don’t want to offend them, particularly if you were wrong.  Learning how to have those difficult discussions became paramount this year.

Sold 66 homes this year.

Fun Story: I had more homes expire this year than sold.  This line was super embarrassing and cringe-worthy for me to write! 

Year 5 (2015)

Lessons: Have a plan A, a plan B, and a plan C! From selling another personal residence, to having a slightly softer market, it became paramount to formulate multiple plans for selling. 

Sold 93 homes this year.

Fun Story: Logan and I had purchased a former (remediated) grow-op before I was in the business and chose to sell it in 2015.  We “sold” it three times before our third cash buyer came along and was able to close. We also welcomed our first child this year.

Year 6 (2016)

Lessons: Remember your “why”.  After the birth of our daughter, Everly, work-life balance started to become more important.  Parenthood also really emphasized the motivations for why families choose to move.  I thought I “got it” before, but I don’t think I fully understood the brain of a parent until I was one.

Sold 62 homes this year (maternity leave for four months).

Fun Story: I negotiated a complete deal at a table with clients while nursing a poopy baby.  Thank you to the lovely family that encouraged me to bring my baby along… your kindness and acceptance of my situation meant a lot to me.

Year 7 (2017)

Lessons: Be confident in your value proposition and the advice you give.  Stand firm in it and don’t back down.

Sold 107 homes this year.

Fun Story: I was pregnant (again) this year.  I also had to cancel an open house due to an incident of domestic violence as a bunch of walls and doors had been punched through.  Sad all around.

Year 8 (2018)

Lessons: The best interest of your clients always come before your own.  There were a couple of sales this year that involved careful consideration of a clients’ position.  Whether it be helping with some home renovations, doing some pro-bono work, or just advising not to buy or sell, there were a multitude of situations and reasons this year that warranted a different kind of care.

Sold 75 homes this year.

Fun Story: We welcomed our second child, Blaine this year.  He has a very piercing scream that would challenge the strongest eardrum.  I made many calls from my sunroom even when it was -30 outside just so I could sound “professional”.

Year 9 (2019)

Lessons: The importance of a team. Amy was off for most of this year as she was taking maternity with her son, Gavin.  So, we ended up hiring Ashton and Carrie both in late 2018.  Learning to grow and work as a team was so paramount to our future success.  We really missed Amy’s presence and were so happy to have her back toward the end of 2019.

Sold 154 homes this year.

Fun Story: Started listing my first luxury properties (or what I consider luxury property)… SOOO much fun to market!

Year 10 (2020)

Lessons: What we need, is really quite simple.  The year of COVID… where what was highlighted was the importance of such basic necessities – health, family, shelter and love.  We thought that real estate would be dead and that we would need to buckle down for a tough year.  It turned out to be the exact opposite, with record sales.

Sold 168 homes this year.

Fun Story: I gave birth to our third child in June of 2020… and was negotiating in between contractions. The poor agent on the other side of the transaction was so uncomfortable with this that he called my broker for the transaction.  I may have sent out a DocuSign for signatures from the hospital bed…

Well, there you have it, 10 years of lessons, sales, teamwork, amazing clients, and so much joy from this profession.  No two days are alike and I wouldn’t have it any other way! Thanks for reading this far!!  I look forward to another 10 years

#AgentJen

Jennifer Queen

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

The year 2020… should I say anything more? Thinking back to last spring, I really didn’t know what this would mean for the Real Estate market here in Winnipeg. The news seemed all but damming. With more people working from home, wages and jobs being lost, and restrictions on how we could conduct our everyday business, I really thought we were in for the worst. Turns out, I was very, VERY wrong. More buyers than ever were being qualified to buy as the interests rates plummeted, people’s priorities were changing in what they were looking for and house prices were going through the roof (no pun intended). 2020 was one of the strongest markets in recent history.

How did that happen you wonder? You would think job cuts and restrictions would mean less people buying and more people staying put, but that isn’t exactly what happened. People who had job security were saving more money as they weren’t going on trips and spending on entertainment, and buyers looking to get into the market saw their chance as interest rates hit an all time low. The demand was high, and the supply…. well the supply was slim to none. While Buyers saw an opportunity, a lot of sellers (especially at first) were hesitant. The fear of a market crash was looming and a world wide pandemic was here. Letting strangers into your home wasn’t on the top of everyone’s list, and who could blame them! The high demand and lack of supply tipped the scale in favour of a seller’s market and the rest is history. Bidding wars, high sales prices and emotions flying, COVID-19 impacted the real estate market more than we could have ever imagined.

The market itself wasn’t the only thing that changed, what buyers were looking for also changed. The COVID-19 restrictions turned our everyday lives’ upside down. All of a sudden, gyms were closed, restaurants were closed and we were spending 99% of our time at home. So naturally, people’s wants/needs in homes changed along with them. These are the areas where we saw the biggest change:

Home Offices: No surprise here. With a lot of the population now working from home, home offices have been on the top of the wish list. What this means is buyers are now looking for homes with either a finished basement or an extra bedroom to set up their home office in.

Bigger Yards & Pools: Buyer’s are gravitating to larger outdoor spaces. Less travel, means people are spending more time in their own backyards. Why not make them your own private getaway? Here in Manitoba, pools weren’t always a priority as it is winter 7 months of the year. Not to mention there is a large population of Manitobans who own a secondary vacation property (cottage etc). Due to the travel restrictions we saw a big uptake in the demand for properties with pools.

More space in general: Spending more time at home with our family (although we love them) can make your house feel tight! One of the biggest requests we had in 2020 when talking to buyers is that they “just need more space!”

Home gyms: Between binging Netflix, snacking and zoom calls it’s nice to have a place to let out some of that pent-up energy. With gyms closed and as the temperature drops and we aren’t able to spend as much time outdoors, we have seen a large increase in demand for homes with space for a small home gym.

Detached Homes: We’ve seen a shift from properties with shared living spaces due to COVID-19. Properties with shared amenities saw a dip as health concerns grew.

As we gear up for a what we expect to be a similar 2021, we are taking into consideration a lot of these changes. Not only in what buyer’s are looking for but how to navigate the market in general. We are expecting another year full of bidding wars and high sales prices as there is no evidence of interest rates rising anytime soon. If you have been thinking about selling there is no better time, if you are planning on taking advantage of these low interest rates and buying, we are here to guide you through it.

So, buckle up, we are in for another busy year!

#AgentAshton

Ashton Augert

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

Having a backyard oasis is one of my life goals! My family and I have  been spending  A LOT of time outside! My husband and I are currently trying to transform our backyard into something beautiful so I thought other might be able to benefit from our experiences. Now that the worms are gone we can finally start tackling some of our projects. This year we are planning some big exterior projects; shingles, soffit, fascia, eavestrough, grading, and a garage. In past years we have painted our exterior stucco trim and all, grading, added flower and vegetable gardens! I know our summer is a short season but undertaking the projects little by little you will be able to achieve that beautiful backyard oasis! 

Here are a couple exterior projects to help you add value and enjoy your outdoor space!

Paint - Just like the interior of your house, paint can be a great way to spruce up curb appeal without breaking the bank. Keep it neutral and add that splash of colour with flowers, planters or a freshly painted front door! A great tip if you don’t want to spend a bunch of money on exterior paint, visit some paint store and ask about their mis tints. They sell them at a reduced rate and you might just get lucky! My husband and I did this a couple years ago and ended up getting a white mis tint! We were able to tint it any colour we wanted for a ¼ of the price!

Landscaping – This is a big one. Landscaping and grading are very important. While a level yard and pretty gardens make your yard aesthetically pleasing, they also serve a very important role in the overall maintenance of your house and foundation – water management. You always want to make sure you have positive grading, which helps direct water away from the foundation. Installing gardens around your foundation helps absorbs excess water and adds extra curb appeal!

Add or Fix Driveway – Adding or Fixing a driveway isn’t always the cheapest renovation but it will go a long way. If your home already has a driveway, make sure it is clean and eye appealing. There are companies in Winnipeg that help fix uneven driveways so just because your driveway has a couple cracks and dips in it make sure you researching and look at all your options before you hire a company to tear up the old driveway and add a new one!

Decks and patios – Adding a deck or patio area to your backyard is an important step to creating that oasis! Having a deck or patio area is a valuable addition to your home and can act like a second living space during those summer months. It is a great space for entertaining, eating,  playing, relaxing, etc. This is something my husband and I don’t have and I dream about it all the time! Hopefully we can find some room in the budget this fall or next spring.

#AgentAmy

Amy McDermid

Phone: (204) 470-5356
Email: Amy@JenniferQueen.com

June marks my seventh year in real estate!  This is hard to believe, as it feels like just yesterday when I received my letter from the Manitoba Securities Commission!  Although in this time I have had two babies, received my MBA in Marketing from the University of Manitoba, bought and sold my own home, become an aunt two times over, and got my broker’s license.  So I guess more time has passed than I realize!  Anyways, to commemorate this anniversary, I thought I would put together a list of the seven things I have learned in my seven years in real estate:

1. Real estate is a relational business, not a transactional business

People truly don’t care what you know, until they know that you care. For the first few years of my career, I was so focused on being professional.  Rigid would be a good way to define my personality in the early days. Sorry to these clients, it must have been very boring to work with me! Realizing that you can be professional while also being personable was a game changer.  Now, sharing my life with my clients, as they share their lives with me has made my job much more enjoyable, and resulted in many long-lasting relationships!

2. There are two ways to build the tallest building in town

I know, this sounds weird, but there are two ways to look at business: 1. You can tear down all of the businesses around you to become the tallest building, or; 2: You can just build the tallest building.  This can be a tough industry as my colleagues or friends within the business are often my competition, and an industry set up such as this can lead to dissension amongst peers and sometimes downright dirty tactics to obtain clients.  But karma exists. Always choose to build the taller building.

3. Build a solid team around you

Amy started with me after my first year in the business.  It helped that she had some knowledge and experience already in real estate.  However, had she not, recruiting her still would have been an easy decision.  You see, I truly believe that anything can be taught.  However, character cannot be learned. So build your team with quality people that want to see you succeed, and the rest can be figured out as you go! As we have continued to grow the team, and form partnerships with others, this strategy has remained at the forefront and it has not steered us wrong yet!

4. Communication is Key!

There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes.  A lot of the time silence is mistaken for inactivity.  Whether it be good news, bad news, or even no news, keep in touch with your clients! Sometimes it may be uncomfortable, but people will appreciate you for making the call.

5. Honesty is the best policy

For most people, a home will be the largest asset they ever own.  So be honest in your dealings with the public.  Throughout the buy and sell process there are a lot of questions and decisions that will come up, so delivering truthful information is key so that buyers and sellers can make informed decisions.  Sometimes the truth isn’t what people want to hear, and delivering it can be painful.  But your clients and fellow Realtors will thank you for it in the end.

6. Education is paramount

Goodness, the things that I didn’t know when I started are scary to me.  But the only way to learn is to latch onto every education opportunity you can find.  Whether it be following a home inspector around, to tricking other Realtors to go for lunch with me so that I could pick their brain, to enlisting in webinars from other Realtors, to reading a new book, to enrolling in courses (online and offline), or to deciding to take up an MBA in marketing mid-career, there is an abundance of things that we can all learn.  Always be willing to share your knowledge and education with others as well. 

7. Trust that life usually works intelligently

Over prepare then go with the flow. If things don’t seem to work out at first, there is usually a good reason for it. Things will inevitably go sideways.  Buyers will get declined for financing, home inspections will fail, you will have clients get outbid on a property.  But after doing this for several years, I have learned that if it is meant to be, it will be.

Looking back, it all seems like it went by so fast!  It has been quite a ride, many happy and hilarious memories have been made, and many life milestones achieved. I wouldn’t have it any other way and can’t wait to see what the next seven years will bring!