Blog by Betsy Carstairs

Fresno Sale

October 19th, 2006

My Harbour Place home at 909 Fresno Place in Coquitlam SOLD on MLS in 3 weeks!  It surprised me with the increased competition in new listings this September.  There were suddenly many more properties mushrooming up for sale.  Luckily Fresno attracted the perfect fit and we were able to negotiate a quick sale at $625,000.

912 Crestwood Drive, Coquitlam BC

October 18th, 2006
I just finished uploading this House, 912 Crestwood Drive, Coquitlam BC Private level lot, 11,790 square feet with 90-foot frontage overlloking weeping willows at Crestwood neighborhood Park. This 3 bedroom, 2 bath basement family home features LARGE wrap-around newer deck crowned with a pergola and hot tub, vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors AND great private backyard complete with fruit ...

Strata Documents

October 18th, 2006
HURRAH!!Finally found a company to HELP buyers read through all the papers they are provided with when they buy a town home or apartment.I’ve found that it’s really overwhelming to read through 2 years of meeting minutes, as well as rules and regulations of a complex while getting financing and inspections within 3-4 days, as well as work and carry on a normal life. HIGH STRESS!!To read A ...

Heritage Mtn vs. Harbour Place

October 13th, 2006
 Harbour Place vs. Heritage Mtn........OLD versus NEW.   JUST SOLD an older but charming home in Harbour Place, Coquitlam.  It was interesting how many people came from Heritage Mountain to check out this home.  I assume the 8,000 square foot plus sized lot backing onto a ravine was one attraction BUT found that this smaller scaled home (slightly over 2,000 square feet) was also a desirable ...

Books to Read

October 12th, 2006
A client of mine listed their house with me AND gave me a library book he had just read called "The Long Emergency" by James Howard Kunstler.  Not only did I read "The Long Emergency" BUT I am now reading another of Kunstler's books, "The Geography of Nowhere".  Both are excellent informative reads focusing on our dwindling non-renewable resource ... OIL ...and the world's seduction into usin ...

Building Inspections

October 11th, 2006
A property we negotiated an offer on was 35 years old, so the Buyers put into their offer a condition to have the property inspected. Well, the house passed...HOWEVER...the drain tiles on the one side of the house had collapsed and water was starting to pool in the crawl space which would have caused problems for the new owner AND a BIG BILL!  When this fault was pointed out to the present ow ...

Accessing Vancouver

October 5th, 2006
I needed to attend an event in the city of Vancouver yesterday ... so I decided to abandon my car and use the public transport system. I arranged to hitch a ride into town with a day commuter. The HOV lane made my company a HUGE advantage. My first stop was the Bayshore. From the Bayshore I was shuttled to Burrard and Georgia FREE of charge. My next destination was to my doctor in Arbutus via ...

Bard on the Beach

October 4th, 2006
Wednesday was the Real Estate Trade Show at the Bayshore, so I decided to do business in the morning AND treat myself to one of the Shakespeare Festival venues in the afternoon.  The 1:00pm matinee performance was SOLD OUT! but I felt that I would succeed in somehow getting a ticket if I was there.  It was such a miserable rainy day, someone was sure to not show up.  I was right! ...and for $ ...

898 BAYVIEW DR, Tsawwassen British Columbia

October 4th, 2006
I just finished uploading this House, 898 BAYVIEW DR, Tsawwassen British Columbia House for sale. Priced for immediate sale! 2884 sq ft 2 level home with a 1580 sq.ft. suite. Fantastic opportunity for 1st time buyers or those wanting revenue. It looked fantastic for this price in this neighborhood. HOWEVER, the building inspection revealed that the drain tiles needed to be replaced and the a ...