Betsy Carstairs

I had surgery on my ankle last spring and am finding one does not bounce back as quickly as a 20 year old (last time I broke a bone). Being an impatient patient, I sourced out help. My NEW road to full recovery embraces Western and Eastern medicine. I go to physio twice a week AND to a homeopathic acupuncturist once or twice a week. The Eastern approach to healing is new for m ...

It is interesting how close in proximity Vancouver and Whistler are, YET how perplexing and different their real estate markets!! Last week, I was showing a Vancouver client some properties under $400,000. Unlike Vancouver, we had many to choose from ... over 12 in Tamarisk alone!! One would think that with this year's bumper snowfall AND with the Olympics on the horizon, that t ...

I had a client who decided to write on a Coquitlam property last Saturday. Offers were presented on Monday AND by the time the offers went in there were 3 offers ready to present. UGH!!! This buyer's stress was NOW cranked up 10 notches. The scenerio played out with one offer being accepted AND that offer had a subject!!! This would never happen in Vancouver. It's amazing to me how differen ...

STRATA DOCUMENTS AND MAKING OFFERS I have been working with a few groups of clients interested in buying strata properties. It is interesting how some agents are so organized with all the meeting minutes, Form 'B' and bylaws readily available upon request. Since these documents are important to the buyer in determining whether or not they purchase, why doesn't every agent have their s ...

This morning I met one of my purchasers in my boat & we headed up The Indian Arm in North Vancouver to Brighton Beach for an inspection. A gorgeous morning to be on the water. Saw the seals sunning themselves with their baby pups and a large bald eagle en route. Not every inspector is game to go for a boat ride lugging his ladder and other equipment but we found the perfect inspector Cliff ...

I was up the Sunshine Coast this month visiting family and friends. One of my friends had a double kayak available, so we headed out for a paddle. We were on Redroof Lane across from Merry Island, so off we headed. Merry Island is a very small island with a light house and 2 hourses. We didn't find any beach to stop at so we just paddled around and saw a few seals and 2 eagles. An hour's ti ...

  A friend of mine hosts a bridge tournament once a year in her Vancouver home. For the third year I was fortunate enough to be invited. There are 3 tables and we rotate partners. Half way through we have dinner then dessert and liqueurs and prizes to end the day. It was a grat way to spend a very wet rainy day. The VIEW of the harbour and freighters was most interesting & I came in 1s ...

  I have been helping a past client purchase an apartment for their daughter. The daughter is in her second year at UBC. Living on campus in student housings for the first year was satisfactory but not ideal, so, her parents have decided to buy an investment property and have their daughter live in in the apartment to finish her studies. We struggled to find listings AND after 3 days o ...

I love to go to Commercial Drive. Sunday morning I had a break in my appointments, so I stopped at Zesty's for breakfast. Zesty's has an outdoor patio, so I can watch all the colorful people stroll by. That Sunday was especially interesting because they closed 'The Drive' to vehicles, and set up the street as a promenade. Within half an hour of the street closure, stands sprang up with vend ...

I bought a kayak last year and love to go off on adventures up the Indian Arm. Last Tuesday I decided to paddle off to Brighton Beach. This would normally be a 50 minute paddle. Unfortunately, I did not check the wind direction before heading out. BIG MISTAKE!! My 50 minute paddle ended up taking almost 2 hours. Every time I stopped to look at an otter or just rest for a few minutes, the wi ...