One of our clients called today, very upset. They had just come out of WalMart in the Morgan Crossing area to find their year old boxer gone; leash left on the post.

Our client is legally blind and, although Tofu is not a seeing eye dog, our client takes him with her almost everywhere she goes.

We live in a fabulous area of Metro Vancouver, and we hate to see things like this happen here, especially to someone with diminished ability, who needs the companionship.

Please help us find Tofu. Keep an eye out for him. If you see someone with a young Boxer, take  photo or call us. If a neighbour has recently come home with a dog that looks like it might be him, please let us know.

Our client and her young kids are very distraught about this.

Tofu is a young, neutered male Boxer. He is very friendly and loves people.

HudsonHomeTeam

604-773-3940

I  was scrolling through our Facebook page and noticed a headline by our friend Miss604 about Ashiana Tandoori.

Way before kids, we lived within walking distance of Ashiana (in East Van). Before that, we lived within walking distance of Vij’s,  back when it was half the size, Rangoli, didn’t exist and if you wanted a table, you had to wait in line outside, no matter what the weather (although they usually brought you tea if it was cold and/or wet). But back to Ashiana…

The food was great and, well, we could walk home, which made it more enjoyable in the form of sharing a full bottle of Gewürztraminer with our dinner; our favourite wine for spicy Indian food.

At first I didn’t bother to open the Facebook post because, well, living so far away from Ashiana, I didn’t want to torment myself by reading about it. Then I noticed the word Surrey in the subtext. I clicked on the link and read to my delight that Ashiana has opened in Surrey (their website doesn’t seem to note this as of yet).

Backtracking once more, I remember when we first moved to Surrey years and years ago, I thought; as a lover of spice/curry/tandoori, that it would be wonderful to live in a city that had so many Indian residents and, no doubt, some amazing Indian restaurants. Well, it turns out, we had a difficult time finding Surrey’s answer to Ashiana for Tandoori, or  Vij’s for South Indian flare. Apparently, the Indian community doesn’t eat out at Indian restaurants often enough to warrant many establishments other than those catering mostly to weddings and events.

So, Ashiana, is now available in Surrey and Vij’s; coming to South Surrey. Most of us live minutes from a beach (or two). It’s like a poor man’s Kitsilano (you know, houses are only $1 Million  not $3 Million). Of course, if we keep saying how wonderful it is here, $3 Million can’t be far behind.

Our community is slowly starting to take (new) shape.

Hey great news! Holy Smoke Coffee (The Tepee on King George Blvd) is now offering our Garage Sale Maps complimentary when you come in and experience their in-house roasted coffee.

What a great way to get started on your day of bargain hunting.

We have included the Tepee location as “A” on the map.

Here it is, click on it:

Shred-A-Thons this weekend.

There are two shred-a-thons this weekend. One is being held at Semiahmoo Mall. Proceeds will go to The SouthSurrey/WhiteRock Food Bank. The other is in Ocean Park. Proceeds will go towards a new sports court & playground for the kids at Ocean Cliff Elementary.

TICKETS GOING FAST!

Pacifica Partners is proud to announce our sponsorship of the White Rock Players' Club performance at the White Rock Playhouse (Coast Capital Playhouse) on April 9th 2012 of "The Lion in Winter".
Pacifica Partners has reserved all 218 seats to this exclusive performance night and will be hosting a pre-performance social at 7pm on Monday April 9th.

This is a great event for culture in our community and a thank-you for our clients and centres of influence in the Surrey White Rock area.

Charitable donations may be made at the event to support the Umoja Operation Compassion Society (UOCS). The UOCS is a respected registered charity and provides support to the African refugee immigrant community in Surrey and surrounding area, however makes its services available to all immigrants trying to establish themselves in Canada. UOCS provides resources and support for these vulnerable new members of our community so that they may flourish in their new home.  In addition, the UOCS provides international support to orphanages and clean water projects in Africa.  To learn more about UOCS please click here.

A donation has been made by Pacifica Partners Inc. – Capital Management, to White Rock Players Club – itself a vital non-profit entity in our community, to make this opportunity available to all.

Doors will open at 7pm with a networking social.  Proceeds from a cash-bar will also benefit the White Rock Players' Club.  The play will commence at 8pm.  To reserve your complimentary tickets please email: lion@pacificapartners.com.

Here is a message for you to support the wonderful people at Bayridge Elementary School:

Helping without having to do anything – sort of.

Thrifty Foods Smile Cards - If you don't already have one of our special Community Smilecards from last year, pick one from the counter at the office. The card comes with a zero balance, and each time you shop at Thriftys, just load the card at customer service and pay anyway you like. Every time you load or reload the card, Bayridge gets 5% of the amount loaded. Then use your card at the cashier to pay for your groceries. You still collect your Thrifty's points as normal. This can really add up over the year, so your support in remembering to load at the service desk before you shop is really appreciated! The program runs until June and please feel free to grab a card for friends and family as they work at any location.

If you would like one, let me know and I will drop one off at your door, complimentary.

604-773-3940

The Garage Sale list is a bit small this week, but better than last week. I’ll bet you can find some good finds at this weeks. Click on the photo for the map.

Happy New Year!

Similar to the holiday season, there are few sales going on at the moment. However, that does not mean that there is not quality to be found in the ones going on.

Click on the photo for the map and list.

The B.C. government has raised the threshold for homeowner property grant to $1.285 million to accommodate rising property values.

The news comes as hundreds of thousands of annual property assessments are being prepared for B.C. property owners by the government. Last year, the threshold was $1.15 million. The grant effectively reduces the property tax paid by most B.C. homeowners by up to $1,045

Every year the province adjusts the grant to ensure 95.5 per cent of homeowners receive the full amount of the grant. Those with homes above the threshold may still be eligible for part of the grant.

"The homeowner grant provides a maximum reduction in residential property taxes on principal residences of $570 in the Capital, Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley regional districts and $770 elsewhere in the province," said a statement issued by the government on Tuesday.

"An additional grant of $275 is available to those who are age 65 or over, permanently disabled or a veteran of certain wars,."

"We continue to see challenging economic times around the world. By maintaining the homeowner grant, we continue to help families with the costs of owning their homes," said Finance Minister Kevin Falcon in the statement.

The grant is only available to Canadian citizens and to landed immigrants who normally reside in B.C.

For more information regarding the homeowner grant, please contact us at 778-869-7653

Help us raise funds and awareness of ‘Movember’ by buying a hot dog.

For the month of ‘Movember’ I am participating in a campaign called ‘Movember’.

Movember was started to raise awareness of Men’s Health and to raise funds to help find diseases that deter men’s health (such as Prostate Cancer).

Each day this month, I have been (and continue) cultivating a moustache to encourage donations and as part of my contribution to this cause.

I have decided to post it here on our Professional Real Estate Blog today, because todays Vlog includes information pertaining to our duties as Realtors® as well.

For more information on Movember, please visit my personal Movember page by clicking on the moustache image.

Not a big list this week. But a quality one, no doubt.

Yes, I spelled it ‘Movember’. If you are not sure why, click on the moustache.

For Garage Sales, click on the image.

November 28 - December 5, 2011

REALTORS® and real estate offices are gearing up for this year's REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive, the longest continuous blanket drive in the Lower Mainland!

In 2011, REALTORS® collected and donated enough blankets and warm clothing to directly help more than 100,000 people from Whistler to Hope and places in-between.

Needed donations

New or gently used
  • blankets, sleeping bags
  • warm clothing - coats, jeans, pants, sweaters 
  • scarves, gloves, mitts, hats

New (women, children, men)
  • socks
  • underwear

Please click here for a drop off location near you!

The REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive story

Way back in 1995, some caring REALTORS® in Vancouver observed the homeless situation in the city’s eastside and said to themselves, we’ve got to do something.

They put out an appeal to their fellow colleagues for warm blankets and coats and collected 600 bags of donations specifically dedicated to Vancouver’s homeless in the downtown core.

That single act of kindness has blossomed into one of the largest annual collections of warm clothing and blankets, helping homeless people and the working poor in every single community in the Lower Mainland.

Fifteen years later, thousands of REALTORS® from Whistler to Chilliwack have collected more than 27,000 bags of donations. Each year, more than 75 amazingly dedicated members actually pick-up and deliver all the donations, and well over 100 real estate offices in the Lower Mainland act as collection depots.

The annual REALTORS Care® Drive now collects an astonishing 4,000 plus bags of warm, winter items on behalf of dozens of local charities.

It’s getting a bit cold out there. But people are still hosting Garage Sales and people are still going to them.

Click on the picture for the map.

Here is this weeks list:

LIST

Due to  fewer events being held and some special request, we have added the Cloverdale area to our map.

Enjoy.

 

Property sales on the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s  Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®)  in September were the third lowest for that month in the last decade, while new listings for September ranked the second highest.

Sukh Sidhu is FVREB’s president. “This is the third month in a row based on the 10-year average where we’ve seen lower sales combined with a higher influx of new listings.”

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed 1,165 sales in September, an increase of 12 per cent compared to the 1,044 sales during the same month last year and a decrease of 13 per cent compared to 1,341 sales in August.

The board posted 2,651 new properties on its MLS® in September, an increase of 10 per cent compared to September of last year and on par with the listings it received in August. The number of active listings in the Fraser Valley remained at 10,096 in September, at an annual high for the last three months.  

Sidhu adds, “This trend is stabilizing home prices in the Fraser Valley resulting in the price of a typical detached home in September being only slightly higher than it was in May.

“Although average prices year-over-year are still showing strong increases or decreases for some communities, make sure to ask your local REALTOR® for the benchmark price as well. It’s the predicted sale price of a typical home in your neighbourhood and unlike the average price, isn’t sensitive to sales of high-end or low-end homes. It’s one of our most reliable pricing tools.”

The benchmark price of a single family detached home in the Fraser Valley in September was $530,321, an increase of 4.5 per cent compared to $507,429 in September 2010 and 0.3 per cent higher than the price in August.

For townhouses, the benchmark price in September was $327,546, an increase of 1.8 per cent compared to the same month last year and unchanged with the price in August. The benchmark price of apartments in September was $243,420, an increase of 1.6 per cent compared to September 2010 and down 0.9 per cent compared to August.

Full Statistics package here

It’s starting to look  a lot like autumn.

Even the Garage Sales are going into hibernation.

Here’s this weekend’s map. Oh and take a look at the mobile Real Estate Listings Search on your iphone/Smartphone at: HudsonHomeTeam.com/m

Keeping it short and sweet this week. Here’s the link:

Garage Sales

Here is the link to this weeks South Surrey and White Rock Garage and Yard sales.

This list and map includes options for printing the map//list and also offers an option for ‘LIVE’ mobile access via smartphones and tablets.

Speaking of mobile access, we would like to remind you that your smartphone and tablet (such as iPhones or iPads) can be used to view MLS listing information wherever you are in the Metro Vancouver area. 

Input HudsonHomeTeam.com/m  into your mobile web browser and you can see all the current, active listings in the area you are standing.

Click on the image for the list: