September 22 2017
Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate News Update
September 22 2017 In today’s news: ghost signs, future cities, Chicopee condo, closing costs, early retirement, homes vs. condo
Ghost Signs Have Stories to Tell
The faded advertisements on old brick buildings often go unnoticed, and they’re disappearing fast. That is too bad because they tell us about so much about our city’s history.
The Smells, Sounds, and Tastes of Future Cities
In the future, cities will be larger, and denser and they could be awash in a bath of unexpected scents like tropical flowers and artificial grape, popping with cuisines made spicier by climate change, and overwhelmed with artificial light.
Concern over planned condo development in Chicopee
The plan is to build a three-storey 68 unit condo development on Morrison Road next summer. The site, which overlooks several backyards, is currently a green space. The neighbours are not happy.
Everything you ever wanted to know about closing costs but were afraid to ask.
Industry experts recommend setting aside at least 1.5% of the value of your new house to cover closing costs, but you may need more than that and budgeting a buffer to that amount is a sensible option. Closing costs are the various payments that you need to make when you complete the purchase of your home. These can range from legal fees to taxes to insurance payments and are important to take into consideration when completing a purchase because they can add up to a significant amount.
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Retiring early with real estate. Let your portfolio work for you:
One investor gives his tips to become completely financially independent at any age.
Top House vs Condo Costs Buyers Should Consider
There are many factors to consider when you’re looking to buy a property, the biggest one being the type you want – should you buy a house or a condo? Aside from obvious differences such as amount of living space, yard vs. amenities, and proximity to neighbours (noise), there is also a significant difference in costs.
The K-W Oktoberfest Thanksgiving Day Parade!
See spectacular floats, fantastic bands and more on Thanksgiving Monday! This year’s parade begins at Frederick and Weber in Kitchener, traveling up Weber and ending at Bridgeport in Waterloo, starting at 8:30am at Weber and Fredrick in Kitchener.
What I am thinking about
In world news. At the UN on Wednesday, the President of the USA called the Dear Leader of North Korea “Rocket Man” and then the next day the Dear Leader calls the President a Barking Dog. Name calling from world leaders. What is the world coming to? There is a guy in China that set up a street side clinic to remove the vocal cords of nuisance dogs.
I watched “First they killed my father” last night on Netflix. It is the story of Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s. It was being filmed when we were there a couple of years ago. Spoiler alert. It had a holly wood ending.
There are currently 780 homes listed today in Kitchener Waterloo on the KW board. That is higher than the roughly 300 of six months ago. But it still seems like that there is nothing good to show my buying clients.
Word of the day
Dotard is a direct translation of the Korean word “neukdari,” a disparaging way to refer to an elderly person. Woof woof.
