Steve Caswell
Broker
Realty Executives of Sudbury Ltd.
Our whole team are big animal lovers. So, I wanted to use this blog to speak for those “furry kids” in the house as we move into the onset of Old Man Winter….
Throughout the summer, we hear many stories and warnings about leaving pets in cars when it is too hot. There are phone numbers to call to have pets rescued (3107722) and many people have smashed windows to save pets when they deem it necessary. You hear about the pavement being too hot for animals to walk on and many people have their pets on tick meds as the summer months have gotten more and more populated with these nasty little buggers.
Just like the summer months, winter should be no different. There are many, many things that we need to be aware of throughout the colder months when it comes to our furry family members… especially for our Northern Ontario fur babies.
Our winters can be harsh… ridiculously harsh. With it just around the corner (oops, already arrived!!!!), I wanted to take this opportunity for a few reminders to keep all our pets, and others’ pets, safe and sound throughout the coming winter.
Lakes and Thin Ice
I must start with this one as I think it is one of the most important since most of us live here in Sudbury, which is surrounded by over 350 lakes, as per Caz’s Camp Drifter blog .
Greater Sudbury lakes are something we enjoy immensely in the winter and summer months. But these places we see as absolute bliss can be extremely dangerous during the transitional periods. Please be very cautious on the lakes in and around the areas where you frequent with your pooch. It is important to be 100% sure on the thickness of the lake before stepping foot on it for walks or allowing your baby to be off leash. Things can happen in a second so please, please be careful and always err on the side of extreme caution! To drive home the severity, remember that if the ice isn’t strong enough to support them, there is absolutely nothing you can do once it’s too late. I don’t mean to be too harsh here, but this has to be recognized at full face value to avoid it at all costs.
Ice is slick and can be a real hazard to walk on whether you’re on lakes, driveways or areas where water pooled before freezing. So, it’s important to note that, if it is icy or really slippery, probably best to find another walking path for the day. You don’t want your furry companion to slip and possibly injure themselves…not to mention take you out in the process.
But, to lighten the mood again, do you also notice that when dogs slip or stumble, they look around like we do to see if anyone saw it??!! Makes me giggle every time with our kids…..
Paw Protection
Some dogs have no issues walking in booties. They strut their stuff like they were born to wear them… Runway Style! If you’re lucky enough to have a dog that doesn’t kick off or chew through their booties and can walk somewhat normal, then booties are the way to go. Not only are they stinkin’ adorable, they will protect their paws from the cold and chemicals/salt that are used on our roads for ice and snow removal. There are some really cute matching sweaters and tuques too!!! Get them all bundled up and looking chic!
If your pet is not a runway model, please be sure to practice the following:
Scent Loss
Try not letting your dog off leash even though this is something that they might be used to. When it snows, their scent can be lost in a new snow fall and especially during a storm. If they’re bounding through fresh snow, they could get disoriented and have difficulty finding their way back.
During the onset of spring, there are a million new smells surfacing that Fido might want to explore. If they’re off leash, that nose could quickly take them too far from you and into hazardous areas of flowing water.
Unattended in a Car
Just like leaving your pet in the car on a hot summer’s day, the same danger can occur if you have left your pet in a car in the colder months. How would you feel if your pet left you in the fridge for a few hours?
Winter Puddles
It is probably best to make sure that your pet avoids all winter puddles. There is antifreeze, road salts and quite a few other poisonous chemicals that may accumulate over the winter. Try and make sure that your pet steers clear of all winter puddles just to be on the safe side.
Limit Their Time Outside
There are some dogs that are bred to handle the colder temperatures, but most are not. Even some of these breeds have not had much exposure to the lower temperatures. Just cause their great-great-great-grandpaws were sled dogs in the late 1800’s doesn’t mean they’re going to perform as well outside. So, it is always best to keep your pet indoors when the thermostat drops. You will have to come up with some creative ways to keep them occupied to burn off extra energy, but safety comes first, so try your best to amuse them… throw and catch really doesn’t need that much space, they just appreciate the attention.
Not Just For The Dogs….
As for our feline friends, they can be quite independent. They are used to coming and going as they please. The trouble is, they might seem fine once they’re out but in time (and, if cold enough, it takes no time at all before they could be in trouble) their paw pads will get too cold to feel and they won’t be able to make their way back home. Keep your pet indoors when the temperature drops. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
But, even if you don’t personally own a cat, there are times where cats try to find warmth and shelter any way that they can. If you park outside, it is important to always tap the hood of your car before starting it as cats may have taken refuge under your hood. They tend to seek shelter there for the warmth from your engine, or at times, will perch themselves on the top of your tires if the tires are still warm. Just try and be a little alert when walking to your car… you just never know who’s furry kid you’ll save by doing a little deed to make sure.
We know these aren’t all the tips to keeping our furry friends safe throughout the winter. Please comment and share if you feel there’s anything we’ve missed and please, please, please, please share your pics of your dressed-up pet strutting their winter gear!!!!!
Don’t panic and please enjoy your winter with your furry family member… we all know how much they can love this time of year…. especially those babies that are seeing snow for the first time! Have fun but be safe!
We’re always here to help make sure all the angles are covered for the entire family, including the furry and exotic family members! Never hesitate to contact us at caswellteam@realtyexecutives.com, check out all our great blog topics here, you can start MLS™ search by clicking here or visit our website for tons of great info on buying and selling in Greater Sudbury and surrounding areas!
Contributed by:
Michelle Caswell
Cell - 705.507.1229
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other salespersons, staff or affiliates of Realty Executives of Sudbury LTD. Brokerage, Realty Executives International, the Sudbury Real Estate Board, Ontario Real Estate Association, Canadian Real Estate Association or any of their subsidiaries. For any concerns pertaining to the content herein, please contact us immediately at caswellteam@realtyexecutives.com.
Over the past couple of weeks, I have probably had at least five conversations with people who are thinking about selling but are not too sure. “Maybe I will think about it and list in the spring”.
My advice to them, and to anyone else that is on the proverbial “selling fence”, take the time throughout the winter to do a little bit on your house. This way, if you do decide to sell, especially when you have fallen in love with another house that has popped up, your house will be ready to list at a moment’s notice. We frequently get calls from people saying the house they’ve always wanted has come to market. Unfortunately, they’re about two months away from going to market with their own place. Opportunity missed.
You never know when it’s going to happen. So, even if it’s only a passing thought in the back of your mind, here’s some things you can do during those dark, cold winter months that will help you be ready when the moment arrives:
Doing a little bit of this throughout the winter months won’t leave you feeling so overwhelmed in the Spring when your future new home has popped up on the market and time is not on your side. Besides, wouldn’t you rather be outside enjoying the warmer weather when hibernation is over? By that point, a little yard Spring cleanup will be all you need to do to top things off and put the sign in the ground!
As a quick offshoot to that, make sure you take a few nice pictures of your freshly manicured property in the fall after the raking and final lawn cutting is done. The house of your dreams may come to market in February and giving prospective buyers the chance to see the yard in pics instead of trying to envision it through fields of deep snow could be the game-changer that sells your place quickly.
Or, after all this hard work - who knows - maybe doing this will have you falling in love with your home again and you might decide not to sell. Either way, the benefits are endless, when you’re sitting around inside, and it’s cold and dark outside, attack that house! There is always something to do…. So, get to it!
One of our ongoing commitments to our clients is to help you right from the start of "thinking about selling". When that thought crosses your mind, it's time to have us over for visit and take advantage of our expertise and guidance on prepping your house to sell! Never hesitate to contact us at caswellteam@realtyexecutives.com to see how we can help, you cant start the search for you new home by checking out all MLS™ listings here, browse our other great blog topics here or check out our website for tons of info about buying and selling in Greater Sudbury!
Contributed by:
Michelle Caswell
Cell - 705.507.1229
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other salespersons, staff or affiliates of Realty Executives of Sudbury LTD. Brokerage, Realty Executives International, the Sudbury Real Estate Board, Ontario Real Estate Association, Canadian Real Estate Association or any of their subsidiaries. For any concerns pertaining to the content herein, please contact us immediately at caswellteam@realtyexecutives.com.
September. Wow. They say Blue Monday is a day in January where some mild, seasonal depression kicks in after the holiday whirlwind is behind us. But I’d have to say there is definitely a “blueness” about the Monday that falls on Labour Day every year. Especially with the light, morning drizzle as I write this…..
Where the heck did summer go? It feels like only yesterday where I was taking off my sweater after a gnarly May long weekend. It feels like yesterday that all the Facebook posts were of proud parents posting graduation pics and the wide-eyed kids laser focused on their two-month vacation. It feels like yesterday where we had no choice but to take the cover off the A/C unit. Now we sit here contemplating putting on the gas fireplace.
No matter what, summers in Sudbury are AWESOME!!!! Facebook was jammed full of kids pulling in their first fish of the year, people enjoying some cold ones on the camp deck, folks enjoying the sunshine on all our great golf courses, friends soaking in some live music on the local restaurant patios or just out for a hike through our breathtaking Canadian Northern Shield. Throw in all the events that seem to occur every weekend throughout Northern Ontario and it’s no wonder that summer seems to just fly by.
But, as the great Northerners that we are, this week sees us transition into our Fall selves. Arena parking lots and local football fields start to fill up again. We’ll see posts of the leaves changing while people bundle up a little warmer for their Kivi Park hikes. We’ll “like” the final pics of our friends’ camp renovations that took longer than expected due to the “deck breaks” noted above. And we’ll settle back into our routines while we scroll through the 100’s of “first day of school” pics.
It won’t be long until we’re doing final prep on the sleds, till we hear Xmas carols bellowing through the local merchants and, the inevitable, great Northern Ontario pastime of complaining about the bitter cold and/or the epic amounts of snow we’re bound to get…..
While we patiently wait for May long weekend 2020 where we’ll be so excited to start another summer that will certainly fly by….
Whether it’s Spring, Summer, Fall or in the grip of Old Man Winter, we’re always ready for all your real estate needs. Never hesitate to reach out to us at caswellteam@realtyexecutives.com, start searching all the MLS™ listings for your new home (or camp in time for next summer!) by clicking here, check out all other great Caswell Team blog topics here or see a ton of great info about buying or selling in Greater Sudbury and surrounding areas on website.
Contributed by:
Steve Caswell
Cell - 705.561.8767
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other salespersons, staff or affiliates of Realty Executives of Sudbury LTD. Brokerage, Realty Executives International, the Sudbury Real Estate Board, Ontario Real Estate Association, Canadian Real Estate Association or any of their subsidiaries. For any concerns pertaining to the content herein, please contact us immediately at caswellteam@realtyexecutives.com.
Mistakes are part of life. Everyone makes them. Absolutely no one is immune to them.
Recently, I made a mistake.
I was working both sides of a deal and missed including an outbuilding in the paperwork that I thought was basically derelict. It was an old wooden structure that was moved from its original position and placed at another location on the property where it was just there – empty. There were no walls, just four posts and a roof on it. I’m actually shocked it withstood the snow load this winter – but that’s neither here nor there. I sincerely didn’t even think anything of it assuming, if it was gone, the buyer wouldn’t care.
If you read the above paragraph carefully, my mistake is blatantly obvious. I assumed.
I know better. In this business, you cannot assume anything. Our industry is legally binding contracts that are major financial, life changing decisions people make and it’s imperative that I don’t get complacent at anytime and make sure all the “i’s” are dotted and the “t’s” are crossed.
When we showed up for closing, the seller had dismantled the structure and was taking it with them. Meanwhile, the buyer had already committed to having the structure enclosed and had plans for it. After working so long with and so hard for both clients, I was mortified that this half-finished structure had just severely soured the deal right at the finish line. What I had assumed was scrap, or basically useless, was actually incredibly valuable to both parties.
My heart sunk. All my efforts for the last few years have just become overshadowed by four posts, a few deck blocks and a roof. I was sincerely devastated and this one hurt.
I have only felt this horrible pain one other time in the past. Guess how it happened? Yep, an assumption.
I was showing properties to clients who wanted a duplex. We found an exceptional bungalow with a pretty easy basement conversion in a great location for them and their family. It was nestled between two all brick, 2-storey duplexes that were clearly built as legitimate duplexes. There were rental units up and down the street and all around the surrounding area. We wrote the offer, secured the property and the clients were pumped!
Then the phone rang a few weeks later. “Caz, we have a problem. Our property isn’t zoned for a duplex, so we can't put in the second unit." I thought, “the person at the City must be wrong” and went directly to verify the zoning. There it was – R1, not the R2 that was necessary. I almost puked. I zoomed out on the zoning map and the entire surrounding area was all R2, but the street they were on was a very small pocket of R1. I was blown away. I assumed the entire area was R2 based on the site visits and the sales I’d been involved with in the surrounding area. All on my shoulders.
Mistakes happen. But you should never be remembered for your mistakes. Rather, you’ll always be remembered for owning it, learning from it and how you fixed it. I was always brought up to face the music head on, admit when you’re wrong, make no excuses or try to deflect blame, immediately get hard to work to make it right and make sure I take away the lesson from my mistake to ensure I never repeat it.
Some mistakes are simple to correct – like when I forget to let Michelle know that I’m staying out for a few extra ones before stumbling in late. Those are normally fixed with a “sorry, babe” the next morning. Then there’s the drinking your buddy’s last beer mistake – you can always drop a case off tomorrow, and all will be forgotten! But these weren’t little mistakes where a “sorry” or just a case of beer would cut it.
In both cases, I did what I was brought up to do. These were mistakes I made, so it was time to own them versus dwelling on them and get on with correcting them.
With the zoning case, I quickly got to work helping the client with the application for a minor variance to allow a second unit in the property. We knew, with the surrounding area, that it wasn’t going to be a big issue, but it is still a process my client never should’ve had to deal with. Along with preparing the documentation, I reimbursed the client the $1700 for the application fee and also some additional for the headache.
With the unfinished shed case, after some back and forth with the buyer and seller, I compensated the buyer financially for my error so they could build a brand-new shed.
In both cases, I have to accept the fact that, even though I owned it and corrected it, it is a souring experience when it’s supposed to be an exciting life changing time for them. No matter what, that feeling will never go away for me regardless how much effort I put in to correct it, but I do take pride in knowing I didn’t run away from the problem.
Complacency is deadly and I’m guilty of it in both cases above. But not learning from my mistakes and not fixing them would be way worse. This industry is forever evolving, and every single situation is unique – there is no monotony in this business. Every deal has to be looked at through a clean lens, but we still have to go back on our decades of experience to navigate thru them.
For me, these mistakes are very rare but very few people would have the courage to roll on their back and show their belly on a public forum while admitting it. I just did. And that’s the type of loyalty, professionalism and, most importantly, honesty you should be looking for when you’re making some of the largest financial decisions of your life. Why? Cause everyone makes mistakes, but it’s the ones who accept responsibility for them, correct them and evolve from them that are the ones you want as your teammates.
Our team will never be perfect, but we’re pretty damn close in my opinion. Unless your Sheldon from Big Bang Theory and have never made a mistake, we’re ready to help you avoid major mistakes when it comes to real estate. Contact us at caswellteam@realtyexecutives.com, search all MLS™ listings here, check out all our other great blog articles here or just browse our website for more great info on buying and selling in Greater Sudbury and surrounding areas.
Contributed by:
Steve Caswell
Cell - 705.561.8767
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other salespersons, staff or affiliates of Realty Executives of Sudbury LTD. Brokerage, Realty Executives International, the Sudbury Real Estate Board, Ontario Real Estate Association, Canadian Real Estate Association or any of their subsidiaries. For any concerns pertaining to the content herein, please contact us immediately at caswellteam@realtyexecutives.com.
I’m confident you’ve felt the difference over the years. Since we have all been introduced to some sort of smartphone, apps, social media, streaming, etc., life has certainly gotten more hectic and demanding. Having a device attached to you has basically become another limb and, in turn, has made us easier to reach, way busier and, sadly, distracted.
Ironically, you’re probably reading this as you’ve clicked through a Facebook post on your phone!
Although it is very important, especially in our industry and for many others, to respond quickly to our clients, it is equally important to take a break from our devices from time to time, even if just for an hour or so. I am still learning this, as I know that I am the worst for obsessing over looking at my phone. My husband tells me all the time “you’re allowed to take a dinner break and not look at your phone for 20 minutes”.
One of the things that I have incorporated into my life five years ago is Pilates. I do it three times a week for an hour and, during that hour, I have no phone attached to me and I try to turn the brain off for a little “me” time. It has been a game changer in my life in so many ways and I would highly recommend it!
I also fit some time in for other sports like softball, pickleball and golf. I have been playing sports since I was a little girl and, to me, there is nothing better than the camaraderie of playing on a team, the competitiveness and, of course, sharing a cold beer afterwards. But even during these sports, and the beer after, I catch myself constantly checking my phone for updates.
If Pilates or sports are simply not your thing, there are many other things that you could be doing to try and clear your brain and simply just take a break from the hectic things our world throws at us. Doing crafts with your kids, gardening, meeting a friend for a visit, or simply going for a walk.
The point is, put the phone down, engage with others or take some time to yourself!
Don't worry, you can still contact us anytime at caswellteam@realtyexecutives.com, use your smartphone to check out all the MLS™ listings by clicking here, check out all our other great blog articles here or browse are website for great info on buying and selling in Greater Sudbury and surrounding areas.
Contributed by:
Michelle Caswell
Cell - 705.507.1229
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other salespersons, staff or affiliates of Realty Executives of Sudbury LTD. Brokerage, Realty Executives International, the Sudbury Real Estate Board, Ontario Real Estate Association, Canadian Real Estate Association or any of their subsidiaries. For any concerns pertaining to the content herein, please contact us immediately at caswellteam@realtyexecutives.com.
