I'm often asked, "why did you get into real estate?" and the truth is, it was never my plan. My father (Brian) got into real estate after I left for University, it was never really a part of our family, and I never knew much about it/gave it much thought. After University I bounced around a few jobs trying to decide what I wanted to do and my dad 'volun-told' me to get my real estate license t...o become his assistant. The first year wasn't pretty. Being on call 24/7, havin

Appraisals are a part of the home buying process. Over the past few years with house prices rising at unprecedented rates, appraisals have played a bigger role in our real estate market. The short of it is that the bank wants to ensure that the home you have just purchased (and asking for a mortgage) for $400,000 is actually worth $400,000 based on neighbouring sales and comparable properties. If the home is in a new neighbourhood where there are many similar style homes and