Preparing for a Growing Family

Selling your condo and moving into the unknown is tough.

It can be hard to figure out where you should go.

There can be multiple curve balls thrown your way, and sometimes never knowing what is ahead.

This is what 2020 looked like for our past clients, Travis and Jessica. In July 2019, they decided to pursue adoption and have a daughter. They were told that the timeline would be about three years. So they focused on being vetted and preparing for their new addition to their family.

They asked for Rebecca’s help to sell their condo and buy a bigger home for their growing family.

However, they have no idea what kind of home they needed or where in the city would be the best place to live.

Travis felt like

We have a fantastic story about a couple who recently bought and sold a house with Chamberlain Real Estate Group. Natalie was born and raised in Calgary, and her husband, Vin, was from Vietnam.

Journey to Calgary

Vin’s family stayed in a refugee camp in Thailand because they tried to escape when pirates attacked them. A church in Thorncrest sponsored their entire family of 15 to go to Canada.

They arrived in Calgary Herald during the 1970s. His parents had money in Vietnam, but they cleaned toilets for a living when they came here. Their journey wasn't easy, but they worked hard and thrived.

Natalie and Vin met at a hair school in Calgary. Back in Vietnam, Vin's father got wealthy because of his hair salon. He worked so hard that he ended up

What makes someone want to renovate?

The most common reason for renovation is the house’s location. When a home is in a place that works well, you stay there and improve it.

You identify something that bothers you about the house, like the layout, functionality, or natural light. There are a lot of different factors that can prompt a renovation.

When you buy or build a new house, you have high hopes that everything will be great. But then once you live in it, you’ll start to notice things that don’t work well.

 Partner with Trusted Contractors

People usually renovate mudrooms, bathrooms, and en suites to make them more efficient and aesthetically pleasing. Some even remodel showers to achieve a nicer, spa-type feeling in the en suite. And of course,

When you are looking at homes, there are a few things that you want to pay attention to.

We know from our own experience that it can be exciting when looking at your next home for you and your family. Sometimes the focus can be on the size of rooms, the flow of the spaces, what the colours of cabinets look like and so on.

These are important; however, there are 6 things that you need to look at if you are in a home and think that this home could be the next one.

We invited Matt and Laura from Braemyn Homes to talk about the six things you should check when looking for new homes and the costs associated with fixing or upgrading them.

1. Furnaces

The first thing that you need to check is the furnace. Many think that furnace repair costs as

Real estate was essential before, and it still is. At Chamberlain Real Estate Group, we commit to protecting our clients. We continue to help people in their moving up journey even amidst the pandemic.

We want to walk you through the current protocols on showings and open houses.

Safety Measures

When the shutdown happened, the government deemed Real Estate as an essential service. Because if you moved and the service wasn't there, you would end up homeless.

The shutdown would strain people needing to make a move because of their jobs or health concerns. Others might even need to deal with unfortunate transitions if someone passes away. Their family may have to right-size or downsize.

As a brokerage, we are intentional to protect our clients

Take a look at the 33 most expensive houses in Calgary below and since you're at it continue on this journey and see all the most luxurious homes that are over $2,000,000 that are currently for sale below.

Calgary can be a very affordable city to live in when compared to other major cities across Canada, but rest assured there are some incredible houses that you need to see. These houses have some incredible features and floorplans that are sure to wow anyone! The attention to detail and the architectural designs you will find in the images below are sure to blow you away. We not may all be able to live in homes like this, but you can always look, dream and take ideas to incorporate into your own home and space.

Have you been thinking of making a move up and trying to figure out your financing?

Lindsay from Spire Mortgages, talks about the process of funding your dream home.

When making a move up, funding your mortgage is super-easy. It doesn't have to be overwhelming.

Smooth, seamless financing is the goal of Spire Mortgage. To take all of the factors into consideration, they make sure that all documents are lined up perfectly.

Documentation

The most important thing to have is pre-approvals with actual documents. Computer-generated records are only suitable for rate hold, but mortgage brokers need to see what's going on behind the scenes to ensure that the income is right.

Step one is putting together the paperwork that you need when you're going

Alex Weston is the perfect combination of relaxed and driven. His clients appreciate his smart, thoughtful, and often witty way of presenting information.

If you speak with him for even a few minutes, you can get a sense of the fantastic amount of knowledge he has about the real estate industry and the Calgary market.

His favourite part about being a Realtor is versatility. He works with people from all walks of life, which makes every day enjoyable.

He credits his wife’s patience for a lot of his success as they raise two little ones together. Moreover, he loves that she still lets him think he’s funny.

After the last few whirlwind months, we wanted to find out how society's current landscape affects his clients.

What kinds of

We invited a fantastic, young couple to talk about their recent condo purchase. This couple shared how they did it, why they did it and much more.

Zendalee works at a school, and Davey is a freelance photographer & videographer. They have been married for two years now.

Their perception of real estate people is from the movies. They think agents are just out to make a dollar and get crazy commissions.

Education is Key

Before the purchase of their condo, the couple had some fears. Primarily, they were unsure about what they were looking for.

They don’t know a lot of real estate terminology, which gave them the feeling of not being educated enough to make the right decision.

Their mindset shifted when Zendalee attended a class for first

Is living in the inner-city with a family a good idea? Should you do it?

We've had lots of clients who have talked about moving to the inner-city in Calgary. One of them is Jeremy Duncan; he made that change and moved to the inner city with his family. He lives at Crescent Heights on the west side of Center Street.

From Suburbs to Inner City

Their first place was a condo in Toronto, Scarborough. They moved to Calgary in 2004 and immediately started looking for a condo downtown.

Their agent pushed them to buy a starter home in the suburbs. Looking back, it was great for them financially.

His family ended up buying a starter home in Tuscany. They stayed there for about nine years. But it wasn't quite what they envisioned having.

Their