St. John's One Stop Real Estate Shop
About a year ago myself and Mark were approached by a local production company and asked to be part of a new St. John's based reality television show about the local real estate industry.
At NormanLane our entire business model is very different from your typical Real Estate Team and in retrospect, we really weren't quite sure what to think about the proposal in the beginning. Nothing like it had ever even been attempted before. Upon that realization, it was that moment we decided we had to be involved.
Television, because of it's high barrier to entry has really been an untapped media source as far as the local real estate industry is concerned, but with the housing boom over the last decade, the curiosity and interest surrounding our local real estate market brought the potential for a large local audience.
The more we thought about it, the more we envisioned TV (and video) becoming the focus of our marketing efforts (Earlier this summer we also shot and produced two TV commercials currently running on NTV... who new we'd like TV so much!)
The show, aptly named: Open House NL was shot over a period of several weeks in the Fall of 2014. The experience of shooting a television show was exciting, stressful, and very eye-opening. Seeing and hearing yourself on camera is always a little uncomfortable. You get to see yourself from angles you're not used to seeing.
For example: I now know my hair is thinning out a little faster than I originally thought it was. *sigh*
However, I was very fortunate to be joined by three other excellent Realtors who were a pleasure to work with. Also, the crew and production team for the show were consummate professionals and experts at what they do. Upon seeing some of the final footage I believe they did a great job painting a realistic picture of a typical week in the life of a busy Realtor on the North East Avalon. I think the viewers will find it as entertaining as it is educational.
So, after almost a year of editing and post production, the final product will soon be polished and ready for the airwaves. Starting Sunday, Septmber 13th at 4:30pm on NTV and will run at same time for six consecutive weeks. We will be having a kickoff party at Uptown (The Home of Yuk-Yuks) starting at 3:30pm to celebrate all of the hard work that went into the producing of the program. If you're in the area, feel free to join us for some finger foods and a cocktail as we watch the premiere on their big screen!
Looks like Mayor Dennis O'Keefe will also be checking out the show....
..and if you're even a bit curious about the St. John's real estate scene, you should too.
Finally, after many years of requesting it from our long term partners Verico and Grouplend, the NormanLane team now has access to an unsecured lending product with loans up to $30,000 approved instantly with funds landing in your bank account within 24 hours of your submitted application!
Whether you’re consolidating high interest credit card debt, doing a home renovation, or making a major purchase, getting a Verico/Grouplend loan via NormanLaneLending.ca is surprisingly simple.
How does it work?
1. You fill out a quick 1-minute application @ NormanLaneLending.ca (which won’t affect your credit score to get your personalized quote.)
2. Once you choose to move forward with your loan, send us a few documents to verify your identity and income.
3. The money is deposited into your bank account the next business day!
This is BIG news for our team in being able to help our clients in their financial and home ownership goals!
Visit our page at normanlanelending.ca for complete details or email mark@normanlane.ca for a step by step walk through!
Closing costs:
For many home buyers in Newfoundland, closing costs are a complete mystery; a slew of hidden fees that only show up at the last minute to empty your wallet! But there is a simple formula for these costs:
A safe bet for closing costs is 1.5-2% of your total purchase price, (in addition to your minimum 5% down payment). This covers off things like government fees for registering your mortgage and your deed, title searches, tax certification, law society fees and actual fees for legal work (despite what you may think, the majority of fees a lawyer collect actually go towards government required items).
Our mortgage calculator takes the guess work out of this for Newfoundland home buyers as we break the different costs down when estimating how much it's actually going to cost you on closing day to get your keys.
The few things we can't account upfront are things like:
Property tax - In the event the homeowner has her property taxes paid until the end of the year, the new buyer would have to reimburse them the remaining amount they've paid. (ie. If your closing date is August 15th, you'd be on the hook for 4.5 months property taxes on the property)
Oil/Propane - If the house has either oil heat, a propane fireplace/stove, etc, you will be required to reimburse the homeowner for the remaining fuel in the tank. (Often, tanks are filled around the time of closing so you can be billed for a full tank)
While the actual fees for billable hours vary from lawyer to lawyer, this calculator will give you a pretty close idea for what you can expect!
Calculate your down payment and closing costs: HERE
