When you finally make “the decision” to purchase your cottage property, typically the traditional images and thoughts begin to stir your imagination. Thoughts of warm days, hanging out at the dock sipping your favourite beverage.

As you build your buyer list of important features, the typical priorities begin to emerge:

• Winterized or three season cottage
• Number of bedrooms
• Fireplace
• Road access
• Shoreline-deep water or shallow entry
• Docks for boats
• Decks
• Septic system
• Water-lake or well (drilled/dug)

And the list G R O W S

But there are some questions that are not always asked by buyers...and should be.

Let’s explore some of these

1. LARGE LAKE VS SMALLER LAKE

Many buyers automatically default that they

Hundreds of Muskoka homes are sold each year, and while every transaction is unique, every owner wants to achieve the same end point— the highest sale price possible with NO hassles!

Over the last 20 years, real estate has become a more complex process with many more duties and rules to be followed. Disclosure statements, more complex listing and sales agreements, and a range of environmental and social concerns have all emerged in the past two decades. Even the actual home-selling process has changed with the emergence of Buyer representation — where REALTORS® represent home buyers —which is now the standard. A Buyer’s Representative is obligated to get the best for their clients – not only the best value but the most information too.

The result of

With the final remnants of winter finally leaving our Muskoka Properties, it is time to get busy doing our outside spring maintenance. This is a fabulous way to renew the feeling of pride of ownership you can feel for your home or cottage. With the crisp and sunny days of early (but very late) spring as our motivation, it is time to investigate the condition of your property’s exterior – everything from the roof, gutters, siding, and foundation to the lawn, shrubs, trees and garden. Don’t despair, it’s not such a bad task if you get prepared and have the right tools on hand and ready to go.

Here is our list of recommended tasks:

A Good Inspection Now is the time to see what damage our winter storms, snow and ice may have done to the exterior of your

Real estate transactions are never done until the title is transferred. Until that time, a real estate transaction can be a puzzle with a piece still to put in place, there are often bumps in the road and unexpected issues that need to be addressed, both on the side of the buyer and the seller.

The best way to prevent deals from going sideways is to prepare as best you can. In our region many of our clients live out of town and often rely on us as their representatives to undertake much of the due diligence required to make their purchase or sale go smoothly. This may sometimes include having tough conversations, doing some work upfront and being open to collaborating when things get a little challenging.

Here are some of the most typical

Not only is Royal LePage dedicated to our agents and clients, we also care deeply about the communities in which our agents live and work. We are the only real estate company with its own branded charity, The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, dedicated to funding women’s shelters and violence prevention & education programs across Canada.

Royal LePage Lakes of Muskoka recently hosted two events in support of our local women’s shelters. Our Bracebridge branch held a Booster Night, which included dinner and a silent auction, at Boston Pizza in Bracebridge, raising $5,000 for Interval House and Chrysalis House. As well, our Burk’s Falls branch hosted lunch & dinner fashion shows at The Swiss Country House in Magnetawan, raising $3,362.74 for Esprit

The four events hosted by the Bracebridge and Burk’s Falls offices of Royal LePage Lakes of Muskoka raised a total of $10,716.09 in support of The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. The money raised will benefit Interval House, Chrysalis House and Esprit Place Family Resource Centre. A huge THANK YOU to all who supported our Booster Night at Boston Pizza, the lunch & dinner Fashion Shows at Swiss Country House, the Booster Night & Live Band at the Burk’s Falls Legion and the Garage Sale for Shelter held at our Burk’s Falls office. We sincerely appreciate your support.

For more information regarding the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, please click here.

We at Royal LePage are committed to strengthening the communities in which we live and work and we are the only Canadian real estate company with its own charitable foundation. The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation is Canada’s largest public foundation dedicated exclusively to funding women’s shelters and violence prevention programs. Every dollar raised goes directly to helping the 30,000 women and children who are served each year by the shelters and support programs we fund. Since 1998, the Shelter Foundation has raised more than $20 million and currently supports 200 local women’s shelters and national partners.

The 4th Annual Booster Night For Shelter was held at Boston Pizza in Bracebridge on February 9th, 2016 and raised a total of $4,525 in