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Review Of The Month – December

Some of you will have received a message from me that we’ve been having trouble with our Google Reviews, as we unfortunately lost 69 5-star reviews! Thank you for your kind responses to help us rebuild that back to 49 as I write this. Google seem to be hiding some further reviews though, so I’ll have to keep working with them on that! Who’d be a small business owner?! Haha! 

Being a small business owner though, your reviews really do mean the world, and as they poured in again over the last two weeks I got to relive so many of our real estate journeys together – which was really encouraging! Thanks to everyone that resubmitted their reviews. Many, many stood out but I wanted to share this one as it was particularly reflective of the experience we strive to create and look forward to offering more next year. Nearly a third of our business this year was with past clients, so I am happy to share Ashley and Curtis’s review, with whom we’ve now helped them sell one home and purchase two:

We first met David Smith three years ago when we sought to purchase our first condo. In a season of rising prices and multiple offer sales, we were hesitant. David helped us find the perfect home, which we bought for under asking in a desirable neighborhood. 

When we reached out to David again a few years later, he walked us through the selling process and was patient with us as we casually started looking for a bigger space. For more than a year, David sent us Snapstats as we analyzed the market with him, researching and waiting for the right time to sell. 

Then, on a whim this past March, we viewed a presale development and fell in love. David was right there when we needed him, and again helped us buy our new townhouse under asking price. In September, David took care to artfully market and sell our condo in multiple offers over asking. In three years, we’ve bought two homes under asking and sold our condo for over asking in multiple offers and David has been there every step of the way. 

David is more than a Realtor to us, he’s a friend, confidante, the guy you feel like you’ve known forever when you’ve only just met. We truly felt valued and appreciated, and that he had our best interest in mind. David is honest, trustworthy, authentic, and kind. Hiring David was the most important and best decision we made, and we highly recommend him to anyone looking to buy or sell a home. – Curtis & Ashley

Thanks again for the kind review, Curtis & Ashley, you two are always a pleasure to work with. If you’d like to hear about how we can help you with your move, never hesitate to reach out. 

Photo of The Month — December

One of the things we pride ourselves on at David Smith Homes Group is the effort we put in to our property marketing. We actually invest disproportionately in marketing our listings rather than ourselves, as the best marketing we could possibly do is by delivering for happy clients that then go on to tell their own friends and family about their experience. That’s led to the narrated videos that put us on the map, the floorplans by excelsior measuring, social media strategy, and more. We couldn’t do that without our friends at White Cloud Productions, featured last month for their edits on some rainy day shoots. This month we wanted to feature another service we offer in partnership with them, drone photography and videography:

What a stunning picture of one of our recent listings, 5086 204 St, Langley, tucked away on a meader on the Nicomekl river. Jeremy and his team really captured how this home is so privately situated even although it’s right in the heart of Langley. For more details on the listing, please click here.Thanks again to our media partners at White Cloud Productions for always going the extra mile! If you’d like to talk to us about how our thoughtful marketing efforts can help you make the move you’d love then don’t hesitate to reach out. 

Easter Egg Colouring Contest

Happy Easter to each and every one of you! As part of our celebrations we’re running a colouring contest, one for adults and one for kids! 

Each winner will receive a British Easter Egg, the most delicious Easter Candy out there. 

To print your copy please click here

Please scan and submit back to us by April 4th. 

We can’t wait to review your colourful submissions! 

To those of you that celebrate Easter as the Resurrection of Jesus, may the season bring you much hope and peace.

Caffeinated Minute – Episode 9 – ‘What Is A Key Mistake Upsizers Should Avoid?’ 

We’re continuing our monthly video series in collaboration with our caffeinated colleague, Alex McFadyen from Thrive Mortgage Co. 

This month it’s me on the spot, giving some advice on a mistake to avoid when upsizing – a move that makes sense for many in this current market. 

As always, sharing is caring! If you find value please do share with anyone you think would appreciate it too.

Five Reflections On Five Years

It seems like a lifetime ago, but on July 6th 2016 I found out I passed the Real Estate Trading Services exam at UBC’s Sauder School of Business, a whole FIVE YEARS ago! What a five years it’s been, looking back I’m astonished by how much life has changed and almost overwhelmed by how much your support has meant. I say it every month in the newsletter, please believe me when I say, “we couldn’t do any of this without your ongoing support.” 

I took some time this past month to consider some of the lessons learned over these last few years. One thing that blew me away was how certain mega-themes that were present at the start remain absolutely central to who we are and how we operate. 

Home Is Where Our Stories Are Written

If you’ve seen one of our buyer or seller guides you’ll be familiar with this phrase, it’s how we start every conversation with our clients. I was sensitive to this fromthe beginning, and now with over 270 homes sold I’m thoroughly convinced it’s true. Of course, there’s more to life than where you live, but it sure does have a huge effect.

Over these last five years I’ve seen: downsizing couples weep as they close the door on the home they raised their family in; young couples bringing home their babies from the hospital; pictures of holiday celebrations in dream homes; and countless day-to-day moments – the stuff of life.

We also experienced it ourselves, purchasing our home in Walnut Grove after painfully leaving behind our townhome at the beginning of this whole journey. To this day I watch my kids playing in the garden or eating around the table and remember, ‘home is where our stories are written.’ I consider this one of the greatest privileges in our business, we help people find the backdrop to their story. That’s an incredibly precious thing and something we continue to treat with the respect it deserves. 

Property In Community

Right from the beginning we featured the community around a home as part of our marketing plan but ‘Property in Community’ came to be about more than marketing. As our influence grew within the industry and in the communities we serve I realized we could use that influence to genuinely impact other people and tell their stories. 

‘Property in Community’ took on a deeper meaning when it translated to three years of Realtor Monopoly, raising over $40,000 for New Hope Community Services, helping dozens of refugee families get settled in Canada; to raising another $40,000 for the ‘Bring Kevin Home’ project, allowing our friend who’d suffered a stroke to renovate his home so he could return to his family; to inspiring thousands of other agents to advocate for others on the main stage at Inman Connect in San Francisco; to sponsoring local events and fundraisers; to serving on multiple non-profit boards; and to telling stories of other local businesses asking for nothing in return. 

We wanted to be careful not to constantly only tell our own stories, but to use our voice to tell others’ and I’m proud that we’ve been successful in doing that. It’s something I’d like to return to doing more as things open up in our communities and economy again. We feel incredibly fortunate to be part of such a wonderful community. 

Collaborators Not Competitors

With over 20,000 Realtors in the Lower Mainland I had heard that real estate was a hyper-competitive industry that was full of sharks. Now, there are certainly some agents that are only in it for themselves, but one of the reasons I’m proud to own Royal LePage Wolstencroft and Wheeler Cheam with the Schreder Brothers is that our brokerages’ agents see themselves as collaborators not competitors, and that makes us all better.

I am so grateful to the other agents in my life that have helped me grow and serve our clients better. These are people who simply want to help. We are happy to share lessons learned, systems that improve our client experience, data that highlights market shifts, and support when we’re winning or losing. These colleagues have become our community and some of the most valuable friends I’ve ever had.

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

Continuing the importance of community, how couldn’t I talk about the team? One of the benefits to working with the David Smith Homes Group is that we’re now a team of specialists rather than me just being a sole-proprietor generalist, as I was at the beginning. This has undoubtedly allowed us to improve our client experience.

Real estate is a tough business and without the support of a number of fantastic team members over the years I’m not sure we would have made it this far. The attrition rate in real estate is 70% of agents don’t make it through two years, and for good reason – the stress can be overwhelming, the expenses eye-watering, the workload and timeframes near impossible, but we’ve made it through as a team. I’m so thankful to work alongside such a gifted group of people.

People Over Property, Always

It’s not a coincidence that none of the above reflections were about how to decorate a home; when the best time to sell is; how to leverage equity to pick up an investment property; or anything else about the ‘property’. We know these things, of course, and we’re very good at serving our clients with their real estate needs… but the real estate itself has never been the focus and never will be for us. 

When I look back at the last five years I’m most proud that we’ve not been derailed from our ‘People Over Property, Always’ approach. There were times it would have been easier and far more profitable to have jettisoned it, but we’ve held firm. Sacrifices were made along the way to do so, but I’ve never regretted them once. 

The five year mark is a turning point for any real estate business, we’ve already begun seeing clients return to us for the second time, asking us to help them both sell their current home and purchase their next. We don’t take this for granted, and our commitment remains to try to place you, your family, and your needs at the heart of the process. 

Thank you for being part of the first five years of the David Smith Homes Group. Nothing would make me happier than being able to spend many more years continuing to serve our friends and clients, sharing our influence, and benefitting our communities together.

Gratefully,
David 

Meet The Team

It all started as a joke, ‘#SuitsAndSweaters’! That hashtag caused a few chuckles, summarizing David’s approachable demeanour and Ty’s professional presentation. As with a lot of comedy, there was a powerful truth underlying the laughter, David & Ty’s businesses complement one another perfectly. With different business models both Realtors achieved top 1% status* using completely unique approaches.

With over a decade and a half in the industry, Ty’s immaculate presentation and expert advice have established a large following of both real estate consumers and industry insiders. Learn more about Ty here.

Exploding onto the scene only a handful of years ago, David’s business was built on a ‘People Over Property, Always’ approach. Investing a huge amount of energy and time into his clients and community allowed him and his team to cement an undeniably trustworthy reputation. Learn more about David here.

Although David & Ty are the figure heads of the group, they wouldn’t be anywhere without the team’s support. When you choose to work with David & Ty, the whole team are working with your best interests in mind.

Before joining the David & Ty Homes Group Devin Walchuk was already an established real estate agent of seven years. A perfect combination of professionalism and approachability, Devin was an easy hire! Learn more about Devin here.

With over four decades in the business, Dan Corsie has done it all and brings an enormous wealth of knowledge to the team. If you hadn’t worked it out a

Already, Dan also happens to be Ty’s Dad! Learn more about Dan here.

As the sole female Realtor on the team, Lindsay Faber brings her aesthetic ability and incredible people skills to benefit our friends and clients. Her enthusiasm for real estate is contagious. Learn more about Lindsay here.

Having served as the conveyancer and administrator for her former brokerage Diane Kapeluck makes sure everything behind the scenes functions effectively and efficiently as our unlicensed administrative assistant. Learn more about Diane here.

Helping the team ensure our clients are entirely happy following their transaction, Amanda Smith is our unlicensed client care assistant. She also happens to be David’s wife of over a decade. Learn more about Amanda here.

With over 1,000 transactions behind the team our clients have been kind enough to write testimonial after testimonial, sharing their experiences, which you can read here (Hyperlink).

Along with the testimonials, we have also been generously awarded dozens of awards over the years, which you can read about here (Hyperlink).

*according to FVREB medallion statistics for 2019.

FEATURED LISTINGS

WELCOME TO CARRIAGE LANE! ABBOTSFORD WEST / R2403989

$310,000
2 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 1,495 Sq Ft

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CONTEMPORARY, SPACIOUS, AND BRIGHT MORGAN CREEK / R2403986

$1,498,500
5 Bedrooms 6 Bathrooms 3,612 Sq Ft

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WELCOME TO PANORAMA RIDGE PANORAMA RIDGE / R2400970

$950,000
3 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2,578 Sq Ft

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WELCOME TO EXCHANGE WILLOUGHBY HEIGHTS / R2400971

$499,999
2 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 1,221 Sq Ft

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ATTRACTIVE 2 STOREY HOME MURRAYVILLE / R2387482

$1,188,000
5 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2,537 Sq Ft

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ONE OF THE BEST IN-LAW SUITES IN SURREY! BEAR CREEK GREEN TIMBERS / R2395743

$1,499,000
8 Bedrooms 5 Bathrooms 4,574 Sq Ft

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WELCOME TO THE GABLES! ABBOTSFORD WEST / R2395739

$519,999
3 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 2,894 Sq Ft

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Lindsay’s Corner

’Tis the season of BBQ and patio sitting…so let’s give you something pretty to look at while you’re out there! Hands up if you’re more than a little intimidated by the thought of designing and making your own patio planters. If you raised your hand, we are here to help. Did you know that it’s often SO MUCH CHEAPER than buying your planters ready made? It’s true. If you’re struggling for ideas and how to get started I highly recommend checking out www.provenwinners.com; they have hundreds of “recipes” for hanging baskets, and planters. They tell you everything from what size of planter you’ll need, to what plants to buy, to where to put them in the container. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. I thought it would be fun to share one of my favourites called “Outdoor Elegance”. I love it because it’s timeless and versatile; it goes with almost any style/colour of door. The original recipe calls for tall grasses as the centrepiece but this year I made mine with an evergreen dwarf Alberta Spruce because sometimes I like to get a little crazy, you know what I mean? Don’t be afraid to take the recipe and make it your own. Here’s how to do it:

Click on the images to enlarge

We love our friends at Cedar Rim and they stock all kinds of Proven Winners plants for all of your gardening needs; they also have a huge variety of containers for you to choose from. When you stop in, tell them Lindsay & David say hello.

Lindsay’s Corner

We take Mother’s Day very seriously around here and as such we ran three days of Facebook giveaways in anticipation of the big day.  Congratulations to Mase Ubico who won the Blacksmith Bakery gift card, Curtis Braun who won the Reward Fitness Studio gift card, and Christy Yost who won the gorgeous hanging basket from Cedar Rim.  This mama hopes that all of YOU mamas were spoiled with breakfast in bed (even if it was inedible) and the opportunity to put your feet up and drink your coffee WHILE IT WAS STILL HOT!