RE/MAX Mainstreet is the homepage for over 93,338 agents in over 78 countries around the world. This month I am featured as the headline news story about my video marketing and its use in real estate. I don’t intended to post this as a “hey look at me” type deal, but rather to understand how being featured above all agents not only helps you, my client, but connects me with agents around the world who have clients looking for property.

As a seller, you never know where the next offer could come from. Having an agent who is networked with other agents gives you an unmeasurable difference that could be the difference between selling and not selling your property. EXAMPLE - If I have a client who is looking at moving to Vancouver, I am going to ensure that my friend Ian Watt, takes care of there purchase in Vancouver. Now Ian is going to show the clients his listings and hopefully match everybody together. Without the relationship that Ian and myself have, that sale might never of happened.

Every time I am featured on an International level, my network grows. Which means your network grows. Meaning more money in your pocket.

- Matt Richling

Take a look at the new website to showcase the new Besserer street condominium building. GalleriaCondosOttawa.com is to serve anyone looking to get into the building, those currently in the building, and assist with anyone who is looking to rent out their unit.

The site features all units that are currently for sale in the building, which gives you a one-stop-shop for condos in that building. It features a Community Rental Board, which allows anyone (including other real estate agents) to post their for rent ads. As well for those who are already in the building, they can find contact information for condo board staff as well as store and restaurant locations in the area!

Powered by Matt Richling, GalleriaCondosOttawa.com is another website that is added to his already impressive online marketing arsenal. Each website is built and designed in order to funnel buyers who are looking to purchase, in front of your listing.

For more information visit GalleriaCondosOttawa.com or MattRichling.com. If you would like to post your rental information visit the message board or email Matt@Mattrichling.com.

If you would like Matt Richling to sell your downtown Ottawa condo or if you are looking for a unit for sale in Ottawa please contact Matt Richling at 613-286-9501 or by email Matt@MattRichling.com.
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http://www.MattRichling.com

Take a look at this really interesting time lapse of Rideau Street and 90 George, which interestingly enough is taken from 200 Rideau! Credit to Robbie’s Photo Art on Flickr!

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http://www.MattRichling.com

Night Scene in Ottawa - Taken by Robbie's Photo Art on Flickr

Yesterday, a deal that I had been working on fell through. Both sides could not come to an agreement, and decided that it was best not to continue. Although my client was initially unhappy with the outcome after investing her time and money to get where we had, she was very happy to realize things about the property now, before she had possibly taken ownership.

Okay so why are you telling us this Matt?

Because this situation happens, and most people do not prepare you to look at the facts. Regardless of the property type (income producing or not), there is a conditional phase (building inspection, due-diligence etc) where we take a closer look at the property and “dig a little deeper”. We try and take away the emotional side (”I really want it”) that we as buyers have, and bring in the “truth professionals” also known as the building inspector, lawyer, etc.  We pay them good money to look at the facts, and to give it to us straight.

My role in this, as an agent (some clients call me their secret agent, please feel free to do so as well) is to work with the other side to get you what you want. You want that lamp, alright let me see what I can do. You want that hole that a squirrel uses as the entrance to your home fixed before you move in, let me see what I can do. Keep in mind, both parties (buyer and seller) are both human beings. Both sides have goals, which most often are not financial, and are looking to have the other side provide it.

We (as in the team) are going to find things (some good some not so much), and nine times out of ten we can negotiate them into/around/out of the purchase. But sometimes at the end of the day there will be a fact that just can not be negotiated, or fixed about a property. We will do our best, but that deal might not be the one for you and we will have to understand that.

The great thing is that I will stay with you through this deal and the next. I will be there to help you find those squirrel holes and get them fixed.

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http://www.MattRichling.com

Matt Richling is a sales representative with RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage, Independently Owned and Operated - The opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the RE/MAX or RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage.

Recently I have been getting more and more attention for the Video Tours that I have been putting together for my listings. When national real estate marketing blogs feature your work, it is a confirmation to keep doing what you are doing. I did not want to post this with the intent to “toot my own horn”, but rather remind those of you who have not had the chance to view them, the opportunity as well the explanation behind my reason for doing so.

I started doing actual video tours, because I felt that as a salesperson who sees the photos, listings, and visual tours for many properties on a daily basis - a real disconnection between the actual home and the marketing behind it. As a seller, you want your home to look the best and at the same time provide a true and real feeling for your home. As a buyer, you want to feel the flow before you step in the unit to see if it is in fact what you are looking for. On top of another feel of the property itself, the video is another avenue to attract buyers to the property being featured on more websites.

I still employ a professional real estate photographer to take the pictures of the listings, because they are experts at what they do and I could not emulate their work. Now I not only have professional photos and visual tours but also video tours which provide me a larger arsenal of marketing tools under my belt.

Check out two below and let me know what you think (make sure to watch in HQ!). Do you get a better or different feel for the property? Let me know in the comments!

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http://www.MattRichling.com

Matt Richling is a sales representative with RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage, Independently Owned and Operated - The opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the RE/MAX or RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage.

Last night, during the monthly meeting I was lucky enough to be voted on to the executive board for the Ottawa Real Estate Investors Organization (OREIO). If you are not familiar with the Ottawa Real Estate Investors Organization, it is a non-profit organization with over 300 members dedicated to providing education, networking, and support to new and experienced Canadian real estate investors in the Ottawa and surrounding areas so that they can grow their real estate portfolios.

Over the past year, I have started to see an increase in the amount of people looking to receive an additional income from their real estate portfolio. Whether purchasing a property specifically for its income or adding the income after the fact with adding in-law suites etc, it is becoming much more popular and I personally stand behind real estate as an investment.

I decided to become involved with OREIO because of the quality of the organization and the amount of real estate investment specific knowledge being taught and passed around. Actively being involved allows me to be stay up to date on real estate investing rules and laws (fire code, by-laws, landlord tenant act, etc) and to network with other Ottawa real estate investors, and be informed of their un-listed property deals.

If you are interested in learning more about real estate investing, check out OREIO’s website at http://www.OREIO.ORG or email me!

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http://www.MattRichling.com

Matt Richling is a sales representative with RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage, Independently Owned and Operated - The opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the RE/MAX or RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage.

Last week was full of snow and horrible weather. Every day I wake up and pray before I look outside, hoping for 30 degree heat and tropical sun (living in Ottawa and being blessed with both summer and winter weather you certainly appreciate summer that much more). While we might not have the amazing summer weather yet, us Ottawatonians still have passions that we enjoy. While driving from one appointment to another, I was blown away by the amount of people who were running outside along a half frozen Rideau Canal. It was certainly less than zero degrees Celsius, with powerful winds, and a decent amount of snow flakes yet these passionate runners where still outside doing what they love. I have been running almost daily for the last year and while I can say I enjoy it, doing it outdoors in the winter takes it to another level. It blew me away. The passion of doing something they loved, just oozed out of them as they would run past smiling (well, almost all of them).

It made me think about my passions and how much I love helping clients find their perfect home. So often I find myself doing things that I hear other agents complain about doing for their clients, but it just does not bother me and I frankly enjoy it too much. When the single father has almost given up searching because his past agent would not work after 6pm. Being at the office during Easter Sunday dinner, because the family from out of the country needs to find their son his first home before they fly home. The whole family (husband and wife, with both sets of parents) rings the doorbell at an open house at 4:10pm to see this specific property, just as I am turning off the lights to go home. The list goes on. I am not your typical agent, and neither is the level of service that I provide. I might not be able to promise a perfect smooth closing, but I can promise I will be there, with you, the entire time.

Real estate is my passion.

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http://www.MattRichling.com

Matt Richling is a sales representative with RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage, Independently Owned and Operated - The opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the RE/MAX or RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage.

"Spring Flowers" in the Byward Market! Credit to Justin S. Campbell on Flickr

WOW! Has the market ever picked up. Over the last two weeks there has been a huge shift in activity and sales. Open Houses, sign calls, and web questions have doubled almost tripled over the past few months and I think it is safe to say people are “coming out of hiding”.
I was showing a client an entry-level investment rental property on Sunday and it was a circus, the only thing missing was an elephant. During the three hours that the listing agent could schedule showings (the tenants work nights and sleep during the day) there was 15 showings including mine. So if you can imagine an actual line-up of people on this street at 10am with coffee in one hand, feature sheets, flashlights and measuring tapes in the other. All trying to be the first ones in. It did not work out for my buyer, but as you can imagine it went to a competing offer scenario and went above asking price. This is not the first time I have heard of this happening as of late in Ottawa. If you follow me on Twitter, or Facebook, (Add me!) then you might see the amazement from the other agents outside of Ottawa who do not understand. I had another agent from Toronto ask, on my Facebook, for other peoples confirmation that this is the true environment, and that I was not just pushing a load of positive-ness.

As the weather continues to get better (today I believe we hit 18 degrees!!) so will the market activity!

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http://www.MattRichling.com

Matt Richling is a sales representative with RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage, Independently Owned and Operated - The opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the RE/MAX or RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage.

In 2008 Ottawa residents were able to cut usage by four percent during the one hour global event. This year the Earth Hour message was better received and we were able to cut usage by just over six percent, which is enough to power 58 homes for a month. It might not be the 15% that Toronto cut usage this year during the 60 minutes but we sure did our part. Local business jumped on board, the NAC’s Le Café and the Fairmont Château Laurier, served dinner by candlelight only. At the Westin Hotel, the chef performed an Earth Hour cooking demonstration, reportedly using a candle-powered grill. The nine Bridgehead locations across the city switched off lighting, music, dishwashers and other non-critical equipment in favour of candlelight, and acoustic music. Moksha Yoga Ottawa on Preston Street is held a special yoga class silent and lit with candles.

The skeptics, who include environmental activists, point out that it’s pretty easy to turn off non-essential lighting for 60 minutes a year, whereas making real headway combating global warming is difficult and will involve real — and likely expensive — sacrifices. Indeed, for everyone from multinational corporations to municipalities, Earth Hour seems an excellent marketing opportunity to show they care about global warming, without much pain at all.

So lets do it! Bridgehead, why not do the same thing one night a week? I would much rather sit in a bridgehead with some soft acoustic music and candlelight, (especially if I was on a date - very romantic!) and im sure others would as well. How else can we each contribute? How many of us leave our computers, or other things on at home overnight and during the day?

Toronto dropped usage by over 15%! Ottawa - six percent is a good start, but we can do better!

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http://www.MattRichling.com

Matt Richling is a sales representative with RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage, Independently Owned and Operated - The opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the RE/MAX or RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage.

The Ottawa Home and Garden Show is being held this weekend at Lansdown Park, so I thought I would spend the afternoon there today. There is over 300 exhibitors using the three large buildings, and worth the visit to each of them. Whether you are looking for a new contractor, a BBQ, new cooking recipes, or design ideas, the Ottawa Home and Garden Show has what you are looking for. A VERY large trend is ECO friendly, LEED, or Green products. More than ever before is it easier to bring an “earth friendly” products into the home. When you go this weekend, make sure you stop by some of the interesting booths that I visited.

Over at the Grun booth, Troy and his team were showing me around the Brill Razorcut push mower. Unlike traditional push mowers this German built device is designed with the user in mind. The typical push mower is hard to push let alone to cut the grass, but the Brill is designed for effortless cutting. Usually over time, the blades and other metal parts will corrode and make it very difficult to use, but the Brill mowers blades are contact free from the core of the machine, so it remains easy to use after 10 years. The mower sells for $269.00 and is also available at Home Hardware. The Brill mower was also featured in Esquire Magazine!

Make sure to check out the Sovereign Designs booth, to learn how they can help integrate your audio and video into your home. Lighting, climate, shading design and control, to home theater and media rooms, Russell and Johnny are able to help from the consultation to specific product sales and service, and even the installation. In the above picture, they are demonstrating how they hide a LCD tv behind a piece of art. So your ugly (yes I said it) LCD or plasma TV does not have to stick out in your room. These boys have done everything you can imagine and they know what they are talking about. Mainly dealing with RUNCO video products, also known as the Ferrari of home theater products, which run from $3,000 up to about $100,000 just for a LCD tv.

Who doesn’t like free stuff? Especially when it is expert advice! Stop by the CDECA or Canadian Decorators Association booth to get a free consultation from one of the accredited interior decorators. I spoke with Kim Koa, Ken Schliemann and Darlene Hall-Barrett who each gave me some great advice. Make sure to stop by and say hi.

Stay tuned for more!

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http://www.MattRichling.com

Matt Richling is a sales representative with RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage, Independently Owned and Operated - The opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the RE/MAX or RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage.