Mission Hill Family Estate in the Okanagan, British Columbia, is one of the most beautiful and fascinating wineries in the world. Anthony von Mandl started the vinyards in 1981 and today it is one of the top wineries  in the world. We spent a wonderful afternoon there last fall. Anthony has a great passion for antiques and his collection of bronze age and Chinese dynasty era wine jugs and antiquities are intriguing. They are kept in the cellar, behind bars, on view for those who take the winery tour. The Pelican is the bird found in the von Mandl family crest.The only light in the cellar is that which finds it's way through the oculus that sits above ground. Oculus is the latin name for eye. The cellars were blasted into volcanic rock and have the capacity to hold 800 barrels of wine.If... 03/21/2010

Lenetta Thordarson, Associate Executive Director of the Kelowna Community Food Bank discusses the on going year round needs of the Food Bank. The message is simple...families and especially children should not go to bed hungry! For more details on how to donate food or monies to this amazing organization please: Make an online donation at: Paypal DonationsDrop your donation off at the Kelowna Community Food Bank at 1265 Ellis Street (Downtown Kelowna) Between 9-5 Monday-Friday. Mail in your donation to: Kelowna Community Food Bank at 1265 Ellis Street, Kelowna, BC V1Y 1Z7 Phone: 250 763-7161 Fax: 250 763-9116.Remember every can of food and every dollar collected is one step closer to helping eradicate hungry in the city of Kelowna,BC. It all makes a difference! Sincerely, Jason Neumann... 03/21/2010

There are potential dangers and pitfalls when it comes to pricing your home in any kind of real estate market.  Sellers can be reluctant to price their home in line with the marketplace as they feel they may be giving away too much of their home equity.  The reality is pricing your home right from the start will get the net result you are looking for as a seller.  Here are some of the reasons why pricing your home at the current market value is so very important: Potential buyers typically will skip looking at your home as they think it is out of their price range. Buyers comparison shop when considering a home purchase.  When a buyer compares an overpriced home versus one that is priced at market value it will likely convince them to place an offer on the well priced property instead ... 03/19/2010

K.L.O. - means "Kelowna Land and Orchard Company", the company owned most of the land in that area for many years. Kelowna's Fall Wine Festival is ranked amongst the "Top 100 Events in North America" year after year. Mount Boucherie is one of five extinct volcanoes found in the Okanagan. Kelowna's five major performance companies produce over 15 plays and musicals each year. The "Sunny Okanagan" earned its namesake due to the over 2,000 hours of sunshine that recreational enthusiasts enjoy each year. Dilworth Mountain was named after John Dilworth, an early Kelowna farmer. Knox Mountain was named after Arthur Booth Knox who arrived in the Okanagan in 1874 There are 28 Regional Parks in the Central Okanagan. The Shell Aero Centre welcomes private aircraft and provides pilot services suc... 03/13/2010

Kelowna,BC Canada Quick Facts and Statistics: 1. Kelowna is the largest city in BC's intrerior region and was incorporated in 1905. 2. Kelowna's total land area is 221.69 square kilometres. 3. Kelowna is located in British Columbia's Central Okanagan Regional District. 4. Kelowna is 471 kilometres east of Vancouver,BC. 5. Kelowna BC is 606 kilometres west of Calgary Alberta, 78 kilometres north of Penticton BC, and 54 kilometres south of Vernon BC. 6. The population of Kelowna is approximately 118,507 permanent residents with a growth rate of 3.0%. 7. There are approximately 44,985 residential homes in Kelowna,BC and in 2008 32,385 were occupant owned and 12,600 were rented homes. Come visit Canada's four season playground and you may just find you want to stay a lifetime! Sincerely,Ja... 03/13/2010

Post Subject Removal Checklist: Choose a Lawyer or Notary to handle the conveyancing of your home purchase.  If unsure as to who you should hire then ask your Realtor® for a list of recommended names. Ask your lawyer or notary what you should expect to pay for Closing Costs. Also, be sure to ask them any general questions that you may have at that time. Ask your Realtor® to submit your "Offer to Purchase" to your lawyer or notary. Ask your Mortgage Broker to send the lender's mortgage instructions to your lawyer or notary. Call and arrange to have your Home Insurance coverage to take effect by 12:01am on the Closing Date. Call and arrange for a Moving Company well in advance of the Closing Date. Call and notify Utility Companies of your moving dates. Visit the local Post Office to make... 03/13/2010

Current Active Central Okanagan MLS Listing Inventory as of February 8,2010: Single Family Dwellings - 1523 properties (a 15.12% increase from January) including 17 pending offers ranging in value from $284,900 to $999,000   Strata - Condos - 931 properties (a 1.48% decrease from January) with 1 pending offer at $174,800 Strata - Townhomes - 369 properties (a 16.04% increase from January) with 3 pending offer ranging in value from $287,500 to $349,900 Manufactured Homes - 208 properties (a 16.85% increase from January) with 3 pending offers ranging in value from $39,800 to $229,000 Timeshare/Recreation - 36 properties with no pending offers at this time Lots/Acreages - 666 properties(a 9.72% increase from January) with 2 pending offers on a $179,900 and a $2.195M listing Total propertie... 02/12/2010

There are currently 61 foreclosures (as of February 8,2010) amongst the entire listing inventory for the Central Okanagan.  That is a decrease of 14 properties (-22.95%) in the foreclosure inventory from last month. The foreclosure inventory breakdown is as follows: 2 Lots and Acreages (both at $115,000) with no pending sales 2 Manufactured Homes ($79,000 and $125,000) with no pending sales 31 Single Family Residential ($199,900 to $1.995 Million) with two pending sales 26 Strata Properties ($179,900 to $570,000) with no pending sales In terms of January 2010 foreclosure sales there were a total of just 7 or a decrease of 10 properties from December 2009.  There were 6 sales of single family residential homes ranging in value from $345,000 to a whopping $2,075,000 estate property.  Ther... 02/08/2010

Whether you are considering buying a new home or refinancing your existing mortgage, important personal information and documents will be required by lenders.  This checklist gives an overview of the necessary documentation that most Canadian lenders require prior to approving and funding a mortgage.  By providing these documents in a timely fashion, you will help to ensure a speedy approval/renewal process: Buying a home? Information that describes the property you are purchasing: ___ Contract of Purchase and Sale Agreement* ___ MLS Detail Feature Sheet* ___ Property Disclosure Statement (PDS)* ___ Title search* ___ Strata property information: Form B, Meeting Minutes, Strata Fees* ** ___ Name, address, telephone number of your solicitor/notary Confirmation of your down payment: ___ S... 02/07/2010

Current Active Central Okanagan MLS Listing Inventory as of January 10,2010: Single Family Dwellings - 1323 properties (a 12.17% decrease from December) including 12 pending offers ranging in value from $49,900 to $15.9M    Strata - Condos - 945 properties (a 11.96% decrease from December) with no pending offers ranging in value from $62,400 to $4.99M Strata - Townhomes - 318 properties (a 14.47% decrease from December) with 1 pending offer ranging in value from $134,900 to $1.624M Manufactured Homes - 178 properties (a 12.36% decrease from December) with no pending offers ranging in value from $28,000 to $350,000 Lots/Acreages - 607 properties(a 19.44% decrease from December) with 4 pending offers ranging in value from $65,000 to $15.9M Total properties for sale - 3,371 Current Invento... 01/16/2010

There are currently 75 foreclosures (as of January 10,2010) amongst the entire listing inventory for the Central Okanagan.  There was a slight decrease of 3 properties in the foreclosure inventory from last month. The foreclosure inventory breakdown is as follows: 4 Lots and Acreages ($115,000 to $590,000) with no pending sales. 32 Single Family Residential ($199,000 to $1.995 Million) with one pending sale. 38 Strata Properties ($179,900 to $899,900) with no pending sales. In terms of December foreclosure sales there were a total of 17 for the month.  There were just 5 residential home sales versus 12 the prior month ranging in value from $340,500 to $499,000 with an overall average days on market reaching 84 days versus 117 days in November.  Stratified properties saw a sharp increase... 01/10/2010

I am one of those people who loves to set goals each January. I don't make new year's resolutions as that sounds too negative to me. I like to use the 9 section Western Feng Shui bagua as my guide and put pictures, photos, sayings, etc. reflecting how I want 2010 to materialize. This is one of the Law of Attraction strategies that I have personally found to be very powerful. It seems that if we know what we want we have more opportunities of achieving our goals. If you want 100 new awesome clients this year then say so and then put that into action. I want to attract 100 new enthusiastic entrepreneurial home staging students who want to get out and stage homes to sell quickly and for top dollar for YOU! 01/08/2010

Catchy title don't you think?  Thought it might grab your attention! I was thinking of my son who happens to be a math whiz, I wanted to impress him a little with some numerology!  Well truth be told the title is meant to covertly ask the question... "What will you do with your time during the coming year in 2010?"  Over the course of the next week or so you are likely to be asked if you made any New Year's resolutions?!  You may or may not make any resolution(s) but the very question will likely make you think about 2010 in general.  Time is a very precious commodity and is something that can never have a true value placed on it.  Here are my thoughts on time management: Make it count!  Like sands in an hourglass there is a finite amount of time to do the things you love and the hard w... 12/29/2009

This blog post is an expansion on a tweet I sent out recently to the world of the Twitterverse.  Here's what my tweet said: "There are two types of goals you can set in life: the choice to try or the choice to sit idle." Ask yourself what will 2010 look like for you?  Will you set into motion a game plan aimed at success and designed to challenge you, or will you stand by and watch the competition take your share of the real estate pie?  I was recently inspired by my brokerage's goal setting seminar where our office sat down for nearly three hours and hammered out our individual 1 year, 3 year, 5 year and 10 year goals.  What got the cogs and wheels turning in my head was a simple exercise we had to do.  First, we were instructed to close our eyes and asked to imagine how our life would... 12/22/2009

There are a total of 78 foreclosures amongst the entire listing inventory.  There continues to be a trend of month to month increases in inventory levels of homes that are now in the foreclosure process. The breakdown is as follows: 3 Lots and Acreages ($115,000 and $590,000) no pending sales. 39 Single Family Residential ($199,900 to $1.995 Million) no pending sales. 35 Strata Properties ($229,900 to $999,000) one sale is pending. There were some more dramatic changes to the Central Okanagan foreclosure inventory this past month.  The month of November and now December saw a fairly substantial increase in stratified properties hitting the marketplace.  There are now 35 strata foreclosure properties whereas in October there were just 17 total.  The driving force for this sharp increase ... 12/14/2009

This past weekend my family visited our favourite local ski hill, Big White Ski Resort.  While walking through Happy Valley we came across this large billboard advertising Club Penguin, a locally created website which recently sold to the titan of kids entertainment industry, the Walt Disney Company.  Happy Valley is where kids of all ages go to play and be entertained at Big White Ski Resort.  There are tube runs, ice skating, hockey, mini z ski mobiles, fire pit (for roasting marshmallows) and so much more.  My children really like the Club Penguin site as it gives them a chance to communicate with kids from around the world in a safe and monitored virtual realm.  It is always good to see when local businesses team up and market themselves to the general public which seems to be the ... 12/08/2009

With Christmas now less than a month away many Kelowna families are wondering how they are going to be able to put food on the table.  With jobs being cut back or eliminated many families that have relocated to Kelowna are now finding themselves in need of the most basic essentials.  This year the Kelowna Community Food and Castanet.net have teamed up to help those that need it most.  This partnership has created something called Cast A Light which allows donations to be made online through the secure website Paypal.com Their collective goal is to raise $100,000 by December 31,2009.  This year the Kelowna Food Bank expects nearly 1,000 families to come for a Christmas hamper.  Please join me in donating today to this wonderful cause! HERE'S HOW YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE: Please indicate... 11/26/2009

There are a total of 63 foreclosures amongst the entire listing inventory.  That is an overall change of 4 listings to the overall inventory from October,2009 to November,2009.  Current foreclosures of all Central Okanagan listings represent 1.53% of the total listing inventory!  The breakdown is as follows: 3 Lots and Acreages ($115,000 and $590,000) plus one pending sale 41 Single Family Residential ($250,000 to $2.295 Million) plus one pending sale 17 Strata Properties ($229,900 to $999,000) There were some dramatic changes to the Central Okanagan foreclosure inventory this past month.  There are eleven more residential homes on the market over September, which is a 36.67% increase!  Strata based properties saw the reverse with a -29.4% decrease or five less listings.  Currently, the... 11/08/2009

When I was 5 years old, my little sister, Maureen, died.  After she was gone I was immersed in my own and my parents emotional pain for many months. One day, shortly after Maureen's passing, I proclaimed to my Mother that I was never ever going to have human babies and instead would give birth to only puppies or kittens. They seemed much hardier to me and I somehow felt we had a choice.Time moved on and I eventually gave birth to three beautiful sons. They were adorable little guys and with their unique personalities and interests, there was never a waking moment when something memorable wasn't taking place.As small boys are apt to do, they grew up and moved far away. I missed them terribly as one by one they followed each other to Kelowna, a beautiful city in a stunning British Columbi... 10/27/2009

Current listing inventory as of October 13,2009: Single Family Dwellings - 1858 properties including 12 pending offers Strata - Condos - 1107 properties including 7 pending offers Strata - Townhomes - 463 properties including 4 pending offers Manufactured Home - 224 including 1 pending offer Lots/Acreages - 852 properties including 3 pending offers Total properties for sale - 4,765 (total inventory decrease of 5.79% from last month's report) The real estate market in the Central Okanagan continues to show signs of growth with the overall absorption rate for all listed properties increasing to 7.59% or a 13 month supply. The hottest segment of the real estate market in the Central Okanagan continues to be townhomes.  There were 28 sales in September of 2008 compared to 62 sales in Septem... 10/13/2009