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5 Great Things About Living in Port Moody

5 Great Things About Living in Port Moody

So Let’s Talk About What I Love About The Area.

Port Moody is a great city to call home and also to visit. It’s comprised of some amazing mom and pop shops, local breweries and restaurants. A great place for families, young and old couples, plus your family pet. You really will fall in love with what it has to offer and probably will be blown away on your first visit. A visit that may have you considering relocation to the suburbs.

1. The Neighbourhood: Port Moody is set up into different sections of hoods and areas. There’s Newport Village, Suter Brook Village, Brewers Row (not technically a hood per say) but I like to call it one, Anmore, Heritage Mountain, Moody Centre and more. But these are the ones I venture to on a regular basis. What I love most about these areas is that each one has its own character. I’ll write more about it soon but for a quick example.

  • Newport Village has a laid back vibe with Brown’s Restaurant (Great summertime patio), Gallaghers Cafe (Be sure to pick up a stamp card for your coffees, Buy 10 get 1 free), Kin’s Market (Fresh Veggies), St. James Well (The perfect local pub, great food and rotating taps), and The Runners Den (An amazing local shoe store for those avid runners).
  • Suter Brook Village has a Thifty Foods (great grocery store, be sure to get a beautiful bouquet of flowers and fresh sushi made on site), Romers Burgers (Great spot to watch the game), Starbucks (There’s another one in Newport Village too), Sango Sushi (best Beef Yaki Soba I’ve had so far in town).
  • Moody Centre has a lot to offer too, but my favourite is the Original’s Café Mexicano (placed in a house, cool atmosphere), Taps & Tacos (amazing happy hour, must try is the Korean Pork Taco), and Rosa’s Cucina Italiana restaurant (Prepare to wait for a table, but a must in Port Moody) plus Gabi & Jules Handmade Pies and Baked Goodness (you must stop and get one, even just a slice…absolutely no excuse).
  • Brewers Row; please read below at number 3.

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10 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying an Investment Property

Investment Property

10 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying an Investment Property

Using your hard-earned money should mean that you do your research when buying an Investment Property. So be sure to do your researchThe goal is to start your portfolio off successfully. I recommend looking outside your area and trust in your Realtor®. They will guide you in the right direction. Almost every prospect requires that you start out low and work your way up. Real estate investments are no different. It’s important to begin with a solid property before finding a challenge. Start out with smaller, cheaper properties that you can afford and look into rents in that area.

If you look in Maple Ridge for example, you can buy a $199,900 property that can bring in $1200 a month in rent. With 20% down you’ll be bringing in a positive cash flow, after mortgage and strata fees are paid. Be it a small return but it’s a return none the less. That’s exactly what you want to be doing, which is making money. So think outside the box and start small. Once you’ve got the hang of it then you can add to your portfolio. In no time you’ll have 5-10 properties and be on the way to financial freedom.

The prices in Greater Vancouver are inflated, so learn other areas in BC. Reason being is that the prices in the surrounding areas are better. Making it easier to get into the market at an affordable price. So instead of buying a $600,000 downtown property, maybe think of investing elsewhere. This is so that you can grow that positive cash flow.

Plenty of challenges accompany the current real estate market. So those who invest in real estate without proper preparation might suffer the negative consequences. If you’re interested in beginning a rental property business…

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The Perfect Date Night In Port Moody

Port Moody Date Night

The Perfect Date Night In Port Moody

It can also be just a great time with friends too!

As you can tell by now. I’m a huge fan of Port Moody and what it has to offer.
So today’s blog is going to be about those times when you’re looking for something to do. Something a little different but still around what Port Moody has to offer.
This is a date night that I recently went on with my Fiancée. It was one of the best times I’ve had here. I’m already looking to rinse and repeat it with her again.
So it all started on a random night that she told me, we need to go on a date soon. “It’s been so long since you and I went on one“. She in a round-about but direct way said “you should take me out on a date” which we all know means It should be soon and by soon I mean very soon. So I knew I only had a couple of days to pull this off.
A couple of days went by and I was racking my brain on what to do. I wanted to keep it local and still make it different from what we usually do. We love going and walking the area, usually down the trails towards Rocky Point then hit up a brewery, food truck and head home. Maybe we stop at Browns for cheap pizza night (Sunday or Monday) or sushi.
But this time I had to think about what we haven’t done and what would make for a great night. I did all this research and realized there needs to be more info and resources to help others out in this situation. So I had to think outside the box, and I remembered driving by a couple of places that I keep saying to myself that we need to go there someday. That’s when I decided that this is what we are going to do.

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The 3 Key Villages in Port Moody

The 3 Key Villages in Port Moody

Let’s talk about something important for just a moment.

Port Moody is one of three cities in the Tri-Cities. The other two are Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam. But this focus is on Port Moody and specifically the three villages that are perfectly positioned within it (Newport Village, Suter Brook Village, and Klahanie Village). Port Moody really is a hidden gem that is growing so much and will be a completely different place very, very soon.

Port Moody is North Vancouver’s Lonsdale before it was what it is today. Port Moody is North Vancouver’s Deep Cove before it was what it is today. It is made up of some really great neighbourhoods and areas that you must get to know.

So let’s just talk today about these 3 Key Villages in Port Moody.

1. Newport Village; This Village is on the corner of Ioco Road and Guildford Way and is home to many great establishments. Newport Village has a laid back vibe feeling to it. More of an older demographic as it is the older of the 3 villages but that doesn’t mean it’s lacking life. It’s actually full of life! This location is very close proximity to Eagle Ridge Hospital. So a great place to be located should you want to be close to this.

I visit this village on almost a daily basis. I use it as an excuse to go to the cozy coffee shop Gallaghers Cafe (Be sure to pick up a stamp card for your coffees, Buy 10 get 1 free). This is a great place to people watch and it has a covered patio. So on those rainy days grab a warm coffee and get some work done. It’s a good place to stop when walking your dog as they have a secret cookie jar of treats for them. Also nestled in Newport is Brown’s Restaurant, a must have for an area like this. Really one of our must go places if we don’t feel like cooking or just wanting to get out of the house. This Browns has one of the best patios in the city. Great in the summer time of course. Another great stop is St James’s Well Pub. Live music on the weekends and always packed then too. Looking for a great spot to watch the hockey game or football game, really any sporting event, this pub is for you.

There really are so many great shops in this Village. Everything you need is here, you really don’t have to leave this village at all.

  • Newport Village Real Estate Info (One Bedroom)  – Click Here
  • Newport Village Real Estate Info (Two Bedroom)  – Click Here
  • Newport Village Real Estate Info (Townhouses)     – Click Here

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Pros and Cons of Buying a Pre-Sale Condo.  

Pros and Cons of Buying a Pre-Sale Condo.  

Let’s get down to the brass tax of a new build and Pre-sales. As I’m sure you are seeing all of their beautiful marketing. That place looks so nice and enticing. But make sure to take a step back to understand the advantages and disadvantages of buying a pre-sale condo. Especially in a market like Vancouver and its surrounding areas like Port Moody, North Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster.

Sun Towers at 4458 Beresford Street, Burnaby, BC – Developers Belford Properties Click Here for Details

 Advantages:

1.) Beautiful New Condo Building

Can you imagine yourself as the first owner of that new place? Everything is shiny and clean, has a great design and top technology. Many new buildings in Vancouver are LEED certified and are built to be greener and more environmentally sustainable in design, construction and operation than older buildings. Typically they too have state of the art fibre optic cabling too. Great for options when it comes to your digital needs like phone and internet.

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6 Tips For Choosing A Neighbourhood To Live In

6 Tips For Choosing A Neighbourhood To Live In

What is important to you when choosing a neighbourhood to live in?

It’s easy to say but is it really that easy to achieve. When trying to choose a new place to call home, one of the many factors that you have to keep in mind is neighbourhood. I may be biased, but I have lived in Kerrisdale, South Granville, Commercial Drive, Downtown (Yaletown and Westend), North Vancouver and now Port Moody.

I have to say when it comes to my lifestyle and personality, the North Shore of the Tri-Cities, Port Moody has everything I need. Being so close to the trails and mountains for hiking, trail running, swimming, paddle boarding, breweries, boating and so much more is what I love. The market is still reasonable too, I mean it’s crazy if you are to compare it to other cities across Canada but when it comes to Greater Vancouver Port Moody has amazing upside in its pricing. But is it within the confines of what’s important to you?

That’s what really matters. What is important to you when choosing a neighbourhood to live in?

Here are 6 tips to consider:

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5 Reasons to Own Your Home

5 Reasons to Own Your Home…What Are You Doing and Why?!

It feels weird to me when I hear so much talk about how high rents are in the city. It feels so weird to me when I hear people say they will never be able to own. As I have grown up in this great city of Vancouver, there has been this shift in the minds of many that owning is impossible. That renting is acceptable.

“This is the way of life now they say.”

Let’s take a closer look at reasons to OWN YOUR HOME.

5 Reasons to Own Your Home

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How To Get Real with Your Real Estate Goals

Real Estate Goals

How To Get Real with Your Real Estate Goals

Let’s get REAL about Real Estate Goals…In today’s day and age especially in Greater Vancouver and it’s surrounding areas like Port Moody and the Tri-Cities. If you want to own a detached house it may be easier doing so in your dreams than your reality. I’m going to give you some quick tips on how to make these ‘DREAMS COME TRUE.

What is it that you actually want and can you achieve it? That’s up to you and I’m here to help. Maybe you want to own a condo or even a house but are not sure if that will ever be a possibility. I’m here to tell you it is…YES it is. Listen to yourself and stop listening to the naysayers, if you want it then go out there and get it. But how?…
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Best Seat In Port Moody

Best Seat In Port Moody

Here’s a little story all about how we found the Best Seat in Port Moody

So as it was this past weekend and the date was Sunday May 27th, 2017, something big in my life came to be. That was the day that I got engaged to my best friend Lindsay. We have been together for the past 10 years and the perfect time has come for us to enter this new chapter. It’s been such a crazy and exciting year so far full of major changes for us both. One being the biggest move for us so far. That was to enter the Real Estate Market.

You are right in wondering what the heck a Realtor is doing helping his clients buy and sell Real Estate but not owning any for himself. Well that and the fact that where we were living had to change was the big motivator. We both put our heads and money together and made the jump. This is where my career mashed together with my personal life. I had to find that balance of needs and wants. It was a weird dynamic to make this plunge but it has been the biggest and best decision so far. I’ll write more on that dynamic one day but for now let’s get back to the subject at hand.

We were living in North Vancouver’s Lynn Valley and this is an amazing area. I have so much knowledge of what it has and the lifestyle it offers. My now Fiancée is from Deep Cove and has a lifetime of experience in North Vancouver. This is the biggest reason why we fell so madly in love with Port Moody. Port Moody has the same offerings, just a little different. It has amazing trails for us to take our dog Sadie (my assistant) for a walk, run, swim and hike. Plus the neighbourhood has so much to offer and the growth of what Port Moody is going through right now. I’m telling everyone that they should enter this market. It is going through a major shift. There’s the skytrain for transportation that’s adding so much value right now. Plus the ocean is in your front yard and in fact Port Moody is also called the North Shore. The North Shore of the Tri-cities (Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam). You have to come experience it for yourself. Give me a shout and I’ll tour you around.

Okay so again back to the subject at hand. How we stumbled into the BEST SEAT IN PORT MOODY.

For the last few months we’ve been walking the Shoreline Trail and have come across this seat before. But when the magic hour happens and you time it right, which we did. You will come across one amazing moment that you’ll want to rinse and repeat regularly. That moment has to be timed perfectly cause as we noticed with the amount of people who came down to this seat and saw us then nicely moved on with their night. This seat must be a fan favourite/secret spot and I’ll probably be yelled at for exposing it. But we arrived around 30 minutes before the sunset was taking shape. It was then that we could see the tide coming in and all the mudflats getting covered. The clouds were light and taking shape for one great sunset to come. The temperature was perfect and just a whisper of wind that helped the cause.

It made for a great moment in our night as we had just gotten engaged only minutes before. We took Sadie down to the water with us and a bottle of Champagne. Had some fun with taking photos and this video in the post is the view that we were looking out into. So I again as an advocate of Port Moody ask for you to take your date, boyfriend, girlfriend, best friend, wife, husband or dog. Go see it for yourself and tell me your experience as I hope it’s as great as ours. Now. you are probably wondering well where the heck is this seat already. Well here we go as we found it. It’s really an easy spot to find but I’ll make it as easy as possible for you anyways.

On the Shoreline Trail there is an area that has a fork in the road. Three forks that is, you can go ahead towards the Old Orchard Park, or to Rocky Point or towards Newport Village and the community centre. This is where the Best Seat In Port Moody is. Hard to know where if you don’t know the area so I’ll explain it. So if you are coming from Rocky Point and you head towards Old Orchard Park (which is about 3km down the trail). You’ll go over the bridge that goes right over the mudflats and grassland area. It’s the first big boardwalk you go over and almost 1km on the trail. You will know what this board walk is as it’s such a cool experience. It’s not a huge boardwalk but still a great area of the trail. You’ll have Murray Street on your right and the ocean too your left. If you’ve gone over two board walks, as there is another, you’ve gone too far. Just remember that when you get to the fork I explained above this is where to stop. So now you’ve stop at this fork in the road. There’s a garbage can and a small little trail that heads towards the ocean and the mudflats. This is where you need to go. As you arrive you’ll see a small stair platform and bench to go and sit on. This is it!

Be sure to get there early as you will probably have some competition for that seat…but enjoy.

READ MY LAST BLOG FOR MORE INFO ON WHAT PORT MOODY HAS TO OFFER.