Brent Jones, Real Estate Sales Representative – RE/MAX Niagara Realty Ltd., Brokerage – Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada – BuyWithBrent.ca – Brent Jones, Real Estate Sales Representative – RE/MAX Niagara Realty Ltd., Brokerage – Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada

A rising tide lifts all boats.

—John F. Kennedy

Why list your home with Brent Jones?

August 22, 2019 By Brent Jones

I’ll be the first to admit that, with more than 1,600 active realtors in Niagara Region, you could throw a rock in just about any direction and hit one of us.

So, if you’re thinking of selling your home, why should you choose me, Brent Jones, to list it?

If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to answer that very question for you:

[OPEN HOUSE] 11 Malkin Avenue, Fort Erie — Sat, Aug 24 @ 2 PM

August 19, 2019 By Brent Jones

I’ve got a great new listing here in Fort Erie and I’d love to show it to you this Saturday, August 24, 2019, between 2 and 4 PM.

Charity Car Wash in Support of Big Brothers Big Sisters

August 18, 2019 By Brent Jones

Today, Holly Johnston and I (and our awesome team of volunteers) raised $208.25 for Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Niagara by hosting a charity car wash in the RE/MAX Niagara parking lot.

Fort Erie Free Ice Cream Giveaway

August 16, 2019 By Brent Jones

This week, between appointments, I gave away 48 Popsicles and 48 ice cream sandwiches at various locations around Fort Erie.

Are realtors in Ontario a bunch of greedy pigs?

August 2, 2019 By Brent Jones

Earlier this week, I met with a potential seller client to discuss listing his home for sale.

We had a conversation about commission and it went a little something like this:

Seller: What’s your fee?

Me: Six percent, if I thought your home would be difficult to sell. But, since I’m pretty confident I can sell your home relatively fast, I’ll only take five percent.

Seller: Five? (taps his fingers on the kitchen table, thinking) So, if you sell my house for $400,000, you get $20,000?

Me: I don’t get to keep all of it, but you’ve got the right idea.

Seller: That seems a bit…steep. Can you do any better, Brent?

Any better? Part of me wanted to reply with, “Better? Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea what selling your home involves?”

But, of course, I was polite. I simply grabbed a pen and paper and began to break down for him exactly what a typical real estate transaction (in my market) looks like.Continue Reading

5 Things to Look for When Viewing an Older Home

August 1, 2019 By Brent Jones

It almost goes without saying that, when viewing a property of any age or condition, a home inspection is an excellent idea.

This will help to uncover latent defects — the type of defects that may not be obvious based on a cursory glance, especially to an untrained eye.

The cost of having a home inspection done — often between $300 and $500 — pales in comparison to the cost of repairing a cracked, sinking foundation, or gutting the house to replace old knob and tube wiring.

For the purposes of this post, however, I want to address what are referred to as patent defects. In other words, defects anyone could see with an untrained eye, but might not.

A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.

—James N. Watkins

Entrepreneurs are the only people who will work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours a week.

—Lori Greiner

Fort Erie SPCA Fundraiser BBQ

July 27, 2019 By Brent Jones

Today, my wife and I (and two awesome volunteers) raised $560.55 for the Fort Erie SPCA by hosting a fundraiser BBQ in the RE/MAX Niagara parking lot.