Kamloops Real Estate Blog

Pritchard, Kamloops, B.C. Real Estate

December 24, 2011 Kirsten Mason Kamloops Neighbourhoods, Surrounding Communities

Pritchard is located 30 minutes or 39 kilometers south east of the City of Kamloops. The majority of the properties in Pritchard are small to large acreages. There is one area where smaller city lots exist (approximately 0.25 acre lots) and are largely dominated by modular or manufactured homes. Pritchard is a rural area with few amenities close. There are a lot of recreational, outdoor activities that are easily accessible in Pritchard area.

The Pritchard Bridge spans the South Thompson River connecting the residents of the North side of the river with the South shore and highway. The Pritchard bridge is a wooden stringer system and has an opening at it’s highest point to allow boats to pass under. The bridge was constructed in the early 1900’s and it is a single lane bridge with large pull outs so oncoming traffic can pass. The bridge will support heavier loads as it does have a concrete deck and allows for logging trucks to pass over.

Properties & Real Estate

The area of Pritchard is located along Highway #1 East of the City of Kamloops. This area is split by the Highway, one area of Pritchard rests at the valley bottom along the South Thompson River and the other area of Pritchard stretches into the southern hills and mountains. The smaller residential lots are located at the valley bottom across the Pritchard bridge on Decamillis Road, Bostock Crescent, Gerella Road, Gore Road, Anker Road and Foort Road to name a few.

Predominantly, large acreages are found on the south side of the river off of Duck Range Road, Martin Prarie Road (main roads in this area of Pritchard) as well as Harrison Road, Schamps Road and Stark Road. Most of the acreages are located on the south side of Pritchard. There are a few medium and large sized acreages spread on the Northern side of Pritchard off of Pinantan Pritchard Road, Pinantan Road and Kamloops-Shuswap Road.

Click here to view properties for sale in Pritchard.

Shopping

The only shopping in this area is the Pritchard store located at the corner of the Trans Canada Highway #1 and Martin Prarie Road. Along with basic necessities the Prtichard store offers spirits and liquor as well. The closest shopping to Pritchard is Chase which is 18.5 kilometers east of Pritchard or Kamloops which is 39 kilometers west of Pritchard. There are some smaller shopping centres west of Pritchard such as the new Town Centre in Dallas (opening in 2012) that is 27.2 kilometers and shopping in Valleyview (Coopers, Shoppers Drug Mart, Dollar Store, TD, Interior Savings and other retailers) that is 34 kilometers from Pritchard.

There are local farmers that offer fresh foods in the area as well.

Schools

All school aged children are taken to school by bus. To view school information for this area click here.

Recreation

There are a number of outdoors activities to enjoy in the Pritchard area. In the summer it is easy to power boat from Pritchard, up the south Thompson River to Shuswap Lake. There are a number of fishing lakes in the area, cross country skiing, off road adventures on ATV, dirtbike or snowmobile, horseback riding, canoeing, kayaking and hiking.

Click here to view properties for sale in Pritchard.

To read more about other neighbourhoods click the link below:

Aberdeen Barnhartvale Batchelor Heights

Brocklehurst Campbell Creek Dallas

Deloro/South Thompson Valley Cherry Creek Dufferin/Southgate

Heffley Knutsford Juniper Heights

North Kamloops Paul Lake/Pinantan Lake Pineview

Pritchard Rayleigh Sahali

South Kamloops/Downtown Sun Rivers Sun Peaks/Whitecroft

Valleyview/Rose Hill Westmount Westsyde

Surrounding Communities

Barriere Mclure/Vinsula Savona/Tobiano

Kamloops Mortgage Info: That Low-Rate Mortgage Could Actually Cost You More

December 24, 2011 Kirsten Mason Mortgage Information

Cheapest is not always best. We know that’s true when we’re shopping for anything else. But we still tend to believe that lowest rate is the one and only factor in choosing a mortgage. Most Canadian homeowners would be shocked to discover that their low-rate mortgage could actually cost them more in the long run.

Why? Because the right mortgage is about a lot more than just rate.

It’s true that even a small reduction in rate can mean interest savings over the life of your mortgage. And mortgage brokers are experts at seeking out competitive rates from a wide range of lenders. But they also look deeper. Sometimes those cut-rate mortgages come with higher fees, penalties, or restrictive terms, which could prove more costly over the long term than a slightly higher-rate mortgage with flexible terms.

One of the best ways to save interest, for example, is to use pre-payment options. If you get a quarterly bonus, a tax refund, or a seasonal income boost, then you have some excellent opportunities to slash your mortgage costs. Putting extra money against your mortgage principal could save you thousands of dollars in interest. If your cut-rate mortgage doesn’t permit pre-payments, that’s a huge missed opportunity.

Also watch for low-rate “teasers”: cut-rate mortgages with a short timeline. Sometimes a lender will offer a rate that is good for just 30 days, after which the rate will jump. If closing takes a little longer, or there’s a glitch in documentation, then you need to be prepared with a backup plan. These teasers can be stressful – and not always the best deal anyway.

An accredited independent mortgage broker will determine the features and privileges that best meet your personal situation, looking at:

·        Refinancing penalties
·        Fixed vs variable rate
·        Term
·        Pre-payment options
·        Payment flexibility
·        Restrictions
·        Fees
·        Portability
·        Assumability

Most people spend more time choosing the right car than choosing the right mortgage, although it’s likely the largest expense they’ll likely ever undertake.

Make sure you have a mortgage that is custom-built for your personal situation. Cheapest isn’t always best. And obviously the most expensive mortgage is rarely the best choice either. But the right combination of rate and features – matched to your needs – is the fastest route to mortgage freedom. It’s your mortgage broker’s job to help you with that route-planning: a map for your financial future.

Brenda Colman, AMP, Mortgage Consultant, Invis Kamloops

P. 250-318-8118 E. [email protected] W. www.BrendaColman.ca

B.C. Market Heads Toward Equilibrium

December 18, 2011 Kirsten Mason B.C. Real Estate News

This article appeared on the Canadian Real Estate Magazine on December 14th, 2011.

The B.C. real estate market may finally have reached the equilibrium investors and others have long hoped for, with Multiple Listing sales in November falling only marginally from the previous year and price growth restricting itself to a 1 per cent gain.

“After waning during the first half of the year, consumer demand has steadily increased since the summer months, bringing home sales within seven units of the November 2010 level,” said Cameron Muir, chief economist for the The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA). “BC home sales continued to gain ground in November.”

A total of 5,640 units were sold last month compared to 5,647 units in November 2010. The average MLS residential price was up 1.1 per cent to $529,140 in November compared to the same month last year.

“Low mortgage interest rates remain a key driver in the housing market, helping to maintain affordability and purchasing power,” said Muir.

But affordability on B.C.’s Lower Mainland — or rather the lack of it — has worried local investors trying to make acquisitions in markets they have inreasingly found themselves shut out of this year.

That rapid value growth continues to moderate, with a falling number of buyers able or willing to purchase at prices in some cases more than 30 per cent higher than their 2010 numbers.

Year-to-date, the dollar volume for B.C. residential sales increased 15.5 per cent to $41 billion, compared to the same period last year. Residential unit sales increased 3.2 per cent to 72,632 units, and the average residential price rose 11.9 per cent to $563,991 over the same period.

Link

Pharmacist Investing $8 Million in North Shore Project: Kamloops, The Daily News

December 18, 2011 Kirsten Mason Kamloops Real Estate News

This article appeared on the Kamloops Daily News on December 12th, 2011 and was written by Catherine Litt.

A couple of weeks ago, Daily News reader Aileen Adams asked our Readers’ Reporter to track down the status of three empty lots on Tranquille Road.

The properties, all deep in the heart of the North Shore’s business district, have been vacant for years and Adams was curious to know if anything would ever come of them.

As it turns out, one of the properties has already begun a major transformation since Adams inquired.

It’s at the corner of Tranquille Road and Wood Street and is owned by Missagh Manshadi, a Kamloops pharmacist who also holds a smaller corner property at Tranquille and Elm.

“It’s going to be the jewel of the North Shore,” Manshadi said on Monday, as he described his plans for a mixed-use development called Carmel Place, now under construction at Tranquille and Wood.

When it’s finished in 15 months, Carmel Place will have commercial/office/retail space on the bottom and 38 units of affordable rental housing on top, managed by the non-profit Door to Roof Society.

The project is expected to cost Manshadi up to $8 million, but it’s money he’s convinced is a good investment.

“My plan was to somehow give back to the city in two ways,” said Manshadi, “by helping the North Shore community but also helping to provide reasonable apartments for rent.”

The Carmel Place development comes at a time of renewed interest in the North Shore core. Across the street from Manshadi’s project, the owners of the former Village Hotel are in the midst of transforming their building into the new Northbridge Hotel and Suites, which will market itself to visiting sports teams.

Just a few blocks north, the latest phase of the Library Square development is underway.

“We’re ready to go,” North Shore Business Improvement Area manager Peter Mutrie said of the increased activity.

“Now’s the time to buy in, because when it goes, it’s going to go fast — and in five years, you’re going to wish to hell you had bought in.”

Manshadi bought in at time when the Tranquille strip was considered a risky investment and the so-called smart money was on projects in Sahali and Aberdeen.

But Manshadi, who drives through the North Shore every day from his home in Westsyde to his pharmacy on St. Paul Street, believes the smart money should be on Tranquille’s future.

“I see the potential in the North Shore,” he said. “It’s a growing community.”

To that end, Manshadi hopes his investment through Carmel Place proves successful.

If it does, he wants to create a similar mixed-use development on his other vacant property at Tranquille and Elm.

As for the third vacant lot our reader inquired about, the future is less clear.

The property at Tranquille and Clapperton is actually two separate lots — both former gas stations. One used to be a Super Save and is for lease. The other is a former Mohawk owned by Husky Oil.

The Daily News has yet to hear back from Husky Oil as to its plans for the property.

Meanwhile, the North Shore BIA said it could be years before that side of the property sees any action.

“These oil companies own a lot of property across the country and it just sits in their real estate portfolio,” said Mutrie.

“There’s no particular big rush to move these things. They’re in the oil business and they own some real estate and pay some taxes (on the properties) and, 40 years later, they still own property.”

Link

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