Sonia's Real Estate Blog

When choosing a REALTOR® to sell your Sherwood Park home, there are many factors to consider. How will the agent market my house? How long will it take to sell? Will this agent sell my house for top dollar? Does this agent have a proven track record in the business? Does this agent specialize in Sherwood Park? Do I have to use the same agent my family recommended?

These are all valid questions to ask and I am confident to answer all of them when meeting new clients. Another question is this one: Does this REALTOR® really get awesome results? Ultimately, that’s what you’re after. Awesome results. Fortunately, getting awesome results is something I know quite a bit about. I have just been named the #1 agent of RE/MAX Elite for April and I consistently achieve this award throughout the year ranking in the top 1% in our office. In an agency of more than 200 REALTORS®, these are accomplishments I am very proud of.

I’m incredibly passionate about what I do and I believe that’s the #1 reason I have had such great success with my clients. Of course, awesome results are about more than just numbers. If I didn’t have amazing relationships with my valued clients and their complete trust, I would have never achieved what I have.

The best part of my job is meeting all of the great people I have over the years. I love Sherwood Park and I love my clients! They have become my friends and there is nothing more satisfying than seeing them happy in their new homes. My clients make this job what it is and they make these types of awards so much more rewarding!

So if you’re looking for awesome results when selling or buying your next Sherwood Park home, then feel free to give me call. I would love to help YOU achieve awesome results!

Warmest regards,

Sonia

If I had to choose one reason I love working in real estate, it’s forming relationships with all of my clients. Simply put, they are my #1 priority and there is nothing more satisfying than helping them buy or sell Sherwood Park homes. I know my clients and they know me. More importantly, they trust me, my negotiation skills, knowledge of the Sherwood Park real estate market and my aggressive marketing strategy.

It’s this aggressive approach to marketing that has helped me earn the nickname “Sherwood Park’s Real Estate Tiger” and it’s a nickname I embrace. I picked up the name early in my career and my years of experience only made me a faster and stronger tiger. When my clients first sit down with me, they hire me almost immediately, as they know exactly what I will do for them and the steps I will take to get them optimal results.

My approach for selling homes revolves around providing maximum exposure and outstanding service to my clients. While my strategies differ from other agents, they have been proven to work and work well. I’ve ranked in the top 1% in my RE/MAX Elite Sherwood Park and Edmonton offices of more than 200 agents, and I am consistently ranked as one of the top 100 RE/MAX agents in Western Canada.

So when it comes to buying or selling Sherwood Park real estate, feel free to contact me anytime because you want a TIGER on your side!

Sonia Tarabay

780.707.6015

What an amazing weekend at The Great Canadian Trade Fair & Sale in Sherwood Park! Every year I look forward to participating in this joyful event. This was my 6th year in a row as an exhibitor! It’s an absolute pleasure to support local businesses at the trade fair and since I love community involvement, it’s always extra fun to meet old and new friends!

I especially love seeing my clients visit me year after year. We have a good chat, a few laughs of course, and they always walk away with a “Sonia Surprise”. This year I was giving away some pretty cool magic mugs and tiger teddies for the kids. Everyone loved them!

One of the highlights of this trade show’s event was being interviewed by Shine 105.9 FM. It was great to be able to talk about the Sherwood Park community, Sherwood Park real estate, and of course, my love for the Stollery Hospital.

Thanks to all of my clients and new friends for their support and a very special thank you to our local chamber of commerce for organizing this awesome event. It’s never been more fun working and playing in Sherwood Park!

Warmest regards,

Sonia

Quiet, established and full of parks, Heritage Hills is one of the best communities within Sherwood Park for growing families and I’ve had the pleasure of helping many clients buy and sell homes in this community.

On the eastern edge of Sherwood Park, the subdivision benefits from three big parks and a massive wetland area that will make you feel miles away from urban life. Its two main central parks and the wetlands are all linked by multi-use trails for walking and cycling. The paths are great for an evening stroll and offer a perfect gateway for kids to get to nearby FR Haythorne and Bev Facey schools. In winter, the Heritage Hills outdoor rink becomes a gathering place for pickup hockey and leisure skating.

Although Heritage Hills is a short drive from the the busy areas of Sherwood Park, it benefits from great transportation access. Highway 21 and Wye Road are easily accessed and give residents a quick link to the Yellowhead, Whitemud and Anthony Henday Drive.

Heritage Hills is an established neighbourhood, with most of the homes being built in 1990s or early 2000s and ranging from bungalows, four level splits and two stories. Heritage Hills was designed with many private cul-de-sacs and crescents, which means the streets are quiet and there are many large, pie shaped lots.

If you’re looking to buy or sell a home in Heritage Hills or any other neighbourhood in Sherwood Park, I would love to hear from you. Sherwood Park is my specialty!

Warmest regards,

Sonia

The Stollery Children’s Hospital is an organization that is very near and dear to my heart. As a mother, I was on emotional life support when my son Lennox suddenly became very sick with a life-threatening illness. He was 6 years old at the time, and was diagnosed with double pneumonia. We thought it was just a common cold until our little boy was fighting to breathe.

Lennox underwent emergency surgery and lost more than half of his body weight. He was hospitalized for nearly a month. I will never forget his suffering and the fear I felt. Our entire family felt helpless but we remained hopeful thanks to the amazing and compassionate medical staff at The Stollery.

Miraculously, our little boy survived. It took Lennox 6 months to gain his weight back and today he is a healthy and happy 12 year old. The Stollery has been part of our lives ever since. Over the past few years, we chose to become avid contributors hoping that our donations will help make a difference to other children like Lennox.

I was recently recognized by Remax Elite as the #1 Stollery contributor in our office of 200 agents, an honour I won in 2014 as well. While it’s never about the awards, it was nice to receive this.  I am pleased to continue contributing to this organization that I truly love.

If you would like more information on The Stollery, please click on this link below:

http://www.stollerykids.com/

Warmest regards,

Sonia

Wow! What an incredibly fun week it has been! I started a fabulous contest on Facebook asking people to share what they love most about Sherwood Park, and the responses have been outstanding! Here are some of the comments about what people love most about Sherwood Park:

“Kindness from the people who live here.”

“Great community with fabulous people.”

“Small town feel with big city amenities”

“Green spaces and awesome parks”

“I enjoy the Farmer’s Market”

“We have great schools and tons of community events”

“Festival Place and the wonderful performances they attract”

‘I love the recreational facilities.”

“I love Sherwood Park and the shop local loyalty that comes with the territory!”

“Sense of community you feel whether it’s at the grocery store, Millennium Place or hockey arena.”

“There is a strong commitment to supporting local businesses.”

“We are very blessed to raise our kids in Sherwood Park.”

“Sherwood Park is a safe place to live and raise our children.”

“There is drive in Sherwood Park to preserve and discover our natural ecology.”

“My favourite place to go with my dog and partner is for hikes to Strathcona Science Park.”

“Bumping into the same families on the walking trails.”

“Sherwood Park is my bubbles, and I never have to leave!”

“Love all of the amenities and programs that the county offers.”

“Thank God for Sherwood Park.”

Our fabulous contest is still ongoing! For all contest details please visit my Facebook page, Sonia Tarabay Real Estate. I would love to hear what YOU love most about Sherwood Park!

Thanks everyone!

Love,

Sonia

Are you ready to save time, stress and money? I sure hope so! Because when you work with me, you get a top Sherwood Park REALTOR® and an expert Mortgage Broker all in one!

Since the beginning of my career, I have always been motivated to provide an even more complete and improved real estate buying experience for my clients. This is why I chose to be both a licensed REALTOR® with Remax Elite and a licensed Mortgage Broker with Verico iMortgage Solutions. This expertise combo is definitely a rarity within the industry and it’s also a very powerful one. I believe in assisting my clients through the entire process of buying and selling a home, and my deep understanding of the mortgage industry over the past 7 years has allowed me to become a stronger, more knowledgeable REALTOR® who can offer expert advice in all areas of real estate.

Not only am I finding my buyers and investors great deals on Sherwood Park homes, but I am also helping them find great deals on mortgage rates, terms and options available in the market place today.

So whether you are buying your first home or your tenth home, put my expertise to work for you! I am available to serve my clients 7 days a week and welcome your phone calls. Along with my awesome mortgage team, we can help you get pre-approved for financing almost immediately. Then it’s time for us to have a lot of fun house-hunting together! So let’s get started today! Ultimately, my goal is lifelong happy clients.

Warmest regards,

Sonia

As a longtime resident of Sherwood Park, I consider it a privilege to work, live and play in this awesome community!

Sherwood Park has been our home for over a decade now and I can still remember the excitement I felt the very first time I visited this place. I fell totally in love with it! It was as though something wonderful was about to happen. Well, it did! I met some of my most valued friends and clients right here at home, and for that I am eternally grateful.

My husband Eddy and I have three children; Alexa, Lennox and Eva. We feel blessed that they are growing up in a safe and happy community, attending good schools and have made some wonderful friends. Naturally, every parent wants to provide the best for their children and we certainly have found the best of family life living in Sherwood Park.

In following my passion for real estate, I decided to launch my business in 2009 and focused primarily on helping Sherwood Park residents. There was no question in my mind that it was the best decision I ever made. Having grown up in an entrepreneurial family, I had a strong business background and a proven track record in sales. My education was also in business and marketing. In addition, my branding with the use of animal prints was very unique to the real estate industry and my marketing plan for selling homes was very aggressive, which ultimately benefited my clients. Undoubtedly, clients knew when hiring me they would receive my “5 star service”. They knew that I cared about them and that I would work hard on their behalf to help them achieve the best results, whether they were buying or selling a home. Soon I became known as “Sherwood Park’s Real Estate Tiger”.

Today, I am fortunate to have worked with hundreds of clients selling hundreds of homes and helping peoples’ dreams of home ownership come true. Knowing that I have helped make that kind of contribution in someone’s life is incredibly rewarding for me on a very personal level. Having cultivated these client relationships is what keeps me focused and driven  every day to continue to help more and more people in the world of real estate.

I am extremely grateful and appreciative for the ongoing trust and support I receive from the Sherwood Park community. I must admit that it’s a lot of fun to drive around town in my animal wrapped “Sonia-mobile” and see people on the road wave and smile back at me. Sometimes I even get a thumbs up! It’s also pretty cool to be recognized by the kids when I’m shopping around town! I often laugh about it as I am just like every other mom out there.

Should you be looking to buy or sell a home in Sherwood Park, please feel free to drop me a line. I would love to hear from you! Many thanks and I wish you and your family a wonderful year ahead!

Warmest regards,

When shopping for family and friends this holiday season, be sure to shop local! Shopping local helps strengthen the economic base of your community. Here are some benefits below:

Tax Base. One of the five benefits of shopping locally is the increased tax base. By shopping locally, taxes paid by these businesses are used within your community. Common uses for local sales tax include investments in infrastructure, police and fire departments, libraries, and parks.

Jobs. Local shops employ local residents, which means there will be more job opportunities within your community. The increase in jobs, one of the five benefits of shopping locally, also has a domino effect. Local stores will need to hire other local residents to help with accounting, create store signs, etc.

Product Diversity. Product diversity, one of the five benefits of shopping locally, may not seem important at first, but it is a win-win situation for local customers. Big box stores have national sales plans, and generally do not stock their stores with products that are sought after within a specific region. Local shops will need to stock their stores with products that their local customers will want, so if you have many local shops within your community, there will be a much broader range of product choices.

Competition. Competition of local shops is also one of the most important five benefits of shopping locally. Big box stores often drive mom and pop shops out of business, which means there is no competition. With no competition, the big box stores can charge higher prices. By having a multitude of local stores within your community, all of the stores will need to keep their prices competitive in order to gain your business.

Community Well-Being. The final benefit on our list of the five benefits of shopping locally is community well-being. By shopping at local shops, you will most likely run into your friends and family more often, which helps unite the community together as a whole. Local business owners are also more likely to donate more to local causes than big box stores are.

This Christmas, be merry, have fun and shop local!

Reference: http://www.mademan.com/mm/5-benefits-shopping-locally.html#ixzz3tIP0MwZu

Like many firsts, diving into real estate can be daunting. Whether you are buying or selling there are many processes to consider in order to get the best results. You are ready to make that big step into ownership and your wish list is ready! I would like to share these great tips for first-time home buyers and sellers along with some great questions to ask!

Advice for Buyers

1. The very first thing you need to do in the home-buying process is to sit down with a lender and get pre-approved. This should be done before you start touring any homes.
2. Prepare a list of must haves and stock with it!
3. Remember that you are not just buying the house, but the neighborhood too. Spend some time in the area and see if it offers some of the lifestyle conveniences you’ll need.
4. Don’t see to many houses in one day. You’ll feel overwhelmed and confused after touring several homes. As a practice, good real estate agents will normally limit you to four or five and then let those digest with you before reassessing the search.
5. It’s a great idea to take detailed notes and even take a few photos to help you remember. Too many homes in a short period of time will run together in your mind and you may not remember which kitchen or which master bedroom belonged to which house.
6. As tempted as you may be to max out your budget, try your best no to. Just because your bank approved you for a higher amount, doesn’t mean you have to spend it all. Why? Because you have to pay it all back. You don’t want to go into a first home maxed out.

Advice for Sellers

7. List your home at the right price from the start. Homes that enter the market overpriced usually sit for a long time before receiving any offers. If you want to be competitive and sell quickly, a comparative analysis to determine the right price is essential.
8. Be flexible! When you make homebuyers jump through the hoops to see your house, you’ll turn them off and they’ll move on to the next house. Try your best to accommodate every tour request. You never know which appointment will being an offer.
9. Buyers tour homes with four out of five of their senses: sight, sound, smell and touch. Bad smells in a house can turn off buyers immediately. Be sure to neutralize your home of any bad pet or smoke odors before opening your doors to potential buyers. Even before viewings any strong cooking smells can affect your viewing.
10. Staging your home is super important as well as removing clutter. I recommend removing two-thirds of your personal belongings and furniture for the best staging. Use your garage or storage facility to store your belongings for the time being. Open curtains or drapes to allow maximum natural light in. Move furniture out of walkways and away from windows so the room will feel larger. If your home has dark paint, it’s worthwhile to repaint with a light neutral paint color.

Questions to Ask

• How much are the taxes?

• What are the local schools in the area?

• If buying a condo, how much are the fees? What do they include? How many parking spaces are included?

• Does the home come with a warranty? Can you have this written into the offer?

• If buying in a HOA subdivision, do they permit you to rent out your property?

• How close is the nearest hospital, police station and firehouse?

• How old is the roof and windows?

• Can you see the homeowner and community disclosures prior to making an offer?

In the end, getting the right professional help when looking to buy or sell a home is so important. I consistently demonstrate a true commitment to my clients, making them my #1 priority. I consider Real Estate my lifestyle rather than just a career, and make myself available 7 days a week to all my clients. I am able to succeed in the industry so well because I have mastered the art of working hard, putting my clients first, always going above and beyond for others.  Contact me anytime, I would love to hear from you!