I will start by saying that I have no affiliation with the mortgage broker I am about to recommend other than him arranging all of the mortgages I have ever had. From my first purchase of a brand new home in Brampton, to my Condo Apartment when I ventured back out on my own. My fixer-upper century home in Caledon and now my current home in Mono, Lyle Somers has been through it all with me. What I love most about dealing with Lyle is that I can call him, give him the info and I'm done. He does all the dirty work for me. And I trust him completely. If I trust him to handle my own home buying needs I certainly wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to any of my friends and clients. 

Whether you are in the market to buy your first home or your 10th home. Lyle can surely help you find the right mortgage that suits your needs.

http://www.easymortgage.ca/contact.html

MOVE IN READY! Enjoy your solitude in your beautifully landscaped massive back yard right in the heart of the city! This home has been professionally decorated with  classy neutral decor and immaculately maintained. It is situated on one of the largest lots in the area! Huge Master has a custom walk-in closet and is adjecent to two more generous sized bedrooms and a cozy reading nook. The custom renovated bathroom with clawfoot tub, his/her sinks & separate shower will make you feel like you've stepped into your very own spa. As if that weren't enough, this home also has a completely finished basement with separate entrance for plenty of room for a grwoing family or a fabulous in-law suite. MLS# W2516429.

Contact me today to see this Beauty before it's too late!

This home is any car enthusiast's DREAM COME TRUE! Tinker Away In Your Own Mancave... a 24X32 Ins/Heated  2-Bay Hobby Garage Sits @ The Rear Of This 1+ Acre Property In The Quaint Hamlet  Of Glencairn. Immaculate Custom Built Home W/3 Car Garage, 17X18 Deck
&  Gazebo. The Main Floor Is Bright And Clean W/Hardwood Floors, Open Concept &  Plenty Of Windows. 3+1 Bdrms & Finished Bsmnnt Give Plenty Of Room To Raise  A Growing Family.
MLS# N2497650.

Contact me today to see this sepctacular property before it's too late!

I attended one of Tammy Elliott's "Business Ladies Lunch and Learn" events yesterday afternoon and the guest speaker was Donna Sauve of WSI. As part of her presentation Donna played this incredibly powerful video and I felt compelled to share it. In a world where we are so "vitually connected" yet at the same time more unconnected to each other than any generation before us, I thought it was a great message to share. Let's make sure we are still taking the time to make true connections and come out from behind our keyboards and embrace the power of a genuine face-to-face smile rather than than a colon and a closed bracket, a live conversation rather than an e-mail and a human hug rather than a virtual one.

When looking for a Real Estate Agent to represent you in selling or buying a  home, what kind of qualities do you look for? Obviously honesty and integrity would rank high up on the list but can you really tell that from a brief  conversation with someone? I guess it all comes down to first impressions. In  that case, we probably form an opinion of someone within the first 60 seconds of  meeting or speaking with them. Even if we can be engaging enough to make it past  the first 60 seconds, we better be able to continue holding someones interest so  they want to continue to get to know us better. Like it or not, our appearance  plays a huge role in the first impression we make. That is the first thing  someone will notice about us when they meet us. And after the initial encounter,  people are forming opinions each step along the way, we judge each other not  only by what we say, but also by what we do. Our body language is quite often  more telling than anything that actually comes out of our mouths. Are your first  impressions of people normally right or are people able to fool you and you  later find out what a dufus they are? Personally, my first impressions are  almost always right but that might be because I'm sceptical of most people so I  pay a lot of attention to both their verbal and non-verbal
queues from the very  beginning. With me, you likely won't get a second chance
to make a good first  impression.

I want to hear from you... What qualities do you look for in  a Real Estate Agent and what do you find to be the most important? How quickly  can you tell if your Agent possesses the skills you deem important? Is it  something he/she says or something they do?

Confidence?
Arrogance?
Friendliness?
Assertiveness?
Attractiveness?
Compassion?
Loyalty?
Diligent?
Transparency?
Personable?
Meticulous?
Persevering?
Dedicated?
Innovative?
Forthcoming?
Sociable?
Reputable?
Knowledgeable?

Looking forward to hearing from everyone!

Like many people, I have been in the customer service field in one way or another my entire life. My first job was at the age of 13 when I worked at Wendy's and I know sometimes my "customer skills" were not all that refined at that time. I then went on to my second job at Food City. Remember Food City? I think I'm dating myself here. lol. Being a teenage/young adult cashier who  was full of piss n' vinegar I'm sure it didn't get much better. I was never one  to turn the other cheek and bite my tongue when it came to an abusive customer, and yes, there were plenty of them. As I matured I learned to become more "political", bite my tongue more often and find a way to smile through an  unpleasant experience dealing with a not so amiable customer. Don't get me wrong, I still find a way to speak my mind, I've just honed some new skills on  how to make it less abrasive. lol.

Over the years many managers and supervisors would remind me that "the customer was always right" and every time I would hear it the hairs on the back of my neck would stand up. It drove me crazy to "lose" to a customer who was clearly in the wrong, or have to apologize  for something that was not my fault. It's funny that now that I'm all grown up I  have pretty high expectations for the service that I receive. I am certainly not  unreasonable by any means, but I expect a cashiers attention when checking  through my groceries, I expect her to NOT be smacking on her gum (gum was a BIG  no-no when I was a cashier), I expect exceptional service when dining out, I  expect the prices to be right and if something scans wrong I expect the store to  understand their "Scanning Code of Ethics" policy and not make me "remind" them,  I expect a business email to be responded to in a timely manner, I expect my  phone call to be returned. I expect to be treated with respect and common  decency.

In the world of social media there are far more outlets to  express yourself these days than when I was a snot-nosed teenager. I can only  imagine the things I may have posted to my facebook status if it was around back  then. But what amazes these days is that there are mature adults some of  whom are business owners who still think they are teenagers airing their dirty  laundry all over the internet. And not only do they air their dirty laundry but  they post complaints about customers. It dumbfounds me that grown adults can be  so oblivious to the detrimental effects that may have. Negativity breeds  negativity and if your posts are negative, argumentative and down right nasty,  that is what will surround you. Even if you think this information is "private"  someone, somewhere is reading it and it certainly won't breed positivity.  Furthermore, it says an awful lot about a person if everything they post is  adverse and antagonistic.

As a business owner I am very conscious about  what I post through social media. I certainly don't want someone to google  "Kerri-Lyn Cuppage" (come on - you know you want to google it now lol)and  stumble across a bunch of derogatory and tasteless comments I have made. I don't  think it would bode well for business. lol. But then, I have never been one to  air my dirty laundry on facebook. I have written other personal blogs about our  struggle with infertility and allowed people a glimpse into what life with  infertility is like, and I am proud of those blogs, although I no longer write  there (I should though), and wouldn't change any of that.

To sum it all  up, to all the managers out there who told me to bite my tongue and the customer  was always right... I get it...you were right... without our customers (even the  nasty ones) we wouldn't be in business. There are many colourful people in this  world and through life experiences and maturity I have found a way to manoeuvre  my way around the varying personalities and I am able to appreciate my customers  in all their shapes and forms.