It has been a year since John Fincham talked on the podcast. We had a lot to catch up on and discussed where we see interest rates heading, pricing and our predictions for the 2024 cottage country real estate market.

Summer disrupted our podcast schedule, but Samantha Garrod from The Mortgage Centre visited us for an hour-long chat last week. Although neither she nor I can predict mortgage rates, our conversation contains valuable insights for buyers, sellers, and those with mortgages coming due in the next two years. You can contact Samantha directly through her website, https://samanthagarrod.com

We recently chatted with Roly and Sue Wight, owner-operators of Clearview Home Inspections in Parry Sound. Our conversation included discussing the importance of a home inspection, typical issues we see with our region's cottages and homes, and septic systems.

You can find out more about Clearview Home Inspections by visiting their website at, http://www.clearviewhome.ca/

We always love to chat with old clients about their home-buying experiences. Check out our latest podcast episode and get some great tips from first-time home buyers Meghan and Tyler. After looking for a starter home in their budget for several months, they purchased an off-market home before it hit MLS.

Join us as we reminisce about our 2020 journey with Adam and Erin in search of the perfect Parry Sound cottage. Amidst countless showings and numerous setbacks during the peak of the Cottage Country COVID-19 market, we finally struck gold! Tune in to this week's episode to discover how, two years later, they're thriving in an off-grid Lorimer Lake cottage that wasn't quite what they initially had in mind.

We recently spoke to John Byrne, an insurance broker with Billyard Insurance Group (BIG) in Parry Sound. John and his family relocated from Toronto to the area seven years ago, and he has been in the insurance industry for over 25 years. We discussed many things, including persistent myths about home insurance and challenges insurance water access cottages.

We're thrilled to have Heather Bayer as our special guest in this podcast episode. Heather founded Cottage Blogger, a popular blog and resource for cottage owners and rental managers in Ontario, Canada.

In this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Kelly Draycott. This knowledgeable paralegal is based in Parry Sound and provides services across Muskoka and Parry Sound regions.

Today, we spoke with Samantha Garrod from The Samantha Garrod Mortgage Team and started discussing the ins and outs of mortgages for first-time homebuyers.   

We later talked about mortgage interest rates and how they affect homebuying, as well as credit scores and ways to improve them. We also discussed many other subjects, including the pros and cons of reverse mortgages. 

You can find Samantha and her team at https://samanthagarrod.com/

This week, I talked with Sean Harrison, founder of Teczr Media, about the importance of online marketing in selling residential or waterfront property and the role of photography and videography in showcasing such properties.  We also do a few deep dives into the field of drone photography and how recent development in AI could affect how a realtor markets your home.