Royal Lepage Performance Realty’s recent move from Main Street to 12 High Street achieved two goals for the agents which work at the Vankleek Hill office. Agents were looking for a larger location but they also wanted more visibility, says Helen MacLeod, one of the four agents who works out of the High Street location.
“We are so thrilled to be located in this beautiful heritage building,” MacLeod said. “It fits with the image we want.
MacLeod says that being located in Vankleek Hill was important to the agents.
“There is so much happening here and people have come to think of this community as a desirable place to live,” MacLeod said.
Although all kinds of people are looking to move to the region, MacLeod singled out a few types of clients which seem to be trending at the moment.
“Younger families are looking to get out of the city and they are looking for rural land, sometimes five to 15 acres and they don’t mind renovating,” MacLeod said.
Another frequent kind of client is a couple close to retirement, looking for a nice home in the country or in a small town.
“The taxes are reasonable here and real estate taxes are manageable,” MacLeod said.
What other things are people looking for when they are looking to relocated?
A good hospital, lots of local schools from which to choose, the community atmosphere and the commuting distance are all factors which come into play when people are shopping for a new home,” MacLeod mentioned.
“It is a great plus for us that we have so much to choose from when it comes to sending children to school — parents can choose the languages they want for their children,” she said.
MacLeod changed careers about six years ago to become part of the local real estate scene.
She has served as a municipal councillor for several decades and is currently a municipal councillor for the Longueuil ward in Champlain Township.
In her previous career, she managed an office and much of her work involved real estate and work related to stock holdings.
She admits that it was a learning curve for her to master all that she needed to know to move into real estate; she mentions the legal aspects involved in completing a transaction, for example.
Most people come to her after looking online at local listings, she said.
But an agent can perhaps point them to additional properties and tell them more about different areas and should also know about things that might be happening in the community, such as developments, building initiatives, etc.