Garage Sale Tips - Part One of Two 7 Steps to a Successful Garage SaleTurn that household clutter into cash

Canada Post Increases Delivery FeesAn increase in postage is just around the corner

HVOTP Jan. & Feb. Sales ResultsGet the low-down on sales in your neighbourhood from your community experts, The Kormendy Trott Team.

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March 2014 - Volume 6

Take the guesswork out of

shipPing costs. Go to

canadapost.ca to determine

your shipPing costs,

both domestically and

internationally.

Get Ready for the Postage Increase

© 2014 Buffini & Company. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission. FEBRUARY MF BONUS

It’ll cost you more to send a letter or package this year. Canada Post increased postage rates in January in an effort to increase revenue in an age where more people are relying on the Internet to communicate and pay their bills. Additionally, Canada Post has announced plans to phase out of urban door-to-door mail delivery starting March 31, 2014. With so many changes afoot, here’s a guide to help you keep it sorted.

Canada Post suspended sales of the Permanent™ or “P” stamp until the new prices take effect in March. Until then, standard first-class letter postage will be 65 cents.

The Lowdown on the Rate Increase• Standard first-class letter postage will

increase 22 cents to $0.85 if the stamps are bought in booklets or coils.

• A single standard first-class letter postage stamp will be $1.00.

• Domestic shipping rates will increase 3.2%.

• International shipping rates will increase 3.1%.

• Packages that weigh over 3kg will have a lower average postage increase.

Increases to Light Packet™ ServiceLight Packet™ service is an economical option for customers to send small parcels up to 500 grams to U.S. and international destinations. While rates for the service will increase, Canada Post is also increasing the maximum allowable weight for the first tier of pricing from 100 grams to 150 grams. You can now ship a parcel weighing up to 150 grams to the US or internationally for $3.79/$6.51 respectively. Prices for Light Packet shipping range from $3.79 to $10.66 to US destinations and $6.51 to $19.12 to international destinations.

From Door-to-Door to Community MailboxesOne of the biggest changes announced by Canada Post is the phase out of urban door-to-door mail delivery in favor of community mailboxes. Instead of mail being delivered to the door, urban dwellers will walk or drive to a community mailbox, where their mail and parcels are stored in a personal locked mailbox. Community mailboxes are standard in many newer housing developments. Canada Post expects the conversion process to take about 5 years, and will announce the first round of urban areas for conversion in the middle of 2014.

Save Money on ShippingIf you’re sending packages, compare prices with Canada Post, UPS, DHL and FedEx to get the best deal. However, if you’re sending letters, greeting cards or bills, save money by buying your stamps by the booklet.

1. Create an inventory sheet of what you’re selling, and list the price of each item in case the tag is missing.

2. Price it right. Although you want to price your items slightly higher to account for haggling, don’t price them so high that you can’t sell them. Remember, shoppers expect bargains.

3. Sell with others. Recruit your neighbours, family

sales often attract more people.

4. Get your items ready to sell. Clean your sale items, and make sure that they’re in good shape. If you’re selling electronics, make sure they’re in good working order, and have the cords attached.

5. Set the date and place for your sale. Saturday is the best day of the week to hold your garage sale.* Choose a date a few weeks in advance to give you time to prepare, and choose an alternate date as well in case of bad weather.

6. Advertise your garage sale in your local newspaper, on Kijiji and Craigslist, and with signs on your local roads. Choose bright coloured poster board or cardboard, and write the details of your sale in large black letters that drivers can see from their vehicles. Put up six to eight signs a few days before your sale to improve the chances of shoppers stopping by.*

7. Set up an hour or two early on the morning of the sale. Experienced shoppers will show up at the posted time so that they can score the best deals. So if you plan to open your sale at 7 a.m. (the best time of day to do so*), then start setting up around 5 or 6 a.m.

If you’re like most people, you probably have items in the attic, basement, garage and closets that you don’t need, use and maybe even forgot that you had. Garage sales allow you to make space in your home while making money.

Sell Household Items Today!Plan a Garage Sale in 7 Easy Steps

Promote your garage sale on

yardsaletreasuremap.com, a free

service that uses Google Maps

to target the locations of garage

sales in your area.

*Source: Signs.com

Take the guesswork out of

shipPing costs. Go to

canadapost.ca to determine

your shipPing costs,

both domestically and

internationally.

Get Ready for the Postage Increase

© 2014 Buffini & Company. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission. FEBRUARY MF BONUS

It’ll cost you more to send a letter or package this year. Canada Post increased postage rates in January in an effort to increase revenue in an age where more people are relying on the Internet to communicate and pay their bills. Additionally, Canada Post has announced plans to phase out of urban door-to-door mail delivery starting March 31, 2014. With so many changes afoot, here’s a guide to help you keep it sorted.

Canada Post suspended sales of the Permanent™ or “P” stamp until the new prices take effect in March. Until then, standard first-class letter postage will be 65 cents.

The Lowdown on the Rate Increase• Standard first-class letter postage will

increase 22 cents to $0.85 if the stamps are bought in booklets or coils.

• A single standard first-class letter postage stamp will be $1.00.

• Domestic shipping rates will increase 3.2%.

• International shipping rates will increase 3.1%.

• Packages that weigh over 3kg will have a lower average postage increase.

Increases to Light Packet™ ServiceLight Packet™ service is an economical option for customers to send small parcels up to 500 grams to U.S. and international destinations. While rates for the service will increase, Canada Post is also increasing the maximum allowable weight for the first tier of pricing from 100 grams to 150 grams. You can now ship a parcel weighing up to 150 grams to the US or internationally for $3.79/$6.51 respectively. Prices for Light Packet shipping range from $3.79 to $10.66 to US destinations and $6.51 to $19.12 to international destinations.

From Door-to-Door to Community MailboxesOne of the biggest changes announced by Canada Post is the phase out of urban door-to-door mail delivery in favor of community mailboxes. Instead of mail being delivered to the door, urban dwellers will walk or drive to a community mailbox, where their mail and parcels are stored in a personal locked mailbox. Community mailboxes are standard in many newer housing developments. Canada Post expects the conversion process to take about 5 years, and will announce the first round of urban areas for conversion in the middle of 2014.

Save Money on ShippingIf you’re sending packages, compare prices with Canada Post, UPS, DHL and FedEx to get the best deal. However, if you’re sending letters, greeting cards or bills, save money by buying your stamps by the booklet.

Not intended to solicit those currently under contract with another brokerage. *Brokerage independently owned and operated **Sales Representatives

SOLD

www.80ManleyLane.comwww.207Woodley.com3 Bedrooms + Finished Bsmt.

www.225WebbDrive1902.comBright Corner Unit @ Square1Freehold Townhome in HVOTP

1 (800) 617-0090 (direct)info@kormendytrott.comwww.kormendytrott.com

real

esta

te d

one

right

**

Ariel Kormendy and Adrian Trott are Real Estate Sales Representatives with Century 21 Miller Real Estate Ltd., *Brokerage Independently Owned and Operated. ** Data collected from the Oakville/Milton District Real Estate Board and the Toronto Real Estate Board from sales in the Hawthorne Village on

the Park neighbourhood from January 1 - February 28, 2014. Not intended to solicit those currently under contract with a brokerage

$339,900 $400,000 $264,900

The spring market is heating up! Here's a quick recap of the stats from the �rst two months of the year for resale homes in Hawthorne Village on the Park