In June of 2023, I was contacted by the team at The McGillivray Group and was invited to be a part of McGillivray Trusted, a program offered by the McGillivray Group which offers Canadians a carefully curated hub of real estate agents, experts and professionals across the country who qualify for the exclusive Scott McGillivray stamp of approval in their market. Even as one of the top performing real estate agents in Squamish, this was a huge compliment and there was no hesitation to join the program.

McGillivray Trusted believes that the value of knowledgeable, connected and experienced real estate professionals is critical to Buyers, Investors and Sellers in any type of market. McGillivray Trusted is putting their name on the line to endorse real estate professionals so when you hire them for your real estate needs, you are getting the most bang for your buck. 

McGillivray Trusted takes the legwork and uncertainty out of finding reliable real estate agents and other professionals in the industry by hand-picking and extensively reviewing their excellence in client satisfaction, depth of experience, marketing and results. In turn, the endorsement program provides Buyers, Sellers and Investors access to the professionals with the highest level of customer care, experience and dedication in their chosen market.

With over 20 years of experience in real estate investments, Scott McGillivray the award-winning HGTV celebrity, executive producer as well as real estate and renovation expert and his team have successfully established the growing program with over 66 real estate professionals in over 70 markets across Canada.

When you work with me, a McGillivray Trusted Agent, you can feel confident that Scott has given me his personal seal of approval.

Click here to see all the McGillivray Trusted Agents & Professionals across Canada.

~ Julie

If you don’t need to move right away, there are many benefits to buying a pre-sale (home not yet built) in Squamish.

Lock in Today’s Cost | Since the market is often fluctuating and in Squamish specifically appreciating, purchasing a pre-sale generally means that you are locking in at the current market value and potentially avoiding future price increases.

Investment Appreciation | In a growing real estate market like Squamish, the value of properties tend to appreciate over time. If the market is continuously seeing growth, you may even see an appreciation of a pre-sale property before it is even completed.  

Pick your unit | If a development project has just been launched, there is a higher chance that you will be able to pick the location of your new home, maybe you want an exterior unit that has access to the main road or an interior courtyard unit. Something to also think about is the view, how much sun you want or how private your unit would ideally be.

Custom Home | If you buy a pre-sale early enough in the construction of your new home, you might also have the opportunity to customize certain interior finishes, the layout and sometimes minor design changes. A previous client of mine even had the cabinet making company upgrade and customize all of her closets during the process!

There are some risks involved like changes to interest rates and potential delays in construction, however if you don’t need to move right away there are so many benefits and buying a pre-sale might be the step that you need to get into the real estate market.

Before pre-buying real estate, make sure to research the developer and consider seeking advice from your local realtor and a mortgage professional in order to make an informed decision. Some mortgage brokers may even be able to secure you a longer-term rate hold specifically for pre-sale purchases.

Click here to see the current pre-sales in Squamish. The river views for the soon to come MTN Village pre-sale will be amazing! While your at it checkout the Finch Drive pre-sale the sunsets here can’t be missed!

~ Julie

Peaks and Ocean is a premium window washing company based in Squamish, they are a locally owned and operated business that started in 2022, dedicated to providing high quality window cleaning services to residential and commercial properties in the Sea to Sky corridor. 

One of their main goals is to offer good employment to local teens and young adults. "It is awesome to work with these motivated teens and see them get stoked on putting out a great product through their hard work."

What do you love about what you do? | I love that I can be my own boss, it is so nice being able to think of an idea and implement it as fast or slow as I want. This also comes with a lot of responsibility, but I do thoroughly enjoy being able to make the decisions whether they are good ones or not.

What does a day in the life look like? | A day in the life is typically pretty hectic. I currently run Peaks and Ocean Window Washing and I just started up a second business called Borealis Landscape Lighting; this is a brand-new project for me where we specialize in high quality outdoor landscape lighting. My family has been in the landscape lighting business back in Ontario for 40 years and I have decided to go out on my own here in Squamish, so every day is a bit different from the last but they are always busy and filled with surprises.

What would your ideal weekend look like? | I truly enjoy spending time in Squamish, so an ideal weekend would be a mixture of time with my wife and friends either mountain biking, hiking or climbing. We also enjoy just hanging out around a fire or down at the river for a swim.

3 small things that make your day better?

1. Starting my day with some quiet time, I typically wake up between 5:30-6:00am and spend an hour reading the Bible and in prayer. It truly gets my day started off well and when I miss out on it, I notice.
2. Quality time with my wife.
3. Spending time with our pup Sawyer

3 small pieces of advice based on your industry?

1. Good customer service goes a long way, always pick up your phone when a customer calls.
2. Quality work over Quantity of work.
3. Treat your employees well.

If you had unlimited funds to build your dream house, what would the look and feel be like? | Well, thanks to Julie Phoenix we just got pretty close to our dream home. We moved in this weekend and it is everything we hoped for. It has mountain views, bike trail into our backyard and a great common area/kitchen for entertaining guests.

Where can people find you? 

Website | www.peaksandocean.ca

Facebook | Peaks and Ocean Window Washing

Instagram | @peaksandocean

This kitchen renovation before and after! When my clients started the search for their home, they knew exactly what area in Squamish they wanted to buy in. After putting in three offers they had an accepted offer on the exact street that they were hoping for, however they needed a little vision for what the home could be. 

The house was only eight years old, with one previous owner and was really well taken care of, it just wasn't their personal style. They were able to look past the dark design choices with a plan in mind, in order to take this exciting next step together. They wanted a more bright, open and modern feel to their home and found a local renovation company in Squamish that was able to deliver exactly what they were looking for. 

When they bought their home it was in the peak of a market that was in favour of the seller with multiple offers, asking prices that were increasing and they also needed to make changes in the house to make it a home. However, if they had waited to buy in this market it would have been a while before a house in the same area became available again and this would have also come with a potentially higher asking price. I love that they took this step, even though they needed a little vision beyond the aesthetics and functionality as they now have their dream kitchen as well as lovely neighbours in a great community and I couldn't be happier for them. 

Overall, in a sellers market there are many benefits to buying a home that may need renovations, including less competition, potential lower asking price and the ability to fully customize your home. 

Have you renovated an area in your home recently? I would love to hear how it went, leave a comment below!

~ Julie