MORE and more it seems, the Internet is becoming the place to do business. Booksellers, auctioneers, travel agents and almost all types of businesses have found a new way to market their products around the world via the Internet. Some industries lend themselves to Internet com- merece better than others, and it’s clear that real estate is one that is ideally suited to it. Tt used to be a major problem to look for a home located tar away from where you live but now, with the Interner, you can “visit” properties any- where around the world from the comfort of your own home. Even purchasers who live in the same community where they want to buy are using the Internet to peruse the houses for sale betorc selecting one or nwo to visit. Ifyou are one of these Internet users who is plan- ning to buy or sella home, the following is a synopsis of some of the more useful real estate-relared Web sites that you might want to look at. {fyou are looking for a home or if you are curious as to how much people are ask- ing for their homes, vou can cheek out che Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board site at . This site has a search fea- ture that allows you to view any of the Multiple Listing Service properties that are for sale in greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island. You can search for homes by type (house, town- house, apartment), price, number of bedrooms, num- , trent opeibe home economics ber of bathrooms and age in any area such as West Van or North Van or in sub-areas such as Deep Cove, British Properties or Pemberton Heights. Your search will usually rovide you with a number of homes that fit your criteria and you can view a colour photograph of each home and sce information on the features and specifications of the home. The site will also link you to other MLS sites across the country so you that can Jook at homes for sale in cities such as Edmonton, Toronto or Montreal. (You can also go directly to to get access to homes across Canada.) The Real Estate Board site also has a section on real estate tips including hints on preparing your home tor sale, a guide to understanding the documents you'll sce when buving or selling a property and information on what vou can expect from a realtor. There is also a section on mortgage information includ- ing a survey of current rares, acalculator for computing monthly paymenss, afford- ability and foreign currency conversions. It also provides information on the mortgage offerings of the various finan- cial institutions including the interest rate commitment period, payment options, pre- CST SHSSOHOCHEHHOHOHEHEHEE OH FETOHOSHLOECAEHOCHEHECHROEEHEHOCHOHEOSESS internet sites offer virtual propel tours payment privileges and whether the mortgages are portable and assumable. The site also has some sta- tistics on the local real estate market, although they are quite limited. Basically for any area, such as West Vancouver or North Vancouver, you can see graphs that show the number of units listed, units sold and ive listings on a monthly for the past year. As well you can get information on the Real Estate Board’s Housing Price Index. You can see more com- plete graphs of the North Shore markets at . Locally, the District of North Vancouver has a good Web site at that will update you on bylaws, development applications, community plans and other issues which could be of interest to peten- tial buyers and sellers of property in the district. The City of North Van has a similar site at and both sites provide the user with a search capability for getting the assessment for any prop- erty in North Vancouver. There are a number of commercial sites that, in addi- tion to promoting their prod- ucts and services, also offer useful real estate-related information. For example, Canada Mortgage Corporation’s site at provides a survey of current mortgage rates, his- torical information on rates and national ard provincial See Site page 72 eee NEWS photos Paul McGrath AT A GLANCE ... Peo ceemveee se reeseserenecensesessenenessone ADDRESS: 1238 West 22nd St., N. Van. meee een es envecassceseresenerenscressvecese LOT SIZE: 50° x 160’ Wore erecenccresereuresnsovess INTERIGR SIZE: 4, 800 sq. ft. RECO h emer ee res er seereceHeues meas sereeasens NUMBER OF BEDROOMS: waserscces oes . NUMBER OF FLOORS: 3 oe eoacsces ASKING PRICE: $699,000 Cede vetceveensscenesesonsesanesarereresyess OPEN HOUSE: Sunday 2 - 4pm LISTING AGENT: Joan Stewart-Gay, 622-6220 aesosee pace reanrece SPECIAL FEATURES: hardwood floors, sweeping staircase, skylights galore. weveeens Tiptoe through tulips DISTRICT of North Vancouver gardeners Mark Nyberg and Pat Jacklin planted a beautiful spring show at Cates Park. The tulips at the entrance to the park were in full bioom recently. Feature Listing 1238 West 22nd St. ~ NEWS photo Paul McGrath Goat: MEN BERET Te Wenn Pemberton Heights A glorious three-level residence over 4,800 sq.it., set on a large level lot in one of North Van's rnost sought after neighbourhoods. Experience gorgeous hardwood floors throughout formal living areas. Gourmei island kitchen, granite counters, separate wok kitchen, wonderful family room all overiook large sunny garden. four spacious bedrooms up (ail ensuite) including fabuious master suite. Separate daylight two bedroom accommodation down pius additional ensuite bedroom and media room. Crown mouldings, wainscotting, inlaid ceramic tile and California shutters. Joan Stewart- Gay, Sutton Group - West Coast Realty