About Alan F Macdonald and Gimme-shelter.com

The Agent:

I live in Edmonton, Alberta and have been working in real estate since 2008. I love real estate. The complexity, the benefits, the pitfalls and the intangible nature of owning property means there’s never a dull moment. I have never had a transaction happen the same way twice, because every buyer, seller, agent and property is different. Dealing with that is not always easy, which is why I always suggest using a knowledgeable real estate agent to get the job done.

Of course, I’d like to be that agent, so please contact me here if you are interested in learning more about real estate or if you are planning to buy or sell and I’d be happy to help out.

The Philosophy:

Professionals seem to like keeping their knowledge to themselves, but I think this is wrong. I believe that if you can teach people something it’s better for everyone. As a real estate agent, I have very much enjoyed helping people understand why things happen a certain way when it comes to buying and selling property. My site is just an extension of that desire to show people just how cool real estate is.

The Website:

Today, to get business, you may have to prove your knowledge in advance. I think that’s a great idea.
Gimme-shelter.com was designed to help answer the questions people have when buying, selling, investing in or maintaining their property. And because real estate is so valuable, knowing more about real estate is never a bad thing. I have never seen a decent, informational real estate website – and I’ve looked. There are plenty of sites with properties for sale, generic info and so-called “free reports”, but no one seems to be interested in explaining the world of real estate to the public. My goal is to show buyers, sellers, owners and investors what’s really going on in real estate – all of it in plain language, boiled down to its simplest components. My hope is that this website will not only help you see the benefit to owning real estate, but make it easier for you to understand what’s happening whether you’re planning to buy, sell, invest or if you’re just maintaining your property.

Real Estate Articles

As a real estate agent in the Greater Edmonton Area, I get asked a lot about how things work. I find myself spending a lot of time explaining situations and procedures and so I thought I should put them up online for anyone to read. Whether or not you live in the Edmonton Area, a lot of the information on gimme-shelter.com should be helpful if you are buying, selling, investing in or maintaining real estate.

Real Estate Terms

People love to name things. Anything even slightly different from something else gets its own name. And since talking about anything requires some knowledge of terminology, the Real Estate Terms section of gimme-shelter.com was made to help you understand what’s what. And since there is a reason for distinguishing between all these terms, I have added extra information to let you know why that term is so important. Where the Real Estate Articles describe real estate concepts, the Real Estate Terms section describes the things that are associated with buying, selling, investing in or maintaining real estate.

The Real Estate Market and Neighbourhood Profiles

What’s the market like? What’s the average house price in Edmonton? These are questions that are answered in the Real Estate Market section of gimme-shelter.com. There is no shortage of real estate information, but information needs interpretation. After all, what does a chart of statistics really mean for you and your home? My intent with the Real Estate Market section is to put everything in perspective, to show you, rather than tell you what the market is up to. This section is an information source where I’ll do my best to cover the topic of the real estate market by reporting the facts and showing you what I feel those facts will mean to you and your investment.

You work for a specific brokerage. Can you only sell real estate to a buyer when it is listed by that same brokerage?

This is a very common question. Not at all! I work for Maxwell Challenge Realty in Edmonton, but I can sell any house for sale in Alberta. It doesn’t matter which brokerage it is listed with or even if it is a for sale by owner property. Please contact me to find out more about Edmonton real estate.

Can you send me listings in my area?

Of course! If you are interested in buying or selling in the Edmonton Area it is part of my service to provide listings to you so that you will know what to expect when it’s time to sell or buy a home. I can certainly help you with a custom search where the listings are sent to your email as they arrive. This is the best way to keep on top of prices in your area if you are thinking of selling or researching an area that you want to buy a house in. You can reach me through email or the phone number listed on the contact page.

I don’t live in the Edmonton area, can you help me find a real estate agent in another area who I could talk to?

I can, and I would be happy to find one who could answer questions for you about your area. Since I primarily sell listings in Edmonton and the surrounding area, I can’t comment on the market in other cities or provinces, but a real estate agent who works in your area certainly could.