Skip to content

Local Realtor sells same home six times

Value of home has grown from $40,000 to $1 million over the past four decades

It's not Feb. 2, but it must feel like Groundhog Day to local real estate agent Gary Love.

With more than four decades of experience, Love has sold a lot of homes, but for one North Burnaby property, it seems like déjà vu all over again.

Love has sold the small bungalow at 3393 Dalebright Dr., nestled between Government Road and Lougheed Highway, six times.

And to show how real estate numbers are growing, what sold for $40,000 in 1971 sold for more than $1,018,000 in late 2012.

"It really is quite amazing that I've been involved in the sale of this home six times," said Love, who said he's easing his way out of the business and letting sons Derek and Karsten take a larger leadership role in the Love Team real estate business. "This was one of the first homes I ever sold, and it might be one of the last I'll sell."

Love said many factors have to come together to sell the same property six times.

"You have to be in the business a long time, and you need a property that will turn over that many times," he said. "Some homes won't sell even once in 40 years, but this one has, and there were one or two times that it sold that I wasn't involved."

Love added that because he lives in the neighbourhood and has roots in the area, he receives the referrals to sell the property when it goes back on the market.

"I guess I have to be doing something right if I'm selling the same place six different times," said Love.

The attractive 3,000-square foot family home with six bedrooms and four bathrooms in the Lakedale neighbourhood has seen almost $140,000 of updating done in the last few years. The improvements have included a new high-end kitchen with granite countertops, a wine fridge, stainless steel appliances and space-saver microwave. There's also double-glazed windows and a four-year old roof.

Love has a special place in his heart for the roomy corner lot property that keeps popping into his life.

New on the job in 1971, Love was nailing the For Sale sign to a telephone pole when a young couple pulled up for a look. They bought the house for $40,000. Growing families, job transfers and divorce kept bringing it back, offering a new snapshot of Burnaby's changing market each time.

In 1975, the young couple who snatched it up so quickly sold it and moved to Prince George, getting double what they paid.

Almost a decade later - the low point in B.C.'s real estate crash - Love managed to sell it for $175,000.

He wasn't involved in the next sale in 1994, and for a decade, the house suffered under absentee landlords. The yard grew mangy and the once-gleaming house seemed to droop from neglect.

So when the phone rang in 2004, the bungalow on Dalebright was the furthest thing from Love's mind.

Penny Chisholm bought the home for $467,000, and for almost four years it was a comfy home for her growing family.

"It became too small for us, so we sold it and moved to a bigger house, still in this neighbourhood," said Chisholm of the house her family sold for $750,000. "I just found out that it sold again and Gary had sold it for the sixth time."

Chisholm said she has met the people she sold the house to because they have children going to the same school, and she is interested to see who are the new owners of her old home.

The house was listed at $1,098,000 and has a B.C. Assessment value of $1,013,000. It sold for $1,018,000 on Oct. 30 and the new owners took possession on Jan. 9, 2013. www.twitter.com/AlfieLau