I grew up in Ontario, starting in the far southern tip with my family and ending up in northern Ontario on the historic French River. Perhaps it was destiny that early on in my life, I made it to the West Coast and landed in my husband’s lap on the historic Cowichan River for the past 40 years.
My husband, Buck Stinson, was working ‘in the woods’ and it was not long before I found a job at the Youbou Mill, 650 guys and 3 girls! We worked at everything- from the Green Chain, Resaw Breakdown, the Hog to the Sidewinder Boat on the booms! Eleven years later, I switched up my life to have a family.
We had our Meg and a few years later along came John and Sam (our girl and boy twins) and then shortly after our wee Brittany decided we should be her parents as well. We were blessed. This kept us busy for a few years and then a friend got me started in Property Management. This worked out for our family as I could often take the kids with me and once they started school, I could work around their hours.
I got licensed in 1993 but stuck to property management until 1998 as the real estate market was poor in our little world and I needed to keep food on the table.
Since then, my life has revolved around Real Estate. It is a very demanding, (but fulfilling!), job, filled with high emotion, as it deals with people’s most important investment. We Canadians take our homes very seriously! I was fortunate to have done Property Management first, as it introduced me to many folks who would later want to sell, and I got to know the little secrets of some of these houses and the basic lay of the land. Knowledge is power, the power of realizing we are in a valley with many creeks and rivers and, of course, Cowichan Lake. Knowing there are some spots that have the potential to flood, or perhaps that some waterfront is better than others, or the sun just does not spend much time there, etc.
Our children are now out on their own and doing well. We are very proud of each of them and their life choices. They are good people. Like many, we are looking towards retirement. Buck would like to retire sooner than later, while I feel I am just hitting my stride! I am now the Broker at the busiest Real Estate Agency in the area.
I am proud of being an “Eco-Broker” and am continually learning more about what it really means to live lightly on the land. My dream is to be a part of creating a little community of like-minded self-sufficient people, perhaps some sort of strata. Private ownership but some really fun things made possible by pooled resources.
The Cowichan Lake area is the perfect place to live. It has been good to me and my family. All the seasons have their own charm, but the weather never gets too extreme in any of them. Abundant greenery, a varied landscape and some of the friendliest people in Canada make this a choice location.
I look forward to meeting you and introducing you to a very special place that I call home, the Cowichan Valley.
Sandy
sandystinson@shaw.ca
250-710-0040
