PTBOCanada Featured Post: The Paddling Realtor Andrew Marshall

Some people are born here, others pass through here or move here, and some people are just drawn to come back.

For Andrew Marshall it was a long journey, but Peterborough is finally home. "The Paddling Realtor" (more on that later) has gone from Canada to Australia and back looking for a place to set down roots. After being back in Peterborough for six years and working for the past year with Bowes & Cocks, he finally feels like he’s found home.

Andrew Marshall

Born in Georgetown, Ontario, Andrew lived a life centered on sports and water—sometimes combining the two. Years of hockey (in which his first experience of Peterborough was at the Liftlock Atom Tournament) and canoeing lead him on a path to eventually move to Peterborough for the first time to enroll in the environmental and resource studies program at Trent University in 1994. 

Andrew loves to be on the water—whether it's work or leisure time

“I can honestly point to coming to Trent as one of the two things which changed my life,” Andrew ways. “I owe a lot to that school. At Trent, I finally felt at home!”

Surrounded by a hockey mad city, lakes and rivers for days—and a community he quickly came to love—Andrew stayed a little longer than he probably had to, but he didn’t mind. A move up the 401 to Kingston resulted in life altering decision No. 2—meeting his future wife! They would move back and forth between Australia and Canada for years before finally settling on the true north of Canada.

For 15 years, Andrew worked in the world of land use planning and environmental policy. A majority of this time was spent reviewing development applications for waterfront developments in and around the cottage country of eastern Ontario. With all this experience gained, Andrew has an in-depth understanding of the multi-faceted, multi-layered system of approvals that is faced by landowners.

Whether you want to believe it or not, owning rural and/or waterfront property can be incredibly confusing sometimes, but Andrew can make sense of it.

After his wife accepted a job in Peterborough (much to Andrew’s delight) in 2010, the couple moved back to the community and started a family. He commuted to the GTA for years before finally deciding enough was enough. After having coffee with a friend in the real estate field, he realized that with his extensive planning and development background this was a logical path to allow him to work in Peterborough—and he set out to take on the challenge. After taking his courses, he looked for a brokerage whose character aligned with his and Bowes & Cocks just made perfect sense!

Andrew’s love of the water, and knowing he wanted to stand out in a busy crowd, are what lead him to creating "The Paddling Realtor" moniker. Peterborough and the Kawarthas is surrounded by water, and Andrew loves to be on it—whether he’s at work or at play.

When looking into properties close to water, a lot of people don’t understand how complex things such as floodplains, wetlands or sensitive wildlife habitats amongst other things can impact their property or one they want to purchase. If they do, it’s difficult to understand the complex ecology and science behind it all. Seriously, these are all important things to consider.

Too many times in his previous career, Andrew had to tell people that they couldn’t build what they wanted where they wanted. Now working in real estate, one of his main missions is to educate people about the constraints that are sometimes present on their property or one they are looking to purchase.

Working in town and in the surrounding cottage country, Andrew knows that educating his clients is the best thing he can do for them when it comes to purchasing properties. Sure a home or land might look incredible, but sometimes future plans and reality don’t always line up. He wants you to know about these things before you make a life altering decision.

For more info on Andrew and to learn about how he can help you purchase the right property, go here:

Office: (705) 742-4234
Mobile: (705) 559-7597
Toll-Free: (888) 742-4234
Email: amarshall@bowesandcocks.com
Website: thepaddlingrealtor.ca
Twitter: @paddlingrealtor
Facebook: thepaddlingrealtor

**If your business/organization is interested in a PTBOCanada Featured Post Advertorial, email our Brand Strategy Director Aaron Elliott at aaron@ptbocanada.com for info!