Happy Halloween

When it comes to listing and selling homes I stick to the Campbell River and Discovery Islands areas which I know best.  If you need a realtor in Courtenay or even Fort McMurray I can still help by referring you to a specialist in that area.  Just ask and I will point you in the right direction.   

On another note I often get asked if I know of an accountant or a painter and yes I am happy to give you some names of people I know and trust.  I love shopping locally and supporting local companies and just people in general.  I see more and more people doing this kind of thing on blogs and facebook and I love it!  So here I go too!

This is the one that got me thinking about doing this post today.  I saw a sneak peek of their 2010 holiday cards and wanted everyone I know to see how great they are! 

RUNAWAY SOUL for super unique and fun greeting cards  

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Runaway-Soul/297784166110

HEARTSTRONG FITNESS Sarah Wright for personal training and fitness  http://www.heartstrongfitness.com/

MORTGAGE BROKERS 

Cait Holmes is a newly licensed mortgage broker and works with a great team at Dominion Lending Coastal Mortgages  http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dlccoastalmortgages.ca%2F&h=252eb

Michael Campagna http://www.northvancouvermortgagebroker.ca/

Victor Anamisiv    http://www.islandmortgagespecialist.ca/

Website design and marketing Jeremey Latham http://www.lathamcommunications.com/

Graphic Design – Shannon Andrews http://www.facebook.com/pages/Runaway-Soul/297784166110#!/pages/Campbell-River-BC/Shannon-Andrews-Design/291857955850

Photography- Erin Wallis     http://www.erinwallis.com/blog/

Jewelry- Alana Millward and Zudora Jeweleryhttp://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=563420010#!/pages/Zudora-Home-Parties-with-Alana/130473043633819

Hair accessories Leah Jones http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=563420010#!/pages/Sweet-Accessories/296931555772?v=wall

CR dog walking – Dogs Best Fried. I love Cesar the Dog Whisperer and think this new company is so wonderful! because as Cesar says a dog needs at least an hour of exercise a day to be a happy and balanced dog.  If some days you don't have that hour check this out  http://www.dogfriend.ca/

Music – top quality music and dj services http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=563420010#!/pages/Campbell-River-BC/Top-Quality-Music-DJ-Services/412598643501

Elemental Energy Advisors http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=563420010#!/pages/Elemental-Energy-Advisors/167393446812

Construction- Travis Youngson 250-203-0678
Electrician - Darcy at Artisan Electric 250- 203-0378

ok thats all for now, I am sure I am missing some good ones, but there will be a part 2 I am sure!
have a happy halloween weekend everyone!

Generation X and $

Did you know that 6 out of 10 Canadians live paycheque to paycheque.

Did you know that more than half of us spend more than we earn every year

Did you know the average credit card balance is $8000 per household

Stats show that about 50% of us spend more than we earn each year and only half of Canadians pay their credit cards off in full each month, the majority of the other half paying only the minimum balances. 
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Generation X is the name given to those born from aprox 1966 - the late 70's early 80's.  This age group is especially caught up in the buy now pay later attitude and most affected by the  ‘keeping up with the joneses” syndrome.

Stats show that gen X'ers all expect to retire by the age of 60, some sooner, but very few are actually on track to do so.  Gen X is the largest consumer of leather sofas and big screen TVs with "no payments for 24 months" all just hoping they will have the cash to cover the payments in 2 years.  Gen X'ers typically don't buy economical used cars, instead they buy or lease brand new cars with payments they usually can't afford.  They also buy brand name designer clothes and eat out a lot.  
Of course we are grouping all Gen X'ers together here when obviously not all actually do spend like this. I just think its interesting how Gen X which I am apart of is totally drowning in a 'material goods world' ("totally" is totally a Gen X word!) We are now more than ever inclined to define ourselves by what we possess.  When it comes to our financial well being we seem to care more about buying the flash to impress others, but who are we really trying to impress? strangers?  and do they really care how well we sleep at night worrying about our financial situations?

How many times have you asked yourself “ how do they afford all those toys? The brand new cars, the clothes, the gadgets?”  well the truth is more often than not THEY actually cannot afford any of it.  THEY are in the 50% of Canadians that are in credit debt.  I am not talking about mortgage debt here, that’s a good type of debt to be in as long as its within reason.  I am talking about car loans, credit cards maxed out, and the worst- the buy now pay later on furniture, appliances, electronics.  Debt towards investments that appreciates or provides a cash flow is ok.  Its the debt on depreciating assets that gets us in trouble.

In my experience I have watched as people have got serious about their financial situations and have become truly happy inside once they feel they are on track and financially stable and the funny thing is once in that position the extra money seems to find these people and they can splurge on toys and not feel the guilt.  The interesting thing is when these people come into extra money they seem to get more of a rush investing it than they would splurging it.  Its a feeling secure and in control of your world type rush.

I say - today is a new day, a new day to start working for yourself, start paying yourself by putting your money to work for you.  Yes of course you should still splurge on yourself as long as its with excess money, as long as you are not going into debt to do so and as long as you are paying yourself 1^st.  Pay yourself 1^st…what does that mean? It could be any type of savings or investment.  My pick of course would be real estate. But it could be anything- a simple savings account, mutual funds.  One of the best things you can do is forced savings.  Set it up as a direct transfer from your account, every month that money is transferred out and eventually you wont miss it, its forced savings.  Putting money into investments and creating a nest egg for your future may not be as cool as a flashy new truck but you may sleep better at night. Feeling financially stable may also do wonders for your health and home life with reduced stress!  Financial problems are the # 1 cause of stress and the #1 subject that couples fight about.

 

Deciding to not worry and think about the future is a bit risky these days as pensions and retirement benefits are disappearing and may not be around by the time we retire.  We are also living a lot longer and therefore needing more money in our senior years.  Many Gen X'ers are also going be looking after their own parents financially as their parents will be the first generation to outlive their own retirement savings and many of them will be in need financial assistance.  

OKAY enough doom and gloom!  The exciting thing is we are in control of our own financial worlds.  We really just need to ask ourselves what our priorities are. It really is not about how much money we make, it truly is about what we do with that money. 

Buying Basics

Its easy for Realtors to sometimes forget to explain the basics during the excitement of buying a home.  I think this happens in many professions actually, doing whatever it is over and over to the point that the process becomes second nature.  I remember what it was like being a first time home buyer…a bit confusing, a bit overwhelming, maybe a bit stressful trying to understand all the lingo, but at the same time so very exciting! Whether you are thinking about buying your first home or its been a few years since you have gone through the process, here is a little re-fresher.

Pre approval- find out what you can afford

Seek out a mortgage professional and get ‘pre approved’  Find out what payments you can afford, the down payment you will need to come up with and what your closing costs  (legal fees, taxes may be)

Choose a realtor- you only need one

There are likely 100’s of realtors in your area to choose from.  With the MLS ( multiple listing service) you only need to choose 1 realtor.  Gone are the days of skimming through newspaper ads and calling up each realtor one at a time asking for details about the homes they have for sale.  Once you choose a realtor they can email you all the homes in your price range.  You can also view homes at http://www.realtor.ca/  Previewing pictures and details online and doing actual 'drivebys' is a great way to narrow down which homes you actually want to take the time to go in and see.  Your Realtor can show you any listing, it doesn’t matter which company has the actual listing.  Some people don’t want to ‘commit’ to a realtor, they want to go it on their own, touring open houses and watching the papers until they find the right house. This may work, but there is a risk of missing a new listing.  If you have a realtor actively working for you hopefully you will get a phone call or better yet they will have you set up to receive an automatic email when a listing comes up that fits your criteria.  The most interesting homes and best buys often sell within days of being listed, long before they hit the newspapers and the general public is even aware they are for sale. 

Making appointments- best to give your realtor the list of homes you want to see with at least a day or 2 notice.  Some homes require 24hours notice to view.  Your realtor will make the actual appointments to view each home for you. 

Making the offer- Your realtor will prepare the necessary paperwork, including the contract of purchase and sale which contains the offer price, deposit, terms/subjects to the sale, included and excluded items and closing/possession dates. 

The deposit which is often confused with the down payment shows ‘good faith’ when making an offer.  The deposit is usually held in a trust account in the real estate office and is then applied against the purchase when the sale closes.  Later on in the process the lender requires a down payment on the mortgage.  Your deposit already held in trust can go towards this down payment.  The subjects/terms are typically ‘subject to financing’ subject to a home inspection. Each subject has a deadline or subject removal date.

Here is an example of a typical timeline.

October 1 -view the home and submit an offer, its accepted by the sellers.  Deposit is paid.

On or before October 14 ‘remove subjects’

During this period the buyer will work to remove the subjects.  Getting the financing approved, home inspection done.

If the buyer is satisfied the next step is to sign a subject removal form and the sale becomes ‘unconditional’ The deposit is now non refundable and the sold signs go up!

A typical possession/completion date would be somewhere between October 31-November 15 (could be longer if both parties agree)  This is the date the money actually changes hands and you get the keys to your new home.

A few days before the completion date the buyer would sign final papers at a notary or lawyers office and make arrangements for the bank/mortgage broker to get the down payment.

  

Some MISC and MYTHS

I have heard this one a few times recently.

“ The More You Pay for a House, The More an Agent Makes”. Well I guess its correct to a degree, but the truth is the difference between $300,000 and $305,000 is about $50 and that is before we pay office splits, expenses and taxes!

WHO PAYS?

When you buy a house listed for sale the seller pays the commission to any realtors involved in the sale.

Typically the mortgage broker gets paid by the bank/lender 

The buyer usually pays for any home inspections, chimney inspections etc.
The buyer may also have to pay legal fees, insurance, HST and property transfer tax ( some exemptions apply) 

Hopefully I covered all the basics here.  If you want more complete details of the process just let me know and I can email you more info.

a bit of background

Maybe this should have been my first post...oh well better late than never.  About me and what I do…..

In 1999 I joined ROYAL LEPAGE Advance Realty in Campbell River.  Royal Lepage is a Canadian company and the great thing about our office is that a number of the realtors are actually owners of the company which is very unique for a real estate office and I am sure its what makes us not only a fun office to work at but a successful one too.  Our office makes up the majority of sales/listings in the Campbell River area with over 40 Realtors plus a property management division. 

I grew up in Campbell River spending many of my summers on Cortes Island.  I spent time in college in Victoria and Vancouver, but every summer I was drawn back to Cortes, one summer I actually never left! After a couple years living the island life I decided to take the Real Estate course and moved back to Campbell River in 1999.  Since then I have sold real estate in Campbell River and the outer islands including Cortes. 

I had no idea what I was getting into when I took the course.  I flipped through the textbook and thought it looked interesting and signed up!  I was ready for a change, wanted to dress up for work and get fake nails.  I did both, the fake nails lasted only a few months and the nice clothes,  well its still fun to dress up once in a while but lets say I am more often in ‘casual Friday’ mode. 

I am a salesperson, but I don’t really think of myself as one.  I prefer to think of myself as a facilitator.  I facilitate the purchase and the sale of clients homes.  I hate the old fashioned pushy sales techniques that are often associated with being in sales. 

I love buying clothes but I sure dislike being in a changeroom with a salesperson knocking on my change room door every 30 seconds asking how I am doing, even after I have nicely said "FINE THANKS, will call out if I need you" 

Different strokes for different folks I say, so if you are looking for a super aggressive realtor- thats probably not me.  I will aggressively market your home for sale, but I personally take a more laid back approach when dealing with actual buyers and sellers.  I am available to give you as much or as little help along the way as you need.  I am basically a 'tool' in the process that buyers can use to access information.  Some buyers I work with like to look after alot of the steps on their own, others have me basically take over and arrange all the inspections, deal directly with their mortgage broker etc.. I am fine with either as long as the client is getting what they need.  

Us realtors come with all different styles and personality types allowing you to choose accordingly! 

more to come on the basics of how buying and selling works, and some of the myths too!  

  

Blogging for balance

Just home from a crazy walk at the tyee spit.  My 1 year old in her stroller covered in a plastic rain bubble screaming.  The few other crazy people out in this storm looking at me like I was so cruel to have a baby out in this weather crying.  Little did they know she was actually having a meltdown because she wanted to go the "b" which is what she calls the beach.  This is the first time since the weather changed that we have been near a beach and she could not understand why i wouldn't let her out of the stroller to play. Actually I guess its the second time, a few weeks ago we were at a campground and walked to the beach and she wanted to play in the water but it was cloudy and starting to rain, but she began to cry so I thought..hmm OK I will let her scout to the waters edge and feel the water, she will see its cold and we can leave, but she crawled right in and after a few seconds started to cry.  As fellow campers stared in horror it began to pour with rain and I scooped her up whipped her wet cloths off and wrapped her in a blanket I luckily had!  I guess thats not exactly how I thought it would turn out.
The above pictures are from a huge storm we had in the fall of 2007, people were surfing off the willow point reef.  I had fun taking pictures that day.  Even though we will have to wait many months before we can play on the beach again I am kind of looking forward to the stormy season and cozy days inside. 
With just over a year under my belt of being a new mom, I see now more than ever how important balance is on our lives.  Spending much of my days playing, feeding and cleaning up after this cute little human being the days can go by with very little adult interaction and an awful lot of babyness ( not sure if that is a word, but I like it)  We all need to remember to take the time to re fuel, re charge our batteries by doing something for ourselves, whether its a full day at a spa or simpy just 30 minutes curled up with a good book and no interuptions.  Re charged we have so much more to offer to those in our lifes be it our kids, our clients our family or friends.  I think that this blog is one of those little things that is going to help give me a little more of that balance by giving me an outlet to be creative and also somewhere to release some of the many things I want to share.

So I am only a few days in and already I cannot help myself but here I go about to stray from real estate related topics!
I get email updates from Dr.Pincott, our local naturopathic Doctor in Campbell River.  Here is a link to the most recent one, its about kids and keeping them healthy but it applies to everyone so here it is
http://www.drpincott.com/publications/publishedarticles/Articles/article281.htm

Also stopped at Healthyway natural foods market today ( on elm street beside Home Hardware)
If you have not been there lately you should check it out, its expanded and has a wide range of local goodies and fresh veggies.  I love the idea of shopping locally and supporting stores like this and local growers. 

Late this summer I also discovered Coastal Roots Vegetables at Hudsons farm http://www.coastalroots.ca/  Organic, fresh local vegetables sooo nice! they have a cute store or sign up for weekly deliveries.

Tonight is a big night..game one for the Vancouver Canucks after a long summer break from hockey.  Enjoy the game and happy thanksgiving everyone.

mortgages, mortgages and mortgages

Just when we thought interest rates couldn't get any better, they have. Historically low actually. Whether you currently have a mortgage and own a house or if you are renting these low rates are reason enough to take a look at your current situation. If you own and are locked into a mortgage
call your mortgage broker and find out when your mortgage is up for renewal and if its worth while to pay a penalty and re-finance early.
Many people think of a mortgage as something you have to pay off. They have a goal to be ‘mortgage free’. There is nothing wrong with that-its great actually, but I look at it a bit differently. I like the idea of having your money work for you. Freeing up equity and using it to basically create more equity. Equity is the market value (what you could expect to sell your home for right now)less any debt/mortgage you have owing on it. If you have a lot of equity in your home you may want to consider taking some of it out and pay off credit cards, car loans etc… If you are fortunate enough to not have that type of debt you could take that money out and use it as a down payment on a 2nd home. I will give you an example, because I love examples.
You have owned your home for a number of years, its now worth $300,000 and your mortgage is $100,000. You have $200,000 in equity just sitting there. With todays low interest rates you could take $50,000 out and re-finance your current home leaving it with a new $150,000 mortgage, chances are your new monthly payment will not be much higher as rates have gone down so much. You can take that $50,000 as a down payment and purchase a $200,000 rental home. At 3.49% (5yr fixed term) a $150,000 mortgage would have monthly payments of about $670, factor in $200 a month for property taxes and as long as you can rent it for $900 per month you are laughing!

Whenever you tap into your home equity you want to be sure you are using it to increase your wealth- buying another property or renovating a current one, starting a business or if you have alot of debt maybe consolidating.

RENTERS- If there ever was a time this is it! If you contact a mortgage broker you can easily find out how much you need for a down payment and what kind of monthly payments will work for you.
Saving for a down payment can take a long time. If you don’t have RSPs to borrow against you may want to think about talking with family about a loan/gift down payment. If you have a child currently renting and are in the position financially, helping with a down payment and the purchase of their first home may be the best gift you could ever give. The sooner someone can become a homeowner the sooner they can begin to grow equity in their home.

Yes, house prices have been down for the last few years, but we need to look at home ownership and revenue producing properties as long term investments - not short term. In the long run over time housing prices always go up.

A mortgage broker can shop around to all the banks and get you the best rate, you don’t pay them any extra commission, they get paid by the lender. A mortgage broker may also work in the evenings, weekends and have more flexbible hours and communicate easily by phone and email for your convenience. Banks are great too! And if you have a great relationship with someone at your bank that’s great, just make sure you are getting the best rate out there!
Here are a few options for mortgage brokers

Dominion Lending http://www.dlccoastalmortgages.ca
coastalmortgages@dominionlending.ca

Michael Campagna
‎ http://www.northvancouvermortgagebroker.ca

Victor Anasimiv
http://www.islandmortgagespecialist.ca

hmmm....where to begin

After many months, actually maybe it has actually been a few years of 'thinking' about creating a blog here I am finally doing it.
I am going to try to stick to mostly real estate related fun and useful information but I cannot promise that I won't go off on other tangents.  Sitting here trying to decide what the first thing is I am going to write about or I guess I should say blog about and I think I will start with the “latte factor”
I love the latte factor.  I am a big fan of its creator and the author of a number of great books- David Bach.  I don’t love the title of his books though “automatic millionaire” and some others that sound kind of like fake get rich quick schemes.  In this case you cannot judge a book by its name..because I think they are actually quite the opposite.  They are common sense ideas and things that make me go WOW.  Basically the latte factor makes you look at some of the little things you spend money on like a $5 starbucks latte for example.   One of these delicious coffees a day can add up to over $1900 a year
If you are in your 20's right now this $5 a day if invested could add up to $1.2Million by the time you are 65.
The latte factor can also be used for cigarettes, the 3 magazines you throw in the grocery buggy and all those meals you eat out.
Now I am not saying you should give up your starbucks, or your weekly purchase of People magazine or BC fishing if its something you really cannot live without, but if you are wanting to save money for something or just simply cut costs and/or if you think that you don’t have any extra money you would be amazed if you really think about all those little things you buy, and chances are there is something out there that you can cut out even if its just cutting out one coffee a week or one less lunch out a week and you may be surprised how that $ can add up
I think its so important to realize that how much money we make is not nearly as important as how we spend that money.  We usually only worrying about the big ticket items we are buying, but we don’t seem to think about the fact that in one busy day we may have a $5 coffee and a $3 muffin for breakfast on the run, lunch out because we forgot to pack something, but that’s only $7 for a wrap and $2 for a drink right?, then groceries on the way home grab some gum and a couple magazines while in line, get home don’t feel like making dinner.. order in!  well some days like this are unpreventable, but the part that gets me so excited about all of this is that the average joe that feels like they are never getting ahead can usually find one item that they can use as their ‘latte factor’ and with some quick math realize that they could be using that money for something much more rewarding whether it be a $2000 holiday or saving for a down payment on a home.  Google the latte factor calculator and get excited yourself!