Feathersun!!!

A little fun. I didn't manage to sell this thing, but I could only imagine the commissions. Thanks to Marcie for finding this.

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/935108--woman-buys-the-sun-plans-to-charge-tax-on-rays

Chad

Clarification

I know I have confused some people. I often get asked by old friends whether or not I am a real estate agent. They see that I have a job at the City of Ottawa. They used to think I was a Chartered Accountant. They see all of these real estate posts.

My commitment is to the City of Ottawa. I work there as a Business Consultant and it pays my bills. I do real estate for my own investments, and trying to help out those around me that want some good advice. I am not a full-time agent. I have time restrictions.

I can offer my time though after my normal working hours. There are many tools that agents can use to automate the search process and develop working relationships using the latest and greatest technology. It is this technology that keeps me into this business. I think it levels the playing field for me against other agents.

I also make a commitment to my clients. I generally only work with close family and friends, so my time is their resource. Some agents might not have the time to work with an undecided buyer. I have worked with some clients in a matter of hours. I have worked with some in a matter of months. The effort is there to give them the most information possible to feel good about their decision.

I wanted to post this so that people know where they can find some good advice. Obviously, I would like some business, but I don't mind giving my two cents where necessary. I have a full-time job that pays my bills. The extra cash I make doing real estate is a 100% bonus to me. I would rather earn it through your trust than to make a deal to pay my bills. I hope this post clarifies for people what my real estate job is really about.

Featherrented!

Here is something a little new. Featherrented!!!

I posted my house at 73 Arlington up for rent on Carleton's website. I managed to have 7 different groups come a couple of Saturdays ago. After some due diligence, I was able to find a group of suitable tenants for May.

The ad was only posted for a couple of days, and I was able to get 7 different groups of 4. Since then, I have received over 50 calls from students looking at renting. I knew that it would be easy to rent, but I never thought it would be that easy.

New Mortgage rules

I realize that I am a little slow with my post, but I thought I would help some first time home buyers understand what had happened last week with some changes to the mortgage rules.

In reality, there hasn't been a lot that had changed. The changes were made only to the riskiest of borrowers. The loan amortization had been reduced to 30 from 35. Home lines of credit were no longer being insured by the CMHC. The maximum borrowing amount is now 85% of the home's value, down from 90%.

What does this mean? It really does not affect first time home buyers. First time home buyers should be qualified based on a 25 year mortgage. The fact that it is reduced from 35 to 30 has little impact. First time buyers also do not need home lines of credit as they have not built any equity.

My personal theory (and please seek your own professional advice) is that this is just a signal of some of the measures that are going to come into place in the near future. My prediction is that home buyer's are soon going to need a larger down payment to purchase their homes. This will affect first time home owners. It's not easy to save for such a large lump sum.

There are factors that you should consider before jumping the gun on purchasing a home. You need to understand how the CMHC insurance premium works on homes with less than 20% down. I would suggest that you consult a mortgage professional to truly understand the implications.

My job as a real estate agent is to educate you on all facets on purchasing a home, so that you can find the information you need to make the right decision for you or your family. After all, the home is likely going to be the largest investment in your life.

New Year

I just thought I would wish everyone a Happy New Year! Of course, I'm going to put my real estate twist on it. I'm going to make a real estate resolution. I want to get a few more real estate courses done this year. Thankfully, they are offered on weekends and I shouldn't need to take any vacation time.

There are some particular courses on property management that look interesting and may add some additional value for people. I already think with my CA that I have some of that in my arsenal, but I never pretend to know everything. I want to make sure I can help my clients to the fullest potential.

Feathersold!

I guess I was a little late with this. I have a deal on a duplex that closes early February. It's just in time to pay some of the Christmas bills.

This was a great investment property. It was a duplex just on the outside of beechwood. My client and I had been searching for a few months - waiting on the right deal. This deal will make the house affordable for my client and some income potential down the road.

This is the value that I think that I bring to my friends and family. I can afford to be patient with my clients to make sure they get what they want. I think it's only fair given the fact that they may have to be patient with me as I do have a regular day job. I can't interfere with that, but if two parties want to get a deal done, a deal will get done. It hasn't been a problem yet, so I don't see why it would be down the road either.