Say goodbye to summer by adding a few cozy fall touches around your house.
Time to put away the sea shells and nautical themes and bring out the golds, oranges and rusts.
There are so many fun ways to welcome fall into your home and add a splash of color to your front door. It doesn’t take much to make a statement, have fun with the new season.
Enjoy the crisp days, warm sweaters , raking leaves and putting the gardens to bed.
Sales of residential units in Kamloops were down in October, a slip in what has otherwise been a year of double-digit sales increases.
The number of homes sold last month, at 202, is down about five per cent from the same month in 2014.
Sales in the city are up by 15 per cent through the first 10 months of the year. The median price for a single-family home in Kamloops came in at $367,000.
Cyndi Crossley, president of Kamloops & District Real Estate Association, said one trend that will affect both buyers and sellers is a decline in inventory. Residential listings on MLS are nearly 10 per cent lower than a year ago.
She said other markets, including Chilliwack, are experiencing the same decline in listings — a factor that can lead to increasing prices and a so-called sellers’ market.
Another notable aspect for the month was sale of 10 units valued at more than $600,000.
“That’s not what the Kamloops market is typically made of,” she said. “That should be encouraging for those with higher-priced homes.”
The busiest slice of the market is in the $320,000 to $360,000 range.
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This email was sent by Linda Klein of Royal LePage Westwin Realty- Kamloops
800 SEYMOUR Kamloops, BC, V2C2H5 |
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Reposted letter BY GREG NINO
Several times a year I am approached by people who want to become a Realtor. Many of them think it’s a great way to supplement their income while they keep their day job. A lot of others are interested in a career change. I decided to type this blog to save myself time. Each time I’m asked I’ll simply send the inquiring person a link back to this post. So, with that said, grab your favorite beverage and read below, because you’re about to get a heavy dosage of what it’s like to start a real estate career.
1. PASSING THE EXAM is easy. Creating a business with real income is a different story.
2. Now that you have your license be prepared to lose friends and get your feelings hurt. Most, if not all of your friends and family will avoid using you the first year or two that you’re licensed. Simply put, you don’t know what the hell you’re doing. Earn your battle scares. Even after you’ve gained experience, you’ll have friends and family who will not work with you because you’re a friend or because you are family. It happens every day to Realtors across the country.
3. If you don’t spend money you won’t make money. You needs to spend THOUSANDS of dollars to create a business. Most of what you are thinking is a cute and new idea has already been tried a thousand times. You will do what every new agent does… spend money (A LOT OF IT) on the wrong things. Over and over again. There’s a famous saying in this business…”If you want to get rich in real estate, sell stuff to Realtors.”
4. You and your smart phone will become inseparable. You will have to get up from eating, watching a movie and sleeping to take calls, return emails and respond to text messages. Of course you don’t have to do this, but you also don’t have to make any real money in this business. You’ll get out of it what you put into it. Ignoring a call could be a $20,000 mistake. Or more.
5. Be prepared to be second guessed, doubted, questioned, accused and lied to repeatedly. Buyers and sellers have the propensity to lie just like you and the guy next to you at the grocery store. People have perceptions about lawyers, mechanics and police officers. They have them about us too. Even after years of experience there will be clients who will second guess your every move. This will never go away.
6. You will show thousands of houses. Showing a house isn’t just about unlocking a door. Sometimes you get rained on while showing. Sometimes the house says active on the market when it’s already under contract with another buyer. Sometimes you are late to the appointment because of traffic. Maybe your buyer will be late. The number of things that can go wrong are practically endless.
7. Almost nobody will respect your time. Almost everyone thinks you are over paid.
8. Expect people to ask for kickbacks both legally and illegally. Buyers and sellers will often want to haggle with your commission.
9. You will pay taxes. A lot of taxes. Expect to pay for the gizmo you use to unlock doors. You will pay for this yearly along with dues to three different associations. You’ll pay for signs, lock boxes, tools, equipment, cameras, advertising for both you and your listings, leads, websites and on and on and on.
10. You will pay for your own health and life insurance. There is no 401k matching in real estate. You are an independent contractor. In fact, YOU will PAY to be at your local real estate office! The broker will take money from you. You will also pay for an office if you want one. Your phone is your costs. Your internet is also your costs. So is your paper, pens and everything else imaginable. You’re running a small business. It’s ALL your costs. You’ll also pay for errors and omissions insurance. The list is really long. Yay!
11. You will get screwed in this business. It’s not for the naive, light hearted, ignorant or thin skinned. You will work your rear end off and sometimes not make a dime.
12. You will deal with a certain number of psychopaths each year.
13. You will meet criminals, convicts and felons, especially if you work in the leasing industry.
14. Strange men and women will ask you to meet them at houses RIGHT NOW.
15. You might get a gun pointed at you while showing a house or two. Sometimes rabid Pitt bulls will chase you down.
16. Expect to get towed at least once.
17. Eventually you’ll get in a wreck while showing. You better hope your clients aren’t with you. Is your auto insurance updated correctly?
18. There is no disability insurance. So, if you break a leg while playing softball you’re screwed. It’s going to hurt your business.
19. You might get sued even when you aren’t at fault.
20. When you become successful your competitors might file complaints on you because they are jealous. You won’t like this.
21. As you show houses you’ll be in questionable neighborhoods from time-to-time. You need to learn self-defense, carry a gun or a can of mace. Everyone should be concerned about their safety.
22. Be prepared to leave a social event early to run and show a house or to get yelled at by one of your clients for something you did not do. It doesn’t matter, you are the chew toy sometimes.
23. It’s likely you’ll get audited by the IRS. You have too many write offs and once again… you make too much money.
24. Lawyers are annoyed by Realtors.
25. Expect to list homes and never sell them. No agent sells every home they list. You will waste time, money, energy and resources.
26. Your signs will be stolen, spray painted and eventually played with by the local kids.
27. Your flyer box will always be empty because kids, passerby’s and neighbors will take too many. Sometimes they’ll take all of them in one day. Then you’ll be chastised for not having flyers in the flyer box.
28. Did I mention you’ll deal with at least two crazy people each year?
29. EACH real estate transaction you work means you are likely dealing with at least 8 different people.You’re responsible for 15-20 things. Right now I am trying to close 11 contracts. I am a little stressed. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about my paperwork, my clients and my business.
30. You will become an unlicensed therapist, divorced lawyer and counselor. You aren’t allowed to give legal advice, and you shouldn’t. You aren’t a doctor, but everyone will unload their personal lives with you. You will sometimes live their life.
31. Your spouse will at times hate what you do for a living.
32. Your wife/husband will despise the fact that you are always on your phone.
33. When you’re sick… you still work. There’s no floating holidays.
34. While on vacation…. you still work. You can get an agent to cover your business, but NOBODY will care for your business the way you do.
35. Sometimes when you make mistakes it costs people money. You can’t just apologize.
36. You have to have a nice car. You must wear nice clothes.
37. When you first get started everyone will know you don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s a fact. This sucks. But if you stick it out, you’ll be okay. 75% of the new agents don’t make it.
38. You get to work with agents! Not all of them are put together correctly. A lot of your problems in this business will be because of the other agent. You will get upset, angry, pissed and offended. Ego’s are here too.
39. Wait for it….. friends, neighbors and family will ask you for real estate advice while they are involved in a real estate transaction….. YOU aren’t.
40. Other Realtors will give your client advice when they aren’t supposed to. Every buyer and every seller knows an agent somewhere.
41. Each market is different. Very different sometimes, but that won’t stop friends and family from influencing your client. Your client will become confused at times.
42. You have a better chance of meeting E.T. than you do working real estate part-time and being successful. It takes time, effort and money to be a part-time Realtor. In fact, being a part-time agent can be even more difficult.
So why do agents do this?
You’ll have the amazing opportunity to reap what you sow. You can work when you want. No matter how bad your boss is (client) you are only working for them for a certain period of time. You get new bosses all the time. You can make a real difference in a lot of people’s lives. You literally help shape dreams. YOU can be the difference in someones life as they look to sell and buy a home. And not all clients, buyers and sellers are bad. Most of them get it. It’s awesome when everything works out.
And sometimes the money is really good.
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When homeowners receive provincial Property Assessment notices, some will smile and have a bit more spring in their step, feeling the assessed value is accurate or perhaps even overly positive. Others will wilt and lament a modest gain or even a decrease in the assessed value over the previous year or period. Reactions will of course vary factoring in the potential increase in property taxes that tends to come along with stronger assessments. The reality, setting aside taxation concerns, is that neither parties’ emotions should be tied to the ‘value’ printed on these notices.
A provincial property assessment is an approximate value based on the (broadly) estimated market value as of the previous years. There is a lag time between the estimation of valuation and delivery of the envelope. It also fails to involve a formal site visit or viewing of the inside of the home to consider either significant upgrades or significant deterioration.
To put this in perspective, few lenders will work with a detailed official appraisal report that is even 90 days old. Most prefer a report completed with 30 days, as markets can move significantly month over month.
For these reasons, among others, a provincial property assessment should not be relied upon as a totally concrete indicator of value for the purposes of either purchase, sale, or financing.
Always enlist a licensed professional, or perhaps even two or three, in order to get a timely and detailed appraisal of current market value. This will provide a much more accurate reflection of current market values reflecting recent comparable sales, value for zoning, renovations and/or other unique features to the property. An appraiser is an educated, licensed, and heavily regulated third party offering an unbiased valuation of the property in question.
Think of your provincial property assessment as something akin to a weather forecast spanning far larger and more diverse areas than the unique ecosystem that is your neighborhood, street, and specific property.
The forecast may call for rain in your city, yet you might have a ray of sunshine radiating upon your street specifically.
Selling your current home and moving into a new one can be stressful enough, let alone worrying about your current mortgage and whether you’re able to carry it over to your new home.
Porting enables you to move to another property without having to lose your existing interest rate, mortgage balance and term. And, better yet, the ability to port also saves you money by avoiding early discharge penalties.
It’s important to note, however, that not all mortgages are portable. When it comes to fixed-rate mortgage products, you usually have a portability option. Lenders often use a “blended” system where your current mortgage rate stays the same on the mortgage amount ported over to the new property and the new balance is calculated using the current interest rate.
With variable-rate mortgages, on the other hand, porting is usually not available. As such, upon breaking your existing mortgage, a three-month interest penalty will be charged. This charge may or may not be reimbursed with your new mortgage.
Porting conditions
While porting typically ensures no penalty will be charged when you sell your existing property and buy a new one, some conditions that may apply include:
Courtesy of :Starr L. Webb AMP
Franchise Owner / Mortgage Expert
Phone: 250-574-0115
In the five years since B.C. increased the height limit for wood-frame buildings, new structures have been popping up all over the province. Now lumber’s biggest advocates are predicting they can build higher than they ever expected.
Since 2009, when the province raised the limit for wood-frame buildings to six storeys from four, 202 new five- and six-storey buildings have been approved, including 58 that are already complete.
Among the finished structures are the two buildings at Sail, a six-storey condo development at the University of B.C., the five-storey Library Square development in Kamloops and the five-storey Riverport Flats rental development in Richmond. The new projects come as the province pushes to revitalize the forestry industry and find new markets for wood projects.
But builders can go even higher than six storeys if they use mass timber — also known as massive timber. Unlike the light-frame or stud construction used to build houses and low-rises, mass timber is made by bonding together thin layers of wood to create a material that is much stronger and more fire-resistant than lumber.
To get approval for mass timber structures higher than six storeys, developers must prove that the building will be just as safe as if it were built with concrete and steel.
Vancouver architect Michael Green has been one of the world’s strongest voices in support of tall wood buildings. He grabbed attention with the audacious claim that mass timber construction can be used for structures as tall as 30 storeys, but he now believes he wasn’t shooting high enough.
“I’ve been saying 30 for a long, long, long time … but I picked the number 30 out of the air,” he said.
“I am quite convinced that we’re going to get to 40, we’re going to get to 45. I don’t know where we’re going to end.”
He believes that as these buildings push higher and higher into the sky, concrete and steel will be incorporated into the structure in an attempt to get the most out of each material.
Green’s firm designed the Wood Innovation and Design Centre in Prince George, a seven-storey mass timber building at the University of Northern B.C. that was recently completed and should be cleared for occupancy in a few days.
Now he’s got his sights on much bigger things. Although he couldn’t give any details, he said his firm is now working on a “very large timber project” in Minneapolis with a large developer that has traditionally built skyscrapers.
And later this week, Green will submit his proposal for a groundbreaking new 16-18 storey wood student residence building at UBC.
“It will absolutely be the world’s tallest. It’s absolutely one of the most important wood projects to be announced in the last, well, ever,” he said.
“It’s a huge step for UBC and even if I don’t get the project, I’m tremendously honoured that everybody has embraced the idea to this extent.”
Green talks about wood with reverence, describing the beauty of lumber and the human desire to be surrounded by natural materials.
But he has practical reasons for advocating for wood as well.
“Sixteen per cent of the world’s fossil fuels go into making steel and concrete,” Green said. “How can we build big buildings in wood that sequesters carbon, that’s very low energy, that we can grow more of, that’s a renewable resource?”
On Monday, forest research organization FPInnovations launched a technical guide to help builders become familiar with wood as a construction material. It includes peer-reviewed research on building techniques.
Natural Resources Canada, which funded the creation of the guide, said in a news release Monday that “increasing the number of tall wood buildings is a priority for economic growth opportunity.”
Conroy Lum, FPInnovations’ research leader for structural performance in advanced building systems, said that incorporating wood will be key as the world’s population grows and becomes even more concentrated in urban areas.
“There’s going to be greater demand for buildings, both to provide service as well as to house people,” Lum said.
“If we can we do it with a material that allows us to deal with minimal impact to the environment, that would be preferred.”
He believes that Canada’s building codes are in need of a reboot to reflect the fact that fire-prevention science has advanced significantly in recent decades.
“Let’s start from fresh. Let’s look at the materials closely. Let’s see how can we go about building and designing with wood that will help us mitigate the risk,” he said.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/future+highrises+Wood+naturally/10112748/story.html#ixzz3ANhsbcxF
| The data included on this website is deemed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate by the Kamloops Real Estate Board. The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS® and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license. |
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