What are the Advantages of Owning a Home?

Becoming a homeowner has so many rewarding advantages. Sure, it can seem like an arduous undertaking if you’re a first-time buyer, but a little bit of hard work and financial commitment are worth it in the long run.

Here are just some of the many advantages of owning a home vs renting:

Homeownership Builds Long-term Wealth & Equity

Unlike buying a car or motorcycle, a home is an investment that isn’t going to depreciate much over the years, especially if you maintain it! Kelowna’s real estate market is thriving, and as one of the most desirable places to live and retire in, it’s a low-risk place to invest. With each passing mortgage payment, you’re slowly but surely paying down your loan and building your equity.

Over time, owning is by…

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Is It Cheaper To Buy or Rent in Kelowna, BC?

Here's some food for thought…the average rent for a 2-bedroom unit in Kelowna is currently $1,600 per month.

What does this mean for those who are renting in the Kelowna residential market?

• 1 year of rent is equivalent to $19,200
• 3 years of rent is equivalent to $57,600
• 5 years of rent is equivalent to $96,000
• 10 years of rent is equivalent to $192,000

Conventional wisdom tells us that money spent on rent over time is being flushed down the toilet because you're paying off someone else's investment. If we look at the flip side of this, for most people who can muster the down payment, buying is the better choice. When you own your Kelowna property, that $1,600 per month will be going towards your own investment and not someone…

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The Science Behind Creating Demand (Multiple Offers)

Multiple offers don’t just happen by chance, there is actually a science behind vastly improving your odds of getting a bidding war on your property. If you watched my last video on what to do in advance of listing you know that an appraisal, a pre-inspection and a staging consultant should be brought in before the marketing starts.  Now there’s the MLS launch date and that’s where things start for most agencies marketing plan, at Vantage we believe that the 7 days leading up to the listing launch are the most important. There are a number of ways that we can start creating awareness and excitement for the listing using coming soon sign toppers, social media blasts, networking within the team and exposure to a large database of buyers and select agents.…

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What to do in Advance of Listing your Home for Sale

 Let AJ fill you in on the top 3 things you can do to prepare your home for sale for the most money and quickest sale.

Host: A.J. Hazzi of Vantage West. We promised to give three tips on how to get more value in selling your home. So what are they?

A.J.: Sure. Well, what you want to do is get way ahead of it. About five to six weeks before you're gonna sell your home, have somebody come over, an agent that specializes in maybe flipping homes, something like that, to give you some consultation on what you can do before you list the property to get it in tip-top shape. Five to ten grand before taking the home to market will usually result in anywhere from 10 to 30,000 more in the sale price by spending the money in the right spots.

Host: So…

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The Consultative Approach

We believe that the role of a real estate professional is so much beyond being a salesperson. Sadly the public perception of a real estate agent is that of a pushy salesperson that is out for their own best interests. We believe that the role a realtor plays in their clients lives during a real estate transaction is every bit as important as their Lawyer their accountant and even their financial planner. It's time the real estate industry owned this responsibility. At Vantage, we offer a consultative service that is far removed from selling you a house. We educate you on the market, share insight from our own experiences investing in our personal portfolios and leverage the collective knowledge of a team with thousands of transactions under their belt.…

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Using A Buyer's Agent

When buying a home you have a couple options for how you can go about working with Realtors. But there’s a big difference between the services offered.

One option is to call the listing agent, that’s the name you see on the for sale sign. Now this agent is able to answer your questions on the property, arrange a viewing for you and tour you through the property. That’s where it stops, so what do you miss out on going at it this way? Number 1 - Undivided loyalty, A buyer’s agent working exclusively for you does not have their loyalty divided between his existing listing client and yours, he works for you and you alone. They will prepare and structure an offer in your best interest, negotiating the price, terms, dates and inclusions that suit and protect…

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14 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Real Estate.

The market it is hot again and just as we saw membership in our profession balloon from 2004 till 2008, we are seeing it again with no slow down in sight. Personally I welcome this new breed of professionals into the industry. It is the new blood that innovates, pushes the industry further and prevents stagnation. As an old battle worn ninja, yet still young enough to relate to the new class of white belts coming entering the business with zero clue what to expect. I give you the class of 2017 these pearls of wisdom all learned the hard way at the world's most expensive yet least prestigious school of hard knocks.

1. Guard your reputation in the industry with your life.

It's not enough to just do right by your clientele. You need to make sure…

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Sellers: Top 4 Must-Do’s If You Plan to Sell in 2018

Must Do 1: Consult a professional REALTOR®

As I stated in an earlier blog titled “Sellers: 3 Must-Ask Questions for Your Realtor”, if you’re planning on selling and looking at doing some improvements beforehand, we can’t emphasize enough the importance of getting a consultation first. Talk to the pros. Professionals know the market, where it’s heading, what buyers are seeking, and how to help those buyers tick off all the right boxes in the most cost effective ways. The most important strategy is to base your decisions on what buyers are looking for. You must not base your renovation decisions on your own personal tastes – your likes and dislikes. The key is to make those choices based on what the broadest range of buyers are looking for so you can…

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Sellers: 3 Must-Ask Questions for Your REALTOR®

Question 1: Where can I invest 2-5k so I can see a return of 10-20k when it sells?

So where are the smartest, most strategic, return-centric places to spend your investment dollars if your exit strategy is a sale – whether a quick flip or a decision to sell? We can’t emphasize this enough - get consultation. Talk to the pros. Professionals know the market, where it’s heading, what buyers are seeking, and how to help those buyers tick off all of the right boxes in the most cost effective ways. The most important strategy is to base your decisions on what buyers are looking for. You must not base your choices on your own personal tastes – your likes and dislikes. A consultant will guide you through that process and keep you focused.

It’s not…

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Fear and Greed - What You Need To Know About The Kelowna Real Estate Cycle

I recently had the privilege of speaking at the mayoral state of the union address. Amidst all of the optimism surrounding our region and the seemingly endless growth and opportunity, I wanted to deliver a dose of practical realism to the group as we move through a predictable cycle. There’s a fortune to be made in real estate if we detach from the emotion, and become strategic and proactive in our approach. This article is an expansion on what I shared with the group. It’s precisely what I am doing inside my own portfolio.

At my firm we are tracking all 17 market drivers and a dozen different market influencers, so that we know exactly where we are in the cycle, and more importantly, what’s coming next. Since the market always moves through 3…

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