Now that flipping homes has made a resurgence in popularity, I want to give you advice about how to do it properly.

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Today, let’s talk about something near and dear to my heart—flipping homes. This is something that I consulted many people on about 10 years ago during that last real estate boom. During the slump, it went out of style, but here we are again at the height of another real estate boom.

Flipping homes makes good sense in this market, so today, I’ll be giving you an updated version of the right way to flip homes.

A lot of people make the mistake of just buying a home, adding a profit margin, and then just taking a price that they think they’d need to justify the whole…

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Will the new British Columbia budget heavily impact the real estate market? Here’s what you need to know.

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Today, we’re going to discuss the new BC budget and what the potential impacts are to our real estate market.

1. Foreign buyers tax. The foreign buyers tax has increased from 15% to 20%. The interesting part is that it now includes us, where we were exempt before.

2. Property transfer tax. Properties over $3 million will now have a 5% transfer tax. If you buy a $3.5 million house, you’ll see about another $2,500 on your transfer tax bill. Is that going to dissuade someone at that price point? Not likely.

3. The BC Home Partnership program, which was giving first-time buyers a…

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Don’t fall for these bad ideas if you plan on investing in real estate in 2018.

 

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2018 is a new year, which means new opportunities. However, there are a few bad ideas that you should avoid this year.

1. Do not get your information from the media. You probably clicked on this video because of the negative headline, right? Keep in mind that almost every economist, from the Bank of Canada to RVC to the credit unions, expects 3% to 7% growth this year. That is not much of a headline, so the headlines will all be about bad news because bad news sells. Look at economic models to know what’s really going on. Of course, we’ll continue to roll out our educational videos about the actual…

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By now, you’ve probably received your property tax assessment in the mail. You may have mixed feelings about the large increase we’ve seen in property values lately, so I want to dispel some common misconceptions about property tax assessments.

A lot of people assume any increase in their assessment will equate to the same increase in their property taxes. In other words, if their property’s value goes up by 20% in their assessment, then they’ll see the same 20% jump in their property taxes. That’s not the case, though. How property tax assessments are done is a little more complicated than that.

Assessors also take into…

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We hear headlines like the central Okanagan home values are up 8.5% year over year and that’s great, but which neighborhoods in Kelowna are driving that appreciation? Which neighborhoods are performing well above the regional average? Whether you’re an investor looking to buy in the hottest little pocket or just a homeowner curious to know how your neighborhood stacks up, this little comparison should be of interest to you.

Before we jump into the top 5 growth neighborhoods, here is a bit of context to give you a frame of reference. The bottom 5 neighborhoods only appreciated by between 4% and 10%.

OK and now for the list. You will note that the top 3 are essentially in a 3-way tie and at 23% price growth. A couple tenths of a percent can be swayed…

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UPDATE - READ THE UPDATED 2017 Q3-Q4 VANTAGE REPORT HERE

With the first half of the year on the books, I wanted to summarize where we are at during these interesting times.

The Desire for Investment Properties Is Staggering

As you might expect with two years in a row of double digit property value growth in the Okanagan, and the headlines that go with it, we have seen the number of properties purchased for investment increase by 40 percent. This is a combination of baby boomers looking to augment their retirement income and out-of-towners catching wind that Kelowna’s market is in the full swing of a real estate boom and looking to get a piece of the action.

Now not all real estate investments in Kelowna have performed equally. Some have…

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I like to tell war stories. You know, the really gritty, tough moments of being a Kelowna real estate investor—the nightmare tenants who are 3 months behind on rent, the money sucking roof repairs, flooded basements, and backed-up sewer lines. Maybe it's a badge of honour, or maybe I just like to vent, but inevitably every time I share one of these trials with someone I get a similar response. People say “Yeah, I just don't think it's worth it” or “Seems like it's not worth the hassle”.

Now, to be fair, typically the people I'm chatting with aren't high-powered executives or independently wealthy types. They're regular, working-class people like you and me, who work a 40 or 50+ hour week in exchange for a wage or salary. Most of them are daily…

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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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The Kelowna real estate market is pretty hot right now. Just in March, my team managed to sell 46 homes - and we haven’t even hit the busy season yet. We don’t expect market activity to slow down at all, and buyers will continue to eat up our low supply of inventory. This means that sellers can get great prices for their homes. To learn more about how you can benefit in our market right now, watch this short video.

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Before you start worrying about the recent increase in interest rates, I want to let you know what I think about the situation. It's not nearly as dire as some people have been led to believe. Your affordability should remain intact. Watch this video to learn more!

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