Month: March 2019

A day in the life of a real estate agent…

~ Dean Desrosiers

A lot of people ask me about becoming a real estate agent. I could write a book with the answers. A day in the life of an agent is an interesting thing.

This is a typical Wednesday for me.

5:15 am – Awake. Double check schedule for the day, get cleaned up, smell nice, leave the house at 6:25 am.

6:45 am – Arrive at referral breakfast group to meet 35 of the nicest and most committed entrepreneurs in Kelowna. Heckle a little bit, give my one-minute elevator speech, enjoy the 20-minute vendor presentation, finish up breakfast, drink 3 cups of coffee and by 8:30 am I am ready to move on.

9:00 am – Team meeting with Robyn and Luke. We discuss closings, confirm lawyers and details and any keys, lock boxes and client gifts. We also discuss up and coming listings and buyers we need to provide support to. We go through each listing and look at the data, showings, feedback and create an action plan to discuss with the client.

10:30 am – Time to look at emails and make a few outbound calls to clients, lawyers, bankers, home inspectors and to mop up any urgent concerns.

Noon – I usually skip lunch Wednesday because the results of the team meeting will often have me focused on a project. Robyn will often grab me laksa on her mid-day walk. Luke will have adjusted my chair in an attempt to make me fall out of it and lunch will be eaten at the office and sadly, rushed.

2:00 pm – Client showings. This time of year, March, the inventory is often growing so mid-week showings are usually onezy twosy. Often I squeeze in another set of showings at 5:00 pm for clients who work during the week.

3:30 pm – Check listing inventory, confirm emails are going to active clients, finalize any CMA’s (comparative market assessments) that are due for clients. We complete about 4 to 8 CMA’s a week depending on the time of year and often not always for buying and selling, Some clients are curious to know the current value of their property and we are always happy to help.

5:00 pm – Showing of home

6:30 pm – Arrive at my own home. Dinner with Wendy and often rushed.

7:00 pm – Office work at home. Send feedback to agents from showings. Receive feedback from agents who have shown my listings. Confirm interest levels, send emails to agents to see how much buyer or seller interest exists. Today, no offer will be presented or written so I can be done by 8 pm.

8:00 pm – quickly confirm the schedule for Thursday. Toastmasters starts at 6:45 am so I will need to arrive at 6:35 am.

Common Interruptions:

No two days are ever the same but often, significant interruptions will occur.

Dropping off and picking up family, Booking showings for my listings, Writing Offers – requires brain time, receiving offers, sitting down with sellers and buyers on short notice to work through the details.

If it’s a good day, I will have helped at least 3 to 5 clients move their interests forward.

A great day is helping clients and also getting time with Wendy and my kids.

One reason your real estate market will not crash!

~ Dean Desrosiers

Quickly scan the internet comment sections regarding housing prices and you will see a large number of folks commenting on the impending crash of prices and the fall of the capitalist system.

However, there is one simple calculation that will tell you if the sale price of houses is acceptable for the area. It’s not the only criteria but this method works well for most of the markets.

Remember back when I said there are 3 ways to value real estate? This method is based on the Income Method. It utilizes the relationship between the cost of ownership (principle, interest, taxes, maintenance, utilities) measured against the rental income.

This value is expressed as Net Operating Income and you will sometimes hear the term CAP Rate.

In simple terms, if the property can be rented out for an operating income which exceeds the expenses to own it (a net), the property is considered a good investment. How much net operating income varies based on the property. Older properties require higher CAP Rates because of maintenance and variable expenses. New properties can often sell for lower CAP Rates because of less maintenance.

At press time a variable rate mortgage is 3%. Buy a 4 bedroom house at $620,000 and put 20% down and your mortgage for $500k will be $2100 a month. Monthly Expenses? Taxes $300. Water $100. Insurance $150. Maintenance $200. Utilities are a wash as renters and owners both pay these. Total monthly cost is $2,750.

Three things to consider.

  1. About 40% of the mortgage payment pays down the principle so the entire mortgage is not an expense. About $800 a month in equity is building for the owner.
  2. A four bedroom house in my area rents between $2,500 and $3,500 a month. So, this house may be a good investment.
  3. Some people may create a 1 bedroom suite and rent it out for $800 to $1,100 in my area. Which, makes ownership of this home much less than rent!

Understanding Net Operating Income and CAP Rates will turn you into a savvy real estate investor in no time. In the short run ask your Realtor® for these stats and buy with confidence. Your home and investment are on solid financial footing.

It’s your story to tell.

~ Dean Desrosiers

Real Estate agency relationships are private and confidential. The things you say and do with your agent are… between you and your agent.

By knowing your private thoughts and motivations, your real estate agent is in a careful place to offer advice. A good place. A place to trust.

An ethical agent will hold back from the disclosing anything about your relationship, even it’s existence. Yet, top agents survive by referral. A referral is a recommendation from a past client, friend or associate. So, your referral is needed and vital.

If you liked working with your agent and he or she offered good advice and service please share.

What’s my house worth?

~ Dean Desrosiers

The number one question people want answered in real estate is “what’s my house worth?”. The answer, “that depends”.

The current trend online is to attract viewers with online and automatic valuation tools. “Click here to learn the value of your home”. Surrender your email address and then prepare to get dripped (marketing jargon for emailed, texted, called on a regular basis until you purchase or threaten death to the caller). These tools offered by Zillow, REMAX and many other providers are simple lead generation schemes. Here’s why.

Markets are local. A two story home in one part of town on a busy street might look similar to the same age, style and size as another but place this home in a “better” part of town on a quiet street and the price will be dramatically different. Minor differences in location can mean a lot.

Statistics are History. Current transactions between buyers and sellers happen fast and only become statistics 30 to 45 days later. The average first time buyer writes 2 to 3 offer before they acquire a home. This could happen in a matter of days. Following statistics, which are used by online systems for valuations, are no help to buyers who are in the hunt. Buyer’s who are activity looking at houses understand pricing better. Therefore, online valuation tools can easily be 30 to 45 days out of date which is a long time for buyers.

Tax Assessments are Wrong. The assessment authority will admit, “we don’t ever see the inside of the homes we are assessing”. When tax assessments are low, homeowners rarely complain because it means lower taxes. When the assessment is perceived to be high, homeowners fight them! Or, they sell! Tax assessments are not to be relied upon.

Buying is largely emotional. Smart buyers view multiple homes, learn pricing differences between features, areas, style and age. However, when a buyer walks into “their” new home, the choice is often automatic and partly emotional. Statistics cannot capture “feel”.

3 Methods to Truly Value Your Home. There are three accepted methods in the industry for the proper valuation of real estate. Each method will also have derivatives. Cost Method – what would it cost to buy the lot and replace the home in today’s construction dollars. Income Method – the value of the property if it was rented out and generating income for the owner/investor. Comparative Market Assessment – Comparing the subject property to local sales of similar homes against houses currently listed properties for sale.

Online tools are fun. Simple as that. The most important question is “why do you need to know the value?”. Are you selling, borrowing money or just want to update your financials?

A competent realtor who knows your area should be able to advise you and with the added bonus of no harassment! Valueations are often performed free! After all, what’s your time worth?

3 Reasons to stay loyal to your listing agent…

~ Dean Desrosiers

Not every house sells in 90 days. And, if you ask top producers, the main reason is the price. Yet, real estate markets are not so simple. Many agents invest thousands of dollars in your listing. If it doesn’t sell, the risk and loss to the agent are high. Whether your house sells or not, is not a reason to let your agent go and try a new one. Here are my thoughts as to why you should stick with your agent.

One: Professional Marketing. Did the agent use professional HD photos? Was the listing posted on the top real estate sites? Were the listing details compelling and accurate? Did the property look good? Many agents cut corners to save money and these short cuts and omissions can reduce exposure and cost you money. Selling property requires good marketing. Your listing does not need to appear in every magazine in town (in fact, print is the last place I would post) but the marketing plan needs to look good and cover the bases.

Two: Regular Reports and Contact. Do you get the “stats” on your listing? How is it doing in regards to page views, internet hits and likes? How has the data changed since the listing start date? How is it tracking now? The best thing about internet marketing is 100% of it is traceable. All clicks lead back to the listing and the “data” does not lie. You NEED this information. It will help you understand if you are priced correctly and if there is buyer action in your area and so much more. You should also get feedback from showings. Some say feedback is not really helpful. The best feedback is an offer of course!

Three: Your agent is full time and active in the area. I live in a unique area. So do you. My neighbour listed their house with an agent from a different town about 30 miles away. Not a long distance but far enough that the agent does not show or sell in our area much, if ever. The house was listed slightly overpriced in a heat of the market last year. A minor adjustment in price and the house could have sold. Instead, more than a year later, it’s sitting there. While I don’t know the seller’s motivation, I see this often. Hiring the local expert and one who works at the profession full-time is always prudent.

Staying loyalty to your full-time agent is the best gift you can give. Working by contingency (getting paid if something happens) is a hard road and many people just can’t handle the ups and downs. Giving your agent an extension, price change or relist is a solid strategy. It shows them that you respect their advice and appreciate their work. At the same time, make sure you are getting the real service you deserve.

D.Desrosiers 2019