I had a conversation with another Real Estate Aassociate today about Commercial License plates for Real Estate Agents.  I know!  You're thinking... "What?"He told me that he found out that Agents qualify for the commercial license plate to be able to park as rockstars so to speak.  Why is this significant to me, you ask?I say this because in this Olympic City of Vancouver in Canada we've had our meters timed to count not until 8pm as they used to do (but they are metering until 10 pm now!), which is dreadful and reminds us only how much money we spend on parking.  Apparently with commerical places we can park virtually everywhere a delivery truck can park!  And virtually for FREE! Alleys, Main Street Commercial spots, Commercial parking spaces close to most residential buildings and the... 09/30/2010

 My favorite Active Rain news articles of the week are as follows.  You really have to give it out to these writers for sharing this information, and I am doing so here: (1) If Bill H.R. 5028 is passed in the US it will mean that those who foreclose on their property will be able to rent their properties from the bank at market value.  This "Proposed Bill in Congress Could Crush Housing Industry"  In my opinion,  this constitutes another form of usury in my opinion.  If i was a homeowner in that position I am not sure if I would accept.  Think of it this way.  If i have no more title to the property and pay rent for the property, (1) it means the banks themselves don't see the value in the property and don't believe that it will sell, it also means that (2) the banking systems are becom... 09/27/2010

Wht's the scoop with High Definition video and Visual Tours?  I just found out about High Definition video for my listings at a reasonable cost, and my eyes and their appetite has gone 'wow! I want it!'.   I mean, just look at this page and check out what they guys can do.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not a newbie to visual tours and technologies like that.  Not that there's anything wrong with that!  Right?  In fact, I've been using the VisualTour company for my listings' "visual tours" and it's worked out great.  They keep great statistics of visitors, track where these people are from (approximately), and update me on what's not performing as well as it should.  It's a great price-point primarily because I've been able to use a regular camera 8.1 megapixel to take pictures which the soft... 09/27/2010

Vancouver Olympic Condo Inventory Surplus of Olympic condos in Vancouver is definitely not moving as fast as was hoped by developers.  The present statistics are as follows:  there are 483 units in the former Olympic athletes' village remaining and their sales are indeed sluggish. That is nothing compared to what's coming.  There is a new development scheduled to begin shortly across the street from the Olympic Village.  This development, called the "Wall Financial Corp's" development slated to put out another 550 units of "semi-affordably priced" units within the next three years. What does this mean to the condominium inventory in Vancouver Downtown and Beyond?  Well, the answer is complex: On the one hand (1) I see the prices of all the condos in downtown getting affected by this ne... 09/25/2010

You have all heard of the owner of Mr. Lube, and Boston Pizza, as well as a few other foundations and businesses: The Trelivings.  I just read an article about their real estate holdings in the National Post, citing their holdings in Palms Springs, Dallas, West Vancouver and Vancouver Downtown as well as White Rock, as well as Toronto.  They boasted having the entire Team Canada to their home, after the 2010 Olympics, to celebrate their success!  Not bad.To the point: They are reputed as saying the buying real estate in Vancouver is one of the best decisions they've ever made.  Now, if wealthy and upscale business families say this, it must be true.  I find it comforting that money from diverse circles around the grobe sees the unique and exclusive air of the Vancouver real estate marke... 09/24/2010

  To Buy or To Lease a Home Be advised that there are some caveats about leasehold properties you should understand which "may" apply to this property.  I advise that you address these items as they "may" apply to this specific leasehold roperty.  If you don't get the answers to this please let me know and I'll help.  Not each caveat applies to each property so always seek the advice of a Professional REALTOR®. Leasehold Properties mean this to a potential "buyer" of such properties: - You are a "leasehold tenant" of the property you purchase, with fewer right to the property than you think - indeed you do not "own" the property in the sense you think you do. - Purchase of a leasehold property sometimes requires a minimum of 25% down payment for banks or lenders to provide a mortgage.  ... 09/23/2010

OPEN HOUSE IMAGE   Saturday, Sep 25, 1:30-4:30.  V849382, #909-1331 W. Georgia Ave.New flooring + fresh paint at The Pointe by Concord Pacific in Coal Harbour - Excellent floor plan with one bedroom and den. Den could be 2nd bedroom. Floor to ceiling windows with views to Burrard Inlet. Bright and spacious. Large insuite storage. Features exercise facilities, 24 hour concierge and business center, ideal for home office. Steps to Robson St, Stanley Park, Seawall, Coal Harbour and the heart of financial district. Well-managed and well-maintained building. Great for living or investment. Don't miss out on this one! All measurements are approximate, buyer to verify. Sunday, Sep 26, 1:30-4:30.  V837638, #104-985 W. 10th Ave.Grd Lvl Corner  1 Bdrm 606sq/ft unit with wrap around 300sq/ft  pat... 09/23/2010

susankeevil.com is proud to present our Downtown Vancouver Attached Market Update for the period September 13 - September 20. Listing supply continued to rebound this past week after trending downwards to start September.  We saw 203 new attached listings across Vancouver West (up from 131 new attached listings in the previous period) with 112 of those listings falling in the downtown neighbourhood (an increase from the 66 new attached listings in the previous recorded period). The downtown core neighbourhood continued to account for the largest supply ratio with 63 new attached listings (or roughly 56% of all listing activity for the downtown areas).  Coal Harbour saw relatively static listing activity with 15 new attached listings, well False Creek North also remained relatively stabl... 09/22/2010

20100922 Coal Harbour Townhouse Photo I'm not a proponent of any doomsday or bubble talk, because not only does it not help anyone but because every dacate present dips and waves in the markets.  I'm certainly seeing sales and there are a large number of motivated buyers in my portfolio.  That said, there are certainly listings which are expiring and are getting re-listed again, and this is what I'm going to discuss briefly here.  There are a few examples of listings which have expired and have been relisted over three times.  One of my favorite sites out there is the VREAA (the "Vancouver Real Estate Anecdote Archive"), it does a good job balancing the standpoints on expired listings among empirical data supporting anti-bubble opinion. An interesting article I've come across is a brief... 09/22/2010

There is a lot of negative news out there.  I don't have to list it, it's everywhere you look.  And then, in an otherwise conservative newspaper, the Financial Post, I seem to have found an "optimistic" gem. Apparently Vancouver is seeing an all time low vacancy rate in the business rental sector.  More specifically, "if you're thinking about setting up shop in downtown Vancouver" good luck, as these have been almost "wiped out."  According to the statistics in the article, the Vacancy rates are not only among the lowest in the country but the rental rates for the same commercial properties are among the highest in the country!  Both variables paint a doubly-optimistic picture of Vancouver's business optimism and, secondly, Vancouver's innovative spirit. Further to this, the article poi... 09/21/2010

Blood: It's In You To Give   I've been a blood donor for some time now.  It doesn't seem to have much to do with real estate except for the analogous parallels between (1) finding clients their homes, (2) making them fortunes in smart real estate investments, or (3) just making sure they enjoy safe and mold-free environements in their homes.  Real Estate and health actually DO have a lot in common, so this article rides that wave to another level. I can't tell you how and why I started giving blood except to say that "it was in me to give" and it just made perfect sense.  I remember needing blood only a few times in my life after getting hit by a car on my motorcyle in my youth and, for my second time, after earning my black belt whilst accidently breaking my jaw after a karate competi... 09/20/2010

Have you ever had strange requests from clients you never anticipated?  I've recently been asked by more and more of my clients to find properties by postal code.  Now, asking about neighborhood names, schools, parks and so on is something not unusual - BUT postal codes searches, have definitely been something I've not had to do much.In solidarity with my fellow REALTORS(r) out there, then, here is a great resource for us Vancouverites that should make that job a little bit easier.  Unfortunately I don't have "zipcodes" in this article.  I apologize in advance, but I haven't looked up zipcode lookups for my friends south of the border but, alas, I'm sure you can figure it out.  REFERENCES:A great postal code lookup website.   09/19/2010

Refresher Course for Stagers - Do You Take One? Today has been a very busy day.  I became a CCSP (Certified Canadian Staging Professional) about a year ago in August.  My instructor at the time was Jackson West.  I remember being super excited to have Jackson West as our instructor, because I loved his website, and realized that here was someone "big" teaching our course.  Of course, Jackson's company, Reveal Estate, has an amazing portfolio of before & afters that appealed to my design senses.  I could totally relate to his clean, streamlined, modern approach to staging. Fast forward a year to today.  CCSP offers alumni an opportunity to re-take the staging course as a refresher.  I was quite keen to take the course again and see what was new in the staging world.  Today was the first ... 09/18/2010

Digesting Real Estate News This article is an invitation to discuss the world news on real estate :)  To hit it off, from my personal/professional standpoint, here is my 2 cents. For the first time in weeks have I read an article that manages (better than others) to consolidate the thought around the upcoming fall-market. It's a mix of reports among the continuum of (1) gloom/doom on the one hand and, on the other, themes of (2) assurances and positivism that we also know aren't entirely true. Both extremes are paving a road for Aristotle, it seems: the proponent of the great "middle path." The Post article (referenced below) talks about TIME Magazines' fickle hither-and-thither opinion changing from boom to gloom and therein lies their (in-)credibility, and talks about other articles.... 09/17/2010

Map Screen Shots for Out-Of-Town Clients Ever experienced this?  I've been lucky to work with an increasing number of first-time buyes TO Vancouver who have never been IN Vancouver before or their visit was ever so brief they have no idea how the greater city layout even looks like.  As you know our Real Estate climate is unique and uniquely priced given our land sparcity, economies, and proximity to water, mountains, and the US border -- all three reasons to almost want to bulldoze the mountains and fill in the ocean to lower those real estate prices, you might say, faceciously.  There are many other reasons for this which I'm sure you're familiar with, so I'll skip that :) To my point, and something you can do in a matter of minutes on any platform, is send your client a quick map-scr... 09/16/2010

Tips for 1st Time Home Buyers in Vancouver Episode 6: Working with a Realtor, FINTRAC and the Remuneration Disclosure Part 6 in a series of videos that provide advice to Vancouver Buyers on the purchase of their first home. Your comments and questions are important to me and other readers of this blog. Write to me and I will reply! You’ve found the home you're looking for... What next? You have an idea of what this dream home is worth, as discussed in Vancouver First Time Home Buyer Tips Episode 5, now you and your Realtor need to draft up an offer or Contract of Purchase and Sale as it is officially referred to in BC, that will be submitted to the Seller and that informs the Seller that you are serious about buying the property. STOP! Time for your Realtor Disclose EVERYTHING IN WRITIN... 09/16/2010

Go Truck Go - Environmentally Friendly Movers     As much as I’d like to, I just can’t keep these guys a secret anymore.  I have found the most amazing moving company.   I’d just love to keep this little secret to myself, but that just wouldn’t be fair.   Go Truck Go is an environmentally friendly moving company.  ‘Environmentally friendly’ and ‘truck’ usually don’t find themselves in the same sentence, but this is an exception.   Sean Edwards is the owner of Go Truck Go, and he takes pride in operating a special, light-weight truck that basically runs on vegetable oil.  Not the kind that you fry eggs in, but an alternative to gasoline.    “We run a blend of petroleum diesel and waste-stream biodiesel. This reduces our emissions and makes use of waste oils that would otherwise go to lan... 09/15/2010

  Scrapping the HST good/bad? It's hard enough to pinpoint, exactly, what the HST has actually done to the Real Estate business.   Are the supposed negative effects just disinformation?  It's spiked the spring markets before July 1st, of this year; it created a backlash and coupled conservatism in Real Estate buyers due to inadequate information about how the tax affects them; it has increased the cost of living by another 7 percent; among other factors.  The question I'd like to ask is what it would mean to be rid of it?  Today, an article on Canadian Real Estate Magazine said that "B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell says his government will ditch the harmonized sales tax if British Columbians vote to rescind the measure in a referendum next year."(September 14, Referendum in B.C. could scra... 09/14/2010

Dreamy Décor at the Home & Interior Design Show Modern, elegant, contemporary, laid back, relaxed.  These would be adjectives I’d use to describe the furniture styles at the fall Vancouver Home & Interior Design Show.    One of my favourite displays was Once A Tree Furniture.  Beautiful dining tables constructed of spectacular woods.  I also loved the huge, organic oversized vases they had displayed on the table, one standing up, and one laying down.  Wouldn’t this make a great centerpiece on a table in a staged home?   Urban Barn had some great, new, contemporary art and I loved the mixed textures on the bed cushions.                            ‘The Art of Art’ was a very interesting display of contemporary artists, displaying their original art, behind a backdrop of funky, contemporar... 09/14/2010

I'm sharing a wonerful resource with all of you, especially if you know any first-time buyers/sellers or returning investors coming to Vancouver who need a group of professionals pronto!We've put all the professionals in ONE room just for YOU!Time/Date: September 29 · 7:00pm - 9:00pmLocation: REMAX Crest Realty Westside (Free Parking)Address: 1428 W. 7th Ave., Vancouver, BCCreated by: Jark KrysinskiHere is a workshop about buying real estate you don't want to miss!  Given the price "corrections" out there, this workshop comes at a great time.Buying or selling real estate is a big decision and the more informed you are, the more successful the process. This interactive workshop gives you an opportunity to meet a great Team of Professionals to learn the pivotal tips and tricks and ask the... 09/14/2010