It is common knowledge that real estate is one of the best vehicles towards your dream of financial wealth. The majority of us as home owners have most of our assets in our primary property. This is a milestone in itself but there may come a time when you are ready to move into the next stage... investment ownership! There are many pros and cons to investment ownership that I will discuss today. One such topic is Capital Gains Taxes (CGT). This is not an overly complicated subject but is often not understood. Firstly, CGT is not paid upon your primary residence. A primary residence is one such that your address is registered and you have occupied this home for more than six months. On investment properties, your gains will be taxed as income. For example, if you buy a condo for $200,000 and sell it for $300,000 then your gains are $100,000. Here is the kicker... only 50% of your gains are taxable. This holds true for all investment gains! So if you make $50,000 per year, and you have gains of $100,000, therefore your taxable income will be at $100,000.  This means that 50% of your Capital Gains are tax sheltered unlike RRSP's, GIC's and bonds! This is an immense reason why you should get into the investment world. In addition to all of this, there are the many tax

 deductions you receive on an investment property such as mortgage payments, property management fee and repair & maintenance; all of which can be deducted from your yearly income. Here at xtremerealtor.ca we realize that  each investor is unique so we suggest that you call us for a free consultation. We want to apply our innovative Real Estate Strategies that match your exact needs! It's never too early to start learning as much as you can about real estate!

Home inspections are a pivotal part of the home buying process and are almost ALWAYS recommended. There are certain situations where home inspections aren’t used to strengthen an offer in multiple offer situations but these are rare and not suggested unless completely necessary. These inspections can yeild problems with the property that can be assessed at the time. The absolute worse case senario would occure when a home is purchased and the buyer later finds out there is a problem with a house that if they had known about it, would have changed their purchasing decision. Choosing the right home inspector CAN be difficult process if done on your own. It is important to consult with family and friends to find a reliable inspector that has good references. Your friendly neighbourhood realtor should also know some good inspectors as it is their job to deal with these people on a day to day basis. You should also contact several inspectors in your area and interview them in advance to find their qualifications. Be sure to do your own independent investigation of the Inspectors’ qualifications.


Questions to Ask

1. How long has the inspector been in business AS A HOME INSPECTION firm and how many inspections have they done?

2. What is the inspectors speciality?  Is the inspector specifically experienced in RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION? Townhouses? Condos?

3. Ask what educational/training the inspector has/will attended. Does the inspector participate in continuing education programs to keep his/her expertise up to date? Ask to see the inspector’s papers. When hiring a company, make certain that your home will be inspected by a REGISTERED professional.

4. What does the inspection include? Inspections should include visual inspections covering exterior, structure, garage, plumbing, heating, cooling, electrical, interior, insulation and ventilation. Extras include radon testing, a pest infestation survey or inspection of septic systems or wells. Be sure the inspector will provide a written report.

5. How much will it cost? Determine fees up front. Inspections cost from as little as $200 to as much as $1,000 depending on the size of the home.

6. How long will the inspection take? The time depends on the size and age of the home, the average is 2 to 3 hours. Condos have been known to take up to 1 hour.

7. Does the inspector encourage the client to attend the inspection? We here at XtremeRealtor.ca believe this to be one of the most important aspects of choosing a home inspector. We understand that life is busy and for most people it is hard to find time to be at the home inspection. The fact of the matter is, you are purchasing a home and you need to have as much information as possible on how to take care of your home properly and efficiently because it is the biggest asset you will ever own. No one should be too good for this information. This is a valuable educational opportunity, and an inspector’s refusal means you should look for a better qualified inspector.

8. Does the company offer to do any repairs or improvements based on its inspection? This might cause a conflict of interest. We do not recommend that you deal with these firms.

9. Do they belong to an association that will investigate a consumer complaint?

10. Do they carry errors and omission insurance?

One of the great things about choosing a good inspector is that they will be able to tell you what problems exsist with the property. If bigger problems are found, they can then be renegotiated into the price at that time. This is the point where having an experienced real estate consultant can help you out. Would you be able to handle this on your own? Hire real estate professionals so that all your ends remained tied!

The Real Estate business is all about energy. As a Real Estate consultant; we

are constantly on the move, servicing clients and learning about the market.

Life is busy and you don’t have time to be a parent, friend, health enthusiast, mechanic and a realtor! Your choice of realtors is pivotal to your success when you are in the market. Like in many other business’ experience is a key component to the negotiating power of a realtor. But let us take a look at some other aspects of real estate that you haven’t thought of. Older realtors who have multiple clients and multiple listings have their time divided between too many things at once. More experience also means a familiarity in dealing with business that can sometimes lead to taking certain aspects of this business for granted. Those of you who think this may be untrue have never talked to someone who has had a bad experience with a realtor. These realtors can be ego driven, hard to get a hold of, impossible to deal with, and worst of all, operate on the wrong side of the law giving shady advice. This of course does not speak for all experienced realtors but as a realtor we all know someone like that.

 

As young realtors we have the gift of perspective that only comes with youth. A way of thinking and marketing that has proven to be hungry for new business. Most importantly we have a work ethic that is deserving of your business as you are a valued client. Carefully not over extending ourselves, following procedures to the “T”, and being daring in our approach to business are all great reasons to choose a young hot shot realtor. Let me give you an example. We had a client who was looking for a house in Sullivan station. This area is renowned for being a hot spot and listings are sold within days of coming onto the market. After losing three multiple offer situations we decided to take this to the next level to find our client the right home. We knocked on all the doors in the area that fit their needs to see if any current home owners would consider selling their home for the right price. We ended up finding our client a home last month in a market that seemed to dictate their failure up to this point.

 

This is an example of going above and beyond to service our clients. This is the energy and free thinking that makes young realtors so virile in the business of real estate. So when you are standing at the coffee table or family gathering or backyard BBQ and Jo Jim Jacobson is talking about his realtor, ask yourself, would my realtor do that for me? The answer could be YES, call XtremeRealtor.ca today to start your consulting relationship.

 

We have been doing open houses in Cloverdale for the past month and the business is really starting to take off. We met with a couple looking in that area and they choose us because of our professionalism and demeanor. Today we have removed subjects on a home in the $700,000 range for them. We are very pleased with how this transaction has transgressed. Our clients had very specific needs that required their new home have two master bedrooms and also be close to a specific school for their daughter. Our organization and communication with this client has proven to them that we were the right choice. Once again we were able to find them their dream home on only the second session out looking at homes. Unlike “traditional” realtors; this track record proves our ability as consultants to listen to our clients to find them the best product possible. We take it on ourselves to communicate with our clients as opposed to blasting them out to as many homes as possible. At the end of the day we are business owners it does not help us or our clients if we do not truly understand their needs. They are also XTREMELY impressed with the level of service they have received in this transaction as we personally took care of all the bumps and hiccups that occur during the buying process. Check out the testimonials on our website that are soon to come.