Some people seem to walk through life charmed, with a lucky turn waiting around every corner. Most of us, however, tend to find our luck in little ways throughout the days by capturing the moments that mean the most to us and keeping those memories close at heart.
I feel extremely lucky each and every day… lucky to be able to count my blessings… lucky to be able to care for my family and friends… and lucky to be able to truly do my best for those around me. How fortunate we are to have new chances, new challenges and new discoveries waiting for us. No need for lucky charms or four-leaf clovers, not when we have the opportunity to continuously learn, grow, give back and contribute to this wonderful world we live in.
I am blessed to work in an industry that allows me to do just that. As a REALTOR®, I have the opportunity to serve my community by sharing my real estate knowledge and experience with people who are very important in my life: my customers. I will always be here for you, with undeniable passion and unwavering commitment. The way I see it, the best part is the fun I have making good friends and lasting memories along the way! How lucky is that?
British Columbia’s Home Inspectors To Be Licensed
The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) is pleased with the BC Government’s recent announcement to license home inspectors, effective March 31, 2009.
“As a REALTOR®, I know it’s important for my clients to have the best property information possible,” said BCREA President Scott Veitch. “An independent inspection is a great starting point for consumers to learn about property conditions.”
Since 1998, the Association has recommended the government license home inspectors. Now, BCREA looks forward to the development of meaningful standards to ensure consumers receive adequate protection.
“Solid information helps consumers have confidence in their home buying decisions,” added Veitch. “And confidence and protection are necessary for the excellent quality of life we enjoy in British Columbia.”
About BCREA
BCREA represents the 12 real estate boards in British Columbia and their REALTOR® members on all provincial issues, providing an extensive communications network, required licensing and continuing education courses, economic research and analysis, standard forms and government relations.
About Quality of Life
If wishes were horses
beggars would ride
If turnips were watches
I would wear one by my side
If men were innate heart-breakers
I would just take them in stride
If mom were one of those heaven-shareholders
it would then be our forever sense of pride
If I were the dragon of the century
I would fly over your hobbit hut and
ask you for a dance.
I LOVE you mom ....always!
A Poem written by Maria Mak ...dedicated to my beloved Mom
Love is unconditional and universal, not only limited to lovers in narrow minded sense....wishing all fellow woman and man good love and truly live to love and be loved.
Happy Valentine's Day to Everyone
The one positive we've seen amongst all the economic headlines these days is the historically low interest rates. In fact they're so low that many homeowners are wondering if now would be a good time to switch out of their current mortgage.
Whenever you cancel a mortgage, you are faced with paying a penalty because you are essentially breaking a contract. Now that penalty can be either 3 months interest or an Interest Rate Differential - or IRD - as it's more commonly referred to. The IRD is calculated based on how much your current bank stands to lose - so it can often be quite sizable. Having said that, with rates being so low, we've seen many cases where the savings far outweigh the cost of the penalty, so it's certainly worth analyzing the difference - especially if you only have a few years left on your current mortgage.
For all your real estate services or if you have any questions regarding your mortgage financing, please contact Maria Mak at Sutton Centre Realty at 604-839-6368 , you'll be smiling too!
Below is a copy of the latest statistics release. To view the complete stats package for January, please click on the following link: January Stats. For more information on REBGV statistics, please visit www.realtorlink.ca.
News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Home listings withdraw as sales volume slows VANCOUVER, B.C. – February 3, 2009 – The first month of 2009 saw a continued reduction in the number of homes listed for sale in Greater Vancouver, while sales volumes in January were the lowest for that month since the early 1980s. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that sales of detached, attached and apartment properties declined 58.1 per cent in January 2009 to 762 from the 1,819 sales recorded in January 2008.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined 20.9 per cent to 3,700 in January 2009 compared to January 2008, when 4,675 new units were listed. Total active listings in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 13,966, down nearly 6,000 listings from October 2008. Overall residential benchmark prices, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, declined 10.9 per cent to $489,007 between Januarys 2008 and 2009.
Canadians who want to sod their lawns or renovate their bathrooms will get a tax break worth up to $1,350 as a key plank of the government's effort to inspire spending.
For a certain sector of consumers, 2009 could become the year of the reno, following the announcement yesterday of a Home Renovation Tax Credit that lets taxpayers claim 15% of their fixups until Feb. 1, 2010
The federal government said the incentive will provide about $3-billion in tax relief to some 4.6 million families.
The tax credit, which is available for homes and cottages effective immediately, is designed to boost construction, forestry and other industries.
Taxpayers can claim renovations on their 2009 tax returns on costs over $1,000, but not exceeding $10,000.
The list of eligible expenses for the tax credit includes renovating kitchens, bathrooms or basements; new carpeting or flooring; building additions, decks, or retaining walls; installing furnaces or water heaters; interior and exterior painting; or driveway resurfacing.
Routine maintenance does not qualify.
Such things as new furniture, appliances, tools, carpet cleaning and snow removal are excluded.
When selling a home , the marketing effort must be coordinated on all fronts. It also must be superior to the competition. This is especially true in a buyers' market where the homes sitting on the market seemingly outnumber the potential home buyers. In such an environment, you must lift your home out from this crowd and highlight it in the best way possible. You must out-think the competition.
All good marketing efforts begin life as a sound, basic plan and then evolves to fit the particular property and situation. Cut from whole cloth and then tailor-made, such a plan will incorporate innovative new ideas and "rearrange" old ones.
1. Select a Quality Realtor . There are also some who are little more than "order takers" who literally can't properly write out a contract, much less have the hard-won knowledge needed to position your home in the most appropriate and effective way for your particular market. So how do you find such an experienced, market aggressive realtor? Ask around. Check with friends and get some names. When selling in today's market, you need to be in the hands of a practicing "doctor" and not someone eager to practice on you.
With mortgage rates heading for record lows, is this a good time to be taking a variable rate mortgage?
This is a great opportunity to pay off some principal and anyone who is sitting in a variable rate mortgage below 3% today should take advantage of that over the next year and not lock in. Consumers who are buying a home right now want to know if they should take a long-term or variable mortgage.
The cost of a variable rate mortgage is still expensive for the banks and as such, they are charging up to 1% premium on Prime and locking in is starting to look very attractive.
All indicators are that liquidity is returning to the markets which will help ease the pricing on the variable rate mortgages - so I'm still a big fan of taking a 12-month convertible mortgage today with the ability to convert it to a variable at no cost when the discounts return. Prime rate is not going to stay this low forever. Consumers want to know when to expect to see rates rise.
As the warm sun trying to pierce through the thick muddy cold fog this morning, I was so glad to see the darling sun beams dancing joyfully on my desk as I was writing the blog finally…of course the whole world is excited as today is the day of the inaugaration of the 44th President of the United States. I am deeply moved by Obama’s address, I sincerely wish "HOPE" will bring the Change and the Change will lead us out of the darkest chapter in our journey. It is tough but we will get there.
I was an immigrant from Hong Kong and I brought my dreams with me when I made my first footprint in Vancouver 26 years ago. I truly believe if we hold on to our dreams, we can make Impossible Possible…someday, somewhere, somehow, we will make it work, it will be , have to be!
May God bless Barack Obama and his families, and the United States of America , and of course our beloved homeland Canada, and my families and my loved ones ,and last but not least may God bless each and every dignified and hard working fellow man and woman in this peaceful world.
Jim Rohn said it best when he said, “Don’t wish for things to be easier, wish for YOU to be better!” This is advice I think a lot of us could use more in our lives. If you study the law of attraction, you learn that when you worry and focus on your competition, you attract more competition, SO STOP DOING IT!
If you subscribe to the idea that there is plenty of whatever it is you do out there for everyone, you stop worrying about competition. When I am out and about at events and businesses, I hear a lot of business owners and real estate professionals talk about their competition, and typically in a negative way.
There are two main reasons not to do this. Number one is if you subscribe to the idea of the law of attraction, which I do, you understand that energy flows where attention goes and you focusing on your competition only creates more competition for you! A great example is elections. The media talks about how bad someone is and they end up winning!
The second main reason is when you talk about people or competition, you are reducing the amount of time you can think and talk about your own business. I don’t care who you are, your business can always be improved! Spend your time and energy thinking of how to make your own business better and that is time well spent!
