calgary — Page 2 — Phoenix Real Estate

Calgary Real Estate Market Cooling?

August 16, 2021 by admin

The National Post sure thinks so, inspiration for this article from shenanigans out east.

There has been a sentiment that the market will remain hot forever, now we all know that what goes up must come down. The stats are unfortunately behind the times, some seller’s still optimistic that they will get multiple offers are turning down valid ones to hope for a higher offer down the line…which may never come and some are getting frustrated.

Also, having many buyers who bought homes at the start of the year now those buyers are “out of the market” or have already bought a home and are no longer in the buyers pool.

The pool of fish has been reduced in number and the fish that are in the sea at the moment are more pressed on budget (due to the stress test) so this is creating a trend toward a balanced market in most areas of Canada especially in Calgary where we have depressed economic fundamentals. The following national post article goes into more detail on some unfortunate seller scenarios.

Do you think the market is cooling off in your area? Let us know what you think, contact us to book a discovery call to chat about real estate.

To your success,

Tim Reid

-Respect The Hustle

http://ow.ly/l6SE50FRPya

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: calgary, sales, wealth

Calgary Real Estate Market Real Deal

August 13, 2021 by admin

What is going on in the market? Is it slowing down? Is it speeding up? Are there still competing offers?

These are the questions that I get often both as a realtor and investor these days. There is no simple answer, but what we are seeing on the ground is what I had predicted for the most part back in April/May with the looming stress test and the opening of the economy (whatever that really means is up to your personal world view!).

Summer generally sees a shift in buying behavior with kids being out of school and vacation mode kicking in. I have a number of deals on the go at the moment which have been heavily impacted by what I call the “vacation factor” -so that happens to residential as well in any given year.

Inventory is up, buyers pool/motivation has shifted, and financing is now harder to get – this will have downward pressure on pricing as well as speed of sales. Reminder that sales are only recorded by the real estate boards once the property closes…so it could have sold 3 months ago and now is just getting reported.

There is now the ability to show properties relatively easily whereas bookings were tough for the first few days of any new listing on the market. There can still be competing offers for aggressively priced properties relative to the competition in a given community.

Investor demand for renovation projects remains strong, as there is a lack of new builds in the closer in amenity rich neighborhoods. Also, certain schools with differing programs with a draw radius draws families to those areas as well.

Properly marketed properties, that show well, and are priced right are selling very well under the 600K mark where more expensive homes have flattened out/slowed down. If you would like to learn more about how to get top dollar for your home or sell privately in the non-traditional way contact us today for a discovery call.

To your success,

Tim Reid

-Respect The Hustle

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: calgary, Coaching, market, realtor, wealth

Real Estate Market stats and trends

July 26, 2021 by admin

Many people have asked where the Calgary real estate market is heading, which is a common question – now not having a crystal ball in my back pocket using data of the past can help with the outlook moving forward.

It is helpful here to state that the age old “past performance is not an indication of future performance” however history tends to repeat itself and real estate goes in cycles. The cycle has been shifted, compressed, and disrupted from the norms the last year due to COVID-19 for sure and what comes next is volatile to say the least.

This article was helpful to average out the stats for canada, here are some highlights

Prices Paid

31% of buyers were involved in a bidding war during their home purchase
66% believe that the bidding process should be more transparent and that all parties should be privy to the bids submitted
45% said if the bidding process was transparent, they’d be less inclined to use a real estate agent
32% of buyers incurred unexpected housing costs, including:
- moving expenses (32%)
- land transfer tax (25%)
- home inspections (24%)
- mortgage application fees (14%)
- mortgage-default insurance (13%)

Down payments

37% of respondents put down more than 20% of their home value
- Of those, 28% wanted to avoid paying mortgage default insurance
- 26% wanted to pay down their mortgage as fast as possible
Of those who put down less than 20%, the top reasons were:
- lack of funds (47%)
- wanting to keep money for other expenses (33%)
- comfortable with their current debt obligations (15%)
Top sources for down payments included:
- savings outside of an RRSP (38%)
- equity from a previous home (25%)
- RRSP savings (11%) – have rrps started to die?
- gift from a family member (8%)
- a new loan (5%)
- a HELOC (4%)

One shocker I was not expecting as a “industry investor” is that 61% of people went to their existing financial institution to get their financing. WOW! The banks may give you the best rates, but there are many more features of a mortgage which is a 5 year deal (in most cases) and a 25-30 year commitment with the bank and let’s face it the banks interest is in making the most money not giving the best deal to the client.

Use a mortgage broker, at least to get a second opinion – they can also explain why there is more to a mortgage than the interest rate: fees, portability, fixed VS variable, blended mortgages and more.

Original article here: https://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/2021/07/majority-of-canadian-buyers-borrowing-their-maximum-approved-mortgage/

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: calgary, Investing, money, Realestate, wealth

Post Covid-19 What Comes Next?

July 9, 2021 by admin

Calgary and most other areas of North America are starting to open up an restrictions are lifting. There has been a unprecedented uptick in sales in Calgary real estate as well as many other markets across the country – many have asked us…why is that?

I have seen recently a number of articles starting to catch up on the trends that industry veterans like us have known for months. The primary reasons this happened in Calgary/Alberta at large was the following

Low supply – builders stopped building due to lock downs and shut downs mandated by the public health orders.
Never before seen Savings in Canadian bank accounts. Without spending money on entertainment, eating out, and frankly just about everything for a year in many cases caused an flood of cash into savings accounts and into the equities markets.
Low interest rates – the central banks across the world dropped interest rates to keep businesses afloat and keep credit accessible to keep the economy moving as much as possible when so much was locked down for many months.

Now, that is what caused the market to move in ways not supported by fundamentals. Let’s face it if you ask anyone in Calgary or Alberta at large if the economy is doing well….you will not get very positive answers. Is it in-migration from other parts of Canada or the US? NOPE We have seen the lowest numbers of net in-migration in years to Alberta.

So I think any industry person would agree that the current state of affairs in real estate would be artificial, (at least in Alberta for certain) some supply and demand factor at play but the above three reasons are the cause.

Now that the world is opening up I have to wonder…what comes next? Will we have a repeat of the roaring 20’s like some have predicted? Which would include a large number of people going back to their old habits, OR will we have a cross section of the population choose to form new habits with a percentage of those savings and INVEST them?

I am not suggesting that anyone not live life and go on vacations (we need those!) or even eat out again and stay cooking at home. What I would suggest is that the families that are eagerly awaiting borders to open up and theme parks to come back online, and all the other discretionary spending that was waiting for the pandemic to end – consider taking a percentage of those funds and invest them using diversification to create wealth.

Creating wealth is a system, and one that the longer you work that system the better the results will be. Real Estate is the most reliable way to create wealth (that is why we love it), but you need diversity in that sector as well as into other sectors such as the equities markets, and business investments that pay you dividend income as well. We have done, and still do, all 3 which is what I like to lovingly call the “3 pillars of wealth”.

Which set of habits will you keep after the world goes back closer to “normal” whatever that means, my hope is that we take the lessons learned during this global event into the future and things are never the same again, in a good way.

Contact us today and let’s book a discovery call to answer any questions you have about real estate, business, or wealth creation – we are here to help.

To your success,

Tim Reid

-Respect The Hustle

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: calgary, covid19, Investing, Realestate, weatlh, yyc

3 Tricks to buying a new home from a builder.

June 26, 2021 by admin

When buying your first home, you might look at buying new or “resale homes” both are very difference processes. With a re-sale home bought through the original or future owners most choose to work with a Realtor in Calgary or other markets.

Having an agent to navigate you through the process, help with referrals to service providers, really makes the process a lot smoother for many buyers.

When buying a new home, driving up to that shiny sales center with the smiling representative in that gleaming show suite/show home is very exciting! However there are some things that many buyers do not know about the staff working in there.

Firstly, the best way to not get tricked is by being educated about the dynamic.The staff in the sales center work for the Developer, they are paid to maximize profit for their employer – not get the best deal/value for money for the customers that walk through the door. They do the best they can with the scenario they are given, remember that they work for the “man/woman” not really for the customer.

With all new product sales GST is applicable, for all new home sales in Alberta GST will be added to the purchase price and the price of any upgrades made to the property prior to construction. There will need to be disclosures singed to acknowledge that you understand were an how GST will be calculated for the sale.

The most important thing to consider is that the builder will more often than not use THEIR OWN CONTRACT for the purchase. This is often non-negotiable and the builder’s team of lawyers have written this contract in their favor – not the consumers. Like any good business their lawyers wrote that sucker to protect THEM not YOU. Having this reviewed by your real estate agent or your own lawyer is highly recommended. (both would be a best practice)

Buying a brand new-home with new home warranty in a brand new building or a spanky new house in a new community with great amenities and new schools is exciting, make sure you keep that excitement all throughout the process by asking good questions and having a professional help you through the jungle -that way you are protected and often will be able to negotiate a better deal.

As always if you have any questions about this or other real estate topics, contact us today to book a discovery call.

To your success,

Tim Reid

-respect the hustle

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: calgary, homesale, new, Realestate, realtor, yyc

Calgary Real Estate Market Heating up?

February 26, 2021 by admin

The Calgary Real Estate market for buyers, sellers, investors is certainly a strange place over the last couple months. Everyone thought that after all the deferrals were done there would be a flood of foreclosures. Are they still waiting in the wings? Could be, but the low inventory situation that we find Calgary in right now has created an atypical surge in sales.

Low interest rates and much higher than average savings in Canadian bank accounts due to pandemic lock downs have allowed many families to inadvertently save up a down payment! Now, not all sectors of real estate in Calgary are moving fast:

Luxury homes are slow moving over 1.5M in most areas of Calgary – some areas of aspen have seen motivated sellers drop prices 100’s of thousands of dollars to get the homes sold
Condo market for apartment style homes in the inner city has been a slow mover, with inventory here being far higher than demand.
Older un-renovated homes under 1000sft which are normally sold to developers are slow to move because spec-home developers are being very cautious on their purchase prices for lots.

Single family and semi-detached homes are moving quick, also demand for half-duplexes with no condo fees has skyrocketed due in part for the buyer now seeing the possibility of adding a basement suite for having that extra revenue. I had a younger client recently tell me that that type of property would be great for his first home so that he could rent out the 2 suites when he decides to upgrade – what a smart young man! I wish I was thinking in those terms when I was younger, things would be very different now if that were the case.

We are seeing CS properties before I can get clients in to view them, properties going 50K over list price, and even private deals which we specialize in normally not having as much competition…we got outbid by a neighbor for a private seller of a lot I was working on selling to a builder contact of ours! Ouch – losing out on a private deal in a great location is not normal operating mechanics for Calgary real estate.

The stats won’t support this opinion, but I am seeing a balanced market at the moment in Calgary and if we don’t see a volume of inventory hit the market by spring when it gets warm and everyone wants to move….then we could have a seller’s market on our hands.

What do you do in a sellers market VS a buyers market? Good question – contact us and we are thrilled to help advise/answer questions on what could be the best strategy for your goals.

To your success,

Tim Reid

-Respect the hustle

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: calgary, Investing, Realestate, realtor, wealth

Credit Repair Mysteries – how do I fix my credit?

October 29, 2020 by admin

Credit is a mystery for most people that are not in banking or finance. For most people, if they have a good job and never defaulted on a credit card bill (the bane of many a millennial that didn’t know better and said screw telus/rogers/bell when they were 14 and then find out that really screwed up their credit when it was brand new) then you would have been able to get credit cards, car loans without too much trouble.

Then when you first think about buying a house you go into your bank (not my recommendation) and the cheerful banker asks you to sign some forms and fill in an application then plugs a bunch of numbers into a database tool and it spits out a number you can qualify for. That number was shockingly low for most people that are middle class, just like I was a bit shocked with I first tried to buy a property for myself – about 180K was my approval….which at that time in Calgary could have bought me a beautiful single story outhouse in a bad part of town!

So it was at that time I decide to buy a nice car because a house was out of the question, and after all I couldn’t drive the house to work…so that made sense to me at the time. Looking back is always easier than looking forward, was the the best financial choice? Maybe, maybe not – but as luck would have it that was just prior to the top of the market in the 2005-2007 era right before the crash. So, sometimes things work out even when we don’t have all the info to make the informed decision.

Now, some people might get a different answer from the banker’s little software – congrats you can afford 400K! If only your credit score didn’t suck and it is below their allowable guideline (typically 650+ for the “big 5” in Canada). At this point is where most people learn for the first time that your credit score is a big deal – unfortunate timing when you have a lease ending and you want to go house shopping!

The banker will know very little about credit and possibly give you some terrible device – so beware banks are not in the business of credit scores they are in the business of banking! Talk to a specialist or an amazing mortgage broker who knows about credit repair.

What to do? There are also many credit counseling advisors out there, which can give you good habits to follow. What we suggest is that you talk to a credit repair specialist that knows real estate and how to fix credit fast – because who wants to wait another 2-3 years? That will help expedite the process, contact us and we can recommend rock stars in this field.

Credit matters – why they don’t teach this somewhere in schools is unfortunate. We are here to help, also dispel myths about home buying such as: if you go bankrupt you can’t buy a house for 7 years. That is total BS and if that’s you give us a call because we have options. Home ownership could be closer than you think.

To your success,

Tim Reid

-Respect The Hustle

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: calgary, Coaching, education, Realestate, wealth

Let’s Talk Goals

September 8, 2020 by admin

With school now back in session for 2020 and a lot of uncertainty in the air, the last thing on the mind of a lot of business owners in real estate and others is their goals for the last quarter of the year.

Just because it is hard to see the horizon, does not mean you can skip having a destination! Imagine for a moment the mayflower not having a destination of coming to Canada…” North America or thereabouts” would not have got our ancestors here to our great nation!

We often think of the things we DON’T want as opposed to what we DO want:

I don’t want to go broke
I don’t want to get divorced
I don’t want to lose my job

What you put out into the universe (or god of your understanding) is what you will get back – having your focus on your intentions and GOALS consistently will move you toward them. It has been said that “what you focus on expands” so if you constantly focus on what you DON’T wand then you will get more of that.

Having goals is very important, however often they wind up like resolutions – never accomplished and only done once or twice per year. Thinking about your goals ALL THE TIME and re-visiting them and re-evaluating them to get valuable data on how well you doing (or not doing sometimes) is key to making them happen.

We have all set goals that maybe we didn’t meet in the timeline that we set out….sound familiar? The conclusion our lizard brain can make in this scenario is that “setting goals doesn’t work, I never meet them anyway” which is of course not true just feedback that there are adjustments that need to be made.

When setting goals it is important to make them around things you TRULY want, have them be specific, time-bound (with a realistic timeline), and measurable. If these ingredients are not present then you have a recipe for disaster! When you can’t measure your progress you feel like your never going to get to the destination, when you set unrealistic timelines then running out of time/stress/anxiety will follow, and if what you are working on does not move your closer to something you are passionate about then how often will you make consistent action toward it? (not very often, just like the treadmill collecting dust of the gym membership not getting used).

We suggest having both short term and long term goals, in all areas of your life: personal, spiritual, health, work/business, financial, creative ETC – whatever sectors of your world that you want to improve, for some there are areas that are humming along great and no significant changes needed.

When creating your goals, be conservative with your goal/timeline – be kind to yourself. The motivation to keep working on them is derived from having confidence that through consistent action you CAN achieve them if you surpass them or crush them early then FANTASTIC! This outcome is much better than reaching your goal date and only being half done and discouraged – which is not helpful, remember to adjust and re-set the goal self- beatings are not conducive to motivation for goals!

What are your goals for the last mile of 2020?

To your success,

Tim Reid

-Respect The Hustle

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: calgary, goals, Investing, Realestate, wealth

Delegation Will Set you Free

July 23, 2020 by admin

4 people's hands in fists coming together, signifying teamwork and delegation

When we start off any business, real estate being no exception to the rules of course, we have to wear all the “hats”. These are things that the 9-5er may not have ever even thought about before such as:

Accounting/book keeping (they are NOT the same thing)
Sales
Marketing
Deal Analyiss
Underwriting
Negotiating
Business Credit
Corporate Financing
Total Cost of borrowing
Mangement
HR
Operations
Creating Systems (critical)
Time Management
Social Media
Traditional Media
Branding
Legal
Building your power team

Seems overwhelming right? Well, that is OK because you do NOT have to go it alone. Even though you may not have the budget for full time staffing in many if not all of these areas in the beginning, you can outsource almost everything these days. I would suggest that even IF you did have the budget to hire a bunch of full time staff that it would be an ineffective allocation of resources.

Why? Primarily because you are learning what you are great at in the list of skills above, and what your time will be worth to your new business (or even existing) – and this is VERY important to know before you decide where to delegate/outsource/hire any role in your new empire.

Rome was not built in a day, as they say – great companies aren’t either, it takes some time to build them up and add head-count. I have seen countless businesses start and fail because they added a bunch of staff before they were ready and it killed their cash flow (employees are expensive) especially when compared to contractors. You can even rent board members, advisors, even a CEO for a few days per month to give the guidance you need for a fraction of the costs.

Now, when you are clear on what you love to do and really hate to do in your business (such as accounting/book keeping for example) then you can decide what to delegate, when, and to whom.

The whole reason we start a business is to have freedom, have fun, and provide value to the market place in a way that is fulfilling. How the heck can you do that if you despise a bunch of tasks you have to undertake every day? Simple: you CAN’T.

With that in mind, budget and map out on the calendar when you want to outsource making it a goal – having X increase in stabilized revenue then we can hire Y which will free up Z amount of hours for your the Entrepreneur to spend more time working ON the business and not IN it.

To your Success,

Tim Reid

-Respect The Hustle

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: alberta, business, calgary, education, Investing, Realestate

Avoid Bank Penalties with Blended Mortgages

June 19, 2020 by admin

When real estate investors start out, normally they use their own resources: credit, down payment, bank financing. This is the common way we all get started in real estate investing, however without having knowledge of creative financing structures the penalties can bite into your profits big time!

Whether you plan to flip, RTO, or renovate and refinance the property how your mortgage is set up is key to maximizing your profits. The bank’s and most mortgage brokers will never tell you anything about how to use blended mortgages – why? Because it isn’t in their interest to help you pay less interest and reduce fees, that is how they make their money!

A blended mortgage is defined as using 2 or more different mortgage products to fund your deals. There are private mortgage and financing options that are available, further, a variable VS fixed-rate mortgage is important. LOC’s do not have penalties when paid out early, and fixed-rate/variable-rate mortgages have pre-payment penalties in almost all cases.

Some mortgages will allow you to blend/extend the mortgage and use it to purchase another property. However, this can be problematic because of the price difference between properties 1 and 2.

When you plan to refinance/sell the house in the short term, then finding creative ways to minimize that penalty is a wise thing to do. Using blended mortgages+private money to structure the deal is one of the things we specialize in at the phoenix group.

Example: a 300K property you could get a LOC for 65% of the value 195,000 and a fixed-rate mortgage for 15% (total LTV 80%) 45,000 to fund your project. Now, you have a penalty to pay on the fixed Mortgage of only 45K rather than the full 300k! This is one of the things the bank will never tell you, however with the right guidance they can be sold on these structures easily and effectively.

Stay tuned for more insider secrets like these.

PS: If you want to learn how this strategy and others work Contact Us to book a discovery call to have a chat on how we can serve and support your real estate pathway to wealth.

To your success,

Tim Reid

-Respect The Hustle

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: calgary, Coaching, education, Investing, Realestate, realestateprofits, wealth