Real Estate is a great Business - Here's Why

Embrace what this business has to offer. It satisfies all facets of what us, as human beings, require in sustaining a long, happy, meaningful, successful, and fulfilling life.
1) Goal Setting – have you ever thought about the fact that we are inherently goal seeking organisms? Our development in our life to this point has been from our past goals. You set a goal to study and pass the Real Estate Exam. Congratulations!! You passed. Now it’s time to set another goal and once you achieve that it is time to set another goal. Goals give you a sense of purpose, a reason to get up in the morning and most importantly a sense of accomplishment. That is succeeding....or in other words a series of successes. Could we consider you successful if that happens over and over again. You betcha bucko. Remember when you checked for your results and saw that you had passed? What a feeling. Doesn’t that feel good? It feels great to achieve goals. Well, don’t you want to feel great? It increases your self-image. It gives you another perspective. Setting and achieving goals is so important. You will be setting and accomplishing goals throughout this whole manual and you are going to feel awesome every time you do it. We are so excited for you. Remember in the goal setting process it is not always the goal that is the most important but who we become in order to achieve the goal. If we are doing things right we will become better people in the process. So set goals and achieve and also build a better person along the way.
2) Personal Relationships – Being a positive influence in people’s lives is another “need” we have as human beings. We need to have that connection with people. You cannot be on an island all by yourself without any people around and feel any kind of purpose. We need to exchange energies with other people. That is what is meant to be. You will make friends with some of the other REALTORS in the office and as REALTORS, we also get to help people with their most important money and family decisions of their lives and it feels good to help people. We are instrumental in helping people achieve their goals. That is a fantastic relationship. You will make friends for life in this business with some of your clients. “Business leads” or “Prospects” or “Potential Clients” or “Walk-ins” and even “FSBO’s” are really UN-MET FRIENDS. We deal with so many different types of personalities in this industry and some people will just “click” with you and you will make a real connection. That is one of the wonderful things that you obtain in this business. Every day is an opportunity to meet an un-met friend. In what other industry is there with that kind of potential? Get out there and meet some people and show them what you have to offer.
3) Creativity – We need to nurture our creativity. It keeps our brains sharp. It keeps us on our toes. Be creative. Always focus on the ‘how”. It can be done. Believe in yourself. People love creativity in others. We need it. Some people haven’t exercised their creative muscles for a long time. Think back to when you were a kid. How creative were you? What kind of games did you and your friends create? What kinds of characters were involved? This business allows you to be creative. Everything from designing your ads to writing your property descriptions to getting the deals done during negotiations. It’s all about being creative. Thinking of new ways to market a property. New angles to explore in obtaining referrals. Different ways to attract buyers. The success of your business will rely heavily on how creative you think. Embrace creativity.
4) No ceiling – There is no limit to how big you can build your business. Nobody is here to tell you what you are worth. That happens in jobs. “You are worth $25.00/ hour and by the way we are going to tell you when to eat and when you have to arrive and when you go home and when you can go on holiday’s” and if you don’t like it “You’re Fired!”. There is nobody doing that here. We are offering structure and work ethic to help you succeed because we care about your growth as a human being and as a REALTOR. We are excited for you when you make a lot of money. We say “Way to go now go make some more!!” We will be doing some exercises in this manual to help you ascertain what you are worth and you will be amazed at how much you are really worth per hour and per year. Let’s blow the roof off of your prior expectations and stretch your mind. What a feeling. Imagine on a daily basis setting and achieving your goals and when you get through this manual and you will. It is up to YOU. Consistency is the key.
5) Lifestyle – This business offers lifestyle as well. You create and maintain your own schedule. If you want to be the only Dad or Mom on the school field trip then fine, schedule it in. You can meet your spouse for lunch once or twice a week. You can book holidays whenever you want. You can take Wednesday off if you want. Meet your clients at night, on weekends, early in the morning, or whenever it suits you and your clients. Amazing flexibility. Get home to read stories to your children before bed and then go write an offer after that. Why not? The choice is yours. You have the freedom to work when it works for you. Now you have the freedom to be accountable to everybody. You, your clients and your family. It is simply the choices you make to manifest the lifestyle that you can create. You are in control. Don’t you feel even better about your choice to get into this business now? You probably never thought of it that way before. I believe that we truly need those things to feel fulfilled in our working lives. There are a lot of other things that we need but in our income generating capacity these are great advantages as compared to just about any other occupation.

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Homes Backing a Golf Course (edit/delete)
What is it about homes backing a golf course? What is it about Golf Course Communities? What is it about beautiful valley views? Well we all know that it is a dream of many to live or own a home on a golf course with a fantastic view of the valley floor and the surrounding mountains. Hop in your golf cart in your garage and drive down to the clubhouse and grab a meal and book your tee time with some buddies that live in the area and go out for a fantastic afternoon of golf in a fantastic backdrop of lush mountains and hillsides and magnificent mountain and valley views. One would think that this is only available to the rich and famous. Well at "The Falls Golf Course and Resort" nestled in the eastern hillsides of Chilliwack BC just one hour from downtown Vancouver. The Emerald Ridge subdivision is just off the highway allowing for just 10 minutes travel time to anything that is required. The Chilliwack downtown core; the Cottonwood Mall; 20 minutes to Harrison Hot Springs Resort; 20 minutes to Cultus Lake and more....
WATCH THE VIDEO NOW: http://www.happyhomesbc.ca/videotours.php?video=video/thefallsresort.flv

Chillwack Real Estate Market Report for April 2009

This is HappyHomesBC with a Real Estate Market Report for Market Activity in the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Market in the month of April. We have just received the data from the Chilliwack and District Real Estate board and we have taken the time to assimilate the information and give you a comprehensive report that will help you properly understand the Real Estate Market Activity in the Chilliwack area.
The amount of sales has increased incrementally from the month of March. The amount of the listings left is exactly the same for residential properties so as I said last month – the gap is closing. Interest rates have come down dramatically where qualified buyers can have the opportunity to get a 5 year locked in rate of 3.69% when they buy a home today. We expect market activity to increase as a result. Prices have stabilized and we are noticing that homes that are priced effectively are getting the attention. Pricing your home effectively is absolutely crucial at this moment of time. Buyers are out there and they are armed with a lot of information and they know when a home is priced well and when they find it they are pulling the trigger. Last year we had 1757 listings left in the month of April 2008 and this year we were left with 1475 listings a 16% drop. More activity and less listings to choose from is good for the market. The sales of townhomes almost doubled from the previous month once again re-enforcing the fact that there is a bottom push from the lower end with entry level buyers entering the marketplace. This is exciting because we will be experiencing the pressure of that push soon into the higher price points.
The average days to sell increased this month which tells us something. That maybe the cause for that would be that people who had their homes on the market over 75 days adjusted their prices and subsequently received offers. That is good news because people are now adjusting mentally to todays market conditions. We are reaching a point where business is active and buyers and seller s are coming to a meeting of the minds so to speak making it a great time to buy and sell a home. Prices are down over 15% from 18 months ago and interest rates are down over a full percentage point for fixed 5 year rates!! The Affordability factor is back in the game. Another testament to that fact is that the amount of sales over $400,000 dropped in half but sales between $350,000 to $400,000 increased by 58%!!
Give us a call anytime to learn more insights into the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Market. Check out our website for more information at www.happyhomesbc.ca to see video tours and our most recent market report. This is HappyhomesBC signing off with your Real Estate Market Report for sales activity for April 2009. All the best to you and yours.

Radio comments on Chilliwack Real Estate Developments

I received a phone call again from the new Radio Station that is now operating in the Chilliwack region. 89.5 "The Hawk" - website: http://www.895thehawk.com/ and on Monday night an application was going through the approval process at the Chilliwack City Hall and one person mentioned that sales aren't happening so do we really need another 400 units to be built in that area. The interviewer, Jennifer Coles was looking for an answer to that statement so I was on the phone live being recorded. I thought that this is a good opportunity to maybe make people understand that they need to be part of the solution not part of the problem. Stop surrendering to the FEAR mongering that is going on!!! Think for yourselves people. The one thing that 'they' know for sure is that over 90% of the population of the world actually has the inability to reason and think for themselves when a major issue is presented to them. They will just believe what is presented to them and follow the status quo. We are being hypnotized. Smack. Wake up!!
I explained a lot of the information that is in our Chilliwack Market Report (see link below) and that is, sales are happening for properties that are priced right for today's market conditions. Prime rate just went down to a historic low....another .25% lower!!! Interest Rates locked in for 5 years are under 4% for qualified people. Prices are down 15% from 18 to 24 months ago!!! How good does it have to be? The biggest payment that people make is on their mortgage so that is a direct impact on household income. More money is made in Real Estate than anything else. Crawl out from your rocks and get buying and making a move. Get over your fears of loss and think about the future gains that you will enjoy. This is the exact time to make some Real Estate investments. Inventory is stablizing and sales are growing so we are closing the gap. The thing about Garrison Crossing on the Vedder side of the Chilliwack Municipality is that there is a major University of the Fraser Valley installing itself as we speak. There will be a major need for rentals as well as higher density units. They are literally building a village there that will provide all services for the surrounding neighborhood. The biggest amount of sales in condo's are in Garrison Crossing and also "The Flora" on Mary street which is situated on the other side of town rigth beside the Hospital. Why? High Quality - Low price. Simple.
I want to give you a link to click on to get to our "video market report" so that you can know where to go to get up-to-date market information on a quarterly basis from our website. We feel that it is extremely important that we keep the general public abreast of the statistics of our Real Estate sales activity in the Chilliwack Real Estate Market. I will let you know as they come available but for now here is the link: http://www.happyhomesbc.ca/chilliwack_statistics.html that is the place where you can get all of the stats for the recent sales activity on a monthly basis in the Chilliwack Real Estate Market. Our video report is more about taking the statistics and basically making sense of it.
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HAPPY EASTER !!

I'll start off with a quick joke that was sent to me from a REALTOR in our office at Sutton Group Showplace Realty in Chilliwack BC:
God is sitting in Heaven when a scientist says to Him, "Lord, we don't need you anymore. Science has finally figured out a way to create life out of nothing. In other words, we can now do what you did in the beginning." "Oh, is that so? Tell me.... replies God. "Well," says the scientist, "we can take dirt and form it into the likeness of you and breathe life into it, thus creating man." "Well, that's interesting. Show Me. " So the scientist bends down to the earth and starts to mold the soil. "Oh no, no, no..." interrupts God, (I love this) " Get your own dirt."
That is funny, isnt it, how we sometimes get so caught up in our own self importance that we forget about the basics of everything. The Good Friday service at my church really spoke to me this year for some reason. I am not sure why but maybe I was just "more ready" to hear the message this year. I really just felt the magnitude of what Jesus did in order to save us and cleanse us. We really do mess things up dont we? We over-complicate - we over-analyze - we over-agonize. We over do everything. Everybody is waiting for Obama to make things better. We are waiting for other outside influences to make things right. We have to start right in our own homes and in our own businesses and with the people that we come face to face with every day. How do we approach challenges? How do we overcome percieved losses? How do we deal with overbearing or obnoxious people? Do we become the same way in order to combat that? Do we let our ego take over? Go back and remember what Jesus did for us. He was scoffed at and sworn at and mocked. He was beaten. How many of us could withstand that punishment and then carry a heavy wooden cross all across town bleeding and exhausted? Then at the end.....he says to God....."forgive them.... for they do not know what they are doing".
Just a thought for you to perculate on....Happy Easter Everybody.
Happy Homer

Economy Turnaround Indicators - Market Report

Read Article Below to learn about some Canadian indicators for the economic turn around coming soon....

Canada's Currency Gains Amid Speculation Slump May Be Easing - April 10 (Bloomberg)
The Canadian dollar strengthened for a second consecutive week amid rising commodity prices and signs that the slump in the world's eighth-largest economy may be easing.
Canada's dollar, known as the loonie, increased 0.5 percent for the week, which was shortened by the Good Friday holiday. The nation unexpectedly posted a trade surplus, and monthly job losses were lower than some strategists anticipated. Commodities, which accounted for 56 percent of Canadian export revenue last year, advanced as investors sought riskier assets.
The currency rose to C$1.2237 per U.S. dollar yesterday in Toronto, touching a two-week high of $1.2212. It traded at C$1.2298 on April 3. One Canadian dollar buys 81.72 U.S. cents.
"The loonie seemed to be a distinct outperformer," said Sacha Tihanyi, a strategist in Toronto at Scotia Capital Inc., a unit of Canada's third-largest bank. "We got upside surprises with the data, so that helped."
The Canadian currency tends to track fluctuations in stocks and commodity prices.
Stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbing 3.8 percent yesterday to cap a fifth consecutive week of gains. Crude oil for May delivery climbed as much as 6.2 percent yesterday. It finished the week little changed from the five days ended April 3, which saw the commodity's fifth weekly jump. Copper futures posted the fourth week of advances.
Market Signal
The loonie, after touching a four-year low of C$1.3064 on March 9, strengthened as investors ventured out of haven currencies like the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen to purchase riskier assets such as stocks and commodity-linked currencies.
"Generally the fall in commodity prices seems to have stopped," said Aaron Fennell, a Toronto-based futures and currency broker at MF Global Canada Co., a unit of MF Global Ltd. "One textbook indicator in our business is when you have bad news and the market climbs anyway -- usually that's a signal that a market is ready to turn around."
Canadian employers eliminated a net 61,300 jobs, Statistics Canada said yesterday in Ottawa. While economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast employment would fall by 50,000, the "whisper numbers," or unofficial predictions among traders, called for more severe cuts, Scotia Capital's Tihanyi said.
Canada's dollar will weaken to C$1.26 against the greenback by the end of this quarter before rebounding to C$1.16 in 2010, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 38 economists.
Trade Surplus
Government bonds returned 0.2 percent to investors this week, according to Merrill Lynch & Co. indexes. The two-year benchmark security's yield rose three basis points yesterday, or 0.03 percentage point, to 1.12 percent. The price of the 1.25 percent security due in June 2011 dropped 6 cents to C$100.28.
Canada posted a trade surplus of C$126 million ($102 million) in February on shipments of cars and airplanes, Statistics Canada said yesterday. Economists forecast a deficit of C$1.2 billion, according to the median of 23 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.
The loonie was the fifth-best performer this week against the greenback among the most actively traded currencies tracked by Bloomberg. The Australian dollar was fourth, rising 0.6 percent. Like Canada's currency, it tends to track swings in commodity and equity prices. Mexico's peso was the week's best performer, appreciating 3.6 percent]By Chris Fournier

Strive for number 1 like the Canucks

I am in a bus right now on the way to see the Vancouver Canucks play the L.A. Kings. A client of ours called today who works for 89.5 FM The Hawk and they have arranged for their clients to hop on a bus and head out to Vancouver from Chilliwack to dinner then to the game and then back home. I was trying to think of a reason not to go and failed to find one. So here we are, my trusty partner, Tim and I are heading out on bus to have a good time together. I was thinking about how the Vancouver Canucks are just fighting right to get to the number one spot. They have trained and mentally prepared all year to get to be the best. If they lose by only one goal they will not be number one. We could all say "well it was only one goal, that's good enough". That doesn't wash. We can talk to everybody about being number 2. Well we weren't number one but Number 2 is good enough. No. That is not good enough. Not for the team or for the fans. What is the edge? What is the extra percentage of effort or skill that makes you number 1? What separates you from all the number 2's? There are a lot more number 2's out there than Number 1's. That's why they are so special. What makes you special? What is your value proposition? Are you constantly challenging yourself on daily basis on order to answer these questions? What makes you the best? Answer these questioons or make it a constant daily quest and you will be number 1 Soon. See our website to learn more about our team and how we strive to differentiate ourselves in the Real Estate industry @ www.happyhomesbc.ca. Love to hear your comments and feedback ok how you strive to differntiate yourself in the industry. Wishing you total fulfillment and abundance. Happy Homer.

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