The Professions we Trust Most- Reader's Digest Canada

There is nothing like the Reader's Digest Annual report on which professions Canadians trust the most, to burst my bubble of happiness. Do you know that nurses are trusted more than doctors, judges are right ahead of locksmiths, plumbers are more trusted than religous ministers and taxi drivers are more trusted than home building contractors? Fascinating stuff. Out of 41 categories, real estate agents are number 36, just ahead of CEO's, psychics, politicians, car salespeople and pulling up the rear, telemarketers.

Ouch! That really hurts! It's probably because people people only use one once in awhile and it is not top of their radar. But seriously?  I mean, yes, in every field there are folks that drag down the rest, but by and large, the colleagues that I work with are fantastic, honest, reliable, careful, knowledgable, and have been in business for years.

One of the things that I see happen from time to time, is that prospective sellers feel that a real estate professional has suggested a price that is too low. Their friend, neighbour, co-worker, or uncle from another province who used to be in real estate, has advised them that because of the crown molding in one room, extra insulation or the fact that the 30 year old furnace has never broken down, the house should be worth xxx number of $$$ more. In today's world of technology, buyers are incredibly savvy and have a good idea of what properties are worth in a given area. The longer a listing sits, historically, the less sellers will receive. When it is sold, and they had to accept less, sellers sometimes mistakenly think that their sales representative has "given the house away" (not gotten its full value), or just wanted "to make a sale". In my experience, if the property is well priced to start, it sells relatively quickly and the seller gets closer to the asking price. Everyone is happy!
Top Jobs: The Professions We Trust Most

New Mortgage Rules: Not As Bad As We Thought!

The rumours we have been hearing about lately materialized this morning while most of us in BC still hadn't had our first cup of coffee!  Good news, it is not as bad as we thought!  The finance minister is attempting to protect Canadians from overextending themselves.  Back in the day, amortization periods were 25 years and they have recently jumped to 40 years.  Now we're pulling back a bit.  This saves the consumer thousands of dollars in interest over the full term of the mortgage.  But seriously, who stays in the same house for the entire term of a mortgage?  However, the longer amortization just made it a bit easier for buyers to get into a home.  Simply put, if you're borrowing to the max and sell in a falling market, it won't end well and you'll be angry at your real estate agent! 

There are three points to the new rules included in the link below.  The world has not come to an end, there is still tons of mortgage money available, and the rates are still at historic lows.  For anyone just getting into the market, it could not be a better time because values are set to rise and you can reap the benefits in the coming years!

http://www.fin.gc.ca/n11/11-003-eng.asp