Tips for Holiday Decorating on a Budget

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The holidays are approaching. Today, we thought we'd do something a little different and share this festive video on holiday decorating tips from HGTV. Designer Angelo Surmelis shares several great ideas to spread holiday cheer throughout the home. Here are some of our favorites.

1. Pay attention to the mantle. If you don't have some already, buy some kind of garland to drape over the mantle. Next, use leftover ornaments and candles to add light and texture. When choosing ornaments and candles, ensure they are in the same color-palette. This helps make your mantle a great focal point!

2. Use smaller Christmas trees. Every house has their main Christmas tree. In addition, you can also purchase smaller, inexpensive, eco-friendly trees to place throughout the home. Decorate these trees with strips of fabric from a T-shirt in holiday colors to save money for the main tree.

3. Use what you have. Be resourceful. Adding a plate charge and place mat to your everyday dining set adds some jazz to your table. Fresh-cut flowers and candles will help finish the look. You don't need grand, expensive candles -- a little candlelight goes a long way!

As you can see, it doesn't take much to make your home feel more festive. If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Is Using Professional Photography Important when Selling?

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Selling your Kelowna home? Get a free home evaluation

Today we are back to answer another great question. The one we have been hearing a lot lately is: “Is it important to use professional photography when selling my home?”

Back in 2008, we were one of the first around to use professional photography with our listings, and our trial and error through the years has allowed us to really perfect our process. What we found was that initially, the photos made a big splash and these beautiful photographs would allow our listings to get a lot of activity. However, we also found that the homes were not selling as fast. 

This was because the photos were so good and so appealing that the actual properties were a bit of an oversell, which caused a letdown for buyers when they got there. We have learned from that mistake and have gotten much better with our photos since.

It’s still important that all of our homes have photographs with high resolution, that are framed properly, and capture the right light, but are not oversold or doctored too much. You will still see agents out there using these very fancy looking photos, and they are always too good to be true.

It's hard to get someone interested in a home when the first feeling they have upon arriving at the front door is disappointment. You want your photos to be appealing, but representative of the property. 

If you have any questions for us about photography, or about anything else real estate related, give us a call or send us an email. We use the best photographers in the business, and would be happy to share our knowledge and experience with you. 

What Does the Future of Real Estate Look Like?

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Today I am here to answer another great question from a client of ours, who wants to know what we can expect in the next 15-20 years, as far as home prices are concerned. Over the last 15 years, we saw prices nearly triple in value, then drop again. Our client wants to know if we can expect that same type of growth to happen over the next 15 years, or if this last cycle was some kind of anomaly. 

The real estate boom that occurred from 2003-2008 was unprecedented and one of the biggest of our generation. The same could be said for the market downturn, which was one of the largest slumps, and gave back 20% of that equity climb. 

As we head into our next cycle of the market, are we going to see that same kind of growth? Personally, I do not think we will see a huge boom. Rather, I predict us to see a more sustainable growth rate for home prices, more in line with the 80-yr average of real estate, which is around 5.7% a year. I do believe we will outperform that figure over the next few years, but I think over the course of the next 15, things will be much more stable and normal. 

Everyone always talks about the baby boomers and what a big and important target market they are, but here’s what people forget to mention: Baby boomers had kids. The average baby boomer has 2.2 children, which means that the generation they gave birth to (Generation Y, or millennials, children born between 1981-1992) is actually twice as big of a market. This generation is moving more and more into the market, and is the largest demographic in history. This generation is what will drive the market in the next 10-15 years, where there will be a steady supply of people purchasing and selling homes. 

Long story short, I think we will see a nice 5-10% steady appreciation for homes over the next 10-15 years, which will pave the way for a strong, sustainable market in the future. If you have any questions for us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

How we helped Larry and Sarah by not being too pushy

"It went well! We had Evan Good as our realtor and it was a pretty smooth process. We were buying our first home and we looked at two and bought one. He was good to work with. He wasn’t pushy at all. He was relaxed and an easy going guy to deal with. He knew what we wanted and showed us a couple good examples and one pretty much fit exactly and they accepted the offer. He gave us lots of options and everything worked out."

-Larry Fisher, home buyer

How we helped Sheena by being accommodating for out of town sellers

"I got my house sold! In everything Jeff was super helpful, since I was out of town. He did a lot of the running around and everything for me. He was really willing to do anything that I needed. "

-Sheena Haines, Home seller

Your Kelowna Real Estate Questions Answered

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Selling your Kelowna home? Get a free home evaluation

I've been receiving a lot of questions from my clients in Kelowna and the surrounding areas, so I'm just going to dive right in and answer them for you.

1. How do you get and maintain a quality tenant?

I've had a lot of bad tenants over the years, and I've learned from my mistakes. You need to run a credit check on your tenants to ensure that they're responsible enough to pay rent. Another thing you can do is treat them like a client, because they're helping you pay off the mortgage, and I think that's valuable. Remember their birthdays and stock their refrigerator with beer on moving day. Treat them with dignity and respect and you shouldn't have too many problems.

2. Will next Spring be a good season for flipping properties?

The market we're in right now isn't a good flipping market. It's good for buying, repairing, and holding onto. Right now you'd probably break even if you tried to flip a home. You really make money on a home when you buy it for a low price. It's harder to sell a property for a lot more money, even after you've put a lot of money into renovations.

If you have any more questions for me about real estate in Kelowna, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm always excited to talk about real estate!

How we helped Martyn and Rose by always providing excellent customer service

"The result was that we purchased a property! The customer service was excellent because as soon as I wanted to go to a property, he was there for me and we went straight there."

-Martyn Nundy, Home buyer

How we helped Janine by going above and beyond, even though she had a low budget

"I’m really happy with them! I called about a listing and got set up with Krista. I told her what I wanted and by the next days she had listings for me to see and by the end of the week she was looking at them for me.  She is absolutely fantastic! I was buying from out east and I had a low budget but they made me feel like I was getting the same level of service as if I had a million bucks."

-Janine Kennedy, Home buyer

Vantage West Realty Reviews Brent Nagy

"We sold our home in just a month! Generally, they did a really good job!"

-Brent Nagy, Home seller

How we helped Nate by writing the perfect offer

"They were excellent! Fast and prompt. Just the way he wrote up my offer it got it accepted. Even though there was a higher offer than mine. The way he wrote it up was just perfect, I guess."

-Nate Nygren, Home buyer

How we helped Ray get what he wanted

"I got what I wanted! From the introduction the realtor went out of his way for me."

- Ray Norfolk, Home Buyer

What Are the Rules About Putting in a Carriage Home in Kelowna?

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Selling your Kelowna home? Get a free home evaluation

Today, we continue answering the great questions many of you have submitted! Let's jump right in.

What are the rules about putting in a carriage home? 

There are three things you want to look for: the right zoning, the right size land, and a lot with rear-lane access. The zoning you're looking for is RU6, which allows you to have two different dwellings or a legal suite. Next, the land needs to be a certain size - small, 33-foot lots aren't going to cut it. You need at least 50 feet across and 20 feet or so in depth. There are some great lots in the Kelowna area with these dimensions. Lastly, you need a lot with rear-lane access. They used to allow carriage homes with side-yard access, but that's now frowned upon because it causes parking issues. 

With the current house that exists on the lot, it needs to be a decent size. It can't be a small, 700-square foot home. You need at least 1,000-1,200 square feet because you can only go up to 80% the size of the existing home. If you have the right size lot, you shouldn't have to worry about this.

How are low oil prices affecting our market? 

Anyone who is reading the headlines right now understands the coal mining market is on fire. We're up leaps and bounds over where we were last year, and there are certain segments of the market that are doing very well. The $500K-$700K market, which has been sluggish over the past few years, has really come alive recently. The one section of the market is really affected by the low-priced oil are the $1.1-$1.2 million homes; however, we've sold more homes this year, year-to-date, than we did last year. All things considered, it's fair to say that everything going on in Alberta hasn't taken the wind out of our sales!

What Questions Can We Answer for You?

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Hey everyone, thanks for joining us again today. We are back today answering some of the latest questions we have been getting from our clients. 

"What should go in a rental suite to ensure I get a great tenant?"

The number one thing I would say is to make sure it has a bathtub and dishwasher. I would also put in vinyl flooring. It looks just like laminate, but is much easier and cheaper to install.

"When flipping a property, what else is important besides kitchens and bathrooms?"

Aside from kitchens and bathrooms, the first thing you want to do is change the flooring, paint, baseboards and trim throughout your home. These are the repairs that will give you the most bang for your buck. Also, spending a little bit of money outside to brighten up your curb appeal helps you draw a much higher sale price. 

"Where are all the deals?" 

This is a common question coming from a lot of our clients right now, but the simple fact is any listing can be a deal. Just because it's not listed as a deal now, doesn't mean that there aren't deals to be had. We negotiate deals after homes are listed. A deal is what we negotiate it to be.

If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to speaking with you!

How we helped Bob with his real estate transactions by creating a quick process

 
"I worked with them twice. One time was to buy a property, and the second time was to sell that property. The property ended up selling very quickly!"

How we helped Thomas buy a home by accommodating his schedule

 

"We bought a house. I appreciated the time the Realtor took after-hours to talk with us. We’re a working couple, and I appreciated that Evan was willing to talk to us until 11:30 at night. We thought that was rather impressive!"

How we helped Mona sell her home using our amazing customer service skills

 

"They were great. They’re all awesome and super-friendly. There are no words to describe their kindness and service. AJ is always on the ball, and he’s the one I usually deal with. The people in the office were amazing. I just sold a property, and they would get back to me right away!"

Greetings from Vantage West Realty

 There are many great Kelowna area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at 250-717-3133 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

At Vantage West here in Kelowna, BC, we have 8 outside agents, 2 inside sales agents and 5 support staff. Our total sales volume lies in the $120-$150 million range, and we expect to do roughly 300 transactions this year, or at least that's the goal. Average sales price in the area is $420,000.

Also, a majority of the business that we get comes from the online marketing that we invest in. We have multiple systems and strategies to generate leads (anywhere from 500-600 leads per month). We also get our leads from referrals and walk-in clients. 

Some of the things I'd like to harp on during the Mastermind group is how we have refined our hiring process here at Vantage West. We've really reversed our recruiting process to find better talent. We do an event-style process once a quarter where 20-30 individuals show up and from there we can pick the most qualified candidate possible. 

Also, the systems that we employ here allow our team members to be successful in what they do. Our director of operations used to be on a real estate board that did over 600 transactions per year, and with that kind of volume you really need good systems in place. Our director brought a lot of those same systems when we hired him here, and they're worth speaking to me about. 

I look forward to meeting you all. I think there are a lot of great individuals in this group and we all have a great opportunity to learn from each other. I hope I can bring some value to the table as well.

See you in Napa!

What's the Best Investment in Kelowna?

 There are many great Kelowna area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at 250-717-3133 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Hello, and welcome back! Today, we're going to continue answering some of the questions we've been receiving!

Joey asks: What's the difference between an illegal suite and a legal suite?

The first thing you need to know is that an illegal suite is not the opposite of a legal suite. An "illegal suite" is really just an unauthorized accommodation. About 90% of suites in Kelowna are unauthorized accommodations, and Kelowna has a less than 1% vacancy rate. In other words, there's really no indication that they're looking to crack down on these suites. One thing to keep in mind is that you're at the mercy of your neighbors when you own an unauthorized suite - you have to keep your tenants' cars off the road, make sure they're not being loud, and anything else that may affect your neighbors' enjoyment of the property. If there is a problem and the neighbors report it, you could be fined or the suite could be decommissioned, so you have to be careful about that. 

Rob asks: If I have $500,000 to invest, where should I put it and why? 

Recently, I've been very big on apartment buildings, but lately they've been hard to find. However, you can get a pretty solid return on a regular, single-family home. I wouldn't just take $500,000 and put it down on one home, but I would leverage it 4-to-1 and put together a $2.5 million portfolio, which would bring me a cash-on-cash return of around 20%. I would look for properties that are renting for around $2,500 a month, which would net about $100,000 per year. Once you have $2.5 million in real estate, and after the market gets back to where it was, rising 10% over the next couple years, you'll make another quarter million dollars. In short, find four or five solid investment properties and let the market do its thing! 

Scott asks: Where is square footage trending? 

The era of McMansions is behind us. People aren't looking for 5,000 square foot homes anymore; they want really nicely appointed smaller homes around 2,000 square feet with nice finishing, fixtures, technology, and some of the new, cutting edge building practices. People who are building homes today are more lifestyle-driven than ego-driven. Additionally, outdoor living spaces go a long way toward adding value to homes, and homeowners love them for their continuity. 

I want to thank everyone for sending us their questions - we always love to hear from you. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email so we can answer them in a future video!

Thanks, and have a great day!

How we helped Kelly find a home by going above and beyond every day

 
"He was a great Realtor. I got pretty much everything that I wanted. I had to find a place within a three month period of time, and almost every single day, I went looking for houses with him. I would say he went above and beyond every single day!"

How we helped Nick with his real estate transactions with our hard work

 
"Everything was good. They were very helpful. Jerry did a good job. We had to finalize the deal within two weeks, and he worked hard on his end to make sure everything went through. He got it done!"

How we helped Wayne buy and sell a home by taking the time to explore different options

"Vantage West helped us sell our home and buy a new one. They made sure that we got to see all the properties we wanted, even though that took up a lot more time. We really appreciated that we got to see all our options!"

What Do Falling Oil Prices Mean for the Real Estate Market in Kelowna?

 There are many great Kelowna area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at 250-717-3133 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

We keep getting the same question over and over again, so today we thought we would set out to answer it. Many people in Kelowna and surrounding areas are asking: What effect will falling oil prices have on the local real estate market?

We don't have a crystal ball here at the office, but we do have the experience to venture an educated guess. Currently, the resource market is suffering - there have been many layoffs in the industry. However, the Kelowna market is not directly tied to oil and gas. In fact, Albertans only represent around 10% to 15% of our total sales, and not all of them are in oil and gas.

Let's say 50% of Albertan spending was cut off in 2015. That would only affect our market, in terms of total sales, by about 5%. While that is potentially significant, there is actually a counterbalancing effect with what low oil prices will do to our economy. For starters, we directly feel the cost of oil at the gas pump - everyday people are saving money because of lower oil prices.

Here's what we're getting at: a 10% decrease in oil prices frees up over $4 billion in other spending. When there is more cash to spend on things like restaurants and retail, it actually bolsters our economy by helping local businesses. A lower cost of oil also has a direct relationship with the Canadian dollar. Historically, a 10% drop in oil prices corresponds to a 1% decline in our dollar against the reserve currency.

Now, 75% of our gross domestic product goes to the United States. When things are cheaper in Canada, the United State buys more. This has the effect of bolstering our economy - more exports to the United States means growth in some of our other industries, such as logging and mining. It's important to remember that folks who work in other sectors and who will benefit from lower oil prices also buy houses, so the market will remain stable.  

In short, we think falling oil prices will have a counterbalancing affect. There will be pros and cons to the cheaper prices - the resources market is struggling, but other markets will flourish because of the extra spending money consumers now have. Our predictions for this year haven't changed - we think we'll continue to see steady, sustainable growth in Kelowna.  

If you would like to further this discussion, or have any questions about the topic covered here today, please give us a call or shoot us an email. We don't profess to know it all, so your input is highly valued! 

Thanks for tuning in, and have a wonderful day!