How we helped Scott with his real estate needs by always being upfront and truthful

"What I liked about working with Vantage West Realty is that they’re always upfront, truthful, and Aj, our agent, would always tell us if he thought it was a good deal or not. It was always consistent and you always know what you’re going to get. Aj communicated well and got back to us in a timely manner."

-Scott Ross, Home Buyer

The Benefits of Rent-to-Own Property

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.

Today, we're at our brand new location with some big news: our old location on Ellis Street will now serve as the storefront of our new rent-to-own division. Many people have asked us, "What is rent-to-own all about?" Today, we answer the question. 

Rent-to-own, when done right, benefits both the buyer and seller. We are the only licensed brokerage that has entered this area of the market.  

It works for people who are thinking about making a move, but bought their home at peak price and don't want to sell it for less than they bought it for. It allows them to price the home into the future, for market appreciation to take the value up to where they need it to be in order to sell it. Rent-to-own is also great if you're looking to rent your home, but are apprehensive about what could happen to your property - vacancies, small deposits in case of damage, bad tenants, etc. In this situation, you're renting to people who will take care of your home like it's their own because eventually it will be. From a selling standpoint, it makes sense - you generate cash flow with your home, you don't have to deal with the hassle of maintenance and management, and you have a solid deposit in your hand.

For buyers, rent-to-own is a great option if you can't afford to buy today because you can address whatever credit problems you might have and still have a place to live. It gives you time to get your credit in good shape and figure out your financial picture so you can buy down the road. It's a great opportunity to crystallize a future home price and get ahead of an inclining market, build equity, and get the feeling and experience of home ownership from the day you move in.

Rent-to-own combines quality buyers who for one reason or another aren't quite ready to make a purchase outright, and sellers who have an economic incentive to rent their home. The horror stories about these kind of properties are typically from situations where unlicensed people are entering into rent-to-own agreements - that's when things tend to go wrong. We pride ourselves on having an airtight, foolproof system to ensure these deals close and everything goes well for both the buyer and the seller.  

Does rent-to-own sound right for you? We'd love to sit down with you and help you decide. In a short consultation, we'll hash out the pros and cons of your specific situation and determine what's right for you. If you have any questions you would like to ask before meeting with us or would simply like some advice on Kelowna real estate, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're here to make your life a whole lot easier!

Kelowna Real Estate Market Update for Summer 2014

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.

It may be hard to believe, but the year is already halfway over. Since we are at the midpoint of 2014, we thought now would be a great time to give you a little market update on what's going on with real estate in Kelowna. We will share a few statistics with you as well as give you some real in-the-trenches information as to where we are today.

• Sales numbers are up. We've had 2,500 sales so far this year. At this point last year, that number was just over 2,000. An increase of 22% in sales over 1 year is a very strong number.

• The amount of listings that have come on the market this year have been lower. The 2,850 homes that have come on the market so far this year are much lower than the over 5,000 listings we saw come on the market at this point in 2013.

• A major indicator of market health is the amount of failed listings, or listings that expire or are withdrawn. Last year we had over 2,000 failed listings in the first 6 months, but this year that number has dwindled to just over 600. That is almost a third of what it was last year.

• For 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom homes in central Kelowna, the average worth last year was $450,000, but this year those homes are worth around $490,000.

• As for 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom homes in west central Kelowna, their average worth last year of $460,000 has jumped up to the high $480,000's.

• This is the peak selling season for the market and we should expect to see prices normalize for the next little while.

If you have been waiting for that little bump in price to sell your home and move up, now is a great time to be a move up buyer. You can take advantage of low interest rates and some of the higher priced homes are priced considerably lower than their peak price in 2008. Feel free to reach us at any time if you have any questions at all about buying or selling a home in Kelowna. We would love to help you out.