Mar. 26, 2009 - This Week - Real Estate, Thoughts, & Musings
Greetings to you all. Before I get to the latest real estate update, I'd like to offer you a couple of items of a more personla nature. The first is the following video. I received it from an American friend of mine, a Vietnam veteran who is, like most Americans, ultra-patriotic. I received the file as a PowerPoint presentation, but once I watched it, I knew it had to be shared, and so I took the time to convert it to a video file. If you want to share it, please feel free to send people here, or to our YouTube page to view it bigger there.
I have never paid much attention to the subject of this video, but you can rest assured, I will from now onwards. If there is another unfortunate day when this occurs, I will take my son out of school and go to somewhere along the route where we can express our respect, grattitude, and shared sorrow.
The next item I wanted to bring to your attention is a sneaky new tactic being used by the local traffic police to catch people who are violating the Highway Traffic Act. I have the utmost respect for the job our police department does, and I am very thankful to have lived in such a safe and crime-free town as this since 1972. I drive very close to the speed limit all the time, and I am one of those fanatics who get wierd looks and unfriendly salutes all the time becuase I believe that a STOP sign actually means you are supposed to STOP. However, I admit that I was, at first, a little put off when I noiced what looked like a taxi-cab pulled over on Derry Road near 4th Line in Milton, with blue, red, and white lights flashing away from behind the radiator grille. I was driving the opposite direction, and as I got closer to the vehicle, I did a double-take because that white plexi sign on top of the vehicle was indeed shaped like those of the local cab company, but the identifying info said 'POLICE' 878-5511. Wow, I thought, I guess that makes sense, because "everyone knows that cabs drive really badly all the time, and if there's a cab around, people take it for granted there's no coppers around".
So, when you are out and about, be careful; you never know what type of vehicle will be pulling you over next. ps - Halton Regional Police - Thank you for ALL the great work you do for us!
CALLING ALL WANNA-BE INVESTORS!!!
The market is still really good, but time could be running out on your opportunity to get into this exceptional wealth-building segment of your financial plan. Interest rates are incredibly low now, lower than ever in history - I've just finished helping an investor into a property with a mortgage rate below 5%!
With each passing day, opportunities are being snapped up by people ready to take action. We're discovering new opportunities on a regular basis, but prices seem to have bottomed out.
Do you want to being to invest, but don't know where to start? A great first step would be to attend the next offering of our Millionaire Real Estate Investor workshop - it's coming up on April 21st at the Best Western in Milton. Don't want to wait that long? No problem, give me a call at 905-208-7002, or fire me off an email and we can chat about the first basic steps you need to take to get started.
In fact, the first 3 readers who contact me about investing, mention the secret phrase "Everyone Can Do It . . . Not everyone will . . . Will You?" will receive a complimentary copy of the New York Times best-selling book, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor. Just email me or call me, give me that phrase, tell me you read it here on MiltonBlog.com and we'll get this $30-value book off to you right away.
DO YOU KNOW ANY FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS?
If you do, we need your help, and they need you to do them a huge favour - tell them about our upcoming 'Your First Home' seminar on Thursday, April 23rd at the Best Western Inn in Milton. Full details can be found at http://AllMiltonHomes.com
SO, HOW'S THE MARKET ANYWAY?
Well, that's a good question! The most accurate answer to that question has to be "it really depends, more than ever, on the neighbourhood you live in, the price range of your house, and your motivations for selling, if that is why you are asking". This is the response we give to all buyers and sellers, because, as you have seen from our weekly Milton Total Market Overview reports, the price range where there is activity each week seems to fluctuate from week to week.
As mentioned above, this is a great market if you are an investor; it's not a great market if you just want to sell to see how much you can get.
I visited 2 couples recently, to discuss the possible sale of their house, and both visits were remarkably similar. They had each spoken with several agents, and felt more confused about things because they had an overinflated opinion of the value of their property, and the agents they met with, before me, agreed with that value. I asked if the agents had shown them the most recent market data, listings, sales, etc., and none of them had. In I came with market data showing the reality of prices, and the confusion began. Neither couple could understand why the agents had agreed with their pricing opinion, nor did they understand why these agents would show up without any printed backup for the market value they claimed they could produce. I left both couples with clear market data that showed them the true value of their home, and some real thinking to do.
So, why do I relate this tale to you? I want you to be prepared, that's why. There are lots of hungry agents out there, agents who will put the need to feed their family ahead of their duty to tell you the truth. Agents who just don't have a clue about what is really going on in the marketplace, because they don't bother to do the kind of in-depth analysis that we do. I'm not saying, by any means, that all agents are like this; you need to be aware of the differences and your options.
You know how people buy things - they buy the same way you do - by comparison shopping, right? Real estate is no different - when you sell your house, you know that buyers will compare it to their other options in the marketplace, and to what has recently sold. So, ask yourself, why would you listen to any agent who tells you information that they cannot support with the latest, most in-depth market data?
Save yourself time, headaches, and heartaches - call the agents who care and back up that caring with pure market data.
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