We had a record turnout at the Millionaire Real Estate Investor seminar in Milton tonight!! Here are some comments from a couple of the attendees . . .

No, wait, that’s not it; that’s something completely different.

I wanted to write once more about the changes that are going on in the market, right before our very eyes. In our office, there were an average of 18 couple through the open houses this past weekend – that is huge. Several agents sold properties with multiple offers, and went over list price – that is huge. Numerous buyers have been on the phone and email the last 3 days, saying that now it’s time for them to look at buying.

What does all this mean?

Well, it sure looks like the reliable signs that say the market is turning. Now, sure, I’ve read some of the whiney posts by people on The Star’s bulletin boards about how the optimism is just lies because of how many more people are going to lose their jobs. And I’ve heard those prognostications too. But here’s where it gets interesting . . .

Rent for a small house = $1300 per month / Purchase price of $195,000.

Mortgage Pymt = $805
Condo Fees         = $240
Taxes                     = $175

TOTAL                   = $1,280

Well, look at that – it’s actually cheaper to buy than it is to pay rent! And, people have to live somewhere, so why not pay off your own mortgage instead of someone else’s?

Oh, the naysayers moan, those numbers aren’t real. What about the downpayment? Well, what about it; for a slightly higher mortgage rate, you can get 97% or 100% financing and still be paying off your own mortgage instead of someone else’s.

Well, I can’t buy – I’m stuck in a lease for the next 9 months! Guess what – I have a solution for that too! Give me a call to set a time for a Buyer Consultation and we can go over all the details and get you into a home before you miss out on one of the best buying markets in history!

Here’s a couple of things I’ve learned of doing this past week:

1. Get a seller to pay out a Buyer’s lease and the seller gets their home sold and the Buyer gets into the market at a great time. This is particularly timely because there are so many Buyers out there, waiting for their lease to finish. You can even structure it so that the seller doesn’t have to pay out the entire lease – just email me for more info.
2. Offer to be your client’s negotiator for them. Most people can’t / don’t want to / don’t have the time to negotiate their mortgage renewal, and end up paying 1 or 2% more than they need to – agents should provide a free negotiation service for their database.

3. We’re just launching a new program – going to HR people and offering to counsel their employees about keeping their house in this economy.
   Routing Number VIRGINIA COMMERCE BANK

   60% of the private-sector jobs in my town are vanishing – companies hate to do it to their employees – if we can get in front of those people before they get in trouble on their mortgage, maybe we can help them stay in the house, even if they sell it to an investor, rent it back with purchase option for 2 yrs down the road. The employer will look like a hero for it. The employees will love it, and we will feel good for helping keep people in their homes and maybe build our investor business and maybe grow our business. As an agent, we don’t even have to know how to do the process – just be the middleman for the whole thing and bring in the experts.

As we move some of our blogging over to this new platform, we are discovering ways to bring you the information that we didn’t have with our previous provider, in an effort to make the information more useful to you. The chart below is one example of this – a weekly summary of activity for the last 7 months.

Milton Real Estate Market Overview

This next chart is this weeks Total Market Overview, which gives a price-range breakdown of the information contained in the corresponding row in the table above. Commentary on an -in-the-market, street-level will follow shortly.

Milton Total Market Overview

As I mentioned in the post ‘Danger Will Robinson!!’ post, things seem to be turning around in the market, judging by the number of phone calls and emails coming in, the higher level of buyer activity, and the number of sellers calling about wanting to get their house on the market. This increased activity is being fuelled in several ways – the crazy-low interest rates available (3.69% for 5 years closed – call me today for details!), the lower prices, and the pronouncement by those all-knowing (yeah, right!) people in the media that things are turning around. In talks with agents, seller’s and buyers clear across the GTA, I hear of multiple offers and of houses selling much faster than they thought would happen.

When it comes to your home buying or selling experience, don’t leave it to chance and rely on what you read in the mainstream media or what you hear from friends and so-called experts; rely on the numbers. You can get those numbers here on a weekly basis. And if you’d like them broken down more specifically for an area or a type of house, just ask and I’ll be glad to do it for you.

Line 219 – Moving expenses

The following information will help you determine the moving expenses deduction you can claim.