Hey there, home buyers! 🏡✅ Ready to make your homeownership dreams a reality? 💭💪 Getting pre-approved for a mortgage is a crucial step in the home buying process. 📝💰 It helps you understand your budget, increases your chances of securing a loan, and gives you a competitive edge in a hot market. 🔑📈 Looking for tips and advice on mortgage lender pre-approval? 🤔🏦 Look no further! Check out our comprehensive guide to the pre-approval process. 📚🔍 From where to get pre-approved, how to apply, and what documents you'll need, we've got you covered. 📋🔒 Don't miss out on this essential resource! Share it with your friends and family who are also on the home buying journey. 🤝👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 #getpreapproved #homeloan #mortgagepreapproval #homebuyingtips #homeownership  

Here is why waiting for rates to adjust is not a winning strategy.   Rates will go up, down or stay the same.  But no matter WHAT they do, buyers who sit on the fence now may end up losing .

Lets take a look at how The numbers of sales and listings for houses and condos on August 1st, stack up against the previous month, and also against the previous year.  For sales figures, we look at the sales that occurred during the month of July, but this year, and 2022. Currently in Winnipeg, we have 1282 houses listed and available on the MLS,  That’s up from the 1196 on July 1st, and its actually VERY similar to the number of houses available on Aug 1st LAST YEAR, which was 1263. During the month of July, we sold 693 houses in Winnipeg, with an additional 17 still showing as ‘Pending’ so a potential total sales of 710. Compare that to the 843 sold in June, and you can see we’re down  around 15% over the previous month. Even more important however, is comparing the stats year over year.  So the number this year was 710, in in July ’22 that number was 789,  so we are down 10% over last year as well. In addition, Winnipeg REALTORS reports that the average detached home price is up 2% from same period last year. During July we sold 8 homes at 1 million and more.  The most expensive home sold was in Tuxedo at 4.7 million, and it only took 14 days on the market. To summarize the housing market, let me say this:  The numbers of available listings are at a normal level, while sales are down 10 to 15%.  Winnipeg is currently a much more buyer-friendly market, especially in the 250K to 500K range.  Sales in THIS range are actually down 20%, which makes it a little easier for buyers to find and get a home.   So now lets turn our attention to the condo market in Winnipeg. On august 1st,  we have 369 Condos available for sale, which is up from the 349 on July 1st.  This year’s 369 is very comparable to last years 365, so the amount of available inventory is pretty stable, year over year During July we sold 171 condos with another 13 showing as pending, so a potential total sale of 184 units.  While that’s down 10% from the 206 we sold in June this year, its actually UP 10% from the 160 units we sold in July of LAST YEAR. This year, condos have been bucking the prevailing trend, and have outperformed houses in Winnipeg.  I maintain that a 300K condo will be a nicer place than a similarly priced house. And with interest rates a little higher than we’ve been used to, condos offer a reasonably priced alternative to houses in Winnipeg.

Is spring 2023 turning into a great 'Buyers Market'? When comparing listings and sales, year over year, there is no doubt that numbers are looking favorable for home and condo buyers in Winnipeg.  Let's take a look at the stats of the month of April 22 and April 23. As we can see from the 'ALL MLS' graph, active available listings (all types of houses and condos) are up 70% over last year, same time. They are actually right in line with the 5-yr average of available listings (3,548) At the same time, property sales are down by 24% from last year......  as well as being down 17% from the 5 yr average. Detached Homes in Winnipeg The numbers for stand-along houses (detached homes) is even more telling.  The active listings for the Winnipeg Real Estate Board area are 1,761, which is nearly double (+84%) of the active listings in April 2022, which were 956. At the same time, sales are off by 25% when compared to last year.  So these numbers alone would suggest a nod towards a buyers market.  Since there are MORE HOMES for sale, and FEWER sales happening, buyers overall face less competition, more choices and fewer bidding wars.  But the story does not end there.  Take a look at the average prices: Last year the average detached home sold for $447,295 while this year its $409,286,  a drop of 9%.  A third sign of a buyers market. Increased Inventory Lower buyer activity Lower home prices Attached Homes in Winnipeg How about the so-called attached homes.  These are side-by-sides and townhomes.  Home builders have been constructing these as an alternative for first time buyers.  Since they use less land, and less building material, they are quite a bit cheaper to build.  Let's see how those are faring: Here active listings are actually more than double, going from 122 in 2022 to 252 this year.  Sales are off 28%,  from 109 last year to 79 in April 2023.  And prices are also down 28%, to an average of $326,995. So the story is very much the same as it is with detached homes.......more availability, less competition among buyers and lower prices to boot. Condominiums in Winnipeg Does the story repeat for condos in Winnipeg as well? Yes, but not the same extreme. The 484 available condominiums are a 42% increase over last year, which sales are off by 24%.  Last April we sold 224 condos, whereas this year we only sold 171.  However prices have remained fairly stable, dropping just 1% for the average sale, from $261,802 last year to $258,571 this year. What about interest rates? While all those numbers point to a more buyer-friendly environment, some folks point to the higher interest rates as a deterrent.  Here is another way to look at this "Interest rates will go up and down, but the purchase price is forever." Unless you're lucky (or wealthy enough) to pay your mortgage off in 5 yrs, you will most likely have to re-new it a few times.  Each time you will be subject to the current interest rates of the day. Your mortgage payment will, of course, be based on your current outstanding debt.  And right now, you can buy a house for around 10% less than last year.  PLUS have more homes to choose from, AND fewer bidding wars than last year. All of this adds up to an encouraging sign for home buyers. If you're interested in exploring your options, and see how much home your current pre-approval will buy for you, call me to set up a free buyer consultation.

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Saturday, May 6h, 2023…   Today is National Homebrew Day and International No Diet Day.   As a home buyer, do you know the difference between being a customer and being a client?   If you’re going to open houses or calling different agents asking them to show you their listings, you are a ‘customer’.   The agent you are speaking with is required, by law, to do his best for his home-seller.  As such, the agent only owes you honest answers to direct questions. The agent is actually required to tell his home-seller any information he learns about you.    However, if you are working with your own home-buyer agent, you are now, in law, considered a client.  YOUR agent owes you certain responsibilities and duties, such as protecting your privacy and financial interest.   Here is the kicker:  There is no monetary cost to being moving from being a customer, to becoming a client.   Thinking of buying a house or condo?  Call me right now to set up a free home buyer consultation, either in person or via zoom.   204-333-2202   Add us to your Daily Routine on Alexa.  Go here to add to Alexa in the Canadian Skill Store. Are you interested in more in-depth real estate information?  Check out our podcast, available on most podcast platforms. Do you have an Android Phone?  Add our Free Podcast App Here. Do you have an I-Phone?  Here is our iOS version of the podcast app.

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Saturday, May 6h, 2023…   Today is National Homebrew Day and International No Diet Day.   As a home buyer, do you know the difference between being a customer and being a client?   If you’re going to open houses or calling different agents asking them to show you their listings, you are a ‘customer’.   The agent you are speaking with is required, by law, to do his best for his home-seller.  As such, the agent only owes you honest answers to direct questions. The agent is actually required to tell his home-seller any information he learns about you.    However, if you are working with your own home-buyer agent, you are now, in law, considered a client.  YOUR agent owes you certain responsibilities and duties, such as protecting your privacy and financial interest.   Here is the kicker:  There is no monetary cost to being moving from being a customer, to becoming a client.   Thinking of buying a house or condo?  Call me right now to set up a free home buyer consultation, either in person or via zoom.   204-333-2202   Add us to your Daily Routine on Alexa.  Go here to add to Alexa in the Canadian Skill Store. Are you interested in more in-depth real estate information?  Check out our podcast, available on most podcast platforms. Do you have an Android Phone?  Add our Free Podcast App Here. Do you have an I-Phone?  Here is our iOS version of the podcast app.

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Sunday, April 30th, 2023…   Today is, National Oatmeal cookie day, Nat. Bugs Bunny Day and National Adopt a shelter pet day   Let’s give a shoutout to that last reference, the Shelter-Pet adoption day. Here in Winnipeg we are privileged to have Western Canada’s largest ‘for-life’ pet shelter in the form of D’Arcy’s Animal Rescue Centre, located at 730 Century St. In operation for over 22 yrs, D’arcys ARC has saved over 16,000 cats and dogs.   As a registered charity, your donations are tax deductible, so please join me in supporting this wonderful cause.   Winnipegs spring market, although delayed, is starting to heat up.  Here are a couple of sales in the past week:   2 story home in River part south was listed at $400K and sold for 61K OVER asking.   A side by side in All Seasons Estates sold for $320K,  which was 30K over asking.   A 900 ft bungalow in West Ft Garry sold for 77k over asking   Even homes outside of the city are getting some love:  1300 ft bungalow near Ile Des Chenes on a 1 acre lot sold for 30K over asking.   A common refrain I hear from buyers  is:  “I’ll never get involved in a bidding war”.  Truth bomb:  don’t kid yourself.  If you go out and LOVE a house, most buyers would put in an offer and voila….you’re in a bidding war, like it or not.   Who is winning these bidding wars?  The buyers who are best prepared and ready to go.  Call me right now to set up a free home buyer consultation, either in person or via zoom.   204-333-2202   Add us to your Daily Routine on Alexa.  Go here to add to Alexa in the Canadian Skill Store. Are you interested in more in-depth real estate information?  Check out our podcast, available on most podcast platforms. Do you have an Android Phone?  Add our Free Podcast App Here. Do you have an I-Phone?  Here is our iOS version of the podcast app.

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Monday, April 24th, 2023…   Today is National Bucket List Day and Pics in a blanket Day   Today, let’s talk a little about home staging.  When hearing the word, a lot of people might envision a long, involved process, including movers, decorators and stagers. In reality, even a few touch ups and clean ups can make a huge impact. Over the next few days we’ll look at several areas where a little diy and elbow grease will go a long way to make a great first impression.   For today, I’ll focus on an often forgotten aspect of staging….  Offensive odours:   Odours are usually traced to any of 3 sources:  Pet, smoking or cooking. The problem is that home owners often no longer notice these smells, as they get used to them. But a non-smoking buyer, for example, will immediately pick up on the distinctive smell of cigarettes or cigars.   I just showed a house that had an overwhelming cat odor it was like a punch in the face stepping into the home.   Adding to the problem is the fact that many listing agents just don’t feel comfortable addressing this issue head-on.  How do you tell a home seller that their home has offensive odors?  Doing so might cause the owner to go with a different agent, one who is more effusive and complimentary and tells the seller just how beautiful their home is.   Take it from me…..  offensive odors can cost you serious money in lost offers, and lowball offers.    Thinking of selling?  Call me right now to set up a free home seller consultation, either in person or via zoom.   204-333-2202   Add us to your Daily Routine on Alexa.  Go here to add to Alexa in the Canadian Skill Store. Are you interested in more in-depth real estate information?  Check out our podcast, available on most podcast platforms. Do you have an Android Phone?  Add our Free Podcast App Here. Do you have an I-Phone?  Here is our iOS version of the podcast app.

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Saturday, April 22nd, 2023…   Today is National Jelly Bean Day and International Earth Day   According to a new RateHub research, Canadians will need an annual income of $217,000 in Toronto to finance an average home.  That’s a lot of jelly beans   Even though the city's average home price has dropped by more than $200,000, the income required is actually 6,250 more than was required a year ago.   According to RateHub co-CEO James Laird, Canadians now need to earn more money to buy a home due to rising interest rates and a 7.54 percent stress test rate.   According to the survey, homebuyers in nine of ten Canadian cities must earn between $5,650 and $21,360 more in annual income than they did last year in order to afford a home.  The only city where you can buy a home with less income than a year ago is Hamilton ONT, which requires nearly 5K LESS in annual income than a year ago.  Reason is that Hamiltons average home dropped around 20% in value, which more than makes up for the rise in interest rates.   Lets take a look at some of the cities in this report   The average Vancouver home dropped by $119,600 March over March, but the income required rose by 21K  to   221,220/year.    Calgary got the double whammy.  House prices went UP 5,600 on average  (the only city with an increase in property values).  Add the higher interest rates, and required income went from $91  to $110,000/year   The only 2 cities in the report with home values below $400K where Edmonton and Winnipeg. In Edmonton, you need an annual income of just shy of $82K, while in Winnipeg, $75,650 is enough to buy an ‘average home’..   Thinking of buying?  Call me right now to set up a free home buyer consultation, either in person or via zoom.   204-333-2202   Add us to your Daily Routine on Alexa.  Go here to add to Alexa in the Canadian Skill Store. Are you interested in more in-depth real estate information?  Check out our podcast, available on most podcast platforms. Do you have an Android Phone?  Add our Free Podcast App Here. Do you have an I-Phone?  Here is our iOS version of the podcast app.

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Thursday, April 20th, 2023…   Today is National 420 Day, Volunteer Recog. Day and Nat. Cheddar Fries Day   You may be wondering where the housing market will go from here as it continues to evolve. You've probably heard something about a price crash on the horizon in the news or on social media.   According to a recent Zonda survey, 53% of millennials are still renting because they are waiting for property prices to fall. But here's the thing: according to the most current data, housing prices appear to have bottomed out and are now on the upswing. CoreLogic's Chief Economist, Selma Hepp, reports:   "U.S. home prices rose by 0.8% in February... indicating that prices in most markets have already bottomed out."   So, should you hold off on purchasing a property till prices fall? If you consider what the experts say, you probably shouldn't. According to the data, prices are rising rather than falling across much of the country.   According to the most recent Home Price Expectation Survey data, experts predict that home prices will grow slowly and revert to more normal levels of appreciation after 2023.   Working with a local real estate professional who can provide you with the most up-to-date information and expert advice is the best approach to understand what house values are doing in your region.   Thinking of buying?  Call me right now to set up a free home buyer consultation, either in person or via zoom.   204-333-2202   Add us to your Daily Routine on Alexa.  Go here to add to Alexa in the Canadian Skill Store. Are you interested in more in-depth real estate information?  Check out our podcast, available on most podcast platforms. Do you have an Android Phone?  Add our Free Podcast App Here. Do you have an I-Phone?  Here is our iOS version of the podcast app.

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Monday, April 17th, 2023…   Today is National Crawfish Day and Bat appreciation day   (the mammal, not the stick)   Just a few weeks ago, we were wondering if cheap credit and government-led relief measures would stop Canada's real estate market from going down.   According to figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) that came out this morning, the benchmark home price went up a lot in March. Canadian Real Estate Prices Jump $12k Last month.   In March, the average home went up 1.7%, or $12,300, to $727,700.   It comes after a 1.0% rise (+$7,100) in February and is the second increase in a month since the correction started.   Even though two months doesn't seem like much, it's enough to change the direction of the annual trend.   In March, home prices dropped by 15.5%, or $133,300 as compared to last year.   The 12-month drop is the biggest fall in CREA's benchmark's history. Since the standard only goes back to 2005, it's hard to say how this compares to the correction in the 1990s.   At the same time, this might be the fastest rate of turnaround. Prices of properties don't move in a straight line, so it's too early to tell what will happen.   For more on this report, go to https://boknows.homes/8c2f1d90   Here in Winnipeg, we should also focus on one figure that I just mentioned:  The benchmark home in Canada sits at 727K???   Not around Winnipeg, where you can get a really nice, detached bungalow for about half that amount.  In fact, I just listed a nice 1300 ft bungalow on an acre property just south of Ile des Chenes for $350K.   Thinking of buying?  Call me right now to set up a free home buyer consultation, either in person or via zoom.   204-333-2202   Add us to your Daily Routine on Alexa.  Go here to add to Alexa in the Canadian Skill Store. Are you interested in more in-depth real estate information?  Check out our podcast, available on most podcast platforms. Do you have an Android Phone?  Add our Free Podcast App Here. Do you have an I-Phone?  Here is our iOS version of the podcast app.

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Saturday, April 15th, 2023…   Today is Nat. Laundlry Day, Glazed Spiral Ham Day and take a guess…..its Nat. Take  a wild guess day   Should you consider buying a brand-new condo?  Wanna make some quick cash by buying pre-construction units?   We’ve all heard the stories of real estate investors and speculators purchasing pre-construction condos in major markets such as Vancouver and Toronto.   The story goes like this:  They buy a $700K unit before they are even built, and at possession time, the units are worth 800K, 900k or even more.   I know of some Vancouver investors who came to Winnipeg back in 2008 and tried that with a brand new condo building along wellington Cr. They were sorely disappointed when they tried to sell a year after possession and couldn’t even get their money back.   Winnipeg’s new condo market can be compared to the new car market.  We all know what happens when you drive your new car off the lot, right?   Same thing happens to your brand new condo.  Live in it for a year, and it’s no longer brand new, but if you try and sell, you’ll be up against other units in the same building, still being sold by the builder at the brand new prices.   There really is only ONE situation when you should consider buying a brand new condo in Winnipeg:  It’s when you plan on living in that unit for at least 6-10 years.  Why?   There is actually a drop in your value for the first couple of years, which should correct itself over time…..say 6-10 yrs.     So if you are certain you’ll own and enjoy your new condo for at least that long…I say go for it. But if there is a chance you need to sell in the next 5 years, consider a resale condo, where the values have already stabilized. Thinking of buying?  Call me right now to set up a free home buyer consultation, either in person or via zoom.   204-333-2202   Add us to your Daily Routine on Alexa.  Go here to add to Alexa in the Canadian Skill Store. Are you interested in more in-depth real estate information?  Check out our podcast, available on most podcast platforms. Do you have an Android Phone?  Add our Free Podcast App Here. Do you have an I-Phone?  Here is our iOS version of the podcast app.

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Friday, April 14th, 2023…   Today is National Gardening Day, National Pecan Day and National Ex Spouse Day.   Yesterday we opened up the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board Market report for March 2023, and saw that listings were up, sales were down, and prices of detached homes were down by 12%   Total let’s look at attached homes and condos.  First, attached homes which are side by sides and townhouse style buildings.   Here, available listings are more than double the number last year, up 132% while sales are down around 31%,  Prices have dropped around 6 % from an average of $349k to a little over $328. Itt should be noted that  builders love to build these townhouse style homes because they are more cost-effective.  The property size is smaller, and thus cheaper, and these 2, 3 and 4-piece units are cheaper to construct.   Next, condominiums are in a similar boat.  Numbers of available listings are up, although not as much as attached homes.  Listings are up 35% and sales are down by the same 35%.  Prices are also down 6% over last year, from an average 260K to just $245K.   Condos also offer a great way to get into home ownership at a lower cost.  However, BEFORE you buy a brand new construction condo, listen to my next episode as I will share a couple of thoughts on this topic.  You are NOT going to want to miss this, so please listen BEFORE you make that type of decision.   Thinking of buying?  Call me right now to set up a free home buyer consultation, either in person or via zoom.   204-333-2202   Come back tomorrow when we’ll dive into the attached homes and condo market stats for the month.   Add us to your Daily Routine on Alexa.  Go here to add to Alexa in the Canadian Skill Store. Are you interested in more in-depth real estate information?  Check out our podcast, available on most podcast platforms. Do you have an Android Phone?  Add our Free Podcast App Here. Do you have an I-Phone?  Here is our iOS version of the podcast app.

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Thursday, April 13th, 2023…   Today is National Peach Cobbler Day and National Scrabble Day   The Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board has just released it’s MLS stats for March.  While sales and listings are on the increase when compared to the previous month, they still lag well behind the craziness of 2022.   In March we saw a total of 1,014 MLS sales in total, which is down from the over 1400 in March last year, and also down from the 5 yr average, which sits at 1300 sales for that one month.   The largest difference is in the sales and prices of stand-alone houses, called detached homes.  Sales in March of 698 homes is down 28% from the same time last year, and 21% lower than the 5 yr average.   As for prices, the average detached home sold for $386,800, which is down 12% from the average last year, which sat at $439.900.   Active listings in this type of home are up over double from last year. So definitely the bright spot here is for home buyers:  More than double the numbers of available listings, prices have gone down 12% and fewer competing buyers in the market. All this means that right now we are in a much more buyer-friendly market here in Winnipeg.   Thinking of buying?  Call me right now to set up a free home buyer consultation, either in person or via zoom.   204-333-2202   Come back tomorrow when we’ll dive into the attached homes and condo market stats for the month.   Add us to your Daily Routine on Alexa.  Go here to add to Alexa in the Canadian Skill Store. Are you interested in more in-depth real estate information?  Check out our podcast, available on most podcast platforms. Do you have an Android Phone?  Add our Free Podcast App Here. Do you have an I-Phone?  Here is our iOS version of the podcast app.

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Monday, April 10th, 2023…   Today is National Siblings Day and National Cinnamon Crescent day   A newly published article in Better Dwellings reports the fact that Canadian real estate owners are not selling right now, and examines the reasons why.   The article reports that two of Canada’s trend leading markets, Toronto and Vancouver, saw new listings in March fall by 44% and 34% respectively.   They identify the main reason as being ‘little reason to sell’.  Higher interest rates ‘normally’ cause prices to drop, but that’s not happening this time around.    The report somewhat falsely claims that the shortage of listings is a country wide phenomenon, affecting all markets.  For the full report, go here;  https://boknows.homes/4b74e290   But again, Winnipeg is bucking the national trend.   On April 1st this year, Winnipeg had 961 houses of all types, styles and sizes available for sale.  That was more than double the numbers available on April 1st last year.  While we can agree that last year’s 426 houses was an abnormally low number, April 2021 still only had 615 available.  We have to go back to the very start of the pandemic, to find over 1,000 listings on any April 1st date.   So Winnipeg right now is actually seeing more choices for buyers than at anytime in the past 2 yrs.  How about prices.   The most recent report from Winnipeg REALTORS shows that the average house in Feb. this year sold for $375k,  which is down 13% from the average of 429K the same period of the previous year.   The March sales stats should be out in the next day, and I’ll be happy to report them here…     Looking to buy or sell in Winnipeg?  I am a, Accredited Buyer Representative, AND Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist and can help you buy or sell any  house or condo in Winnipeg and surrounding areas.  Call me anytime at 204-333-2202 Add us to your Daily Routine on Alexa.  Go here to add to Alexa in the Canadian Skill Store. Are you interested in more in-depth real estate information?  Check out our podcast, available on most podcast platforms. Do you have an Android Phone?  Add our Free Podcast App Here. Do you have an I-Phone?  Here is our iOS version of the podcast app.

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Friday, April 7th, 2023…   Today is Good Friday, National Beer Day and Nat. No Housework Day   According to new research from Zillow, some luxury features may help you sell your home for more money or faster than you thought.   The real estate website looked at 271 design terms and features that would be included in nearly 2 million home sales in 2022.   Two chef-friendly features that helped homes sell for more were steam ovens and pizza ovens. Steam ovens helped push prices up by 5.3% compared to similar homes without them, and pizza ovens helped push prices up by 3.7%.   Professional appliances, "she sheds," quartz counters, and hurricane storm shutters where among the top 10 features which helped increase the prices.   Zillow also looked at which features helped houses sell faster than expected.   The top of that list was doorbell cameras, open shelving, heat pumps, fenced yards, hardwood; and gas furnaces.   Looking for a luxury home in Winnipeg?  I am a Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist and can help you buy or sell any luxury property, house or condo in Winnipeg and surrounding areas.  Call me anytime at 204-333-2202 Add us to your Daily Routine on Alexa.  Go here to add to Alexa in the Canadian Skill Store. Are you interested in more in-depth real estate information?  Check out our podcast, available on most podcast platforms. Do you have an Android Phone?  Add our Free Podcast App Here. Do you have an I-Phone?  Here is our iOS version of the podcast app.

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Thursday, April 6th, 2023… Today is National Burrito Day, New Beers Eve and Nat. Employee Benefits Day Growing demand for homes has made its way up to the higher end of the Canadian real estate market. In most of the country's major markets, luxury sales went up in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.   RE/MAX Canada looked at luxury market patterns in 15 locations across the country, from coast to coast. They discovered that the significant loss of home stock is pushing up prices at lower price points and increasing demand.  10 of the 15 markets that were looked at are on par with or ahead of Q4 2022. As sales and temperatures rise, this pattern is likely to keep going until the second quarter of 2023.  Calgary and Hamilton saw the largest jumps at 34% and 39% respectively.   A lot of the activity is thought to be due to demand that has been building up since the middle of 2022. Buyers are taking advantage of the chance they have right now to buy a property. Listings, on the other hand, are hard to come by in most parts of the country, making it hard to find the ideal home. In summary, the report identified 3 trends:  1)    Overall national demand for luxury homes has increased 2)    Sidelined buyers are back, and 3)    The activity is expected on continue and rise. Once again, Winnipeg is one of 5 cities bucking the trend, although just barely. Luxury home sales were down in St. Johns NFLD by 68%, Edmonton AB by 30%, Kelowna BC by 17% and London ONT by 9%.  Winnipeg saw the smallest drop at only 3.8%.   Looking for a luxury home in Winnipeg?  I am a Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist and can help you buy or sell any luxury property, house or condo in Winnipeg and surrounding areas.  Call me anytime at 204-333-2202 Add us to your Daily Routine on Alexa.  Go here to add to Alexa in the Canadian Skill Store. Are you interested in more in-depth real estate information?  Check out our podcast, available on most podcast platforms. Do you have an Android Phone?  Add our Free Podcast App Here. Do you have an I-Phone?  Here is our iOS version of the podcast app.

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Wednesday, April 5th, 2023…   Today is First day of Passover, Nat. Deep Dish Pizza Day and fittingly, Nat. Walking Day   The largest oceanfront single-family property in Miami came back to the market on Tuesday. They tried selling this thing last year, and despite the jaw-dropping 100-million price, the 1.5-acre estate is being marketed as a teardown.  BONUS: the new owner will also receive approved plans for a new 10-bedroom, 30,000-square-foot home.  (the contruction of which is NOT included)   The property is currently owned by Edith Newman and her late husband, Joel Newman, founder of Craig Electronics, since 1995 and has been custom built with nine bedrooms and 12 bathrooms across 25,867 square feet.   Golden Beach is known as a very upscale community, with a small population of approximately 364 households, and celebrity residents include Bill Gates and Eric Clapton.   For more info, see the article here  https://boknows.homes/91ea0500     Meanwhile, back on earth, the largest home on the market in Winnipeg is a 5900 sq ft 2-storey home in E St Paul.  Built in 2002, it is currently asking 2.5 million and has been on the market for 81 days   The most expensive house in Winnipeg is a newly listed, 4400 sq ft 2 storey home in Tuxedo, built in 2022 and asking 4.2 million   To see these or any other house or condo on the market, contact me anytime Bo Kauffmann with REMAX at 204-333-2202

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Tuesday, April 4th, 2023…   Today is Nat. School Librarian Day, Vitamin C Day and Hug a Newsperson Day  (or podcaster)    At least one major Canadian Bank thinks that house prices in Canada are poised to dramatically go up.  Scotiabank points out that the Band of Canada and the Fed Government are acting in opposing fashion, and that the Federal Govt might just win this race.   While the Bank of Canada has been keeping interest rates higher to cool the housing market, the Fed’s policies are stimulating the real estate market.  Policies like increased immigration and the new Tax Free Home Buyer Savings Plan are encouraging buyers to enter a housing market that is low on supply, at least nationally.   For more info, read this article here:  https://boknows.homes/e6988560   Speaking of housing affordability…   RBC has devised an ‘affordability measure’  which is based on the percentage of income a typical household would spend on home ownership costs.    Nationally, the average is at 62.8%.  But in the late stages of 2022, Vancouver hit the ridiculous mark of 98.1%, making it the most unaffordable city in which to own a home.  The average MLS price for a home in greater Vancouver is 1.2 Million dollars.   For more info, read this article here:   https://boknows.homes/9d515310   Meanwhile, back in River City, the average house is around $340,000, and the average condo around $240,000. And unlike the national average, our market has plenty of homes to choose from….at least for now.   Add us to your Daily Routine on Alexa.  Go here to add to Alexa in the Canadian Skill Store. Are you interested in more in-depth real estate information?  Check out our podcast, available on most podcast platforms. Do you have an Android Phone?  Add our Free Podcast App Here. Do you have an I-Phone?  Here is our iOS version of the podcast app.

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Monday, April 3rd, 2023…   Today is World Party Day, National Choc Mousse Day and here it’s Market Monday.   Being the 1st Monday of the month, lets take a look at the local market conditions.   On April 1st, we had 961 houses of all types, styles and price ranges available for sale in Winnipeg. Last year that number was 426.  So we have more than double the number of homes for sale than we did last year same time.   On the sales side of the equation, we sold 520 homes in March this year, compared to 773 same time last year.   So available homes are up over 100%, while sales are DOWN around 35%.  It’s a great market for buyers.  And with interest rates having stabilized in the past month, things are looking great if you’re interested in buying a home.   What about Condos?  On April 1st, we had 318 Condos available in Winnipeg, compared to just 247 same day last year.  So again, inventory is up nearly 30%   During March we sold around 100 condos, compared to 214 last year same period   Condos represent an excellent opportunity to get into the home ownership market in Winnipeg, and now is a GREAT time to buy one.   For a more historic and in-depth look at the Winnipeg Real Estate Market, go to https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com/winnipeg-housing-market-report/

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Celebrity Sunday, April 2nd, 2023…   Today is World Autism Day, National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day, and National Reconcilliation Day.   Whenever a huge event, like a Super Bowl comes to a city, rental rates go thru the roof for that week or month.  But this is ridiculous   Turns out the owner of a 6,000 sq ft home in Paradise Valley  , an affluent area in Phoenix, had no intention of renting his home out, let alone rent it during super bowl. But then the agent for Rhianna came calling with a sweetheart offer.  As you recall, Rhianna performed at the Super Bowl this year and needed a pad to crash between rehearsals.  The offer:  $500,000 for ONE WEEK.    Singer Avril Lavigne has put her 3500 sq ft Malibu Home on the market for a cool 12 million.  The home was built in 1968 and sits on just over half an acre.   Over the past 2 decades, actor Brad Pitt had purchased several adjoining properties amounting to just under 2 acres.  This week he sold the whole thing to an unidentified buyer for 40 million dollars.   Closer to home, a 3500 sq ft Tuxedo home sold for just shy of 2 Million dollars.  Noteworthy:  The wine cooler in the basement was specifically excluded..

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Saturday, April 1st, 2023…   Today is April Fools Day, National Sourdough Bread Day  (No foolin)   As of today, Canadians are supposed to be able to start contributing to a Tax-Free First Home Savings Account.  Here is how that works:   Canadian Citizens who are at least 18 yrs old, and no older than 71, open up an FHSA and start contributing money into it.   The yearly limit is $8,000 with a lifetime limit of $40,000.   Just like an RRSP, contributions are deductible from your income tax, so this makes a great tax-avoidance option.   Unlike RRSP’s, when you pull the money out to buy your first home, you do NOT have to replace that money into the account later.   Definition of first time home buyers are those who have not owned a home, in which they live, for the past 5 years.   Started this briefing by saying that Canadians are ‘supposed to be able to start using this vehicle’  but it would appear that financial institutions are not yet ready for this.  Check with your investment professional or financial institution now.   Interested in more indepth real estate information?  Download our free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices, by going to boknows.homes/apps….  You can also receive daily briefings on Alexa by going to boknows.homes/alexa

lo…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your flash briefing on Feel Good Friday, March 31st 2023   Today is National Crayon Day, National Prom Day and National Tater Day   Ready for some ‘feel good stories?”  I’ve got two of them   A friend of mine owns a house painting company and had been searching for workers, unsuccessfully,  for the past couple of years.  He finally found some,  in the form of a Ukrainian father-son team who had just landed in Winnipeg a few days earlier. My friend reports that they are eager to work and, best of all, experienced painters.   Different setting, similar story:  Another friend runs a exterior home renovation company and has also had problems finding workers.  Problem solved when he found 3 ukraininan males who are not only eager to work but have decades of experience in aluminum siding installation. That same company is also offering a 10% discount on booking any exterior reno project this spring.  Contact me for details… 204-333-2202   Im planning to make ‘Feel Good Friday” a regular thing.  Let me know how you ‘feel’ about that?   Interested in more indepth real estate information?  Download our free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices, by going to boknows.homes/apps….  You can also receive daily briefings on Alexa by going to boknows.homes/alexa

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Thursday, March 30th, 2023…   Today is National Doctors Day, National Take a walk in the park day and national turkey neck soup day.  Where do they get this stuff?  National walk in the park day….phaw.   True North Real Estate Development has filed a request with city council to be given 1 yr to investigate the possibility of purchasing Portage Place Mall.  What was once a jewel in downtown, Portage Place has been “a large, cumbersome and mostly vacant asset in a state of continuing decline in Winnipeg’s downtown for many years”, the filing claims. In national real estate news, The Canadian real estate association reports that on average, house prices have fallen 19% from their HIGH in Feb. 2022. As BMO chief economist predicted they would fall a total of 20-25%, realtors are now seeing buyers coming back into the market.   While new listings are down 26% nationally, here in Winnipeg we are again bucking the trend.  The 867 houses available on March 1st was more than double the number available the same day a year ago. With the Bank of Canada apparently signalling no further rate hikes, now is a good time for buyers to check out their options.    Interested in more indepth real estate information?  Download our free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices, by going to boknows.homes/apps….  You can also receive daily briefings on Alexa by going to boknows.homes/alexa

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Wednesday, March 29th, 2023…   Today is National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day, and Manatee appreciation day.   The sharp drop in headline inflation in February suggests that rates have reached their highest point and that the next move will be a cut.   In February, the annual rate of change in the consumer price index slowed to 5.2%. This was the biggest drop since February 2020. Most economists think that the drop in inflation makes it almost certain that the Bank of Canada will not change interest rates at its April 12 meeting.   Some people want at least one 25-basis-point rate cut before the end of the year. This would drop the Bank's overnight target rate from 4.50% to 4.25%.   Canada is especially vulnerable to the risk of a housing market correction when interest rates are going up because people there have more debt.   If inflation rates go down, the Bank of Canada will be able to respond by loosening monetary policy. This is especially true since Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has said that her next budget will "exercise fiscal restraint" to help fight inflation.   Interested in more indepth real estate information?  Download our free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices, by going to boknows.homes/apps….  You can also receive daily briefings on Alexa by going to boknows.homes/alexa

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Tuesday, March 28th, 2023…   Today is National Weed Appreciation Day and suitably, National Black Forest Cake Day…..dude!   Real Estate brokerage Royal LePage did a study recently to see how much home you could buy for a million dollars.   On average, Canada wide, a million will buy your nearly 1800 sq feet, with 3.2 bedroom and 2.6 baths.   As you can probably guess, that’s not happening in Vancouver, where a cool mil gets you less than 1,000 sq feet, and not even 2 bathrooms.  If you want more house, You’ll have to live on Kraft Dinners.   Toronto is next, where you’ll get 1230 sq feet, nearly 3 bedrooms and still less than 2 bathrooms on average.   Best bang for your buck?  You guess it:  Winnipeg comes in as one of the most affordable cities.  Last month, a 2300 sq ft home with 4 BR and 3 baths sold for 1.15 million And a newer 2300 ft home in E St Paul sold for 975K….enough money left over to buy a nice chesterfield….or an ottoman.   Incidentally, right now there are 44 homes on Winnipeg’s market priced at 1 Million plus.  The 4 most expensive ones are all located in Tuxedo.   The Luxury Home Marketing Institute defines a luxury home as one which is worth 1 million or more.   Add us to your daily routine by going to boknows.homes/alexa

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Monday, March 27th, 2023…   Today is National Spanish Paella Day and, I cant read this……..oh yeah, National Scribble day.   If you own investment property in Canada, listen up:  New rules enacted by CRA may require you to file special forms by April 30th.   Its called the Underused Housing Tax and has a nasty surprise built in.  You see there are two parts to this:  One is the question of whether you owe any new tax on your properties.  If you’re a Canadian citizen or resident, you may be excempt from the tax, however that’s not the nasty part:  The surprise is that you may likely be required to at least FILE a special form by April 30th this year.  And failure to simply file this form can result in up to $10,000 fine PER PROPERTY.   So my advice:  If you own rental property, check with your accountant or tax professional about the Underused Housing Tax….  My accountant tells me that a LOT of people are unaware of this new rule.   I want to thank Garret Wong of Upper Edge Property Management for bringing this to my attention.     Interested in more indepth real estate information?  Download our free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices, by going to boknows.homes/apps….  You can also receive daily briefings on Alexa by going to boknows.homes/alexa

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for… Sunday, March 26th, 2023…   Today is Epilepsy awareness day, and National Spinach Day and National Nougat day. Spinach doesn’t deserve a day…….but I digest Spring time Sundays mean Open Houses. If you’re planning on attending an open house in your city, remember that the agent there, works for the Seller. Try to keep your oohhs and aaaahs to a minimum, as they may weaken your negotiating position if you do want to make an offer. Also remember that you do have the right to be represented by your own agent, even after visiting the open house. Here are 6 questions you should ask the open house agent.   1)   How long have the sellers lived here? You want to determine whether this is a flip house, or a loved family home.   2)   How long has the home been on the market? If it’s been up for a long time, have they had price adjustments?   3)   How much are the heating costs? Especially important in older homes, which had originally been insulated with newspaper clippings.   4)   Has the seller done any renovations or additions? If so, have they pulled the necessary permits, and obtained the follow up inspections   5)   Is the seller making any disclosures? Sellers must make disclosures of ‘hidden defects which could affect structure or health issues”.   6)   Has the seller had any offers? Good to know if they’ve turned down offers or how much action there has been on the home.   Don’t let heavy foot traffic intimidate you into thinking that the house will sell today. Spring time open houses see a lot of action, and much of it is by tire-kickers. If you’re interested in the home, thank the agent, and call your own realtor asap to book your private showing for a 2nd, more indepth look.   https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com/open-house-questions-to-ask/   Interested in more indepth real estate information? Download our free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices, by going to boknows.homes/apps…. 

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  Friday, March 24th, 2023… Today is National Cheese-steak day, and National Cocktail day.  Spoiler alert;;;  I’ll be celebrating BOTH. Good news for home-owners:  The provincial budget for 2023 has been announced, and the cost of education is being increasingly funded from general revenues, and less from homeowner property taxes. This is something our real estate board has been advocating for a long time.  In this years budget, homeowners will see a 50% refund of the education tax portion of their property tax bill.  An estimated average saving of $775 per home. Tomorrow is the day of Earth Hour.  In addition to turning off our lights for 1 hour in the evening, here are a couple of tips to help us all be a little more eco-friendly. Replace any remaining incandescent light bulbs with long lasting, power friendly LED bulbs Buy reusable shopping bags and don’t forget them in the car, like I always do Stop using single-use plastics.  If you have plastic cups, wash them and reuse them. Install low-flow shower heads and take shorter showers. Instead of buying drinking water in plastic bottles, invest in a good quality filter, and fill reusable bottles. Don’t throw out old clothes and household goods:  Donate them to a local charity such as Annie’s Attic Thrift shop at 1560 Main St.  They will resell these items and use the money to support their animal shelter. Interested in more indepth real estate information?  Download our free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices, by going to boknows.homes/apps…. 

What is a Special Assessment? Hi, Bo Kauffmann of REMAX in Winnipeg here to explain this term. A special assessment relates to the condominium reserve fund. When a condominium requires repairs, maintenance or upgrades and there is not enough money in the reserve fund, additional money has to be raised from all condo-owners. The act of raising this additional money is called a ‘Special Assessment’. If it is a relatively small sum of money, for example a few hundred dollars, this special assessment is usually collected as a one-time payment. However larger sums may require an ongoing monthly installment plan, which is added to the owners monthly Condo Fees.   For a deeper discussion on this and other real estate topics, check out my blog at boknows.homes/blog or scan this code.

Hello…this is Bo Kauffmann of Remax in Winnipeg, with your real estate news for…  March 20th, 2023…   Today is the first day of spring, but also International Day of Happyness, World Storytelling day, and National Ravioli Day…..mmmmhhh  ravioli.    Total Moving Winnipeg has acquired pod company Easy Stor.  This enables them to bring a 12’ or 16 ft pod to your home where you can fill it with excess furniture and other stuff. An excellent idea if you need to declutter your home before putting it on the market.  The pod is then picked up and safely stored in a temperature controlled, secure facility.   Spring is the time we can pay attention to our home’s exteriors again.  Advance Exteriors, who specialize in windows, doors and roofs, are offering a 10% discount if you book your roofing job now.  Don’t delay, they do book up quickly.   And in mortgage rate news, a 4 yr locked in mortgage can now be had for as little as 4.64%.  What does that mean? Bi-weekly payments on a $350,000 mortgage would be a shade over $900.  Good Times.   Interested in more indepth real estate information?  Download our free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices, by going to boknows.homes/apps

When you look at house or condo listings, you will see the price, the size of the home and then the ‘price per sq foot’. But how relevant is that number?  Buyers might think that a $200 per foot home is a better value than a $300 per foot. Not so fast.  Even if both homes are in generally the same condition and in the same neighbourhood, there are a lot of other factors that go into pricing. For example, a 2-storey home is cheaper per foot than a bungalow.  And a Bi-level or raised bungalow is the highest priced of all. Also, finished basements and garages add value to the home, without adding actual square footage, so this increases the ‘dollar-per-foot’ figure as well. When buying a home, in any market, make sure you have an experienced agent in your corner.  In Winnipeg, call me at 204-333-2202 to help you find your next house or condo.

Winnipeg's real estate market stats .  Available houses and condos on Feb. 1st, and a look at sales uring January

November 2022 Market Update We’re into the last couple of months of 2022, so let’s see if the buyers market continues into the winter, shall we? Hello, I’m Bo Kauffmann a residential real estate agent with REMAX Performance realty, and your host of Winnipeg’s Real estate podcast. A few days ago, Winnipeg REALTORS reported that sales in October were off (down) by 30% compared to last year.  This is certainly true. Whats different about their report and this one is that I focus on Winnipeg only….while Winnipeg REALTORS cover the entire south east quadrant of the province. It’s important to remember that when I say “the market”, it covers many different segments.  Not all segments react or act the same way.  For example, 400K condos are very different from 400k houses.  Transcona’s housing market will be different than the River Heights market. A side by side in St James will enjoy a different response than a detached home in Garden City, and so on. My monthly market report attempts to separate some of these markets along different price points, 4 for houses and 2 for condos. But NO real estate market report would ever be able to replace individual analysis and advice a real estate agent can give you in a one-to-one setting. That’s why, if/when you’re ready to buy or sell, a house or a condo in Winnipeg, call me for a free consultation anytime. With the availability of zoom, we could even hold this consultation online, from the comfort of your own home. If there is one thing you should take away from this month’s report, its this:  As you will see by the following numbers, availability of homes is UP, and sales are DOWN, making this a perfect time to buy. Don’t wait til spring when prices traditionally jump, as a result of increased competition among buyers. On Nov. 1st, there were 1228 houses of all types available in Winnipeg.  Compare that to 1336 on Oct. 1st, and only 802 on November 1st ,  last year. As for sales, in October we sold 555 houses with another 22 ‘pending’, meaning that potentially a total of 575 house were sold.  That’s nearly identical to the 577 sold the month before, but down significantly from the 756 last year same time period.  In fact, that’s down 24% year over year. As I said earlier, we will find that available homes are UP, and sales are DOWN. Ok. Let’s take a look at the first segment of the housing market, which is entry level homes priced under 250,000.   Houses under $250,000 Currently we have 335 houses available, which is nearly the same as 339 on Oct 1st.  And on the other side of the equation, we sold 117 homes in October, with another 7 pending, for a potential total of 124.  That’s about the same as the 121 sold during September, but down significantly from the 155 we sold during October of last year. I find that comparing year over year has more significance than going month to month.  So a drop from 155 sales to 124 is noteworthy. Lets look at Winnipeg’s most active price range, homes between 250 and 500K Homes 250-500K On November 1st, we had 495 houses available in this price range, which is down from the 591 on October 1st. We see a similar, perhaps more drastic difference in the sales.  During Oct., we sold 326 houses plus 12 pending, for a potential sale of 338 houses.  In September, that was pretty much the same, 339, but a year ago in October we sold 445.  So about a 25% reduction in sales, year of year, for the month of October. This makes for a great time to buy.   Ok, next, we look at some of the higher end homes and how they are faring in this market Homes 500-1 Mill In homes priced between 500K and 1 million, we don’t find a huge change in availability month over month.  The 344 homes available right now are nearly the same number as was available on Oct 1st.  On the sales side, we sold 110 plus 4 pending, making for potentially 114 sales.  That’snearly identical to the 115 sold in September, but down significantly from October last year, when we sold 156 homes in this price range.  (about 27% fewer). The picture repeats itself.  Availability up, while sales down 27%....  more choices, less competition make this a great time to buy. 1 Million Plus In the luxury home market, we currently have 54 homes priced at 1 Million dollars plus.  This is up from the previous month, when we had 48 available.  In this price range we sold 11 last month, more than the 7 we sold in September, and more than double the number we sold in October of last year, which was 5.. In most price ranges, outside of the Million dollar plus range, availability is UP and sales are down.  Don’t wait til spring.  Call me right now to help you secure a great deal on your first, or next home   When we come back, we’ll check out the condo market.   Ok, lets look at the condo market in Winnipeg. On Nov 1st, we had 377 condos available in all price ranges, which is down from the previous month of 408.  During the month of October we sold 121 condos, with another 10 showing pending, for a total of 131 potential sales.  That’s down from the 146 we sold in Sept., and way down from the 191 we sold in October of last year. Lets see how that breaks down along the price ranges. Condos under 250 For entry level condos, under 250,000 dollars, we have 216 available, which is about the same as the previous month, when we had 220 available . On the sales side, we have sold 69 units with another 9 showing as pending, so a total of 78 units.  While same as the 77 units we sold last month, it is significantly lower than the 105 last year, we can see that sales have dropped off quite a bit in this range.   Condos over 250K In the more luxurious condo price range of above 250K, we have 161 units for sale on Nov 1st, down from the 188 on October 1st.  Sales have dropped off here as well, with 53 potential sales,  that is 52 sold and 1 pending.  Those 53 sales are down from the 71 of the previous month, and also down from 86 sales the previous year, same time period. So we see that overall, the condo market is reacting similarly to the housing market:  Sales are slower, but availability is plentiful. Thinking of buying a condo as your first or next home?  Or perhaps an investment condo to rent out?  Call me for a free condo consultation anytime.

[00:00:00] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Thinking of owning and managing rental properties. Today I'm gonna talk to a property management company and get some advice for you on this episode of Winnipeg's Real Estate Podcast. [00:00:13] You're listening to The Bo Knows Real Estate Podcast, Tips and Advice for home buyers, sellers, and owners with award-winning reax agent Bo Kauffmann. [00:00:27] Hello everybody. Bo Kaufman Remax Performance Realty, your residential real estate agent. Are you thinking of buying one or more homes or condos to rent out and make some money? Real estate has always been considered a very stable and safe investment. But before we call my friend Jackson Ham of Pillar Property Management, I do want you to be aware of a few things. [00:00:47] I get calls from buyers in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, thinking of buying homes to use as rental properties here in Winnipeg. They're always excited by the fact that you can still buy a house around the $250,000 mark, but when they learned that most of those homes would rent for only about 1600 a month, they're a lot less enthusiastic. [00:01:06] Buying and owning rental properties is not a get rich quick scheme. That's a tongue twister. You can't buy one or two homes and expect to make a grand per month profit each. That's just not how it works these days with five and 6% interest rates, you may be lucky to break even. So I'll give you an example. [00:01:23] There was a house in East Kildonan on the market for $260,000 and it advertised that it came with a tenant who would love to stay. That tenant was paying 1,450 a month. Now do the math, mortgage payments plus taxes, plus home insurance, that'll all add up to more than 1,450 a month. So how can an owner make money? [00:01:41] The answer is that the current owner bought that house for around $130,000, and at that price is now making a few hundred dollars a month in profit. So when considering buying a rental property, investors need to take the long view. It's not $500 cash flow, you don't see those kind of numbers, not these days in Winnipeg. [00:01:59] So let's call Jackson of Pillar Property Management and ask him a few question. All right. Hello Jackson. How are you doing today? [00:02:06] Jackson Hamm - Pillar Property Manager: I'm not doing too bad, Bo. How are you doing? [00:02:08] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Excellent. Excellent. So let's get right into it. Pillar Property Management. How long have you guys been around? [00:02:14] Jackson Hamm - Pillar Property Manager: Pillar Property Management. We were established in 2007 and we recently celebrated 15 years in the industry. [00:02:19] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Nice. Okay. And how many homes do you have under contract at the moment? [00:02:24] Jackson Hamm - Pillar Property Manager: We're managing between 400 to 450 doors. And. I'd say that's a mixed bag between single family, multi-family apartment buildings, and condominiums included. [00:02:34] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Okay. All right. So what's your average client look like? Do they have six or eight properties or are they mostly startups with one or two? [00:02:40] Jackson Hamm - Pillar Property Manager: On average we get a lot of startups people with about one or two homes who aren't really quite sure what to do with them and maybe have never done property management themselves. [00:02:47] They come to us to of help them out and we do get a few outliers here and there that have about six or seven units. But by and large, I'd say most of them are about one or two just starting off small. [00:02:55] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Right on. Do you guys offer different levels of service or is it just all inclusive. Like finding the tenant and then managing everything? Or do you have different levels. [00:03:03] Jackson Hamm - Pillar Property Manager: So we only have one level of service here at Pillar. And the reason being is we believe that all of our clients should be treated with the same level of quality as as all the rest of them. And at Pillar we do this because we feel that the work we do should reflect the high standards we hold ourselves to. [00:03:17] Which is why we only really want to go for one. Cuz you know, we only want to provide one, which is would be the highest level of service. [00:03:24] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Okay, so let's just briefly walk through this. Let's say I have a property that I wanna let you manage. There's no tenant in it right now. I come and see you.  We sign a kind of a contract. What do you guys do? You guys even go out and advertise and find a tenant. You guys take pictures of property, that kind of thing. [00:03:41] Jackson Hamm - Pillar Property Manager: Yeah. So what we'll do is we'll go out and we'll photograph the property for advertisements, but while there's times of vacancy in the property, especially when we do take new tenants or new clients on, we wanna make it very clear that with our clients, we don't charge any sort of management fees during times of vacancy so that they can be they can feel comfortable knowing that we're only gonna be making money when they are, and we're always acting in their best interest to do okay, [00:04:01] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: that's good. So then you find the tenant, you do the background checks and all that kind of. We sure do. And what do you charge for your service? [00:04:07] Jackson Hamm - Pillar Property Manager:  We charge a 10% management fee for the service. [00:04:10] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: So it's 10% of whatever the rent is. [00:04:14] Jackson Hamm - Pillar Property Manager: That's correct, yes.   [00:04:14] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Okay., Now since interest rates have gone from two to 5%. Does it make sense to go out and buy a property to rent out right now? I would say, [00:04:21] Jackson Hamm - Pillar Property Manager: I would say it does. And the reason being is because it's never a bad time to buy real estate. And when you wanna mention that the interest rates were, sitting pretty high right now at around seven. [00:04:30] Historically those are still quite low. Compared to the double digit numbers we used to see in the seventies and the eighties. I would say that don't let these interest rates discourage you. With the rates being as high as they have been in the last decade or so I can understand why people would be hesitant to do but that said there's been a lot more the renter's market has been quite flush with the applicants. So you're gonna see pretty low levels of vacancy across the board, and it won't be too hard to find yourself a really nice applicant to fit yourself in your home [00:04:55] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR:   What do your recent clients look like? Uh, You and I had a brief discussion about that and you said you're getting a lot of homeowners who are unable to sell their houses for one reason or another. Is that your main new client [00:05:06] Jackson Hamm - Pillar Property Manager: right now at the moment with the interest rates the way they are, it is a lot of our clients are coming in because they aren't able to find buyers for their homes. [00:05:13] And so they decided to turn it into a bit of a nest egg investment and put their real estate into their portfolio and make money off of it. A lot of the people that come in these days, a lot of our clients recently have been a lot of young people that are just starting out their careers and looking to diversify their investment portfolio. [00:05:27] As well, we're seeing quite a lot of new Canadians who are, new to the country, but understand that Winnipeg has a really healthy real estate markets and can be uh, pretty profitable to jump into the rental property industry right from the GetGo. [00:05:39] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Okay. Now, if somebody wanted to get into buying rental property, what would you advise 'em how to? [00:05:43] Jackson Hamm - Pillar Property Manager: In Winnipeg if you were to, wanted to get into the rental property industry, I would say start looking for a house that has three bedroom. I think that's a lot of a lot of the times it's the most attractive home renters can look for really attractive to families for one. [00:05:55] And it's going to give you a bit of a higher ROI because you can charge a bit higher rent for something with three bedrooms as opposed to two. And generally it attracts a wide range of applicants as opposed to a two bedroom, which you might see more maybe small families, single renters, that kind of thing.   So the three bedrooms would probably be the good place to start if I had to give my opinion on that. [00:06:12] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: What about neighborhoods? Are there any neighborhoods that you would recommend that would fit the right price range? [00:06:18] Jackson Hamm - Pillar Property Manager: Any neighborhoods off the top of my head I could think of, be maybe around the Logan and Keewatin areas. [00:06:22] The North End has got a lot of really good investment properties there. And it's often pretty low cost of entry there, if you were starting small, I would recommend, checking with the north end of Winnipeg. There's great real estate around there. And it's usually a low cost entry to get into that market. [00:06:36] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR:  Not the bidding wars. You don't wanna get involved in the bidding war if you're looking for a rental property. Exactly. That was my interview with Jackson Ham of Pillar Property Management, and I have some final words when I come. [00:07:18] After we stopped recording, I asked Jackson what he considered to be the sweet spot of buying rental properties at what price would a home give you the best or the most decent roi? He said that they have a few nice bungalows with double car garages that fetch around $3,500 a month in rent. [00:07:35] And if you can find such a home around the $350,000 mark, there's definitely a demand by tenants for nicer homes. Now 3,500 is way above the average Winnipeg rent. What you get here is you get professionals that have been temporarily transferred to Winnipeg for one or two years and would like to live in a nicer home, and they don't mind paying that, that level of rent. [00:07:56] Just some food for thought. I hope you've enjoyed listening to this episode as much as I've enjoyed creating it, cuz I really do. If you found the information helpful, why not download my free podcasting app? That way you never missed another episode, and I've made it super simple too. Just go to Bo Knows dot home slash apps. [00:08:15]  And finally, please give this podcast a five star rating. Again, we've made it super simple. Just go to love the podcast.com/boknows. Thank you so much for listening. Let's do this again next week. [00:08:38] You've been listening to Bo Kauffmann of Remax Performance Realty. Are you thinking of buying or selling a house or a condo in Winnipeg? Call Bo at (204) 333-2202. Remember, Bo knows real estate.

Is this a good time to buy, or sell, a house or condo in Winnipeg? Listen to the latest listing and sales stats for houses and condos in Winnipeg and find out.

Should Buyers get a home inspection? How do Sellers choose a real estate agent? What are 3 things to check at possession time?   These and more tips , plus current mortgage rates, in this episode.

Instead of replacing your plugged, cracked or blocked underground sewer line, listen to this alternative.   Relining your sewer is cheaper, cleaner and can be done at anytime of year.

Is  now a good time to buy or sell a house or condo in Winnipeg? Listen and find out

3 Real Estate Fact #1 [00:00:00] Host Ryan Peterson: Get ready for three interesting real estate facts you should know coming up in this episode of Winnipeg's real estate podcast. Cue the music [00:00:11] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: you're listening to the bone knows real estate podcast tips and advice for home buyers, sellers, and owners with award winning Remax agent Bo Kaufman. [00:00:26] Host Ryan Peterson: Hello, I'm your host, Ryan Peterson. Welcome to another episode of Winnipeg's real estate podcast with my friend and real estate expert, Bo Kauffmann of Remax Performance Realty [00:00:35] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Hey Ryan thanks for the great intro and anybody who's listening to this will notice right away that there's a bit of a change in the format here. Ryan and I did a series of episodes a few years ago that were called a real estate round table. And what I always liked about him was the little back and forth and two different voices talking. So I wanna recreate that here and I thank you, Ryan, for agreeing to do this with me. [00:01:04] Host Ryan Peterson: My pleasure. It's great to be back Bo. All right. So let's get right into it with three different facts about real. Okay, You must hear this first question a lot from home buyers. When my possession data is coming up, how do I get the keys and get into my new home [00:01:09] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: All right. So it really depends on where you are. I hear that a lot of places in the states and different provinces and the real estate agent actually has the key and meets you at your door, but here in Manitoba, it's all done through the lawyers. So here's what happens is about a week before you possession date, you the. Meet with your lawyer, you sign a bunch of papers. You give him a suitcase full of money that he's gonna tell you, just how much to bring and you sign the papers and then you just sit back and wait. At the same time, the seller meets with their lawyer signs, papers, and gives him the keys. And then the day before possession. The lawyers talk to each other and exchange those two items. The buyer's lawyer sends the money. The seller's lawyer sends the key. You get another phone call and the day before possession, you show up at your lawyers and he'll give you the key and with strict instructions not to go into the house. Until right at the time that stated on the offer. I remember, [00:02:01] Host Ryan Peterson: Getting my first home in 2000 and yeah, it was a plain Manila envelope that I got the key in. And honestly I was expecting a little bit more fanfare, what are you gonna do? You're still excited about the new home now. Bo is the date usually hard and fast or is there some flexibility, say a buyer wants to swing by and get some measurements to make sure that the furniture is gonna fit certain way. [00:02:20] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR:   Okay. That's a really good question. Answer that question. The date is hard and fast. Now, if it's important to you to take some measurements or to go in for one more, look, make sure that you're a real estate agent. That's the buyer's real estate agent writes that into the offer because the seller does not have to let you back in until let's say it's nine o'clock and not Tuesday morning when you're taking possession, you don't have the right to go back in there. If you, some people want to do not only measurements, but they also might wanna get a contractor to go through. They might wanna be ready to do a new kitchen, make sure you write that into the offer. And that way the seller when they agree to it, have to let you in. [00:02:55] Host Ryan Peterson: worst they can say is no. That's right. And it's not one of those things that's gonna make or break a deal or make you lose out on a house, right? Nope. That's right. Okay. Great now. Okay. Let's look at the other side of the equation. Do home sellers get their money right away when the keys are handed over? [00:03:08] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: All right. So Manitoba again was one of the worst provinces until about six or eight years ago. You could basically wait a month. For your money. So if you're possession it, if you're moving outta your house on August 15th, you probably didn't get the money until mid-September that's. Because here in Manitoba, the new owner, which is the buyer, their lawyer has to register that house with land titles office. And that is a slow, arduous time consuming process. That also depends on whether the lawyers are on break or whether they're on holidays or how busy they are, et cetera, but it usually takes a month. There's a new system came into place. Actually the system's been around for a while. Manitoba just came on board with it a few years ago. It's called the Western Canadian protocol, otherwise known just as protocol. And now you can get your money within a few days. So best case scenario. If you move out on the 15th, you might have the money on the 18th or 20th. But it can take a couple of weeks still. [00:04:05] Host Ryan Peterson: I remember my last move.   I ended up owning both homes for a couple of months with some bridge financing. I know I couldn't wait to get my money fast enough. When it finally sold. Now Bo, is there a season or time of year when it's better to buy or to sell? What picks market does seem hot all the time, but there's ups and downs that can be predicted or taken advantage of. [00:04:25] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Oh you betcha who was it that was credited was saying when everybody else is buying, sell, when everybody else is selling buy, I think that was Warren buffet, but I'm not sure.  Certainly the spring is the best time to sell your house. Now that being the case, that also makes it the worst time to buy your house because you are pretty much guaranteed to be up against eight, 10 other people. It seems like in our market here, everybody waits till the spring to go out and buy a house. Start the year fresh. Worst time to buy. Best time to buy is right now, that's be like late summer, early fall. Anybody who wanted and needed a house is moving right now to start, the school year for their kids, buyers have really taken a, a break right now, and there's a lot more inventory on the market. So best time to buy is the late summer, early fall. And that's just the way it is in Winnipeg. That's always how it's always been. It's [00:05:13] Host Ryan Peterson: a you really put yourself in more of a power position at the end of the summer as a buyer, because at that point they're desperate to move on to the next thing they [00:05:21] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: have planned. Oh, absolutely. And just think about it this way. If you're up against 10, 10 offers in the spring, your offer has to be clean. It has to be big, it has to be stand out. So now we actually get listings, come on the market where they've had one or two showings, not offers just showings in a week. Wow. So it's definitely a great time to. [00:05:40] Host Ryan Peterson: And you're probably likely waving a home inspection in the spring. Where you could get that luxury in the fall. [00:05:43] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: That's right. Absolutely home inspection, better financing condition longer time to make a decision. So it's better all around [00:05:51] Host Ryan Peterson: My wife and I are always keeping an eye on E saying Paul, and it seems rare when something goes up for sale. What do you recommend to people that are in the market buyers that are in the market that want an. But there's not a lot really going on there. What can they do to get on the radar so that the first person in, when [00:06:06] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: something pops. Okay. So the best thing to do is get ahold of a real estate agent, somebody, or somebody you've heard of, or somebody you've worked with in the past, get 'em to set up a search and they can do it by geography like geographical location. So if you only want a house in a certain radius, right around Cher farm roads, or around hot, not or birds hill or whatever they can set up a search and anything that comes up. Comes directly to your computer and you can see the listing come fresh. [00:06:31] Host Ryan Peterson: That's excellent. And fortunately, I know a great real estate guy who happens to be sitting across the table from me. Okay. Thanks Ryan. before we sign off, what are the current mortgage rates doing? [00:06:39] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Ryan for that, I'm gonna turn to my mortgage expert. That's Mike Schroeder with mortgage architects. When we come right back, we'll be right back after this short announcement. All right. We're here with Mike Schroeder of mortgage architects to talk about some of the lowest rates available at this point in time, which is like mid August, 2022. Hi, Mike. How you doing? Hey, doing well with yourself. Excellent. All right, let's get right to the point. So you've got somebody that comes to you and says, Hey, I wanna buy a house. And I need a $300,000 mortgage. So what is the absolute lowest rate you can get? [00:07:40] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Expert: So lowest rate I have is a variable rate. You're looking at about 3.8% effective today. And on a $300,000 mortgage gives you a pay of about  $1,545 a month.   [00:07:51] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: And that's principle and interest taxes of course would be extra. [00:07:55] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Expert: Yes and that's on a 25 year amortization [00:07:56] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: And that was 1545, correct? Yes. Okay. So now what if I'm nervous and I'm not the kind that wants to keep an eye on the mortgage rates every day.  What are fixed rates right now? [00:08:09] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Expert: Youre looking at about4.59% and so same mortgage amount, same terms. You're looking at about 1675 a month. [00:08:16] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: So that’s about $130 a month. Difference between the two. 130 for what some people might think is peace of mind, but of course there's ups and downs. There's a downside to being locked in for five years. [00:08:26] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Expert: At the end of the day, you want to have a full conversation with your lender. You want to go over your risk appetite, your credit, your income likely changes the next five years and get a solution customized for youy [00:08:37] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Risk appetite. That's gotta be the term or the day. [00:08:42] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Expert: absolutely [00:08:43] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: absolutely gun to your head. Where do you think rates are gonna go? Like right now, the variable is lower than the fixed. Do you think that's gonna stay that way? No, I don't. [00:08:53] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Expert: So there's the next bank account rate announcement's coming up in September. I believe it's September. The seventh. Most predictions are, is that the rate will increase that month. Now it may increase by lower amount due to the last inflation numbers, but by whatever does increase. The gap between fixed and variable is gonna be reduced to a very slim margin. There are still other reasons to pick variable or fixed, and that gets down to your risk appetite. So all part of that bigger conversation. [00:09:16] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Thanks a lot, Mike. We'll talk to you next time. Anytime. Take care. Bye bye. All right. Ryan, I think that's it for this week. [00:09:24] Host Ryan Peterson: It's been fun as always Bo and we've learned a few things about real estate this week until next time. This is Ryan Peterson with Bo Kaufman of Remax performance Realty, reminding you that you're never alone when you're buying or selling a home, as long as you tune in to the next episode of Winnipeg's real estate podcast, take care. [00:09:41] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: All right. Take care. Byebye Ryan. I hope you've enjoyed listening to this episode as much as I've enjoyed creating it. Cause I really do love. If you found the information helpful, why not download my free podcasting app? That way you never missed another episode and I've made it super simple too. Just go to Boknows.homes/apps. That's A P PS available for apple and Android devices. And finally, please give this podcast a five star rating again. We've made it super simple. Just go to love the podcast.com/boknows. Thank you so much for listening. Let's do this again next week. I. You've been listening to Bo Kauffmann of Remax performance Realty. Are you thinking of buying or selling a house or a condo in Winnipeg? Call Bo at (204) 333-2202. Remember Bo knows real estate.

Find out how dramatically the real estate market has changed in Winnipeg in the past 2 months. Have we gone from an insane sellers market to a strong buyers market now?   Is now a good time to buy a house or condo in Winnipeg? Listen to find out.   [00:00:00] Bo Kauffmann: Wait till you hear what's going on in the Winnipeg real estate market. That's coming up next on Winnipeg's real estate podcast. [00:00:09] You're listening to the Bo knows real estate podcast tips and advice for home buyers, sellers, and owners with award winning Remax agent Bo Kaufman. [00:00:25] Hello, this is Bo Kaufman Remax performance Realty in Winnipeg. And what a difference a couple of months makes we've gone from a super, super insanely strong seller's market, which was happening in April and may. June started to slow down and July saw further slow downs. And right now it's turned into an almost too strong a buyer's market. [00:00:44] It's completely swung the other way.. There are reports of listings going up and getting one showing in the first week on the market. I'm not talking about offers. I'm talking to just one showing. So why is this happening? I think rising interest rates have one or one reason. Second reason might be that buyers are just fatigued. [00:01:03] They've been getting beaten in April and may and parts of June. And they've just taken a break. And the third reason is that August traditionally is a slower time. People that want to get into a house before the school starts have already done their buying and August is actually a big moving month. [00:01:19] So August is super busy for lawyers and moving companies. So one of the most common questions I get is when it's a great time to buy a house while it's right now. So actually I've got buyers that I work with throughout April and may we kept. We kept getting hosed. We kept getting beaten by 10, 12, 15 offers going a hundred thousand over asking. [00:01:38] And they basically gave up around June. They had to renew their lease, which was up in July and they just emailed me and saying, Hey, we just, we had to renew our lease. We're gonna go one more year and we're gonna come back into it. Next spring. Guess what? So I told them exactly what I'm gonna tell you now, traditionally, and I'm going back over the last 17 years. [00:01:56] Cause that's all the history that I know. Cause I've been doing this for 17 years now. Spring is the singularly worst time to buy a house. That's because everybody else is doing it. There's a famous saying that says that if everybody else is buying, sell. Another way to look at it is if everybody else is buying, don't buy it that time. [00:02:14] There's super competition. It's just a natural thing in Winnipeg. We hibernate through December, January, February, and then spring comes out and all the buyers come out and that's when you start getting these crazy Bing worse, this year was absolutely insane. But even in past years, April and May have been really busy, very competitive. [00:02:34] So that's probably the worst time to buy. You should be looking at buying right now are a lot of listings on the market and some of them aren't getting any showings, let alone multiple offers. So let's look at some of the numbers of how many listings there are and compare that to spring. On August 1st, we actually had 1,263 houses for sale on the market. [00:02:57] 1263. Compare that to 426 in April and 568 in may. It's almost triple the amount of listings available. So breaking that down houses under a quarter million dollars, we have 288 in April. We had a hundred. So now we have nearly 300 throughout the month of July. We sold about 108 of these houses. [00:03:19] Compare that to last year, same time, 151. So that's like a 35% less than last year houses between two 50 and 500,000. We have 561 homes on the market. In February we had 116. Now we have about five times as many homes available as we did in February. We've sold throughout the month of July 482 of them, 482 compared. 583 in may. [00:03:49] Next price range up the 500 to 1 million. We have 355 homes on the market. We had 80 in February. So now we have 355. We've sold 190 in the month of July. And compare that to three 50 in the month of may. So nearly half as many sales in this price category as we had in may, just two months ago and the million dollar plus homes, we have 59 on the market. [00:04:17] Compared to nine in February. So 59 that's, six times as many. And we've sold five in the month of July compared to 18 in the month of may. So you can see buyer activity is way down. Listings are up. This is the time to to buy a house. Yes, interest rates have gone up. You can still get a pretty good. [00:04:37] Traditionally speaking, if you're paying 4% or 5%, that's actually a very good rate. My father-in-law. I remember him telling me he bought his house in 1967 and his in-laws told him he was nuts because he paid 6% interest, which was to them was really high. But traditionally five and 6% are really low rates compared to the 18% that we had 30, 40 years. [00:05:02] No, you can't get 1.9 % anymore, but you also don't have to pay a hundred grand over asking anymore. So who's looking for a house right now. Gimme a shout and let's look at condos next because we're gonna see a very similar picture. [00:05:17] This episode of Winnipeg's real estate podcast is sponsored by Urban Topcoat, paint and design, bringing quality fine finishes to your home. Whether you're planning to sell, have just settled in or looking for a robust color refresh Urban Topcoat, paint and design has your home covered. There's quality in their hands and they leave it in their work call Rob white today at two oh four seven nine one eight oh two. [00:05:41] Currently we have 365 condos available in all of Winnipeg. That is up from three 12 in June two 40 in may. So 365 available right now, lots of choices out there in the month of July, we've sold 160 condos. It's a little bit more than what we did in in April and March condos under a quarter million dollars. [00:06:04] We've sold about 80 of them in. Compared to 113 in may. So those sales are down as well and condos over a quarter million, that's all the way up to whatever the infinity is. I believe there's still a million dollar condo mil, a few million dollar plus condos out there. We have available 168. We've sold. [00:06:23] 82 in the month of July. And that's in line with what we did last year, where we sold 76 last year in the month of July. But in may, this year, we sold over a hundred, same with June. So those sales now they're 82, they're down 20% or so as well. Again. Just like houses. It's a good time to buy a condo right now as well. [00:06:41] Are you looking to buy a house or a condo in Winnipeg work with the agent who takes the time to explain the process to you, guiding you through every step for service beyond the sale book, your home buying consultation with Bo Kaufman of Remax performance today Bo knows real estate. [00:07:39] I truly hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I enjoy making these. If you have any questions or anything that you'd like me to talk about in future, gimme a shout at time. [00:07:47] 2 0 4 3 3 2 2 0 2. Or email me at bonos homes, gmail.com til next time, byebye. [00:08:00] You've been listening to Bo Kauffmann of Remax performance Realty. Are you thinking of buying or selling a house or a condo in Winnipeg? Call Bo at (204) 333-2202. Remember Bo knows real estate.

Fed Budget Discussions [00:00:00] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Let's separate fact from fiction about the upcoming federal budget proposal. That's coming up next to Winnipeg's real estate podcast. [00:00:26] Hello, everybody I’m Bo Kauffmann Remax performance Realty with another episode of Winnipeg's real estate podcast. You know, the real estate market is super hot, so naturally everybody thinks that that's a good thing for all real estate agents. And it's just a wonderful thing. Well, it's not a great thing because it's, so one-sided the only one who really benefits is anybody who wants to sell their house and not buy another one. [00:00:48] So if you're retiring and we're gonna move into an apartment, this is a great time for you. But for buyers and especially first time buyers, it's not a great time. Houses are selling for not only 60, 80, a hundred thousand dollars above asking, but they're selling for 80,000, a hundred thousand dollars over what they would have sold last year. [00:01:07] So if you're a first time buyer you're struggling, it's a, it's a tough time to get into the housing market. So naturally the federal government is going to step in and fix this issue for us with some of their proposals. So I had a friend call me last week and say, Hey, I heard that the blind bidding is coming to an end, the federal government's going to outlaw it. [00:01:25] And I had to kind of look it up and see what they were talking about. And it's part of their proposed budget is that they are looking for a way. To make this whole process of house purchasing more fair. So let's take a second here and talk to somebody who knows a lot more about this, somebody who is in the financial game, and that is Mike Schroeder of mortgage architects. [00:01:50] Let's give him a call. [00:01:55] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: Good morning. Hey Mike, how are you doing it's Bo Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: Excellent. Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR:  I thought I thought today we'd talk about the proposed budget. Because about a week ago, a relative of mine called me and said, Hey, have you heard that blind bidding and sealed bids are a way of the past are going away? And I'm saying. No, actually, I haven't heard that's so I had to look into it and that's one of the proposals that the government, the federal government would like to do away with, uh, to put it in perspective and to put some history behind it is when you put your house up for sale right now in most provinces, you can put it up for sale and then buyers enter bids that are private and sealed and only  the seller gets to open them. Well, what, what can happen is somebody, the winning bidder can overshoot all the other bids by quite a bit great for the seller. Um, but you know, the federal government says, Hey, we don't like this. So they, you know, Talked about maybe finding a way to put an end to it. [00:02:57] The problem is these real estate laws are set provincially in the federal government has very little authority. They can try and work with the provinces on this stuff. Uh, but so far from what I've heard, the provinces had told the federal government to go pound sand So, um, I know there's a lot of rumors out there. [00:03:15] There's a lot of, uh, things that we might be doing, but it's not even voted on yet. So, Mike, what have you heard and what do you take away from this proposed budget? Well, let's start [00:03:25] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: with, what's actually been talked about details. So the first one is actually a proposal. I like it's called the tax-free first home savings account. [00:03:35] So most people are familiar with the fact that you put money into your RRSPs. You can take money out of your RRSP’s. For the first time home buyer, they catch of course is that you have to put the money back into your RSP for the next 15 years. Okay. Well, most people are also familiar with the tax-free savings account. [00:03:54] You put money in there and it grows tax-free. You could pull it out. Penalty free. Well, what this product does is actually combines both of those things together. You can put your money into this account. It is tax deductible, meaning it lowers your taxable income tax return at the end of the year. Right? But now you can pull money out of the tax free for your first time buying a house. [00:04:18] And the best part is you don't have to replace it. [00:04:21] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: That's right, because, um, I, I think we glossed over it that the TSA, the tax-free savings account, your money grows in their tax-free, but it's after tax dollars that you put in, correct. [00:04:34] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: Well, it's not tax deductible. That is tax deductible. [00:04:41] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR:   So that if that passes, that would be an awesome thing. Is there what's the limitation or what's the limits on that? How much can anybody put in there per year in Israel? [00:04:50] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: So the proposed limit right now is $8,000 per person. And there's no limit for household. So husband, wife, maybe adult children in the house, um, siblings down and whatnot can all contribute together. [00:05:01] So $8,000 per year per person, and up to a total lifetime limit for individual of $40,000. [00:05:10] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Okay. So husband and wife or boyfriend, girlfriend, they start saving. They get engaged, married. Then they buy a house. They could have up to 40,000, which has been tax deducted throughout the years. So that's, that's, that's an awesome benefit. And then they can put $80,000 towards the house and that's, they, they can take it out without having to pay income tax on them. Exactly. [00:05:38] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: Consider it another benefit for friends with benefits. [00:05:41] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Excellent. That, that would be a good thing.  What else have they proposed? [00:05:46] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: So now it's easy to forget is that when you're a first time home buyer you get a tax credit which lowers your taxable income. Um, so the current credit is $5,000. Now that doesn't mean you get $5,000. That means a lower your tax bill by five grand. [00:06:04] They're increasing that from 5,000 to 10,000. So it doesn't actually help you get into a house limited. It takes away some of this thing at tax time as you buy that first home, that would be good. [00:06:12] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Yeah. Okay. That's another good proposal. Anything else? Uh, that they've said that, that you like, or don't. [00:06:20] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: Well, one of the things that I'm interested in and mostly from the side of unintended consequences, is there a talking about some sort of ban on foreign ownership? I guess that leaves the question of defining foreign ownership, right? Is that someone who's new to Canada? Does that mean a refugee, a student and immigrants?  We don't know. This is simply a big proposal and so. [00:06:44] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Well, yeah, exactly. I'm thinking back on somebody, I don't know, six, eight years ago somebody called me or emailed me, hi, I am the, uh, um, finance minister for, and then this is African nation. And of course you get these emails, please send me money, you know? Um, but no, this really was the finance minister. [00:07:03] He came to Canada and he bought a condo for his daughters to go to school. So would that be considered foreign? He doesn't live here, but his daughters go to school here and they have a place to live. So if, if that's the kind of a thing that they are proposing to stop, that probably wouldn't be a good, it would not be a good thing. [00:07:20] But, um, yeah, it's, it's the federal government, right? They, they kind of have their fingers in everybody's in everybody's business and sometimes it's not a good idea. [00:07:29] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: One of the additions supposedly set up might not apply to students, but then does that apply to the student, gets to get to know payments.  So I don't want to speculate you on some things that we don't know about. It's just not worth our time to do so. [00:07:37] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: What about interest rates? Hey, I just heard that they talking about another hike in June. [00:07:45] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: So that's the speculation right now. I can tell you on the fixed rates that ever since the government announced, I want to say it was yesterday, uh, where the inflation rate is that right now, um, that caused the bond market to spike, which raised the by fixed rates. [00:07:59] And so we're now seeing five-year fixed rates of at least 4% while some lenders don't need a little bit higher. Okay. Uh, variable rates are still considerably lower than the fixed, but you're right. The federal government has said they may increase the overnight rate in June. So that's definitely watch for, uh, for a lot of reasons. [00:08:17] I still think variable is a better choice than fixed, but at the end of the day, that's a personalized conversation that we need to have with people want to know the mortgage nature. Then you understand the risks and benefits of that. [00:08:27] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Gauging their comfort level and, and their, you know, what, what they know their future to be. [00:08:33] If they know it. So what our open rates right now are variable rates. [00:08:39] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: So it's a fixed range, about 4%,…… variable rates around about two, 2.1%. So there's still a gap right now between the two. Um, and that gap isn't, uh, isn't narrowing at all is the fixed rates to Nicholas. [00:08:50] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Yeah. It's just to put that in perspective, if there's a 2% difference, if you've got a $400,000 mortgage, 2%, that's $8,000 a year. [00:09:00] Right. So divided by 12 that's what does that? 680 something like that. $675 per month difference. That's huge. [00:09:10] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: Well, don't forget as well that the higher the interest rates, the more you're paying the lesser paying towards principle, right? So one of the benefits of home ownership is principle reduction. [00:09:19] Every time you make that payment, you are lowering the amount of money, all the house, and therefore you are increasing your equity. If you have a lower interest rate, you're building equity that much now. [00:09:29] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Okay. All right. Well, Mike, thanks a lot. Hey, listen. Um, you had another topic in mind that maybe we'll talk about in two weeks from now, and that is new. [00:09:39] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: Correct. And so there's a number of programs and principles in place to help people who are recent immigrants to Canada, uh, getting the homeownership will be easier. And so these are the things that those, if we don't know about. And so that's something we thought would cover in the future. [00:09:51] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Okay, good. [00:09:52] Well, look forward to that again. So, uh, thanks for coming on the show, Mike, and, uh, uh, it was, it's an interesting subject and I appreciate your time.  

[00:00:00] Bo Kauffmann - Real Estate Agent: Do you have too much stuff in your house? What do you do with it? Today? Would talk temporary storage solutions. That's coming up next to Winnipeg's real estate podcast. [00:00:26] Bo Kauffmann: Hello, everybody Bo Kauffmann from here from Remax performance Realty with another great episode of Winnipeg's real estate podcast.  It's been said that the more room you have, the more stuff you accumulate, I can verify that, but there'll come a time when we all run out of room. My current hobby is scotch and cigars. and luckily that doesn't take a lot of room By the way, we have an upcoming fundraiser, a scotch and cigar sampling right here in Winnipeg on June 18th. That's the father's day weekend, but it's a Saturday.  And it has a twist to it. I know there's lots of scotch and cigar events around, but this one has a bit of a bonus. You actually get to enjoy the cigar because we're holding it inside. Thomas Hinds new sampling lounge, and they're licensed to allow smoking. So tickets are very limited because there's only 46 seats. If you're looking for tickets, give me a shout. They're going fast. June 18. And there was a five o'clock sitting and an eight o'clock sitting.  And the eight o'clock is just about sold out. Maybe you've got a hobby collecting sewing machines, or your collection of old pinball machines are starting to take up too much room. What do you do? Or perhaps you're going to sell your house and you need to just temporarily declutter a need some temporary storage. Whatever your reasons. There are storage solutions that have popped up all over town, ready to serve your storage needs. And today we're going to speak with Claire Coppens business manager of total storage right here in Winnipeg. I'm going to ask her a few questions. Hi, Claire. How are you today? Excellent. [00:01:52] Bo Kauffmann: Okay, let's get right into it. What kind of people are, are your customers who use a storage facility? [00:01:59] Clair Coppens  I would say that the most popular reason people are coming to tool storage, like for a self storage unit are big milestones in their lives, like buying a new home or waiting for a new home to be built. Or oftentimes we have see like death of a loved one.  And they're trying to find space to put those belongings for a shorter or long time. [00:02:17] Bo Kauffmann: Right. Okay. Yeah, certainly I can get behind the idea of using storage to put your extra stuff, especially if you're downsizing or even up-sizing like your, you want to store it until you find a new home and then decide what you want to do with about you've been around for 10 years, you're telling me, but what do people look for when they want to select a self storage facility? [00:02:36] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: So I would say that the first thing to look for, if you're going to see a unit is if the facility is clean, like, are the hallway swept, are the units dusted and, you know, Ask other tenants there too. Like if they find the facility clean, the second thing I would say is, do you feel safe there? You know, you're putting a lot of your, your special items there. Is there a gate? What's the security like, is there cameras, do you need a code? What kind of locks are they asking you to put on the unit? And then third, it's just, do you feel welcomed there? Right. Do you feel like the staff cares that you and your items are there and you're not just a customer of theirs, you know, are they going to go the extra mile to make sure that your belongings are safe and well taken care of while you can't take care of them? [00:03:16] Bo Kauffmann - Real Estate Agent: Okay. So a question came to mind is do people have access to their stuff 24 7? Or are you just open during certain business hours? [00:03:23] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: Once you've rented a unit at 12 strategy, you have 24 hour access that's included in your rent and you can come and go as you please. But of course we do have those security features that you need to get through before you can go to your unit. [00:03:33] Bo Kauffmann - Real Estate Agent: Excellent. Okay. Good. Excellent. So, and I understand you have climate control. Do you also have non climate controlled and really what's the difference? So we offer [00:03:41] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: both climate control. The non-climate control would be more of like a garage style where there's a roll up door and you put your items in and there's no control of temperature, humidity. [00:03:51] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: And the climate controlled is, is more like storing an items in a house. So they're there in an interior space. The temperatures controlled [00:03:58] Bo Kauffmann - Real Estate Agent: now, obviously one's going to be more expensive than the other. And we don't have to get into dollars, but if you have a garage that's not climate controlled or a similar space, that's climate controlled, roughly how much more would the climate control be? Would it be double or will it be 20% more? [00:04:15] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: No. The prices is pretty similar actually. Like, so for example, our, our five by fives and non climate controlled, the $70. And the climate controlled is 75. So it’s comparable. [00:04:24] Bo Kauffmann - Real Estate Agent: The price you quoted was per month. [00:04:28] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: So a total storage when you move in is your anniversary date and your payment is always due on that date. [00:04:33] Bo Kauffmann - Real Estate Agent: Okay, cool. Now, besides self storage, do you guys offer anything else? [00:04:37] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: Yeah, absolutely. We sell boxes and packing supplies, like mattress bags, tape Reusable tote. So rather than having to, to purchase that yourself you can rent them. And then if that is green, right, we're recycling the boxes. We make sure that they're clean. [00:04:49] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: We also do this service called marketplace, where if you are looking to get rid of a few items, we will do like. Like picture taking and posting and dealing with all the offers and sell it on your behalf or a commission. And then we donate 20% of that sale to charities. Okay. Oh, [00:05:04] Bo Kauffmann - Real Estate Agent: nice. Okay. Yeah, I understand. [00:05:06] Bo Kauffmann - Real Estate Agent: You guys are like a sister company to total moving. [00:05:10] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So we have the storage space and total moving is the brawn., [00:05:14] Bo Kauffmann - Real Estate Agent: I suppose. Excellent. So do you ever auction stuff off like they do on storage wars? [00:05:18] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: We do get, it's not nearly as, as dramatic storage wars. It's of course we want people to have their items, right. [00:05:26] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: The last thing that we want to do is auction it, but if it does get to that point we do auction our items. It's on bid 13, and if you want to see our past auctions, you can visit our website. Total moving, excuse me, toll storage, wooden pig.ca. And we also have an email list if you wanted to be notified of when our next auction is [00:05:43] Bo Kauffmann - Real Estate Agent: Okay. Now I assume that these auctions would be mostly for people that kind of abandoned their stuff, stop paying, or, or just left, left stuff behind that might not even be valuable to them anymore. They just left it right. Abandoned. [00:05:56] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: Yeah, if they stop paying and then we can't contact them to set up a payment plan to reunite them with their items. [00:06:01] Bo Kauffmann - Real Estate Agent: Okay. So is there a final tip that you would give anybody looking for storage? [00:06:06] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: Absolutely. Yeah. I think the number one thing that people are not taking advantage of in storage is making use of all the vertical space in the units. Right. So you're laying your items out on the ground. Like it gets some shelving, you know, use the reusable tote so you can stack them easily and make sure you're using every square foot. People have to, I guess, provide their own shelving kind of thing. These units are not shelved. [00:06:25] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: Yeah, there is no shelving in the units. We're actually looking for like, looking into like offering shelving as something that you can purchase or possibly rent from us. So that could be a next step….makes sense. [00:06:34] Bo Kauffmann - Real Estate Agent: Are they all the same height? Like five by five by how tall? [00:06:41] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: So some of them are a little bit taller than others. They range from about eight to 11 feet. [00:06:44] Bo Kauffmann - Real Estate Agent: Okay. Where are you located at? [00:06:47] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: We're at 21 Bloomberg trails, about two minutes past the perimeter on the number one in Headingley. We're right across the motel six. Okay. And you guys have a business phone number? [00:06:56] Claire Coppens - Business Manager: People can reach you at 2 0 4 8 3 2 8 1 8 1.

What are Cash-Back Mortgages? Whats the catch, and how do they help? Interview with Mike Schroeder of Mortgage Architects   How much is your Home Worth?  Home values are on the rise with the low inventory of housing on the market!  That makes it an excellent time to sell right now.  Contact ❤️🤍💙BO KAUFFMANN, REALTOR®️ 204.333.2202 when selling and/or buying!  “Bo Knows Real Estate”. Join me on my website Blog.WinnipegHomeFinder.com for listings, informative blogs & so much more.  #clhms #toprealestateagentinwinnipeg #awardwinningremaxagent #boknowsrealestate #yourwinnipegrealestateagent #remaxagent #homesforsaleinwinnipeg #theremaxcollection

Home Buyer Tips & Etiquette [00:00:00] BoKauffmann-REALTOR: Let's talk about tips and home buying etiquette. On this episode of Winnipeg's real estate podcast, All right. Welcome to this episode of Winnipeg's real estate podcast. Today, we're going to talk about some tips and etiquette for home buyers to follow. What do I mean by that? So you're looking at houses and likely on a Saturday afternoon, let's say you're going to go out and look at four or five houses back to back with your agent. We call that a home viewing tour. And today we're going to talk about tips to make that, that whole tour go a little smoother, a little less troublesome just make the whole experience a little bit better for you. But also some etiquette and some rules to follow. Because as a buyer in this hot sellers market, you want to stand out for the great offer you make, not for the rules. Your break sounds like a song in there. So let's we're going to break this episode down into three different sections. The first one is going to be what to bring and where during these home showings, second one is going to be what not to bring what not to do. And the third one is how to act in sponsor inside the house. So let's go. All right. So remember it says, like, let's say a Saturday afternoon, you gotta look at four or five houses in a row. And this first tip is really helpful in the winter wear comfortable shoes you can slip on and off. If you've got these big mukluks that tie up halfway to your knee, you'll spend a lot of time taking them off and putting them back on from going from one showing to the next. So we're comfortable. Slip-on shoes next, bring a pen and pad. Now each listing will probably have a listing sheet waiting for you so you can grab that, but there's always going to be questions or things that aren't on there that you might want to mark down for yourself. If you're looking at five houses in a row, it's easy to get them. You know, you end up forgetting which one needed the new bathroom upgrader, which one had the really ugly floor here or there. So it's good to mark that down. So bring your own pants. And last bring a mask and sanitizer. Yes. COVID is still a thing. I remember you going into other people's houses. So we are still expected to wear masks because people live there and there's showings after us. So once inside you're going to be touching the fridge. You're going to be touching doorknobs, closets, stuff like that. Plus there was people there before us, so you might want to sanitize going in and coming out up next. We're going to talk about what. We'll be right back after this short announcement. This episode of Winnipeg's real estate podcast is sponsored by urban top code, paint and design. Bring in quality fine finishes to your home. Whether you're planning to sell, have just settled in or looking for a robust color refresh urban top code, paint and design has your home covered. There's quality in their hands and they leave it in their work call. Rob white today at 2 0 4 7 9 1 8 0 2 4. All right. So let's start with some of the things that not to do. Leave the food and the and the drinks in the car. Let's say you picked up a cup of coffee on the way to your showings or a sandwich or a banner, a hoagie. Leave those in the car. Don't bring food into somebody else's house. As I can hear the eyeballs rolling. Oh my God. Bowl where you're telling us that it's because it's been done and then coffee gets spilled and it, it's not, it's not a good thing. Next is keep the the viewing group. Now if you're a young couple chances are you want your parents' approval, maybe they're even putting money in for the down payment. They're definitely want, want to have a look at the house. And I encourage that. In fact, if we're looking at 20 houses, I would encourage that you bring all decision-makers to as many of their showings as possible. Because the last thing we want to do is get into a situation where we looked at 20. You like one and you bring your parents back for like an approval and they haven't seen the other 19 and they go, oh my God, this house is 400,000 no way. Well, it's a good thing to have them along for the other viewings as well, so that they get a sense for the market. Having said that if you're a young. You likely have two sets of parents. Maybe you have an uncle that's knowledgeable in construction, and you want to bring your sister along for approval too. Before you know, it there's eight or 10 of us going into a showing. And that becomes unmanageable. You see your agent is responsible for that house for the entire time that you're in there. And ideally your agent will keep the whole group. That way when, when the homeowner complains that something's damaged or something's missing, your agent can honestly say, well, look, my whole group, I was with them the entire time. So you can imagine if there's eight of us and two people go up to the second floor to go into the basement. Obviously you lose control of that situation. Bring the decision-makers, but keep it as small as. In fact, during the height of COVID, there were many listings, which specifically said only three people into the house at any one time. That is the buying couple and their agent period. They weren't allowing kids in. Now, some of these things have changed and some of the rules have relaxed. There's still a limit. So keep the groups manageable which brings us to the next one, leave the kids. Look, let's talk, honestly, here, your three-year-old is not going to decide whether or not you liked the house. Maybe the, maybe your, your boy or your girl hate the house. You still going to buy it. So when you have one or two kids along, it is just another pair of shoes to put on and take off. It's another hand to hold onto because you do have to keep control of your child. And if you go into a bedroom like a sellers, child's bedroom, there's toys there. Guess what your kid wants to. And they can't children want to jump on furniture or jump on beds. And every time you say no, they start getting a little, little less interested in looking at more houses because they can't go play in these things anyway. So I've had situations whereby the third showing by the third. One of the parents had to stay in the car with a three-year-old while the other parent came, looked at the house and had a quick, you know, a quick look and then went and tagged off so that the second parent can come look at the house. Very cumbersome. It interrupts the whole flow and interrupts the showing best. Leave the kiddos at home with a sitter, with a parent, with a neighbor. And if. Hey, make me the bad guy. Just tell him the agent won't and the agent doesn't allow it, but it makes for a whole better viewing experience. Funny story here while it's funny. Now it wasn't at the time I had a listing up in Amber trail, so I was representing the. And an agent called to book showing. Now I don't meet the agent. I certainly don't know who his buyers are, but they booked a showing for let's say a Saturday, two o'clock. So my sellers leave the house. The agent goes in, my sellers came home at a reasonable time, like almost 45 minutes later, but the people were still inside. So my sellers hung back. They stayed in their car and they watched everybody come out. So after it was all done, my sellers called me and said, The front door opened, the agent comes out and after that, it was like a, like a circus clown car, about 10 or 11 people came out to make matters worse. The seller goes inside and finds that somebody has been laying on their bed, on their marital bed. You, you don't do that. So I call the agent, the buyer's agent expecting that maybe the kids had jumped on the bed, turns out no one of the uncles thought it was a good idea to lay down on, on somebody else's. So again, keep groups small, keep the kids at home and it makes for a better viewing time, better showing time all around and last we can have time be on time because I'm showing times are limited. So if you've got a, a showing window from 10 till 10 30, that's your entire window. So if you only show up at 10 15, you're only hurting yourself. You're cutting back. You're showing by 15 minutes because at 10 30, somebody else will be knocking on the door and wanting to come in. So. Keep, keep the group small. And when we come back, we'll talk about what we can and can't do inside the house. We'll be right back after this short announcement. This episode of Winnipeg's real estate podcast is sponsored by Mike Schroeder of mortgage architects. If you are serious about buying a home, then contacting a mortgage specialist is an important. Mike and explain your options and let you know exactly what you can afford. This will save you time by making sure you are shopping within your budget. Call Mike Schroeder today at (204) 229-3214. All right. So now we've entered the house. Hopefully we're the only ones in there. You and your agent. First thing to do, definitely take shoes off unless the house is a, an entire like something that has to be torn down. Keep your shoes. If you have to, perhaps the basement is unfinished, it's got concrete floor. Yes. You can carry them up to the basement and walk down there. But throughout the house, definitely keep your shoes off. So in the summertime, it's a good idea. Especially ladies, if you wear slippers or something like that, and you take them off, all of a sudden, now you've got bare feet. You're walking on hardwood floors and you're leaving your sweaty footprints on somebody else's. So you might want to take some, some socks that you. Next, once you inside the house, everything that's included in the listing is fair game. So you can open the fridge, open the stove check inside, check inside the dishwasher. If the washer dryer are included. Absolutely. You can open them open cupboards doors, kitchen drawers, stuff like that. Just not dresser drawers. Don't jump on the bed. Don't open night tables, that kind of thing. Just stuff that is included in the. As mentioned earlier, keep control of the kids and avoid toilet use. Now I understand that emergencies to happen. For example, you've got a pregnant lady and it's just, you know, you just have, you got to go when you got to go, but sellers really frowned upon somebody using their toilet and then heaven forbid, Lea leave it messy again. It's happened. Try and make a pit stop in between the showings or do everything you need to do before they're showing. But toilet use is frowned upon. Same with washing your hands. Of course, if you've used the toilet, please wash your hands. But other than not just using the, using the facilities in any way is not a cool thing. And lastly, it's always a good idea to leave the house in exactly the same condition as the way you found it. If you walk into a room and the light was off and you turn it on, please turn it off. Opening closet doors, please close them again. I've had sellers quite upset that when they came home, all the closets were left open. So please just leave the house exactly the way you found it. Well, I hope you found these tips helpful, make your next showing tour or viewing tour a little bit less stressful. Cause it is a stressful market to begin with. And like I said, you want your offer to stand out. You don't want your actions to mark us somebody, the seller doesn't want to do this. Checkout Winnipeg's real estate podcast with weekly market updates, news and advice for home buyers and sellers produced by award-winning agent Bo Kauffmann of Remax performance Realty available on all major broadcasters, including iTunes, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and more. Find them at Bono's dot Holmes slash podcast. Missing an episode could be hazardous. Are you looking to buy a house or a condo in Winnipeg work with the agent who takes the time to explain the process to you, guiding you through every step for service beyond the sale book, your home buying consultation with Bo Kauffmann of Remax performance today, Bo knows real estate.

Documents needed for Home Buyer Pre-Approval [00:00:00] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: In any hot real estate market buyers know they need to get pre-approved before even looking at homes. So how do we streamline that process? That's coming up next on Winnipeg's real estate podcast. [00:00:13] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: You're listening to the bone knows real estate podcast tips and advice for home buyers, sellers, and owners with award winning Remax agent Beau Kaufman. [00:00:28] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Hello, everybody bought Kaufman here, Remax performance Realty. And today we're talking about pre-approval. Now that's been around for awhile buyers. These days know that they need to get pre-approved by the way, pre-approval is different than pre-qualification. When a buyer goes up to a bank teller and says, Hey, I make 60 grand a year. How much of a mortgage can I afford? Can you plug those numbers in? And the teller gives them. That's pre qualification. That's not what we're looking for. We need something a lot deeper than that. We need something where they do a bit of a dive into your financial abilities to financial history, your credit rating. And that's called a pre-approval. Now, depending on who you're dealing with or pre-approval. Take just a few hours or it could take days. A lot of times it depends on the financial institution you're dealing with, but it can also be helped. Like the process can be sped up by you, the buyer being ready for the questions they're going to answer, because no matter where you go, they're going to need a number of documents from you. And today we're going to talk to my good buddy Mike Schroeder of mortgage architects. And he's going to give us a list of documents that you, the buyer have to have. So you, you may as well spend the time to dig them out, have them ready and really impressed the hell out of them when they ask for those documents and you say, Hey, I've got everything ready in a file here for you. I'll email it to you. A lot of times that pre-approval process can be cut down to a mere hours. So here we are, help me in welcoming Mike Schroeder to the show. All right, Mike, welcome back to the show. [00:01:53] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: Good morning, Bob, how are you doing today? [00:01:55] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Excellent. Excellent. How are you? Are you [00:01:57] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: busy? Oh man. This has been great. All everyone's buying and selling homes you say? So it's been [00:02:02] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: crazy. Okay. All right. So we're talking about what a buyer can do to kind of shorten that whole pre-approval process and they can, as quick as possible some of the documents that they need, that your you and other lenders are likely going to ask them for. So let's start with that. What, what do buyers need to provide to get pre. [00:02:21] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: Sure. So we can break the documents down to three different categories. We have to show how much money you make. So your income, we have to cover your down payment and we have to go over your credit. So let's start at the beginning of that first question of course would be, would be, are you employed or are you self employed? If you're employed at the company that really, we need the last pace. Have you received your last two years of G4S? If you've been the employer that long, that will give us a good establishment on Granger. Don't forget if you're receiving the Canadian child benefits that many lenders will also accept that as a valid thing. Now, if you're self-employed, we need to get your last two years and they've been tax returns. One of the easiest way of getting those tax returns is to contact your accountant because they have them all filed away for you. So you really should have both either of those items ready to go when you're ready to get them. [00:03:14] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Okay, quick question for you. I've heard people say that they need a letter from their employer. When does that come into effect? [00:03:20] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: Sure. So yes, we will need a letter from their employer, but I understand that sometimes employers are delayed in getting you there. If we have your teeth boards and your pay stub, that is enough to get the process started on your pre-approval. We can always ask for more documents later on, but at least we've got this process started. [00:03:37] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: It still, wouldn't be a bad idea for a buyer to just reach out to his employer and say, Hey, could you give me a quick letter? What is, what needs to be in there? You've been working here for X number of years. [00:03:44] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: Yeah. So when you're starting there, how you're paid, uh, whether you're on commission, whether you see bonuses, uh, whether or not you're on probation and, uh, someone of a lender can contact. If they want to, just to verify the information. [00:03:58] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: I'm talking in full. Okay, excellent. So that covers the income portion. Correct. [00:04:03] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: And so next would be down payment. So this one's a little bit trickier because the documents we need will really depend on whether you're down to humans coming from. So there's more, so here's some questions for you that. Is the money coming from money you've saved yourself. So that could be from an employer matched RSP or employer match tax-free savings account, maybe money you've been saving the bank philosophy months. The other question will be is if they're coming as a gift, so maybe you have a parent or a sibling or a grandparent who's gifting you money for a down payment. Well, that will change the documentation that as well. The other two factors will be that if any of the money's coming into modus, And lastly they, the money is being bored. So for down payment, more so just know where the money is coming from first. And then we can give you some more details on what people are working from there. [00:04:54] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: So people can actually borrow money for that 5% down payment, correct. [00:04:58] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: That most of them don't realize that, but you can actually bore it usually on like a, a line of credit or a short-term loan. And then that money can be used legally for a down payment, a. [00:05:10] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: But of course the payments that you make on that new loan will also affect how much you can afford on a house. Like it goes against your credit score. [00:05:17] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: Correct. And that's one reason why a lot of people often don't do it. Um, but it is an option for you. And we're really comes in handy is if you're short, say some of the down payment, so maybe you need $20,000 for down payment and you have 15, $16,000 saved up. You can make it the difference or that, and that can really help you in buying the house you want. [00:05:37] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Okay. Cool. [00:05:41] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: We'll be right back after this short [00:05:43] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: announcement. [00:05:47] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: This episode of Winnipeg's real estate podcast is brought to you by total moving, providing, moving services, packing supplies, assembly, and organizing for residential and commercial clients guaranteeing no hidden fees while providing the most efficient moving process. Call 4, 3, 1 4 4 1 move. Or get an estimate online@totalmovingwinnipeg.ca that's total moving Metta. Toba is modern. [00:06:14] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: And we're back. And Mike is going to tell us about the last set of documents we need. [00:06:20] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: And then the last one will be the credit report. So all we need to do is a pull. A credit report is the information you provide anyways, accurate standard Bersin number. But here's the key. We find that about quarter of all Clara reports have errors, and we want to pull your credit as early as we can. I'm not making this up last month. We had a client who they had combined his credit report with Jim or with a similar name from Vancouver. They now said that he was responsible for it $900 a month car payment, which you can imagine affect how much has been pre-approved for it. Right? So fortunately we have a contact at the credit agency where we can go and repair and we can actually help correct those items for you with no cost. And so just wanted to keep might as additional services we offer is making sure that your credit report is actually. [00:07:05] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: No in that case, how long did it take to repair that? [00:07:08] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: I took a couple of [00:07:09] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: weeks. Okay. I've heard stories that it can take, sometimes it can take months. Is that, is that true? Like for different kinds of [00:07:17] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: issues, it can sometimes take longer. What is nice though, is that as mortgage brokers, we actually have access to a backend, uh, contact method through Equifax. And so we can use escalate the matter yet. Correct. And more quickly than clients could have they just called. [00:07:33] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Okay. So, um, it being pre-approved one of the benefits is that you lock in that mortgage rate, which of course now there's a good threat of it going up. Right. So how long can you lock it [00:07:43] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: in for, uh, between 90 and 120 days, depending on the lender. So call between three and four months. [00:07:50] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Okay. Awesome. Um, yeah, it's only gone up a quarter point, but the chance of it going up another quarter point in the next three to four months is pretty real, right. Well, [00:08:00] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: don't forget the, even though the variable rate just went up by a little bit, our fixed rates have been going up by a lot. Um, so just to give you an example, I had a client that I got approved for a mortgage purchase two weeks ago, and they got approved at 2.99%. They're taking possession of their house tomorrow. If they had got their, their approval tomorrow, their rate would have been 3.3%. It's gone up by 0.3 on the fixed side in two weeks. And so you want to get that information. You can get that rate locked in. Some, give you may office in care. [00:08:31] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Okay. And how do people get ahold of you make [00:08:33] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: sure? So one of the best ways is to my website, like sure. Dot CA uh, you also book an appoint with me. You know, my knowledge is mortgage@likeshorter.ca. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram and in businesses by this partner is my wife. And we know these are mortgage couple on social. [00:08:49] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: You're a mortgage couple. Awesome. Okay, Mike, thank you very much. Some valuable information once again, and let's do this again in two weeks. What are we going to talk about that? Have you, have you thought about what we're going to do next? [00:09:01] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: Um, so the, the, the topic I was thinking would to bring up potentially would be other types of mortgages that people don't think about, uh, such as a home equity lines of credit interest, only payments, cash back mortgages. Uh there's uh, most people don't realize just how many options are out there. And so kind of give you some of the different mortgage products you can think about. It goes beyond the fixed versus variable compensation. [00:09:22] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Sure. Yeah, that sounds, that sounds interesting. I, I think I can learn a lot there too. Again, it's been educational. Thank you very much for your time, Mike. No [00:09:30] Mike Schroeder - Mortgage Architects: problem. One last thing. There's no such thing as a stupid question for anyone out there, listening to this, always feel free to, they can reach out to us with any more questions. It's all been asked before and we're here to help guide you through it. So please no such thing as a dumb question, always ask. Thanks, Mike. [00:09:43] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: We'll talk to you soon. Take care. Bye-bye. [00:09:47] Are you looking to buy a house or a condo in Winnipeg work with the agent who takes the time to explain the process to you, guiding you through every step for service beyond the sale book, your home buying consultation with Bo Kaufman of Remax performance today Bo knows [00:10:01] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: real estate. Well, I hope you enjoyed this episode of Winnipeg's real estate podcast and found it helpful if you did, why not subscribe and get your own app? It's really easy. Just go to bono. Dodd homes slash apps. That's H P P S and there you'll find convenient links to get both the iOS and Android apps till next time. Bye-bye [00:10:26] You've been listening to Bo Kauffmann of Remax performance Realty. Are you thinking of buying or selling a house or a condo in Winnipeg called Bo at 2 0 4 3 3 3 2 2 0 2. Remember, Bo Knows Real Estate

Hiring a Mover in Winnipeg [00:00:00] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Spring market is here. And as with every spring home sales are increasing. So more people are buying and selling, which means more people are going to end up moving. Do you do it yourself or do you hire a mover? So coming up next is an interview with a friend of mine who runs total moving in Winnipeg. [00:00:16] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: And we're going to get some tips on how to find, hire, and select a great. [00:00:20] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Uh, you're listening to the bone knows real estate podcast tips and advice for home buyers, sellers, and owners with award winning Remax agent Beau Kaufman. [00:00:41] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: All right today, we're going to be talking about moving, hiring a mover or doing it yourself. The moving industry I have found is one of those really unregulated industry, anybody with a pickup truck and call themselves a mover. It's like a home inspection, a service, anybody with a flashlight. Can call themselves a home inspector. [00:00:57] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: So how do you weed through that? I can tell you a quick little story. When I was a police officer, I was sitting in the station and somebody came in and report that they had a whole bunch of stuff go missing from their moving company. It is, it is kind of a wild west out there as far as moving goes. So if you are going to hire a mover, make sure your hire a good one. [00:01:18] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: And today we're going to be talking with a good friend of mine who runs total moving, which is fairly new here in Winnipeg. And we're going to talk to him next. His name is Colby kiss. All right. So I'm here with my friend Colby kiss from told will moving Winnipeg, uh, Colby. Let's get right into it and ask you if. [00:01:37] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: There's so many movers out there. I mean, anybody with a pickup truck and call themselves a mover, it seems to me it's like a somewhat loosely regulated industry. There really is, you know, it's a wild west show out there. How do people find a great mover? What sets a great mover apart from the. [00:01:53] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: You know, what's, um, bad. [00:01:55] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: You're absolutely correct. In that sense, you gotta be careful with who you're hiring. Um, some places you might want to look to first would be like BBB, better business bureau. Uh, they only bring credible businesses on with business, better business bureau. Sorry. Um, we're on there. We have a great, great review system through them. [00:02:11] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: The next would be check your Google reviews. That's probably your most important, um, important thing to look into, right? Like if you have a company has all five stars and they've got over. Say even 30 reviews, you're probably looking at a company that is somewhat credible and they can all be fake ones and companies are looking to do that. [00:02:27] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: Right. So it is something companies do, unfortunately. But, um, if they're getting over the 30, 40 mark, they're definitely, they're definitely having customers that are having good experiences with them. So that's massive. And then another one we're hopping into, as soon as we get into, um, two years in business, sorry, is cam the Canadian association of movers, our business mentor and Phillips is in there. [00:02:46] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: And. Set the steps up for us to get right in. We've already been deemed as, uh, as credible. And it's just about. Getting two years in the industry for us right now, so that we can hop into that one to further go into it. I guess like some things you'd want to look into when you're making the calls to the moving company, or you want to make sure that they're friendly, they're willing to help you right off that first phone call. [00:03:06] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: I get lots of calls from customers. From the first phone call, they say, they're so surprised that we're approachable via phone, and that were over the phone, over the phone. I'm willing to answer their questions and not just get their, their estimate info that we need. If you want to know what's going on in there with their whole situation before they're moved. [00:03:24] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: And, uh, next thing of course, you wanna make sure these, these companies are fully insured. Workers, they have their workers' comp certified they're fully insured as well. I think it's important if you looked on a company's website or in their socials, um, just make sure they're staying relevant. Lots of these moving companies that maybe are trying to hide the kind of sketchy or things they do or whatever it might be. [00:03:45] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: They don't have a social presence. They're not completely updating their website regularly. So it's kind of a good way to good way to tell that if a company is staying relevant and staying. Updated on their content. They're not afraid to be out there. They get out of customers that are mad at them, commenting on their stuff, 24 7, if they, if they're doing that. [00:04:03] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: Right. So I think we do that. We, we have a very good social presence and I think our website's pretty top notch and yeah, I think another important question to ask when you're hiring a mover, first of all, make sure they're going to get you an estimate, like, you know, movers over the phone should ever just say it's going to be four hours and then they show up and yeah. [00:04:18] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: A thousand more things than they expected for a one bedroom move. We make sure we break all their things down through a cube sheet, ensuring that we actually get our customer a proper price and an hourly rate that makes sense for their move. And when we get them that we normally fall within half an hour positive or negative of that estimate. [00:04:33] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: So it's kind of an important thing there for sure. You want to get a number before going into your [00:04:37] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: move, especially if you just kind of want to know what you're getting. Exactly. [00:04:42] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: Yeah. And there's you hear that so much too, that customers come to me and they say, oh, Hey, this one company I hired three years ago told me it was going to be $300. [00:04:50] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: And they showed up to my one bedroom apartment and then ended up being $700 in five hours. Right. So we make sure we get them that our number and a price that will be somewhat close on. Okay. And then the last thing I think is kind of important there. Would be ask them, ask a moving company. This one always throws a company off and it might not be the right company if it does throw them off. [00:05:10] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: When you ask them this question, but ask them what they're going to do. If things go wrong. And the unfortunate part of this industry is we're movers. There's going to be dings Nicks. There's going to be stuff like that. That happens. The important thing is how that's, how that has made up for, uh, We run claims forms. [00:05:25] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: There's basic laws from the federal government of what we must meet, but then we also sell our customers valuation. We make sure they understand our claims forms for going in so that they know if anything does go wrong, we're here to help them. And we give them every opportunity to ensure that they're getting, whether it's money back or things fix, they're getting those opportunities to have any mistakes made. [00:05:44] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: No. Excellent [00:05:46] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: in the big one there that stuck out for me is the insurance and the, uh, workers' comp because of, uh, if a mover slips in your house and hurts himself, uh, that actually it's the home owner's responsibility sometimes because he's provided the home owner, the seller or the buyer has provided the workspace. [00:06:04] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: So you gotta have worker's comp and [00:06:06] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: insurance. Absolutely. I mean, some of the, I mean, it's not even to bash some of the smaller movers. Everyone's trying to make a dollar, I guess, but it needs to be done correctly. Right? So those two things are huge. Of course you want them fully insured and, and, and the companies to have workers comp for their employees. [00:06:22] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: Well, listen, I [00:06:23] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: get it. A lot of young people, uh, buying their first house. And I remember when I was like 25 30, we always had friends. We had a ton of friends, some of them would pick up trucks and they're always willing to do stuff for a pizza and a case. So w what do you say to young people who say, well, I'm going to see myself that 500, 600, $800 and just get a bunch of buddies together, have a good day, make a day of it. [00:06:45] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: What do you say to people like that? [00:06:47] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: Um, call me for an estimate first. Uh, I, you know what everyone says that like every, it seems every friend group, including my own, they all go through. Whoever's lucky enough to call. I shouldn't even say lucky enough to move into their first place, but. Whoever's moving out first. [00:07:04] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: It seems like they all go through that and they end up buying the case of beer and pizza. And then no one else in the friend groups fortunate to save the money there. But, um, there's just certain things that aren't going to get done. When you hire, hire a friend group, you're not going to know how long it's going to take. [00:07:17] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: If you're moving, will you, we, can we go into pound? Did you want to be, make our moves? Right. So if you're moving, say 3000, 4,000 pounds, and you just got to pick up truck, you're going to be moving all day with your friend group as well. So I'll make sure they know that, but. Yeah. It's certain things like pat wrapping your furniture. [00:07:32] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: If it's, if it's furniture you care about, like it's not going to be taken care of properly, right. There there'll be other things you don't think of like this assembly, um, certain moving techniques, trying to get a coach through doors a lot harder when you don't know what you're doing. Um, and yeah, it's just more difficult [00:07:45] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: than people plus the insurance factor too, right? [00:07:47] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Like, I mean, if your friend drops that headboard and scratches it all up, uh, don't think you're going to have [00:07:52] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: insurance. Yeah, I'm sure there's been a lot of, uh, lost friendships over moving. Like it's not really worth [00:07:58] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: yeah. How to burn through your friends and three [00:08:01] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: easy steps. Hire them for three moves in two years. [00:08:03] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: Something [00:08:07] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: we'll be right back after this short announcement. [00:08:13] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: You're listening to the Bono's real estate podcast with Beau Kaufman of Remax performance Realty. If you're thinking of buying or selling a house or a condo in Winnipeg, remember Bo knows realist. [00:08:26] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Listen, I also, what I like about you guys is you offered a whole bunch of different services. Like, um, one thing you go out and you sell just the packing supplies and rapping and tape and stuff like that. [00:08:36] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: But what other services do you guys offer? [00:08:39] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: Or we were talking about that recently. You and I. Put it into it's on our website right now we have a little infographic, but we kind of break things down into, uh, uh, a four step moving process kind of thing. Now you don't need to use this for all four steps, but the first would be kind of like just virtually or just online. [00:08:56] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: We can set you up through email with the packing supplies. You need, get you our prices, get you set up there and, um, have them delivered to you. Then we can come do that pack, whether it's the move day, the day before we send Packers, however, it works. That's kind of step two was doing the pack and then step three is the obvious one that everyone knows we do, which is just getting the move done. [00:09:15] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: Right. And then our fourth step, the final step in this kind of infographic would be. Doing the unpack organizing of the house. Um, it's again, you don't have to hire for all four things. Lots of customers will buy our packing supplies. They'll do all the packing, we move it. We give them tips on how to properly pack, ensuring that there's going to be no damages. [00:09:37] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: Um, and that's totally fine, but yeah, we do offer all four and then I guess the other big thing we offer is. Is this [00:09:44] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Emily. That's what I was waiting for it. Yeah. The assembly that kind of blew me away. So people go to Ikea buy that dresser with the 400 parts and you offer a service to put it together for [00:09:55] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: that's absolutely right. [00:09:56] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: Yeah. We, uh, I don't blame people that can, Ikea stuff can be pretty annoying. So we found a little bit of a market in there. We're hoping to get that to start taking off even more so in the future here, but, uh, yeah, if anybody just needs some things built, put together, we'll, uh, we'll send our best assembly guys over and get that done. [00:10:14] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Right on. So what's the best way. How do people get ahold? [00:10:18] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: Um, but we have a quotation link and just to contact us through our website that never hurts goes directly to me and my staff's emails. And then we reach out, um, you can get a hold of us set, uh, my email as well. We'll be at total moving one, a big.ca or hello at total moving one, a big.ca both of those we can be reached, um, and our phone number. [00:10:38] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: Um, we have our office line, which is, uh, 4, 3 1 4 4 1 move. It's a 6, 6, 8 3 [00:10:44] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: for the end there. So that the website was total moving. Winnipeg dot. Yeah, I guess I [00:10:50] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: should've said the [00:10:51] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: website. Okay. Was part of your email, but I just wanted to make sure people understood and got off. [00:10:56] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: Absolutely. Yeah, no, it is of www total moving winnepeg.ca that's the website. [00:11:02] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: All right. Well, listen, I'd like to do another episode with you sometime down the road. Maybe, uh, we'll talk about how people can save money. What, you know, what some, some tips and tricks to moving, how the. Do some of the stuff and hire you for some of the other stuff, but we'll come up with some ideas on, on how to save people money, because they're going to be spending a lot of it buying the house. [00:11:22] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: Uh, these days it's the market is just, is nuts. So, uh, I'll uh, I look forward to doing this again. I can't [00:11:31] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: wait to be back on both. Thanks for having us. All right. Take [00:11:34] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: care of by Colby. Take it easy, bro. Well, I met Colby about a year and a half ago or so, and I've been recommending total moving to all my clients for that time. [00:11:45] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: And I've had nothing but positive feedback. And like I said, this is an industry where it's a real hit and miss, you can get some really good ones and you can get some that will quite frankly, rip you off. And I've always found Colby to be a standup guy, and I liked their whole business mentality and philosophy. [00:12:02] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: And I think you'd be quite happy hiring total moving for your next move. And no, they did not pay for this episode. This is just a service that I provide. I like surrounding myself with. That that are good at their business. So if you look into, by herself, just know that I've already got a great lawyer, home insurance company, mover, a plumber, electrician, home inspector, a roofer. [00:12:25] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: I've got them all on speed, dial people that I know and trust and people that I can get ahold of even on the weekend, uh, try and get a lawyer to answer a phone on the weekend. So if you look into, by herself, give me a shout because you get more than just a realtor. You get access to all the best professionals in their respective fields to help us make that purchase or the sale of that house. [00:12:48] Bo Kauffmann - REALTOR: So until next time, this has been Bo Kaufman Remax performance. I'll talk to you soon. [00:12:57] Colby Kiss - Total Moving: You've been listening to Bo Kauffman of Remax performance Realty. Are you thinking of buying or selling a house or a condo in Winnipeg called Bo at 2 0 4 3 3 3 2 2 0 2. Remember Bo knows real estate.

 It’s springtime, and Winnipeg home buyers are facing a very tough sellers market.  How can first time buyers get a leg up in this highly competitive environment?  Lets talk with mortgage expert, my friend Mike Schroeder of Mortgage Architects…next. Home buyers in Winnipeg are in a very tuff spot.  Our spring market is normally very competitive.  This is when buyers come out in large numbers, and end up competing on homes and even condos. This year they are facing 2 additional obstacles,:  Lack of listings and rising interest rates. Normally at this time , we have around 1200 houses on the market.  This morning, we have just over 400.  Whats worse, is that over half of them are new listings, and will likely be sold in the next couple of days. Also, the headlines are shouting  “Bank of Canada DOUBLES its interest rates”…  adding more stress to the daily routines of home buyers. So I thought it was high time that we speak with someone who knows mortgages, knows how to help home buyers and can add some perspective to these issues. Let’s say hellow to Mike Schroeder of Mortgage Architects in Winnipeg.

Welcome to Winnipeg’s Real Estate Market update for March 2022 Here we are at the beginning of March, and let’s take a look at the housing market first, then the condo market. On March 1st, we had a total of 366 houses available for sale.  That’s up a little from the 306 we had a month ago, but well below 577 on March 1st last year. The main segment of activity continues to be in the 250k to 500k range where we sold 236 during Feb., and only have 157 available on March 1st. The next busiest price range is from 500 to 1 million, with 129 sales during Feb. A lot of listings start out in the 400 K range, but bidding drives their sold price up over 500K. I just worked with a couple who bought their first home.  It took 7 attempts to finally have our offer accepted.  The home they bought was listed at $320K and they had to bid 95K over that.  It’s tough to be a buyer right now. Winnipeg’s condo market is not spared from this hectic activity.  We currently have only 211 condos available, compared to 431 last year and 561 the year before. Sales of 146 units in Feb. is an increase from the previous month, and significantly higher than the 86 sold in Feb. last year. So in summary, Winnipeg continues to be a very strong seller’s market, so if you’re thinking of selling a house or condo, NOW is the time to call to get ready to sell.  Call me anytime for a free market analysis.

Hello Winnipeg, welcome to my 62nd market update   Weather is cold, but our real estate market is HOOOOT Check this out! End of Feb, we normally have around 1200 houses for sale.  Today that number is  349 Same with condos….normally 5-600 available, but today just 207 If you’re thinking of selling your house or condo, take advantage of this market right now.  Call me to discuss the best strategy to get the most for your home. If you’re a buyer, buckle up….  Multiple offers are pretty much the norm right now.  Homes getting 10, 15 or more offers is fairly standard. So why not wait until the inventory scarcity ends?  Here is why:  Right now it’s -40 and most of the buyers are still dormant.  Once nice weather arrives, they will wake up and join the hunt for a home…..creating even more demand. If you’re serious about buying or selling, a house or a condo in Winnipeg, call me right now Bo Kauffmann, REMAX performance at 204-333-2202

Welcome to the real estate quickie for Feb 2022   First, lets look at the HOUSING market. On Feb 1st we have 306 houses for sale in Winnipeg. Let’s put that into context.  Last year, which as you may recall, was a super hot sellers market, but we actually had 481 Houses available,  or about 60% MORE than today.  And 2 years ago, that number was over 1100….nearly 4 times what it is right now. What are the real world effects of this type of market?  House went up for sale in St James last week, at 370K, got 19 offers and sold for over 100K more…. Over the month of January, which is normally a pretty slow month, we sold 273 houses, with another 55 showing as pending,  for a total potential sale of 328….   That means that, at this pace, if NO further listings came to market, everything would be sold in the next 29 days…..  that is a super low inventory level. But how about condos.  Traditionally, they have a history of being more affordable and available. Well, there are 227 Condos of all prices available in Winnipeg right now.  One year ago that number was 402…..  and 2 yrs ago it was 561 In January, we sold 69 condos, with another 40 showing as pending, for a total potential sale of 109 condos.  This inventory level sits at 65 days….   While that’s double the level of houses, in the condo-market this is super fast. So even condos are now selling with multiple offers, there is simply no escaping it. If you’re a buyer, hold off if you can.  And if you’re a seller, RIGHT NOW is a great time to list your home. If you have to do both, there are strategies available to maximize your results….call me to discuss that may be best for your unique and distinct situation.

Showing the sales and listings stats for houses and condos over $500,000 in Winnipeg. As of July 15th, 2021

April 2021 Market Update for Winnipeg's real estate market   also check out https://boknows.homes/news

Spring market has arrived in Winnipeg.  Crazy bidding wars, shortage of homes all add up to bidding wars.   Plus a call with Mike Schroeder of Mortgage Architects with tips for divorcing couples.

Divorcing couples often end up selling their house. Mortgage Mike Schroeder tells us that there are programs in place to HELP divorcing couples, so that one of them can hang on to the home.   Interesting call with Vancouver agent Tam Barclay about the state of the real estate market in that city.   Also check https://boknows.homes/divorce for more tips.

Here are some links in the show Latest Market Update in PDF format is at https://boknows.homes/marketpdf Mortgage specialist Mike Schroeder is at https://mikeschroeder.ca  

Monthly market report for Winnipeg's real estate market. Sales and listing stats for houses and condo in Winnipeg. Looking at entry level house sales, and the most popular price range for houses, which is $250 - $500K.   Also all condo sales and listings are examined.

https://magazine.winnipeghomefinder.com/winnipeg-luxury-market-report-january-2021-luxury-real-estate-report/65223222    

https://audio.winnipeghomefinder.com   Call with Mike Schroeder of Mortgage Architects.    email mortgage@mikeschroeder.ca   Winnipeg Real Estate Market report, also available in PDF format  check  https://boknows.homes/pdf

https://audio.winnipeghomefinder.com Episode to take a look at what happened, and what may happen next year. New market Updates will come via downloadable pdf in the near future.  Here   https://magazine.winnipeghomefinder.com or https://boknows.homes/pdf

Just a short message of Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my listeners   Short update on what you can expect in the New Year.

Description: In this episode we are going to talk about condos in Winnipeg. Are condo fees a total waste of money? Whats the condo market doing right now, and we'll look at a sample condo complex in Island Lakes. All on episode 144 of Winnipegs best real estate podcast. ShowNotes at https://boknows.homes/144 Get our Free Podcast App, available for Apple & Android devices by going to boknows.homes/apps In today's episode, Number 144, our main topic will be the most recent Winnipeg condo market update, as well as answer the question: Are condo fees a total waste of money? I love interacting with people, explaining and teaching new things about real estate and home ownership, educating buyers and sellers in the process. Thats how this podcast was born. It's a labour of love. So if you find this podcast helpful, please download the free podcast app right to your phone. Its super easy, just go to boknows.homes/apps and you can chose from apple or android apps.   Final thoughts and links I hope you've enjoyed listening to this podcast half as much as I enjoyed creating it. And I really do love it. So if you like receiving this information, here are a couple of things I'm asking you to do. Install the free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices. I've made it super simple...on your phone, go to boknows.homes/apps and you will get the option for your device's app store downloads. Another thing you can do is go visit THIS show on the web at boknows.homes/142 and see the show notes and all the links. Once there, you will also see the little microphone which enables you to leave me a comment or suggestions on how to improve this podcast. Lastly, if you really want to show me some love, give me a 5-star rating. Again I've made it super simple, just go to https://lovethepodcast.com/boknows and you'll be able to review it easily.

Description:  In this episode we are going to talk about the latest real estate market update for Winnipeg's housing and condo market.  We are going to touch on a few reasons why home buyers SHOULD consider buying a home in wintertime and share some money saving tips for home owners or those who want to become one. ShowNotes at https://boknows.homes/143 Get our Free Podcast App, available for Apple & Android devices by going to boknows.homes/apps In today's episode, Number 143, our main topic will be the most recent Winnipeg real estate market report.  We'll look at some reasons why buyers might consider continuing their housing hunt thru the winter, and some money saving tips for home owners. As (hopefully) most of you know, I'm a professional real estate agent, specializing in helping home and condo buyers and sellers in the Winnipeg market area.  Thats how I earn my living and I absolutely love what I do. I love interacting with people, explaining and teaching new things about real estate and home ownership, educating buyers and sellers in the process. Thats how this podcast was born.  It's a labour of love, I don't charge for ad spots, or collect money from it directly.  If I mention or promote a local business or service, it's because I have either used it myself, or recommended it to friends and family and have had great feedback. So if you find this podcast helpful, please download the free podcast app right to your phone.  Its super easy, just go to boknows.homes/apps and you can chose from apple or android apps. This Week on the Blog Wintertime is usually when home buyers take a break.  I get it....it's cold, there is xmas and new years, its winter vacation time.  So many buyers put their home search on hold.  But to paraphrase Jonathan Sacks......"When everyone else is buying, SELL"...   Looking at this another way.....when everyone else stops buying....  BUY.  The lack of buyer competition is just one of 7 reasons why buyers might consider continuing their home buying journey.  IF you can find a home that fits your needs....   don't wait til spring, when a new flock of buyers enter the market and create more bidding wars. Go to:  https://stories.winnipeghomefinder.com/7-powerful-reasons-to-buy-a-home-in-winter December Real Estate Market Report Stats on Winnipeg housing market.  How many listings are available, how many have sold over the past month?  Are we in a buyers market, or sellers market? Money-Saving Tips for home owners Saving money by using appliances in a smarter way.  Washing machines, refrigerators, stoves and dishwashers can be energy and money hogs...... here are a few tips to use them more wisely. Final thoughts and links I hope you've enjoyed listening to this podcast half as much as I enjoyed creating it.  And I really do love it.  So if you like receiving this information, here are a couple of things I'm asking you to do. Install the free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices.  I've made it super simple...on your phone, go to boknows.homes/apps  and you will get the option for your device's app store downloads. Another thing you can do is go visit THIS show on the web at boknows.homes/142 and see the show notes and all the links.  Once there, you will also see the little microphone which enables you to leave me a comment or suggestions on how to improve this podcast. Lastly, if you really want to show me some love, give me a 5-star rating.  Again I've made it super simple, just go to  https://lovethepodcast.com/boknows  and you'll be able to review it easily.  

ShowNotes at https://boknows.homes/142 Get our Free Podcast App, available for Apple & Android devices by going to boknows.homes/apps In today's episode, Number 142, our main topic will be "Mortgage Options for Buyers who are New To Canada".  We'll also touch on a few points on how to get your home ready to sell in the springtime, and talk about some home insurance options. As (hopefully) most of you know, I'm a professional real estate agent, specializing in helping home and condo buyers and sellers in the Winnipeg market area.  Thats how I earn my living and I absolutely love what I do. I love interacting with people, explaining and teaching new things about real estate and home ownership, educating buyers and sellers in the process. Thats how this podcast was born.  It's a labour of love, I dont charge for ad spots, or collect money from it directly.  If I mention or promote a local business or service, it's because I have either used it myself, or recommended it to friends and family and have had great feedback. So if you find this podcast helpful, please download the free podcast app right to your phone.  Its super easy, just go to boknows.homes/apps and you can chose from apple or android apps. This Week on the Blog We're just entering the late fall of 2020, but if you're thinking of selling your home in the spring next year, NOW is the time to start planning.  Call your agent now, to do a walk-thru and give you honest and direct feedback.  THIS is the time for critical, unvarnished information on what you could do to maximize the selling price of your home. On Winnipeg's Real Estate Blog, there is a post of 6 things to do to prepare your home for that spring sale.  Here is the link  https://boknows.homes/b81b91c0 Spotlight on Local Business If you're buying a house or condo and getting a mortgage (most people are), you will be required to get property insurance.  Banks, Credit Unions, mortgage brokers....won't matter who you deal with, if they are loaning you money to pay for the home, they will want their investment protected. My favourite property insurance company is RA Hughes Insurance, located in the Dominion Shopping centre at the foot of the Norwood Bridge.  They are an insurance broker, meaning they deal with a variety of insurance companies, and can help you find the best fit for you. Owner Darcy Cook and his super friendly staff have been protecting your peace of mind, since 1929.....  (well, actually Darcy isn't THAT old...but the company was started by his family.)  Call Darcy at 204-837-1960 Their website is here https://boknows.homes/cc0d5fd0 Phone Interview with Mike Schroeder of Mortgage Architects Today we will talk with Mike about mortgage options for people who are 'New To Canada'.  Landed Immigrants and other statuses. Final thoughts and links I hope you've enjoyed listening to this podcast half as much as I enjoyed creating it.  And I really do love it.  So if you like receiving this information, here are a couple of things I'm asking you to do. Install the free podcast app, available for IOS and Android devices.  I've made it super simple...on your phone, go to boknows.homes/apps  and you will get the option for your device's app store downloads. Another thing you can do is go visit THIS show on the web at boknows.homes/142 and see the show notes and all the links.  Once there, you will also see the little microphone which enables you to leave me a comment or suggestions on how to improve this podcast. Lastly, if you really want to show me some love, give me a 5-star rating.  Again I've made it super simple, just go to  https://lovethepodcast.com/boknows  and you'll be able to review it easily. Money-Saving Tips for home owners The American Water Works Association Research Foundation conducted a study in 1999 and found that 27% of water is used in the toilet,  22% in the washer, 17% shower, 16% faucet and 14% lost thru leaks. New toilets , showerheads and cold water in washing machine will help reduce your costs. For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube

Visit our new podcast home page at https://audio.winnipeghomefinder.com     Today we will speak with a real estate professional in the US about that market, and the process of buying vacation property in or near Las Vegas NV.  Welcome to Episode 141 of the Winnipeg Real Estate Podcast.   Winnipeg Real Estate News    Mid November, and our numbers of available homes are seriously dwindling.  Last year, mid November, we had 1,610 houses available in Winnipeg.  Today, that number is under 900.   In condos, last year we had 641 available,  this morning, 550.  That is the story of this covid-market.  Not enough listings, but a lot of buyer activity.  If you've missed it, check out podcast episode 139,  our November Market Update.   This Week on the Blog  Our latest article is perfect for your cellphone reading.  It's in a story format, so plays real nice on a vertical screen.  11 Insider Tips to help sell your home fast.... Top 2 tips:  Make it easy for buyers to see.  Don't throw up a bunch of blocks and barricades, like limiting the showing hours to a 2-hr window each day, or no showings after 5 pm...      And pick the right agent. https://boknows.homes/79f2dd70 Spotlight on Local Business  When you get a mortgage, the lender MUST offer you the option of taking 'mortgage insurance'.   This is really just life insurance by another name.  Repeat after me  : Thank you, but no thanks."...   Instead, get Life Insurance, which offers better coverage, has fewer hurdles, and is usually cheaper.  We talk about it in Episode 119, link here  https://audio.winnipeghomefinder.com/mortgage-insurance-of-life-insurance/   Call my good friend Thomas Johnson of Cascade Financial at 204-229-4405....   Link to his website is:  https://boknows.homes/dfd92540 Phone call with Debbie Drummond from Las Vegas  Interested in buying a vacation property down south?  Get away from our winters for a few months?  Las Vegas Nevada has a lot to offer.  We talk with award winning Luxury Home Agent Debbie Drummond about   The current state of the housing market Common price ranges What can you buy for $300K US? Tax implications for Canadian Buyers Mortgage options for foreign buyers   https://boknows.homes/0a02d520   Ms. Drummon's Tax Acct. recommendations is at  http://www.thetaxmanllc.com/ Download my free Podcasting App Whether you're on Apple or Android phone, its real easy to get my free podcast app by going here:   https://boknows.homes/apps For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube

Visit our new podcast home page at https://audio.winnipeghomefinder.com   In this episode we will give you the condo market stats for the past month, what makes condo mortgages different from house mortgages, and a look at one condo building in the south end of Winnipeg.    Winnipeg Real Estate News    Available condo listings are down from last year, while sales are up.  Not at the same rate as houses in Winnipeg, but still an increase in activity against a backdrop of lower inventory levels.   Phone call with Mortgage Mike  If a buyer is pre-approved for a $250K house, can they just go and buy a $250K condo?  Not so fast....condo mortgages have a few unique requirements.  We need to consider the condo fees, whether the condo building is an apartment-conversion and whether the condo is self-managed. Find Mike at https://boknows.homes/IVjg2j Spotlight on Local Business   Whether you're buying or selling, a house or a condo in Winnipeg, you will need a real estate lawyer.  I recommend Brad McClelland of McRoberts Law Office.  Here is a link to his website   Go to https://boknows.homes/b99b3d30   Spotlight on Tower 180 Condo in St Vital  180 Beliveau Rd is the location for a condo known as Tower 180 Condos.  Originally built as an apartment block in 1970, it was converted into condos by A&S Homes in 2014. 1 and 2-BR suites, priced bet 160-220k.  Generally about 20K to $40K below the price when they were new.   See more details on this building here  https://boknows.homes/6afb3270   Here is my post on Condo Fees vs. House Expenses   For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube  

Visit our new podcast home page at https://audio.winnipeghomefinder.com   In this episode we will give you the housing market stats for the past month, and talk about what interest rates are predicted to do over the next few years.   Intro to new podcast website:   I am very happy to announce a new home for Winnipeg’s #1 Real Estate Podcast. You can find it at boknows.homes/podcast   Whats so good about it? All episodes are in one place, with easy access to all major podcast players, as well as links to the podcast apps for ios and android. More importantly, if you go to this site on your mobile device, it will load with a little icon at the bottom of your screen that will allow you to send me a voicemail question about real estate. Try it out, and I will answer those questions in an upcoming podcast.   🇨🇦 Canadian Real Estate News 📰   In an article in Canadian Mortgage trends the Bank of Canada is signaling that low interest rates are likely here to stay for another 2-3 years. This announcement affects both fixed and variable rates, and fixed rates might be falling further. In a recent survey by BMO, 57% of first time buyers said they’ll choose a fixed rate. The article ends with some economists predicting that rates might remain low well beyond the 2023 mark.   Link to the article is: https://boknows.homes/8cd5ea90   📆 This Week on the Blog 📭   Want to see the November real estate update in visual slide form? On your cell phone go to https://boknows.homes/market   The Winnipeg market report in a story format, easy to watch. a   🔦 Spotlight on Local Business 🏪   This winter, I believe a lot of people are going to forgo travelling, saving thousands of dollars in the process. Some will take that opportunity to put that money into their homes, in the form of renovations or upgrades.   Whether you want to simply improve your current home for your own benefits, or prepare for, what I believe will be a very hectic spring market, painting offers, in my opinion one of returns on your investment.   Painting your home’s interior SOUNDS like an easy diy project, but Ive seen them go very wrong. Unless you are an accomplished house painter, leave this to the pros.   Call my friend Rob White of urban Topcoat painting. Walls, ceilings, floors, …if it doesn’t move, he can paint it. I’m not charging for this shoutout, I am just recommending him because I’ve had a number of clients who used him and were very happy with the results.   Call Rob at 204-791-8024.   Or go to boknows.homes/painting   🏞️ Winnipeg Real Estate News 📰   Available listings are down roughly 40% over the same time last year, while sales are up 57%. That means a very hot sellers market, in nearly all price ranges from 200-500k.   👫 Answering Your Real Estate Questions ❓   How do buyers get the keys to their new home?   In Winnipeg, the key transfer is handled thru the lawyers. The seller gives a copy of the house key to their lawyer, who transfers it, under trust conditions, to the buyers lawyer. Once those conditions have been fulfilled, ie: the sellers lawyer has assurances that the money is there, the key will be released to the buyer   👪 🗯 Final Thoughts and Links 🖥   We’ve just heard how hectic Winnipeg’s market is. Over the next few months, here is what normally happens. Listings slow down, as does buyer activity. This is normally a good time to buy, but since listings are already low, there is no large selection of homes on the market for buyers to pick from.   After that, we will enter the spring market, which is traditionally a super hot sellers market to begin with. Will it be again in 2021? Or will there be an increase in forclosures and people needing to sell due to economic difficulties in the pandemic?   Next week we will take a look at the condo market in Winnipeg. How is it reacting to the pandemic, and could condos offer an alternative to shell shocked home buyers in Winnipeg?   For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube

Welcome to this week’s episode.  We will have an in-depth interview with Brian Ross of Innovation Fabrication about turning shipping containers into pools, sheds, temporary houses and even tiny homes and offices. We will also talk with Mike Schroeder of Mortgage Architects about what to do, and what not to do, after you’ve been pre-approved. 🏞️  𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙜 Business Innovation Fabrication  📰              This very innovative local company started by converting shipping containers into pools and hot tubs.  They are expanding and creating covid-shelters, medical labs, man-caves and she-sheds, garages and tiny homes. IF Container website at:  https://boknows.homes/205e3d10 Boxx Pools website at:  https://boknows.homes/4ccc6320   ☎️  𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙠𝙚  💹              Some cautions about what NOT to do between the time you are pre-approved, and the time you take possession of your home.  Don’t change your credit rating, or credit history, don’t change jobs  and more info from Mike Mike’s website is at:  https://boknows.homes/IVjg2j  👪 🗯  𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨  🖥               We have all heard about how tight the Winnipeg Real Estate Market is right now.  This is due to the lack of available and listed houses.  For example, last year at this time, we had over 1,600 available homes for sale, while this morning that number is approx.. 40% lower.             On the other hand, condos are not facing this shortage.  Last year, 640 available compared to 610 this morning,  so just a 5% drop.             Next week, Nov 5th, we will take a closer look at the housing stats for October, and we’ll talk about the option of buying a condo instead of a house.  There are some advantages, and some disadvantages to condo ownership, and we’ll examine those as well. For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube

This week we will talk to Mike Schroeder of Mortgage Architects about the differences between an open and a locked in mortgage, we’ll take a look at a really unique local business and a few surprises….all in the next 15 minutes or less   🇨🇦  𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙀𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙨  📰              Interesting article on CanadianMortgageTrends.com indicating that the pandemic has motivated many young Canadians to buy a house. “The pandemic has caused many Canadians to turn their living rooms into classrooms, their dining rooms into offices, and their basements into home gyms,” said , Head of Real Estate Secured Lending and Scotia Mortgage Authority at Scotiabank in a release. “This is motivating many to consider investing more in their current homes or re-evaluating their living spaces altogether.” In addition, the lowered rates when compared to the a year ago, now can save the average home buyer around 13,000 over a 5- yr mortgage period. Go To https://boknows.homes/8dd0d4e0   🏞️  𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙜 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙀𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙨  📰              So about 2 weeks ago I listed a house and the owners were wondering whether now was still a good time to list.  We got 7 offers and it sold for over 40K above asking price.   So yeah…it a great time to sell   ☎️  𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙠𝙚  💹              Let’s tackle the age old questions: Is it better to get a fixed mortgage, or to leave it open?  Lock it in for 5 years, or take a chance with a floating rate? Mortgage Mike Schroeder of Mortgage Architects says:             Even though the rates for an open mortgage are already lower than a fixed mortgage, buyers should consider that getting out of a fixed mortgage early can trigger significant penalties.  65% of home owners get out of their fixed mortgage earlier than expected. See this attached article via cbc news   https://boknows.homes/5d454f60    📆  𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙜  📭              Are you looking to add value to your home by doing some interior decorating, remodelling or updating?  Check out this great post, with a room by room guide of adding value to your home. Go to https://boknows.homes/94e0f600   🔦  𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨  🏪               Today I’m talking about one of the most unique businesses you’ll ever find.  It’s a local manufacturer, the brain child of an entrepreneur named Brian Ross.  Innovation Fabrication is  a metal fabricator who turns old shipping containers into just about anything you can think of. Pools, popup kitchens and bar yard bars, man-caves and she-sheds and even pop up medical labs and testing sites. We’re planning to have Brian on in an upcoming episode and tell us more.  You can find the link to his website in the show notes Innovation Fabrication here     http://wpgfab.com/    👪 🗯  𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨  🖥               I don’t always eat soup, but when I do…..it HAS to have meat in it.  One of my favorites is this meatball, tomato and pepper soup.  Its thick, hearty and has a little kick.  You can use beef or turkey, and a link to the recipe is in the show notes. Meatball, Tomato and Pepper soup:  https://boknows.homes/292ae8a0   hQtZZSWCHV5SN5Ct5Df6

Get my podcast app at https://boknows.homes/apps    available there for ios and android. 🇨🇦  𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙀𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙨  📰              CMHC is predicting a downturn in housing market and prices in 2021, however experts at Scotiabank disagree.  Due to COVID, inventory is low, buyer demand remains strong and prices are surging.  Bank of Canada are saying they will not raise interest rates until inflation hits 2% on a sustained basis, and that is not expected to happen in the next 3 yrs. For the full article, go here   https://BoKnows.Homes/NXkm7Q 🏞️  𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙜 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙀𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙨  📰              Inventory in Winnipeg remains low, around 1,100 homes for sale in our city right now.  30 of those are over 1 million dollars.  Normal levels at this time are around 1700 homes.  Great time to sell, right now.  📆  𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙜  📭              This week on Winnipeg’s Real Estate Blog we talk about some tips on decluttering your home.  There are 7 things you can do to clean up your clutter, and help the environment and charity in the process.  Go to BoKnows.Homes/clutter ☎️  𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙠𝙚  💹              Thinking of buying a house or condo which needs updating?  Have you ever heard of ‘Purchase Plus Improvements Mortgage”?  This is where, in addition to the normal purchase price, you get a little extra money lumped into the mortgage to help pay for the kitchen reno, new roof or bathroom addition.             We’ll have a nice chat with Mike Schroder of Mortgage Architects about this option, how to get it and what process to follow.             Find him at http://BoKnows.Homes/IVjg2j  👪 🗯  𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨  🖥   For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube

October 8th edition of real estate tips, news and advice.  (Episode 135) Listen on spotify at https://boknows.homes/spotify 🇺🇸 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙀𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙨  📰              Survey of 4,000 real estate agents in the US revealed that the average home sold in August received 3 offers.  Multiple offers happening everywhere. 🏞️  𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙜 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙀𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙨  📰              Listings are way down compared to last year, but sales are UP.  This creates bidding wars and higher prices.             3.5 million dollar condo still available on Wellington Cr. ☎️  𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙠𝙚  💹              Talking about closing costs for home buyers.  These costs include legal fees, land titles taxes, home insurance and other fees.  📆  𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙜  📭                    For the latest market update, go to https://boknows.homes/market  🔦  𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨  🏪               Painting company Urban Topcoat, Rob White owner, can paint anything and everything in your home.  Interior exterior, decks, concrete, etc…  👪 🗯  𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨  🖥   For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube

Housing Market Report for October 2020 in Winnipeg. Always available on Spotify at  https://boknows.homes/spotify The numbers of available homes in Winnipeg, and the numbers of sold homes over the previous month, as compared to the prior month and the same time last year.   For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube

🇺🇸 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙀𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙨 📰             Real estate markets in the U.S. are quite hot right now. Buyer demand far exceeding inventory. Low interest rates and seller reluctance to sell are the key reasons given. 🇨🇦 𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙀𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙨 📰             Moody’s Analytics expects Canada’s real estate value to take a downturn next year, especially in Calgary & Edmonton (10%), Toronto (9%) and Vancouver (7%). Smaller markets are expected to fare better, due to increased demand for larger homes and more space at affordable prices. (Winnipeg) 🏞️ 𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙜 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙀𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙨 📰             Winnipeg remains a hot sellers market, especially for houses under 400K. High buyer demand and 45% fewer listings than last year same time.            Pandemic stage orange has been instituted and masks are mandatory in public places. Still going to Open Houses? Be careful out there. ☎️ 𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙠𝙚 💹             Mike Schroeder of Mortgage Architects tell us about alternatives to CMHC, which include Canada Guarantee and Genworth. Both of these allow buyers to buy ‘more house’ than CMHC. Mortgage Brokers offer access to all three insurers, which can help buyers, especially ones with bruised credit or new to Canada.  📆 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙜  📭             New post titled “8 things you can do to protect your plants this winter”. Winter is coming, and protecting your plants will help them thrive in the spring.  🔦  𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 🏪              It’s time to check your furnaces. By signed up to Aire-Serv Heating and A/C Maintenance Plan, you get a furnace check and clean now, plus an A/C check in the springtime. Also included is a 10-15% discount on any needed repair parts and labour. All for $190 plus taxes. Go to Aire-Serv Heating and A/C  👪 🗯  𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨  🖥              Next week we’ll have another call with Mortgage Mike, more news and updates, as well as answering a listeners question: “How to upgrade my 1980’s house”. For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube  

Thinking of becoming a home owner but want to avoid the bidding wars?  Condos offer an excellent option and opportunity to own your own place. For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube [00:00:00.240] What's Winnipeg condo market in July 2020? Coming up next.  [00:00:23.230] For those of you who have listened to or watched my housing market report for July 2020 in Winnipeg, you already know that the housing market is super hot. It's a super hot sellers market. Tough for buyers. Well, condos are kind of the opposite. [00:00:38.430] Condos are and remain and have always been for the last five years a real strong buyer's market. It's a great opportunity for you to get into real estate, to become a homeowner if you don't want to endure the bidding wars of houses. You can find a really nice condo even for under 250,000 dollars. But Condos in the 250 plus range are superstrong buyer's market. They can sit there for several months. You won't likely get into a bidding war if you buy one and you can get a pretty good deal on these days. [00:01:09.420] So let's take a look at what the market is like as an overview. [00:01:12.570] Last year for this time period, for a month, we sold 82 condos in Winnipeg. Last month, we sold 78. And then in June, we sold 108. So it's not only faster than last month, but it outperforms last year as well.  As for the most expensive condo it did hit one million dollars in the North Henderson Highway area. And you're going to see that the condo market this month actually outperforms not only last month, but last year as well. [00:01:40.200] Let's take a look at the numbers of available condos for sale as of July 1st. We can see that last year,  under two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.  Last year we had 513 for sale. On June 1st, we had 354. And July 1st it was 369. So it's slightly more than last month, but it's way down from last year. [00:02:02.350] Same thing for condos of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. +, all the way up to as high as they go. And they do go for a million dollars in Winnipeg. That's pretty, pretty comparable to last year. Last year we had 323. This this month we had 302, which is virtually identical to the previous month as well. So that's remained fairly stable. [00:02:21.390] But now looking at the sales, you're going to see that this month has outperformed the previous month and even the previous year condos under 250,000 dollars last year. [00:02:30.930] This time period, we sold 35. This month, we sold fifty five. And for more luxurious condos, 250,000 dollars and up last year we sold 47. This year we sold 53. So even when compared to last year, which was a fairly active year, condo sales are up this year over last. What does all this mean? I'll explain when I come back. [00:03:07.230] So with math formula, we combine the sale statistics and the available listing statistics and we come up with something that works out to be the days of inventory. This is basically answering the question that if nobody else listed their condo going forward, how long would it take to sell everything that's out there? And of course, the lower the number, the hotter the market. If we take a look at condos under 250,000 dollars last year, that number was 455 days. [00:03:36.420] In other words, it would take nearly a year and a half to sell everything that's out there. This month, that number has dropped to 201. So that's twice as fast as last year. Condos over 250,000 dollars. Last year that number was 213. This year it's 171. Again, a huge improvement over last year. Now, keep in mind, 201 and 171, . those are still really high numbers. [00:04:03.210] When you compare them to houses, if you look at my housing report, those numbers are in the 30 and 40 range, not in the hundreds. And the last statistic I look at is how many new listings came to market during the month of June. How many people listed their condos last year? That number was 352 new listings came to market.  This month, it was 334. So down slightly from last year. [00:04:28.500] But it's it's getting back up there.  The previous month, that's the month of May, this year we had 302. What does all this mean? The overall picture. Condos this year are selling faster than they were last year. But when compared to houses, they are still a much, much more relaxed and slower market than houses. [00:04:47.820] If you're currently renting and you're paying twelve hundred dollars and I went through this with with a client of mine, they were paying $1,200 for an 800 square foot apartment. They managed to get into a 1300 foot, ten year new townhouse with the garage for about the same money. Actually it's costing them less money than 1,200 dollars a month. That's including taxes and condo fees and the mortgage interest. So if you're interested in getting out of the rent-race and you don't quite want to buy a house, maybe it doesn't fit your lifestyle or maybe you just don't quite have enough money because you can buy a really nice condo for $220,000, whereas that's that's getting really tough to find a house in that same price range. [00:05:31.030] If you're interested, consider condos. Give me a shout any time. It's Bo Kauffmann Remax Performance Realty 204-333-2202  I'd love to help you out till next time. Bye bye.  

Real Estate Market Update for houses in Winnipeg in July 2020 For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube [00:00:00.240] Let's take a look at the real estate market conditions for July 2020 in Winnipeg. [00:00:23.090]  Well, hello, Winnipeg, it's Bo Kauffmann Remax Performance Realty, and it's July 2nd, 2020. And I take a look back at the sales and listings which happened over the last month or so, all of June. [00:00:34.580] And you're going to see that we are in a super hot sellers market right now. And for example, last year for the month, we sold 786 houses in Winnipeg. This year we sold 861. So that alone is 10 percent more sales. But you're going to see that the listings for actually way down, which makes it an even hotter market. Similar story with condos last year and this time period, we sold 82 condos and Winnipeg this year we sold 108. [00:01:03.030] So that's about 20 percent more or even 25 percent more. As for the market highlights for June, the most expensive house sold was 1.45 million in South Headingley. In fact, during the month, there were four houses sold for over a million dollars. And the most expensive condo hit one million dollars. And that's in the North Henderson Highway area. And as I mentioned earlier, the number of available houses substantially down quite a bit from last year. [00:01:28.190] So let's take a look at available houses in Winnipeg. Last year this time, we had 1,866. And today we got 1,232. That's that's a huge drop. That's about a 35 percent drop in listings available for the buyers to pick from breaking that down among the different price ranges for houses under two hundred and fifty thousand. Last year we had 486 available this month, virtually the same as last month, 265 available in that price range. [00:01:56.770] The mid-range homes, 250 to 500 thousand dollars. Last year we had 934. This month, we have 584 way down. So. And it's just about 10 more than last month. Luxury homes last year. 446 available.  This month, 384. Again, a big drop over last year. Now the available listings are down, but sales are keeping up, or actually better than last year in most of these categories. [00:02:25.400] Under two hundred and fifty thousand dollar homes last year, in a time period of June, we sold 203. This year, 199. virtually the same. Quarter million to half a million dollar homes last year, we sold 504.  During June this year 570. [00:02:41.630] And luxury homes as well. Last year we sold  79 in that time period, this year, 92. If you've been listening to my real estate reports over the past few years, you know, I put those numbers, that is the sales and the listings, together. And I come up with a quotient I called days of inventory that is kind of giving a number to how hot the market is. So let's take a look at houses under 250thousand dollars. You can see that maximum would be about 120 days. In fact, an average market would be around 90 days or so. Last year we were at 74. And this year, right now, this month, we're at 40 days. That is super, super hot sellers market. [00:03:20.860] Houses for 250 to 500 thousand dollars are in a similar predicament. Maximum is 120 days. Average would be around 90 or so. Last year, 57. This year 31. If you've got a house in the 250 to 350, 375 range and it shows half decent, it's going to be gone in a few days. [00:03:42.200] Luxury homes over half a million dollars, you know, a maximum about 400 days. We usually see markets around 220, 250 days. Last year, 175. This month, 125 days for luxury homes. That is a very, very hot. And the last thing I want to take a look at is the seller confidence. How many people are confident in selling their house and listing it right now? Last year this time, we had 1,409 people listed their home in this period. Last month we were just shy of 11 hundred. [00:04:12.740] And this month we did creep up a little bit. 1,300 is still one hundred less than last year. It seems like the market right now is made up of a lot of buyers, but not a lot of listings to choose from. [00:04:40.280] I hope you've enjoyed this housing market report for July 2020. And Winnipeg. I do a separate condominium market report. As hot as the housing market is, Condos do offer a great opportunity for buyers who want to get into the housing market who want to own their own property, but don't want to deal with so many bidding wars. So if you're thinking of buying your first home, a condo might be an option for you. Check that report as well. [00:05:03.800] And as you may know, I work with buyers and sellers, houses and condos in Winnipeg. So if you're looking to buy or sell either one house or condo, give me a shout anytime. That's Bo Kauffmann Remax Performance Realty 204-333-2202.

If you're tired of renting, let me show you how one of my clients fired the landlord and now own their own place. For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube [00:00:00.240] Are you currently renting and thinking you can't afford your own home? Let me dispelled that myth right now.   [00:00:22.680]  So are you renting right now and wondering if or how you could afford a new home? Let me tell you what happened to a client of mine very recently. They called me at the end of May to tell me that they were they had been renting for about five years and everything was going okay until a noisy tenant moved in above them and they finally had it. [00:00:40.720] So they were looking at alternatives, but they didn't initially think that they could afford it. I put them in touch with my mortgage specialist and this is what we came up with. So they were pre-approved for $300,000 and their initial plan was to find a stand-alone home. But in the south end of the city, St Vital, , Fort Richmond, Richmond West. Now there are neighborhoods in Winnipeg, where I can find you are really nice. home for 300,000 dollars or less. Standalone house. But St. Vital, , Fort Richmond, White Ridge. Those kind of areas are not among them. So after a few disappointing showings, we switched focus and we started looking at condos. Currently they lived in about an 800 square foot apartment, two bedrooms, one bath, outdoor parking, and they were paying 1,210 dollars a month. After looking about three or four condos. This is what we found them for $275,000 dollars. [00:01:32.780] We got them a three level townhouse condo in Bridgewater. Here's what you've got on the main floor. You have a small office area plus closets and the laundry room, and that is the door to the attached garage. So they go from outdoor parking to a single attached indoor garage.  On the second floor, we have a half bath, a really nice, open, modern kitchen with all the appliances, all stainless steel appliances included the patio door leading to the balcony and a large living room area. [00:02:03.760] And the top floor features two good sized bedrooms, a main four piece bath and the large master bedroom with a full en-suite and lots of closet space. Now, as I said, their apartment was 800 square feet. This condo is 1,350 square feet. So let's take a look at how those costs compare. As I already said, they initially paid twelve hundred and ten dollars for rent plus hydro. So this condo, we got them for two hundred and seventy five thousand dollars. [00:02:31.510] They put five percent down, but there's CMHC fees lumped into it, which is around four percent. So let's say that they had to mortgage a two hundred and seventy five thousand dollar mortgage and figure out what the interest is on that. So let's be generous and say they're paying 2.4% , which makes a monthly interest costs of 550 dollars. So, yes, the actual mortgage payment is going to be higher. But anything above the interest goes against their own mortgage payment. So that money is not lost. It's not an expense. It goes to pay down their own debt. The only real cost is the interest. [00:03:06.670] After this, a property tax of 250 dollars per month and then a condo fee of 225 dollars a month. Now, hydro costs are going to be very similar as their rented space, as will insurance. The condo building insurance is actually included in the monthly condo fees. [00:03:22.300] So all they have to do is add condo owners insurance, which is similar to renter's insurance. So add up all these costs and instead of 1,210 a month, their cost of living in their own home is $1,025 dollars per month. So that's nearly two hundred dollars a month less than renting the garage. Lack of noisy neighbours. All that is just a bonus. [00:03:42.520] So here's an interesting tidbit. If you're looking for a house right now, houses are at a premium.  There's only about 1,300 homes for sale in Winnipeg as opposed to last year, this time when there was nearly 1,900. So houses are harder to get. But you know what remains a buyer's market?  It's condominiums. And if you're renting right now and you're itching to get into the housing market, a condo might be a great stepping stone. It's true that condos probably will not appreciate as much as houses, but it is a stepping stone into owning your own property. [00:04:14.110] There are many benefits other than increased property values to owning your own property. Homeowners benefits include renting it out or borrowing money against it, fixing up the inside, paying down on the debt. So you know that that savings is basically it's tax free because that's your primary residence. So if you're thinking of getting into the housing market or into the owning your own home market, condos are a great option because right now there are still over 600 condos for sale, which is comparable to last year at this time. [00:04:46.470] Here's another tip. Those clients of mine didn't actually have 5% down. The mortgage specialist was able to find them a mortgage which used borrowed down-payment. So that is a way of using a like a line of credit at your bank. Now, in order to qualify for that, you have to have exceptional credit. You have to have above average credit rating. But even so, even if you don't have five percent down, there may be a way to get you into owning your own property with borrowed down payment.

If you're serious about buying a house or condo in the summer of 2020, you will face 2 challenges.  Here is the 1 solution that fixes both. For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube [00:00:00.240] Are you serious about buying a house or a condo in Winnipeg in the summer of 2020? You're up against two challenges. I'll talk about those and how to get to the head of the line right away.   [00:00:26.710]  Hello again, everybody. It's Bo Kauffmann Remax Performance Realty. I'm a residential real estate agent in Winnipeg for the past 15 years and I enjoy working with buyers and sellers of houses and condos.   [00:00:37.420] If you're serious about buying a house or a condo in Winnipeg in the summer of  2020, you're up against two challenges. One is a super active market. And the others is Covid. I'll talk about both of those challenges right away and then give you a shortcut to get you to the head of the home shopping line. Please note I said if you're serious about buying a house or a condo in Winnipeg, I get a lot of calls from people saying, hey, I just want to see your listing.   [00:01:01.750] And when we talk about it a little bit further, they say, no, we're just starting to look or we're just curious. We just want to see it. So let me explain.   [00:01:10.180] When a seller hires a listing agent, that agent owes the homeowner a set of duties and responsibilities,.... responsibilities, which I take very seriously. Those responsibilities include not showing the home to anybody who is not pre-approved, not pre qualified, may or may not be able to afford it, and more importantly these days, to show the home only to those people who have been deemed to be covered free to the best of our ability.   [00:01:36.080] So if you're just browsing, just starting out, just looking, there are plenty of open houses still. You can go online, see virtual tours, even virtual open houses. Now, that's a great way to start, but don't call a listing agent to show you a house, because here is what's supposed to happen if you phone me. My first question to you is, are you pre-approved? Now, even that question has offended some callers, and I'm sorry for that.   [00:01:59.160] But as I said earlier, I owe the home seller, a responsibility that I'm not going to show the house to anybody who just makes a phone call. You've got to be pre-approved. My next question may be who are you pre-approved with? Because not all lenders are the same. I'm just now dealing with somebody who has gone through  their third week of financing, continuing to get extensions on the financing condition. It's not acceptable. And these people were supposedly pre-approved.   [00:02:25.060] And another example, I met a young couple who came to me pre-approved by one of the smaller credit unions when it came time to make an offer. That credit union wanted a full week financing again in this active market, that's not sufficient. So not all lenders, not all mortgage lenders are the same, and some are definitely better than others. Another example may be that you need to sell your current home before you can buy one. There really is no point in looking at a house, especially these days, because when we make an appointment to get you into a house for a showing, that homeowner has to pack up and leave.   [00:02:58.120] That's under the COVID rules. The homeowner is not supposed to be in the house at the time. So we are really inconveniencing that seller to show the house to somebody who is not ready to buy. But as I said earlier, there is a shortcut, a way to get you to the head of the line. Talk about that right away. After I discussed the second challenge, which is COVID.   [00:03:31.300]     [00:03:31.660] We're pretty lucky in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In general, we've got very few cases. We want to keep it that way. So each time you phone a listing agent to show you that listing, he or she is supposed to go through a checklist with you. It's basically  two pages long. It's like a medical background check list. Have you traveled? Have you been in touch with anybody who has traveled to show any symptoms? Have you been tested?   [00:03:53.860] So it is quite in-depth and you're supposed to fill that out for every showing that you go to. Imagine doing that for every listing?  There is a better way. Call an agent like myself or any other buyer agent and ask them to become your buyer agent. It's really easy, simple and free. Here's what happened once you call me. We'll have a Zoom meeting or an in person if you prefer.   [00:04:16.600] And during this meeting, we'll discuss your home buying needs and wants and financial capability. We'll also discuss your health status. You only have to do this once with your buyer agent if required. I'll set you up with the right lender, not somebody that takes a week to get things done, but somebody who stands behind their pre-approval. After we've done that, we'll set you up on a search and all the listings that fit your needs and fit your requirements will come straight to your inbox.   [00:04:42.430] That way, let's say on a Saturday afternoon, you want to look at a couple of houses. You send me the addresses that you want to see and I'll book the showings. You don't have to call three different agents. You don't have to fill out three different forms. You don't have to answer three different sets of questions regarding your pre-approval or your health status. That's already been done. All you do is you sent me a list of houses you want to see.   [00:05:05.500] I'll book the showings and away we go. What's a great way to pick a buyer agent? Well, check the Better Business Bureau. There are a handful of agents who are credited with the Better Business Bureau, and an even simpler way is just to check Google.  Check the agent's name behind that name, put Google reviews and you should come up with with a list of reviews.  So if you're thinking of buying a house or a condo in Winnipeg, give me a call anytime.

Real Estate sales, listings and inventory of houses in Winnipeg. For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube [00:00:00.150] What's the real estate market on June 1st 2020 in Winnipeg? Coming up next.    [00:00:20.710] Well, it's time to take a close look at what the real estate market is doing and Winnipeg, this is at the beginning of June 2020. You know, I get phone calls  just about every day.   [00:00:29.490] I got a call from a nice older lady saying, you know, right now with all this Covid stuff, this must be a terrible time to be selling your house? And really nothing could be further from the truth. You're going to see that in the last month, that's the month of May, sales have nearly doubled over April. Yet the numbers of available listings has not kept up. So you're going to see all the indicators are towards a much, much stronger seller market than normal.   [00:00:55.260] There is buyers are coming out, but they're just not finding the available homes. There's one thing I'm doing different this month, and that is that this is specifically for houses. I will do a separate podcast for condominiums because they really are a separate market all to their own. So let's take a look at some of the highlights. For the month of March, the most expensive house sold in the month of March was 1.5 million in tuxedo.   [00:01:17.880] And the most expensive condo was a brand new construction condo. F$488,000 in the S.St Vial area. In May 2019. We sold 758 houses. Now, compare that to the sales of April this year. They were 375 houses, but in May we bounced right back to 641 houses sold in Winnipeg. That's fast approaching the norm, which was kind of last year. So let's break that down a little bit further in the price ranges under two hundred and fifty thousand dollars on June 1st.   [00:01:51.450] Last year we had 444 homes available. In April, we had 285. And in May this year, we're down even further at 269. So the available homes in this price range keeps dropping. But buyers are coming out. So if you've got a house in that price range, now is the time to list that.   [00:02:10.220] Looking at the mid price range, these are homes between a quarter million and a half million dollars.  Last year we had 778 available. At the end of April, we had 590. And at the end of May or June 1st, we only have 575. Again, the available number of homes has steadily drop and it's much below normal.   [00:02:31.390] And a slightly different picture in the luxury homes sections last year. These are homes of 500,000 dollars or more. Last year we had 413 at the end of April. This year we had 338.   [00:02:44.730] And on June 1st this year, the inventory bounced up a little bit to 368. So let's take a look at sales over the past month. So last year, during the month of May, we sold 187 entry level homes in May. This year we sold only 93. So that's about half. And now in May 2020, that jumped back up to 157. So almost on par with what it was.  like mid-range homes, 250 to 500,000 dollars last year in May, we sold 487.   April this year 247 again 1/2.   [00:03:18.630] And that bounced right back and made this year to 418 almost on level with what it was. Now, as far as luxury homes go, last year we sold 85 of those in the month of May.   [00:03:29.850] This year in April, that dropped down to 35. But this year in May, it went back up to 66 homes. As you can see, sales have nearly doubled over last month. But in most cases, inventory, the available number of homes has actually decreased.   [00:03:44.760] This is going to make for a very hot sellers market. If you've been following my podcast on my blog for a while, you also know that we take those numbers, the solds and the available. We combine them to come up with a quotient called inventory days or days of inventory. This basically means that if no further houses are listed, how long would it take at the current rate to sell everything that's out there? Naturally, the lower that number, the hotter the market and the better seller market it is and the tougher it is for buyers.   [00:04:14.700] So let's take a look at what those numbers mean right now, starting off with homes under 250k dollars last year. This time it was 71 days. It would have taken 71 days to sell everything that's out there. In April this year, that was 92 days. But this month, we've dropped down to 53 days. So that's even faster than last year.   [00:04:34.270] Homes between a quarter million and a half million dollars last year.  That was 48 days.  In April this year, that jumped up to 72 days. And right now, June 1st, that's dropped to 42 days. Again, hotter than last year. And a similar picture in luxury homes, those over a half million dollars. Last year we were looking at 146 days to sell everything that's out there. In April this year, that jumped up to 290. That's almost doubled. And now in June 1st, that's back down to 172 days.   [00:05:05.880] So you can see by those numbers that the hardest part of the market is between that 250 and five hundred thousand dollars. In fact, I can tell you that the really the hottest segment in Winnipeg market has always been between 250 and 350. And the last that we take a look at is how many new listening to come into markets last year during the month of May, we had 1,341 new listings. In April this year, that dropped way back to 698.   [00:05:32.400] But it's comeback somewhat made this year, to 1098. So we're still roughly 250 listings short of what we were last year. Right now is a great time to sell your home. Please give me a call if you're if you're thinking of selling your house in Winnipeg. That's Bo Kauffmann Remax Performance Realty 204-333-2202.

Why is now the start of the spring market in Winnipeg?  Hear of the two most recent sales, and the stats that tell the story. For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube Looking after and reporting on historic stats is easy…..   extrapolating information from those stats, and predicting the future is harder. Unless A few very loud and obvious facts jump out, making it easier to interpret.   For example: 2 weeks ago I listed a bungaow in the west st james area for $250,000. It ended up with 45 showings and 15 offers, and sold for $30grand over asking. But one example does not make a trend So this past week, I listed another bungalow, this one in north kildonan, for $260K. 46 showings, 10 offers and sold for 23K above asking. So 91 showings, and 25 offers on these two listings.   Seeing a trend? Two different parts of the city, but both homes are smack in the middle of Winnipeg’s most popular price range category…. Why is this happening? Well, let's look at available listings. Last year, this time, we had 1635 homes for sale in Winnipeg. Today, that number is 1273.   That is 22% fewer listings than the same time last year. So if you’re thinking of selling your Winnipeg home, NOW is the perfect time. Listings are down, but buyer activity   (91 showings, 25 offers on two homes) is up.

Does the time of year make a difference when selling your home?  How important is setting the right asking price?  Two stories to show the effects. For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube [00:00:00.150] What kind of an effect can the proper pricing and timing have when selling your home in Winnipeg? Coming up next.   [00:00:25.460]  So if you're thinking of selling your house or condo in Winnipeg, timing the market is important and pricing correctly for wherever that time of year is. Not every market is the same. Spring market is different than the summer and the winter and the fall is different again.   [00:00:40.640] I've got two real life examples of what a difference pricing and marketing time can make. And the first one kind of talks about the difference of pricing. Recently, I had occasion to do research in an area in St. Boniface where two homes were sold on the same street. They were basically identical homes built probably by the same builder. Certainly the same size, the same style, built the same year. But inside they were quite a bit different.   [00:01:08.090] The first home we look at was listed at the end of August. Generally, the market in Winnipeg starts to slow down in August, especially towards the end end and in September. People have bought their houses. They're now concerned about moving in, getting their kids in school and stuff like that. So at the end of August is generally not a great time to list the house. This one in particular had been updated extensively. New bathrooms, new kitchen windows, flooring, electrical, was extensively renovated, looked really, really gorgeous.   [00:01:35.840] And they priced it at $285,000, which is probably fair for that market and that house. It took 40 days to sell and they eventually sold it for 275. So 10,000 under and it took six weeks to sell. Now look at another house. Same street. It was listed at the beginning of June. And that is still traditionally part of the spring market. Things are still active. People are still looking very much looking, especially the beginning of June.   [00:02:01.790] Same kind of house, same size, layout, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms on the same street. But that's where the similarities end. It had an old kitchen, old bathroom. Couple of the windows were updated, but not much else. So they priced us at $249,900. Now remember, it's still spring market, $249K. They got multiple offers and it sold for $273,000, just two grand below the one that was completely updated and finished.   [00:02:29.870] So that's the benefit of listing at the right time of year when there's still multiple bids, multiple offers happening. It doesn't seem fair, but that's just the way. Just the way it is. If you can avoid listing at the end of August, do so. Hold off for a little while. Market generally does pick up again at the end of September, beginning of October. But if you don't have a choice, you don't have a choice.   [00:02:52.430] You have to just kind of make the best of it. But spring market is definitely the best time to list. And my next story is going to be an even wilder example. Unbelievable. So stay tuned.   [00:03:17.240] This next example. I was actually intimately involved with both of them. I saw both houses inside and out. These homes are located in River Heights. And just like the previous example, they're on the same block, same street, same side of the street. So they're facing the same way, the same sun exposure. Probably built by the same builder. Definitely the same style, size, and layout. They were both bungalows. A lot of similarities. The first one went up for sale in October one year, and I had a buyer who wanted to see it.   [00:03:47.930] This house had originally been listed at $270,000 dollars and it was extensively updated. New windows, new roof. It had a double car garage. Not like the second one in the example. It had a double car garage. Nice hardwood flooring. A brand new kitchen. New bathrooms. A really nicely done basement listed at 270. It took two months to sell and eventually sold for 250.   [00:04:12.130] Fast forward just three months later.  Same side of the street. Homeowner called me to list their house. Now, I got into this one and it was the same style and size, but it was completely different inside. The walls with the original plaster and painted and what I would call like a mint green. And the plaster was severely cracked everywhere. Original Windows, original kitchen. There were hardwood floors, but they were covered by shag carpeting. This house only had a single car garage.   [00:04:40.280] And worst of all, it had a noticeable tilt, a noticeable lean to one side. I had a contractor come in just to take a look at it because he thought he might wanna flip it. And his laser level showed that one side was almost a foot lower than the other. It was so noticeable that when you're standing outside, you can see the house leaning towards one side, but it was the spring market. So we listed it at 219,900.   [00:05:02.830] We had an open house and I had to stop the traffic from coming in. The house was full and there was people lined up on the sidewalk. Again, spring market in Winnipeg, even though it was beginning of February. It was a nice sunny day, was relatively mild and they were coming out. So in the end, we ended up with five offers and the house sold $255,000. It sold for 5000 dollars more than the fixed up one down the street sold just two months earlier.   [00:05:31.160] That's the power of the spring market. That's the power of bidding wars. I'm not going to say I did such a fantastic job in marketing this. It was just, it's a timing thing. And it's sometimes a bit of a luck thing and it doesn't seem fair. It doesn't seem right that that first house was head and shoulders above this one, but we sold for five thousand dollars more. And that's what spring market and proper timing can do.   [00:05:54.920] So I've always been telling people if they ask me, when's the best time to sell? The best time to sell is right at the very beginning of the spring market. In that second example, that was February. Right now, in 2020, that is right now  in May because the spring market has been delayed. But I'm seeing the activity that we saw a few years ago in the early spring. I'm seeing that right now, the houses that the listings are getting a ton of showings and multiple offers.   [00:06:24.140] So if you have a choice, sell or list your house at the beginning of a spring market, whenever that is. If you have to sell at other times a year, there's nothing wrong with that. You just have to adjust your pricing strategy to meet whatever that market happens to be at that time. So if you're thinking of selling your house or condo in Winnipeg at any time of year, give me a call. It's Bo Kauffmann Remax Performance Realty (204) 333-2202   [00:06:51.230] I will develop a marketing strategy that meets the current market demands. And hey, if you're still with me at this point. Why not grab my free podcasting app available for iOS and Android device? It's super easy. Just go to Winnipeg.tips/apple or /android. That way you'll never miss another episode about Winnipeg real estate or both.  

Sales stats for homes and condos during April 2020, the first full month of activity during the pandemic.  How is Winnipeg's market doing: For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube [00:00:23.390] Welcome, everybody. It's mMay first and I take a look back at all the sales in April, the entire month, and that is the first full month in this pandemic, as you may remember. The markets, everything was shut down around the middle of March.   [00:00:36.460] So March's report was still half normal, half pandemic. So now we're taking a look at the first full month to see what numbers have done. Bottom line listenings her down, sales are down, but the intensity remains. I'll show you what I mean. And I usually compare to the previous month. But really, the best way to compare is to the same time period previous year.. So what we have is last year in April, we sold 85 condos.   [00:01:01.720] This year, 42. So that's half. Last year we sold 558 houses in that time period. This year, just 375. These are numbers for inside Winnipeg. And they're gonna be different than what Winnipeg REALTORS® puts out simply because Winnipeg REALTORS®  covers the entire south east quadrant of Manitoba, including Steinbach and Portage LaPrairie and Selkirk, whereas I'm looking at only Winnipeg. All right, let's look at available listings. So last year, this is under a quarter million dollars.   [00:01:30.280] Last year we had 363. This year we've got 285. So that's quite a bit down. Last year, 250000 to five hundred thousand dollar homes. At the end of April, we had 694 this year, just 590. So that's down about 14, 15 percent. And the luxury homes last year we had 378 available this year, just 338. So that's about 40 down. That's another 10, 11 percent.   [00:01:57.460] So as I mentioned before, listings are down, but so are sales last year, quarter million dollars or less. We sold 156 homes, this year just 93. In the 250 to five hundred thousand dollar range, Last year we sold 357, this year, just 247. So that's about a 30 percent drop.   [00:02:16.270] And last year, in the luxury home range of half million or more, we sold 45 homes this year, just 35. So as you can see, listings are down and sales are down. So how do you correlate the numbers? I mean, if one of them is significantly different than the other, it will have an effect on whether it becomes a buyer's market or a seller's market. And to look at that, we take what's called an inventory quotient.   [00:02:38.350] So we take a look at how many days it would take to sell everything that's out there at the current sales rate. The lower the number, the hotter the market.   [00:02:47.000] So last year, under 250000 dollars, it was 72 days. This year, it's 92 days. So it would take an extra 20 days to sell everything that's out there so that it's become a slower market than last year, same time. The same holds true for all the other price ranges at 250 to five hundred thousand dollar homes last year with 60 days.   [00:03:07.300] This year it's 72. And for luxury homes, last year, 260 days, this year 290. The difference between last year and this year will become even more pronounced in the condo section, as we're going to see right away.   [00:03:20.740] Comparing last year to this year under 250000 dollars last year, we had 383 Condos available. This year, just 322. So that's about almost 20 percent less listings. Quarter million and up. Last year we had 312 available this year 290.   [00:03:36.610] And looking at sales for condos under 250000 last year during the month of April, we sold 54. This year, 26. So less than half last year in the quarter million and up, we sold 31 condos this year, 16 again, just half of what we sold last year. And this becomes really noticeable in the days of inventory condos under quarter million. Last year we were at 220 days. This year,  370 days,   [00:04:03.720] Condos over a quarter million, last year 312 days, this year, 544. So it is a very, very strong, hot buyer's market as far as condos go. Great time to buy a condo if you're looking to buy an investment condo. Probably never been a better time than right now. Interest rates are low, inventory is still out there, and the competition for those condos is low. So you should be able to get yourself a pretty good deal on a condo.   [00:04:28.240] I also like to look out to see how sellers are reacting. Are they now listing houses and condos at the same rate as they were last year? So last year, this time period, we had 1144 new listings come to market last month, just 817. And this month that's down to 698. Same thing happens with condos. Last year, 309 came to market, last month just 271. And this month just 186.   [00:04:56.980] That's down about 40 percent in listings. Now, I really don't know who said it. It may have been Warren Buffett  who said "if everybody else is buying sell,  if everybody else is selling buy. Unfortunately for the most  people and I fall victim to this as well,  they start developing a bit of a herd mentality so that if everybody else is not listing, well I'm gonna hold off too, which is really not the right thing to do right now.   [00:05:22.390] Listings are down, and sales are down, too. But as I said earlier, the intensity is there. And what I mean by that is this. I just listed a house out in West St. James. We ended up with 45 showings and 15 offers and it sold for 30 thousand dollars over. The intensity remains. Just took a look at North Kildonan. There was an area where I'll be listing a little bungalow bungalows of similar size in the last month.   [00:05:46.420] There were seven of them that have sold in North Kildonan. Four of them sold for above-asking. So again, intensity is there. The buyers that are out there are serious about buying a house. So don't be afraid to list your home at this point because other people are holding off. That means you're going to have less competition against other similar places on the market. So if you're looking to buy or sell. Give me a shout thats Bo Kauffmann Remax performance (204) 333-2202   [00:07:20.190] And hey, if you're still with me at this point, why not? Grab my free podcasting app available for iOS and Android device. It's super easy. Just go to http://winnipeg.tips/apple or http://winnipeg.tips.android.  That way you'll never miss another episode about Winnipeg, real estate or both.

Living and working in Winnipeg's Exchange District. Interview with someone who knows! For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com   Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App.   Check my videos on Youtube A few links:  Productivity & work-at-home resources Indie Author Weekly podcast @Saganlives on Twitter & Instagram    What's Winnipeg's Exchange District like? Let's talk to somebody who lives and works there. That's coming up next. [00:00:10.100] You're listening to the Bo Knows Real Estate podcast, tips and advice for homebuyers, buyers, sellers and owners with award winning Remax agent Bo Kauffmann. [00:00:25.860] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX Winnipeg has a lot of fantastic neighborhoods, some well known like Osborn Village and Corydon Village, and another rapidly growing and expanding district is the Winnipeg's Exchange District. Now, some of you may know I've been publishing a blog for all going on 12 years now, and I've been publishing a podcast for about eight or 10 years. [00:00:45.270] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX And a young lady by the name of Sagan Morrow has been writing articles for my blog almost from about 10 years ago. And I know she has a condo in the exchange district. So I went to her when I wanted to talk to somebody about life and work in that district. I reached out to her and she was more than willing to come on to the podcast. So by way of introduction, Sagan Morrow teaches busy, time crunched solopreneurs, how to build their own successful home based businesses without the overwhelm, through online courses and business resources at Sagan Morrow. com I'll have the links in the show notes. She specializes in productivity tips and action oriented strategic planning for multi passionate creatives. Sagan has over a decade of experience as a freelance writer and hosts the indie author weekly podcast. When she isn't teaching solopreneurs or doing freelance work for her own clients, Sagan likes to write romance novels. All right. So I'm here with Sagan, moral productivity strategist and author and Sagan that's been living in Winnipeg exchange district in a condo for quite a while. [00:01:58.440] - Sagan Morrow How many years, Sagan? [00:01:59.940] - Sagan Morrow It's been ten years now. [00:02:02.880] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX And same place in a condo? [00:02:04.760] - Sagan Morrow Yes. Yes. I bought my condo. I lived. I lived in author and village briefly. And then in West Broadway. And then this is the first the first condo that I bought. It was the first place I ever even looked at when I was looking for a home. And I just fell in love with it immediately. And I bought it and I. I've been here ever since. I'm very happy here. [00:02:25.500] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX Is it one of those, like I'm not asking for your address here, but is that one of these, like, warehouses that's been converted which what the exchange district is really known for? [00:02:34.230] - Sagan Morrow Yes, that's exactly what it is. You've got like exposed brick and all that. Yeah, OK. Very nice. All right. [00:02:42.000] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX So you've lived in always the like he said Osborne Village and some of the other nice areas. What do you like about the exchange district? [00:02:48.630] - Sagan Morrow You know, it's been really wonderful to live here over the past 10 years and see how much the exchange has changed and grown and evolved over that time. It's been absolutely incredible to see how many more people are in the area. And I love it. It's such a cultural hub and that there are so many different things that you can do. And it's absolutely beautiful with all of these historical buildings. It's it's such a central place. That's just wonderful. [00:03:16.560] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX Right. What are some of the things that list some of the things that you like to do and maybe some that most people don't really know about? [00:03:25.320] - Sagan Morrow So, you know, the little boutiques and that kind of thing in the area are so lovely. There's a lot there's a very strong sense of community that I think a lot of people don't even realize is a theme in the exchange. But it's true. You know, when you go to the restaurants, when you go to these little boutiques, you get to know the people who are working there and they are just absolutely wonderful. We have just such amazing people living and working and the exchange district and its such a walkable community as well. [00:03:53.460] - Sagan Morrow I mean, there's you know, you turn a corner and there's all kinds of new things to look at. And there's, yeah, there's just many different components to the area and having really, really cool little parks nearby and being so close to the river and all of that as well. I mean, the Forks is super close to walk, right? Wow. Really neat. [00:04:13.230] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX Yeah. And the exchange actually is on both sides of Main Street. Right. So you're talking about the west and the east side of Main Street. Yes. Yes. What about restaurants? Is there is I understand there's quite a few restaurants in that area. [00:04:26.640] - Sagan Morrow Yeah. I am a huge fan of Peasant Cookery. They make a wonderful French. Seventy five. I'm I also absolutely adore Keenon Ban. Their sandwiches are wonderful. The wet and dry department above the Mitchell block on the other side of of Main Street is really wonderful. The fourth cafe and fourth bar are so glad. And I also have really enjoyed Cordova Tapas, which is, you know, a bit of a bit of a jam, I think in the exchange that a lot of people don't really think about. [00:05:01.050] - Sagan Morrow When you're thinking about Tapas Winnipeg, you often think about Segovia, which is a bright place in the village. Right. Right. Cordova is really great as well. [00:05:08.670] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX Where are they located again? [00:05:10.490] - Sagan Morrow Cordova is on Albert Street. Okay. Yeah. Right. [00:05:15.000] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX Yeah. You're saying it's all within walking distance and that's a good thing because I think parking a lot of people, when they think about exchange, they think about the trouble there is parking. [00:05:23.200] - Sagan Morrow Right. So everything is. Once you once you found a place or you parked your car, everything's within walking distance. Yes, absolutely. And, you know, they've also done a really great job. I was I was quite impressed when they when they added in the bike paths I was a little bit concerned. [00:05:37.720] - Sagan Morrow At first I was like, oh, no, how. How was how is this going to go? But the bike parts are absolutely wonderful in the area. They've done a really great job of separating them from the street so that it is quite safe for for people cycling. So there's a lot of different ways to to move around the area, which is great. [00:05:56.830] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX Most people that would just say that a lot of people that live in the exchange also work in that area or or is catching a bus. Is that no problem getting transportation out into other areas of town? [00:06:08.740] - Sagan Morrow The bus system is really good. I mean, it's for her, the transit system in Winnipeg great here at the general rule. But yeah, the buses are really great. You can get to pretty much anywhere in the city very directly through the transit system. But I would I would say that a lot of people who live in the area also work somewhere close by. And I mean for myself, I work from home, which is very lovely. [00:06:35.410] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX Right. Well, maybe tell us what you do a little bit. [00:06:37.810] - Sagan Morrow Oh, sure. I am a productivity strategist, Sipes. I teach people how to manage their time and energy effectively. And I also write novels and I do some freelance writing and editing, as I can attest to, because Sagan's been writing blog posts for me. [00:06:56.770] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX We've been doing this for about ten years and like I said, we've never met in person. It's always been just over the phone or via email. [00:07:03.910] - Sagan Morrow Yes, it's it's incredible that we haven't, you know, at some point ran into each other. [00:07:09.160] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX We should go for coffee sometime, but maybe when this whole thing is over. That's right. Yeah. Yes. Anything else you want to share with us about living and working in the exchange district? [00:07:20.470] - Sagan Morrow I think I just want to add that there is the exchange is a very unique part of Winnipeg and it's very special. And there are so many different aspects of it that no matter what your interests are, there is something for you in the area. I love going to see the theater at Manitoba theater center. I love going to the ballet and the opera. The Fringe is here in the summer. It was actually fantastic. I mean, the depth different festivals that take place at the Cube at old market square, really wonderful. [00:07:53.020] - Sagan Morrow There's a lot of different small art galleries in the area. And people often don't really think about that sort of side of things. But, you know, once you start wandering the streets and you start looking around at the all these beautiful historical buildings, you realize just how many of them have these wonderful. Yeah. Galleries, not kind of famous part of them. So I would absolutely say, you know, take the time to explore the exchange and and really come down and enjoy it as a as an opportunity to see a little bit and maybe a different side of the city. [00:08:27.460] - Sagan Morrow Right. Right. It's just absolutely wonderful. And I would highly encourage anyone who's, you know, thinking about living in the exchange. I've always felt very safe here. It's it's a beautiful part of town and I adore it. I would highly recommend it to anyone. [00:08:42.970] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX Well, you certainly have a lot of passion in your voice when you talk about it. So I was quite happy to hear to hear that. So. Well, thank you very much for spending the time with me. SAGAN And I'm sure will we'll talk again and you'll be writing another blog blog post for me again in the very near future. [00:08:58.750] - Sagan Morrow Yeah. Thanks so much for having me. OK. Thank you. Sagan Bye-Bye. [00:09:02.660] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX So as we just heard, there's a lot of stuff to do and see and restaurants to to visit in the exchange district. So I just took a quick look at the market and there are currently 14 condos available in the exchange district. Priced anywhere from two hundred thousand dollars at the low end to just a shade over five hundred thousand dollars for a nice luxury unit on waterfront drive. [00:09:24.700] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX So if you're looking to buy a condo in Winnipeg, whether it's in the exchange just trigged Osborne Village or anywhere else, give me a shout. It's Bo Kauffmann Remax Performance Realty 204-333-2202. [00:09:36.950] - Bo Kauffmann - REMAX And hey, if you're still with me at this point, why not? Grab my free podcasting app available for AOS and Android devices. It's super easy. Just go to Winnipeg. Got tips, slash Apple or slash Android. That's Winnipeg dot TIPS slash Apple or slash android. That way you'll never miss another episode about Winnipeg real estate or both. [00:10:03.880] You've been listening to Bo Kauffmann of Remax Performance Realty. Are you thinking of buying or selling a house or a condo in Winnipeg called Bow at two zero four three three three two two zero two. Remember Bo Knows Real Estate?

Why are insurance companies getting fussy about aluminum wiring in homes?  What home owners and buyers should know... For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube Bo Kauffmann 0:00 Do you currently own or are looking to buy a home which has aluminum wiring? What's the big deal? We'll talk about that next. Unknown Speaker 0:10 You're listening to the bone nose real estate podcast tips and advice for home buyers, sellers and owners with award winning REMAX Agent Bo Kauffmann. Bo Kauffmann 0:24 You've probably heard that insurance companies are paying special attention to homes which have aluminum wiring. Well, what's the problem? Really, there isn't any problem. Aluminum is still being used today in industrial and commercial application. So for example, large warehouses, office buildings, industrial complexes and everything. It's being used today by companies because it's about a third the price of copper, a ton of aluminum right now costs about 1500 dollars US while a ton of copper costs well over $5,000 us and so it was that back in the 1960s a residential home builders thought They might have a better cheaper product on their hands. So you're looking at the prices of copper in 1962, they were about 30 cents a pound. And by 1966, they had more than doubled. So homebuilders, even though for for a single home, it might only be 100 or $200 difference, but if a home builder builds 234 hundred homes a year, it can add up. So they're looking for cheaper alternatives, and they settled on aluminum. Now like I said, What's the problem with aluminum? Well, there's no problem as long as it's treated correctly and upgraded correctly. And here's what happens. Let's say you have a 1970 bungalow that was built by a builder using aluminum wiring, they would have used aluminum switches, aluminum plugs, aluminum rated light fixtures, all those things are called devices by electricians. So all the devices that would hook into that house would be rated for aluminum. Now fast forward to 1995 as an example, the current owner of the home wanted to give it an update. So new paint, new floor. And of course, we're going to update the lights and why not update the switches and wall plugs to make them look more modern. So you go to Home Depot, and you find that a copper light switch is $1, whereas an aluminum rated light switch is $8. So what most people do well, they go with the cheaper stuff. And that's when the problem comes in. You'll have aluminum wiring, hooked into copper light switch, aluminum and copper, very dissimilar metals, they will heat and cool and shrink and expand at different rates. And over the years as this happens, they'll start to work themselves loose, causing corrosion and eventual sparking and that's what causes fires. Until a few years ago, insurance companies had grandfathered these types of homes. So if you owned a home for the last 20 years, insurance companies weren't bothering you. If you went out and bought a home then a new buyer would be required by insurance companies to get an inspection, electrical inspection with a certificate to show that they All the wiring is safe and has been treated properly. The devices are the right ones. And if they're not that they're at least hooked up in a correct way. That was until recently. However, now insurance companies are even sending letters out to owners of homes that are that are known to have aluminum, asking them to get an inspection before they get the annual insurance renewal. It's important to note that different insurance companies have different standards. With some of them, it's good enough that you have an inspection and that the property devices devices are installed that they are installed properly. The connections are tight, made with the correct marettes, and done in a proper way. However, I've also heard recently of some insurance companies are recommending and even demanding that the house be rewired. Now, that's not a standard yet, but if your insurance company does demand that you can either get a different insurance company or fork out the money well what kind of money are we talking about? Well, I sold a side by side a couple of years ago that was about 903 square feet and Northcote Dornan and the buyer had to get all the devices that's plugs and switches replaced by aluminum rated ones. And there was about 40 of them in this house. So 40 light switches and, and plugs. And all the lights themselves had to be hooked up in a proper way. And that ended up costing 1500 dollars for an electrician to do that, that was just on the main floor, how to take that step further and rewire that whole house you're talking about probably 10 to $15,000. So it's significantly more but like I said, as far as I know, at this point, that's not a requirement for every insurance company and if yours does require you to do that, I would say shop around for four different insurance company to see if you can get away with just having an inspection and having it certified what kind of homes are likely to have aluminum wiring. In North Kildonan, Windsor Park, West St. James old St. Vital, homes that are built between the mid 1960s and up to about 1970- 76 are suspect in this. One home inspector tells me that aluminum wiring might have been used as late as 1980. Although I personally have not come across this, so likely 1968 to 1976. If you're in one of those areas in town, you can you can check easily pop a cover of one of the light switches or a plug and if you see a shiny silver wire, and then your home will have aluminum wiring, no need to panic, but it is one of the questions that when you're selling your home, there's a 19 question questionnaire called the property disclosure statement. And one of those questions Question number 15 asks whether you're aware that your home has aluminum wiring led plumbing or mold or radon gas etc. So if you are aware and you know that your home has aluminum wiring, you have to disclose it to the potential buyer. Now that's it for aluminum wiring. Like I said, it's not the end of the world. It is it is treatable, you can fix it and worst case scenario you have to replace the wiring but that's not the case. Yet there are there are mitigation steps you can take. In another episode I will talk about something that's a little more concerning and that is knob and tube wiring. And hey, if you're still with me at this point, why not grab my free podcasting app available for iOS and Android devices? It's super easy. Just go to Winnipeg dot tips slash Apple, four slash Android. That's Winnipeg dot t IP s slash apple or slash Android. That way you'll never miss another episode about Winnipeg, real estate or both. Unknown Speaker 6:35 You've been listening to Bo Kauffmann of REMAX performance Realty. Are you thinking of buying or selling a house or condo in Winnipeg? Cobo at 204-333-2202 remember bone knows real estate

Looking to disinfect your car and home.  Protect from Covid-19, and other viruses and germs?  New product and service available now For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube Sanitizing homes and cars. Introducing a brand-new product and service here in Winnipeg coming up next.   You're listening to the Bo Knows real estate podcast, tips and advice for home buyers Sellers and owners with award-winning Remax Agent Bo Kauffmann.   All right, so a couple of weeks ago friend mine who is the business development manager at Eastside Collision is name is Doug McGuffin reached out to me and told me about a brand new product that they are importing or bringing into Manitoba and they hold the sport for I believe western Canada. And it's a product that helps people disinfect their cars and it can be taken a step further. So let me introduce Doug Magoffin and let's find out more about it.   All right, so I'm here with Doug  of East Side Collision and he's told me about a great new product that they got a hold of that helps sanitize, disinfect cars. Doug, tell me a little bit more about it.   Yeah, for sure Bo thanks for having me. So we came across a new product. It's called Environize natural vehicle disinfecting and sanitizing service and what this is about is it's a new way for us to clean and sanitize your vehicle prior to it coming into the shop just to ensure everyone's safety. With the recent events of what's going on nowadays, everyone's health and safety is of utmost importance. So what we've done is we've taken it upon ourselves to ensure the safety of our clients and our staff. So we're going to be sanitizing every vehicle that comes into East Side prior for repairs.   And after we return it back to the customer and what this product does it's a  fogging system that allows us to get into every nook and cranny inside a vehicle and the fogging machine will get in there with the solution our Environize solution and kill and destroy, in fact any of the harmful bacteria or viruses that may be in there. I kills everything like mold mildew, bacteria, viruses such as E coli, H1N1, covid. So everything that's out there nowadays if people are worried about this disinfectant cleaning will will take care of that.   So that's awesome. So if somebody brings in their car for Auto Pack repairs, you said you're going to do it when the car first comes in and then you can do it at the end when the car goes back to the customer as well.   Yeah, that's correct Bo. So we're going to bring it in we're going to disinfect it. It when it comes into the shop. So the safety of our of our technicians is going to be taken care of and then prior to releasing the vehicle back to the client after we've done our quality assurance test. The vehicle will be parked in our service Bay and it will be fogged One Last Time prior to us giving the vehicle back to the customer and all they do is they get in the car themself and drive it out the shop. So it is our version of a note touch service.   Now I can think of a lot of different companies and services that could benefit just from having their cars done even without Autopac repairs. So I'm thinking police vehicles, ambulance, taxis, moving vans, anything like that. Do you offer this service to somebody who is not going through an autopac claim?   Yes Bo. That's a very good question. We have had a number of people inquired about that have their own their secondary Vehicles whether or not they can have this service done. So there is a need for this and there are people that are interested in it. So for your regular passenger vehicle, it's going to be a wipe down and sanitizing fog of your interior. Vehicle and that cost is going to be 29.99  and we would ask that you would make an appointment for that service to be performed and it's just a matter of about a half an hour at the shop and you're on your way.   Tell me what number would they call to make that appointment?   You can call us at our main office number which is area code 204-237-7111, and any one of our helpful staff would be more than happy to book an appointment for you.   Is that just on the merrion street location, or is it elsewhere too    No this is available at any one of our three Facilities so we have our Marion shop at 847 for Marion Street. We have east side. truck collision which is out on Inkster in route 90 and then we also have Moray Auto Body and Glass on Moray St..   Okay, so that as exciting as that all is for cars what really gets me going is that you can offer this service to anybody who's moving into a house. Let's say for example, so let's say somebody bought a house from me and they're moving in next week. I could hire you to do this service for the house.   That is correct. So again, it would be the exact same application with the fogging machine. We come perform a general wipe down of any of the high touch areas such as your door knobs your light switches anything in the house that that you're touching on a regular basis and you may leave oil off your hands and your fingers the bacteria and viruses get trapped in that so just to take it a step further we wiped out on those high traffic areas and then it's just a matter of walking through the house with are fogging machine. And again, it gets into every nook and cranny and kills all the bad stuff that you don't want your house.   Okay, so you create a fog inside the house it settles and kills germs and viruses on contact is that what I understand?   Yes, that's correct.  The product is made up of chlorine, sodium and water and it's a very low dosages. It is approved by Health Canada. So there is a drug and identification number along with it as well. And again, it settles just like a fine do in the morning that you would see on your vehicle. It leaves no residue and you may smell a faint smell of a pool smell for 10 minutes or so on green. Yep. Chlorine spell yeah, right.   Awesome. That's that's really exciting. So REALTORS can just give you a call at that same number, and offer this as a service.   That's correct.   Well, okay so as dismissed settles that doesn't matter whether it's carpet or hardwood floors or linoleum on the floor. Does that matter?   No, it doesn't matter. We just try to keep it away from any electronic surfaces, of course because it is a wet application, right? But other than that it you would see no residue, it's really best to do when the house is empty when like just before you move your furniture and kind of thing problem. Yeah, it would be it would be a little bit more difficult to get in all the different areas if the house was full of furniture, but it would be best to apply it, you know in an empty house.   That sounds really exciting. Well, thank you very much Doug and I appreciate the time. No problem. Go have a great day. And thanks for having me you to take care Buddy .   All right, that was very exciting news. And so I'm now going to match it with this exciting offer if you're going to buy a house or a condo and use me as your agent and the house or condo is worth $200,000 or more. I will offer this service free of charge on The Possession data so that you know, you're going to be moving into a clean sanitized disinfect that house now keep in mind that the house itself won't be necessary cleaned, but all the germs on the viruses will be taken care of when you move in. So who do you know is looking to buy house or a condo April May and June because I Run this forever. I'm going to be having the service offered to you and performed for you on possession date remind me when you buy a house with me remind me of this offer that you heard it here. And I think this is a very exciting development for houses and for cars and hey, if you're still with me at this point, why not grab my free podcasting app available for IOS and Android devices. It's super easy. Just go to Winnipeg   dot tips / apple / or so. Android that's Winnipeg dot t-- / IPS apple or / Android that way you'll never miss another episode about Winnipeg real estate or both. You've been listening to Bow Kaufman of RE/MAX performance Realty. Are you thinking of buying or selling house or a condo in Winnipeg? Call Bo at 204-333-2202 Remember bo knows real estate.

Looking at the market for condos on Wellington Cr in Winnipeg.  Is now a good time to buy or sell one? For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube Condos on Wellington Crescent is now a good time to buy or sell one. Let's find out. You're listening to the Bo Knows real estate podcast tips and advice for home buyers Sellers and owners with award-winning Remax Agent Bow Kaufman. I've been producing Winnipeg real estate market updates for many years. It's a great way to see what's going on in our city. But real estate is even more local than that. Each neighborhood can have their own unique market conditions. So if you're curious about your area and Winnipeg email me at Bono's Homes at gmail.com, and I'll create a special report just for you. Alright, so the Wellington Crescent area is known for a lot of things very beautiful eclectic. Nice area great for walking, but one  of the things its known  for is its variety of condos and you have condos ranging from the mid 100's all the way up to the million-dollar plus so let's take a look at what that market looks like now and that's April 22nd 2020.   There are currently twenty two condos available on Wellington Crescent three between a hundred and two hundred thousand eight of them between two and three hundred thousand six between three and four hundred thousand to between four and five hundred thousand. And then it jumps up to the six to seven hundred thousand dollar range. There are two there and one is just shy of $900,000 now next. We normally look at how many have sold in the past two weeks and how many are currently pending sale? Well now there are no pending sales and none of them have sold in the past two weeks. So we jump to the Past 31 days   where we see that two condos have sold in the past month one between two and three hundred and one between three and four hundred both of them sold the Under asking price to less than full asking price, which is not unusual for condos. If we want to know whether or not the coronavirus has an impact on the market. We need to compare this time period to the same time period over the past couple of years and here we see that in the past 31 days as I said with sold to condos on Wellington Crescent while last year the same time period we sold for however the year before that we only sold one and in 2017 again we sold for so in this market does not appear to be a huge impact being made by the current conditions. So to answer the question is now a good time to buy a condo or Winnipeg in general has been a great buyers market for condos for the past few years certainly   that holds true for welding and Crescent as well with 22 listings price between the mid hundred and seventy thousand dollar range all the way up to just shy of 900,000. There is a lot of condos out there just looking for buyers. So if you're looking to buy a condo where there's on Wellington Crescent or anywhere in the city, give me a shout. It spoke. Man Remax Performance Tool for triple 3 2 2 and hey, if you're still with me at this point, why not grab my free podcasting app available for IOS and Android devices? It's super easy. Just go to Winnipeg dot tips / apple / or Android that's Winnipeg dot t-- I PS / apple or / Android that way you'll never miss another episode about Winnipeg real estate or both. You've been listening to Bo Kauffmann of RE/MAX performance Realty.   Are you thinking of buying or selling house or a condo in Winnipeg? Call Bo at 204-333-2202 To Remember bone knows real estate.

Thinking of buying a home with hardwood floors?  Here are a couple of tips on how to check for them, and a funny story as well. For more real estate info, check my blog at https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube [00:00:00] Hardwood floors, 3 tips and one funny story coming up. [00:00:03][3.1] [00:00:07] You're listening to the Bo Knows Real Estate Podcast tips and advice for home buyers, sellers and owners with award winning Remax agent Bo Kauffmann. [00:00:17][9.9] [00:00:22] OK. So today we're going to talk about hardwood floors for a number of reasons. They've become really popular again. Some people think that they're just cleaner. They trap less allergens and dirt than carpets. Some people feel that a nicely finished floor adds a lot of warmth and color to the room and to the house adds a lot of class. For whatever reason, hardwood floors are a sought after feature in a house. [00:00:43][21.7] [00:00:44] So I can tell you that a house built between the nineteen hundreds and up to the late 1960s, it's quite possible that that house was built with hardwood floors originally. I can also tell you that in the 1970s something changed. Builders either got cheaper, maybe hardwood floors got too expensive, but the Qualicos, Flair's, Greentrees and engineered Homes of the 1970s and onwards did not include hardwood floors unless they were a custom built or especially requested by the buyer. Now, remember that fact because there will be a test at the end not saying 100 percent for sure that that question will be on it, but it would be a good one to remember. Wink-wink. [00:01:20][36.0] [00:01:21] If you're looking at something in River Heights built in the 40s and 50s, odds are that there is hardwood floors under those carpets. But how can you tell if the carpets are on there? Now keep in mind you're the buyer. That's not your house yet. You can't just peel back the carpet and damage stuff for the seller. So how can you tell? Well, there's a couple of really neat little tricks that you can use. [00:01:42][20.5] [00:01:43] The first one would be to look inside the closets. So go in the hallway, open a hallway closet. Again, odds are that if they laid carpet, they might not have laid it on the floor in the closet. So if you look at the floor in the closet and it's hardwood floors, well, then the chances are most likely that the hallway is also hardwood floors underneath that carpet. Just because you found carpet in one spot doesn't mean it's everywhere. So quite often they've had the living room, dining room and hallway done in hardwoods. [00:02:11][28.7] [00:02:12] But the bedrooms might be another story. So you have to look in the closets of each bedroom as well. And if you find it inside the master bedroom, make sure you check the second and third bedroom, because I just listed a house in the west end of West St. James, almost near the perimeter where the hardwoods are in the master bedroom. But the second and third bedroom are actually tiled floors. So what do you do if you can't find hardwoods in the closets? [00:02:35][23.3] [00:02:36] Well, another neat little trick is to lift the heat register, the floor heat register. So you lift that piece of metal out, that little diffuser plate and then you can lift the edge of the carpet and tell whether there's hardwoods or just plywood under there. [00:02:50][13.5] [00:02:50] So here's another tip. If you're looking at a two story home, or a story and a half. Whatever the configuration is, if it has a second floor, just because he found hardwoods on the main floor, it does not mean there's hardwoods on the second floor. In fact, quite often there is not. Quite often the second floor is covered either in vinyl, in tiles or they used fur or even pine. That might be wood, but it doesn't have the nice grain that you're looking for. Most of the hardwoods are either oak or maple. So but if you have a house built in the 1920s and 1930s, the upstairs probably does not have hardwood floors unless an owner subsequently added it. [00:03:28][37.7] [00:03:28] And one more tip. So you're walking into a house that's built in 1945 and the current owner has taken it upon himself to rip the carpets out, just to show you that there's hardwoods under there. That's kind of a neat little, little trick. It's not a trick, but it's a neat little thing to do. If you're selling the house and you want to show the prospective buyer that there is hardwoods on the floors. Now you walk through it and you see all these black stains, which quite often are water damage. And if if a black round stain appears in the middle of the living room or near one of the interior walls, it's probably a place where somebody had a plant sitting for many years. And as they were watering it, the water leaked and damaged the floor underneath it. That's fixable. [00:04:10][41.6] [00:04:11] But as you walking through the house, you see that it definitely does have hardwood floors. But they're in really rough shape. Maybe they got some deep gouges in it from a previous owners dogs that the claws have torn it up or just wear and tear away or marks, you know, like I said, those stains. So a common expression is, oh, yeah, you can easily refinish these for a couple of bucks a square foot. Well, not so fast. There is a finite number of times that you can finish refinish hardwood floors. So if this house was built in the 20s, then it was refinished in the 50s and then again in the 80s. Those hardwood floors are getting mighty thin because each time you refinished them, you send off an eighth or even three sixteenth of an inch off the top. [00:04:51][40.3] [00:04:52] So if you're looking at floors now that have been refinished twice already and they've got deep gouges in them, you may or may not be able to refinished them. All I'm saying is that when you go into the situation, don't automatically assume that you can bring those hardwoods back to their original shine. You may not just be aware of that possibility. Now, when I come back, when I have a funny story to share with you regarding hardwood floors. [00:05:14][22.1] [00:05:17] You're listening to Bo Kauffmann of RE/MAX performance realty. If you were enjoying the show, please subscribe so that you never miss an episode. Bell knows real estate. [00:05:27][9.7] [00:05:33] All right, so going back a few years, I had a couple looking for a house in Old St. Vital. Came across this listing that was about a 1978 built house. [00:05:43][9.5] [00:05:43] So here's the pop quiz member. I said earlier, there's gonna be a quiz. Well, here it is. If the house is built in the late 70s, what is it likely not to have? And if you said hardwood floors, you'd be right. Give yourself a pat on the back. [00:05:56][12.5] [00:05:57] But we walk into this house and it's got a gorgeous big living room. It's gotta be 14 by 18 feet. And the most beautiful hardwood floors you ever saw. The center of the room is covered by this big, beautiful Oriental rug. So as we're looking through the house, it became obvious that the house is not to my client's liking for a couple of different reasons. And anyway, they told me that they're not going to be putting an offer in on it. So just for giggles, I lifted the Oriental rug and I was stunned by what I found. And I called them over and showed them what's underneath the rug. They were really surprised. But like I said, they weren't interested in the house anyway. So we moved on. So I went back to the office and bumped into an agent who was quite excited because his buyers were going to put an offer on this house, one of about six or eight at the time. [00:06:41][43.4] [00:06:42] So I said to him, did you lift the Oriental rug. And he says, no, what are you talking about? I said, you know, that beautiful rug in the middle of the living room. Did you lift it to see what's underneath it? And he hadn't. So I told him what I found in his face kind of went white. He rushed off to the phone to tell his buyers and alert them to the fact. [00:06:58][16.1] [00:06:58] So what happened is the current owner installed some really beautiful hardwood floors. But this Oriental rug, that's about 10 x 12 feet. Hundred and twenty square feet. It was always going to be a centerpiece of the room as far as he was concerned. So why waste by twelve hundred dollars of hardwood if you're going to cover it up anyway? So underneath the oriental rug was just plywood, plain plywood sheets. [00:07:22][23.5] [00:07:23] So I challenge you to the next time you go into looking at a house that has a big oriental rug. I challenge you, knowing this story, not to lift that rug. I bet you can't do it. You're gonna remember the story that Bo told you. So I hope you enjoyed the story. [00:07:36][13.3] [00:07:36] And if you're still with me, why not download my free podcasting app available for ISIS and Android devices? It's pretty simple. Just go to Winnipeg, dot tips, slash Apple or slash Android. That's Winnipeg dot t I.P.S. Slash Apple or slash android. That way you'll never miss another episode about Winnipeg. Who will astate or both? [00:07:57][21.0] [00:08:01] You've been listening to Bo Kauffmann of RE/MAX performance realty, are you thinking of buying or selling a house or a condo in Winnipeg called WBO at 2 0 4 3 3 3 2 2 0 2? Remember, Bo knows real estate. [00:08:01][0.0] [447.4]

Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. These closing costs must be paid by the buyer of a house or condo.  They include things like Legal Fees Land Titles Costs Property Taxes Home Insurance Costs These fees can not be lumped into the mortgage but must be paid at the time of possession, by the buyer.   When buying a house or condo, what and how much are closing costs? We'll look at that next. You're listening to the Bo Knows Real Estate Podcast tips and advice for home buyers, sellers and owners with award winning Remax agent Bo Kauffmann. So in this episode, I want to take a look at what the additional costs are when buying a house or condo. And what we're going to see that it doesn't really matter whether it's a house or a condo. The costs are virtually identical with just the one main exception. And these are also the costs that a buyer has to come up with in the form of cash. They cannot be lumped into the mortgage or in the form of a loan. You could have an overdraft in your checking account that you used to pay for these, but basically you have to come up with that money at the time of possession. So we're not talking about CMHC fees. Those can be lumped into the purchase price. So, for example, a 300,000 dollar house fee putting five percent down your mortgage, you would expect it to be 285,000. That's three hundred minus 5% leaves two hundred eighty five thousand. However, with CMHC fees, you're going to quickly find that your mortgage is actually in the low to ninety two, ninety three, something like that. So we're not talking about those costs, we're talking about the additional costs you have to come up with at the time of possession. And they are basically four different things. First one is legal fees. We're going to talk about land titles, transfer tax. We will talk about property tax and home insurance. Now, there are other things like a mortgage insurance, which is optional. There's moving costs if you choose to do those. But those first four are pretty much mandatory. You have to have home insurance. You have to pay the taxes, the legal fees and the property taxes as well. So let's take a look at legal fees first. If you Google legal services. I'm sure you're going to find lawyers advertising, you know, a 399, 499 to buy a house. But there's fine print involved in all of those. And that is plus disbursements. And it's those disbursements that are really going to add up. What are disbursements? Anything from office fees, secretarial fees, photocopying rubber bands and staples all the way up to registering the mortgage on the title, which is usually about $200 and getting title insurance. Highly recommended. And that's about 250 to 300 dollars. So by the time it's all said and done, a buyer should budget between 12 and 15 hundred dollars for legal fees when buying a house or a condo to air on the side of caution. I would even advise to budget around fifteen hundred dollars. The next thing is the dreaded land titles transfer tax. And I used to think that Manitoba was the worst in Canada, but I recently talked to somebody who's moving to British Columbia and their rates are pretty much the same. So this these rates were set many decades ago and that's why you have things like or the first thirty thousand dollars are free, while $30,000 might have bought a house in the late 60s or mid 70s even, but certainly not today. So as a baseline, let me tell you that a 200,000 dollar house costs $1,720. This is a one time payment, and every dollar above two hundred thousand will cost you two percent. So two hundred thousand is seventeen twenty three hundred thousand dollar house will cost you $3,720 three hundred and fifty thousand dollar house will cost you $4,720. So basically every fifty thousand above that is another thousand dollars. It adds up quickly, especially if you're buying like a half million dollar house and you're you're talking about quite a significant amount of money that you have to come up with on possession date. Next is the property tax. And that's really a little bit more difficult to put in because it really depends on when you take possession. Pretty much worst case scenario is if you take possession halfway through the year, you'll have to pay half the year's property taxes. If you take possession earlier in the year, well before June, you're going to get a rebate or a refund from the current seller, but then you have to pay the full year's taxes in June. But you you have that money back that the seller gave you. So at least you have some assistance there. And if you take possession and let's say September, you're you basically only have to pay three months or four months that you're going to be living in the house. So this really depends on what the yearly rate is for the house, the neighborhood, et cetera, et cetera. It's safe to say that it's going to be several thousand dollars in most likelihood. So the three things that we've talked about thus far is the legal fees, the land titles transfer tax and the property tax. And it's interesting to see that all of those are pretty much identical for houses and condos, land titles, fee doesn't matter whether you're buying a house or a condo. Property tax rates in Winnipeg are exactly the same for a house and a condo. The mill rate and all that kind of stuff is calculated to the. Value in everything else, so condos are rated the same rate as a house. And same with legal fees in most cases, unless there might be some minor differences. But they're pretty much the same between a house and a condo. Where there is a difference is in home insurance. Home insurance in Winnipeg. Again, depends on the value of the house and the neighborhood. If if you're buying in a somewhat depressed or rougher neighborhood, rates might be a little higher. Also, if you're buying a really old house. Rates. Surprisingly, me by might be a little higher depending on the electrical service you have, the type of plumbing you have, etc. But you definitely got to set aside between a granddad. Fifteen hundred dollars for your average house insurance. Where that differs from condo is your condominium building is already insured as part of the condo fees that you pay every month. So you don't have to insure your building. You just have to insure your contents. What's called a content upgrade insurance for your condominium. Depending on whether it's a townhouse or or a high rise, your costs are likely to be around two hundred and fifty dollars a year as opposed to a thousand. So when you add all these costs up, banks usually tell the buyer to have between 2 two and a half percent, maybe even as much as 3 percent of the cost of the house is going to be your closing costs. So if you're buying a $300000 house, make sure you have at least six thousand dollars to cover the closing costs. Now there are some optional fees. One of them is, course, called mortgage insurance. Have a separate episode talking about that, the difference between mortgage insurance and life insurance. This is definitely optional. A bank has to offer you mortgage insurance, which is basically a form of life insurance that if you pass away, the mortgage gets paid off. Sounds like a really good thing, but there are a multitude of reasons why life insurance is actually preferred. Better, cheaper and know it's a better option than mortgage insurance. The other the other thing that you might consider is hiring a moving company to help you move depending on how old you are and how much stuff you got and how energetic you ha moving companies will cost you another depending on the size of the house. You could be another thousand dollars or so. So I hope this was helpful. These are the closing costs when buying a house or a condo. Not just in Winnipeg, but these were specific to Winnipeg costs. And if you found this helpful, next time you were looking to buy or sell a house. Give me a shout. And hey, if you're still with me at this point. Why not grab my free podcasting app available for ISIS and Android device? It's super easy. Just go to Winnipeg. Got tips? Slash Apple or slash Android. That's Winnipeg. Dot t I.P.S. Slash Apple or slash android. That way you'll never miss another episode about Winnipeg real estate or both. You've been listening to Bo Kauffmann of RE/MAX performance realty, are you thinking of buying or selling a house or a condo in Winnipeg called WBO at 2 0 4 3 3 3 2 2 0 2? Remember, Bo knows real estate.

Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. [00:00:00] You buy a house and it burns down before you take possession. You don't have to go through with it, do you? [00:00:04][4.7] [00:00:09] You're listening to the Bo Knows Real Estate Podcast tips and advice for home buyers, sellers and owners with award winning Remax agent Bo Kauffmann. [00:00:18][9.9] [00:00:23] I love law and I love history. And in Canada, our law has been based on British common law, which is something that has evolved over the centuries, literally over hundreds and hundreds of years. So I learned about this case a few years ago and I wanted to share it with you. I found it to be very interesting. So the story goes that in the mid 1500's, a home purchase took place in England and it resulted in a court case and ruling, which still impacts us today. Now, the names and the dates have been changed to protect the innocent, even though nobody from that time is still around. But the underlying facts are true. So let's go back in time and see what happened. [00:00:57][33.6] [00:01:00] It was a sunny day, March 30th in the year of our Lord, 1546. A buyer, Richard Smith, was viewing a gorgeous homestead in Upper Uxton, being sold by the longtime owner, William White. Mr. Smith was quite impressed and decided to make an offer. [00:01:16][15.6] [00:01:17] "I offer the total sum of a hundred gold coins and I would like to move into this home, on May the 15th, in the year of our Lord 1546". [00:01:24][6.7] [00:01:26] "I accept your offer. Let's put it in writing". [00:01:28][1.8] [00:01:28] And so the customary contract was drawn up with payment to come on the date of possession. On May 15th, the buyer arrived at his new home to find, to his horror that the place had burned down a week earlier, as a result of a freak lightning strike. As one might expect, the buyer was not happy and tracked down the Seller at his new home. [00:01:48][19.5] [00:01:55] "How can I help you?". [00:01:56][0.6] [00:01:57] "The place is burned to the ground on I'll not be concluding our purchase. You can keep your charred pile of rubble". [00:02:03][5.8] [00:02:04] "We'll see about that. I'm taking this to court.". [00:02:06][2.0] [00:02:06] The case went before the courts and the resulting ruling was a bit of a surprise to the buyer. "This court rules that are legally binding agreement was made on March 30th in the year of our Lord 1546, with the acceptance by the seller. And on that date the buyer became the new owner of the home. The sellers role switched from that of an owner to that of a caretaker of the property. It was the seller's responsibility to maintain the property to his best ability. However, a lightning strike cannot be prevented. Therefore, the buyer must conclude the transaction and pay the seller the agreed upon sum of money. [00:02:40][34.0] [00:02:41] And we're back in the present day. And remember how I said that our laws today are based on these old English court rulings? Well, the underlying reasoning for what we just heard still holds true today. A buyer becomes the actual owner of the property, the minute all conditions of the offer are satisfied. The buyer might not take possession for several weeks, but they are the owner and the seller becomes a caretaker of sorts. So how do we protect today's buyer from the taper scenario we just heard? I'll have the answer right after this. [00:03:08][26.9] [00:03:11] You're listening to Bo Kauffmann of RE/MAX performance realty. If you were enjoying the show, please subscribe so that you never miss an episode. Bo knows real estate. [00:03:21][9.7] [00:03:27] So you bought a house and it burns down between now and your possession date. How do we protect the buyers interest in this? Well, over the years, several clauses have been incorporated into the standard offer to purchase in Manitoba. Here is just a few examples. [00:03:40][12.7] [00:03:41] For starters, Section 4, (a) 3 states 'unless otherwise specified the property and all included items will be in substantially the same condition they were at the time with the offer.' This would include things like appliances, furnace, hot water tank, etc.. The interesting part here is the phrase substantially the same condition. What does that mean? What happens if the furnace quits? Is the seller obligated to replace it? What about a hot water tank? These are topics for another episode and we'll discuss them another time. [00:04:09][28.3] [00:04:10] But here's an additional section number 11 B 1, which states 'if the property suffers substantial damage, which is not repaired before the time of possession to substantially the same condition it was in prior to the damage occurring, the buyer may terminate this agreement'. [00:04:25][15.6] [00:04:26] As we can see, this places is the responsibility of protecting the property back onto the seller's shoulder. Although it specifies until the time of possession, I always tell my sellers to maintain home insurance for an extra week, maybe 10 days or so beyond possession date. Just in case the buyer doesn't show up to pick up his keys or for some reason walks away from the deal. You don't, as a seller, you don't want to be in a position where your place is uninsured while you still own it. Well, I truly hope you've enjoyed this episode and found it to be helpful. [00:04:56][29.7] [00:04:57] And hey, if you're still with me at this point, why not grab my free podcasting app available for AOS and Android devices? It's super easy. Just go to Winnipeg. Got tips, slash Apple or slash Android. That's Winnipeg. Doct t I.P.S. Slash Apple or slash android. That way you'll never miss another episode about Winnipeg will or both. [00:05:19][21.8] [00:05:23] You've been listening to Bo Kauffmann of RE/MAX performance realty, are you thinking of buying or selling a house or a condo in Winnipeg call Bo at 2 0 4 3 3 3 2 2 0 2? Remember, Bo knows real estate. [00:05:23][0.0] [278.8]

Focused and specific to the Southdale neighbourhood for April 10th, 2020.   [00:00:00] Is now a good time to buy or sell in Southdale, Winnipeg? Let's find out. [00:00:04][4.0] [00:00:08] You're listening to the Bo Knows Real Estate Podcast tips and advice for home buyers, sellers and owners with award winning Remax agent Bo Kauffmann. [00:00:18][9.9] [00:00:21] I've been producing Winnipeg real estate market updates for many years. It's a great way to see what's going on in our city, but real estate is even more local than that. Each neighborhood can have their own unique market conditions. So you're curious about your area and Winnipeg. Email me at Bo Knows Homes at G-mail dot com and I'll create a special report just for you right now. [00:00:43][22.1] [00:00:43] In early April 2020, we have seven attached and detached homes available in Southdale, three between 200 and 300 thousand, one between three and four hundred, two between 400 and five hundred thousand and one just over six hundred thousand dollars. [00:00:58][14.9] [00:00:59] There's currently one pending sale, so the buyer just needs to get financing or something along those lines and that is between 400 and five hundred thousand dollars. Over the past two weeks, we've sold five houses in the Southdale area, one between two and three hundred, two of them in the three to four hundred range and two of them in the four to five hundred range. In that last one, one sold just under a list price and the other one sold actually over list price, likely indicating multiple offers in that sale. [00:01:25][26.5] [00:01:26] Now, looking back over the past month, it looks like we've had eight final sales, one between two and three hundred and five of them in the three to four hundred thousand dollar range. And then those two sales between four and five hundred. [00:01:36][10.6] [00:01:37] Now, that's all well and good. But here's the important comparison. How does this 31 day period compare to the same 31 day period in the previous three years? So currently, including the one that's conditionally sold, we've made a total of nine sales in the 31 day period. [00:01:53][16.0] [00:01:53] Last year it was 10. So we're right on track with last year. 2018 there was only four. And we'd have to look at the weather map. I suspect that maybe we had a snow storm or some event happen that kept sales to just four sales in that 31 day period. [00:02:09][15.2] [00:02:09] And in 2017 we had 12. So currently we're right on track. COVID or no, the market in Southdale seems to be right on track with what is happening over the last few years. So what does all this mean? Well, with just seven listings available between 230 and 630 thousand dollars, Southdale is a good market right now to list your home for sale. So if you're looking to buy or sell in Southdale or anywhere else in Winnipeg, give me a shout at 204-333-2202. This has been Bo Kauffmann RE/MAX performance realty. [00:02:39][30.0] [00:02:40] And hey, if you're still with me at this point why not grab my free podcasting app for your phone available for iOS and Android devices, super easy. Just go to Winnipeg, dot tips slash Apple or slash Android. That's Winnipeg dot T I P S, slash Apple or slash Android that way you'll never miss an episode about Winnipeg, real estate or both. [00:03:02][22.1] [00:03:06] You've been listening to Bo Kauffmann of RE/MAX performance realty, are you thinking of buying or selling a house or condo in Winnipeg called Bo at 2 0 4 3 3 3 2 2 0 0 2? Remember, Bo knows real estate. [00:03:06][0.0] [171.4]

[00:00:00] Is now a good time to buy or sell in Bridgewater? Let's find out. [00:00:03][3.3] [00:00:07] You're listening to the Bo Knows Real Estate Podcast. Tips and advice for home buyers, sellers and owners with award winning Remax agent Bo Kauffmann. [00:00:17][9.9] [00:00:21] I've been producing Winnipeg real estate market updates for many years. It's a great way to see what's going on in our city, but real estate is even more local than that. Each neighborhood can have their own unique market conditions. So if you're curious about your area in Winnipeg. Email me at boknowshomes@gmail.com, And I'll create a special report just for you. So let's take a look at Bridgewater at the beginning of April 2020. [00:00:45][24.6] [00:00:46] As far as detached homes go and homes that are finished and constructed, not under construction. There's currently 112 houses for sale in Bridgewater. The majority of them are between the 400 and $700000 range. So there's 29 houses between four and five hundred and 33 between five and six hundred. And the prices go all the way up to just shy of $2 million. [00:01:09][23.0] [00:01:10] Currently, there are five homes that are under pending sales, meaning that they've got offers and they've been accepted. But the buyer just maybe hasn't gotten their financing yet. So there's five conditionally sold at this point. [00:01:21][10.8] [00:01:22] While over the last two weeks there's been two final sales, both of them in the four to five hundred thousand dollar price range and both of them sold at just under list price. So there was no multiple offers and no bidding wars in those sales. [00:01:34][12.5] [00:01:35] Looking back over the last month, including those two sales I mentioned earlier, there's have been a total of 15 sold over the last month, 8 of them in the four to five hundred thousand dollar range. 6 of those sold under last 2 sold over lists and 6 homes in the five to six hundred thousand dollar range. Again, 5 under list, 1 over list. And then the the other sale, a 15th sale was in the six to seven hundred thousand dollar price range, also sold just under list. [00:02:01][26.7] [00:02:02] But this final stat is perhaps the most important one because it's compare sales this year as opposed to the same 31 day period over the last three years. That'll tell us whether the market has changed with a crew on a virus has anything to do with that. So this year, including those five pending sales, we've sold 20 homes in that 31 day period. Last year was 28 and the year before was 31. And then in 2017, it was 23. So we are slower than each of those years. Not by much, but there is a bit of a drop right now in the Bridgewater area. [00:02:35][33.1] [00:02:35] So in summary for Bridgewater, with 112 listings available, the lowest one at 380 and the highest one just shy of $2 million. Bridgewater and South Pointe are excellent buyers markets right now. So if you're looking to buy a home in Bridgewater Trails, Forest, Lakes or South Pointe, a Prairie Pointe, give me a call 204-333-2202. [00:02:35][0.0] [144.0]

Never miss an episode. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. [00:00:00] Real estate in the era of the Coronavirus. How do we keep buyers and sellers safe? That's coming up next. [00:00:05][5.0] [00:00:09] You're listening to the Bo Knows Real Estate podcast. Tips and advice for home buyers, sellers and owners with award winning Remax agent Bo Kauffmann. [00:00:19][9.9] [00:00:22] Real estate has, at least for now, been deemed an essential service. And there's a couple of reasons for that. One of them is purely economic. There's a ton of spin off business coming as a result from every house or condo sale. Aside from taxes and legal fees and of course, real estate fees, moving costs, people buy furniture. People buy appliances. They fix up their houses when they sell and they fix up their houses after they buy. So there's a multitude of spin off benefits, economic spin off benefits from real estate. [00:00:53][31.4] [00:00:54] But the other one is that we are able to conduct business and keep buyers and sellers safe. Manageable Real Estate Association has put in place a number of safeguards and I'm going to explain those right now. In the past, it used to be able to book a showing for a house just about any time. And even if you're showing overlapped with another buyer, that was that was okay. But that's been changed now. So from here on in, you can only book one buyer at a time. So if your agent if you looking at a house, new agent books a two to three o'clock window, you'll be the only ones in the house because sellers have also been encouraged to leave the house at the time. That may not always be possible, especially if they're elderly. They may not be able to go outside depending on the weather, but in most cases, sellers will be going outside and you'll you and your agent will be the only ones in the house at that time. [00:01:44][50.3] [00:01:45] The next thing is that open houses are pretty much a thing of the past. There's no way to control the crowds sometimes. I remember having open houses in River Heights in February and there was people lined up outside to get into the house because the house was full already. So I don't believe any agents are gonna be having any open houses. It's just it's not worth the risk. Also, the Manitoba Real Estate Association has come out with a form that buyer agents and their clients must sign and fill out, indicating that nobody there who's going into the house. That's the agent or the buyers have traveled in the past 14 days, are showing symptoms or signs of the illness, have not knowingly been in touch with anybody who does have the virus. So like I said, buyer agents and their buyers have to sign these forms, which also make it tougher for buyers to see a house without an agent. Gone are the days of just pulling up in front, calling the listing agent and saying, hey, please slide down here and show me the house. [00:02:41][56.3] [00:02:42] Which is further encouragement for anybody who's looking to buy a house or a condo to hook up with a real estate agent right now and get those forms filled out to assure that you are not carrying the virus and you're safe. And that will give you easier access to the listings these days. [00:02:57][15.8] [00:02:58] In addition to these, I've personally implemented a couple of different procedures that will help protect my clients and myself. Going forward, I will not be driving buyers around in my personal car anymore. That's to protect them and myself. Buyers would have to meet me at the listings. I will also bring to each showing I will bring a bottle of hand sanitizer. We're going to sanitize before we go in and after we come out. And if buyers are showing any signs of illness, we will not be proceeding with the showing. [00:03:27][28.9] [00:03:27] If you're the seller of a house, I would encourage you to put a bottle of hand sanitizer out just in case agents to come in and they don't carry their own. I would put that bottle near the front entrance and along with the sign that says please take your shoes off here. It also add the line, please sanitize your hands as you're going through. Sellers are encouraged to turn on all lights, open all doors and closet doors just to minimize the touching that a buyer needs to do to check out the house. And as an added safety procedure, I would recommend keeping the showing groups low. So if it's a couple looking at a house, just the two people don't bring all your friends. If you have children, if they're really young, preferably leave them at home for these showings. And if you do bring the children along, there's no jumping on the bed and playing with the seller's kid's toys. That kind of thing. [00:04:17][49.5] [00:04:17] As you can see, there are ways to implement social distancing, to keep people apart, keep showing small, keep them private so that there isn't a bunch of people coming through at the same time. There is a way to sell real estate in a safe manner. [00:04:32][14.4] [00:04:32] I've added one more procedure, which involves the initial buyer consultation. For years, Ive been offering free, 45 minute home buyer consultation. The buyers and I would meet in my office, go over the entire home buying process, discuss and determine their needs, and set up a search to find the perfect home. I.ve now moved this entire process online, in the form of a zoom meeting. So you can do all of the above from the safety of your home, at a time convenient to you. No need to leave your home and drive to an office anymore, we just meet online. [00:04:32][0.0] [00:04:32] And in fact, right now is a great time to buy in Winnipeg. There's lots of inventory out there. Interest rates are low. And so if you're looking to buy or sell, give me a shot. And if he's still listening to this, you might want to download my podcast app available on iOS and Android devices. It's really easy to get. Just go to Winnipeg, dot tips, slash Apple or slash Android. That's Winnipeg dot t i P S slash apple or slash Android. And you'll never miss an episode. [00:05:03][30.3] [00:05:07] You've been listening to Bo Kauffmann of RE/MAX performance realty, are you thinking of buying or selling a house or a condo in Winnipeg called Bo at 2 0 4 3 3 3 2 2 0 2? [00:05:19][11.8] [00:05:19] Remember, Bo knows real estate. [00:05:19][0.0] [303.5]

[00:00:00] First time homebuyers. Are you planning on buying your first home in three to six months? What should you be doing right now? [00:00:07][6.7] [00:00:11] You're listening to the bone nosed real estate podcast. Tips and advice for home buyers, sellers and owners with award winning Remax agent Bo Kauffmann. [00:00:21][10.2] [00:00:26] These days, homebuyers plan well in advance. So if you're a first time homebuyer thinking of buying your first house or condo in three months or longer from now, here's something you should consider doing right now. [00:00:38][11.5] [00:00:38] Put as much of your savings, which is earmarked for your downpayment, into an RRSP. Now to see how much you can put in check last year's notice of assessment from the CRA. Look for the line probably on the last page which says something like "your available RRSP contribution limit for such and such a year is..." So it might tell you. Let's say you have $15,000 worth RRSP contribution limit for the year, which is quite possible if you have not been contributing to Rs PS in the past. So let's go with that $15000 example. Take that amount out of your savings and buy a safe GIC or other form of RRSP. I know you're only going to get a couple of percent of interest, but that's not really the point. [00:01:23][44.7] [00:01:24] You see after the money is in the hours before 90 days. That's why I said three months. You can take it out and use it as your down payment on your first home. Now notice I said I was stressed the word first. That's because this only works for first time homebuyers. By the way, separating couples who sold their communal home may also qualify as first time buyers under this law. [00:01:45][21.5] [00:01:46] So why would you bother doing this? Well, next year, when you fill out your income tax forms, you can now claim that RRSP contribution as a deduction. Yes. Even though you've taken it all out to do your down payment, you can still write it off. And dear Justin is going to send you a hefty refund. You'll have to pay those contributions back over 15 years. But that's a small price to pay for getting around 30 percent of it gifted to you right now. So, for example, let's say you put 15000 into an RSP this week, three months or more from now. Three months is just the minimum. So if even if you're buying it six months, eight months from now, you go ahead and take it out and use it as your down payment. So you'll have to return that fifteen thousand into your own fund over 15 years, which works out to a thousand dollars a year. You even get to wait for two years to start this. [00:02:36][49.4] [00:02:36] But by doing this, your very next taxation year, you're going to get a nice refund probably in the neighborhood of three to four thousand dollars. So who doesn't need an extra three or four grand from the government in the late spring? When you get your income tax refund, you might be able to use it to get a new furnace for your house to a roof or do whatever other maintenance or upgrades that you wanted to do. Now, I'm a real estate agent, not a financial advisor. So if you have any questions about this. By all means, give me a shout. I'll put you in touch with the financial advisor that alerted me to this. And you can discuss it with them. But the bottom line is it's gonna put an extra three to four thousand dollars, depending on how much you're able to put into your RRSP, into your pocket. And I hope this helps. Thanks. Till next time. Bye bye. [00:03:24][47.5] [00:03:28] You've been listening to Bo Kauffmann of RE/MAX performance realty, are you thinking of buying or selling a house or condo in Winnipeg called WBO at 2 0 4 3 3 3 2 2 0 2? [00:03:41][12.2] [00:03:41] Remember, Bowne knows real estate. [00:03:41][0.0] [203.8]

If you're ready to sell your house and consider apartment style living, are you better off renting or buying a condo? That's what we'll examine on this episode of Winnipeg's Real Estate podcast. You're listening to the Bo Knows Real Estate podcast. Tips and advice for home buyers, sellers and owners with award winning Remax agent Bo Kauffmann. I will work from time to time with elderly clients who, for a variety of reasons, have decided to sell their houses. Take a look at the option of living in a high rise, whether it's an apartment or a condo. Some of those reasons might include that the houses have become too big. Too many stairs, too much upkeep, too much yard work, too much maintenance. Or perhaps a change in lifestyle where the people want to move to live in the states for three, four months, five months, a year. And then the house becomes kind of a liability because you have to come have to have somebody come into the house every couple of days to check the furnace and make sure that everything's fine for your insurance. So the question comes up, what's better? Should we rent an apartment and take the money we get from the house and invested or should be buy a condominium? So there are two facets to answer this question. One is purely financial, which is which is cheaper to do. And I will look at that. And the second one is what about quality of life, which will offer you better options and more happiness throughout the year that you are here living in either an apartment or a condo. So for our purposes today, I'm going to be looking at two similar style living quarters. One. One is a two bedroom, one bath apartment, about eight hundred square feet and a 40 year old building in a decent neighborhood. It does not have in laundry. It does, however, have underground parking. And of course, there are no upfront costs to this. Comparing that to a similar condo, same size, but a $200000 upfront cost that you have to buy, two bedrooms, one bath with ensuite laundry and a much newer building, about five years old. And again, with with an indoor parking spot. The numbers I'm going to use, the prices and fees are actual real life numbers in Winnipeg at this time. I know that you can get cheaper apartments. You can get more expensive condos and the other way around. But this is just for illustration purposes. I've picked two buildings that are somewhat similar. So let's start by looking at the apartment rent in this apartment is thirteen hundred and forty dollars a month, which adds to a shade over sixteen thousand dollars a year. Utilities are fully included in this. So heat, hydro and water. Of course, I'm not counting tel- television and cable vision because you have to buy that anywhere else. And it's the same no matter where you are. So that's not really become part of the equation. Insurance you're going to want content insurance. In this case, it's about $250 a year to insure your content. It's a good idea in case something happens. Could be a break in. Could be a water damage from a neighboring suite. You want to make sure that your contents are insured. But now we have something to offset against this expense. Remember, with an apartment, you don't have to take that two hundred thousand that you would spend on a condo. You can take that money and invest it. Now, if you are in your 60s, 70s, certainly in your 80s, I personally probably would not recommend anything high risk. Talk to your financial adviser about that. But let's be on the conservative side. Let's say you can get a GSE and currently you can get a GSE for three and a half percent. So $200000 GMAC, a three and a half percent per year will earn you $7000. Also, forget about for a minute that you may or may not have to pay income tax on that money. Let's say you don't. Let's say that that's seven thousand. You have enough write off enough deductions that it's all your money. So that goes off against that offsets the $16000 plus rent, which means that at the end of the year your total cost of apartment living is nine thousand two hundred and fifty dollars. So let's take a look at how that compares against buying a condo. So this particular corner that I have in mind, the property taxes are twenty four hundred a year. And the as the homeowner, you again get a seven hundred dollar discount just like you did with the house. So you're net property taxes per year are seventeen hundred dollars while water is included, heat and hydro are not. So an estimated to heat hydro bill for a high rise, a newly constructed, fairly, fairly efficient high rise. I'm going to put on an eight hundred dollar. So what? Sixty five dollars a month for you? Heat and electricity. Your content insurance end up being roughly the same as an apartment because you're not insuring the whole building. Building insurance is included in your condo fees. So let's say another 250 for your content insurance. And then the big one, of course, is the condo fees. In this particular case, they are thirty four hundred dollars a year for for your condominium fees. So now you do not get the deduction that GHC income that you had with the apartment because remember, you had to take that $200000 and actually buy this condo. So what does all this add up to? The total expenses right now then are going to be 61 50. So that's about $3000 less than the rental. So that's the financial side of the equation. Buying and investing that two hundred thousand dollars into a condo will save you approximately $3000 a year. But there are other considerations. We'll get to those who right after this. Are you looking to buy a house or a condo in Winnipeg? Work with the agent who takes the time to explain the process to you, guiding you through every step for service. Beyond the sale book. Your home buying consultation with Bo Kauffmann Remax performance today. Bo Knows Real Estate. People find it to be very restrictive. The owners of the apartment could tell you what to do, what not to do. You can't do anything in the suite to change anything. Sometimes even you have to ask permission before you do any kind of like painting or anything like that. You are also subject to rent increases and those two tend to go up to 3 percent a year on average. My mother in law lives in the block in north north caldonia and she's looking at about $30 a month every year and have no ownership benefits, which means you can't borrow money against the apartment. You might even have trouble getting a roommate to move in or if he wanted to sublease it, you have to get permissions from the apartment building ownership. So there are those restrictions. And last, you can't make any renovations. I've had several clients say that they are allergic to carpeting. And if the apartment comes with carpeting, you probably won't be able to change that to hardwoods or laminate if you want to upgrade, if you don't like the old kitchen that you're that you that you're looking at every day. You won't be able to upgrade those kind of things unless they give you permission. And then it's not yours. You don't own it. So let's take a look at a similar condo. Condo life is semi restrictive phenomena. They're gonna they're gonna prevent you from hanging your underwear off the balcony. Those kind of things. But for the most part, what you do inside your suite is entirely up to you. There are no rent increases. You bought it. You own it. Now you're not subject to monthly or yearly increases. You can get condo fee increases. And that's usually the case every every year, every couple of years. They also go up. But that's only according to what? What the expenses are. So if your condo fee includes heating the hallways, if he goes up, you're kind of he's got to go up. You are also subject to market fluctuations. So if you're in the condo for three years and it's gone up, well, then you benefit. But if it's gone down, you owe your estate will lose some of that money that you've invested. There are, however, ownership benefits. So if you own your condo, you can certainly borrow money against it. You can rent it out. There are lots of things that you can do with it that you could. Do with rented space. And of course, interior rentals are okay within reason. You will probably have to get permission. You may not be able to remove some walls because there might be structurally important to the building. However, if you want to change the paints, the flooring, if you want to put in a different tub, change the kitchen, whatever you want to do. Generally, you are allowed to make those changes on the inside of your unit. Now, I hope you found this helpful. Please keep in mind these are just some very general observations. And every family and every person, it's a different situation. So if you're in this position where you're looking at selling your house and thinking of either renting or buying a condo, please call me anytime. I'd love to sit down for a consultation with you and and see what your best options are. What fits? One person doesn't necessarily fit the next person in the same way. So please call me anytime. It's Bo Kauffmann RE/MAX performance realty direct sellers 2 or 4 3 3 3 2 2 0 2 where you can e-mail me at Bonos Homes at G-mail dot com. You've been listening to Bo Kauffmann of RE/MAX performance realty, are you thinking of buying or selling a house or a condo in Winnipeg called Bo at 2 0 4 3 3 3 2 2 0 2? Remember, Bo knows real estate.

[00:00:03] If you're interested in buying or selling a house or a condo, you might be paying attention to the national real estate news. Please stop that right now. If you're in Winnipeg, knowing what's happening nationally is worse than useless. It may actually give you the wrong picture. Let's face it, if you want to buy a house in Winnipeg, hearing that Toronto is a hot market won't help you. But real estate is even more focused and local than that. So, for example, if you're thinking of selling your house in Transcona, you'll want to know the very recent activity in your neighborhood. If you're buying in Linden Woods, you won't really care what's happening in St. James, and so on. This is why I can produce hyper local real estate updates specifically for you. Wondering whether right now is the best time to sell your North Kildonan bungalow, your Wellington Crescent condo or your Bridgewater two story home? Thinking of buying a $250,000 home in St. James or a condo in southeast Winnipeg? Winnipeg has literally hundreds of neighborhoods from a Assiniboine Forest to Westwood, Amber Trails to River Heights, from Royalwood to Linden Woods. I'll create a focused and specific market report just for you. [00:01:14][71.0]  

Solds, Listing stats for houses and Condos in Winnipeg.

Experts discuss the process of home buying.  Q&A with   Real Estate Lawyer Mortgage Brokers Home Inspector Life Insurance/Investment Expert Real Estate Pro   Discussing the home buying process, pre-approval, real estate law, mortgage options, how to buy a home in these times., etc...   For more info, go to https://blog.winnipeghomefinder.com

Are you and your spouse separating or divorcing?  If you own a home together, you should listen to this advice from real estate and mortgage experts on the best course of action. How to sell your home while divorcing.

Your 60 second market report for Winnipeg in October 2019. .   October sales of 1,173 homes was an increase of 6 percent over October 2018. Now, while that normally would drive prices up, the fact that our inventory is higher by 18 percent over last year helps keep prices in check for home buyers. The bidding wars of the springtime are nothing but a bad memory.   In fact, 87% of houses and 93% of condos sold at or below list price in October. In fact, the average list price of a house is at $315,889 , which is down 2.7% from the same month last year. And we see a similar pictures in condominiums with the average sale price of $227,878 is down 2.8% from last year.   And for anyone wondering why luxury homes, those had like five, six, eight hundred thousand dollars and more take so long to sell. Winnipeg's market really is between the 200 and 400 thousand Dollar range, where 60 percent of total single family home sales occurred this month. This limitation is even more pronounced in condominiums, where 51 percent of all sales occurred between one $150,000 and $250,000.   The big question is what kind of market are we in? We'll give you an idea mid August. We had 1,905 houses for sale in Winnipeg.  This morning, that being November 10th, we had just over 1600. So that's three hundred fewer listings in Winnipeg as opposed to August. Listings are slowing down. But if you can still find one right now is a great time to buy. Don't wait till spring.   Speaking of spring, I just read a great piece in Mortgage Broker News Scott S.A., where half the economists polled believe that the Bank of Canada will have a rate cut at the end of December or early into January. Great news for the spring market.   Are you looking to buy a house or a condo in Winnipeg? Work with the agent who takes the time to explain the process to you, guiding you through every step for service beyond the sale. Book your home buying consultation with Bo Kauffmann of Remax performance today. Bo knows real estate.

[00:00:08] This is actually a very common question I get from home buyers. They see a house listed at, let's say, 300,000 dollars and then find the city assessed value is just 250K. What's going on? The house is grossly overpriced, right? [00:00:23] So here's what's happening. The city assessed value is simply an average for that type, style, size and age of home in that particular neighborhood. Since the city in all likelihood has never stepped foot inside that particular home, they wouldn't know that the owner recently replaced all the windows, upgraded the heating and cooling, installed all new flooring and repainted inside and out. [00:00:45] None of those things require building permits, so the city has no idea that that's been done: so that this home would be above average when compared to others in the area. Now this can also happen the other way around, and a house which is city assessed at 255,000 might hit the market with the listing price of 220. In that case, the original owner might be selling the house in all its original glory with galvanized plumbing, knob and tube wiring and the walls filled with newspaper clippings pretending to be insulation. [00:01:16] The bottom line is: don't rely on city assessed value (i.e. an estimated average) to guide you as to the proper market value of any home. [00:01:25] After all, that's what your real estate agent is for.

September caps off a STRONG 3rd quarter in Winnipegs Real Estate Market    The third quarter of 2019 ended up being the strongest quarter of market  activity on record.  September’s 1211 sales were a 16% increase over last year, and only 4 sales short of the best September on record, in 2016.   Making things a little easier for buyers is the fact that this September saw a 10% increase of new listings coming to market, when compared to 2018.   This helps to keep prices in check.  The average single family home sold for  $325,215  less than 1% increase over last year.   What does all this mean:  The fall-time is usually a buyers market, and that is especially true this year.  Right now is the best time to buy a house or condo in Winnipeg.

Tips and pointers for anyone looking to buy their first rental property.

Great info for home buyers in Canada.  Talking about the need for CMHC and what the new 'stress test' for home buyers is all about.

As a new home owner, which is better to get:  mortgage insurance or life insurance?

Houses and Condo sales, listings stats from the MLS.