Now... Buying a Vacation Spot Anywhere in The World is Possible!

Welcome to OwnHomeShareTM (OHS) OwnHomeShare is a new, unique ownership concept that gives vacations and real estate a new meaning! It combines the best of the Recreational Real Estate, Home Ownership and Property Exchange. Our clients, millions of people just like YOU, would love to own a small vacation property close to a sandy beach or on a mountain. Our clients hate paying large amounts of money to hotels. OHS gives you an alternative solution!  Our clients hate paying large amounts of money to hotels, while getting a room with no view, no kitchen and than can only sleep three (3). A family of four (most families have 4 members) will have to pay for two (2) rooms to be able to enjoy a decent vacation. OwnHomeShare comes to correct this problem and give you an alternative solution! Keep on reading... You will absolutely love what we are just about to reveal to you! Vacationing in a country like Greece, Italy, Turkey, Cyprus, Bulgaria and other Balkan countries, will cost a family of four between $5,000 to $10,000 a month or more, which includes accommodations and meals. The average room will rent from 40€ to 250€ a day, depending on the season and location. Your hotel bill will be anywhere from 1.200€ to 7,500€ a month! Meals are usually extra and dining out every day, 3 times a day can create a financial problem. (1€ = $1.35 US as of April 07). We have a great offer for you! Would you like to own a property that fits 4 or more, has its own kitchenette and bathroom with a shower? Do you like to spend summer or winter months at your property right on or close to a beautiful beach or on a mountain? And how about this? Do you want to own a property which you can transfer, lease it or rent every year, generate income or maybe even sell it after a few years for more than you bought it? Or... Are you interested in low cost investments? Buy a few properties and let us run them for you! Generate income that supports your lifestyle! Also... OwnHomeShare clients participate in our Unique Property Exchange network! One year you could be vacationing on the island of Corfu, the next in beautiful Mykonos and the year after sunbathing on a Black Sea beach in Bulgaria. By the easy, your property you own is near a white sandy beach in Crete... Best of all... Do you want to do all the above while receiving income from your investment? Just because you use OwnHomeShare, we lease out your unit for the months it is not in use? You will actually GENERATE INCOME from this property all year round! This is what we call REAL ESTATE!There is only a finite amount of Land on earth. History proved that Land Values have always gone up and most likely will continue to do so in the future. Your income pays off your property's maintenance fees, taxes and utilities and a portion of the leftover funds go into your bank account. OwnHomeShare will deposit money in your account every year, year after year! Spend it while you are in the country, use to buy another investment, or simply withdraw and use your money as you wish! Income Guaranteed! Too good to be true?  IT IS TRUE! OwnHomeShare is a unique ownership concept that gives recreational real estate a new meaning! Buy Your Next Vacation Property from OwnHomeShare! FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT http://www.OwnHomeShare.com Agents Welcome!

OK... I just have to get this off my chest. I need to feel better and learn the lesson.

And here's the story.

I was working with a client since December.  In January, we signed a Buyer Agency Agreement that was valid for 90 days.  Although I forgot to renew it in March but we kept on working till beginning of September.  My service to them continued non stop for months, most of the time on a daily basis.

My client's requirements were quite difficult to satisfy: find a place to accommodate all 10 members of the family, the property had to be new or fixed up and close to the 600K range.  Well, we spent a lot of time seeing properties with no luck.  I advised the client to raise their price and we started looking in the 800K range.  

I must have shown them 50 homes or more because they wanted to see "everything", big and small, knockdowns, side by side homes, new construction and land.  I worked my ass off and usually had to visit them after 11 pm at night because some of the family memebrs returned from work too late.  I spent hours and hours away from my family in order to accommodate their needs.

Evenutally, we did put in 4 offers on cetain properties. They signed the Buyer Agency Agreement in January 2006 for 90 days. We attempted an offer on a property in February 2006 with no luck. The price was too high and our offer was too low. The client was still under contract.  The 4th and last offer we pursued was in the beginning of summer but as mentioned the Buyer Agency hadn't been renewed.  

After the house came off the market, and while we were still looking for properties and emailing and calling each other back and forth and she is telling me "find me a property", they went back privately to the expensive house we had put in an offer in February, and bought it directly from the Seller!

Even with hundreds of emails, of confirmations, of showings, of logs of what we have seen, of offers on properties we pursued, because I forgot to renew the Buyer Agency agreement, I will not be able to claim the $21,000 of commissions owed and I have to bite the bullet! 

Well, I promise you thing: NEVER AGAIN...

Lesson Learned
Make sure your Buyer signs the Buyer Agency Agreement! You never know when the client will screw you...

Personal Feelings
Is the job and time of a Real Estate Saleperson not worth anything? 

Solution
The Buyer Agency Agreement should be mandatory for all.

Life goes on... doesn't it?

Today I am going to offer small advice to "amateur renovators" (can there really be such a bread of creatures?) taken from personal experience (feel free to add you own tips and stories):

1) Estimate the renovation costs.  
This is the most difficult task to accomplish.  What are the prices of material? How much money will I need? How much time will I need?  What is expensive and what is a good deal?
If this first task is too difficult for you to accomplish, do yourself a favour and contract the job out.  You will gain years of life at the end...

2) Can you do the work or any part of the work yourself?
Always factor your time in the expenses! If you can make $100 doing something else, do it and contract out your renovation to someone else.

3) Choose a smaller supplier
They are way more thankful store owners than Home Depot at which you find your neighbor (you know who) giving you "expert advice"! If they were seriously good in plumbing and electrical, why wouldn't they been doing the job instead? Save yourself a buck and let the contractor run 10 times to pick up nails and glue and cement and annything else they need...

4) Pay for all your permits 
... or do us a favour and cover those windows. Large and heavy renovations should be approved by the city or they will come after you, even years later... It is wise if your left hand does not to know what your right hand is doing.

5) Licensed vs non-licensed trades
When in doubt, play it safe! 

6) Use a competent real estate agent
Not all agents are the same.  Find one who understands your goals and can help you through.  Not all renovations pay...

And some quicky-tips:
- Demolition is somewhat easy as long as you know where to stop...  
- Get cheap labour from hotels and coffee shops early in the morning
- Cleaning up is also easy. Dump the garbage yourself...
- Protect your bins! Neighbours tend to think you won't mind if they dump all their garbage in your bin.
- Never ever pay by the hour, unless you are an SOB and every hour of every day you'll stand above their heads!
- Always ask: "...and when will it be done by?" 
- Always get a serious answer to the question: "what happens if it's not ready by then?"
- Why not? Sign a contract!
- Take a video and before - after pictures
- If you do not want receipts and pay under the table, at least take a video of the contractor working.  When at court later, you can at least prove that the idiot actually worked for you and "it is his fault your honour"...
- Gather all receipts.
- Do some calculations and see if it is worth your time and effort.  Ask yourself: should I do this again?
- Work with a competent agent that can advise you all the way through

I invite you to briefly tell us our horror story!

Help us learn... No need to reinvent the wheel...

What are Buyers mostly negotiating for
(% of buyers who would negotiate money off the purhase price)

1.
Roof needs replacement (usually $3000-$7000)

2.
Electrical Systems are not built to code (replacement cost from low $1500 to many thousands)

3.
Dampness, rot and mould (suprisingly low in importance - maybe because not easily identifyable!)

4.
Length of leasehold (shorter terms preferred - many want easy out)

5.
Fence dispute (although most cases I have seen its a deal breaker)

Added from comments:

6. Flooring

7. Simply want a better deal

- - -
Let's educate our clients:
In your experience, what other important issues have you seen Buyers using to lower their purchase price?

Is it scorrect for Buyers to lower the price because of decoration? What's your advice?

Every landlord will pay a premium to purchase a property in which tenants will line up to live in. But, as a landlord, do you know what is important for your tenants? Is it the location? Schools? Transportation? 

There is a gap between what a landlord thinks is important for the tenant and how tenants "buy" into a lease. Here is what your tenant thinks is important by priority:
 

• Distance from public transport
  
• Distance to shops
  
• Local crime rate
  
• Distance from work
  
• Noise pollution
  
• Distance from green spaces
  
• Distance from restaurants or bars
  
• Distance from social housing
  
• Distance from sports or gym facilities
  
• Distance from good schools
  
• Prestige associated with street or postcode
  

Of course, these have nothing to do with the condition of the property which is as important as the amount of lease payments and terms.

Oh, and don't forget: happy landlords always have good tenants!

We are seeing it across the world... A big chunck of those getting into Real Estate and home ownership today are not going to make it!  It has become more difficult to stay into market as new, young buyers are insecure, over-taxed and debt-ridden.

New and Young buyers are strapped with increased expenses and living on a two salaries is just not going to cut it.  Remember we used to talk about single salaried families.  Weel, now two salaries in a family are not enough. Having two kids, two cars and with the increasing prices in food, gas, and insurance, no wonder we can't make it.

In England, a poll shows that all generations are concerned about the economic position of young people. A very large majority think that it is now more difficult for younger people to get started in life than it was for their parents.  Only 11% think that today's young people find it easier.

But really why has it become so difficult? The Banks and Mortgage companies have made it so easy for new buyers! 0% down and the lowest interest rates in decades: all these 'gimmicks' trying to get people to enter the housing market have led to a huge increase of Power of Sales and Foreclosures. Look at the stats: in certain areas in Canada, the foreclosed rate has doubled since last year and, believe me, it will continue to rise!  Hey, those with money, hold for a couple of years and you will remember me... Those who knew the stock market was going to crash in 2000, were patiently waiting. When things turns, almost "every" Internet investors money, simply changed hands. I am sure 90% of those reading this article, lost money in some sort of stock in 2000.

Mortgage Fraud! This is where the problem lies.  It's everywhere. Do not take advantage of this. If you cannot make the mortgage payments, stay out of it.

Really... How good is a 30 year mortgage repayment over a 25 year repayment? How deeper in debt and interest payments cn you get? A great name for this plan may very well be: "MPF - Mortgage Payments Forever!"

I am not a doomsday believer. I simply believe it will get gradually worse. My advice: stay within your means!  Hey, if you can't buy a house, DON'T. Big deal! Don't forget: the grass is not always greener on the other side Home Ownership has it's own problems!

I get bombarded daily with email by all these real estate champions, real estate gurus, consultants and others that are going to show us the way to wealth and riches! (I wonder why they all turned to consulting....)

All these kits and packages and books and CDs and DVDs will make my life as a realtor simpler, better and more productive.

At some point, if I pay $13,000 to buy this famous program, I will make $500,000 this year.  Guaranteed!
Come on... On the other hand, I might be wrong...

I seriously am calling upon your experience before I go spending my money trying to make it in real estate.

• Have you used any program? Or method?
• Do they really work?
• What do you feel has given you the biggest bang for the buck? And why?
• They all work but which one with 20% of my investment will give me 80% of return?

I want to know what sort of return on investment you have experienced!

I find that the internet real estate forums more than cover my needs. I can find almost anything I need.

All comments are appreciated!

I just heard this today (9/12/06) at a large RE/MAX conference in Toronto:

Real Estate Prediction: EXPECT THE BEST - PREPARE FOR THE WORST!

Also, heard that the US Real Estate market lost it's juice (no more speculation) but Canada will NOT follow suit this time around! 

- What is your opinion? Do you agree?  Are we to expect a lousy season this year? Or will it be next year?

- How should we prepare?

Maybe not yet... But how do you know when it's coming?

Well, it is coming whether you like it or not. Lucky you, those that have milked the cow these past 5 years! The only thing positive in our lives is CHANGE! And, the #1s is becoming #100s and the opposite. Technology is going to transform us and our businesses and in the next few years, be ready or else...

So, how does one stay above water?

- Educate yourself! More and more not only about real estate but also learn about other fields that complement our business.  Hey, it may be a good career move when everything slows down in real estate and you won't be paying your dues to your Board anymore

- Develop unique Internet Marketing programs. Don't believe David Liniger's comment (RE/MAX founder) that the "Internet is overvalued". Take from their example! Spend more on Internet. It's cheaper too... It makes you look smarter!

- Automate everything! When times get tough and you won't have money to pay your assistant, automating everything is the way to go.  You can't be everywhere. Learn from the car companies: they save millions but letting go of staff and replacing them with computers.

I hear the next generation computers will work with liquid something or operate at the molecular level or think in a matrix.  It's only a matter of time we will all have the computer that run space shuttles running under our desks.

Prepare, prepare, prepare!

Happy "Internet Leading"!