Bill Cullen's (remaxbill) Blog

November is Financial Literacy Month in Canada - PART 1

Bill Cullen (REMAX Absolute Realty Inc.) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 12:51:25 -0700

Today is the first day of Financial Literacy Month here in Canada. I have a personal interest in financial literacy that comes from my previous life as a Certified Financial Planner when I worked for one of Canada's big five banks. I believe that we all need to understand and take control of our personal finances since no one has more of an interest in our financial security than we do. One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is financial freedom, and to that end I would like to discuss a few topics that will help you achieve that goal. However, before we can even consider the end-goal, we need to know where we are today. We need to have a crystal clear understanding of our current financial health. As a financial planner, I would often ask people to tell me "approximately" what their current expenses were on a monthly basis. You might be surprised to hear that most people couldn't really give me a ballpark estimate of what they needed in order to pay their bills every month. Even more worrisome is that most people didn't want to take the time to sit down and figure out what that number might be. Do you think they instictively knew that the news would not be good? I think that must be the case, since recent reports tell us that our consumer debt is more than 163% of our annual income. This rate has been rising slowly over the years, and like a slow-moving train it's coming straight at us as we stand on tracks like the proverbial deer in the headlights. Get off the tracks!! You just need to take a few steps in the right direction to take you to safety. The first step is admitting that there is a problem. The second step is sizing it up. To me that means, making a budget. I know that's not a popular activity, but I haven't found a better way to handle it. If you know of one, PLEASE let me know. To begin, just make a list of all your monthly expenses. Mortgage, property taxes, hydro, insurance, food, etc. and add them all up. Let's start here, at the beginning. It doesn't need to be perfect, or overly complicated. We just need to start. It's a easy enough to do, but easier not to do. Connect With Me! Find Bill Cullen at REMAX in Ottawa on Google+

MPAC Property Assessment - Will my Ottawa property taxes increase?

Bill Cullen (REMAX Absolute Realty Inc.) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 12:19:31 -0700

By now, most home owners in the City of Ottawa have received their Property Assessment Notice from MPAC. We've had some strong market growth in Ottawa over the past few years, so most likely your assessment will show a significant increase over the 2008 value, when the last assessment was done. Now, most home owners will be happy to see that the value of their home has gone up over the years, but inevitably the big question becomes ... "Will my property taxes be going up?" The answer can't be known for sure at this point since it will depend on any budget increase that the Ottawa City Council approves for 2013. But what we can do is figure out the relative impact that this assessment will have on your property tax bill. If you look along the right-hand column on page 1 of the Property Assessment you will see two key numbers that will help you get a clearer understanding as to how your house will be affected by any adjustments to property taxes. photo by Matt Aiello The first number you need to know is; the average increase in the assessed property values for the City of Ottawa for 2013. This is clearly laid out on the right-hand side of page 1 of the notice where it says "The average phased-in assessment of residential properties in your municipality changed by 6.44% since the 2012 tax year." This is true for all property owners in the City of Ottawa, and it is against this benchmark that we can measure ourselves to determine the relative impact it will have on our tax bills for next year. I think it's fair to say that just about everyone who has owned a home on Ottawa over the past 4 years has seen the assessed value of their property go up in that time. The important thing to know is, did that assessed value go up more or less than the average 6.44%? Assuming that City Council sticks to it's stated goal of an increase less than 2.5% for 2013, then If your assessed value increased by exactly 6.44%, then you should expect your property taxes to go up by the same 2.5% increase in the budget. If your assessed value increased by less than the 6.44% average, then you should expect to see a tax increase that is less than 2.5% or you may even see a decrease in your property taxes. If, however, your assessment shows that your phased-in assessment increased by more than the 6.44% average you'll probably see an increase in your tax bill that is more than 2.5%. For example, my assessment tells me that "Your phased-in assessment has changed by 4.64% since the 2012 property tax year." So I am expecting that my taxes will increase by less than the proposed 2.5% increase for 2013, since my lower-than-average increase should offset some of the proposed budget increase. If you're still having trouble understanding your assessment, then it may be a good idea to contact a trusted real estate professional who can sit down with you to explain the specific details of your Property Assessment Notice. In your service, Bill Cullen Sales Representative REMAX Absolute Realty Inc., Brokerage Connect With Me! Find Bill Cullen at REMAX in Ottawa on Google+

3 Mistakes EVERY Home Seller Should Avoid

Bill Cullen (REMAX Absolute Realty Inc.) — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 05:24:19 -0700

Selling your home in Ottawa has been getting TOUGHER these days. After several years of having a Seller's MARKET, the tide has definitely shifted. We are seeing homes sitting on the market longer as inventories of unsold homes build up. Recent changes in mortgage rules brought down by the Finance Minister, coupled with looming layoffs in the Federal Civil Service, and falling consumer confidence in the face of global economic difficulties have taken the steam out of our housing market. However, HOMES ARE STILL SELLING. So what mistakes can you AVOID in order to improve your odds of getting your home sold and getting a fair price in this market? Here are 3 Common MISTAKES to AVOID; PRICE too high - It seems that at some level everyone knows that overpricing is a gamble but human nature drives sellers ask for a much higher price than FAIR MARKET VALUE in the hope that someone might pay their inflated price, or in the vain belief that they can outsmart negotiators by "starting out high". It rarely works. More often than not it leads to bad results! So how do you determine the "right price"? Knowing how to set the price is part art and part science. Getting it right can make the difference between success and failure. Poor TIMING - Many sellers plan to make price adjustments as time goes on. What they fail to realize is that a home that sits on the market for a long period of time can develop a stigma as potential buyers start to feel that the home is defective. Seeing that FOR SALE sign sitting on a home's front lawn for months on end can be depressing. The other factor with respect to timing, is that dropping prices when chasing a falling market trend only leads to more loses then if the home had been priced reasonably from day one. Don't play CATCH UP on prices. It could be costly. Inadequate EXPOSURE - Naturally, in order to sell your home for top dollar in a reasonable amount of time you need to get your message out into the marketplace. Most buyers today start their search online, and MLS.ca is the largest home-listing website in Canada today. So it is critical that your listing be well crafted and supported with high quality photos and even a multimedia presentation. Of course there are many other popular websites too, but let's not forget traditional media. We have found that printed media can still be an effective tool in marketing your home. The point is that there are many ways to find qualified buyers for your home, and you might want to consider using all of the tools available to you to help you meet your goal. We can show you how! Connect With Me! Find Bill Cullen at REMAX in Ottawa on Google+

Your Sloppiness is Hurting your Client

Bill Cullen (REMAX Absolute Realty Inc.) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 01:48:54 -0800

This past week I was involved in a situation that highlighted the value of getting a good real estate agent to represent your interests. We had just listed a townhouse condo in Ottawa, Ontario, that we priced it to sell. In fact, our client did not have very high expectations since the property was not in very good condition. So, it was to our client's surprise, and to our satisfaction, there were several quick showings that translated into offers almost immediately. One offer was quickly followed by a 2nd, and then a 3rd. After notifying all the interested parties of the multiple offers, and having a second series of revisions to the initial offers, I confirmed that everyone had put their best and final offer on the table before we presented it to our client. After weighing all the pros and cons of each offer, our client decided to accept a full asking price offer that was submitted with no conditions. The other two offers were at a slightly higher price point, but had all the usual conditions attached. He decided on the path of least resistance, which was definitely the way to go given his circumstances. So what's the problem here? It sounds like a great story with a happy ending. Well, it was a happy ending for the seller. But that leaves two unhappy potential-buyers. In one case, the buyers had locked up their cash so that it was unavailable for several months. There's nothing that the agent could have done better. His preparation and presentation were top-notch, but circumstances beyond his control made it unacceptable to the seller. The other offer that was rejected was a mess. Missing signature, initials and errors in the Offer made the seller question the ability of the buyer to handle to details of the transaction as it would have moved through the process. It gave the impression that any conditions would not have been dealt with in an professional and expediant manner. The worst part was, that when I pointed out the errors and ommissions to the agent, she blamed her client and the sense urgency that was dictated by the situation. Are you serious?!??! Ultimately, I believe our seller would have come to the same conclusion, but had the situation been a little bit different the messy offer would have lost out because the buyer's agent gave such a bad impression. That offer never stood a chance, and unfortunately that buyer will never know all the facts as to why their offer never received the level of consideration it might have. To my fellow REALTOR who submitted that offer,....Please get your act together! You are not serving your client's interest or maintaining the professional standards that our business needs to promote. Should you continue to do this in a tighter race, I believe your sloppiness with hurt your client again. Just my 2 cents, Image: luigi diamanti / FreeDigitalPhotos.netConnect With Me! Find Bill Cullen at REMAX in Ottawa on Google+

Photography and Video - Adding creativity to your Marketing Plan

Bill Cullen (REMAX Absolute Realty Inc.) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:40:41 -0800

We've all seen the statistics that clearly indicate that a vast majority of customers and clients start their property search online. While your listing probably provides some key informaton such as the number and sizes of room, and describes some exciting features. By the way, are all hardwood floors "gleaming"? The numbers and details appeal to the rational mind. However buyers are driven more by their emotions and use the logical details to rationalize their purchase after the fact. Of course, there are basic requirements that must be met, but once that has been done the emotions are the most powerful driver of the buying decision. Since most people are visual creatures, and online searching is a visual medium, they rely extensively on what they see to help them make important judgement calls. So why would any real estate professional ignore the opportunity to maximize the number and quality of the images that they can provide to attract prospective buyers? I can think of three. They're trying to shortcut the process. (it's a shortcut to failure in my opinion) They don't really know how to take a decent photograph. They can't afford to hire a photographer. (they really can't afford not to if #2 is true) With the cameras that are available today just about anyone can take a decent photograph of a house, but it isn't foolproof by any stretch. Indoor lighting can be tricky at first, but once you've tried it a couple of times it's pretty well straight forward. For me, and I'm willing to bet many of you as well, taking photographs is a great way to add a creativite element to your work. Of course, it does take time and effort in order to do the job right. Additionally, you can now easily add music and text to create a slide-show style video that brings the still image to even a higher level of appeal, but it does take some extra amount time to do it. Here's one that I just created using Photodex ProShow Producer. http://youtu.be/ep1yXMN6p7w . I've added it as a link in the MLS listing. My plan is to add digital video clips as well, in the future. Let's take full advantage of all these great tools that give us a better opportunity to attract potential buyers. Image credit: jannoon028 / FreeDigitalPhotos.netConnect With Me! Find Bill Cullen at REMAX in Ottawa on Google+

Attitude - It's 100% up to you

Bill Cullen (REMAX Absolute Realty Inc.) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:08:46 -0800

Life happens to all of us, but not everyone seems to respond in the same way to similar circumstances. How is it that two people can have the same experience and yet behave in such diametrically opposed ways? The answer is ATTITUDE. One quirk of the english language is that if you assign a value to each letter in the word ATTITUDE according to its position in the alphabet, and then add those vaules up, then the total is 100. So the first letter being A is given a value of 1, and D is the 4th letter in the alphabet so it's value is 4, and so on we go through the letters to determine that; A= 1, D=4, E = 5, I=9, T = 20, U =21 So the math ( sorry, maybe I should have given a warning that there would be math involved) goes like this : A+T+T+I+T+U+D+E = 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100 So you might say that the results you're getting comes 100% from your ATTITUDE. At the very least it's the only thing you can control. So, maybe it's time for an attitude adjustment in order to get a better outcome. What have you got to lose? Just a thought.Connect With Me! Find Bill Cullen at REMAX in Ottawa on Google+