2014 will see some new habits and disciplines initiated and a few old ones shelved both personally and professional. Some of them are getting tested already as our office has divided up into teams for a productivity contest which is underway. Some of the plans for me are to reestablish connections with the people I have done business with over 14 years as a Realtor in the Barrie area and improve on my uses of the internet and seminars to enhance the services I offer to clients.

Real Estate as an investment tool is shifting from being considered an instrument of a brave and elite few, more are recognizing that Real Estate is a viable and attainable means of accumulating supplementary income while building assets for a financialy rewarding retirement.

Fewer and fewer are able to rely on a notion that a long served career is going to be rewarded by a pension that will allow us to continue doing the things we expect from our lives in you latter years. We change jobs more frequently now and the number of job positions that provide for a retirement plan that is livable (if any at all) is and continues to shrink.

Sadly many of the jobs out there that we used to think of as entry level or a way to bring some extra cash while single and going through school are now being done by seniors who have put in their time and should rightfully be enjoying the rewards for their years of contribution at this point rather than getting our coffee or bagging our groceries.

I will be doing more seminars this year which will instruct and demonstrate steps to allow anyone to get started in real estate investment and enhance existing real estate portfolios. Getting started is the bigger challenge but those who do look back on their decision to invest in real estate see it as a significant turning point in their lives.

Arif Khan, Principal Broker at Strategic Capital and myself will be doing a weekly Real Estate show on YouTube beginning later in January. We plan to share our own knowledge and experience on buying, selling and investing and we will introduce some great guests from the Barrie area as well.

The internet is a great tool for business with social media, YouTube websites etc. but there is still no substitute for a Realtor to getting face to face with the people of Barrie to discuss their real estate needs and plans. This year I am getting back to the basics and instead of mailing or just dropping my newsletter off 4 times a year I will be out there hand delivering. If I knock at your door or you come to one of my weekend open houses, have some challenging questions ready for me.