Luc Trahan Real Estate Consultant

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​Canada likely sitting on the largest housing bubble of all time: Strategist - BNN Bloomberg The Canadian housing market is at high risk of unravelling, according to one expert.

LACTOSE INTOLERANT REALTOR: A Canadian real estate agent has to pay a $15,000 fine because he got caught drinking milk straight from the carton at a seller’s home. In his defense, he had just taken a bite of the leftover curry takeout.

Great deal on a furnished house, who's taking it?

2 min read

Article I found that's so true and great for anyone renting or owning.

At the peak of 2021’s homebuying rush, as mortgage rates fell and families fled to the suburbs, buyers went a little crazy securing their dream homes. A prospective buyer in New Jersey offered $75,000 over the asking price and got rejected. Another buyer in Austin, Texas, landed their dream home by buying the seller’s next house for them. And in Bethesda, Maryland, a homebuyer got creative and offered to name her first-born child after the seller. (She lost.)

But now that the housing market is cooling and inflation is near its 40-year high, three in four recent homebuyers have expressed regrets. They are most remorseful about spending too much money. (And buyers who actually named their baby after the seller probably have regrets of a different kind.)

Almost one-third of buyers surveyed recently said they paid over the asking price, with buyers paying a median of $65,000 over the list price. Remorseful buyers are vocal on Reddit forums like r/realestate and r/personalfinance. One Redditor wrote that she bid $30,000 over the asking price and won, but she said she now regrets the decision “daily.” Another paid $50,000 over asking and “can’t stop looking at housing websites and comparing every little thing side by side” to justify his decision, he wrote in a thread: “Now I feel like a complete idiot.”

The survey also found that 80% of homebuyers had to compromise on their priorities, including location, square footage, or the spacious walk-in closet they had always longed for. For those who opted for a fixer-upper, they found that the costs of maintenance and repairs were astronomical.

Buyer’s remorse isn’t new or unusual. A 2014 survey also found 80% of homebuyers wanted a do-over. When the butterflies of fulfillment fade a few months after moving in, regrets inevitably surface. That glittering swimming pool that might have seemed like a great idea now eats up time and budget.

The stakes for pandemic buyers, however, are a little higher. In July, home prices dropped for the first time in three years. That’s good news for some, but could leave buyers who paid well over asking underwater. Plus, the drop won’t necessarily make houses more affordable for house-hunters who are on the prowl now: The current average 30-year mortgage rate is 6.29% (and likely to rise), compared to 2.72% in November 2021, which adds hundreds of dollars to monthly payments. Home inventory is increasing, but it’s still 43% lower than it was before the pandemic. With all the financial pressure, you may still ink a deal with plenty of regret.

But here’s the thing: Home values inevitably go up and down, and while your swimming pool might be filled with tears of regret, you can remind yourself of how much money you’re saving from record-low mortgage rates. So stop checking your house’s value on Redfin and Zillow and Realtor (just us?) and enjoy a swim.

The statistics are pretty consistent year over year.

Good morning you beautiful people!!

Like in every profession... Am I right? Haha

Great article, must read. Love your option!

Canada Has The Second Most Overvalued Real Estate of Any Advanced Economy - Better Dwelling Canadian real estate prices are pushing the limits of affordability. Not just for Canada, but any advanced economy. Canada came in second on the OECD house price to income ratio index. The index, measuring an affordability fundamental, shows the country’s housing is severely overvalued. It also re...

Options for those who think outside of the box .. never lose hope. And most of all laugh because it's better then crying.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you feel foreign investment is rising house prices?

The 6 Commandments of Up-keeping a House

Sitting here in my back patio I reflect on how different things are and what's stays true. Buying a home comes with a ton of perks. Financial benefits aside, you now have your own garage for tackling DIY projects, your own backyard for hosting barbecues and planting a garden, and maybe even your own basement for practicing yoga or lifting weights. But all these new, exciting private spaces also come with one potential downside, depending on how you look at it: Maintenance and upkeep.

Going from a teeny tiny apartment or a room in a shared house to your own home can be freeing, especially on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic. So much space! So much privacy! So little time! But between work, school, social obligations, and other general life stuff, how the heck do homeowners manage to maintain an entire home and yard?

With these maintenance commandments as your guide, you’re sure to have a smooth transition from renter to homeowner.

1. Adjust Your Mindset
As a renter, you were accustomed to shooting off a quick text or calling your landlord when something broke down in your unit. But as a homeowner, this simply isn’t an option.

Instead, from the moment you sign the closing papers, try to adopt a problem-solving mindset. Whether you plan to fix that leaky toilet yourself (thanks, YouTube!) or hire a landscaping company to mow your lawn once a week, this subtle mindset shift can help.

Even the simple task of finding a person to take care of maintenance concerns on your behalf requires problem-solving skills. How do you find the right people to perform the necessary maintenance service? How do you determine or evaluate their costs? Is the maintenance problem you are currently facing something that really requires outside services in the first place?

2. Know When To Call in a Pro!
On a related note, recognize your own limits as a handyperson. If you trust yourself with a w**d wacker, then by all means, go ahead and start wacking. But if you’re totally confused by plumbing or you have a fear of heights that will prevent you from cleaning out the gutters, know that it’s OK to ask for help — this doesn’t make you any less of a responsible, home-owning adult. It’s quite the opposite, actually. Hiring a professional can save you time and, often, money in the long-run.

Another important note: always, always work with a professional when you’re tackling a project that has the potential to be unsafe or dangerous (to you, your guests, and the home’s future occupants).

I tell my buyers that anything that could potentially be a safety concern for them or their family should be handled by a professional. If it’s an electrical issue, for instance, contact an electrician. If a water leak occurs, you may need to reach out to a licensed plumber.

3. Save, Save, Save!
You’ve heard the oft-repeated financial advice that you should save three to six months’ salary for a rainy day. Well, your house needs an emergency fund, too.

Once you get over the financial shock of handing over your down payment, start putting aside money for house maintenance and emergency repairs.

I have told my first-time homebuyers that so long as they can save 20 percent of their monthly house payment, they will be fine. On homes less than 10 years old, those that have had major rehabs, or have a notably higher monthly payment, I sometimes say 10 to 15 percent. If you have a $2,000 per month house payment, you should be saving $400 per month for a rainy day. And it will rain.

4. Get on a Schedule
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the upkeep and maintenance your house requires, create your own seasonal task list. You don’t have to do everything at once.

Create a schedule to remember to change the air filter in your furnace and air conditioners, clear gutters of leaves, remove any moss from the roof so water doesn’t creep under shingles, and prune trees and bushes so they are several inches away from the house to keep pests at bay. Also, have furnaces professionally serviced yearly, have chimneys inspected and cleaned yearly, and pump septic tanks every four to six years.

5. Don’t Skip Out
Remember that this routine maintenance is really an insurance policy to help stave off larger, more expensive problems from cropping up down the line. Make time for routine maintenance — or at least spend some time checking things out — even if it feels like overkill.

6. Keep a Log Book
As soon as you move into your home, start tracking your maintenance tasks in a notebook, online, or on your phone. Make note of what you did, when you did it, the professional you hired to help, and any other relevant details. Not only will this help you keep track of what’s what, maintenance-wise, while you’re living in the house, but it will also come in handy when you list the house for sale — prospective buyers love to know details like the age of the roof or when the HVAC system was last serviced.

Keep a house maintenance log — it’s easy to forget all the things you’ve done.

This article got me thinking... What are local trees and plants from your area that probably shouldn't be there?

The 7 Trees You Should Never Plant in Your Yard, According to Real Estate Pros A quick heads-up: Note that any specific plants mentioned in this story or any others may be toxic to pets or humans. “Toxic” plants can induce symptoms that range from mild (upset stomach) to severe (possible death). If you have a cat, dog, or kid, make sure you research the plants ahead of tim...

In a housing market desperately short on inventory, with prices spiraling toward the heavens, sellers can demand almost anything these days. They can even take the toilets.

Toilets, particularly expensive self-cleaning ones with bidets, are among the hot items ending up on moving vans, as sellers flex their muscle to squeeze the most out of a sale. Sellers are taking their appliances, too, and not just high-end Viking stoves. They are claiming midrange refrigerators, stoves and dishwashers to avoid shopping for new ones at a time when such items can be back-ordered for months. Then there are sentimental demands, like fireplace mantels and backyard fruit trees.

Buyers, beaten down from relentless bidding wars, shrug and slog along. What else can they do? This is a seller’s world and we’re all just living in it.

“Look, sellers have become more greedy,” said Chase Landow, a salesperson, “Good inventory is rather tight and they know that they can control the show.”

With so many buyers knocking, sellers know that if one balks, another one will be waiting in the wings, probably with a better offer. Comedians on TikTok and YouTube paint a comically grim picture of the desperate buyer — throw in the family dog, or pay college tuition for the sellers’ children, and maybe they’ll consider your offer.

In one instance the sellers were willing to wait on their custom bamboo cabinetry, which the buyers actually hated, until the buyers renovated the kitchen, agreeing to come back and claim them during demolition. So the buyers relented. “This market is so bananas, you want to do what you can do to keep the sellers happy,” Landow said. The deal closed in early July, bequeathed cabinets and all.

In any market, it is not uncommon for buyers and sellers to spar over light fixtures, window treatments and appliances, with million-dollar deals sometimes unraveling over items that cost a few thousand. Generally, anything affixed to the walls — cabinets, sinks and toilets — is considered part of the sale, with removable items like light fixtures and mounted flat-screen televisions falling into a gray area that gets hammered out during contract negotiations. If an item goes, it is usually replaced with a contractor-grade equivalent. But ultimately, a contract can include whatever terms a buyer and seller agree to.

And this year, buyers are agreeing to some doozies.

Another instance the sellers of a $2.2 million house decided they wanted to keep a pair of fruit trees, even though removing them left two gaping holes by the swimming pool.

Even the sellers’ agent was confused. “Where did that come from? The buyer freaks out, it’s going to ruin the landscaping,” said Yorgos Tsibiridis, an associate broker, who represented the sellers in the deal. The trees, about 6 feet tall, were a gift to the sellers’ children from a grandparent and, it turned out, a deal breaker. “She said, ‘Nope, if they don’t allow me to take them with me I’m canceling the contract,’” Tsibiridis recounted.

And so, a landscaper showed up recently and dug up the trees in time for the closing, which is expected to happen in a few days.

There are other factors at play beyond power grabs. Housing is in short supply, but so too are appliances, furnishings and building materials, as the global supply chain continues to sputter through the pandemic recovery. As sellers part with their homes, some of them look around and realize that they may not be able to replace the items they’re leaving. So, why not take them?

During the negotiations for a two-bedroom co-op in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, the sellers insisted on keeping the kitchen appliances and the washer and dryer. If the buyers wanted them, they could pay $10,000, a premium for secondhand Samsung appliances. The buyers were livid, as the demand was not mentioned in the listing for the $430,000 apartment.

“They felt it was very petty and cheap to throw it in there at the last minute,” said Jack Chiu, an associate broker representing the buyers. He said they would have altered their offer had they known the appliances were excluded. “It hit them from left field.”

The buyers considered other apartments, but had gotten this one after winning an eight-way bidding war, following eight months of disappointments. “They were just so tired because they were outbid so many times,” Chiu said.

They agreed to let the sellers take the appliances, and signed the contract. The buyers have started looking at appliances so they don’t move into an apartment with a stripped kitchen, but their first priority is securing a loan and getting approved by the co-op board so they can close in September.

Amy Wilhelm, a salesperson at was stunned when her client told her that she wanted to take the toilet in the main bathroom. “When I picked my jaw off the floor, I said, ‘I guess we could do that,’” Wilhelm said.

The self-cleaning toilet lights up and the lid automatically opens when you walk in the room. But the seller wanted it for a deeply personal reason: Her husband, who had recently died, had wanted the toilet so much that he had jokingly filled a toilet fund jar. “This toilet was their running joke,” Wilhelm said.

The seller disclosed her plans in the listing, turning the fixture into an oddity at the open house. Prospective buyers “were just so amazed by it,” Wilhelm said.

On June 1, just days after the house was listed for $549,000, the seller accepted an offer, well over the asking price. It was one of six.

If you can't be patient, be prepared for some silliness.

Happy Father's day!!

Great article, prices got up because of a lack of supply and a huge demand. I assume with very low interest rates even though the stress test went up and construction hopefully to resume in the near future things will absolutely balance out. Prices have to go down a little bit in my opinion they're just simply too high. Year over year we're at a 38% increase for May.

Bank of Canada seeing signs of cooling in hot housing market The Bank of Canada is starting to see signs that the country's red hot housing market is cooling down, although a return to a normality will take time, Governor Tiff Macklem said on Wednesday.

What are your thoughts on this?

Woman spends 16 hours painstakingly gluing $77 worth of pennies to her floor Jordan Darian glued each coin down by hand using glue, then covered the entire floor with $300 worth of epoxy resin.

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Sometimes it takes a couple of tries, but getting the most money on the street is always the goal.
Thank you so much Josh and Lisa for trusting us. Being there for this special moment means everything.
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From our family to yours, Happy Easter ❤️

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Happy International Women’s Day to all the incredible women in our lives. Together we stand, together we support one another and together we celebrate each other 💐

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