HypeDojo recently shared this photo – which mirrors a statement we like to share with buyers and sellers:
If you are on the hunt to find the perfect home (with a welcoming front porch), connect with Team Elder Home Sales. Let us help you find the right place to call home.
Learn more >> https://martinelder.ca/buyers/help-me-find-a-home/
Houses have held a special meaning for me since childhood when I experienced frequently relocation.
My motto, Selling Fine Homes, Building Community is central to my work. Houses shelter us from more than wind and rain. They offer comfort; a refuge, and in an unspoken way, provide the setting where families grow, build culture and flourish. I feel proud to help people. I offer my personal knowledge learned from years of home renovation and study. I like to put together a team of home buying professionals to make the process of ownership or sale smooth and enjoyable.
If you are struggling to find the perfect home, let’s talk. Call me at 613.236.5959
-Martin Elder
Once in a while a property appears for sale that surprises me. Totally upgraded with consummate attention to detail. Quality, preservation of architectural richness, space and soft light from south facing windows. Kitchen and bathrooms simple, as in less is more. Lovely stainless appliances. Gas cook top Miele. Fisher Paykel refrigerator and Whirlpool are lovely in the kitchen. White fleck Granite counter tops are clean and sophisticated. Lots of cupboards and pantry. Island to lunch at. Covered deck to review a good book. Lovely quiet bedrooms. Bathrooms with pride. Must be seen! Dare to compare!
Call for details 613-296-8065
Rarely available Freehold end unit offered for sale: $189,900.00
855 Grenon Ave Unit # 1 Ottawa / West Britannia – All brick semi-detached/row home built 1975. Common elements fee of $55 per month for Snow clearing and grass and tree care. Parking adjacent to unit. Not a condominium!
Freehold, three bedroom, two bath, end unit with 5 appliances. Private, west facing, fenced back yard. Mature Jack Pine trees. Finished basement with lavatory hook up.( was once a hair cutting salon ) High ceilings. Five Appliances included. Parquet hardwood on first and second floors. Newer windows, Gas Furnace 2004. Best value in the area!
So what is affordable housing?
Let’s look at the numbers for today’s interest rate which is 2.75%
A minimum of 5% down payment is required to purchase = $9,450.
Closing costs would be needed out side of the down payment
which would cover Lawyers fees and disbursements = $3,780.
If you are a first time buyer you qualify for a provincial tax credit = $2,000.
Total amount needed to purchase up front cash is =$11,230.
A Canada Housing and Mortgage insurance fee would be added to your mortgage amount to cover the protected amount that equals about 15% of the purchase ( This fee covers the remaining part of the conventional mortgage amount or 20% down payment. 5% was calculated above)
The monthly mortgage payment would be $847.
Taxes calculated monthly would be $166.
Monthly association fee for grass and snow $55.
Insurance monthly would be about $84.
Monthly Heat and light would be about $150.
Total monthly living cost would be $1,302.
The average of 82 rental listings in Ottawa today, excluding apartment building style living is $1,992. per month with the lowest rent at $1,925 per month.
With low interest rates, stable world markets, it is a good choice to purchase a home instead of renting.
That’s a great question. So much depends on the market energy and the ability of the buyer to perceive possible problems and solutions. Imagine if four people are lined up to make an offer on the Ottawa house you want? It is smart to ask your real estate agent in advance what experience they have with building inspectors, building practices, old and new and what their track record is with the building report once completed. What is a home inspection supposed to do?
I’d be inclined to secure the house you want with an accepted offer. Then I’d proceed with an inspection. This way the buyer can always renegotiate when something is discovered that causes concern.
There are two emotional peaks buyers and seller experience when moving through a purchase transaction. The offer stage is a big emotional stress for everyone, then it calms down a bit when both parties agree on a price and date. The building inspection is booked and another worrisome period begins. Many sellers don’t know what is in the attic or how the foundation is holding up. Who knows if the wiring is adequate or a safety hazard. Will the insurance company insure your Ottawa home? Just because the seller has lived in the house for 30 years doesn’t mean the buyer wants to inherit the problems!
Sometimes there are minor concerns that are taken care of by the seller before the sale closing date. Sometimes the price is reduced to compensate for larger problems. Your real estate professional is the key to “pulling it all together” .Talk about the Ottawa home buying process and discuss the “what ifs” with your agent.
There is no leniency for forgetting. Licensed salesperson’s are responsible for maintaining their good standing or their license is terminated. During the time a new licensee begins working with a company there is the expectation of guidance and continuing instruction from the brokerage with the practical part of working with buyers and sellers, signing representation contracts and closing sales transactions. There is certainly a lot to learn in a short time frame! Most companies will offer some training. In my experience a lot of training is needed to prepare people who have limited experience in general sales, after all, a successful real estate business is built on relationships with people as opposed to knowledge in house construction or renovating.
Expenses as a Real Estate sales person. There are ongoing expenses of licensing fees, insurance and membership fees for the Ottawa Real Estate Board, the Ontario Real Estate Association and the Canadian Real Estate Association. There are also fees frequently called desk fees and they are paid to the Brokerage for training and telecommunications and additional resources. I’m suggesting these ongoing expenses would be about $300 per month. There are also commission splits to the company and they would occur when sales finalize.
Generally speaking, beginning licensees will be offered commission splits of 50/50 60/40 and 70/30. It is important not to put too much emphasis on the commission split arrangement. Consider the complete package of services offered by the company; the history, the education available, the company culture and the ethics of the company will over time to be more important for the beginning Salesperson.
What is meant by company culture? To start with the history of the company and its relationship to the city will be important. Small things like hours of operation, the way incoming calls from the public and other agents are handled and the training the front desk people have is extremely valuable. One office opens at 8 am to 9 pm weekly compared with offices that close up at 5 weekdays and noon on the weekend. Then there are offices that have a recording machine at the front desk. There is never a receptionist on duty! Imagine wanting to visit a new listing with a buyer client only to be told by a machine that your call will be dealt with promptly!
Companies that give back to the community or promote the agents who add value to noteworthy causes help indirectly all real estate agents appear as caring and engaged professionals. I regularly offer sightseeing flights to fundraising events such as the Spring Time in Paris fundraiser ball in sponsorship of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. The company I work with has donated financial support to many of my fundraisers.
The size of the company will also be an important factor. It might be thought that a smaller company with under 40 salesperson’s would be desirable. Yes! On the other hand a larger company should be able to afford more services and attract more accomplished professionals who in turn act as models of successful business practice for new licensees. Working in isolation is not recommended at least in the first five years of being licensed.
Another consideration is the average age of the sales persons where you may be working. In Ottawa the average age of a real estate sales person is 59 years. Some companies attract a younger group. Average age and company retention are important factors in choosing a real estate company. One company has an average of 37 years. Big difference from the average! That means younger people, more energy, new ideas, more activities, more attractions to keep members. Yes!
Currently there are about 2600 licensed sales persons in Ottawa. They sold about 11,000 homes last year or about 4 homes each. The average price of homes fluctuate per month however if the average home was about $340K it would generate a commission of $8,500. The average licensee would then earn about $32,000 with the four sales. Generally speaking the “break even” point is selling six homes. This means generating $50,000 in commissions will pay expenses after which there is income to live on. This simplistic formula is not a true picture of the industry but it provides a guideline. A better expectation of sales activity would be where an agent makes one sale per month and earns $102,000. per year. High producing licensees will sell two homes a month or 40 homes and earn about $300,000 per year. A person selling 40 homes a year would be doing very well depending of course on the value of the home sold. licensees selling higher priced homes earn substantially more per sale than they would selling lower priced homes.
There is simply a maximum number of transactions a person can manage before hiring a personal assistant becomes a necessity. Most never reach this level of success and choose different careers after two years. Finally there are real estate teams with even higher sales units. One hundred sales a year would generate sales amounting to $700,000 or more. The highest producing real estate teams in Ottawa sold upwards of 300 homes last year and they consist of up to 12 licensees and several non-licensed staff.
This may all look very exciting, yet there are very real costs to building a business and maintaining it through out a year where heavy borrowing may be required to pay expenses such as Revenue Canada, HST, advertising, promotions, fees, vehicle expenses, and technical expenses at times when little revenue is generated especially at the beginning of the year. Can you imagine having to pay your income taxes at the end of March when you haven’t even made one sale during that period! The high cost of running a real estate business means that in a start up situation an outside salary or an additional salary is very welcome to lean on while the business grows.
The splitting of commission with a brokerage varies among companies. It usually has a cap of about $20,000 after which 100% goes to the agent. One company has instituted profit share program where 48% of monthly profit is returned to agent for life. This is an attractive program as there is no support, retirement or pension fund when an agent decides to stop working, is injured or shifts to another line of work. After a successful career, it is very difficult to sell a personal real estate business unlike other businesses.
The average age of a licensee in Ottawa is surprisingly 56 years old, however the largest number of sales are generated by a younger group aged about 34 years. Young licensees in their 20 are also successful. The most important factor in success is networking with family, friends and existing relationships and asking them to support you with referrals or introductions. Ask them the following question: Who do you know who is interested in buying or selling a house in Ottawa this year. Follow up with all your contacts regularly. Soon, relationships will strengthen and you will find yourself on course for an exciting career in Real estate sales.
Any thoughts or questions? I’m available to answer questions about a real estate career.
Call or email if fine. Tel:613-722-3733 or email: melder@kwottawa.ca
Content written by Martin Elder. Trademarks owned or controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association. Used under licence.
Today I visited a number of houses in an area I used to live in, a neighbourhood called Cardinal Heights in Ottawa East. It is a community with a mixture of French and English speaking people and I remember that as a child in the 1960s. I delivered all three newspapers; the Ottawa Citizen, the Ottawa Journal and the Le Droit.
Most of the homes are now occupied by new home owners. Younger people who like the bungalow design which is the predominant housing style in the community during the late 1940s and 1950s. They were all built by small builders from plans purchased from CMHC for $10. So the community looks somewhat similar. The lots are large and the trees have grown large over 60 years making for an interesting and complex sky scape
So today I visited door to door. Knocking on doors and talking with anyone home who might know anyone interested in moving into the neighbourhood or move from the neighbourhood. It’s a simple question. The answers are predictably bland but the opportunity to communicate is simply marvelous. The things that people say is astonishing and touching.
One home owner told me of her daughter who recently died. I was sad about that. I told her that when I was a teenager I used to deliver her news papers and that it was her daughter who always paid me. She looked at me with a new appreciation and I remembered her name which surprises me because I’m notorious for name forgetfulness.
Another person just driving into her driveway and getting out of her car with a paper tray of Tim Horton’s coffee for herself and her mother was surprised to see me walking up the drive. We began to talk and discovered common ground in our graduation years at Gloucester High School. Yes She knows of an neighbour who used to baby sit my sister and I. She keeps regular contact with Kathy by email and telephone. She reminded me that from time to time when Kathy was unable to sit with us she replaced Kathy and baby sat me!
