In this blog I will address the importance of buying quality especially when it comes to the location of your Vancouver condo. I will also discuss the hazards of buying a pre-sale unit and why in this current market i’m recommending people buy tangible product.

How Experienced Investors Think! Chapter 6 - Along for the Ride In this blog I’m going to cover Chapter 6 of my new book "Along For The Ride". Here I channel many of Warren Buffett's philosophies on investing. How to buy and hold quality assets such as large cap S&P 500 dividend paying stocks and quality Vancouver Real Estate.

It continues to be a strong Sellers Market for condos in Vancouver with the sales to active listings ratio well above 70%. Keep in mind anything over 20% is considered a sellers market. In my opinion detached homes for the most part have now slid into a buyers market however the stats still show it as being balanced. I also discuss the recent 25 basis point interest rate hike and further mortgage tightening coming later this Fall.

By popular demand I’m going to update my recommended reading list and give you the books I have been reading over the Summer. The 3 main standouts for me are: - The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz - Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss - How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

I field a lot of phone calls every month from potential buyers and sellers. In this blog I will address some of the common situations and ideas my callers have, and if I feel we can work together and move forward or if I suggest they might want to hold off on their plans and not buy at the present time. Most of it comes down to the buyers holding period and why I suggest you always need to have at least an 8 to 10 year holding period for all RE purchases in Vancouver.

I still see Canadian media outlets declaring that cheap and easy credit is to blame for Vancouver’s record high prices, as well as comparing the current Vancouver condo market to what was happening in the US prior to the housing market crash in 2008. I have blogged many times before that low interest rates are one of the main drivers of our current price situation. However, it’s extremely difficult getting approved for a mortgage, and being able to access these low interest rates.. and it keeps getting more difficult every day.

In this blog I’m going to answer a question that I have been getting quite a bit lately which is "In this record setting Sellers Market why don’t you sell some or all of your investment properties and take some profit off the table? You can always buy back after the market corrects at a cheaper price."

Time for another blog on how to properly list and sell your home to achieve maximum selling price. Everyday I see homes selling with only 1 or 2 days on market. I’m here to tell you that the sellers in these situations are leaving 10’s of thousands of dollars on the table without even realizing it. In this blog I will show you how to do it the right way and back it up with 2 recent profiles in the Globe & Mail newspaper on sales I have made and the record setting prices I achieved for my sellers.

Getting your foot in the door and buying your first 1 bedroom condo in Vancouver is not easy.  The first hurdle is saving the 5 or 10% for the downpayment. In this blog I'm going to look at some of the ways I’m seeing first time buyers save to get that downpayment put together. Would love to get some feedback from my viewers on this topic as well.

Taxes are not the liveliest of topics but its one area that you must learn if you hope to achieve financial independence. I’m amazed at how many people have never taken the time to at least learn the basics of Canadian Taxation. In my new book I dedicate half a chapter on taxes and how to properly structure your assets. In this video I’m going to walk you thru how various assets are taxed as well as how to properly structure your Real Estate and investment portfolio to take advantage of all the tax breaks the Government gives us. Again all you need to learn here are the basics and I would strongly recommend you hire a tax planning pro once you achieve a certain level of success.