Can You Guess the Words?

This is a tough one, but we had so many people with correct answers on the last one that we had to make this one harder. YOU ASKED AND WE LISTENED: Those with correct answers will be entered in a draw to win a $25 Starbucks gift card on October 15, 2014.

Because this one is hard we gave you the second word.

*Hint – this is available in the GeoWarehouse Store

Real Estate Apps That Let You Access GeoWarehouse Features On-The-Go

The role of a real estate sales professional is very demanding, as is the need to evolve and try new things to make services better. Real estate sales professionals are on the go all the time. In the office you may rely on different applications such as GeoWarehouse and the MLS to research properties and neighbourhoods when representing a client.  

Then, when the time comes to negotiate an offer, this means an onslaught of paperwork and meetings.  

The boom in use of mobile apps has led companies like Teranet to introduce solutions like ViMO (your Virtual Mobile Office). ViMO is an app that offers many of the resources available in GeoWarehouse, including the ability to research properties and neighbourhoods, on-the-go.

GeoWarehouse and ViMO are different. GeoWarehouse is a research tool, and while it offers access to property details, sales history, comparable sales and neighbourhood demographics information, it also offers enhanced search capabilities like condo status certificates, surveys, Parcel Registers, Instrument Images like mortgages, liens, transfers, MPAC assessment reports and more, all through the GeoWarehouse Store.

ViMO is unique because it offers the ability to access some of the above information as well as being a sales and marketing support tool. Using ViMO on your iPad, you can connect with clients, colleagues, suppliers and more. You can leverage calendars to keep in touch and organize appointments. You can access property and neighbourhood information in an instant when showing properties to your client. You can sign electronic documents, including offers, electronically, which expedites the offer process and results in a faster, more efficient experience for your client.

GeoWarehouse and ViMO complement each other as one of the most competitive tool sets for real estate sales professionals on the market. For more information about ViMO visit www.myvimo.ca. For more information about GeoWarehouse visit www.geowarehouse.ca.

7 Ways to Use Your GeoWarehouse Reports to Improve Closure Rates

As a real estate sales professional you have a budget and within that budget you have a number of resources available to you to, both acquire deals but also, to get them closed quickly and efficiently. The more efficient you are the better the services your clients receive. Also, you can close more deals because you will be better equipped to serve a higher volume of clients.

When looking at ways to improve your closure rights, or maximizing on what you are spending on landing new clients, technology is your friend. The more reliable information that you can access sooner, improves the time it takes you to provide service to your clients. 

GeoWarehouse reports are a great example. Here are 7 ways you can use GeoWarehouse reports to improve closure rates:

1.      Know who your client is. Using GeoWarehouse you can verify that your client is, in fact, the legal owner of a property; and if they are not, advise them accordingly.

2.      Know that you can get paid. Using GeoWarehouse you can also see encumbrances that are registered against the property. If there are more encumbrances against a property than the value of the property you may want to ask your client or the selling agent how you will be paid.

3.      Know as much as you can about the deal. You may be able to leverage searches available in the GeoWarehouse Store to learn of potential liens or other issues with title that could prevent a deal from closing.

4.      Quickly assess values. Whether you are assessing list value or determining an offer for a client on a property, leverage comparable sales listings in GeoWarehouse to determine a fair offer that represents market value.

5.      Know the area. Leverage neighbourhood demographics reports to tell your client everything they need to know about who lives in a particular neighbourhood, including average income, types of household, ages in household, family structures, religions, schools, transit and more…

6.      Condos. Before you request your condo certificate the good ‘ole fashioned way, check on GeoWarehouse to see if it is available for purchase in the GeoWarehouse Store. This will greatly expedite the process of verifying information like whether or not the condo fees are up to date and that there are no issues with the condo corporation or their financials to be concerned with.

7.      Sell, sell, sell. Leverage your property details and neighbourhood demographics reports at open houses and use them when showing properties to clients. This is an excellent opportunity to shine – your GeoWarehouse reports are professionally branded.

If up to date information or supporting documentation is needed, it can be obtained in the GeoWarehouse Store by purchasing Parcel Registers and/or Instrument Images. 

By accessing GeoWarehouse and running an Enhanced Sales Report which includes home ownership information, sales history information, comparable sales information, neighbourhood sales information and aerial and street view imagery on each property you are planning to list or show, you will be more prepared, more efficient and in the end able to provide better services and close more deals. 

For more information about how you can use GeoWarehouse to improve closure rates please visit www.geowarehouse.ca or call 1-866-237-5937.

CRA Cracking Down on Condo Buyers – How You Can Help Your Clients

The recent condo boom has meant great business for real estate sales professionals that work in the condo market and has led to some great investments for clients. However, with investments come added responsibilities and unfortunately many new owners of investment properties don’t know how to properly plan or prepare for tax reporting and tax obligations to the Canada Revenue Agency.

It has been well reported over the past year that the Canada Revenue Agency has been cracking down on condo flippers and has audited hundreds of condo owners. In March of 2014, the CBC reported that CRA appears to be focused on individuals who have purchased and sold condos quickly and the number of those audited had risen to 579 (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/canada-revenue-agency-cracking-down-on-condo-sales-1.2582462).

MortgageBrokerNews.ca reported that its sister publication, Canadian Real Estate Wealth, recently quoted real estate lawyer and lecturer Mark Weisleder as saying: “If you buy a new condo from a builder and flip it shortly after closing, firstly you may have to repay the HST rebate portion of the purchase price because you did not move in or rent it out…This can be close to $30,000 in some cases. In addition, if you sell shortly after closing, CRA considers this business income and not a capital gain, so you will be expected to pay tax on the full amount of any profit made.”  http://www.mortgagebrokernews.ca/news/taxman-after-condo-owners-177107.aspx

If your client is purchasing a condo as an investment, either for monthly income or in the future to sell for a profit, or you are representing a client who is selling an investment property, as a real estate sales professional you can help.

If it is a property that is subject to capital gains tax, your client will need to know the value of the property at the time the property was purchased and the value at the time sold. You can access sales history information for your client using GeoWarehouse.

You can also help your client estimate what their profit will be in the property by generating comparable sales in the area and an estimated list price.

You can educate your client that any income or investment property could be subject to additional reporting and taxation requirements and recommend that they research these requirements on the Canada Revenue Agency website and consult/establish a relationship with a good accountant that can provide professional advice accordingly.

As a real estate sales professional your clients look to you for guidance. While some things are your responsibility and others may not be, the more information you can offer to guide your client in the right direction or to the right information, the better their experience with you will be, as will be the likelihood for repeat business.

For more information about estimating a property value or about GeoWarehouse please visit www.geowarehouse.ca or call 1-866-237-5937.

Canadian Home Prices Set to Rise in 2014 – Higher Than Expected

According to a press release issued early this year, The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is forecasting stronger sales than expected through this summer and fall. In the past 6 months the Teranet – National Bank House Price Index has reported month over month increases in house prices which would seem to signify the same.

The CREA release seems to credit the west coast for stronger increases than expected, while increases were weaker moving to the eastern side of the country. Projections were revised to include increased sales in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario – while Ontario’s numbers were noted to increase marginally.

According to CREA it is anticipated that nationally home prices will climb by approximately 3.7% in 2014, with the highest increases expected to occur in BC (an anticipated 8.4% increase). CREA touts Calgary, Toronto and parts of Quebec as areas where markets are well balanced and there is far more demand than supply. 

The question is, if property prices are on the rise signifying more supply than demand, what does this mean to you and are you experiencing an increase in business? 

You can read the full press release here http://www.propertywire.com/news/north-america/canada-house-price-outlook-201401028629.html.

 

Have You Registered for ViMO Yet?

If you haven’t already heard, Teranet has launched a fantastic new app for real estate sales professionals that enables you to access property detail information, view neighbourhood demographics, become better connected to prospects, clients, colleagues and suppliers, and more… Check it out at www.myvimo.ca and inquire about how you can get the app.

Due Diligence – How Far is Too Far?

As a real estate sales professional, you know that business isn’t always easy. The economy and market largely determines whether there will be a feast or a famine. Whether you have an abundance of prospects or deals on the go or not, you have many expenses to consider as it relates to the different aspects of your role as a real estate sales professional.

Staging of properties, advertising, gas, etc… your ongoing expenses can be sky high. This is not to mention the costs incurred if you land a client. While due diligence has always been the role of a real estate lawyer in a real estate transaction, more and more real estate sales professionals have an increased demand to perform due diligence to vet their deals. 

But how far is too far and how much should one really spend to perform due diligence? This is an ongoing source of conversation in the social stratosphere as real estate fraud is rampant and real estate sales professionals need to be able to focus their time on good deals that have a high probability of closing.  

There are many tools available to real estate sales professionals that do different things, and gather data from different sources; knowing which one offers the best source of data, and is reliable can be a daunting experience. 

When choosing a real estate tool that possesses elements that enable you to perform due diligence, here is a short list of some of the things you may want to look for:

1.      What is the source of the data and how current is it? It is very common for real estate software providers to offer solution data that is a month or so old, while others only provide access to data that can be months and even years old. A good solution will provide you with the ability to validate up-to-date data if you need it.

2.      Can you get everything in one place? Where due diligence is concerned you want to be able to validate home ownership information, sales history information, mortgage details, comparable sales in a particular neighbourhood, access condo status certificates, check if there are liens on a property, access surveys, the property’s Parcel Register, view instrument images and MPAC assessment reports and more…

3.      How reliable is the application? Is it available online? How accessible is it? Is the provider reliable? Does it often crash or produce errors?

Thanks to technology, you can’t really ever go too far where due diligence is concerned because a small investment in a good application can do wonders and make you that much more efficient. 

For more information about real estate technology and performing due diligence please visit www.geowarehouse.ca or call 1-866-237-5937.