Ambassador London Event

Ambassador London Event

This week is the Ambassador London kick off. This is a grassroots campaign to promote London as a great place to work, live and do business. The purpose is to get local people from all walks of life together to promote our great city.

Ambassador London is meeting Tuesday, November 5, 2007 at 4:30 p.m. at the London Convention Centre. For more information on this campaign you can visit http://www.ambassadorlondon.ca/.

Ambassador London will help provide tools like videos, photos, fact sheets, and online resources.

London has so many wonderful things going for it and with recent awards like: Top 5 for Best Economic in North America; Top 5 for Most Cost Effective in North America; and ranked 4th in the Top 10 Overall Ranking for North America you can see that the international community thinks so too. (Awards from Foreign Direct Investment Magazine for Small Cities of the Future-North America http://www.fdimagazine.com/).

We know London is a wonderful city so if you have a chance to help promote it, and support Ambassador London, the world will know it too.

Commission Distribution-Personal

In an effort to promote open discussion and hopefully eliminate misunderstandings I am writing a brief explanation for my commission distribution. I am pretty sure most people are curious and while some people do ask not many do. Maybe you are thinking about getting into real estate or maybe you are a consumer who is curious-read on!

Last month I wrote trying to explain the split between Listing and Selling portions and I went into a little bit of detail for the individual. My example was not complete though and was on the high side.

This example will not apply to every situation because services and fees selected can be different depending on the needs of the client. One generic package is not my style in fact I am very flexible about your needs and try to tailor services to be appropriate to you. Also, I am pretty sure that other sales people have different splits, likely better, with their brokerages but you would have to ask them. I am a pretty open person so I don't mind sharing the information- mine is 60/40 to start.

Here are the numbers for my gross earnings for $1000:

Gross Income $1000

Less Brokerage Portion ($400)

Less Taxes ($300)

Less Expenses ($150)

For Adam ($150)

Obviously that looks pretty poor when you see 85% going away. Makes you want to cry, haha. The idea to improve that is to minimize your taxes (by deductions) to help offset a low take home pay. Self employment is taxed pretty hard so you really need to have a good accountant. By the way I am still looking for one :D

In order to survive in any business you need to manage your expenses. There are a considerable number of fixed expenses for a licensed Realtor that have to be managed. Overhead for us includes things like desk fees, liability insurance, licensing fees with CREA/RECO/OREA and London & ST. Thomas Association of Realtors.

Ongoing education is mandatory as well in order to maintain the quality of the industry-it is a requirement to keep your license.

Advertising is always a massive drain on resources particularily in print campaigns. Online advertising has a much lower dollar cost per advertisement then print; However, there is more time involved finding and maintaining the ads placed on sites.

On the plus side you don't need to worry about home advertisement if you are representing a buyer client. A buyer client has different needs. To represent a buyer you need a healthy time commitment to them as a buyer generally is 7 to 10 times the personal time commitment. I enjoy helping buyers but you certainly want to make sure you get along since you are spending a lot of time together.

I am getting a bit off topic here but I hope you were not too bored with the number crunching blog and found it useful information. Please don't hesitate to ask if you would like me to clarify anything for you- email is the easiest adam-mihm@coldwellbanker.ca or you can visit www.HomesByAdam.ca for other useful information.

Photo curtesy of www.bigfoto.com

A Beautiful Testimonial

What an honour it was to receive a beautiful testimonial like this. Of course I am happy to receive it but it was more important to me that I could deliver that kind of service to her. I really enjoy helping people and it is nice to be appreciated when you work so hard.

Angela wrote:

As a first-time homebuyer, I had no idea where to start. Upon meeting Adam, the
process has become so much clearer. He took the time to explain to me fully the
entire process, and has been there every step of the way. He is easy to contact,
and always replies promptly. He has provided referrals, ideas, suggestions, and
moral support through the entire thing. He really went above and beyond.

I can confidently say that Adam has provided me with the best customer service
experience I have ever had, in any industry. Thanks to him, I got my dream
house. Thank you, Adam, I couldn't have done it without you.

Many times people will share a negative experience and it is so wonderful when they share a positive one. Well here is hoping that I can please everyone this much- I will try to anyway.

A Strong Ontario Housing Market

Recent Ontario housing forecasts say resale and new home starts will continue to be in record territory through 2008.

CMHC predicts Ontario resale volumes will hit 214,350 for 2007 and reach 206, 250 for 2008. The hottest resale areas in Ontario, for 2008, will be London, Hamilton, Brantford and Sudbury with price gains exceeding the average for Ontario.

Ontario new home starts will improve from 67, 700 units in 2007 to a projected 68, 175 units in 2008.

London statistics for 2007 show a very strong housing market and this trend will continue for 2008. It is expected that the growth will be a little slower next year because of the increase in mortgage carrying costs but still exceeding the projected Ontario average of 3.3%.

If you would like more specific area information for London, including by housing type, I would be happy to answer your phone or email request. I can be reached at adam-mihm@coldwellbanker.ca or you can call 519-685-4190.

8 Home Safety Tools

Fire Escape Plan: Have a fire escape plan in place and review it with your family. Talk to your local fire department for helpful hints.

First-Aid Kit: Have a stocked first-aid kit and make sure none of it is expired. Examine it regularly to make sure it is stocked.

First-Aid Training: Even better then a stocked kit is taking the initiative to get professional First-Aid training and certification from an organization like St. John’s. This can save a life.

Fire Extinguisher-type ABC: This is a multipurpose fire extinguisher. Most people may not know that there is actually a type for each material type and unless you have the right type it will not put out your fire. Play it safe and buy a multipurpose extinguisher.

Rechargeable Flashlight: Having a flashlight is very useful in many situations but nothing is worse then having a power failure and dead batteries in it. Take advantage of a wide selection of quality rechargeable flashlights to update your safety tools. There are several on the market that you can also recharge in your vehicle.

Smoke Alarm: I am not sure about your area but most areas have fire codes that require a working smoke alarm on every floor. A good model includes a stop button, test button, and a built-in light. Test it regularly and change your batteries when you change your clocks.

Carbon Monoxide Detector: Some useful features to look for are an emergency backup battery, rechargeable, in case of a power failure. Also, a digital display for present levels with a memory function to record maximum levels reached.

Emergency Power Supply: This can go beyond a basic generator. There are many options out there like digital invertors for a stable power flow. Also some great all in one units that include a tuner, AM, FM, and TV signals; features include 110 volt AC or 12 volt DC current for recharging cell phones and other things.

Homework for your Home

Here is a brief list for each season of things you should be checking to keep your home well maintained. A well cared for home will help with your enjoyment of it and improve its future market value.

SPRING

Gutters: Check your gutters to make sure they have not been damaged during the winter. You want them clear of debris so water flows freely as intended.

Attic: Inspect the attic for water seepage or condensation issues and have things repaired if needed.

Basement Floor Drains: Check that your drains are functioning properly.

Foundation Walls: Check to see if cracks have appeared or if there were any existing ones that they have not widened.

Flashings on the roof: check that the vents and chimney are in good condition.

Yard Grade: Check the slope and grade of your yard to make sure it will drain away from the foundation as intended. Check that there was not any soil settling over winter.

Decks and Balconies: Check that the railings are in good repair and sturdy. Check the overall condition.

Central Air: Have your C/A serviced and cleaned. Also a good time to have your air filter changed on your furnace.

SUMMER

Windows and Doors: Inspect and repair any issues with your windows and doors.

Exterior Walls: Inspect and repair any issues with the exterior. Redo weak mortar joints in brick facing, repair siding, or paint as needed.

Interior Painting: This is a good time to paint your interior as well if you have plans to do so.

Roofing: Check over your roof to make sure it is good repair and replace shingles if needed.

FALL

Baseboard Heaters: Clean and test to make sure they are in working order

Furnace: Clean ducts, change furnace filter, and make sure your furnace is working properly.

Fireplace: Inspect the condition of your fireplace and chimney and repair any issues. Make sure you have them cleaned.

Weather Stripping: Examine windows and doors to make sure the weather stripping is in good repair. Apply new weather stripping if needed.

Attic Vents: Inspect the attic vents and make sure they are clear of debris.

Crawl Space: If you have a heated crawl space make sure you shut the vents.

WINTER

Stay warm. Drive safely.

Maintaining your home during the warmer months is a great way to make sure you have no winter emergencies. Avoid tragedies like a dead furnace on the coldest day of the year.

How I Ended Up In Real Estate: Part 5- Choices and Dreams

Terrified, excited, driven, unsure…those are a few ways to describe how I felt with the unknown before me. The next chapter heading towards self-employment was a hurricane of emotions.

Now I had to make a choice. It was time to center myself, recoup my energy, shed the negative energy, find my direction and pursue it but where? Where would I head? How could I do what I wanted to do, help people, be there for my family, be self-employed, but still do something I would love to do?

Isn’t that everyone’s dream? Maybe it is yours and if it is, or even if it isn’t, I wish that you find your dream. I hope that you can find a way to make your dreams happen. It can be hard though but you can do it.

It is funny how we can miss what is right in front of us the entire time. The answer for me was hitting me in the face daily but it took my family and friends to point out the obvious to me.

I did a mini interview with several of them. I did it individually so they had no way of knowing I even talked to anyone else about my future and options. Amazingly they ALL suggested Real Estate. I couldn’t believe it, of all the choices they could have said that would have met my criteria (on paper anyway) they all picked Real Estate.

Well needless to say I couldn’t ignore that amount of positive energy towards a single choice. I had to pursue it and they were right it has been great so far.

Well that is the short version of how I arrived at this point in my life. I am happy to be where I am and now I want to help others. I want to help others find their dream homes. I want to help others be successful and of course I want to be successful.

Maybe I will hear from you but even if I don’t thank you for reading about me. Feel free to tell me a bit about yourself.