Is it true?

I'm excited to be reading a book by an author who I had been introduced to several years ago. Byron Katie is famously know for her process called "The Work"in which she asks a series of questions to unravel a person's misery and suffering. Interesting stuff!!

A few years back I was at a 2 day public speaking workshop in Campbell River. On the first day we had to think of someone that we admired and write a letter to them proclaiming all the wonderful things we felt for them. I thought of someone close to me and began to write a heartfelt letter of how I saw them and all the things I love and admired about them and how they operated in this world. We finished our letter, put them in an envelope and they were collected by our facilitator.

By the end of day 2, we had been through a powerful two day workshop where we practiced our public speaking, got to know the other participants and worked at pushing the edge of our comfort zone.

We were given our letters back and asked to participate in one last public speaking exercise. We were to take the letter, stand at the front of the room and read the letter out loud. Instead of speaking about the person we admired, we had to replace all the appropriate words in the letter so when we said it out loud, we were speaking about ourselves.

It's hard to explain how deeply profound this exercise was. Let's just say, there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

"The turn around" as Byron Katie calls it. It was in this moment I realized that all the things we love or hate about other people, is merely a reflection of what we love or hate about ourselves.

I've been reading her book "Loving What Is" and "the work" I've been doing has been profound. If you can spend some time alone with your thoughts and go deep into inquiry, I would say it's highly worth the effort.

The only way to take a break is to get away

I love the notion that people who are self employed enjoy "freedom" and "flexibility" in their work. If anyone has owned their own business, you know it's a different story! While there are perks (I can take a lunch as long as I please and schedule daytime activities intermittently in my work day), there is also the overlooked down side - you can't escape your business, ever! 

Even on days off, you inevitably end up on your phone responding to texts and calls or checking your email.  Especially in real estate when your time/expertise/knowledge is on high demand.  Plus if you care about your clients, you don't want to leave them in the middle of a high stress time in their life.  

I imagine it's similar to having children - you think about them all the time, you want the best for them, and they also need you! And sometimes they need you right now, and no one else will do! It can be a bit overwhelming when you're in constant contact with umpteen clients/realtors/inspectors/lawyers/brokers a day.

This leads me to the conclusion that going on holiday is the only way to take "real" time off.  It's the only way we can totally disconnect from the demands of our business. So if you ever wonder why realtors are constantly flying the coup, it's not because we have excess money to burn - it's because we genuinely need a break!

Plus after a good holiday, when I get engaged with my business again - my productivity goes up, my road rage goes down, I feel less stressed and more happy which means better results! 

Everyone wins with Saira goes away :-)

Coachella 2014 or bust! 

Strength and Balance Takes Practice

Something that I've become very aware of in the last few years of being in business is the absolute need for work/life balance. My usual process was work non stop, burn out, recover and repeat. It got me through university and the first couple years of my career with only a few major melt downs. 

It's been a process to realize that we, as humans, are meant to work in intervals. Go hard, rest/recover, repeat. This is why we take breaks in every aspect of our life: recess, work breaks, weekends, etc. Last year, I noticed when I took time to completely disconnect from my phone/email/work every month, my productivity actually went up. I was able to accomplish more in less time because I was more sharp when I was working. Consequently I worked less, made more and was a happier human all around.

So it seems totally contradictory to my above logic that I would take on a 30 day hot yoga challenge at Hudson Yoga. Why would anyone put their body/mind/schedule through that kind strain for an entire 30 days straight?!  I remember thinking it was impossible - there was no way I could make it work because all the usual excuses: no time, my body couldn't handle it and no time.

Well, I'm happy to say I just finished the challenge and 31 consecutive days of hot yoga. I learned a lot over the course of the month. 

1. I shattered the belief that my body couldn't handle it. The reality was that every class was different (despite the same 26 postures). I never knew how my body would react to class each day.  Some days I could barely lift my arms, other days I felt super strong. I learned to approach every class with curiosity.

2. I learned that no matter how inconvenient it was to get to the studio or how stressed out I was about my schedule and daunting to do list, I always could make it to the studio. When I was there, the stress would melt away and I would enjoy the class. I realized my yoga practice was the break my mind and body needed from my crazy day and it helped my productivity.

3. When I was doing 60-90 minutes of hot yoga everyday, the activities that didn't serve my goal, dropped out of my schedule. I learned to make sacrifices and prioritize my personal time.

4. I also had to learn to be kind to myself and let things go. Being an overachiever my entire life - I expect to see progress and get frustrated when I don't! The reality is, I experiencd set backs in the room, just like in life! I had to let it go and show up the next day excited to see what class would be like.

In conclusion, I'm very happy I did the challenge. Doing yoga everyday provided me with a much needed break from my day that helped my productivity overall; It forced me to reconfigure my schedule to make time for what was important; And it reinforced what I have learned through life: no matter what happens, just let it go, be kind to yourself and approach tomorrow with curiosity and excitement.

Namaste! 

I finally figured it out!

I mentioned in my last post I would talk about figuring out my life purpose, a hefty topic for a single blog post. I figure as you read these blogs, you'll start to see how everything in my life fits together!

I was a few year into my real estate career before I started a Meetup group called Dollar Divas. It was here that I discovered I have a real passion for connecting with like minded women who were on the same quest I was: to be financially awesome, to continue on a path of personal development and inspire others to do the same. When we started hosting Meetups, it was as if a light bulb went off and the Universe gently whispered in my ear... "You're on the right track".

Fast forward a year of hosting Dollar Divas Meetups, I started working with my current business coach, Sharon Hall. I had to fill out an intake form to work with Sharon including the daunting question of what my life purpose is? It was a deep question to ponder...

I had to think back to all the times I felt totally alive and blissful in life and, without going into all the juicy details, it occurred to me there was a theme developing: to help women. This may seem like a very broad topic but you'll see how it all comes together soon.

Do you know what your life purpose is? Have you ever stopped to think about what makes you happy, blissful, or like you're on the right track?

Back and ready to blog!

It's been a long time since I've blogged. Today I realized I miss writing and connecting with people in an online format. My Twitter skills have fallen by the wayside and Facebook feels very "surface" sometimes. I want to write about the nitty gritty of what it's like to be a business woman trying to make it in this fair city.  My hope is that other aspiring young females will come to my blog for inspiration and encouragement.

Last year I'm pretty sure I got a handle on what my life's purpose is and since then, everything I'm doing in my life has made a lot more sense. I'm sure you're wondering what this life purpose is.. but I'm going to save it for my next blog post!

Stay tuned...

Blogger no more!

This will be my last post on Blogger as I have decided to just post on my website's blog from now on.

Here is the link to my website's blog

Balanced-Buyers Market in March

The Victoria Real Estate Board statistics for March are out!


The sale/listing ratio is 41.4%. When this number is at 50%, it means we are in a balanced market. A balanced market is when the supply of homes equals the demand for home. The above stats show we are leaning slightly towards a buyer’s market, where there are more listings than sales and therefore a greater supply. Overall this would have a slight downward pressure on prices.

So why is it that some homes sell quickly and for above asking price? Every area in Victoria and the Capital Region is different. For example, there are some places where the supply of homes is very low and there is a pent up demand of buyers waiting for listings to come up in that area. As soon as a listing hits the market (and is priced reasonably), people jump at the opportunity to own the home.

If you are interested in moving to a certain area of town and are worried you will miss an opportunity, please fill out my buyer request form here and I can set up an automated search that will send you notification when a new property hits the market that matches your criteria.

The Coho

I attended the REALTOR® only preview this afternoon of The Coho which is a new condo development in View Royal. The coastal contemporary building is set high up on the hill overlooking acres of untouched green space. The indoors have plenty of windows to enjoy the view, 9 foot ceilings and beautiful finishings throughout.

If you’ve been thinking about downsizing or getting into the condo market, this project represents excellent value.

The project is set to complete in July 2012 and the suites start at $239,900 . If you would like to get the inside scoop and receive information on this project before the general public, please contact me! They are allowing by-appointment-only previews February 21st-25th. Please e-mail me or give me a call at 250-384-7663.

BC Assessment

BC Assessment is a crown corporation that sends out property assessments on an annual basis for property owners in BC. If you’re a home owner you would have recently received your assessment in the mail. I want to clear up some common misunderstandings about a home’s assessment value in relation to market value.

Assesment value does not equal market value!

BC Assessment adjusts the value of homes each year by looking at such factors as local sales data or improvements done with a permit. The value of the assessment is what they believe the home would have sold for in July the previous year.

BC Assessment does not visit each home in the province and give an individual appraisal of its saleability. There are factors which affect market value that BC Assessment does not take into consideration. These factors include: interior or exterior updates, proximity to amenities, traffic noise, indoor smells, decorating choices, extreme wear and tear, and availability of homes in the area.

Homes can sell far above or below their assessed value so it’s not a reliable indicator of what your home is worth. If you would like to know how much your home would sell for today, it is important you get a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) by a licensed REALTOR®

For more information on BC Assesment, please visit their website: http://www.bcassessment.bc.ca/

New Mortgage Rules

On March 18th, 2011 the Canadian federal government will implement new mortgage rules as follows:

1. The amortization of high-ratio mortgages (where the down payment is less than 20%) will be reduced from 35 years to 30 years
2. Canadians can only borrow 85% when refinancing a home, down from 90%
3. The government will no longer insure lines of credit secured by homes, ie. Home equity lines of credit (To be implemented April 18th 2011)

I would like to point out some positive and negative aspects of the first rule above for home buyers

If you’re planning on paying less than 20% down on a home, you will not have the option of extending your mortgage to 35 years after March 18th. This will result in higher mortgage payments.

Let’s look at an example of a condo worth $250,000 with a 5% down payment ($12,500), at 4% interest and insured through CMHC. A 35 year amortization period will result in payments of approximately $1077. A 30 year amortization period will increase your payments to $1162.

(-) Your payments increase $85/month
(+) This saves you over $34,000 in interest over 30 years
(+) You will pay off your mortgage 5 years faster
(-) If you cannot afford the extra $85/month, you will need to save up more than double the down payment to have payments equal to $1077

If you are considering purchasing a home this year, your first step should always be to organize your finances. I recommend setting up an appointment with a mortgage specialist to discuss your situation and find out what your options are. Please feel free to contact me and I can refer you to a mortgage broker.

New Ubertor website coming soon!

I`ve decided to take the plunge and start paying some money for a website. The original intent of my Wix site (www.sairawaters.com) was to have an online presence and present my listings. It looks pretty but it`s really not functional. Being a flash site, the search engines don`t even pick up the text from the site. I think the only way you would find it on Google is by searching my name. Not very effective at picking up new clients or leads.

With Ubertor, I hope to keep the prettiness of my website but add more functionality. So far things are going well. I`ve asked Mike Blaney (www.mikeblaney.com) to help me get started.

I`m looking for beautiful photographs of Victoria and the surrounding area for the flash banners along the top of the site. So far I have 3 photos but I`d love to get more. If you know a photographer who has some shots I could purchase for the site, please contact me.

I have big plans and big goals for 2011. It`s going to be critical to have a website that doesn`t take up so much of my time! Stay tuned for more blog posts (on my new site!)

Sneak preview below :)

Good Case of the Mondays

The first of the month is always an interesting time. It’s a day to look back on the previous month and reflect on what the market did and where it’s going. Today being November 1st, and also a Monday, means our Victoria Real Estate Board stats are available and timely. There were 467 sales in October (934 ends) which is an improvement from last month’s 395 sales. In my opinion, things are looking up for the Victoria market. Open houses have been busier, phones have been ringing and listings are selling. For anyone who’s trying to sell their home, hang in there! It can be stressful when you don’t know what to expect, but you have to trust that everything will work out.

For the full VREB Market report, click here!

Failure is an Option

I receive a newsletter every Tuesady called "Tuesday Tactics" which is geared towards real estate agents. This week they had a great article I thought I'd share with everyone.

Scott's Thoughts: Be Yourself, Honestly

As you pursue goals in your life, you need to be capable of measuring your progress. By hitting reasonable, achievable milestones, you ensure that your time is well-spent. Feedback in the form of an honest self-appraisal of your efforts and the outcome of those efforts allows you to make the adjustments required to keep your dreams on track. We all know that we're happiest in pursuit of our goals.

But what happens when we fail to honestly assess our own efforts? What if we lack the courage to admit that our effort hasn't been our best? In this situation, we suffer doubly: First, we continue to fail short of our dream. Second, we secretly know that we're failing to truly own our progress, and thus suffer the resentment inherent in self-deception.

Failure is an option. That's the first thing you must understand. In fact, reframe failure in your mind as progress. Understanding where you have failed in the past means you'll "fail better" in the future. If you can't even admit you're missing the mark, how will you ever improve?

To cultivate a deep self-honesty in your life, try to practice these five concepts:

1. Stop with excuses: While they may be comforting in the short term and help milk sympathy from strangers, owning your problems will empower you to begin fixing them.

2. Silence your inner critic: Accept who you are and what you're up to. Don't beat yourself up as much, but give yourself the permission to improve.

3. Abandon self-consciousness: Realize that no one is without flaws, no matter how you perceive them. Sometimes we're dishonest with ourselves because we're afraid of what others will think. Release some of your anxiety about how others will perceive your actions and you will, in turn, give yourself greater room to grow.

4. Cool off over conflict: A lot of energy and self-deception goes into "winning" arguments. When you're tied to being right all of the time, you create barriers to self-honesty. Practice keeping a cool head and you'll also be able to see things for what they are with greater accuracy.

5. Be open to your needs: Many times we deceive ourselves because we're too proud to ask for help, or we're too self-conscious about speaking our mind. If you can't voice these needs, you feed the very mechanisms which distort your perception of the truth.

We all have enormous untapped potential. Now give yourself permission to pursue it honestly!

Register for Tuesday Tactics here

October Market Slice

Here is my most recent newsletter (in Blog-form). To see what it really looks likes, check out the most recent edition here.
If you would like a copy sent to your inbox every other month, sign up here!

It’s that time again! Welcome to the newest edition of Market Slice, a piece of real estate delivered to your inbox every other month.

National: The Bank of Canada rose its rate, however the five year conventional mortgage rate (or “posted rate”) is still very low at 5.39%. There are discounted rates available as low as 3.45% for a five year fixed rate mortgage. There is some confusion over the Federal Government lending rules so I just want to clarify some points. First, you can still get high-ratio financing with as little as 5% down. Second, if you are getting a five year fixed rate mortgage, you only have to qualify at the discounted rate (3.45) instead of the bank rate. When in doubt, ask your mortgage broker or I can refer you to one.

Provincial: The HST referendum has caused some uncertainty in the new housing market. To reiterate, HST only affects new housing and not re-sale homes.

Local: The market in Victoria since August has been very slow. Sellers are being forced to lower their prices while buyers have been taking their time with purchases, chasing the low prices down. The prices will not continue to go down forever. I believe we’re reaching a tipping point where sellers are going to take their homes off the market and wait to sell or rent instead. As listings become restricted the prices will level off. The market in Victoria is cyclical in that prices move up and down but over the long run, they will continue to go up (so long as we stay the most temperate city in Canada!). If you are planning to move, find a home you’ll be happy in for at least 5-10 years and don’t panic when prices drop slightly.

BYOB

When there’s this many houses on the market in Victoria, it drives me crazy how much crap you have to sift through to get to the gems. What’s worse is that every price range is the same. You think the jump from $450 to $650 would be an improvement, but it isn’t. I just wish when searching our MLS we had a little tick box for Junk [ ] or Gem [ ] and that the realtors who selected had to be honest.

I’m sick of reading things like “Quaint little charmer in desirable neighbourhood” when in reality it translates into a 1940s 2 bedroom 1 bathroom home with original oil tank, knob and tube wiring, 800 square feet, possibly structural issues on a tiny lot that backs on to the highway. Why don’t you just write “BYOB”... Bring Your Own Bulldozer

Moral of the story: use a buyer’s agent to buy property; you’ll save yourself a lot of time and frustration.

Riding the roller coaster

I love how the media has a way with words “some agents are having to take on second jobs to make ends meet amid declining sales”.

Well let’s do the math. There are 1330 agents in Victoria and only 395 sales in September (that’s 790 ends) therefore many realtors did not have a single sale last month.

A good portion of the public doesn't realize this: Realtors work in a commission based industry. We do not make any money if we do not make a sale. Also, we do not get a salary from our brokerage! In fact, we pay an arm and a leg to be a part of a brokerage. We pay to have an office, colour copies, parking, coffee, sale fees, listing fees, board fees… and then we pay a percentage of our commissions as well. It`s a very expensive industry to work in so it`s no surprise to me agents are taking on a second job or getting out of the market completely.

When the market slows down, it can be stressful. Listings we thought were going to sell 2 months ago are still on the market. When the homes eventually do sell, we do not get paid until completion. There is a lot of uncertainty about where your next pay cheque will come from and how much of it has already been accounted for by the long list of expenses. That`s why it`s important to have three months of income in the bank at any given time.

These slow times don`t last forever though because markets are cyclical. There is always going to be ups and downs. The lack of sales from August and September means there`s a lot of buyers out there waiting to buy. I feel like there is pent up demand in Victoria and in October and November we`ll see an increase in sales again. As an agent, it`s important to become an expert at riding the real estate roller coaster.

The things I do for Real Estate

First impressions are everything, especially when you’re trying to sell a house. I’ve experienced some rather humorous moments when I’ve run into obstacles that would prevent this excellent first impression.

1. Me against the moss

I was listing a home in the spring and it had moss on the front drive way. No big deal! Several people told me we could sprinkle Tide with bleach on it to kill it and it would simply sweep away… wrong. The moss turned a lovely brownish orange colour and would not budge. My client was leaving town and there was no time to have a professional come do the job. With the help of one of my dearest friends, we borrowed a power washer, got some gasoline to fuel it and headed out to blast the moss. It came up quite well with the high pressure water, but of course we were out there until it was dark, the day before the listing hit the market. I think it did the trick because the drive way looked amazing and it sold very quickly!

2. Little bird

Another time I was hosting an open house for a vacant home in Cordova Bay. I arrived at the home stocked with a trunk full of Febreeze, just in case. I wasn’t expecting to find a dead bird on the deck. Of course there was no paper towel to pick it up with and frankly I didn’t want to touch it at all.. so I left it. The first people through the house stopped at the back window.. “UGH! There’s a dead bird on the deck!” Right, the little thing had to go. I tried to kick it off to the side where you couldn’t see it from the window. The next set of people commented after they saw it from another window. So out I went, in the pouring rain, to pick up this bird thinking to myself “I didn’t sign up for this!”

3. Shopping Cart

More recently I went to host and open house. I got to the corner where I usually put down my directional sign only to find a shopping cart. What are people going to think of this neighbourhood if there’s a shopping cart on the corner?! It had to go. I went to push it away and of course, it was one of the ones with the locking wheels. I couldn’t stop laughing to myself as I struggled to get the cart across the road wearing a suit and high heels.


The things I do for real estate!

Timing is everything

Do you ever have those days when you give yourself just enough time to not be late?

I arrived at my open house on the weekend with exactly 30 seconds to spare. Don't get me wrong, I'm usually the girl who arrives 15 minutes early to every appointment and sit in my car or drive around the block to pass the time.

My girlfiends and I decided to do a Saturday morning hike and I gave myself 3 hours from the moment I left my home until my open house at 2. We finished our rapid paced hike in the pouring rain, jumped in the car (sopping wet), and sped home while we cursed the slow moving vehicles in front of us. My friend appreciated the urgency of the situation and risked running out of gas for me. No we did not have 5 minutes to spare!

When I arrive at my condo I had exactly 7 minutes to get in there, get changed, wipe the dirt off my legs and arms, blow dry my bangs and put makeup on. I literally run through my home to make sure I have everything. I drive to my office (conveniently located a block away on the same one way street), printed off some information and drove to the open that's 5 minutes away if you hit every green light on Pandora.

My heart is pounding, I've started to sweat a little and I'm driving way too fast. "Why do I do this to myself?" The sad thing is the stress was totally avoidable. More time or better planning could have solved everything!

Although sometimes I don't get the luxury of planning. There are days, where I can't create enough time to get everything done. Unexpected to-do items come out of nowhere. There have been days when every minute is planned but then clients I have not heard from in weeks need to see a house that afternoon. I’m in the car driving to appointments while there are 5 urgent emails that need attention. I’m trying to coordinate signatures, offers, inspections and finish a report for a presentation that evening. I often find myself running, I mean sprinting, through the office. Why waste time walking to and from the printer?

I write to do lists every time I have a spare second so I don't miss anything. Every item is in a list, prioritized, chronological, mapped out. I could write a whole blog on the lists I write. I’ll add that to my “Topics to blog about” list. I’m a Virgo, can you tell?

Lesson learned. Always over estimate the amount of time you need to hike. Especially when you’re going to Mt. Work because you know you’ll want to stop at the Big Barn Market for a sandwich or some sort of nougaty treat.

Property Transfer Cash Grab

I've been reading up on the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) Government Relations Briefs and I came across a little tid bit of information which really surprised me!

The Background:
The Property Transfer Tax is a tax implemented by our provincial government that applies to all home purchases (unless you're part of the First Time Buyer Program).

When you buy property and register it at the Land Titles Office, you are taxed 1% on the first $200,000 and 2% on the balance of your purchase.

The Reality:
It turns out the property transfer tax started in 1987 and was supposed to be a "Wealth Tax" with the 2% portion of the charge only applying to 5% of home sold. In 2009, the 2% portion applied to about 88% of homes sold. These are provincial numbers... imagine what the percentage is in Victoria.

Shocking.

In my opinion, this is a huge cash grab for the Provincial Government. The BCREA is working to have this property transfer tax abolished by 2012. Read more in their brief on sheleter taxes here

The Story of Stuff

Some thoughts on stuff

Anyone brought up by parents who lived through the Great Depression or the Second World War was probably taught to keep everything as a means of survival. I recently heard a story of a woman who was forced to move from Europe to North America with only one suit case. She left behind every childhood memory and consequently instilled in her children the importance of holding on to these keepsakes.

Others spend their whole lives spending money and accumulating “things” as a means for status or perceived practicality. Then there are emotional items such as wedding gift, birthday gifts or items which belonged to a loved one who has passed away.


My mother (and I) had a wakeup call after we lost our mother (grandmother) last year. Aside from grief, there was one other thing that had to be dealt with: the stuff. Days were spent going through possessions trying to either give away items to family members or sell anything of value. During this long process, it dawned on us “If we were to die tomorrow, how much stuff would my loved ones have to sort through?” Some see this as morbid; we saw it as an eye opening opportunity.

One woman and her family moved from Victoria across Canada. They packed away most of their belongings and got their home ready for sale. When an interested buyer looked through the home they offered to purchase all of the furnishings as well. It was probably a bit shocking at first, but after calculating the amount it would cost to transport all the furniture across Canada, it made sense to sell it. They are renting here, for now, with minimal possession and could not be happier.

There’s a real movement in Victoria to ditch large high maintenance houses for condos and townhomes where strata takes care of building maintenance. Many people I’ve met like the ability to lock the door behind them, go out of town and not worry about the security of their home. I’ve worked with several downsizers who are making the move from 2000-3000 square foot homes with ample storage into condo-size homes where they consequently must purge and simplify. It’s a long hard transition to make this type of move, but I’ve never met a single person who regretted it. The abandonment of stuff; freedom to be mobile; letting go of emotional baggage;

Another thing I’ve noticed is my generation has a tendency to either not want to or not be able to collect stuff. We’re too busy saving money to travel or spending money on partying to accumulate very much. Housing is often unaffordable for young people because we have no savings or accumulated debt from post secondary education.

In ways we are given the opportunity to take advantage of innovation which doubles as space savers. Mp3s & players instead of CDs or cassettes, laptops instead of desktops, digital movies on hard drives instead of shelves of DVDs/VHS. If you can afford to live in Victoria maybe you have a 450 square foot condo with no parking. Welcome to the world of fold up bikes, small condo couches with built in storage, coffee tables that store chairs, bar stools instead of kitchen tables… the list goes on.

Then of course there are people who look at all the material possessions in the world and realize none of it will make them happy. I can see rebellion burning in the eyes of my friends who choose to not support our consumerist society and contribute to the story of stuff. Buying experiences instead of things.