Chris Penner ~ Real Estate Consultant Keller Williams Valley Realty

I know this could seem a little bit different than normal but I feel it is time to share some of who I am and why I do what I do. I hope you enjoy this piece and hopefully it gives you a little insight into who I am too.

Why I choose to Sell Real Estate besides making a living is to help people (you the reader). Most people will tell you they do it for the money or they love real estate its self. But I do it because I love people, the excitement and joy that comes from helping someone find a home that they can live in, enjoy, and raise a family is unexplainable.

I do it because the opportunity I have to impact people (you the reader) in Abbotsford in a positive way, and help them achieve there goals is a blessing. When I have the opportunity to help people discover what is really important and help them walk through the process of deciding whether to sell or not sell and whether to buy or not to buy is really a chance that I have to guide and encourage them through the biggest financial purchase they will ever make.

I don't want to belabour this point for a long time, so in short I do it for the people, to actively pursue helping others achieve their dreams and goals in the field of Real Estate, giving them them the home selling/buying experience they have been looking for.

So if you are tired of the same old experience and would like to know a little more about who I am and what I do be sure to go check out www.chrispenner.com and check out my video blog there.

If there is something you feel that is extremely important to you when selling/buying a house, be sure to let me know, your opinion matters to me. So help me help you to the best of my ability.

Thanks again so much for reading I would love to hear what you think so be sure to leave a comment.

Cheers!

I seem to have fallen a little behind with my written blog, having spent the last few weeks working on updating and changing over my web site to be as user friendly and functional as I can for you. I want your home search at www.chrispenner.com to be as easy and usable as possible.

I have taken the time to do a quick tutorial on how to use some of the tools available to you at the web site, and how to get the most out of it. So if you are looking for a home in the Fraser Valley area, be sure to start your home search here.

With up to the minute listing and sold updates, and 333% more information available to you at the click of a button, it only makes since that you should be using www.chrispenner.com to help you find that new home you have always been looking for.

If I have put this much time into helping buyers don't you think that I would put in just as much time finding and exploring ways in which I can help Sellers too? You bet I have, and that's why this site is jam packed with information you need to help you decide if this is the time for you to sell. Your homes market value is just a click away at www.chrispenner.com.

Be sure to check out all www.chrispenner.com has to offer you before you go anywhere else. Be sure to check back often for the up and coming video blogs.

Thanks again for reading, look forward to hearing from you, if you have any questions regarding this article or Real Estate be sure to contact me immediately.

If you are tired of the same old Real Estate experience why don't you call Chris Penner: Extreme Realtor to find out the difference Extreme can make. 604.807.9020.

Cheers!

Chris Penner

...Well it depends if you listen or not. Honest Realtors can make a difference of epic proportions to your bottom line.

Allow me to explain, I will try to be as brief as possible so you can get on with your day. Having a Realtor that tells it how it is and is brutally honest with you is what you want, because if you where going to sell your house and one Realtor came in and said that you should list your house at $400,000 even thought you though it was worth $460,000 and you interview another agent and they say sure we can list it at your price and doesn't say anything else. You are going to end up loosing that $60,000 and most likely more especially in a declining market.

I don't know how many times I have said it and I guarantee all Realtors have said it as well. "You have to price ahead of the market, because at this point in Real Estate, you are either on the market or in the market". You have to be in the market to sell. So next time you think you know more than the professional. It might be time to listen, and self discover and have a great agent help you find out if this is a good time to sell or not.

Having a Realtor that will tell you the brutal honest truth about pricing is an agent you want to hang on too because they will save you money.

Cheers!

I was on Twitter today and asked the question "What relevant Real Estate information do you want to read about?" and this is the first topic that came back courtesy of Shane Gibson of Vancouver you can follow him at http://twitter.com/shanegibson he has some wonderful information to share with you regarding social media for business etc.

Why a great Realtor is like a mentor: How to get the most out of the relationship. I choose to use the term great instead of good because to me there is a difference, we can all be good but we can't all be great. It is what sets us apart from the rest.

I am sure you all have someone in your life that you would consider a mentor, wether you know it or not, a mentor is someone who guides you and encourages you along the path in life. A lot of people tent to have different mentors for different things because certain people have more to offer by way of wisdom in certain fields then others.

This is the main idea why a great Realtor will be a mentor. As we start the home buying process for the very first time we need someone who is will to hold our hand and guide us through the process step by step and help us to understand all the things that go into buying a home. The Realtor should be a place of safety, comfort, and confidence helping you to feel that you are being looked after and if you have any questions they would be more than happy to stop what they are doing and help.

As we grow from first time home buyers to first time home sellers and then to buyers again we need someone there to help us again in a new way. Since you already have that on going relationship with your past Realtor they should be more than happy to come by and guide you through the next phase of home ownership, selling. Then on to buying again where they continue to bring value and information as well as stability and confidence to the transaction.

Then when you are ready to look at new opportunities like investing in Real Estate they again will be there to help you and guide through the process.

A great Realtor should be in regular communication through out life, I mean that. Just because the transaction has been completed doesn't mean that you will never need or have a Real Estate question ever again. It means that they have had a chance to help you and in return hope you can do they same for them, by passing on referrals and so forth, which truly is the greatest complement you can give your Realtor.

How to get the most out of the relationship is to be prepared to give answers to questions and to not be offended if they ask you lots of question. They are doing this to help you. Everything you say will help the Realtor to relate and connect with you and ultimately save you time and money.

Be ready to have a good time, this should be a fun experience. Realtors 9 out of 10 times people people and love to be conversational and have a great time.

The more specific you can be about what you need and why you need it will also help. It is a two way street the Realtor can only do as good a job as the answers they have been given by you. It is however our responsibility to ask great questions.

Don't be afraid to have frank discussions regarding all issues in the process. We are there to help YOU.

Much like a Mentor is there for you always and is in regular communication with you, so should be a Realtor and a client/past client. We (Realtors) are great resources, we also have large networks of people that we know who are involved in just about everything. If you need a mechanic call us cause we have one, need a painter, roofer, guitar tech, boat repair, tires, etc. we know a lot of people and don't be afraid to ask for a recommendation we usually only work with people we know, like, and trust. Use us as a resource for more then just Real Estate.

I hope this has been help please feel free to comment or email me and let me know what you think.

Cheers!

I know we have all been sitting here on the fence for the last 6 months to 2 years depending on where you are from. I would like to take a minute to address my local community and the surrounding areas.

So Abbotsford, here is what the deal is we have been in a buyers market, and I know you have all heard this before and maybe even heard it from me, so I would like to explain for one second what exactly this means if you don't quite understand.

Simply it means that there has been a shift in the supply and demand which has caused the market value of homes in the area to decrease. Market Value is determined by what a buyer is willing to pay and what a seller is willing to accept for there home, this is what determines market value. That is simple enough, right?

So that being said, the market value on homes has significantly decreased over the last 6-9 months in the Abbotsford and surrounding areas. As a diligant Realtor I have done my job and continue to do my job on advising my clients where the market is and where we need to be on price, which a lot of the diligent Realtors who stay on top of the market are doing right now.

What does this mean for you?

It doesn't mean: Low ball offers all around, because in reality most properties have been reduced to get them looking attractive to you to get you to call them on the home. Which probably means they aren't to far out on there price.

It does mean: You get a chance to buy where the housing prices where in 2004-2005 which is a fair better opportunity than even last year.

Here is the challenge:

The media has totally bombarded you with every form of negative media to tell you the sky is falling in on us and that everybody is going to be unemployed and we are headed for a depression.

Maybe in some parts of the country this is true and most likely not to the exaggerated extent that has been portrayed.

My encouragement to you is to look at your own situation and see where you are at with income and job security and all the other things that factor into a slow down in the economy and look out and see what kind of opportunities there are right in front of you.

"No one has every capitalized on an opportunity without there being some degree of risk".

The opportunity at this time is great the risk is dependent on what you decided to do. If you don't own a home and are thinking about it, or just have more questions, call me. If you own a home and are thinking of moving into a bigger one, or just have some questions, call me. If you own a home and are happy where you are, but you think you might be interested in investing in Real Estate today (ie. vacation home, rental property, etc) or even just have some questions, call me. I would be happy to talk to each one of you. I am here to help, that's why I got into this in the first place.

Look forward to hearing from each and every one of you.

Cheers!