Rob Laluk

I know that I'm probably opening up a real big can of worms here, but I keep getting email requests to go sign a petition against the Canadian coalition government. I have drafted a response that I cut and paste into a reply to any requests. I thought I would post that reply here:

I just wanted to point something out here. I don't personally agree with the coalition, but the whole idea of Democracy that's being touted by the conservative party is a complete farce and they really need to find something else to fight this coalition with.

They keep saying that the majority of Canadians are being ignored in this case, and that their rights are not being represented. What he fails to acknowledge is that his MINORITY government does not actually represent the majority of Canadians. By definition, the minority government is actually not democratic.

Mr. Harper can complain all he wants about a coalition between the three parties, but without a coalition between his party and another, he does not hold power. The MAJORITY of Canadians did not vote for Mr. Harper, so I believe that this makes the argument full of more holes than swiss cheese. Together, the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc hold the MAJORITY of the seats, thus have the ability and right to hold power. I may not agree with the coalition, but constitutionally I will defend their existence.

I cannot sign that petition in good conscience as I believe that everyone signing it is making a hypocritical statement. Without a majority government, everyone must rule by coalition.

Conservatives too.

I know that I'm probably opening up a real big can of worms here, but I keep getting email requests to go sign a petition against the Canadian coalition government. I have drafted a response that I cut and paste into a reply to any requests. I thought I would post that reply here: I just wanted to point something out here. I don't personally agree with the coalition, but the whole idea of Democracy that's being touted by the conservative party is a complete farce and they really need to find something else to fight this coalition with. They keep saying that the majority of Canadians are being ignored in this case, and that their rights are not being represented. What he fails to acknowledge is that his MINORITY government does not actually represent the majority of Canadians. By definition, the minority government is actually not democratic. Mr. Harper can complain all he wants about a coalition between the three parties, but without a coalition between his party and another, he does not hold power. The MAJORITY of Canadians did not vote for Mr. Harper, so I believe that this makes the argument full of more holes than swiss cheese. Together, the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc hold the MAJORITY of the seats, thus have the ability and right to hold power. I may not agree with the coalition, but constitutionally I will defend their existence. I cannot sign that petition in good conscience as I believe that everyone signing it is making a hypocritical statement. Without a majority government, everyone must rule by coalition. Conservatives too.

I've been going to sit at open houses with realtors, handing out cards, and chatting up clients trying to drum up business. It's been reasonably successful, landing me two clients in the past month. The thing I'm wondering about, especially the legality of it, is whether a mortgage broker could man an open house on his/her own.

If this is possible, a realtor, instead of getting other realtors to man the house, could work with a broker and get him to sit there. The realtor would obviously get any buyer/seller referrals, and the broker could chat up the mortgage customers. The other bonus would be that the realtor could be sitting at his own open house, and pass out the broker's information. You could kill two birds with one stone and both walk away with client contacts.

The legality of this would be something I would have to look into, but I'd also like feedback from realtors on this idea. Obviously young, energetic, realtors just starting out might not like this, as they are often the ones asked to sit at open houses organized by more experienced realtors.

Personally I like the idea of sitting with the realtor. If you can develop some synergy between the two of you, the clients may like the idea of two people to ask questions, have opinions, or to show them around the features of the home. I would also be worried about not knowing the answers to questions posed by possible clients about the real estate process. Being a broker, I probably have a better grasp on the process than the average person, but I'm not about to purchase a home on a private sale without a realtor involved personally, so I obviously don't know everything.

Thoughts?

So the home buyer's seminar was a success. Coffee, dessert, and information. That's what we offered. A discussion on how to, and why you should, buy a home in this market. Plus a very entertaining discussion on where the financial market is, where it should be, and where it's going.

The nice thing is that, for my $100 investment, I took two applications tonight. All the information for a file, plus two signed consent forms. Actual clients.

In this market, clients aren't going to come to you without something to offer. I'm still a new broker, so I can't offer years of experience. I can't rely on my immense database of past clients, as my database is still growing to that point.

I can however offer coffee, dessert, and witty conversation.

The thing that surprised me is that two other realtors showed up with their own clients. It seemed odd to me at first, and I think the realtor who was putting on the seminar with me was a bit put off, but after realiziing that those clients just might end up buying his listings, he was pretty happy. Sometimes it might pay off to put the competition aside to stimulate the market for everyone.

The deals aren't just going to roll themselves through your door in this market, you have to go get them.

Lets get out there!

So tomorrow I am hosting my first home buyer's seminar. I have partnered with a realtor, a home inspector and a Notary (same as a lawyer for real estate purposes if you don't have Notaries in the US). We are going to have a chat about the current economic status of the country, our region, and the real estate market. Then we are going to run through the process of buying a home, from getting pre-approved with a broker, finding a realtor, looking for a house, the inspection process, and all the legalese after the fact.

We only put one ad in the paper, and did up a quick facebook page and only have 4 people attending so far, but hopefully there will be some walkup business. I am hoping that networking like this will generate an interest in home buying again, as the market has been a bit stale.

If anyone has done these in the past, any advice you have would be much appreciated, and I will give as much feedback as I can tomorrow night or wednesday, so I can help others know what kind of questions to expect, some possible answers, and a general feeling of whether or not it was worthwhile.

See you tomorrow.