Localism: British Columbia

Holiday Home tour at Burnaby's Deer Lake

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:38:46 -0600

Phew! What a busy day! We just completed the decoration of two homes involved in the Holiday Home Tour setting out from Burnaby's Deer Lake this Sunday, November 23rd at 10:00. We had a great time decorating two of the twelve homes involved in this year's tour in support of Ovarian Cancer Research. In home number one we built on a red and white theme to complement the homeowner's neutral creamy white carpet and sofas. In home number two we went a bit more classical with a cream, gold and burgundy theme. Both homes turned out very well and both homeowners were thrilled. If you get a chance to visit the homes this weekend and/or need more info regarding tickets you can either call Sacha Lehto at 604-675-8242 or slehto@bccancer.bc.ca or go online at http://www.bccancerfoundation.com/aholidayhometour .

Enjoy the photos below and have a great weekend!

Living Room Before Decorating

A fun and festive space for the holidays!

Dining room before.

Dining room after.

21 Complex Economic Models explained with Cows

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:26:10 -0600

SOCIALISM
You have 2 cows.
You give one to your neighbour.

COMMUNISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM
You have 2 cows.
The State shoots you, takes both and sells you some milk.

NAZISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and shoots you.

BUREAUCRATISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away...

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.
You sell them and retire on the income.

SURREALISM
You have two giraffes.
The government requires you to take harmonica lessons

SCIENTOLOGY CORPORATION
You have cows, the number doesnt matter, the world is coming to an end and only Hollywood Celebrities can save it, so you give your cows and everthing else you own to the corporation run by a guy who has been dead for years to take a never ending series of Dianetics Courses.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead.

ENRON VENTURE CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows.
The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.
The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more.
You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States , leaving you with nine cows.
No balance sheet provided with the release.
The public then buys your bull.

A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
You then create a clever cow cartoon image called 'Cowkimon' and market it worldwide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows, but you don't know where they are.
You decide to have lunch.

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
You count them again and learn you have 2 cows.
You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you.
You charge the owners for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity.
You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You worship them.

A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Both are mad.

AN IRAQI CORPORATION
Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.
You tell them that you have none.
No-one believes you, so they bomb the **** out of you and invade your country.
You still have no cows, but at least now you are part of " Democracy.... "

AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good.
You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION
You have two cows.
The one on the left looks very attractive.

Scott Leaf Real Estate Marketing & Associates

Keller Williams Results Realty

www.whatismyhomesvalue.ca

www.scottleaf.com

Mortgage brokers and open houses

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:23:30 -0600

I have come up with a new concept in marketing my services. Or at least it's new to me and everyone that I've told I'm doing it. And I want to share it.

I have kind of partnered with a local realtor to sit at his open houses and answer questions that prospective clients may have. Not only do I do that, but he has started advertising that I will be there.

He's a hard working realtor that hand delivers 100 invites to the neighborhood by hand the day or two before an open house. On the back side there is an advertisement with my information that goes something like: "Questions about the mortgage market? Concerned where rates are going? Want to know if you should lock in? Can you afford to buy right now? - There are many questions that you may have and Rob Laluk will be on site to answer all of them from 1-4 Sunday Nov 23rd."

Something like that.

I have gotten one call since starting, and we'll have to see where that leads. Hopefully this will turn out to be something effective. And in this time of uncertain finances and economy, I am pretty much providing a public service on a smaller scale.

Who wants a mortgage broker at their open house?

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:08:46 -0600

I have come up with a new concept in marketing my services. Or at least it's new to me and everyone that I've told I'm doing it. And I want to share it.

Something like that.

How Affordable to Own a Richmond Terra Nova Townhouse Unit?

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:35:57 -0600

Richmond British Columbia, Canada - How Affordable to Own a Richmond Terra Nova Townhouse Unit?

In order to have a sample calculation of how much can a home buyer afford a unit in this admirable Richmond Terra Nova neighbourhood, let us take for example a particular townhouse unit that is selling below 470K, which was recently featured in this blog site.

If a property is being purchased at a price of $469,800 by qualified mortgage borrowers, and the buyers have savings equivalent to five percent (5%) of this amount ( which in this case would at least be $23,500), then the loan amounting to 95% of the purchase price will have to be advanced by a lender approving of a mortgage sought by the borrowers.

In this case, the qualified mortgage applicants or buyers are looking at paying an approximate monthly amortization of $2,400+ (based on approved credit, with 35-year amortization period), at an estimated interest rate of 5.34%.

Somehow, if you are a renter in this Richmond area, you may be looking at the same, if not almost close to the monthly amount for rental payment for a home that fits a medium-size family.

So, if one has financial resources, with track record of good credit and stable income that can service the mortgage payments for a property, then home ownership may be calling you now.

As home buyers or mortgage borrowers may have different financial profile, It is best to look at your financial options and find an opportunity in this home buyers' market. Please call 778-896-4493 to find out what options may be available for you.