Charlie Veaudry

Purchasing an income property is a big decision. In some cases it can be a great investment, but there are risks involved. Here are some things to be aware of:

1. You won’t get rich quick.
Or maybe not at all. The real estate market can be unpredictable, so make sure you have realistic expectations about the potential return on your investment.

2. Income properties cost money.
As a landlord, you will likely need to pay for maintenance, taxes, cleaning between tenants and vacancy time. Set money aside for emergencies.

3. There are rules as to what can and cannot be rented.
Make sure you check that local zoning regulations allow renting before buying a property you plan to use as a rental.

4. Insurance can be expensive.
Insuring rental properties can cost much more than insuring an owner-occupied home. Get a quote first, so you know what you’re getting into.

5. Maintenance workers will save your life.
A reliable and talented repair woman or man is vital. When the need arises, it’s important to repair items as soon as possible to prevent further damage. Plus he or she will be the one who runs over when the fire alarm starts beeping at 3 a.m.

6. Income properties should operate like a business.
Start a separate bank account for the property and keep paperwork for things like maintenance separate from records for the property you live in.

Article courtesy of The RE/MAX housing blog.

Hi Folks,

As some of you may have seen on Facebook last week, Cindy and I were busy at home stocking up the pantry with our yearly supply of homemade salsa. Now some of you may have had the chance to taste this mouth-watering treat, but if not, I promise you that it never disappoints!

We have spent the morning discussing this recipe as we prepare to share it with you - the original comes from the wonderful Ardy Wise, Lady of Hebron Manor, on Okanagan Landing Road. Cindy recieved a copy of this recipie in 2007 from Ardy and has since made some "tweaks" that gives it its own Veaudry flavour. And now we are sharing it with you so that you can make it part of your summer traditions as well.

I am including a photo of the recipie so that you can see its evolution, but to make it more clear, and to add in some verbal instructions from Cindy, I have typed it out for you below.

20 lbs of Roma Tomatoes

15 long thin red hot peppers with seeds

4 jalepenos without seeds

3 large onions

6 green peppers, seeded

9 garlic cloves

3 tins of tomato paste

2 1/4 cups white vinegar

3 Tbsp pickling salt or course sea salt

6 tsp paprika

one full bunch of cilantro (washed and de-stemmed)

Chop roma tomatoes by hand. Process all other ingredients in food processor except for cilantro. Cook tomatos and processed ingredients for 1 hour, add cilantro. Cool 1 cup of salsa, add 4 Tbsp corn starch to it, mix and put back in pot. Cook 15 minutes. Put into hot sterile jars. Process 10 - 15 minutes to seal. 

Cindy says that this year with 23 lbs of tomatoes, we made 28 pints of salsa! ¡Ay caramba!

The Okanagan offers a plethora of fresh produce so you won't have trouble finding tomatoes, but for refernce, we get ours from Coldstream Corner Farms.

Happy canning, and of course, if you have any questions, give us a call!

July sales were at par with July last year (1 more single family residence sold this year) and up 8 units from last month. Our North Okanagan real estate market continues to move along at about the same as last year while we are seeing some much better numbers in the Shuswap to the north and Central Okanagan to the south. Year to date sales in the North Okanagan continue to trend down now 7.2% from 624 last year to 579 this year. Now with a federal election upon us, we will likely see continued reduced activity in the real estate market.

Sales  - The total sales for the 12 months ending July 2015 was at 976, up less than 1% from the 12 months ending July 2014. The recovering market continues to loose steam, although this is still the highest volume of sales in the last 7 years since 2008. This month’s increase over last year is lower than the last 2 month’s increases of 5% and 10%, another factor that shows a stalling recovery that will likely be further exacerbated by the upcoming fall election.

Inventory  - The average monthly inventory of single family homes dropped 8.6% to 541 for the last 12

months ending in July 2015, again, the lowest average inventory we have seen in the last 7 years.

Inventory has not been this low since 2008, at the start of the recession triggered by the US banking

crisis. The drop in the 12 month average was less than the 10.6% of the last two month’s. With more

Buyers out there looking for reasonably priced homes Sellers are deciding that they can finally make that

move that they have had to put on hold since 2008.

Prices  - Prices are stagnating due to the slower sales though we are seeing continued (but weakening)

slight upward pressure on average median prices. At $348,110, average median prices for the last 12

months ending in July 2015 edged up slightly by less than 1% from 12 months ending in July 2014 and up

6.7% from 2013 when we reached the lowest average median price of the last 8 years. If more Buyers

enter the market and the inventory tightens, we will see more upward pressure on prices, otherwise

expect stagnation to continue and prices may even drop slightly.

Absorption Rate  - The rate at which our inventory is being absorbed by sales dropped slightly again

compared to last month. The average absorption rate of 14.61% over the 12 month period ending July

2015, is still the highest in the last 7 years and down again slightly from last month’s 14.66%. At the end

of July 2015, we still have 6 months of inventory available on the market, the same as the last 3 prior

months. This is still considered a Seller’s market and will continue to put upward pressure on prices as

Buyers compete for the available homes.

From these numbers, it will be interesting to continue to watch how the summer market moves into fall

when things usually pick up again. It appears that Buyers and Sellers are hesitating with their plans . This

hesitation will likely continue well in to the fall until after the election.

At this point we still expect that the market over the next 6 to 18 months will be characterized by slightly

increasing sales and lower inventory moving more strongly towards a market that favours Sellers with

more competition from Buyers and slowly rising prices. Prices will rise when consumer confidence gains

momentum and brings with it more Buyers putting downward pressure on available inventory.

If you have any questions about the market, please feel free to contact me at any time. You can go to my stats page here to view the graphs and full detailed data.