Force Four Entertainment and Oprah Winfrey have given me the go-ahead to finally release more information about the new reality show where my mortgage team plays a big role. The show is called Million Dollar Neighbourhood and it was filmed in Aldergrove, BC. Filming completed this past December and it’s been one heck of a ride since August.

The show premieres Sunday January 22nd on OWN at 5pm PST & 8pm ET. CLICK HERE for more details and the trailer. Believe it or not but it’s already picked up American syndication! The concept of this show has never been done before and it couldn’t come at a better time. I am honored to have been selected as the lead mortgage broker for the show.

Happy New Year ! I always like to start the New Year off with a bang and this is already our busiest start ever.

Force Four Entertainment and Oprah Winfrey have given me the go-ahead to finally release more information about the new reality show where my mortgage team plays a big role. The show is called Million Dollar Neighbourhood and it was filmed in Aldergrove, BC. Filming completed this past December and it’s been one heck of a ride since August.

The show airs the following Sunday January 22nd on OWN at 5pm PST & 8pm ET. CLICK HERE for more details and the trailer. Believe it or not but it’s already picked up American syndication! The concept of this show has never been done before and it couldn’t come at a better time. I am honored to have been selected as the lead mortgage broker for the show, I just hope that don’t cut me all together!

BMO’s 2.99% interest rate, watch out. The Bank Of Montreal, also know as BMO set a Canadian bank record for the lowest 5 year mortgage interest rate from a “bank”. Although this sounds enticing, there are a number of things you should be aware of and I caution you to know your products before making an decisions… READ MORE

This months (from December referrals) winner for the trip for two to Las Vegas is Dale Schreyer!

The Buying Process: Whether you are a first home buyer or veteran purchaser, it never hurts to have a refresher of the process. The following simplified steps outline what you should expect during the duration of your purchase of real estate… READ MORE

Want a FREE ebook? Just subscribe to our new online magazine www.ownyourlife.ca

Are you a First Time Landlord? To be honest, I am pretty new at this whole landlord thing but that being said, I have done a fair share of research on the topic and have some tips to share on finding your new tenant. My wife and I own condo in Surrey which we currently rent out. When I first started marketing the rental unit, I made a number of mistakes that cost me time and money. Below are some tricks to help you from not making the same errors that I made… READ MORE

Want to win a free trip for two to Las Vegas? Do you know someone who needs helping finding a mortgage? Our business thrives from referrals and the best way to thank us for doing a good job is referring people who would benefit from our services. With every contact you send us (including yourself) that goes to application, your name goes into a monthly draw to win a trip for two to Las Vegas… READ MORE

Add me on FACEBOOK (if you like)… CLICK HERE

<<< Media >>>

• Reality show airs January 22 with Jessi: Million Dollar Neighbourhood
• Globe & Mail article: Why Use a Mortgage Broker?
• Globe & Mail live Q&A: Ask a Mortgage Broker – Fixed or Variable
  
• Internet: Broker lands TV reality show
• Newspaper: Mortgage broker Jessi Johnson may become a reality-TV star (Georgia Straight)

Add me on FACEBOOK (if you like)… CLICK HERE

Does your business need a better social media presence? October 17 Media is offering a private two hour Social Media Workshop for $125 (50% off!). Get a one-on-one consultation with the same company that helps Future Shop, Park Royal and the Cities of Richmond and Burnaby with their Social Media marketing. What you get: A two hour social media/online marketing workshop that addresses your individual questions. Come with a list of items you want to discuss and receive recommendations regarding areas of your web marketing that need improvement. You’ll leave with tips on how to do things better, faster and with more results.. CLICK HERE

I am excited to start 2012 off with positive statistics from another year in real estate! The 2011 Greater Vancouver housing market began with heightened demand in regional hot spots and concluded with greater balance between seller supply and buyer demand.

Real Estate Stats:

• Residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties reached 32,390 in 2011
• A 5.9 per cent increase from the 30,595 sales recorded in 2010
• The number of residential properties listed for sale increased 2.7 per cent in 2011 to 59,549
• Compared to the 58,009 properties listed in 2010
• Last year’s listing total was 11.1 per cent above the ten-year average
• “It was a relatively balanced year for the real estate market in Greater Vancouver with listing totals slightly above historical norms and sale numbers slightly below,” Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said.
• We are still in a buyers market so enjoy it while it lasts!

Source: REBGV

The Buying Process

Whether you are a first home buyer or veteran purchaser, it never hurts to have a refresher of the process. The following simplified steps outline what you should expect during the duration of your purchase of real estate.

Select your mortgage broker √

• Complete the online application
• Create a budget of how much “you” can comfortably afford for your mortgage payment
• Get pre-approved and obtain a rate hold to protect yourself
• Review the process with your mortgage broker
• Provide requested documentation for review

Obtain a trusted real estate agent √

• I am looking forward to working with you!

Home Shopping

• Take your time and know what you are looking for
• Get your offer accepted

Subject removal stage (most important stage)

>>Financing

• Your mortgage broker will give you the go-ahead when this is approved

>>Inspection

• This shows the quality of the home you are buying

>>Appraisal

• This proves the value of the home you are buying
  Book Suggestion

Time before completion

• Prepare for the move
• Make decision on mortgage or life insurance
• The lender will send the final mortgage instructions to your solicitor

Instruction process

• The solicitor will contact you to arrange a time to sign final docs
• We will provide a trusted solicitor if you need one

Welcome home!

• You are no longer paying someone else’s mortgage!
• You receive the keys to your new home

Make sure to review these steps to ensure you are aware of what is going on and are properly prepared. Always have your documents approved by your broker prior to writing any offers.

Source: www.ownyourlife.ca

First off… MERRY CHRISTMAS! I would like to take this time to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas. They don’t call this the most wonderful time of the year for nothing! So lots of exciting news to share, the new reality show is hitting television screens January 22, 2012 at 5:00pm PST. No idea how many episodes include me, I just hope that don’t cut me all together!

Do you want to be on TV? I am constantly asked by media to be interviewed for various stories but they always ask for clients of mine to join the filming. Please let me know if this interests you and I will give you a shout the next time something comes up.

The Globe & Mail recently had me do a live national Q&A (questions and answers) segment on their website. The interview was such a hit, they kept it going for an hour and 20 minutes before it eventually had to be cut off. CLICK HERE to read the full interview. Yes, that certainly terrified me but I was honoured to be involved with the segment. Thank you again Gillian Livingston and the Globe & Mail.

This months (from November referrals) winner for the trip for two to Las Vegas is Barbara Cheng!

Want a FREE ebook? Just subscribe to our new online magazine www.ownyourlife.ca

Want to win a free trip for two to Las Vegas? Do you know someone who needs helping finding a mortgage? Our business thrives from referrals and the best way to thank us for doing a good job is referring people who would benefit from our services. With every contact you send us (including yourself) that goes to application, your name goes into a monthly draw to win a trip for two to Las Vegas… READ MORE

Are you looking to make a Commercial purchase? If so, please contact me directly at the office so we can help with the process.

Does your business need a better social media presence? October 17 Media is offering a private two hour Social Media Workshop for $125 (50% off!). Get a one-on-one consultation with the same company that helps Future Shop, Park Royal and the Cities of Richmond and Burnaby with their Social Media marketing. What you get: A two hour social media/online marketing workshop that addresses your individual questions. Come with a list of items you want to discuss and receive recommendations regarding areas of your web marketing that need improvement. You’ll leave with tips on how to do things better, faster and with more results.. CLICK HERE

Add me on FACEBOOK (if you like)… CLICK HERE

<<< Media >>>

• Reality show airs January 22 with Jessi Johnson
• Globe & Mail article: Why Use a Mortgage Broker?
• Globe & Mail live Q&A: Ask a Mortgage Broker – Fixed or Variable
  
• Internet: Broker lands TV reality show
• Newspaper: Mortgage broker Jessi Johnson may become a reality-TV star (Georgia Straight)

Greetings! Things appear to be slowing down a bit after a crazy summer in the mortgage industry. I would say that we are certainly in a buyers market and will likely be in one until some time in 2012. Filming is coming along great with the new financially based reality show. The show has confirmed that it will hit television screens this coming January 2012. Very exciting stuff! I have been hearing a lot of “don’t screw it up” lately which is humbling but pushes me to do my best.

We are starting a cool now referral program (see below) and working on our client annual reviews. If you are currently “not” on our client roster but would still like an annual review, we would be happy to help. Just give us a shout.

No down payment to purchase a home? Are you renting or an existing owner and you would like to purchase a home but simply don’t have the down payment? There are a number of solutions to this problem that I would like to share with you but first I should suggest what not to do… READ MORE

Want a FREE ebook? Just subscribe to our new online magazine www.ownyourlife.ca

How to Maximum Cash Flow and Minimize your Mortgage Payment. A client recently asked me if there were any tricks out there to maximizing cash flow and minimizing the monthly mortgage payment. At first, I gave the option of an interest only payment but decided to dig deeper and see if there was a trick out there that I was missing. Guess what, there was… READ MORE

Want to win a free trip for two to Las Vegas? Do you know someone who needs helping finding a mortgage? Our business thrives from referrals and the best way to thank us for doing a good job is referring people who would benefit from our services. With every contact you send us that goes to application, your name goes into a monthly draw to win a trip for two to Las Vegas… READ MORE

Are you looking to make a Commercial purchase? If so, please contact me directly at the office so we can help with the process.

Does your business need a better social media presence? October 17 Media is offering a private two hour Social Media Workshop for $125 (50% off!). Get a one-on-one consultation with the same company that helps Future Shop, Park Royal and the Cities of Richmond and Burnaby with their Social Media marketing. What you get: A two hour social media/online marketing workshop that addresses your individual questions. Come with a list of items you want to discuss and receive recommendations regarding areas of your web marketing that need improvement. You’ll leave with tips on how to do things better, faster and with more results.. CLICK HERE

Add me on FACEBOOK (if you like)… CLICK HERE

<<< Media >>>

• Internet: Broker lands TV reality show
• Newspaper: Mortgage broker Jessi Johnson may become a reality-TV star (Georgia Straight)
• Magazine interview: Banks Now Eating Penalties to Retain Clients?
  
• Magazine interview: Social Media Drives Originations by CMP

Exciting news! This past Spring I auditioned for a part in a new reality show based on finances and I got the part! Unfortunately I can’t tell you anything about the show or even who is doing it but we have already started filming and it will hit North American television in 2012! Woohoo!

Add me on FACEBOOK… CLICK HERE

August ended up being one heck of a month in the mortgage industry for us with a record 25 applications in just over one business day! Thank you very much for your continued business and support! We have learned a lot over the past year and especially after completing our Quarterly Report. There are a number of our clients who have been wonderful in sending referral business and we plan to reward them for their continued support. If you run your own business, CLICK HERE to read an article I wrote on how to create a quarterly report for your business. It is all about being more efficient and finding ways to improve business.

Should you really have that LOC (line of credit)? There are is an incredibly high amount of people out there who have line of credits when they shouldn’t. A line of credit (LOC) should only be kept if you are actually using it. Why you ask? Because they are not cheap and this wonderful (sarcastically speaking) interest only payment is working against you. A current line of credit will cost you 3.50% interest where as the current closed variable mortgage will only cost your 2.35%. That is a difference of 1.15% which is huge… READ MORE

The Bond Yield which dictates our fixed mortgage rates has hit an ALL TIME LOW this week dropping to 1.28%. Considering the average point spread is roughly 1.5%, 5 year fixed rates should be around 2.80%. So why are we paying on average 3.59%? What looming economical dangers do the lenders know about that we don’t?

Are you a Fixed or Variable client? We are consistently asked by clients how to figure out if they are a fixed or variable client. This is surprisingly easier to figure out than expected. Here are a few questions to ask yourself… READ MORE

Are you interested in a variable payment but fear the risks? Do you love the security of the fixed rate mortgage but know that historically, the variable rate mortgage out performs the fixed rates? Some consider the 50/50 mortgage where you are part fixed and part variable however why take a mortgage that is historically better 50% of the time? I have a solution for you… READ MORE

Would you like to read an entire book in 15 minutes? CLICK HERE to learn how.

Are you self employed and want to digitally market your company? Only $36 for 6 months of email marketing. Distant Measures has the features you need to fully develop your Internet marketing campaigns. Their tools allow you to quickly create newsletters and get your message out. Features make it easy to share content between newsletters, social media sites, podcasts and more. Advanced subscriber profiling lets you pinpoint your customer’s interests and behavior to personalize your marketing.CLICK HERE

Are you looking to make a Commercial purchase? If so, please contact me directly at the office so we can help with the process.

Our office was nominated for the Best Customer Service in Canada! I would like to take this time and give a shout out to Traci Merkel our Client Account Manager for doing an amazing job! We also had the honour of being nominated for three additional awards. Details found HERE

FREE ebook when you subscribe to our new online magazine www.ownyourlife.ca

<<< Media >>>

• Reality show roll: Details coming soon!
• Magazine interview: Banks Now Eating Penalties to Retain Clients?
  
• Magazine interview: Social Media Drives Originations by CMP