Face Your Fear and Do It!

That was advice I received from a client many years ago when I was considering investing in my first commercial real estate property.

I took his advice, partnered with a colleague, bought the apartment building, and had no regrets.

It was the right message, delivered at the right time and have since repeated that same message to clients when the time was appropriate.

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Buy yourself a dream

What if you have a vision but no money to implement it?

This a common thread points of all start-ups.

There is a spate of miniseries on streaming services right now regarding high profile business struggles that I think are worth checking out.

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Owners and Tenants beware: Airbnb vs. Vrbo

Navigating the differences between Vrbo and Airbnb can be confusing for both guests and owners.

Often owners will list their property on both sites and if the two platforms are not analyzed, guests can unknowingly pay more for a property on one site compared to the other.

Conversely, owners will realize less net proceeds from their bookings unless they know the numbers and structure their listings to account for those differences.

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Oh, the Places I’ll Go… when the pandemic is over

Who is counting down to travelling again?

Hopefully, you’ve been adhering to government guidelines like the rest of us with the belief that our sacrifice is for the greater good of all.

Staying stuck at home, though, has only caused me to watch more TV and movies which in turn have made me long for adventure.

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Trust happens when I’m transparent with clients

No one can pinpoint a precise market number.

Run for the hills If a broker represents that they know exactly what your property is worth.

Doubly so if a commercial real estate broker tours you through property and does not point out the defects, as well as the features.

So who can you trust?

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Creepin it real this Halloween

The pandemic is sure to have put a damper on the pop-up Halloween store phenomena of the last few years.

A Value Village survey in 2018 revealed that 40 per cent of customers stated Halloween is their favourite holiday; second only to Christmas, it would seem, when it comes to seasonal spending.

So it should come as no surprise that the Retail Council of Canada is reporting that eight out of ten Canadians still intend to celebrate Halloween this year despite Covid-19 concerns.

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For instant fun, just add water(slide)

We had a pretty typical summer in Saskatchewan this year amid atypical times.

We got just enough heat in July to start complaining about it and a few outdoor pools opened despite the pandemic.

When I was a kid, waterslides were the staple of a good time for summer fun.

Those seem reserved for hotels now as outdoor waterslide parks seem to have gone the way of the dinosaur, but why?

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My digital detox in a wired world

What’s my definition of a digital detox? To me it means no screen time.

Screens include my computers, laptop, smart phone and televisions. I happened to grow up before the video game craze so that one’s not on my list.

Studies show that much of society today is addicted to digital. I could very well be included in that group!

I’ve experimented with withdrawing from use of electronics for a day in the past; I decided to make it a once a week, permanent habit early this year.

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