I hope you had a safe and enjoyable Civic holiday long weekend with your friends and family.

Over the Civic holiday, I was reminiscing about another proud moment in my realtor career where I helped another client who was more deserving. A few weeks ago in July, I helped my seller client conditionally sell her home in less than 12 hours and $15,000 over what she wanted her home to be sold for! Then a week later my client’s home went firm! I am truly proud of this moment because I was fortunate enough to help my client immediately find a qualified buyer at the first and only open house I organized at my client’s home, which, by the way, was attended by close to 30 visitors! At the open house, the buyer was absolutely impressed by the features of the property. 

Built on a large corner lot, the 2-bedroom, 1-bedroom or office-converted den and 2-full bathroom property provided a high-ceiling open space dining/living-room with a 3-sided gas fireplace. The property came with a large outdoor deck in a large private backyard with no rear neighbours. The backyard displayed a colourful perennial garden which can be also be transformed into a vegetable garden. Going downstairs, the property provided an in-law-suite with large windows, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom that can be used as a rental unit or an Airbnb accommodation space to generate extra income to pay off the mortgage and other expenses.

What makes this positive experience remarkable is not only about getting the house sold but hearing the joy, happiness, excitement and satisfaction of my client over the phone after accepting the buyer’s offer.  My client experienced many difficult and heartbreaking challenges in her life. She is a widowed, single mother of 2 daughters who is planning to retire sometime this year. She lost her husband to terminal cancer. She is facing some financial and health challenges. When my client told me about her story, I took the initiative to help her clean her home to prepare and stage it for the market and delivered to her free moving boxes. This experience has taught me that beyond helping someone sell their home and earning a commission, what truly matters most is that you have contributed to making a positive difference in someone’s life by reducing their pain and increasing their pleasure. 

Best regards,

Michael B. Arthur

While real estate also follows a cycle, it tends to be a much more gradual one.  Investing in revenue properties offers us limited immunity from fluctuation.

This means that you don’t tend to see the massive ups and downs of the stock and commodity markets.  It’s a much gentler ride, and tends to provide very solid returns on investment over the long run.  This is another reason I prefer real estate investing over other kinds of investments.