Hi Everyone:

A new listing will be coming available in winnipegs real estate market by the end of January 2010. Its a 720 sq ft bi-level with long-time owner. 2 (+2) BR's, 1-1/2 baths with upgrades including a newer furnace, H.W.T., mostly newer PVC windows, fresh paint. Located on a fully fenced, large 50' by 104' lot. This is an excellent 'starter' home, with lots of room in the huge yard for a double garage. Stay tuned.....or e-mail me for info at boknowshomes@gmail.com

Hello Everyone:

Well, the sales figures Winnipeg's real estate market for November 2009 are in: In a nutshell, November saw the highest dollar-volume for any November, and the numbers of homes and condos sold was the second best November on record, .... only November 2007 was better, beating this year by only 43 sales.

When compared to November 2008, this years sales were up 28% and dollar volume soared by 42% of that month.

The two most active price ranges are between $150,000 and $200,000, and the one between $200,000 and $250,000, each making up 23% of total sales.

Average days on market for residential detached homes was 29 days..., the same as for October.

For a look at the entire Winnipeg REALTORS® press release, go to my Website

Hello Everyone:

Are you looking for a great "building lot" in the South St. Vital area? 70' wide lot in a fabulous, treed area in the south end of the city. Coming to market in the beginning of 2010. Vacant lot will be listed by real estate agent (me)

There are no 'restrictions' on this lot.......in other words, no "minimum size", no "must build by certain date", or anything like that, although being located in an upscale neighbourhood, with surrounding homes in the 300K to 400K range, this lot will be perfect for the upscale builder.

Stay tuned.... or call me for details.

Bo 333-2202

Hello Everyone:

Most of us are thankful for the low interest rates we are enjoying these days. But those low rates are a bit of a 'double-edged sword'. If we're borrowing money, we dont pay much interest, however if you're buying RRSP's or other investments, you'll know that you're getting around 2% return. Which is why some folks are thinking of investing in Real Estate.

For this purpose, the ideal way to invest is (in my opinion, anyway) to purchase rental property. Buy a reasonably priced house, rent it out for a few years and then sell it, hopefully for a profit. But even if you don't realize a huge profit a few years down the road, the tenants will be paying for the mortgage, and perhaps even put some money into your pocket along the way. Here are some of the 'numbers' you might be looking for:

Lets say you find a house for around $80,000 (NOOO, you WONT find that in S. St. Vital, so please don't even ask..lol). So we need to figure out what your true costs of this home will be. Here are some guides:

Mortgage Interest at 4.5%...(as an example).... $300 per month

Home Taxes. approx. $1200/year........... $100 per month

Home Insurance, approx. $600/year.......... $ 50 per month

So far, your costs of owning this home is approx. $450.00 per month. Keep in mind that although your mortgage payment will be substantially higher than $300.00 per month, since everything ABOVE this amount goes towards paying off YOUR house, it can not be considered a cost (or loss).

You should also budget for repairs and maintenance, as well as perhaps water-utility bills, as many times the rent includes water.

One other factor you need to decide: Will you manage this little enterprise by yourself, or do you want to go thru a Property Management Company? If you only have 1 rental property, you might opt to do it yourself, but there are many benefits to working with a Management Company. Some benefits include:

1) They find and pre-screen possible tenants

2) They handle all payments and enforce late fees, etc etc.

3) Tenants dont call YOU with problems but deal with the Management Company

Some property owners decide that, even if they only own one property, these benefits are well worth the 12-14% of gross rental income that they have to pay. So if YOU decide to go thru a management company, tack on another $100 per month to your expenses.

So we may be up to approx. $600/month to operate this $80,000 home, and any potential rent needs to, of course, cover this. In fact with Winnipeg's rental market in its current state, rental properties are few and far between, so you may find that this is easily attained. So if, for example, you're able to collect $750 per month (plus utilities), you're realizing a profit of $150 per month, or approx. 24% return on your investment.

Please keep in mind that these are very rough calculations, but many investors are finding this to be a better investment choice than RRSP's or bonds.

One other piece of information: With investment properties, most banks require substantially more than 5% down...some are asking as much as 50% down on homes under $80,000 in value, so a little homework will be required.

If you're thinking of investing in real estate, please call me anytime. I have contacts in both the Mortgage Industry as well as reputable Property Management Companies.

Contact me at boknowshomes@gmail.com

Here is my Website