Hello Readers!
I am excited to share that being a Kelowna Financial Advisor allows me to bring you something truely innovative. Please check out:
www.serviss.ca
The same traditional feel with a host of new material and an easier to navigate platform.
Watch for new developments on the site coming shortly.
Take care
Dustin
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Friday, December 18, 2009
What other successful Okanagan families are doing
They came looking to save $20/month and after going through our MAPP process they left saving $20 per month and took themselves from buying insurance to, implementing a plan like Canada’s wealthiest families.
Okanagan Family
Husband (age 48)
Wife (age 41)
2 children (ages 11 & 14)
The husband originally came to me through a referral because he had a 10 Yr Term life insurance policy he was originally “sold” 10 years ago.
Since the policy had a fixed premium for 10 years it was renewing (increasing premium) in the next month. He wanted to see if he could get a better rate on his coverage and possibly explore other firms for certain reasons. (Does your agent work and implement a financial plan or just sell you product.) This business owner was slightly skeptical when he came to us but since he was referred from one of his close friends (who is one of our AAA clients) he wanted to at least see the experience through. Little did he know that he was about to experience, a level planning that wasn't focused around the product but around the long term and short term goals he desired…
I explained I had all the resources to help them “buy” insurance” but I wanted to take a step back and walk them through our proprietary MAPP process. The main focus of the MAPP process is to address all financial and non financial aspects of someone’s life so a proper recommendation can be made when implementing a financial plan.
You can find more on the MAPP process at: www.serviss.ca
After I explained our confidentiality agreement we had a great 20 minute open conversation and I quickly learned there was a lot we could help this family with.
Let’s dive right into the details:
He owns a business with a partner, it has a great track record and everything is humming along nicely (steady and consistent cash flow). His partner and him handle separate departments but are both instrumental in the success of the business. (Partnership coverage)
Their family’s lifestyle did not require all of the money to be removed from the business which meant money was starting to accumulate inside the company. (Invested in GIC’s and high interest bank savings accounts). (Corp Funded Wealth Strategy).
Their residence mortgage was $425,000. When I asked the husband why he wanted life insurance; he explained he was most concerned with covering the debt, maintaining the family’s lifestyle for approximately 10 years if he was gone (he joked his wife was beautiful, smart and educated, she didn’t need a lifetime lottery payout, she would figure it out by then), he wanted to take care of the children’s education (or a portion of it) and give the kids a small down payment for a house. (Husband Life Insurance)
Since his wife actively manages accounts and “does the books” the husband would be lost with out her. In asking him what he would do if his wife was not helping he came to the conclusion he would have to hire, train and find someone else to fill her position. Not only would this require his time but it would take away from his normal duties which essentially drive the success of the business. (Wife Life Insurance)
When I asked about their family health history I learned that she had a healthy family but he had a family with 2 immediate members being cancer survivors… Due to business expansion projects and paying off vehicles they have only a small nest egg (personal savings) built up for an emergency fund. He quickly realized due to his family history and the above savings situation there was a gap in their plan. If he became ill or injured and could not work, not only would they lose his income but her income tap would be turned off as well. At this point the couple realized that if they became sick, injured or passed away it would affect the ultimate retirement goals of the family. No income meant no saving for retirement, pretty simple. (Critical Illness Coverage)
I switched gears slightly and asked about their current retirement strategy. He mentioned that part of their retirement plan was to sell the business and use the sale proceeds to live off of. The success of the business hinged on the two partner’s activity so the business would be worth more if the partners were living and the business was chugging along as a going concern, sounds fair right. Remembering the retirement plan was to sell the business I had to address a number of issues.
If he passed away before the sale of the business do you think someone would pay more or less for the business…? The husband would not be there to train or manage for the 1st year with the new owner etc etc… This would mean the wife would receive less in sale proceeds, affecting her retirement lifestyle. The other issue is the living partner would become partners now with the deceased husband’s wife. If she does not want to be part of the business or the partner does not want to be partners with her, he needs to find liquid money to pay her off in the amount of the deceased husbands share…. (Partnership coverage and wife retirement enjoyment).
If everything went as planned what would you invest the sale proceeds into…? (Value Partners).
If you would like to see the complete plan and the step by step process to implementing the plan please call or email me your name, phone number and email address. In summary the numbers looked something like this, using his annual salary of $100,000:
Option #1 (Current plan) - $100,000 salary and small life insurance plan
Option #2 (our proposal – 4% of earnings) - $96,000 salary but after certain point the savings we found would get the family/business to a break even point…
If he or his partner passed away they would have a life insurance policy that kicked in and paid the other partner. The living partner would use those life insurance proceeds to pay off the deceased partner’s wife for the share of the business. We built in a strategy that will allow the partners to use those life insurance policies while they are living to accomplish the following: accumulate wealth in their Holding Company, provide bullet proof fixed income in retirement and flow essentially tax free assets out of their corporations if/when the pasted away.
Simple mortgage life insurance to help each spouse cover (the debts, education funds and dependent children cash needs) if one was to pass before they were paid off or saved.
A protection plan that will keep them on track to retirement when they get seriously ill or seriously hurt. Built into this we utilized a Business Overhead Coverage option – It is a tax deductible coverage that allows for normal business expenses to be taken care of when the owner becomes disabled. (Expenses like: office leases or rent, utilities, non partner employee salaries and a number of other monthly expenses related to the business). We also built into the illness portion, if he passed away before claiming the estate would receive a refund of his premiums… Too bad ICBC never offered that.
Through our Peacock Sheridan Group specialist network we were able to align this family/business up with:
- A more sophisticated tax planning specialist.
- A commercial insurance broker who specialized in the field this family’s business was in. The broker was able to save the family a significant amount on their commercial coverage and the E&O policies.
As a value added service to my readers and clients I make myself available to act as a sounding board. You might have a friend who asks about me, or you may feel compelled to make an introduction to help someone out. If that happens, I guarantee I will make the time to offer objective advice that they can use to make an informed decision.
Dustin Serviss
Kelowna Financial Advisor
Okanagan Family
Husband (age 48)
Wife (age 41)
2 children (ages 11 & 14)
The husband originally came to me through a referral because he had a 10 Yr Term life insurance policy he was originally “sold” 10 years ago.
Since the policy had a fixed premium for 10 years it was renewing (increasing premium) in the next month. He wanted to see if he could get a better rate on his coverage and possibly explore other firms for certain reasons. (Does your agent work and implement a financial plan or just sell you product.) This business owner was slightly skeptical when he came to us but since he was referred from one of his close friends (who is one of our AAA clients) he wanted to at least see the experience through. Little did he know that he was about to experience, a level planning that wasn't focused around the product but around the long term and short term goals he desired…
I explained I had all the resources to help them “buy” insurance” but I wanted to take a step back and walk them through our proprietary MAPP process. The main focus of the MAPP process is to address all financial and non financial aspects of someone’s life so a proper recommendation can be made when implementing a financial plan.
You can find more on the MAPP process at: www.serviss.ca
After I explained our confidentiality agreement we had a great 20 minute open conversation and I quickly learned there was a lot we could help this family with.
Let’s dive right into the details:
He owns a business with a partner, it has a great track record and everything is humming along nicely (steady and consistent cash flow). His partner and him handle separate departments but are both instrumental in the success of the business. (Partnership coverage)
Their family’s lifestyle did not require all of the money to be removed from the business which meant money was starting to accumulate inside the company. (Invested in GIC’s and high interest bank savings accounts). (Corp Funded Wealth Strategy).
Their residence mortgage was $425,000. When I asked the husband why he wanted life insurance; he explained he was most concerned with covering the debt, maintaining the family’s lifestyle for approximately 10 years if he was gone (he joked his wife was beautiful, smart and educated, she didn’t need a lifetime lottery payout, she would figure it out by then), he wanted to take care of the children’s education (or a portion of it) and give the kids a small down payment for a house. (Husband Life Insurance)
Since his wife actively manages accounts and “does the books” the husband would be lost with out her. In asking him what he would do if his wife was not helping he came to the conclusion he would have to hire, train and find someone else to fill her position. Not only would this require his time but it would take away from his normal duties which essentially drive the success of the business. (Wife Life Insurance)
When I asked about their family health history I learned that she had a healthy family but he had a family with 2 immediate members being cancer survivors… Due to business expansion projects and paying off vehicles they have only a small nest egg (personal savings) built up for an emergency fund. He quickly realized due to his family history and the above savings situation there was a gap in their plan. If he became ill or injured and could not work, not only would they lose his income but her income tap would be turned off as well. At this point the couple realized that if they became sick, injured or passed away it would affect the ultimate retirement goals of the family. No income meant no saving for retirement, pretty simple. (Critical Illness Coverage)
I switched gears slightly and asked about their current retirement strategy. He mentioned that part of their retirement plan was to sell the business and use the sale proceeds to live off of. The success of the business hinged on the two partner’s activity so the business would be worth more if the partners were living and the business was chugging along as a going concern, sounds fair right. Remembering the retirement plan was to sell the business I had to address a number of issues.
If he passed away before the sale of the business do you think someone would pay more or less for the business…? The husband would not be there to train or manage for the 1st year with the new owner etc etc… This would mean the wife would receive less in sale proceeds, affecting her retirement lifestyle. The other issue is the living partner would become partners now with the deceased husband’s wife. If she does not want to be part of the business or the partner does not want to be partners with her, he needs to find liquid money to pay her off in the amount of the deceased husbands share…. (Partnership coverage and wife retirement enjoyment).
If everything went as planned what would you invest the sale proceeds into…? (Value Partners).
If you would like to see the complete plan and the step by step process to implementing the plan please call or email me your name, phone number and email address. In summary the numbers looked something like this, using his annual salary of $100,000:
Option #1 (Current plan) - $100,000 salary and small life insurance plan
Option #2 (our proposal – 4% of earnings) - $96,000 salary but after certain point the savings we found would get the family/business to a break even point…
If he or his partner passed away they would have a life insurance policy that kicked in and paid the other partner. The living partner would use those life insurance proceeds to pay off the deceased partner’s wife for the share of the business. We built in a strategy that will allow the partners to use those life insurance policies while they are living to accomplish the following: accumulate wealth in their Holding Company, provide bullet proof fixed income in retirement and flow essentially tax free assets out of their corporations if/when the pasted away.
Simple mortgage life insurance to help each spouse cover (the debts, education funds and dependent children cash needs) if one was to pass before they were paid off or saved.
A protection plan that will keep them on track to retirement when they get seriously ill or seriously hurt. Built into this we utilized a Business Overhead Coverage option – It is a tax deductible coverage that allows for normal business expenses to be taken care of when the owner becomes disabled. (Expenses like: office leases or rent, utilities, non partner employee salaries and a number of other monthly expenses related to the business). We also built into the illness portion, if he passed away before claiming the estate would receive a refund of his premiums… Too bad ICBC never offered that.
Through our Peacock Sheridan Group specialist network we were able to align this family/business up with:
- A more sophisticated tax planning specialist.
- A commercial insurance broker who specialized in the field this family’s business was in. The broker was able to save the family a significant amount on their commercial coverage and the E&O policies.
As a value added service to my readers and clients I make myself available to act as a sounding board. You might have a friend who asks about me, or you may feel compelled to make an introduction to help someone out. If that happens, I guarantee I will make the time to offer objective advice that they can use to make an informed decision.
Dustin Serviss
Kelowna Financial Advisor
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Buy other policies at a discount
Life Insurance investment strategy...
Find an AIDS victim, buy their life insurance policy for less than the death benefit, wait till they pass and collect the death benefit... It happens in the US. Definitely controversial. Or find a cash strapped senior citizen that has a life insurance policy, you offer to give them cash up front for the irrevocable beneficiary rights to their policy... When they pass away you get the full death benefit (obviously less than you paid them). I am not recommending this strategy at all but I found the concept very interesting.
Buy someone's life insurance at a discount...
Find an AIDS victim, buy their life insurance policy for less than the death benefit, wait till they pass and collect the death benefit... It happens in the US. Definitely controversial. Or find a cash strapped senior citizen that has a life insurance policy, you offer to give them cash up front for the irrevocable beneficiary rights to their policy... When they pass away you get the full death benefit (obviously less than you paid them). I am not recommending this strategy at all but I found the concept very interesting.
Buy someone's life insurance at a discount...
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
HST and how it affects Real Estate
The B.C. Harmonized Tax – BC HST Will Raise New Home Price
Please comment on this blog post regarding your opinion and thoughts on how the new BC HST will influence the British Columbia and Greater Vancouver real estate home prices next year. Announced in August 2009, the BC HST will come into effect July 1st, 2010. The BC Harmonized Tax is simply the combination of the two current sales taxes: the 7% provincial BC sales tax and the 5% federal goods and services tax. The BC HST is 12% (twelve per cent) and will be added to the purchase price of new BC homes and Greater Vancouver real estate. In addition to applying 12% on new home prices, the BC HST will also be applicable to real estate closing costs and fees, which will in turn increase the price of any new home in British Columbia and throughout the Greater Vancouver property market. Currently, new homes in BC and Greater Vancouver are only subject to the 5% GST federal tax (and not the 7% provincial sales tax) Some analysts say that as the BC real estate markets start their long recovery from the global economic crisis and housing bubble of 2008-2009, the introduction of the BC HST 12% tax on new homes in Vancouver and the province of BC will halt first time homebuyers from making the largest purchases of the life.
In addition, the 12% HST will also affect Greater Vancouver housing affordability, which is already the highest of any city in Canada. Overall, BC housing affordability is also the highest in Canada, which means that British Columbians and Vancouverites spend the most after tax dollars on their homes and real estate purchases. The introduction of the BC HST on new Vancouver homes for July 1st, 2010 will likely damper the sales volume of new real estate in the city in addition to making property more unaffordable for first time homebuyers while making it that much more expensive for current homeowners looking to upsize into larger new Vancouver homes. The other thing to keep in mind is that many retirees are getting to retirement age, and the addition of the 12% BC HST will likely influence what these empty nesters can afford to purchase if they are looking for a new home in BC or Greater Vancouver real estate markets.
Overall, the combination of the PST and GST into the British Columbia HST new Harmonized Sales Tax will ultimately affect the majority of the BC population looking to purchase new homes and real estate property, including those Vancouver condo home buyers. On average, a consumer looking for new BC property will end up spending 7% more because of the difference between the 12% HST harmonized sales tax versus the current 5% GST goods and services tax that are applied to new property.
British Columbia already has the award for the most expensive real estate in Canada. The Okanagan region, Victoria and Greater Vancouver also all fit within the top ten most priciest property markets in the country.
The integration of the new provincial BC HST of 12% on new real estate will further increase and bump up the price for new homes in the province, thereby decreasing affordability throughout the region.
Some BC Real Estate HST Numbers and How It Affects You
Scenario 1: Based on a purchase price of $600,000 for a new BC or Vancouver home, the homebuyer would pay a total of $72,000 in BC HST taxes (12% on $600,000). With the homebuyer HST rebate for purchases above $600,000, the homebuyer would receive the $20,000, thus reducing their purchase cost to $52,000 in taxes for a total of $652,000. Currently, the 5% GST applicable to the same home would cost only $30,000 (a difference of $22,000). *This does not include the HST applicable to closing fees.
Scenario 2: If a BC homebuyer wanted to purchase a new Vancouver home costing $800,000, the total 12% HST hit would be $96,000. The partial HST rebate of $20,000 (maximum allowed) will reduce this to $76,000, making the final purchase price at $876,000 plus property transfer taxes and other closing costs. Before July 1, 2010, a new home would be subject to only 5% GST which is $40,000 on a $800,000 property. With the new BC harmonized sales tax, a BC homebuyer would pay $36,000 more for the same home after implementation of the HST tax. *This also does not include the HST applicable to closing costs.
For more information please see: Vancouver Real Estate Page
Please comment on this blog post regarding your opinion and thoughts on how the new BC HST will influence the British Columbia and Greater Vancouver real estate home prices next year. Announced in August 2009, the BC HST will come into effect July 1st, 2010. The BC Harmonized Tax is simply the combination of the two current sales taxes: the 7% provincial BC sales tax and the 5% federal goods and services tax. The BC HST is 12% (twelve per cent) and will be added to the purchase price of new BC homes and Greater Vancouver real estate. In addition to applying 12% on new home prices, the BC HST will also be applicable to real estate closing costs and fees, which will in turn increase the price of any new home in British Columbia and throughout the Greater Vancouver property market. Currently, new homes in BC and Greater Vancouver are only subject to the 5% GST federal tax (and not the 7% provincial sales tax) Some analysts say that as the BC real estate markets start their long recovery from the global economic crisis and housing bubble of 2008-2009, the introduction of the BC HST 12% tax on new homes in Vancouver and the province of BC will halt first time homebuyers from making the largest purchases of the life.
In addition, the 12% HST will also affect Greater Vancouver housing affordability, which is already the highest of any city in Canada. Overall, BC housing affordability is also the highest in Canada, which means that British Columbians and Vancouverites spend the most after tax dollars on their homes and real estate purchases. The introduction of the BC HST on new Vancouver homes for July 1st, 2010 will likely damper the sales volume of new real estate in the city in addition to making property more unaffordable for first time homebuyers while making it that much more expensive for current homeowners looking to upsize into larger new Vancouver homes. The other thing to keep in mind is that many retirees are getting to retirement age, and the addition of the 12% BC HST will likely influence what these empty nesters can afford to purchase if they are looking for a new home in BC or Greater Vancouver real estate markets.
Overall, the combination of the PST and GST into the British Columbia HST new Harmonized Sales Tax will ultimately affect the majority of the BC population looking to purchase new homes and real estate property, including those Vancouver condo home buyers. On average, a consumer looking for new BC property will end up spending 7% more because of the difference between the 12% HST harmonized sales tax versus the current 5% GST goods and services tax that are applied to new property.
British Columbia already has the award for the most expensive real estate in Canada. The Okanagan region, Victoria and Greater Vancouver also all fit within the top ten most priciest property markets in the country.
The integration of the new provincial BC HST of 12% on new real estate will further increase and bump up the price for new homes in the province, thereby decreasing affordability throughout the region.
Some BC Real Estate HST Numbers and How It Affects You
Scenario 1: Based on a purchase price of $600,000 for a new BC or Vancouver home, the homebuyer would pay a total of $72,000 in BC HST taxes (12% on $600,000). With the homebuyer HST rebate for purchases above $600,000, the homebuyer would receive the $20,000, thus reducing their purchase cost to $52,000 in taxes for a total of $652,000. Currently, the 5% GST applicable to the same home would cost only $30,000 (a difference of $22,000). *This does not include the HST applicable to closing fees.
Scenario 2: If a BC homebuyer wanted to purchase a new Vancouver home costing $800,000, the total 12% HST hit would be $96,000. The partial HST rebate of $20,000 (maximum allowed) will reduce this to $76,000, making the final purchase price at $876,000 plus property transfer taxes and other closing costs. Before July 1, 2010, a new home would be subject to only 5% GST which is $40,000 on a $800,000 property. With the new BC harmonized sales tax, a BC homebuyer would pay $36,000 more for the same home after implementation of the HST tax. *This also does not include the HST applicable to closing costs.
For more information please see: Vancouver Real Estate Page
Coffee Shops for sale in Kelowna
Here are two links to local shops that are for sale:
Kelowna Coffee Shop #1
Kelowna Coffee Shop #2
Will Conley Contributing Writer to EHOW shares tips on how to run an effective coffee shop:
Step 1 Open your coffee shop in the right location. Target a local customer base. Get to know the neighborhood and what types of people live there. In most cases, you will be able to choose the atmosphere of your coffee shop, since every locale contains many subsets of demographics. Just make sure there are enough people in the area to patronizer your business.
Step 2 Scope out the competition. If another local coffee shop attracts a funky, young customer base, either opt for a more austere atmosphere and target a different customer base, or plan to out-funk the other place and steal some of their loyal patrons. Learn how much the competition charges for a coffee, a mocha, a triple latte, a slice of pie. You can charge more or less for your coffee products, but the overall experience should reflect the price-point value of your product.
Step 3 Get free wireless Internet for your coffee shop. These days every successful coffee shop needs to offer free WiFi. This gets people in the door and gives them a reason to stay.
Step 4 Make your coffee shop as comfortable as possible. The more inviting the atmosphere is, the longer customers will stay, and the more loyal they will become. Include plenty of seating, but don't cramp the space. Sofas and booths help as well. Plenty of traditional table seating is also necessary.
Step 5 Offer food. This keeps customers in your coffee shop for longer periods of time.
Step 6 Use "Buy Ten, Get One Free" stamp cards to give customers incentive to buy often. Each time a customer buys a drink or food item, stamp the card. When it fills up, they can turn it in for a free drink of any size. This is a classic marketing tactic for successful coffee shops.
Step 7 Play the right music. If you find that customers come to your coffee shop to study, keep the volume down to a dull roar. Keep an eye on your demographics. Play the right music for the right crowd. Experiment with music tastes and listen to feedback. Once you find a style of music your customers like, try and stick with it. Just don't play the same CD over and over. Your best bet is to pump in some customized satellite radio.
Step 8 Keep everything clean, neat, orderly and self-apparent. For example, if you are set up to have customers bus their own dishes, place the busing containers in plain sight. Fix any broken or rocking tables as they develop problems. Keep the sugar and condiment station fully stocked. Make sure nothing is sticky for longer than a few minutes. Situate the order, pick-up and payment counters in plain view.
Step 9 Set employee schedules clearly, and hold employees to their commitments. Overlap schedules so that there is always someone available to fulfill customer orders. There is nothing more annoying to a customer than having to wait 10 minutes for a cup of coffee when no one else is in line.
Step 10 Keep supplies well stocked at all times. Do not stop serving anything just because it is an hour to closing time. If it's on the menu and your doors are still open, you must serve whatever is ordered.
Step 11 Maintain transparent accounting. Run cash-outs at the end of every cashier shift to maintain accountability. Never keep more than a couple hundred dollars of petty cash in the safe.
Step 12 Run promotions from time to time, and advertise whenever fiscally possible.
Kelowna Coffee Shop #1
Kelowna Coffee Shop #2
Will Conley Contributing Writer to EHOW shares tips on how to run an effective coffee shop:
Step 1 Open your coffee shop in the right location. Target a local customer base. Get to know the neighborhood and what types of people live there. In most cases, you will be able to choose the atmosphere of your coffee shop, since every locale contains many subsets of demographics. Just make sure there are enough people in the area to patronizer your business.
Step 2 Scope out the competition. If another local coffee shop attracts a funky, young customer base, either opt for a more austere atmosphere and target a different customer base, or plan to out-funk the other place and steal some of their loyal patrons. Learn how much the competition charges for a coffee, a mocha, a triple latte, a slice of pie. You can charge more or less for your coffee products, but the overall experience should reflect the price-point value of your product.
Step 3 Get free wireless Internet for your coffee shop. These days every successful coffee shop needs to offer free WiFi. This gets people in the door and gives them a reason to stay.
Step 4 Make your coffee shop as comfortable as possible. The more inviting the atmosphere is, the longer customers will stay, and the more loyal they will become. Include plenty of seating, but don't cramp the space. Sofas and booths help as well. Plenty of traditional table seating is also necessary.
Step 5 Offer food. This keeps customers in your coffee shop for longer periods of time.
Step 6 Use "Buy Ten, Get One Free" stamp cards to give customers incentive to buy often. Each time a customer buys a drink or food item, stamp the card. When it fills up, they can turn it in for a free drink of any size. This is a classic marketing tactic for successful coffee shops.
Step 7 Play the right music. If you find that customers come to your coffee shop to study, keep the volume down to a dull roar. Keep an eye on your demographics. Play the right music for the right crowd. Experiment with music tastes and listen to feedback. Once you find a style of music your customers like, try and stick with it. Just don't play the same CD over and over. Your best bet is to pump in some customized satellite radio.
Step 8 Keep everything clean, neat, orderly and self-apparent. For example, if you are set up to have customers bus their own dishes, place the busing containers in plain sight. Fix any broken or rocking tables as they develop problems. Keep the sugar and condiment station fully stocked. Make sure nothing is sticky for longer than a few minutes. Situate the order, pick-up and payment counters in plain view.
Step 9 Set employee schedules clearly, and hold employees to their commitments. Overlap schedules so that there is always someone available to fulfill customer orders. There is nothing more annoying to a customer than having to wait 10 minutes for a cup of coffee when no one else is in line.
Step 10 Keep supplies well stocked at all times. Do not stop serving anything just because it is an hour to closing time. If it's on the menu and your doors are still open, you must serve whatever is ordered.
Step 11 Maintain transparent accounting. Run cash-outs at the end of every cashier shift to maintain accountability. Never keep more than a couple hundred dollars of petty cash in the safe.
Step 12 Run promotions from time to time, and advertise whenever fiscally possible.
Kelowna Real Estate Statistics - October 2009
Central Okanagan Real Estate Summary
Year = 2009 Month = October
8 Condo/Apt -- Sales 73
9 Condo/Apt -- New Listings 195
10 Condo/Apt -- Current Inventory 1083
11 Condo/Apt -- Sell/Inv. Ratio 6.74%
12 Condo/Apt -- Days to Sell 81
13 Condo/Townhouse -- Sales 56
14 Condo/Townhouse -- New Listings 78
15 Condo/Townhouse -- Current Inventory 448
16 Condo/Townhouse -- Sell/Inv. Ratio 12.50%
17 Condo/Townhouse -- Days to Sell 79
18 Lots -- Sales 16
19 Lots -- New Listings 68
20 Lots -- Current Inventory 839
21 Lots -- Sell/Inv. Ratio 1.91%
22 Lots -- Days to Sell 177
23 Residential -- Sales 215
24 Residential -- New Listings 330
25 Residential -- Current Inventory 1378
26 Residential -- Sell/Inv. Ratio 15.60%
27 Residential -- Days to Sell 87
28 Average House Price $475,910.43
29 Median House Price $440,000.
Full OMREB report Click Here
Year = 2009 Month = October
8 Condo/Apt -- Sales 73
9 Condo/Apt -- New Listings 195
10 Condo/Apt -- Current Inventory 1083
11 Condo/Apt -- Sell/Inv. Ratio 6.74%
12 Condo/Apt -- Days to Sell 81
13 Condo/Townhouse -- Sales 56
14 Condo/Townhouse -- New Listings 78
15 Condo/Townhouse -- Current Inventory 448
16 Condo/Townhouse -- Sell/Inv. Ratio 12.50%
17 Condo/Townhouse -- Days to Sell 79
18 Lots -- Sales 16
19 Lots -- New Listings 68
20 Lots -- Current Inventory 839
21 Lots -- Sell/Inv. Ratio 1.91%
22 Lots -- Days to Sell 177
23 Residential -- Sales 215
24 Residential -- New Listings 330
25 Residential -- Current Inventory 1378
26 Residential -- Sell/Inv. Ratio 15.60%
27 Residential -- Days to Sell 87
28 Average House Price $475,910.43
29 Median House Price $440,000.
Full OMREB report Click Here
Friday, November 13, 2009
Kelowna online business owners
Just a quick blog entry today for the business owners of Kelowna. I came across the Alexa website today. It shows the most viewed webpages on the net. Have a look:
ALEXA
Dustin Serviss
Financial Advisor
Kelowna BC
ALEXA
Dustin Serviss
Financial Advisor
Kelowna BC
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Planning Considerations For Students - Kelowna
Information provided by: Advocis - CLU Institute - Comment Newsletter Sept/Oct 2009
Every year, parents across the country send their
children off to university and college in search of higher
education. Sometimes the student will be far away
from home, sometimes the student may be close to
home but living separately and sometimes the student
will live at home while attending school locally.
Whenever a student heads off to school, there is a
wide range of things to consider. The following is
a checklist of some of the more common financial
concerns impacting post-secondary students:
☑ Property and Casualty Insurance
Does your home insurance coverage extend to
your child’s school residence or other housing
arrangement? Does your home insurance cover
the student’s possessions as well as damage to
a neighbour’s property caused by negligence
or perhaps an inadvertent mishap? Have you
discussed this with your insurance broker or
insurance company with details specific to your set
of circumstances?
☑ Health & Dental Coverage
Does your group benefit plan at work cover your
child? Do you have to contact your human resource
area to update or inform them that you have an
over-age dependant who is attending school on a
full-time basis? If you have coverage, does your
child want to opt out of the school plan? If you have
coverage and the student also takes coverage under
a school plan, there is the ability to co-ordinate
benefits under the two plans – have you provided
the student with the information needed when
visiting the dentist and/or pharmacist?
☑ Car Insurance
If your child drives a car while at school, has his
or her risk changed? Should you have a discussion
with your broker to ensure that you have complete
and full disclosure of the student’s situation?
☑ Moving Expenses
Will your student’s moving expenses be tax
deductible? If so, take the time to gather the
receipts now so that you will be able to find them
at tax filing time.
☑ Tuition, Education and Textbook Tax Credits
Students may be eligible to claim the tuition,
education and textbook tax credits. These amounts
can be claimed by the student in the year of study and
unclaimed amounts may be carried over to another
year or transferred to a parent or grandparent.
Ensure your child knows about these credits and sets
aside the appropriate documentation for tax time.
☑ Access to Cash
Does your child have sufficient cash reserves to carry
him or her through the full school year? Parents
often feel a tap on the shoulder for additional money
throughout the year. An option that can make it easy
to assist the student financially is a joint bank account
with one or both of the parents. A parent might have
sufficient rating at the bank such that when he or
she makes a deposit into the joint account, the bank
will not impose any holds on the funds. This can
allow the student to access the funds without delay
and without incurring extra charges.
☑ Establishing a Credit History
Does your child have a credit card? If not, it can
be wise for the child to apply for a student credit
card as it will start the process of building a credit
history. With a credit card in hand, responsibility for
making the regular payments becomes important
to maintaining a good credit rating. Do you need to
monitor that the bill gets paid on time, at least until
you are confident that this task is well in hand? It
is important to ensure that your child’s bills are
paid on time because of the potential interest and
late charges as well as the detrimental effect on the
student’s credit record.
The bottom line is that the eligible dividend system
will remain in a state of flux and that regular
adjustments are needed to meet the purpose of the
gross-up and dividend tax credit mechanism.
☑ Financial Responsibility
Will your child be liable for utilities at his or her
place of residence? Similar to a credit card, you
need to determine if monitoring the necessary
payments may be helpful initially to ensure good
financial responsibility.
Some, or all, of the above list may apply to your
student’s situation and it is important to determine
which of the issues you feel needs to be addressed.
Once you have considered the issues and your
priorities, it is relatively easy to help get your
student off on a good financial footing and aid in
their financial education.
Every year, parents across the country send their
children off to university and college in search of higher
education. Sometimes the student will be far away
from home, sometimes the student may be close to
home but living separately and sometimes the student
will live at home while attending school locally.
Whenever a student heads off to school, there is a
wide range of things to consider. The following is
a checklist of some of the more common financial
concerns impacting post-secondary students:
☑ Property and Casualty Insurance
Does your home insurance coverage extend to
your child’s school residence or other housing
arrangement? Does your home insurance cover
the student’s possessions as well as damage to
a neighbour’s property caused by negligence
or perhaps an inadvertent mishap? Have you
discussed this with your insurance broker or
insurance company with details specific to your set
of circumstances?
☑ Health & Dental Coverage
Does your group benefit plan at work cover your
child? Do you have to contact your human resource
area to update or inform them that you have an
over-age dependant who is attending school on a
full-time basis? If you have coverage, does your
child want to opt out of the school plan? If you have
coverage and the student also takes coverage under
a school plan, there is the ability to co-ordinate
benefits under the two plans – have you provided
the student with the information needed when
visiting the dentist and/or pharmacist?
☑ Car Insurance
If your child drives a car while at school, has his
or her risk changed? Should you have a discussion
with your broker to ensure that you have complete
and full disclosure of the student’s situation?
☑ Moving Expenses
Will your student’s moving expenses be tax
deductible? If so, take the time to gather the
receipts now so that you will be able to find them
at tax filing time.
☑ Tuition, Education and Textbook Tax Credits
Students may be eligible to claim the tuition,
education and textbook tax credits. These amounts
can be claimed by the student in the year of study and
unclaimed amounts may be carried over to another
year or transferred to a parent or grandparent.
Ensure your child knows about these credits and sets
aside the appropriate documentation for tax time.
☑ Access to Cash
Does your child have sufficient cash reserves to carry
him or her through the full school year? Parents
often feel a tap on the shoulder for additional money
throughout the year. An option that can make it easy
to assist the student financially is a joint bank account
with one or both of the parents. A parent might have
sufficient rating at the bank such that when he or
she makes a deposit into the joint account, the bank
will not impose any holds on the funds. This can
allow the student to access the funds without delay
and without incurring extra charges.
☑ Establishing a Credit History
Does your child have a credit card? If not, it can
be wise for the child to apply for a student credit
card as it will start the process of building a credit
history. With a credit card in hand, responsibility for
making the regular payments becomes important
to maintaining a good credit rating. Do you need to
monitor that the bill gets paid on time, at least until
you are confident that this task is well in hand? It
is important to ensure that your child’s bills are
paid on time because of the potential interest and
late charges as well as the detrimental effect on the
student’s credit record.
The bottom line is that the eligible dividend system
will remain in a state of flux and that regular
adjustments are needed to meet the purpose of the
gross-up and dividend tax credit mechanism.
☑ Financial Responsibility
Will your child be liable for utilities at his or her
place of residence? Similar to a credit card, you
need to determine if monitoring the necessary
payments may be helpful initially to ensure good
financial responsibility.
Some, or all, of the above list may apply to your
student’s situation and it is important to determine
which of the issues you feel needs to be addressed.
Once you have considered the issues and your
priorities, it is relatively easy to help get your
student off on a good financial footing and aid in
their financial education.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Fun inexpensive activities for the family in the Okanagan
Kelowna you have a number of inexpensive fun activities to do with the family. You just have to be creative. Here is a list our family came up with:
1) Hiking, biking or exploring. Look around at the number of parks and trails within the city or pick up the Kelowna Map Book and Guide.
2) The EECO centre in Mission creek park. Your children will learn about everything from fish spauning to bear droppings.
3) Kelowna Art Gallery or Hambleton Galleries on Ellis.
4) Alley surfing. If you are a project type family or you are looking for that old motorcycle/car to rebuild with your son... this could be where to start. You would be surprised by the number of people that would be glad to sell you that old VW Van under the tarp in their back yard.
5) Okanagan Regional Library
6) A pet store is always good for killing an hour
7)The Airport - if you go to the North side of the grounds you get a perfect view of the run-way and the planes will fly right over your head, not to mention the Helicopter pad is at that end as well.
8) A play gorund at an elementary school.
9) A Fire Hall - most will have times when tours are available as well as Station 2 is usually a hall one could walk by and have look inside without an appointment.
10) Tolko Mill or Gorman Brothers Mill
11) The Landfill - If you have a trailer and you want to teach your teenager how to back it up, this is the perfect place to practice and give them a safe environment to learn.
12) Ride a double decker bus or ride a city bus for one full loop. You may some parts of town you have never seen before.
13) Find a construction site that has large machinery. Explain what they are doing and how they work to the best of your knowledge.
1) Hiking, biking or exploring. Look around at the number of parks and trails within the city or pick up the Kelowna Map Book and Guide.
2) The EECO centre in Mission creek park. Your children will learn about everything from fish spauning to bear droppings.
3) Kelowna Art Gallery or Hambleton Galleries on Ellis.
4) Alley surfing. If you are a project type family or you are looking for that old motorcycle/car to rebuild with your son... this could be where to start. You would be surprised by the number of people that would be glad to sell you that old VW Van under the tarp in their back yard.
5) Okanagan Regional Library
6) A pet store is always good for killing an hour
7)The Airport - if you go to the North side of the grounds you get a perfect view of the run-way and the planes will fly right over your head, not to mention the Helicopter pad is at that end as well.
8) A play gorund at an elementary school.
9) A Fire Hall - most will have times when tours are available as well as Station 2 is usually a hall one could walk by and have look inside without an appointment.
10) Tolko Mill or Gorman Brothers Mill
11) The Landfill - If you have a trailer and you want to teach your teenager how to back it up, this is the perfect place to practice and give them a safe environment to learn.
12) Ride a double decker bus or ride a city bus for one full loop. You may some parts of town you have never seen before.
13) Find a construction site that has large machinery. Explain what they are doing and how they work to the best of your knowledge.
Ponzi Scheme Explained to Kelowna
I wrote this article for the financial community of Kelowna. I wanted to explain how the scheme works and how people lost so much money from what looked like a good idea.
See a youtube video on how it works.
The Benefit: A promise that the investment will achieve an above normal rate of return. The rate of return is often specified. The promised rate of return has to be high enough to be worthwhile to the investor but not so high as to be unbelievable.
The Setup: A relatively plausible explanation of how the investment can achieve these above normal rates of return. One often-used explanation is that the investor is skilled and/or has some inside information. Another possible explanation is that the investor has access to an investment opportunity not otherwise available to the general public.
Initial Credibility: The person running the scheme needs to be believable enough to convince the initial investors to leave their money with him.
Initial Investors Paid Off: For at least a few periods the investors need to make at least the promised rate of return - if not better.
Communicated Successes: Other investors need to hear about the payoffs, such that their numbers grow exponentially. At the very least more money needs to be coming in than is being paid back to investors.
Steps in the Ponzi Scheme
Ponzi Schemes are quite basic but can be extraordinarily powerful. The steps are as follows:
Convince a few investors to place money into the investment.
After the specified time return the investment money to the investors plus the specified interest rate or return.
Pointing to the historical success of the investment, convince more investors to place their money into the system. Typically the vast majority of the earlier investors will return. Why would they not? The system has been providing them with great benefits.
Repeat steps 1 through 3 a number of times. During step 2 at one of the cycles, break the pattern. Instead of returning the investment money and paying the promised return, escape with the money and start a new life.
How Big Can Ponzi Schemes Get?
Into the billions of dollars. In 2008 we saw the fall of arguably the largest Ponzi scheme in history - Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. The scheme had all the ingredients of a classic Ponzi scheme, including a founder, Bernard L. Madoff, that had a great deal of credibility as he had been in the investment business since 1960. Madoff had also been the chairman of the board of directors of NASDAQ, an American stock exchange. The estimated losses from the Ponzi scheme are in between 34 and 50 billion U.S. dollars. The Madoff scheme collapsed; Madoff had told his sons that "clients had requested approximately $7 billion in redemptions, that he was struggling to obtain the liquidity necessary to meet those obligations." (Source).
See a youtube video on how it works.
The Benefit: A promise that the investment will achieve an above normal rate of return. The rate of return is often specified. The promised rate of return has to be high enough to be worthwhile to the investor but not so high as to be unbelievable.
The Setup: A relatively plausible explanation of how the investment can achieve these above normal rates of return. One often-used explanation is that the investor is skilled and/or has some inside information. Another possible explanation is that the investor has access to an investment opportunity not otherwise available to the general public.
Initial Credibility: The person running the scheme needs to be believable enough to convince the initial investors to leave their money with him.
Initial Investors Paid Off: For at least a few periods the investors need to make at least the promised rate of return - if not better.
Communicated Successes: Other investors need to hear about the payoffs, such that their numbers grow exponentially. At the very least more money needs to be coming in than is being paid back to investors.
Steps in the Ponzi Scheme
Ponzi Schemes are quite basic but can be extraordinarily powerful. The steps are as follows:
Convince a few investors to place money into the investment.
After the specified time return the investment money to the investors plus the specified interest rate or return.
Pointing to the historical success of the investment, convince more investors to place their money into the system. Typically the vast majority of the earlier investors will return. Why would they not? The system has been providing them with great benefits.
Repeat steps 1 through 3 a number of times. During step 2 at one of the cycles, break the pattern. Instead of returning the investment money and paying the promised return, escape with the money and start a new life.
How Big Can Ponzi Schemes Get?
Into the billions of dollars. In 2008 we saw the fall of arguably the largest Ponzi scheme in history - Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. The scheme had all the ingredients of a classic Ponzi scheme, including a founder, Bernard L. Madoff, that had a great deal of credibility as he had been in the investment business since 1960. Madoff had also been the chairman of the board of directors of NASDAQ, an American stock exchange. The estimated losses from the Ponzi scheme are in between 34 and 50 billion U.S. dollars. The Madoff scheme collapsed; Madoff had told his sons that "clients had requested approximately $7 billion in redemptions, that he was struggling to obtain the liquidity necessary to meet those obligations." (Source).
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