• 'For sale' signs in B.C. good for buyers
  If you buy a condo, purchase in a good location in the building - such as a corner lot - and buy one with a balcony. Make sure you get a good mortgage broker and get your pre-approval in writing.



• Can You Make a Killing During the Olympics?
  If you are planning to rent a suite or room for the games, you should be organizing right now.



• West still 'paradise'
  Best Deals Come In Down Markets



• Questions, Questions
  Ozzie answers reader's questions on buying in Mexico, the 'depression', downtown condos, mortgage brokers and more.



• Questions, Questions
  Ozzie answers reader questions on strata ownership, grow-ops and investment property.



• Questions, Questions
  Ozzie Jurock answers reader questions on assessments, national real estate companies and selling tips.



• Questions, Questions
  Ozzie Jurock answers reader questions on capital gains, lines of credit and tips for selling in this market.



• Questions, Questions
  Ozzie Jurock answers reader questions on historical Vancouver prices, US buying and pre-sale deals.



• Questions, Questions...
  Ozzie answers questions on the market cycle, mortgage rates and more.



• The Joy (And Danger) of Investing in the U.S.
  Now is the time to be looking south of the border for opportunities.



• Questions, Questions
  Ozzie answers reader's questions.



• Financing, Flipping and Renting
  A reader writes: Is it a good idea to rent for a year or two then buy if we hit a valley? Or is this risky in a place like Vancouver?



• Questions And Answers
  Ozzie answers questions on the US crisis and what it may mean for us in Canada.



• Getting The Most Out Of Tax Deductions Wisely
  Every dollar that you miss as a deduction will cost you an extra 22 to 44 per cent in income taxes. So, you have a duty to look up and claim legal deductions.



• 26 Ways To Make Your Home Sell Faster
  When selling a home (or anything else for that matter), the marketing effort must be coordinated on all fronts.



• Buying US Foreclosures Requires Caution
  Is it a good idea to buy foreclosure property in the US? And other questions answered by Ozzie Jurock.



• It's Never 'Over'
  The current real estate market readjustment means it is time to buckle down and do some work for yourself. The best deals come about in tough markets.



• Western Canada Still Paradise On Earth
  We had a 10 year boom in Vancouver's real estate market - did we really expect it to rise forever?



• 10 Ways To Make Your Home Sell Faster
  The key in any market - good or bad - is to get your property placed into the 72 per cent which sell now. There is no good nor bad market, only a good or bad deal you personally make.



• Questions, Questions
  Inflation revisited and more reader questions.



• Follow the Money!
  Real estate is a hard asset and hard assets do well in inflationary periods. And we have been in highly inflationary periods for decades. We may not report it, we may understate it, but it is as real as paying the $1.45 a litre for gas.



• Questions, Questions
  Ozzie answers more reader questions...



• Questions Are The Answer
  Ozzie answers reader's questions...



• Timing Wins Over Location
  It used to be easy - if you could learn to recite, 'Location, Location, Location' from memory you were automatically a real estate expert. But now it's all about timing...



• Saskatoon Office Space 'Best Deal In Canada'
  Once off the radar of most national real estate companies, Saskatoon's office market is now being hailed as the 'best deal in the country' compared with other Western cities.



• Don't Be Trapped When Making An Offer
  Your questions answered.



• Why I Will Always Buy Real Estate
  If you place a good portion of your assets into real estate today, you won't have to worry about tomorrow.



• Flipper or Investor? Find Your Comfort Zone
  We do love owning and buying real estate, we love to own and buy it in Canada. But - in any market - pick your real estate carefully. Go back to the basics.



• The Property Investment of a Lifetime
  It's a good time to buy in land in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.



• Rule Change Sweetens Deal For Trusts
  A Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is like a mutual fund that deals only in real estate investments.



• Don't Listen to the Gloomers
  Who are these people who forever preach doom in real estate?



• Wal-Mart a Signal Something is Happening
  First it was the Big Mac index, then the Costco index, now it is clearly the Wal-Mart index when it comes to identifying up-and-coming communities.



• Understand Your Objectives as an Investor
  Real estate markets are primarily local in nature. Thus, if one looks at measurable statistics, mixes in some historical performance - one should be able to come up with a fairly accurate forecast. Factors like affordability, interest rates, inward migration, demand and supply determine, or are likely to affect, market values. The intangible - locally - is of course confidence ... but even that is measurable to some extent. The problem right now is that we are not in a normal real estate market.



• The $80,000 Condo
  $80,000 condos do exist. In our BC survey, we didn't count condo hotels, fractional ownerships or any form of timeshares (which we don't like), or condos in very remote towns, such as Port Hardy. We looked only at MLS listings.



• Another Look at the U.S.
  Ozzie Jurock offers advice for savvy investing in the U.S. property market



• Riding The Real Estate Waves
  What to do during times of uncertainty? Ozzie Jurock has some advice and looks at B.C. areas that offer value and prices that still make sense.



• Managing Property Requires Clear Goals
  Most people must rely on professionals.



• Opportunities Await Knowledgeable Buyers
  A lengthy forestry strike, shut downs at major pulp mills and an expected slowdown in Alberta and other offshore buyers may open a window of opportunity for real estate investments on Vancouver Island over the next three or four months.



• Life energy 'blueprint' aims for well-being
  Feng shui's seemingly strange rules based on common sense.



• Real Estate Heaven In 2007?
  With the economy booming, real estate prices at record highs and still ascending, a tight rental vacancy rate and thousands of people flocking into the market seeking real estate, the No. 1 question every week at Jurock's Real Estate Insider is: "Is it over, will it stop ... should I sell now, lock in the profit?"



• Environment Trend has Green Cash Potential
  GREEN: The term is everywhere these days. Climate change and global warming has become the new doomsday clock, the new cold war, the new Y2K of our collective what-if nightmares. And green is a force to be reckoned with in the real estate industry too - it would be foolish to ignore the challenges and opportunities it represents.



• Land of Lakes and Wine
  The startling real estate market that has formed in British Columbia's Southern Okanagan, as pressure from the Lower Mainland, Calgary and points east converge on a collection of eleven small towns and villages, is truly amazing.



• Write Down Your Goals for Real Estate Investment
  You've got to know where you're starting from before you can map a route to where you want to go.



• Make Your Investment Plan Personal
  When it comes to your personal real estate investment action plan, the key word here is 'personal.'



• Real Estate Action Express in Calgary, April 28
  Learn how YOU can create passive income for life through real estate!



• Becoming Older - And Wiser
  Coastal resource towns offer a number of excellent retirement-community options to attract today's seniors, who are the wealthiest in B.C.'s history.



• West Kootenays Are Luring Buyers
  While the East Kootenays have become the playground for Albertans, the West Kootenays are being seen as the new destination for Greater Vancouver buyers.



• Don't listen to the prophets of gloom
  Who are these people who forever preach doom in real estate?



• Making a Million With No Money - You Still Can
  The start of 2007 is a good time to reflect back on your finances in 2006. Did you have a real estate action plan to create passive income in the future through owning rental property? Did you achieve it? If not, why not?



• A Dose of Housing Reality
  For 37 years I have listened to the naysayers and they have always been wrong in the long run.



• Quarter shares are going from residential to business classification
  We've mentioned our 'lack of like' for fractional ownership many times before ... now there's another reason to avoid them.



• Kootenays Luring Buyers
  The Kootenays, especially the East Kootenays of British Columbia, are now the prime destination for Calgarians looking for recreational and investment real estate.



• Vancouver Island Numbers and Listings
  Average prices continue to rise, but there are still some deals...



• What you can buy for $200,000 in B.C.
  From houses on large acreages to operating bed and breakfasts...



• Single Family Homes under $150,000
  As seen on the Noon News, 10/12/05.



• Properties under $100,000
  As featured on the Noon News Hour, 9/28/05.



• Duck Hunting and the Economic Boom
  Forecasting is always difficult but Jurock's Real Estate Insider is confident that 2005 will be an historic year for Western Canada. It will be a year that will cement the economic recovery of the past few years.



• Resort to Resorts
  As the province builds towards the 2010 Olympics there are some jewels in the string of ski resorts that now dot peaks from the Coastal Mountains to the Rockies.



• Camping and Investing
  The slowdown in tourism over the past two years has resulted in some great deals in campgrounds and old resort properties in the B.C. interior.



• Is it the beginning of the downturn?
  No matter what subject I write about, the questions in the last two months are always the same: Is it a bubble? Is it over?



• Questions, Questions
  I receive hundreds of questions - here is a sample of, hopefully, general interest.



• Why I Still Buy
  Even real estate investments - seemingly the only safe haven - now start to worry the 'yeah butters' again. I mean ... could it continue, would it not collapse this time?



• TIMING
  Forget 'Location, Location, Location' - timing is everything...



• Safest Investment is in Growth Areas
  Virtually all rural regional districts in BC will have less people living there by 2005 than they did in 1996. What does this mean for real estate investors?



• 'No Inflation' But Prices Rising Everywhere
  Single family home prices skyrocket while new condos struggle



• Making a million with no money — the easy way
  This spring is a good time to reflect back on your finances in 2003. Did you have a plan to create unearned income in the future through owning rental property? Did you achieve it? If not, why not?



• Deciding where to invest in today’s hot market
  As a rule, look no farther than a three-hour drive from home



• Don't rush into buying a vacation property
  Get your priorities in order, then follow these guidelines to avoid a costly mistake



• Deals - deals - deals
  Where are the good deals in British Columbia for a real estate investor?



• Realtors find the Web a great resource
  Real estate boards in Canada are all online and about 60 per cent of Realtors have their own personal web sites



• Mortgage rates have never been better
  At a time when cash creation is increasing and inflation seems certain to rise, hard assets are, even more, your best bet - and low interest rates mean the timing is perfect for purchasing real estate



• Only time to invest is now
  In real estate investment - the only time to act is NOW. Always. There are no perfect markets, no perfect situations, and no 167 secrets to make that great buy.



• Wide variety of mortgages available for homebuyers
  Enormous choice results from competition between financial institutions



• When your real estate goes to pot
  Across Canada, police say there are more than 50,000 active grow houses. Most of them are in residential areas and the neighbours have no idea what is happening next door. That's a big problem, say police, because grow houses are a serious danger to their communities.



• Real estate versus stocks
  Of course I'm biased, but the right real estate purchase is really no different from other ways of investing your money.



• Some advice for a world of ups and downs
  Your questions answered on property, interest rates, taxes - and more



• Well, did you take my advice?
  If you'd invested in real estate instead of stocks you'd be in a favourable position today



• War threat brings confusion to rates
  In spite of turmoil, North Americans still want to own their homes



• It's never too soon to invest in property
  It isn't rocket science: Your home's your best investment



• Buy real estate in BC - it's a failsafe investment
  Living here will always be in demand



• New mortgages aimed at self-employed
  People who cannot prove how much they earned will find it easier to buy a home



• Yes, you can buy a home with no cash down
  But you're best off working with realtors who know what to do and care enough to write the offers, or use a mortgage broker



• Demographics? They don't mean a thing
  Real estate investors needn't worry about demographics - there will always be more than enough people looking to buy properties



• Whether to lock in mortgage is a tricky question
  Anyone that tells you they can answer the question: Where will interest rates go, is either a fool or a liar. I am neither.



• Unearned income: The key to wealth
  Why is it that the rich keep getting richer and the poor poorer? What is the secret? What is it that keeps money in the hands of the rich?



• Don't listen to these prophets of gloom
  There isn't a week that goes by without someone sending questions about this or that guru.



• Some questions and answers on real estate
  I have received hundreds of questions in the last few months. Here is a sample of - hopefully - general interest.



• Inflation, stock market woes make real estate a good buy
  OK, so, more inflation and more buyers taking up inventory - good for real estate right? Well, yes and no.



• Spelling out details: Make sure partnership responsibilities are clear
  All partnerships that do not have a clear, clean itemized agreement of all possibilities have a good chance to fail or at least create a lot of unhappiness.



• Why would you? (Buy a timeshare that is)
  Usually a small investor is away on holiday somewhere and it's a bright sunny day and to kill some time he finds himself walking into a timeshare building and by some mysterious chemistry he finds himself having this vision of owning the suite that is being shown. That investor should at that point run for the hills as fast as he can.



• Shark or Flipper, the market's aways good
  Whether you're cruising the real estate waters looking for opportunities or just seeking quick, short-term gain, it's all about awareness



• Study and action pay off in real estate
  We understand a lot ... it’s not enough. Action is everything. Take MASSIVE action!



• Developers ignore Feng Shui at their peril
  Just plain old common sense. Any BC builder will find it extremely useful - even necessary - to understand these concepts.



• How you, too, can predict real estate trends
  Real estate values will not rise or fall everywhere at the same time - real estate values are always local in nature.



• How can we cope with all that 'input'?
  No, technology is not going to do away with the real estate professional, but a real estate professional with technology may well do away with the professional without it.



• Worldwide, the house-price boom has arrived
  The most underreported number is the increase in house prices worldwide.



• Deciding mortgage term depends on interest
  We get a lot of questions every week. Thanks. I try to get to them all. When I don’t, don’t be mad get even - send another one.



• Hold the 'yeah, but' negativity and get on board
  Is the boom over?



• There are no bad markets - only bad deals
  Of course there is no such thing as a 'good market' or a 'bad market'. The only thing that matters is whether YOU make a good or a bad deal - whatever THE market.



• Soaring Sales Have Realtors Smiling
  Real Estate Sales roared throughout Canada (and yes, also the US) in 2001.



• Seeking a Windfall at Property Auctions
  Real estate auction sales in Canada are starting to become more popular.



• Simple ways to avoid a scam
  How do we filter out the bad deals? You've got to ask the right questions. And if you don't get the right answers you have to walk away.



• Can You Really Buy With No Money Down?
  The concept seems mythical, impossible. Something for nothing? It's too good to be true.



• Don't just think about investing - do it
  Ignore the gloomsters: the property market still gives you the best dollar return on your money that you'll ever get



• Better days likely ahead
  Stocks and real estate have traditionally rebounded after wars or disasters



• Managing a rental property can be a mixed-up world
  Often we mix up our objectives when we try to manage our rental property ourselves.



• Seller doesn't have to accept asking price offer
  Readers have a lot of questions about real estate. Here's a few of general interest.



• No certainties, but BC's real estate future looks good
  The facts of the Lower Mainland real estate market speak for themselves, and in every area the words can be considereed encouraging



• What To Buy and What Not To
  Some property classes will rise in value and other fall at the same time in the same marketplace.



• So You Wanna be a Real Estate Investor?
  Saying that all real estate is good, is like saying all mutual funds are good, let's buy some. It doesn't work there and it doesn't work for real estate.



• I Want to Buy A Condo But Where Do I Go?
  If you follow some basic principles, and you are not drawn to get to the Cariboo where the deer and the Germans roam, downtown may well be the best place for you to look



• No, I want to see the cows ... not smell them
  As more and more people move from the big urban centers and into the smaller, more saner towns ... grabbing their kids, their laptops and their satellite dishes, savvy investors can benefit from understanding their motivations. This article is the first in Ozzie Jurock's Vancouver Sun series.



• REIT'ingly Yours
  REITs are like those books that everybody quotes but nobody has read. So, let's just say that a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is like a mutual fund that deals only in real investments.



• How to Buy a Condo Right!
  Buying a Condo? While Ozzie Jurock believes that other types real estate - such as townhomes, single-family and anything with dirt under its foundations - appreciates faster than condo product, this lopsided appreciation curve may change in five to 10 years.



• Principles of Investing In Real Estate BEFORE You Buy
  It's amazing how we're constantly exhorted and bombarded by financial planners, banks, trust companies, government agencies -- you name it -- to plan for our retirement income.



• Where the Deals Are
  Creating a deal is much more an art than a craft --- it certainly isn't a science. You can make, save --- or lose --- a lot of money in how you structure your deal.



• Real Estate Principles for the New Millennium
  Over the last 30 years I?ve been involved in making major forecasts and multi-million dollar decisions on behalf of various major North American real estate firms. How to separate the wheat from the chaff is what I?ve learned.



• Do I Really Need a Realtor?
  It's time to sell the home and move to different quarters. One of the first things you're going to consider is whether to sell it yourself or use the services of a Realtor.



• BUILDING COSTS HAVE GONE THROUGH THE ROOF
  Development cost charges in some municipalities have gone through the roof. The only growth these communities want is in the DCC. Look, compare and weep ... and build where it is cheaper.



• 21 ways to make your home sell faster
  When selling a home (or anything else for that matter), the marketing effort must be coordinated on all fronts.



• Hearing gobbledygook and eyes fogged over?
  For most Canadians, today's mortgage market is bewildering.

More indepth analysis of the BC real estate market can be obtained in our Real Estate Insider section.