Betty Anne's "Calgary - Okanagan Connection"
As some of you may know, in January of this year, my husband, Dan, was transferred to Kelowna Carpet One from Kensington Carpet One in Calgary. It was a blizzardy blustery month to spend in an unskirted fifth wheel in an RV park that had to be cleared of snow with a bulldozer! For weeks, it was a tenuous situation, with the economy having frightened off house builders, home buyers, investors and renovators. Everywhere, real estate sales had slowed, and the building industry had come to a grinding halt.
In the months since then we have all started to exhale. Tentative green shoots of optimism are sprouting in the economy. People are starting to spend again-- looking to update their homes, while others are seeing the oportunity to finally afford their first home.
Calgary remains the place where I invest. Together with other family members, we have approximately 65 rental units, with both residential and commercial properties in our portfolio. I spend as much time in Calgary as I do in Kelowna, keeping an eye on the market, on the inventories of revenue properties available in Calgary, on market rents and vacancy rates. I have to because that is my business, both as a realtor and as an investor.
I continue to associate with the Alberta Chapter of the Real Estate Investment Network, or REIN group, whose full-time research team and excellent monthly workshops keep me abreast of issues related to Calgary Real Estate. I continue to be a member of the Calgary Real Estate Board and a licensed realtor with Baxter and Associates Real Estate Services. When I am not in Calgary, I use online technology to take care of business and avail myself of the other experts on my team. Doug Baxter, for example, has more than 20 years in the business. Nikki Harrison, a senior mortgage specialist, has recently expanded her repertoire and become a licensed realtor herself and brings all kinds of insight and skill to the mix, including online marketing skills sin par. The net effect, I sincerely believe, has been increased service and attention to my Calgary clients.
But 7 hours away, the Okanagan is God's Country! It's where everybody wishes they could live, isn't it? Lakes, orchards and wineries are at my doorstep. I am constantly in awe of the beauty that surrounds me here. The deer come up from the Mill Creek Regional Park in front of the house to eat our cedar hedge. The quail trundle along the side of the road followed by their flocks of worried babies. A bobcat loitered around the driveway the other day looking for an easy meal. And a bear did a two step in front of my car on a side road last week.
All around me are other Albertans who feel the same way. Many Calgarians have vacation properties in the Okanagan. Others have pulled up stakes in Calgary completely to retire to the valley. Conversely, some insightful British Columbians have recognized the opportunities to invest in Alberta. So, the market moves back and forth, the Okanagan economy very much a product of the Alberta market.
In the Okanagan, as a licensed realtor, I have discovered another wonderful and skilled bunch of people, the folks at Sundance Realty Group. Don Ferguson, aka "Father Time" has been in the Lake Country area for as long as anyone can remember. How much fun it is to explore the beautiful homes, orchards and acreages in the area with their spectacular lake and mountain views.
In conclusion, for as long as it makes sense, I will continue to "connect" Calgary and the Okanagan. My life has become richer for it and I rejoice in the opportunity to share this enthusiasm with my clients.
Until next time,
Betty Anne Tarini