August 25, 2024 • 33 mins
Welcome to the Comox Valley Real Estate Podcast with your host, Monica Parkin. Monica, an author, TEDx speaker, and local mortgage broker, is here to answer all your questions about local real estate.
In today's episode, we are thrilled to have Catherine Worthy, a seasoned real estate professional with over two decades of experience in mortgage financing and real estate. Catherine, a resident of Cumberland, shares her journey from working as a business development manager at MCAP, Canada's largest non bank lender, to becoming a real estate agent. Learn about her unique insights into the financing and home buying process, and how her deep industry knowledge helps her serve clients better.
We delve into the differences between rate holds and true pre-approvals, the importance of preparing for the home buying process, and the unique charm of living in Cumberland. Catherine also discusses her community involvement and her team's creative initiatives, including transforming their office into an art gallery to support local artists.
Don't miss out on this insightful episode filled with expert advice and heartwarming community stories. Subscribe now and stay tuned for more!
If you want to reach Catherine you can find her at :
https://www.worthyrealestate.ca/
https://www.instagram.com/worthy_real_estate
https://www.linkedin.com/in/worthyrealestate
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Hello and welcome to the Comox Valley Real Estate Podcast.
My name is Monica Parkin. I'm your host. I'm an author, a TEDx speaker,
and a local mortgage broker.
And we are here today to get all your questions answered about local real estate.
Whether you are a first-time homebuyer, you are a seasoned investor,
or you're just curious about the real estate scene in the Comox Valley,
(00:24):
we are probably going to cover a topic that is interesting to you.
We're going to be talking to everyone from real estate agents,
appraisers, home inspectors, local government.
We're going to cover everything real estate in the Comox Valley.
So grab a pen and paper, grab a cup of coffee, pull up a seat,
hit the subscribe button for sure, and stay tuned for some really great conversation.
(00:49):
All right, welcome to the podcast. Today on the show, we have Catherine Worthy.
She is a seasoned real estate professional.
She is a resident of our little community of Cumberland.
She has over two decades of experience starting in mortgage financing.
That's where I originally knew her from. And then she transitioned into real
estate agent with her MBA, her deep industry knowledge, both in financing and in real estate.
(01:12):
She is really, truly an expert at guiding clients through the complexities of
buying and selling homes.
And I am super excited to have her on the the show today. So welcome, Catherine.
Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here with you.
Yeah, this is going to be great. So we're just going to dive right in.
So you previously worked, like I said, where I knew you from is you worked for
(01:33):
Canada's largest non-bank lender, I believe, MCAP, as what we call a business development manager.
So for me as a mortgage broker, that's the person that tells me about products
when I run into a problem.
You're going to guide me through the process. If there's a hiccup, last week,
one of my agents had, like they were half an hour from subject removal and there
was still this one little thing and the underwriter wasn't getting back to them
(01:54):
so I had to dial in the BDM who then like got involved and we got it across the finish line but I,
But having had that BDM background, it really gives you this real complex knowledge
of what you're doing that I think is really unique.
But what made you leave that job and decide to move over into a career in real estate?
Oh, you brought back so many memories about that subject removal and the BDM
(02:17):
and needing to call and intervene.
I was like, that used to be my life for 20 years.
Yeah, that industry, the business development manager industry was in the mortgage
finance world was really great.
I loved it. And it was super stable. So at that time, I was raising my daughter
and the stability of it was so great.
(02:40):
And then I got to a stage in the mortgage industry where I kind of hit this pinnacle.
I'd been in it for over 20 years. I won the business development manager for
Canadian Mortgage Awards for all of Canada. And I was like, where do I go from here?
And your options really are you move to Toronto.
(03:02):
Yeah. And get into, you know, the C-suite sort of stuff. And I was like, oh, I don't want that.
So I was like, well, what do I do that can keep me on Vancouver Island?
Because at that point I was in Vancouver and I wanted to move back because my
mom lives in Nanaimo and I'm an only child.
So for caregiving and stuff, I really wanted to be back here.
(03:22):
And I was like I should become a wheelchair is that a frog and,
That was my phone. A podcast host who forgot to turn off their phone.
Oh, you have to buy everybody a beer. That's right.
I can't believe that. Don't make any noise. I'm recording.
So funny. So I just wanted to be in something that I can use my knowledge.
(03:49):
But I was 20 years in one industry. It's a long time. And I was kind of done
with that. And I wanted another challenge.
Yeah. Yeah, and we do. We hit those spots. I don't know. I've definitely hit
those times in my career.
I'm like, okay, like, I love what I do, but I'm not learning anything new,
and I'm not feeling challenged.
And then, like, that location piece is a big deal. Like, I love living on the
(04:10):
island, and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
And sometimes opportunities have come up, but they would have required me to leave the island.
And, like, that's just a hard stop for me. I'm not willing to do that.
I also have aging parents here, like yourself.
And, yeah, so, So, and you chose our beautiful little community of Cumberland,
which is just up the road from me, which just gets better every day,
every time I go to Cumberland.
(04:31):
And Cumberland, honestly, like it wasn't always like that when I was a kid.
Cumberland was kind of this, I don't know, it was kind of a sketchy place on the edge of town.
I heard it was called Cumberland. Yeah, but now it's like every time I drive
through there, and I don't go there often, but I go there for tacos sometimes.
I take my dog for grooming. And when I drive down Main Street,
(04:51):
I see like kids riding their bikes and people pushing baby buggies and like teens hanging out.
Like it just, it's like that beautiful small town vibe and it just feels good.
Like it makes you feel good.
It is. It's a great, it's a great community. It's a mountain biking mecca.
There's Mount Washington for all of us. There's the lake. Like,
(05:13):
and it's, it is a small town, which is super fun because I know all my neighbors. Yeah. Right.
And when I was living in Vancouver in a condo, I didn't know any of my neighbors.
It was a little getting used to actually, I was raised in Mill Bay,
which was a small town and everyone says hello.
And it's a little awkward when you first move here because you're like,
(05:36):
why is everyone so friendly?
But it was just really friendly here.
Amazing. Amazing. I love it.
So to moving back a little bit to your background in financial services.
So we talked about, and by the way, getting BDM of the year,
you have to be really good at what you do to get that award.
That means you're a phenomenal communicator. You know everything inside out,
like people like you, respect you.
(05:57):
It's not just like a popularity contest. Like you really genuinely have to be
good at what you do to get that award.
And the people that I see winning that award every year, I'm like,
oh yeah, they deserve it. That person deserves it.
But how do you think that knowledge, because you have this in-depth knowledge
about that whole financing piece that's hand-in-hand with the home buying process,
(06:17):
how do you think that helps you to serve your clients better as a realtor?
I think it's a game changer.
For example, if I am meeting with sellers and I can tell them,
this house is going to be hard to sell.
Well this house is it's a mobile home or it's a condo with a special assessment or,
(06:38):
it's a manufactured home i can say these are harder for buyers to purchase because
of this and i can i can tell people exactly why their house will be more difficult
to finance for a standard purchaser and that could be price point there's all
sorts of things that i can that i know No,
just because I know, because I used to be the one giving the money out.
(07:02):
And then for buyers, I can coach them to ensure that they actually qualify.
And if they told me that they're pre-approved, I ask them four questions and
I know whether they're telling the truth or not and whether they're really pre-approved
and if it's really a pre-approval versus a rate hold, which we can talk about.
And then for realtors, I can be like, I know these buyers will get financing
(07:25):
because I I already have it vetted.
I don't work with anyone unless I can have communication with their mortgage broker or.
And we can do this together. I always work with the mortgage broker and I want
to be CC'd and everything.
And we're going to communicate openly so that we can make sure that this process
is as clean and transparent and smooth as possible.
(07:49):
Yeah. And it really is like, it really is a team, not sport,
but like I've been in those situations as a, as a broker where the realtor,
like, I don't want to know about it, just get it done.
And I've been in ones where we get to communicate back and forth.
And even something as simple as I can say, like, hey, you know,
you've got on the MLS that it's a fixer-upper.
If you could just take that off before you list it, that's just going to remove,
(08:11):
it's just going to make the whole process easier.
Like, okay, maybe it needs some fresh wallpaper and paint. But as soon as you
put fixer-upper on there or horse special, like this is great for a horse owner.
Well, now it's all of a sudden like flagged as this farm type property and it changes everything.
So just for you, those awareness when you're even writing your listing,
(08:32):
you know, and we're not talking about dishonesty, you're going to be absolutely
transparent, but not using unnecessary adjectives that are going to have a negative
impact on that next person's ability to get financing for that property, right?
Yes. And if it's a log house, for instance, so I have a client right now and
they're looking at a log house and they were working with a mortgage broker.
(08:54):
So I said, please reach out to your mortgage broker and make sure that they're
going to be able to get you financing
on a log house because not every lender will lend on a log house.
And so then they did. And she came back and And she says, it's going to be an
exception, but I think I can get it done.
This is the price you can go up to. And now I'm like, okay, now let's go look
(09:16):
at the log house of your dreams and see if you actually like it.
Yeah, because nothing worse. I was actually talking about this on the past show
with another realtor, but nothing worse than going and looking at a place,
falling in love with it, and then finding out that you can't afford it,
you can't get financing, it's not going to fit in a box.
Because then your heart's broken and everything else you look at after that,
(09:38):
you're now comparing to that thing.
Everything compares to it. Right. So why not get that out of the way first?
And I love that too. When I'm communicating with a realtor and like,
maybe we're down to the wire, like that situation where it's subject removal in an hour.
And I can say like, I'm this close.
This is what the obstacle is. And if I was talking to someone that had a finance
background and I said, hey, all we're doing is, is I'm just waiting on a gift
(10:00):
letter to verify the down payment. Then you would be like, okay, I have no concerns.
But if I said it was something else, then you might be like,
okay, okay, maybe we do need an extension.
So just that kind of knowledge and understanding, I think,
really helps bring that team piece together where you can together get that
across the finish line and also remove all the stress for the buyer because
now you're not necessarily dragging the buyer into these things that they don't
(10:22):
necessarily understand.
You're just working away in the background to get this done,
and all the stress is gone from the process.
Yes, and a lot of when I phone a mortgage broker, they know who I am.
Yeah. And we talk the talk, like we're doing GDS, TDS, LTV. We're doing all the acronyms. Yeah.
But then I know exactly, they're like, well, the TDS is 46.8, but the GDS is 37.9.
(10:47):
And that's with a 30-year amort and blah, blah, blah.
And I'm like, okay. And then I'm like, well, are you doing a rental offset?
And then they're like, well, we don't use rental offsets anymore,
whatever the story is. Yeah. But we can talk the talk so that when I go back to the buyer...
I can actually explain to them in, you know, realtor terms where we're at.
(11:09):
Yeah. We can either add value with another solution because sometimes two heads
are better than one, or if there is no solution, at least you can explain why
there isn't a solution and why you need to go to a different property or a different
price point or whatever.
So yeah, that's, I think that's just, it's very unique to have that in a realtor.
And I think it's a, it's a really amazing quality.
So moving on, and this might be a very similar question.
(11:31):
So as a follow-up to this, but for you, and we talked about this a little bit,
but moving from a bigger city to a small town like Cumberland,
I know part of your reason for moving was your mom and wanting a change.
But for clients that are moving to Cumberland, what's the best kept secret that you want to tell them?
What are the things that you think they should know about, maybe not even Cumberland,
(11:53):
but moving from a big city to a small city?
Or what's a little gem about Cumberland that you want them to know about?
Our focus in the past has always
been on demographics like i don't know like oak
bay was full of old people and other areas was
full of young people i think that people on
the island we're living here for climate we're living
(12:14):
here for our values and so i feel
that it's about a value or
philosophy of living that's happening in the
comox valley and especially in cumberland so it's not just young people and
it's not just old people it's a diverse range of ages which is i think makes
(12:34):
it for a great community and it's people who want to garden and want to.
Walk to their little grocery store and want
to walk to the post office and people and this
is so cute there's people just moving here from vancouver and they're
like because they get a post office box here
and they're like can we offer home delivery i'm like
(12:58):
no you have to walk to the
post office and get your mail that
is how it works here oh okay and
it is so small town yeah but it's great and i said don't worry you'll get used
to it you'll love it it's right next to the ice cream place yeah speaking of
that great ice cream in cumberland right that yeah that's It's almost becoming
(13:22):
a world-renowned ice cream cream stop if you're on the island.
That's amazing. Your favorite piece of advice. I feel like I know what this
is going to be, but for someone that's about to walk into the home buying process,
they come to you, we want to start looking for a house, what's going to be the
first thing that you're going to tell them?
So, you know it's going to be to get a pre-approval. And to get an actual pre-approval
(13:45):
because if you're not truly pre-approved,
you're going to set yourself up for disappointment. And then you're going to
get angry at me and you're going to get angry at the mortgage person.
You're going to get angry with yourself and then it all falls apart.
So just having a true pre-approval is just setting yourself up for success.
(14:05):
I also have written a book. It's a buyer's guide.
Not as big as your book and as extensive as your book that you've written,
but it's a 60-page book about the buying process.
And then I also have a book written about the same size, but the selling process.
So those I give to clients, but there is no point looking for a house without a true pre-approval.
(14:29):
And it doesn't matter if you already own a house, you still have to know what
you can do because you might own the house, but you want to buy a house.
Can you buy the house without selling the house? Or do you have to sell the
house before you buy the house?
Purchasing a of home is complicated and it's a huge investment.
And so to be prepared and know where you stand is, it's the only thing.
(14:53):
Yeah. Yeah. I was a secondary.
Yeah. A hundred percent agree. And it is such a complex thing.
And just because, and that's the other thing is just because you qualified,
cause I'll get that sometimes, but we qualified five years ago for five,
for 600 K and we make more money now.
So we're totally good for 700 K. Well, the world has changed dramatically from five years ago.
The interest rates have gone up, the stress test, you know, like there's so
(15:16):
many different things that have come in that weren't there.
Like you might not even qualify for what you qualified five years ago,
or maybe there's a reason why you qualify for more that we're not aware of.
Maybe you've got more equity in this house, maybe like something else has happened,
but you really, you really want to take a look at that.
That was the best piece of advice that Realtor actually gave me like in my twenties
(15:37):
before I was even a mortgage broker is I went out and said, hey,
I'd love to start looking at houses.
I want to buy a house. I've got a down payment. And she said, whoa, whoa, whoa.
I'm going to hook you up with a broker. You need to get a pre-approval and then we'll talk.
Well, it turns out I could not qualify at all. I was self-employed.
I thought, well, I'm making tons of money. I'm good. But I didn't have two years.
(15:57):
I was writing down all my expenses, even though I had a great gross income.
I didn't have two years in that business and I didn't have a good net income
and there's no way I could have qualified.
So I would have spent two or three weeks looking at houses, getting all invested,
Spending her time, spending the buyer's time.
All for what? A whole bunch of stress and then disappointment.
Instead, I was able to sit down with this guy, and this is part of what made
(16:18):
me want to become a mortgage broker.
And he said, okay, you're not here now, but these are the things that you need to do.
This is when you're going to be able to purchase. Come back and see me in a
year. You're going to be in a good spot then. This is what you need to start doing.
And I did all those things, and then I got to purchase. But it went from what
could have been like a really devastating experience of, oh,
I missed out on that house, to, okay, I got a plan. I know what I'm going to
(16:40):
do, and I'm going to get there.
So sometimes it's not today. Sometimes it's tomorrow or next week,
but you still need to know that and you need to know how to get there. Yeah.
And I find that some people, this is what I hope, is that some people are like,
I'm never going to be able to afford a home.
I'm never going to be able to buy a house. I'm never going to be able to get this home.
(17:01):
I'm never going to be able to get into the market and I'm going to be renting for the rest of my
life and I'm like no you need you
need to get your financial helps in order and you need to talk
to a mortgage specialist and you need to start small
maybe just get a one-bedroom condo but you just you got to start the journey
we don't all end up with the oceanfront massive house as our starter home you
(17:26):
gotta you gotta work the system and if you had bad credit you can fix that over time.
And if you're working part-time, you can get full-time. And it is a journey.
And if you do it with a mortgage specialist, a mortgage broker,
a mortgage professional, you're just going to be in a very positive spot.
And it's going to happen. Yeah. And it does happen. I see it happen.
(17:49):
And it's the most fulfilling files I ever have, where you have someone who's
had to pass bankruptcy or separation or whatever, all this stuff,
or they've lost their job. And they're like, I'm never, ever getting into a the house.
And then three years later, you're like, we're good to go.
It is the best feeling ever. And I love that. But I don't want to miss out on
a really important topic.
So I want to go back to the pre-approval topic because this is one that a lot
(18:11):
of people don't understand.
And I even often have clients come to me and say, hey, we made an offer.
We were pre-approved for this amount.
Went to get our mortgage and the whole thing just fell apart.
What the heck? What's going on?
I hadn't given them that pre-approval, but they'd gotten a pre-approval somewhere
or they'd gone on online and fill out a form, punched in their income and their
debts, and it would spit out a little pre-approval certificate.
(18:32):
And that is not a pre-approval. So let's talk about that so people are clear
about what is and isn't a pre-approval.
It's a great question. I used to be the business development manager for ING
Direct before it became Tangerine.
And this is a great example of the difference between a rate hold and a pre-approval.
So back in the day, you could just do a rate hold and you would just put your
(18:54):
name and number and a mortgage amount and it would hold your rate.
And then it was like, oh, I can get $600,000 mortgage rate.
Or they could even put in a little bit more. You can put in some other portals online with banks.
We'll have, you know, you put your income in and how long have you lived in
your home and how much you pay for rent and your assets and liabilities.
(19:16):
You can afford $750,000.
But that's just a rate hold. True pre-approval means that there's been a hard
credit pull on your credit bureau.
It means that people have asked for
your income documentation they've made extra inquiries about your employment
(19:38):
they've actually vetted your down payment and we can talk about deposits in
27 million bank accounts but we don't have to keep everything in the same bank account and just,
someone has spent the time to actually do a deep dive just like a financial
planner this is what a a mortgage broker does, does a deep dive to make sure
(20:00):
you can afford and actually have a true, what's called a true pre-approval.
Because a rate hold is worth nothing but the paper it's on, which is, you know, seven cents.
Whereas a true pre-approval, you can take that and that actually,
you can go with some sort of security that you are actually going to be able to afford that house.
(20:22):
Right. Yeah. And that someone's looked through those documents because sometimes,
you know, Even the client will say, well, I make $60,000 a year.
But then the broker looks at it and goes, well, this includes overtime,
and you've only been at this job for this long, so we can't use that.
We can only use your pay. There's just all these little intricacies,
and maybe that doesn't mean it's not going to get done.
Maybe it needs to go to a different lender, but those are things that...
(20:44):
A real pre-approval means you've submitted your pay stubs, you've submitted
your T4s, whatever it is.
If you're self-employed, they've looked at your corporate documents.
And the down payment piece sometimes is even the bigger obstacle than the income.
And just like you're saying, my biggest piece of advice for buyers is that 90-day
history of your down payment. Have it in one account.
Don't have stuff coming in and out because here's the thing.
(21:07):
We need to verify every single large deposit in or out of that account in the
last 90 days. So, you know, I recently had a deal where the 90-day history looked
beautiful, looked perfect. I'm like, we're good to go.
Two weeks later, they submit their offer. So we get just a slightly updated
90-day history. And now there's a $15,000 deposit there.
And I'm like, oh, gosh. Look at that countdown. Oh, gosh. Remember I said don't
(21:30):
make any deposits or withdrawals? Like, what happened?
Oh, we sold a car and we put the money in there.
But it wasn't even in just in one $15,000. It was part cash. It was part bank draft.
You know so thankfully like it was a car purchase so we
could prove it but they didn't actually have like a formal transfer
paper so it was a handwritten note and like it
(21:50):
got quite stressful and they're like well can we just not use this I'm like
like we can't unsee it once it's there it's there
even if you're not using it for your down payment you know the federal government
requires us for money laundering to make sure we know the source of those funds
so yeah that's my biggest piece of advice is like just keep that account clean
and don't be the person that transfers your check into savings and back and
(22:12):
forth and all around your line of credit because.
It's literally a nightmare for your lender and it's going to hold up your
approval just put it in one account leave it there let it
accumulate and keep it in one spot keep it in one spot yeah i know i think i'm
probably a nightmare client in that because i used to work for bank of montreal
and i worked for tangerine while i ng direct but my account's still there and
(22:34):
i have an account like i have an account with every bank i used to work with
and they all have a certain purpose,
but if I was to buy a house, I would have to move money from all of them to one of them.
And I just know, I just know that a mortgage broker would be like,
you know better, you know better.
And I'd be like, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
What's going on, Catherine? What happened? I know. Like this much paperwork.
(23:00):
Yeah, 100%. So just something to be aware of. Any market updates you want to share with us?
Anything exciting going on in the industry other than we know they brought in
30-year amortizations for new builds?
I don't know how many people that's going to help, but it's better than nothing.
I think the ones that have affected buyers the most lately is the increase in
(23:26):
the waiving of the property transfer tax for new builds up to 1.1.
And the first time home buyer being able to buy up to $830,000 and still getting
the credit for the first $500,000.
I think those are...
Normally, I don't like anything the government does, because everything they
(23:47):
do is always to ruin and wreck and make things harder.
But I was like, those are good. Like the government actually did something really positive for buyers.
And I thought that was great. rate. So, you know, I think the fact that finally
inflation is staying at two and a half percent and is not skyrocketing,
(24:07):
I think that is great for all of us with variable rate mortgages,
and who have just been biding our time and praying for the rates to drop.
So I think that's a really positive thing. You know, with the rail strike,
that's super interesting.
And with an election in the US coming up, an election in Canada coming up.
Now, there's a lot of factors to suppress rates right now and keep them at least not going up.
(24:37):
And I think that adds some stability and some assurance for people who are buying and selling.
They can move forward assured that things aren't going to go crazy.
Yeah, I think that's good.
Yeah, 100%. Do you have a favorite? Like, I don't know.
I kind of have favorite, not that like I don't love all my clients,
(24:58):
but we all have a certain demographic that we get really excited to work with.
Not that we don't work with everyone, but do you have a particular type of buyer
or seller that you feel like, oh, that's really my little niche.
I really like working in this particular zone. Yeah, I work with,
so me personally, I tend to work with a lot of first-time home buyers or a lot of downsizers.
Like I work with a lot of people who are, you know.
(25:23):
Either moving from this massive house to a condo or something smaller or moving
into Berwick or someplace like that.
I just, and I think it's probably because I'm, you know, hitting my own certain demographic there.
So I think that I have that I just naturally attract.
And then the first time home buyer, just because of my background in mortgages,
(25:46):
it just makes their transaction action so much
more smooth because i'm with them
the whole way on the finance piece we just
brought on a girl laura pratica and she is
a farm specialist oh very cool so that's pretty cool because lots of people
from the mainland they come over here and they want to buy acreage and and there's
(26:10):
a you know there's a shallow well and there's this and then there's septic and
i'm I'm like, I don't think the septic should be above the well,
but I'm not a professional on this. And we actually have a farm specialist.
And the other day we were talking and she's like, yeah, that well,
that's not going to work because it's got a horse, cow and chicken manure around it.
That is not if it was goat and sheep, it'd be OK. And I'm like, wow.
(26:35):
You know, so it's good to have that.
That's great. Yeah, it is someone who lived out in Black Creek for years and
recently sold a home in Black Creek.
That's a legit thing. And I actually tell a story similar to this in my book
where I was dealing with a realtor at the time and my husband and I just wanted
this house. We just wanted it so bad.
And he's like, you know, Monica, I hate to do this to you and I don't want to
(26:55):
lose the sale. I really need the money.
I don't know, it was 2018 or whatever that bad year was.
I can't remember. but he's like but i just want you to
see this like the well is right here and two feet
away is the lid to your septic like do you want to buy
a home where your septic is two feet from your well and i
can see you're gonna have a baby any day now like think this through you know
(27:16):
and it made us step back and go oh okay but we had no awareness of that but
that was something that he had an awareness about and those are unique things
that show up in farm properties which is kind of properties we were looking
at and so to have someone that's got that unique insight and skill
set and knowledge is like, that's just a value add, right?
Oh, it's so good. And then I know I'm not leading anyone down the wrong path
(27:39):
and finding something out way too late.
Yeah. Yeah. And that's, you know, that's so important.
Yeah. And diversity in a team is an amazing thing where you've got a team and
everyone's got different skill sets.
So you can all work together, you can share knowledge, but then also work,
you know, within your zone of genius too. Yeah, within your zone of genius.
Farms are not my zone of genius. Yeah. Right on.
(28:02):
I love it. I also love, and this is one of the reasons I reached out to you,
is because I constantly see you out in your community doing things to support
the community, being involved in the community, which is something like this close to my heart also.
So just as we're wrapping up, what are some of the favorite ways you've gotten,
I remember seeing, I want to say it was a fungi exhibit or a mushroom thing,
but what are some of the favorite ways that you've gotten involved in your community?
(28:26):
And is there anything you have coming up that you want to tell us about or resources
you want people to be able to access?
Yeah, we do crazy things. So we volunteer a lot in the community.
I was calling for bingo for a while for the Cumberland School Society, which was fun.
I'm on the board of directors with the Cumberland Community Forest Society.
That's where the Fungus Among Us art exhibit came up.
(28:48):
So our main service to community,
I would say, is we have this great office in Cumberland,
but there's only two or three of of us and we don't need a big office but we
didn't want to work from home anymore so we have this beautiful front office
so what we've done is we allow artists to do two months shows.
(29:13):
And we don't charge commission and we just give them our space and let them
hang their art and sell it display it some people don't want to sell their art
some people do want to sell their art,
and we give them an opening, which is super fun with music and drinks and hors d'oeuvres.
(29:33):
And then they have their show for two months of which we give them a key to
the office. And we're just like, if you want to be here, great.
And, and then they get to keep all their proceeds. So we just allow our space
to become an art gallery.
That is so amazing. I love that. I'm going to tell my kid about this and they're
going to want to come see it because their dream, they're like,
my entrepreneurial dream,
(29:54):
mom, is to open like half coffee shop, half art studio where people can just
randomly come in and all the supplies are there and they can just work on their
stuff or they can have a coffee.
So I got to tell her. That's a great idea. The real estate slash art gallery
office. That sounds awesome. I'm going to come check it out.
It's the reverse of prohibition where they would have like the office in the
(30:16):
front and party in the back.
Yeah. We have party in the front and office in the back because no one wants
to come to a real estate office. They're like, oh, it's a real estate office.
Oh, it's almost as bad as a mortgage office. Right. So I think that what's great
about it is that people come in and see great art.
I love it. I love it. It's amazing. And yeah, I'm up and coming on about four times a year.
(30:37):
So I got to make sure I pop in and check out the artwork.
That's great. Great. How do people find you if they want to connect?
So they can either find us, our website is worthyrealestate.ca.
Very simple. And or they can phone me, text me 250-937-9856.
I'm on Instagram, Worthy Real Estate, Facebook. Awesome. Awesome.
(31:02):
And I put all those links in the show notes too. So if anyone can't remember
them, needs to find them, you can just click on the show notes and you'll get to them.
So we're on all the things yeah on all the
things that's all that matters whatever platform you use type in
katherine you can whatsapp us we're actually
actually we're gonna do a tiktok with laura with her
chicken and it's gonna be like i'm a crazy chicken lady who else has like over
(31:28):
100 chickens no way i know so you could be chicken ladies together yeah you
can come on the tiktok video because she's going to do this thing about what
were you too chicken to ask?
And she's going to hold her chicken. How brilliant.
And say, what were you too chicken to ask? And then Beatrice or whatever is
(31:48):
going to be like, give you the, yeah, give you the answer.
Oh my gosh. That is so fun. You
totally got to tag me when you post that video because I want to see it.
And that was my next question. I was going to ask you if you're on TikTok.
So it sounds like you are.
So I'm going to follow you on TikTok. We're working on it. We're working on
it. You got to have something. You have to have a stick, I think. That's right.
That's right. Yeah. Okay. Okay, well, I'm looking forward to the TikTok debut.
(32:11):
I'm going to eagerly await that. And thank you so much for coming on today.
And it's been a pleasure. Thank you.
And that's a wrap. Thanks for joining us this week on the podcast.
If you would like to connect with any of the guests that you've heard today,
you can find their information on the show notes at www.comoxvalleyrealestatepodcast.com.
(32:34):
The opinions expressed here by the professionals are their own.
They should not be taken for legal or financial advice.
You should always seek out your accountant lawyer if you're going to make a
large financial decision.
If you have a suggestion for someone that would make a great guest that has
some value to offer the listeners, I would love to hear about it.
Or if you just have a question, feel free to reach out to me at mortgages at monicaparkin.ca.
(32:59):
Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and have a fabulous week. you.
Music.
Hello and welcome to the Comox Valley Real Estate Podcast.
My name is Monica Parkin. I'm your host. I'm an author, a TEDx speaker,
and a local mortgage broker.
And we are here today to get all your questions answered about local real estate.
Whether you are a first-time homebuyer, you are a seasoned investor,
or you're just curious about the real estate scene in the Comox Valley,
(00:24):
we are probably going to cover a topic that is interesting to you.
We're going to be talking to everyone from real estate agents,
appraisers, home inspectors, local government.
We're going to cover everything real estate in the Comox Valley.
So grab a pen and paper, grab a cup of coffee, pull up a seat,
hit the subscribe button for sure, and stay tuned for some really great conversation.
(00:49):
All right, welcome to the podcast. Today on the show, we have Catherine Worthy.
She is a seasoned real estate professional.
She is a resident of our little community of Cumberland.
She has over two decades of experience starting in mortgage financing.
That's where I originally knew her from. And then she transitioned into real
estate agent with her MBA, her deep industry knowledge, both in financing and in real estate.
(01:12):
She is really, truly an expert at guiding clients through the complexities of
buying and selling homes.
And I am super excited to have her on the the show today. So welcome, Catherine.
Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here with you.
Yeah, this is going to be great. So we're just going to dive right in.
So you previously worked, like I said, where I knew you from is you worked for
(01:33):
Canada's largest non-bank lender, I believe, MCAP, as what we call a business development manager.
So for me as a mortgage broker, that's the person that tells me about products
when I run into a problem.
You're going to guide me through the process. If there's a hiccup, last week,
one of my agents had, like they were half an hour from subject removal and there
was still this one little thing and the underwriter wasn't getting back to them
(01:54):
so I had to dial in the BDM who then like got involved and we got it across the finish line but I,
But having had that BDM background, it really gives you this real complex knowledge
of what you're doing that I think is really unique.
But what made you leave that job and decide to move over into a career in real estate?
Oh, you brought back so many memories about that subject removal and the BDM
(02:17):
and needing to call and intervene.
I was like, that used to be my life for 20 years.
Yeah, that industry, the business development manager industry was in the mortgage
finance world was really great.
I loved it. And it was super stable. So at that time, I was raising my daughter
and the stability of it was so great.
(02:40):
And then I got to a stage in the mortgage industry where I kind of hit this pinnacle.
I'd been in it for over 20 years. I won the business development manager for
Canadian Mortgage Awards for all of Canada. And I was like, where do I go from here?
And your options really are you move to Toronto.
(03:02):
Yeah. And get into, you know, the C-suite sort of stuff. And I was like, oh, I don't want that.
So I was like, well, what do I do that can keep me on Vancouver Island?
Because at that point I was in Vancouver and I wanted to move back because my
mom lives in Nanaimo and I'm an only child.
So for caregiving and stuff, I really wanted to be back here.
(03:22):
And I was like I should become a wheelchair is that a frog and,
That was my phone. A podcast host who forgot to turn off their phone.
Oh, you have to buy everybody a beer. That's right.
I can't believe that. Don't make any noise. I'm recording.
So funny. So I just wanted to be in something that I can use my knowledge.
(03:49):
But I was 20 years in one industry. It's a long time. And I was kind of done
with that. And I wanted another challenge.
Yeah. Yeah, and we do. We hit those spots. I don't know. I've definitely hit
those times in my career.
I'm like, okay, like, I love what I do, but I'm not learning anything new,
and I'm not feeling challenged.
And then, like, that location piece is a big deal. Like, I love living on the
(04:10):
island, and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
And sometimes opportunities have come up, but they would have required me to leave the island.
And, like, that's just a hard stop for me. I'm not willing to do that.
I also have aging parents here, like yourself.
And, yeah, so, So, and you chose our beautiful little community of Cumberland,
which is just up the road from me, which just gets better every day,
every time I go to Cumberland.
(04:31):
And Cumberland, honestly, like it wasn't always like that when I was a kid.
Cumberland was kind of this, I don't know, it was kind of a sketchy place on the edge of town.
I heard it was called Cumberland. Yeah, but now it's like every time I drive
through there, and I don't go there often, but I go there for tacos sometimes.
I take my dog for grooming. And when I drive down Main Street,
(04:51):
I see like kids riding their bikes and people pushing baby buggies and like teens hanging out.
Like it just, it's like that beautiful small town vibe and it just feels good.
Like it makes you feel good.
It is. It's a great, it's a great community. It's a mountain biking mecca.
There's Mount Washington for all of us. There's the lake. Like,
(05:13):
and it's, it is a small town, which is super fun because I know all my neighbors. Yeah. Right.
And when I was living in Vancouver in a condo, I didn't know any of my neighbors.
It was a little getting used to actually, I was raised in Mill Bay,
which was a small town and everyone says hello.
And it's a little awkward when you first move here because you're like,
(05:36):
why is everyone so friendly?
But it was just really friendly here.
Amazing. Amazing. I love it.
So to moving back a little bit to your background in financial services.
So we talked about, and by the way, getting BDM of the year,
you have to be really good at what you do to get that award.
That means you're a phenomenal communicator. You know everything inside out,
like people like you, respect you.
(05:57):
It's not just like a popularity contest. Like you really genuinely have to be
good at what you do to get that award.
And the people that I see winning that award every year, I'm like,
oh yeah, they deserve it. That person deserves it.
But how do you think that knowledge, because you have this in-depth knowledge
about that whole financing piece that's hand-in-hand with the home buying process,
(06:17):
how do you think that helps you to serve your clients better as a realtor?
I think it's a game changer.
For example, if I am meeting with sellers and I can tell them,
this house is going to be hard to sell.
Well this house is it's a mobile home or it's a condo with a special assessment or,
(06:38):
it's a manufactured home i can say these are harder for buyers to purchase because
of this and i can i can tell people exactly why their house will be more difficult
to finance for a standard purchaser and that could be price point there's all
sorts of things that i can that i know No,
just because I know, because I used to be the one giving the money out.
(07:02):
And then for buyers, I can coach them to ensure that they actually qualify.
And if they told me that they're pre-approved, I ask them four questions and
I know whether they're telling the truth or not and whether they're really pre-approved
and if it's really a pre-approval versus a rate hold, which we can talk about.
And then for realtors, I can be like, I know these buyers will get financing
(07:25):
because I I already have it vetted.
I don't work with anyone unless I can have communication with their mortgage broker or.
And we can do this together. I always work with the mortgage broker and I want
to be CC'd and everything.
And we're going to communicate openly so that we can make sure that this process
is as clean and transparent and smooth as possible.
(07:49):
Yeah. And it really is like, it really is a team, not sport,
but like I've been in those situations as a, as a broker where the realtor,
like, I don't want to know about it, just get it done.
And I've been in ones where we get to communicate back and forth.
And even something as simple as I can say, like, hey, you know,
you've got on the MLS that it's a fixer-upper.
If you could just take that off before you list it, that's just going to remove,
(08:11):
it's just going to make the whole process easier.
Like, okay, maybe it needs some fresh wallpaper and paint. But as soon as you
put fixer-upper on there or horse special, like this is great for a horse owner.
Well, now it's all of a sudden like flagged as this farm type property and it changes everything.
So just for you, those awareness when you're even writing your listing,
(08:32):
you know, and we're not talking about dishonesty, you're going to be absolutely
transparent, but not using unnecessary adjectives that are going to have a negative
impact on that next person's ability to get financing for that property, right?
Yes. And if it's a log house, for instance, so I have a client right now and
they're looking at a log house and they were working with a mortgage broker.
(08:54):
So I said, please reach out to your mortgage broker and make sure that they're
going to be able to get you financing
on a log house because not every lender will lend on a log house.
And so then they did. And she came back and And she says, it's going to be an
exception, but I think I can get it done.
This is the price you can go up to. And now I'm like, okay, now let's go look
(09:16):
at the log house of your dreams and see if you actually like it.
Yeah, because nothing worse. I was actually talking about this on the past show
with another realtor, but nothing worse than going and looking at a place,
falling in love with it, and then finding out that you can't afford it,
you can't get financing, it's not going to fit in a box.
Because then your heart's broken and everything else you look at after that,
(09:38):
you're now comparing to that thing.
Everything compares to it. Right. So why not get that out of the way first?
And I love that too. When I'm communicating with a realtor and like,
maybe we're down to the wire, like that situation where it's subject removal in an hour.
And I can say like, I'm this close.
This is what the obstacle is. And if I was talking to someone that had a finance
background and I said, hey, all we're doing is, is I'm just waiting on a gift
(10:00):
letter to verify the down payment. Then you would be like, okay, I have no concerns.
But if I said it was something else, then you might be like,
okay, okay, maybe we do need an extension.
So just that kind of knowledge and understanding, I think,
really helps bring that team piece together where you can together get that
across the finish line and also remove all the stress for the buyer because
now you're not necessarily dragging the buyer into these things that they don't
(10:22):
necessarily understand.
You're just working away in the background to get this done,
and all the stress is gone from the process.
Yes, and a lot of when I phone a mortgage broker, they know who I am.
Yeah. And we talk the talk, like we're doing GDS, TDS, LTV. We're doing all the acronyms. Yeah.
But then I know exactly, they're like, well, the TDS is 46.8, but the GDS is 37.9.
(10:47):
And that's with a 30-year amort and blah, blah, blah.
And I'm like, okay. And then I'm like, well, are you doing a rental offset?
And then they're like, well, we don't use rental offsets anymore,
whatever the story is. Yeah. But we can talk the talk so that when I go back to the buyer...
I can actually explain to them in, you know, realtor terms where we're at.
(11:09):
Yeah. We can either add value with another solution because sometimes two heads
are better than one, or if there is no solution, at least you can explain why
there isn't a solution and why you need to go to a different property or a different
price point or whatever.
So yeah, that's, I think that's just, it's very unique to have that in a realtor.
And I think it's a, it's a really amazing quality.
So moving on, and this might be a very similar question.
(11:31):
So as a follow-up to this, but for you, and we talked about this a little bit,
but moving from a bigger city to a small town like Cumberland,
I know part of your reason for moving was your mom and wanting a change.
But for clients that are moving to Cumberland, what's the best kept secret that you want to tell them?
What are the things that you think they should know about, maybe not even Cumberland,
(11:53):
but moving from a big city to a small city?
Or what's a little gem about Cumberland that you want them to know about?
Our focus in the past has always
been on demographics like i don't know like oak
bay was full of old people and other areas was
full of young people i think that people on
the island we're living here for climate we're living
(12:14):
here for our values and so i feel
that it's about a value or
philosophy of living that's happening in the
comox valley and especially in cumberland so it's not just young people and
it's not just old people it's a diverse range of ages which is i think makes
(12:34):
it for a great community and it's people who want to garden and want to.
Walk to their little grocery store and want
to walk to the post office and people and this
is so cute there's people just moving here from vancouver and they're
like because they get a post office box here
and they're like can we offer home delivery i'm like
(12:58):
no you have to walk to the
post office and get your mail that
is how it works here oh okay and
it is so small town yeah but it's great and i said don't worry you'll get used
to it you'll love it it's right next to the ice cream place yeah speaking of
that great ice cream in cumberland right that yeah that's It's almost becoming
(13:22):
a world-renowned ice cream cream stop if you're on the island.
That's amazing. Your favorite piece of advice. I feel like I know what this
is going to be, but for someone that's about to walk into the home buying process,
they come to you, we want to start looking for a house, what's going to be the
first thing that you're going to tell them?
So, you know it's going to be to get a pre-approval. And to get an actual pre-approval
(13:45):
because if you're not truly pre-approved,
you're going to set yourself up for disappointment. And then you're going to
get angry at me and you're going to get angry at the mortgage person.
You're going to get angry with yourself and then it all falls apart.
So just having a true pre-approval is just setting yourself up for success.
(14:05):
I also have written a book. It's a buyer's guide.
Not as big as your book and as extensive as your book that you've written,
but it's a 60-page book about the buying process.
And then I also have a book written about the same size, but the selling process.
So those I give to clients, but there is no point looking for a house without a true pre-approval.
(14:29):
And it doesn't matter if you already own a house, you still have to know what
you can do because you might own the house, but you want to buy a house.
Can you buy the house without selling the house? Or do you have to sell the
house before you buy the house?
Purchasing a of home is complicated and it's a huge investment.
And so to be prepared and know where you stand is, it's the only thing.
(14:53):
Yeah. Yeah. I was a secondary.
Yeah. A hundred percent agree. And it is such a complex thing.
And just because, and that's the other thing is just because you qualified,
cause I'll get that sometimes, but we qualified five years ago for five,
for 600 K and we make more money now.
So we're totally good for 700 K. Well, the world has changed dramatically from five years ago.
The interest rates have gone up, the stress test, you know, like there's so
(15:16):
many different things that have come in that weren't there.
Like you might not even qualify for what you qualified five years ago,
or maybe there's a reason why you qualify for more that we're not aware of.
Maybe you've got more equity in this house, maybe like something else has happened,
but you really, you really want to take a look at that.
That was the best piece of advice that Realtor actually gave me like in my twenties
(15:37):
before I was even a mortgage broker is I went out and said, hey,
I'd love to start looking at houses.
I want to buy a house. I've got a down payment. And she said, whoa, whoa, whoa.
I'm going to hook you up with a broker. You need to get a pre-approval and then we'll talk.
Well, it turns out I could not qualify at all. I was self-employed.
I thought, well, I'm making tons of money. I'm good. But I didn't have two years.
(15:57):
I was writing down all my expenses, even though I had a great gross income.
I didn't have two years in that business and I didn't have a good net income
and there's no way I could have qualified.
So I would have spent two or three weeks looking at houses, getting all invested,
Spending her time, spending the buyer's time.
All for what? A whole bunch of stress and then disappointment.
Instead, I was able to sit down with this guy, and this is part of what made
(16:18):
me want to become a mortgage broker.
And he said, okay, you're not here now, but these are the things that you need to do.
This is when you're going to be able to purchase. Come back and see me in a
year. You're going to be in a good spot then. This is what you need to start doing.
And I did all those things, and then I got to purchase. But it went from what
could have been like a really devastating experience of, oh,
I missed out on that house, to, okay, I got a plan. I know what I'm going to
(16:40):
do, and I'm going to get there.
So sometimes it's not today. Sometimes it's tomorrow or next week,
but you still need to know that and you need to know how to get there. Yeah.
And I find that some people, this is what I hope, is that some people are like,
I'm never going to be able to afford a home.
I'm never going to be able to buy a house. I'm never going to be able to get this home.
(17:01):
I'm never going to be able to get into the market and I'm going to be renting for the rest of my
life and I'm like no you need you
need to get your financial helps in order and you need to talk
to a mortgage specialist and you need to start small
maybe just get a one-bedroom condo but you just you got to start the journey
we don't all end up with the oceanfront massive house as our starter home you
(17:26):
gotta you gotta work the system and if you had bad credit you can fix that over time.
And if you're working part-time, you can get full-time. And it is a journey.
And if you do it with a mortgage specialist, a mortgage broker,
a mortgage professional, you're just going to be in a very positive spot.
And it's going to happen. Yeah. And it does happen. I see it happen.
(17:49):
And it's the most fulfilling files I ever have, where you have someone who's
had to pass bankruptcy or separation or whatever, all this stuff,
or they've lost their job. And they're like, I'm never, ever getting into a the house.
And then three years later, you're like, we're good to go.
It is the best feeling ever. And I love that. But I don't want to miss out on
a really important topic.
So I want to go back to the pre-approval topic because this is one that a lot
(18:11):
of people don't understand.
And I even often have clients come to me and say, hey, we made an offer.
We were pre-approved for this amount.
Went to get our mortgage and the whole thing just fell apart.
What the heck? What's going on?
I hadn't given them that pre-approval, but they'd gotten a pre-approval somewhere
or they'd gone on online and fill out a form, punched in their income and their
debts, and it would spit out a little pre-approval certificate.
(18:32):
And that is not a pre-approval. So let's talk about that so people are clear
about what is and isn't a pre-approval.
It's a great question. I used to be the business development manager for ING
Direct before it became Tangerine.
And this is a great example of the difference between a rate hold and a pre-approval.
So back in the day, you could just do a rate hold and you would just put your
(18:54):
name and number and a mortgage amount and it would hold your rate.
And then it was like, oh, I can get $600,000 mortgage rate.
Or they could even put in a little bit more. You can put in some other portals online with banks.
We'll have, you know, you put your income in and how long have you lived in
your home and how much you pay for rent and your assets and liabilities.
(19:16):
You can afford $750,000.
But that's just a rate hold. True pre-approval means that there's been a hard
credit pull on your credit bureau.
It means that people have asked for
your income documentation they've made extra inquiries about your employment
(19:38):
they've actually vetted your down payment and we can talk about deposits in
27 million bank accounts but we don't have to keep everything in the same bank account and just,
someone has spent the time to actually do a deep dive just like a financial
planner this is what a a mortgage broker does, does a deep dive to make sure
(20:00):
you can afford and actually have a true, what's called a true pre-approval.
Because a rate hold is worth nothing but the paper it's on, which is, you know, seven cents.
Whereas a true pre-approval, you can take that and that actually,
you can go with some sort of security that you are actually going to be able to afford that house.
(20:22):
Right. Yeah. And that someone's looked through those documents because sometimes,
you know, Even the client will say, well, I make $60,000 a year.
But then the broker looks at it and goes, well, this includes overtime,
and you've only been at this job for this long, so we can't use that.
We can only use your pay. There's just all these little intricacies,
and maybe that doesn't mean it's not going to get done.
Maybe it needs to go to a different lender, but those are things that...
(20:44):
A real pre-approval means you've submitted your pay stubs, you've submitted
your T4s, whatever it is.
If you're self-employed, they've looked at your corporate documents.
And the down payment piece sometimes is even the bigger obstacle than the income.
And just like you're saying, my biggest piece of advice for buyers is that 90-day
history of your down payment. Have it in one account.
Don't have stuff coming in and out because here's the thing.
(21:07):
We need to verify every single large deposit in or out of that account in the
last 90 days. So, you know, I recently had a deal where the 90-day history looked
beautiful, looked perfect. I'm like, we're good to go.
Two weeks later, they submit their offer. So we get just a slightly updated
90-day history. And now there's a $15,000 deposit there.
And I'm like, oh, gosh. Look at that countdown. Oh, gosh. Remember I said don't
(21:30):
make any deposits or withdrawals? Like, what happened?
Oh, we sold a car and we put the money in there.
But it wasn't even in just in one $15,000. It was part cash. It was part bank draft.
You know so thankfully like it was a car purchase so we
could prove it but they didn't actually have like a formal transfer
paper so it was a handwritten note and like it
(21:50):
got quite stressful and they're like well can we just not use this I'm like
like we can't unsee it once it's there it's there
even if you're not using it for your down payment you know the federal government
requires us for money laundering to make sure we know the source of those funds
so yeah that's my biggest piece of advice is like just keep that account clean
and don't be the person that transfers your check into savings and back and
(22:12):
forth and all around your line of credit because.
It's literally a nightmare for your lender and it's going to hold up your
approval just put it in one account leave it there let it
accumulate and keep it in one spot keep it in one spot yeah i know i think i'm
probably a nightmare client in that because i used to work for bank of montreal
and i worked for tangerine while i ng direct but my account's still there and
(22:34):
i have an account like i have an account with every bank i used to work with
and they all have a certain purpose,
but if I was to buy a house, I would have to move money from all of them to one of them.
And I just know, I just know that a mortgage broker would be like,
you know better, you know better.
And I'd be like, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
What's going on, Catherine? What happened? I know. Like this much paperwork.
(23:00):
Yeah, 100%. So just something to be aware of. Any market updates you want to share with us?
Anything exciting going on in the industry other than we know they brought in
30-year amortizations for new builds?
I don't know how many people that's going to help, but it's better than nothing.
I think the ones that have affected buyers the most lately is the increase in
(23:26):
the waiving of the property transfer tax for new builds up to 1.1.
And the first time home buyer being able to buy up to $830,000 and still getting
the credit for the first $500,000.
I think those are...
Normally, I don't like anything the government does, because everything they
(23:47):
do is always to ruin and wreck and make things harder.
But I was like, those are good. Like the government actually did something really positive for buyers.
And I thought that was great. rate. So, you know, I think the fact that finally
inflation is staying at two and a half percent and is not skyrocketing,
(24:07):
I think that is great for all of us with variable rate mortgages,
and who have just been biding our time and praying for the rates to drop.
So I think that's a really positive thing. You know, with the rail strike,
that's super interesting.
And with an election in the US coming up, an election in Canada coming up.
Now, there's a lot of factors to suppress rates right now and keep them at least not going up.
(24:37):
And I think that adds some stability and some assurance for people who are buying and selling.
They can move forward assured that things aren't going to go crazy.
Yeah, I think that's good.
Yeah, 100%. Do you have a favorite? Like, I don't know.
I kind of have favorite, not that like I don't love all my clients,
(24:58):
but we all have a certain demographic that we get really excited to work with.
Not that we don't work with everyone, but do you have a particular type of buyer
or seller that you feel like, oh, that's really my little niche.
I really like working in this particular zone. Yeah, I work with,
so me personally, I tend to work with a lot of first-time home buyers or a lot of downsizers.
Like I work with a lot of people who are, you know.
(25:23):
Either moving from this massive house to a condo or something smaller or moving
into Berwick or someplace like that.
I just, and I think it's probably because I'm, you know, hitting my own certain demographic there.
So I think that I have that I just naturally attract.
And then the first time home buyer, just because of my background in mortgages,
(25:46):
it just makes their transaction action so much
more smooth because i'm with them
the whole way on the finance piece we just
brought on a girl laura pratica and she is
a farm specialist oh very cool so that's pretty cool because lots of people
from the mainland they come over here and they want to buy acreage and and there's
(26:10):
a you know there's a shallow well and there's this and then there's septic and
i'm I'm like, I don't think the septic should be above the well,
but I'm not a professional on this. And we actually have a farm specialist.
And the other day we were talking and she's like, yeah, that well,
that's not going to work because it's got a horse, cow and chicken manure around it.
That is not if it was goat and sheep, it'd be OK. And I'm like, wow.
(26:35):
You know, so it's good to have that.
That's great. Yeah, it is someone who lived out in Black Creek for years and
recently sold a home in Black Creek.
That's a legit thing. And I actually tell a story similar to this in my book
where I was dealing with a realtor at the time and my husband and I just wanted
this house. We just wanted it so bad.
And he's like, you know, Monica, I hate to do this to you and I don't want to
(26:55):
lose the sale. I really need the money.
I don't know, it was 2018 or whatever that bad year was.
I can't remember. but he's like but i just want you to
see this like the well is right here and two feet
away is the lid to your septic like do you want to buy
a home where your septic is two feet from your well and i
can see you're gonna have a baby any day now like think this through you know
(27:16):
and it made us step back and go oh okay but we had no awareness of that but
that was something that he had an awareness about and those are unique things
that show up in farm properties which is kind of properties we were looking
at and so to have someone that's got that unique insight and skill
set and knowledge is like, that's just a value add, right?
Oh, it's so good. And then I know I'm not leading anyone down the wrong path
(27:39):
and finding something out way too late.
Yeah. Yeah. And that's, you know, that's so important.
Yeah. And diversity in a team is an amazing thing where you've got a team and
everyone's got different skill sets.
So you can all work together, you can share knowledge, but then also work,
you know, within your zone of genius too. Yeah, within your zone of genius.
Farms are not my zone of genius. Yeah. Right on.
(28:02):
I love it. I also love, and this is one of the reasons I reached out to you,
is because I constantly see you out in your community doing things to support
the community, being involved in the community, which is something like this close to my heart also.
So just as we're wrapping up, what are some of the favorite ways you've gotten,
I remember seeing, I want to say it was a fungi exhibit or a mushroom thing,
but what are some of the favorite ways that you've gotten involved in your community?
(28:26):
And is there anything you have coming up that you want to tell us about or resources
you want people to be able to access?
Yeah, we do crazy things. So we volunteer a lot in the community.
I was calling for bingo for a while for the Cumberland School Society, which was fun.
I'm on the board of directors with the Cumberland Community Forest Society.
That's where the Fungus Among Us art exhibit came up.
(28:48):
So our main service to community,
I would say, is we have this great office in Cumberland,
but there's only two or three of of us and we don't need a big office but we
didn't want to work from home anymore so we have this beautiful front office
so what we've done is we allow artists to do two months shows.
(29:13):
And we don't charge commission and we just give them our space and let them
hang their art and sell it display it some people don't want to sell their art
some people do want to sell their art,
and we give them an opening, which is super fun with music and drinks and hors d'oeuvres.
(29:33):
And then they have their show for two months of which we give them a key to
the office. And we're just like, if you want to be here, great.
And, and then they get to keep all their proceeds. So we just allow our space
to become an art gallery.
That is so amazing. I love that. I'm going to tell my kid about this and they're
going to want to come see it because their dream, they're like,
my entrepreneurial dream,
(29:54):
mom, is to open like half coffee shop, half art studio where people can just
randomly come in and all the supplies are there and they can just work on their
stuff or they can have a coffee.
So I got to tell her. That's a great idea. The real estate slash art gallery
office. That sounds awesome. I'm going to come check it out.
It's the reverse of prohibition where they would have like the office in the
(30:16):
front and party in the back.
Yeah. We have party in the front and office in the back because no one wants
to come to a real estate office. They're like, oh, it's a real estate office.
Oh, it's almost as bad as a mortgage office. Right. So I think that what's great
about it is that people come in and see great art.
I love it. I love it. It's amazing. And yeah, I'm up and coming on about four times a year.
(30:37):
So I got to make sure I pop in and check out the artwork.
That's great. Great. How do people find you if they want to connect?
So they can either find us, our website is worthyrealestate.ca.
Very simple. And or they can phone me, text me 250-937-9856.
I'm on Instagram, Worthy Real Estate, Facebook. Awesome. Awesome.
(31:02):
And I put all those links in the show notes too. So if anyone can't remember
them, needs to find them, you can just click on the show notes and you'll get to them.
So we're on all the things yeah on all the
things that's all that matters whatever platform you use type in
katherine you can whatsapp us we're actually
actually we're gonna do a tiktok with laura with her
chicken and it's gonna be like i'm a crazy chicken lady who else has like over
(31:28):
100 chickens no way i know so you could be chicken ladies together yeah you
can come on the tiktok video because she's going to do this thing about what
were you too chicken to ask?
And she's going to hold her chicken. How brilliant.
And say, what were you too chicken to ask? And then Beatrice or whatever is
(31:48):
going to be like, give you the, yeah, give you the answer.
Oh my gosh. That is so fun. You
totally got to tag me when you post that video because I want to see it.
And that was my next question. I was going to ask you if you're on TikTok.
So it sounds like you are.
So I'm going to follow you on TikTok. We're working on it. We're working on
it. You got to have something. You have to have a stick, I think. That's right.
That's right. Yeah. Okay. Okay, well, I'm looking forward to the TikTok debut.
(32:11):
I'm going to eagerly await that. And thank you so much for coming on today.
And it's been a pleasure. Thank you.
And that's a wrap. Thanks for joining us this week on the podcast.
If you would like to connect with any of the guests that you've heard today,
you can find their information on the show notes at www.comoxvalleyrealestatepodcast.com.
(32:34):
The opinions expressed here by the professionals are their own.
They should not be taken for legal or financial advice.
You should always seek out your accountant lawyer if you're going to make a
large financial decision.
If you have a suggestion for someone that would make a great guest that has
some value to offer the listeners, I would love to hear about it.
Or if you just have a question, feel free to reach out to me at mortgages at monicaparkin.ca.
(32:59):
Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and have a fabulous week. you.
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