To conform, or not to conform? That is the question facing many home owners when determining whether or not they should bother with registering their basement apartment with the municipality. As an agent, what advice should you give? What are the legal, safety and monetary concerns involved. In our tenth episode, Eryn and Linas discuss this common situation.

The competition tribunal is at it again. Linas and Eryn discuss the recent news breaking in the saga between TREB and the competition tribunal regarding what historical sales data should be visible to the public online.

APP OF THE WEEK

Waze is a popular GPS navigation app available on both iOS and Android that can really help get you from A to B in the most efficient way possible. Listen to the show and find out why you should consider this over the more traditional map applications that you likely use.

http://www.waze.com

In our ninth episode, Linas and Eryn discuss Facebook, the largest social media network in the world. Most of you use Facebook, but have you leveraged the platform to help generate business? We discuss Facebook advertising as a strategy to generate leads in a targeted and easy way.

APP OF THE WEEK

Fiverr.com is a great website if you need graphic design, content creation, audio transcriptions, video editing and more. Fiverr easily connects you with professionals that can help you with those one-off quick jobs that you may not have the time or expertise to pull of.

http://www.fiverr.com/

In our eighth episode of the Spotlight Podcast, Eryn and Linas examine the importance of strategically using Google to grow your business as a real estate agent. We discuss how to effectively use pay-per-click advertising to maximize your leads conversion, how to optimize your online efforts to get your web pages performing better in organic Google search, and we shed a light on the under-utilized, yet very powerful Google remarketing advertising that is becoming more increasingly popular on the web.

APP OF THE WEEK

Property Evaluator is a great app available on both iOS and for your Mac that is used to quickly analyze real estate investments, create reports and impress your clients.

http://www.propertyevaluator.com/

In our seventh episode, we are joined by special guest Sue Heddle, sales representative with CENTURY 21 Miller in Oakville, Ontario. We start the show by discussing the common pitfalls regarding negotiating a lease, specifically how the ‘Offer to Lease’ agreement may or may not be as binding as you would expect.

In the bullish real estate markets in Toronto and Vancouver, home buyers are continuously pressured to present offers without any conditions in order to secure the purchase of the home. This disturbing trend places increased risk on the purchaser as well as the agent… In the main segment of our show, we discuss counselling your clients and protecting yourself as a realtor in the case that your client encounters something unexpected.

TREB/OREA Form 127 (Mentioned in Show)

http://spotlight.century21.ca/media/blog_media/b0gNM3EdGB.pdf

Sue Heddle (Today's Guest)

Sales Representative CENTURY 21 Miller Real Estate Ltd.

http://SueHeddleHomes.com

http://FreeHomeStaging.ca

APP OF THE WEEK

Magical Miles is a great app for iOS that helps you 'magically' log the kilometres driven in your car. Throw away that log book, and let this app take care of everything for you. https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/magical-miles-automatic-mileage/id817598888?mt=8

In our most recent episode, we invite our special guest Bryn Jones of Centum Mortgage Professionals to discuss with us a recent article published by Maclean's magazine that investigates the impact of foreign investment on the Canadian real estate marketplace.

Is the mass influx of foreign investment responsible for the rapid home price increases we're seeing in Toronto and Vancouver? Are we on the verge of an inevitable major market correction? Is foreign investment in Canadian real estate propping up our economy? Watch the show and find out our thoughts on these issues.

Link to Maclean's Article - http://www.macleans.ca/economy/economicanalysis/chinese-real-estate-investors-are-reshaping-the-market/

APP OF THE WEEK

"Turbo Scan" is one of the most popular and highest rated business productivity apps of all time. Scan your documents with your cell phone or tablet in a convenient and easy to use manner. You can find Turbo Scan is available for both Android and iOS devices.

Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.piksoft.turboscan&hl=en

iOS - https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/turboscan-pro-document-receipt/id342548956?mt=8

Bryn Jones (Today's Guest)

Direct - 416-884-1421

http://www.centum.ca/bryn_jones

In the main segment our fifth episode we talk about getting started in the real estate industry. Setting up your sphere of influence, effective prospecting, and using CENTURY 21 Canada's Client Connect system to effectively cultivate your client base.

We also discuss the recent ruling by the competition bureau regarding TREB's restricted MLS policies and CENTURY 21 Canada's Future Leaders Network.

Our app of the week is one that is integral for the productivity of the modern agent. "Dropbox" is online storage solution that can be used to store all of your important documents in a decentralized, always accessible manner.

Links to suggested training programs mentioned during the show:

Rob Vivian - www.robvivian.ca

Chris Leader - www.leadersedgetraining.com

Brian Buffini - www.buffiniandcompany.com

In our fourth episode we discuss the recently released CREA DANGER report, which highlights the potential threats to the real estate industry's salespeople, brokers, boards, associations and MLS systems.

APP OF THE WEEK

Our app of the week is "Open Home Pro" (openhomepro.com). A fantastic CRM tablet app for open houses. Check out their app for iOS and Android.

In the third episode of the Spotlight Podcast:

NEWS

In our news segment, we discuss CREA's recently released real estate market numbers for March which highlights the seemingly never-ending increase in home value across most of Canada. Is there any end to the unsustainably rapid increase in the cost of homes across the country?

REP MAGAZINE

In our main segment this week, we discuss the misleading nature of statistics in REP Magazine. How do they get their numbers for their 'Top 100 Agent' lists? You may be surprised to find out that sales numbers provided to the magazine are not audited and can be freely inflated by real estate representatives and brokerages.

APP OF THE WEEK

Our app of the week is "AskForTask" (www.askfortask.com). A fantastic resource for agents looking to connect with and book local service providers to do work on a home. From movers to cleaners to tradespeople, AskForTask seemingly has you covered. Check out their app for iOS and Android.

Coupon Codes for AskForTask:

Weekly cleaning: CNCleanW16

Biweekly cleaning: CNCleanB16

Monthly cleaning: CNCleanM16

In our second podcast episode, Linas and Eryn welcome our special guest Ritchie Bisnauth, an experienced certified Home Inspector. We discuss how there has been a big push nationwide to start regulating and licensing the home inspection industry.

In all provinces and territories in Canada (with the exception of Alberta and BC), the requirements to practice home inspection is virtually non-existent. This has led to many high profile cases in the media of sub-standard home inspectors costing home owners thousands of dollars in unexpected home repair.

We talk to Ritchie about his experience in the industry, including the steps that are starting to be taken to properly license and regulate the industry.

As per usual, we take a few tangents in our discussion, including the importance of WETT inspection in homes with fire burning stoves and fireplaces as well as the increase in popularity of testing for high levels of radon in homes.

Richie Bisnauth has been a highly respected and recommended certified home inspector and WETT inspector for the past 6 years. He owns a home inspection company that serves all of York Region. If you're looking for home inspection services in the area, please contact Richie at:

Bisnauth Home Inspections

289 221-0032

The Home Inspector Panel Recommendations made to the Ontario Government that was mentioned in the show can be found at:

spotlight.century21.ca/blog_media/fXawuqwWj2.pdf

In our inaugural podcast episode, Linas and Eryn discuss the benefits of being a CENTURY 21® real estate agent in Canada, examining some of the key systems that are available through their Online Office system.

They also touch on web presence as a real estate agent, including social media, Facebook advertising and more.