It came to me as I walked down the street to my open house last week.
I have spent a lot of the last 6 years working pretty hard to build my business as an agent in this real estate world. Did you know there are about 70,000 agents in the GTA now ? That’s a lot of competition. There is a lot of money to be made as well…But what is the cost ? Is there a cost ? Does your life blood eek out as you overwork yourself ? Do you find that you are successful and monetarily stable but you have worked so intensely to get to that place that you don’t have the time or energy to spend your money ? One of the top ten agents at Bosley told me one time….”If you are in the top ten, you don’t have a life. That’s a given. We are all a little weird at the top”
I spent a lot of my life as an actor. I made LITTLE money….very very little and I was relatively successful as a Canadian actor.
As my career slowly and surreptitiously crept over to real estate I found my money increased and my free time decreased. There is always a cost.
You can’t take it with you.
I see this platitude particularly expressed over and over again as I search for homes with eager buyers or sell the houses of my clients with their changing needs. My buyers want to be in a place where they have a rich community. You have to love where you are…where you buy…what you buy. You have to want to be where you live….you need a community, whatever that is….parks, strollers and a dog or a building with a gym and rooftop terrace in the downtown core. Again and again my buyer clients come back to the same thing. Location…Location…Location. You have to be happy where you are. My seller clients often want to downsize and have less to take care of. They want a condo instead of a big house or sometimes the opposite, they are moving from a condo to a big house. But for them, the same is true….Location above all else. You can buy an investment property and believe me, I think that’s a great way to park your money. But….
You can’t take it with you.
So my advice to my clients is the same as my advice to myself.
Choose location over everything else. Live where makes you happy. Or what’s the point ?? Work hard, sure and make lots of money but make sure you like what you do. Or what’s the point ??
You can’t take it with you.