Ranj, Dave, Jenn, and Marina at the Ranj Takhar office, are so grateful to be a part of your selling & purchasing experience, and we are so excited when the time comes for our clients to make the big move! We realize that, though we go above and beyond to give you a seamless selling and buying experience, there is no way to avoid the next step in the moving process - the packing. It can be daunting and overwhelming. Nevermind that you might feel like you are drowning in a sea of brown cardboard boxes, that will collapse when overfull. Sound fun? Not really!  This is exactly why we recommend FROGBOXes to our clients!

“Frogbox was created to fill a need for a convenient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to using cardboard boxes for moving. Cardboard boxes are not an ideal solution for moving your home or business. They add unnecessary hassle and expense to your move. Our purpose is to make your move as easy and affordable as possible while minimizing the impact on the environment. We provide eco-friendly reusable moving boxes and other moving supplies. Cardboard and paper waste make up an estimated 18% to 26% of landfill material. When you combine this with the negative impact of logging to produce the cardboard in the first place, the environmental impact of cardboard is significant. Doing something good for the environment doesn’t have to cost more or make things more difficult—Frogbox makes moving Easier on the Earth and Easier on your Wallet.”

HOW THE FROGBOX BOX SYSTEM WORKS:

1. Frogbox Drops off your Frogbox Moving Boxes

No need to drive to purchase expensive cardboard moving boxes! Frogboxes are delivered directly to where you need them by the friendly local Frogbox team.

2. Pack Up Your Stuff in Frogbox Plastic Moving Boxes and Move to Your New Pad

Frogbox’s eco-friendly plastic moving boxes make packing quicker and easier, and easier on the environment too!

Frogboxes are much easier to handle than cardboard. They stack perfectly, protect your valuables, are water-resistant and have ergonomic handles.

3. Your Friendly Local Frogbox Team Comes Back to Pick Up Your Frogbox Moving Boxes

When you are all unpacked and settled in, just give Frogbox a call! One of their Frogbox trucks picks up the plastic moving boxes at your new place. This means you can spend your time enjoying your new pad, instead of breaking down cardboard boxes and figuring out what to do with them!

While you are browsing the website, check out all the other products FROGBOX offers to make your move go smoothly. Please feel free to add additional items at your cost.

FROGBOXes are delivered to your pad, you pack up and move and FROGBOX picks them up from your new pad. It’s just that easy. Enjoy!

P.S. Did you know that when you sell your home and purchase a home locally with us, that you receive 50 Frogbox rentals at no charge? Now that is something to RIBBIT about!

You may have heard that a buyer’s market is the PERFECT market to purchase real estate for investment purposes. But have you ever wondered, and thought you should know, but have been too shy to ask…..who has a half a million dollars sitting around just waiting to be invested?! If you are like millions of Canadians, you don’t. So how are so many people able to invest in property and take advantage of this market and the low cost of lending that we are currently enjoying? Tapping into a Home Equity Line of Credit is the answer to building your real estate empire, and ultimately building your personal wealth.

KEY POINTS TO CONSIDER:

• A HELOC uses the equity in a home to provide investors with extra cash for a down payment and the purchase of an investment property.

• Ask us to refer you to one of our preferred Mortgage Brokers to guide you on your HELOC journey.

• Accumulated a bit of higher interest credit card debt along the way? A home equity line of credit can also be utilized to consolidate debt.

Using a Home Equity Line of Credit  (often referred to as a HELOC), to purchase an investment property will allow investors to tap into assets, such as the homes that they are living in, that have managed to build up equity over a period of time. Rather than leave this equity untouched, homeowners can use a HELOC to do things such as upgrade their home, purchase a second or third investment property, or even consolidating debt. Understanding how to use a Home Equity Line of credit is crucial for anyone looking to build wealth through real estate investing.

WHAT IS A HOME EQUITY LINE OF CREDIT (HELOC)?

A home equity line of credit is a homeowner line of credit that is advanced based on the value of the property that is being used as security and typically is separate from your traditional mortgage. It is different than a regular mortgage in that the borrower is required to make an interest-only payment on the amount actually utilized rather than on the entire amount of the Line of Credit extended.

HOW TO PURCHASE AN INVESTMENT PROPERTY WITH A HELOC

In order to use a HELOC to purchase (investment) property, investors must first have an asset with enough equity to tap into - ie. you have a $300,000 mortgage on an $800,000 dollar home. When this kind of scenario exists, a HELOC becomes an excellent source of financing. This means you can tap into a percentage of your $500,000 equity to borrow for either a down payment on another home, debt consolidation etc.

- Investors can borrow money against the equity in one rental property to fund the purchase of another.
- Investors can use a HELOC to fund home improvements for their rental properties, just as a homeowner would for their primary residence.
- Investors can also use HELOCs to pay off other high-interest debt if necessary.
- Consider that rental property mortgages generally carry a higher interest rate, smart investors can get a HELOC on their primary residences to pay off the mortgages on their investment properties.

When speaking to a mortgage broker, a lender will look at your debt-to-income ratio, your credit score, other open accounts, and a homeowner’s overall financial health.

If utilizing the equity in your home to purchase additional properties and build real estate wealth is a new concept to you, and one that you are potentially interested in finding out more about today, please do not hesitate to contact Ranj, Dave or Jenn. We work with excellent mortgage brokers that will help guide you in discovering the amount of equity that you can put to work.

Did you know that all of us in the Ranj Takhar office live in East Abbotsford? That’s right…myself, realtors Dave Jones and Jenn Schotts, as well as our Administrative Manager Marina Baerg are all living, working, raising families, and enjoying life in East Abby! In addition, our brokerage, Homelife Glenayre Realty, is the ONLY real estate office located in East Abbotsford, within the City of Abbotsford! While we love this entire city that we are proud to live in, let me tell you about just a few of the reasons why, as realtors and residents, we love East Abby in particular.

Education: East Abbotsford offers some of the City of Abbotsford’s finest schools, from elementary to middle to high schools such as Robert Bateman and Yale Secondary School. Ranj attended Robert Bateman Secondary School and is proud to call many of his former classmates his friends and clients. Jenn and Marina both currently have kids in all levels of schools in East Abby!



Recreation: Who doesn’t love a Sunday afternoon skate complete with snow falling on the ice at the Abbotsford Recreation Centre or spending time going to and from many a swim lesson? Our state of the art rec centre has so much to offer and you can easily stay up to date with the City of Abbotsford Parks and Recreation program guides! In addition, hop on a Discovery Trail or head to the dog park or yoga at Parallel Yoga and you’ll soon discover all that East Abby has to offer.



Shopping & Dining: From farm fresh corn at Lepp Farm Market and our favourite selection of home-baked goods and in house crafted charcuterie to a hot cup of gourmet coffee at Cafe Amarti (where we love to meet with our clients), East Abby is a foodie’s delight! Did you attend our wine tasting event this past April at the Clayburn SchoolHouse? If you did you will remember the delicious assortment of Lepp Farm Market housemade goodies! We love to support the small businesses around us! The Clayburn Village Store is another one of our must-stops. If you have the time to joinus for lunch or a coffee, don’t be surprised if we take you to one of these East Abby spots! Be sure to check out the upcoming Applelooza Event at Lepp Farm Market and enjoy fresh-pressed apple juice (literally pressed right in front of your eyes with the Mobile Juice Factory) straight from the Lepp’s Orchards in Osoyoos.

Everyone in the Ranj Takhar office is very proud to live, work and play in East Abby, a small slice of heaven in our city in the country. With hundreds of homes sold in East Abbotsford, if you are looking to purchase or sell, we understand our neighbourhood and the property values - a major asset when listing your home for sale or moving into the area. When you are shopping for “homes for sale near me” or a “realtor near me” or if you are looking to move to our neck of the woods, you should give us a call. We are truly your East Abbotsford specialists!

We are quickly approaching our 3rd Annual Blueberry Pancake Breakfast! Have you got the details in your calendar? Saturday, July 27 from 10 - 12 pm at Westberry Organic Farm: 34488 Bateman Road.

Be sure to bring the entire family for a pancake brunch and a morning of berry picking, face painting and more - gluten-free options available

Next Saturday is, however, more than just a pancake breakfast that I host with my colleagues; Marina, Dave and Jenn. This Client Appreciation event is a celebration of YOU, our client, the backbone of our business. As you know, I am not typically at a loss for words. I hope you know how grateful I am for your business, loyalty, friendship and referrals over the years, this is a chance for me to show you how much you mean! 

Just as Starbucks didn't become Starbucks in a day, my career has been able to progressively grow over the past 10 years because of YOU. Not a day goes by that I am not filled with gratitude that I have been able to play a part in helping you achieve your real estate goals. I am overwhelmed and in awe at the amount of trust that you put in me with potentially the largest transaction you will make in your life. I never forget what that truly means.

No matter how we met; whether we grew up together, connected through a like-minded love of real estate investing, or you were graciously referred to me through a past client of mine, family or friend, you matter so much.

Now come on out, enjoy some pancakes, pick some blueberries and let me extend my thanks in person.

Trust us, we will have you looking forward to our Christmas and Spring Wine Tasting Events!