Peter Jensen Homes

Hello everyone!

The Vancouver Courier published on Wednesday, November 14, 2007 an article by Cheryl Rossi titled "Realtor Reality" that discusses with realtors why they became one and what they do.

Cheryl interviewed Peter for this 4 page spread!  Here is an excerpt from the article:

At an exit from the Arbutus Village shopping centre, Peter Jensen pauses his slate-coloured Honda Accord in the thick, grey rain before he turns left. He's got his BlackBerry in one hand, his GPS on, and two colleagues in the car. Minutes later, the Re/Max Arbutus Village agents arrive at the first of seven open houses they'll walk through in two hours.

It's a routine they repeat Tuesday and Wednesday mornings in Kitsilano, Arbutus Ridge, Dunbar and Point Grey to keep on top of the market.

Jensen, a 24-year real estate veteran, doesn't worry about sharing insights with his colleagues. The 49-year-old appears to enjoy the debates and camaraderie. Outside one listing, he straightens another real estate agent's sign. Outside another, he places a joke parking citation ticket under the wipers of another realtor's SUV parked halfway into the street. And when his GPS, which speaks with a woman's voice, tells him to turn on to "Quezno" Drive instead of Quesnel, he's indulgent.

"Quezno, it did its best," Jensen says.

He notes low basement ceilings where the square footage is effectively lost and notes that raising a house costs less than people think. At other sites, he asks about zoning and lot size to determine whether more square footage could be added. He and his colleagues debate whether one home--charming on the outside, outdated on the inside--is a "Louis Vuitton," his code phrase indicating the price lies in the lot value. Jensen says they'll watch what the Arbutus Ridge property, listed at $1.65 million, sells for.

At a Dunbar-Southlands property, Jensen notes an inspector's van parked outside. "There's not going to be any offers until Sunday or Monday, so it is pretty intense," he says.

Last year he grossed at least $250,000 even though he had time off for open-heart surgery related to a congenital problem, and spent a month on holiday. He says his earnings aren't solely due to Vancouver's hot market, noting his second highest grossing year took place during a market downturn.

When he lived in Ontario in the late-1980s, he brokered deals with bankrupt homeowners who often saw their homes repossessed by the bank.  He'd find a buyer, give them a good price, and make sure the bank got its money.

Jensen contends that Vancouver has the lowest commission rates in North America. While commission rates are negotiable, local agents typically charge seven per cent on the first $100,000 and two-and-a-half per cent on the balance. The commission is split between agents and the brokerages or real estate companies they work with.

Jensen disagrees with the common notion that flat rates should be charged in a hot market. In Vancouver, a seller generally pays $12,000 plus GST for an agent to sell a $300,000 property. But in Toronto, where commissions are typically five per cent, the same seller pays $15,000.

While Jensen rarely works until midnight anymore, the work remains constant. But it's improved from his first few years in real estate when there were no fax machines or computers. "You'd get a book every two weeks with all kinds of areas and it was half the size of a telephone book."

Although Jensen hired an assistant last year, the self-described "adrenaline junkie" says he "works towards" having one day off a week, and estimates he enjoys one day a month with absolutely no work. "To me it feels like a day off when I've got one showing in a day," he says. "Last year I went to Europe for almost a month and I was on the phone daily, and I didn't mind it."

Jensen gets a buzz from finding the right fit for his clients, and he prides himself on knowing how to counsel his clients. "People are pretty stressed out when they're doing real estate. So if you don't know people skills, you can trigger them quite easily."

When his clients trust him, Jensen says, he'll do anything for them, and he loves seeing his advice pay off. Jensen had clients selling a condo in Kits recently that was worth $325,000. He convinced them to spend $6,000 on hardwood floors. They listed it at $349,000, staged it to perfection, received six offers and sold it for $401,000. "That is a great feeling," Jensen says. "That is like winning the Pulitzer Prize."

But such gambles can be risky, and close relationships don't ensure client loyalty.

Three years ago he helped an established client sell her place in the West End. Then he helped her negotiate the terms of her new job and got her an exceptionally good deal on a new place. "I just noticed that she sold it through someone else recently," Jensen says. "That's a little disheartening."

But his biggest problems come from sellers who don't trust him. "They're questioning what you're doing and it's like 'I've done this many times before, let me help you get the best possible result,'" Jensen says. "And it's almost like you have to perform the task but in a yogic position because you still have to get it done and get all the things you know need to go into the mix to get it done properly. But you have to have one of your arms tied behind your back because they've insisted on it."

And sometimes clients are simply bizarre.

"I have had a client pee in all four corners of the [North Vancouver] property that he proposed to purchase," Jensen says. "He got the property."

Despite all his success during 11 years working in Vancouver, Jensen is elated after receiving a text message that announces two new client referrals. "Woo-hoo!" he says, while raising his arms in the air.

So does he advise people to become realtors?

"If one doesn't manage their money in real estate, then if there's a slowdown, you know, they've got this leased Beamer and they're living in it. We used to joke about that," he says. "It's easy to live beyond your means in real estate because you think it's going to go on forever."

Although he could see himself becoming a motivational speaker in the future, encouragement isn't the first thing he'd provide to anyone enquiring about becoming a real estate agent.

"How important is steady income to you?" he asks.