Calgary RealtorAbout Me

Hi Everybody.
I’m now officially a member of the 20-Year Club of Realtors.
In November of 2002, I took a three-week course at Mount Royal University in Calgary for $1,000. Passed the exams that weren’t all that difficult and became licenced to trade in Alberta Real Estate.


The next step was mandatory and still is. All Realtors® must join a Brokers Office. Remax, Royal LePage, Century 21, CIR Realty, Exp Realty, Maxwell, and dozens of others are Brokers' Offices.
Joining a broker's Office is not free. These days it’s just another Tax on my business. I must join one of them and pay their fees to be able to help people buy, sell and invest in real estate. The Brokerages all think they’re great, and maybe some are, but mostly they just collect fees, shuffle paperwork and pretend to be important. I’m not a fan of the real estate business model that lines the pockets of brokers at the consumer's expense while we Realtors take the heat for perceived high commissions.


Moving on from that rant, I’ll tell you why I wanted a Real Estate Licence in the first place. At the time, I was the owner of a busy bar/restaurant/pool hall in SW Calgary called Stix Billiards.Calgary Pool Room As the owner, I took care of the behind-the-scenes part of the business. You never saw me serve a beer or deliver food to any customer in the 12 years I owned the place. I was in the office taking care of bills, payroll, suppliers, employees, landlords, marketing and everything else. I’d go in early and leave before we opened for business. That meant I had a lot of extra time on my hands.


One day I got the bright idea that I should invest in real estate. I believed that having a real estate licence would give me the knowledge and, more importantly, access to the MLS® system. I wanted to get notice of new bargain listings before everybody else. It didn’t take long to realize that was a bit naive. If it was that easy…  So at that point, I had a good business and a shiny new real estate licence. I joined the closest broker's office to my business and got started. In my first year, I did a grand total of One deal. I helped one of my servers buy a house. She was a first-time home buyer who used me only because I gave her a deal.


Calgary Pool PlayerI sold Stix Billiards in 2007 with plans to buy a bunch of rental properties. Around that time, I also joined Don Campbell’s Real Estate Investment Network as well as became a licenced mortgage agent. All to become a better real estate investor.


As time went on and more and more people asked me to help them buy, sell and invest in real estate. I thought I might as well become a real Realtor®. I still had all this extra time on my hands, and I also had much more knowledge and experience than after my 3-week Realtor® course in 2002. Over those years, I have bought and sold quite a few rental properties for myself and with partners. I did a few fix-n-flips. A small number of Multi-Family and Commercial deals.


The basic residential part of my business really took off when I spent more time on it. The most recent years have been my busiest. Right now, I would say half my business is helping home sellers and buyers the other half. About 30% of my business is with real estate investors buying rental properties for long-term holds. I really should be thinking about retiring, and I do, but I also enjoy helping people and keeping busy.


My current Real Estate business is busy enough and challenging enough for me, but never to the point where I’m missing out on anything else I want to do. Like golf, for example. I enjoy meeting people. I enjoy helping people get the results they are happy with or better. I have fun doing what I do, and I have the background and knowledge to help most people in most real estate situations.


I’m not for everyone, nobody is, but I’m worth at least a phone call if you need a Realtor®! For Buyers, Call me to view any property listed for sale on my website. We can meet, you can see the property and decide then if you want my continued assistance or not. I don’t mind. In my business, the more properties I see, the better. For Sellers and Investors, give me a call at 403 831 0842.

Calgary Real Estate 403 831 0842

Contact Jerry Charlton

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