Eric Zamora | Rennie & Associates Realty

Hey, Matt Parker here. Very grateful, very excited to be sitting down with Eric Zamora. Eric, thank you so much for joining me today.

Yeah, thank you for having me, Matt.

Oh, it's a pleasure. I'm grateful you're here. Quick introduction about Eric. Eric has been in the real estate world since 2011. He joined the Rennie team. He's a Rennie advisor since 2016. He has received their Leader Award four times and also received the medallion club award in real estate as well three times. So he's a wonderful resource. He's going to give us a lot of great information. So Eric, I really appreciate it. So we're going to get right in more with a fun, fun thing about you that what's, what's one thing not many people know about you?

Yeah, probably a couple things. I was, I went to school and I worked in a completely different industry than what I am now. I was educated in finance and worked in that area for about eight years. And I was also a DJ. So I was a DJ for like 12 years. And that was my creative side at night. I was working in finance by Day and DJing by Night.

So that's something that, it's kind of like Batman, but not really.

But yeah, exactly.

Your alter ego. Yeah, that's funny. Thanks for sharing. That's a great story. So you're a good, you're a good person to have over for parties and house gatherings. You can get the music flowing.

I will contribute where I can for sure.

Yeah, I appreciate that. That's awesome. So then being that you have the finance background, obviously would be very valuable in the real estate world, but what got you started in your career in real estate?

Yeah, so that's, that's a great story to me personally as well because you know, I was, I wanted to be involved with it with family and I was investing with them early on and then. But you know, as a real estate advisor, it didn't really click for me until I actually bought my first place for myself and my wife. And you know, it was at a time where I worked in various industries and I almost had to go through those sort of mismatches in life to really appreciate that this was the career for me. So ever since that time I started thinking about it more and more and it was a bit of a two year old sort of transition for me to change over from finance to real estate. And yeah, definitely no regrets. And I always think about that had I not done the change. And special shout out to Selena Kai of Rangy. She was my Realtor at the time. So even. Even more of a cool moment for me, I guess.

Oh, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. That's great too. It's always. I always find it interesting how everyone gets into the industry, mortgages or real estate. I mean, for me, I grew up around it, so it was just there, it was ingrained in me. I was like, hey, this is wonderful. I get to serve people and help achieve financial goals. And to hear that you have that financial background, I do think that that super probably keeps you. Positions you in a way that you can provide a little additional value to your clients just from, you know, is this financially a good decision, that kind of thing. So, yeah, that's very cool. So. So that kind of gets us into the next phase of it is why are you still here? And why. And because, you know, it's, you know, it's not. It's not the easiest thing to do and be very successful at, and you've achieved that. And what has kept you in the real estate world?

Yeah, no, that, that, you know, not as corny as it might sound. It really is, you know, loving what you do. I think I didn't have. I didn't have the privilege of saying that before and, you know, other careers I was doing. And I think that's really what kept my sort of passion and strive to move forward going. I think I always had an entrepreneurial spirit in me and I feel like I didn't really see that come alive until I actually got into real estate. And sort of that potential just came out of me and I feel like it was just kind of hidden deep within and everything just kind of came naturally to me. And I think it's just other aspects of the industry that, that I really gravitate to, whether it's like design or renovation, all those aspects I sort of have a huge interest in. So I think a combination of all that has sort of kept me, you know, trying to move forward and sort of go to higher levels, per se.

Wonderful, wonderful. So if you weren't doing this, if you weren't, you know, helping. Helping clients achieve real estate goals, do you see yourself doing anything else Maybe other than DJing in the evening of a career that you've always said, hey, that'd be kind of fun.

Yeah. I mean, I could definitely see music still being a big part and film actually like film. I've always liked being on the sort of producing and, and coming up with storylines and things like that. So I've always enjoyed that part of like making, you know, at my previous Job I was making videos for, like during, you know, events that we were having and things like that. So, yeah, definitely could see that.

Oh, wonderful. Yeah, it's interesting where a lot of what we do on a daily basis is storytelling. Yeah. You know, you know, envision yourself here. This is what it can be. And you know, I like to talk a lot about sort of my journey personally of owning homes and moving up the property ladder and then. And then just really bringing it back to more of a story. So I think having that, it's not, it's not, I'm not saying like from a sales standpoint, but just from showing people how they can achieve things that maybe they don't think they can or in a different way than they first thought. Very, very interesting. So that's, I think again, probably very helpful on your day to day. We're in early June, as we're speaking right now, just the beginning of the sort of releasing of restrictions of the COVID situation and businesses opening up and seeing a little bit maybe increased activity in the real estate market. Do you have any advice on the current market for anyone that's looking to buy or sell and just back to just real estate as an investment or as a purchase historically, because, you know, everything comes and goes and I'm sure we'll get on the other side of this one day. So any advice that you have for anyone looking to buy or sell?

Yeah, I think back to what I was saying with these next couple months being critical. Yeah, I think the best advice I could say is really keeping informed. You know, I think things are changing quite fast and sometimes we would tend to be staying informed maybe every quarter or every couple months. I think. I think this year has taught us that staying informed a lot more frequently is sort of the key to making those right decisions. I totally get it. You know, everybody is sort of. They have certain part of their life right now where they, you know, whether it's the right time to buy or sell may not be the case. And whether it is, then that's. That's great. But I think either way, whether, you know, you're sort of waiting to sort of see how things go or plan, I think, I think getting that information quite frequently is only going to allow you to be prepared to jump in when things really sort of change, which they usually do, they change quite drastically and they change quickly. So I think that all that information is going to help you sort of plan, whether it's planning your finances or planning, you know, what's gonna happen with your Family and like, you know, I've got two daughters and I totally understand, like, you know, there's a lot of planning involved, how your next few months are gonna look and all that is pretty, pretty key to sort of determining when you should go in and buy or when you should go in and sell. But it seems like right now what I'm seeing out there, which is like boots on the ground, you know, what we're seeing is that if it is a blessing that your employment hasn't been disrupted and you're fortunate to be able to maybe buy your first place or maybe upsize to a bigger place, that sort of activity is certainly happening out there quite a bit, which is why we are still sort of seeing some pockets of inventory or certain areas that are still getting multiple offers on these properties, which kind of shows that buyer activity is still quite strong.

Yeah, yeah, we're seeing the same thing. I mean, values are holding steady, if not, if not doing just fine. And for anyone, I think that's, that's hoping that they come down or is unsure of what may come. I mean, none of us know. But it's so far looking like that's not going to happen, especially in the short term. So who knows what happens long term. I think what you said is bang on in the next few months are going to be very pivotal of what happens. How does this fall into the, you know, the, the normal way of how we look at the fall market of generally it's back to school and it's back. So it's going to be a very different, different look than maybe it has been historically. But as you said, I think that, you know, I don't know if it's a situation of sitting on the sidelines isn't necessarily always the best thing to do either. Right. It's just be prepared as prepared as possible and move as quickly as possible when it's the right time.

Yes, absolutely. Because then if things happen quite quickly, then you want to sort of use this time right now because it is sort of a good, good way to prepare at a, at a pace that you're comfortable with. And that could be anything that could be just having conversations. You know, definitely suggest calling your realtor for an update, calling your mortgage broker for an update, calling maybe a lawyer or accountant that you work with often because they see all the different sides of this economy. And those are all great indicators to, to sort of make sure that you are prepared.

Yeah, Yeah, I agree 100%. So you've seen a lot of properties you've been involved in a lot of sales and purchases. Is there one either property or just situation or transaction that stands out as the most memorable to you or just one that you're thinking of? Hey, I remember that one because of this.

Yeah, so this one here, I think will always be my most memorable. So one of my clients, this was a few years ago and he, I think to this day he's like, I always think about this. So I think to this day he's still my youngest client. He was, I think he was 22 at the time. And I think what resonated the most about him was that, you know, he had all of his down payment. This was everything that he had saved on his own. And he grew up in Tsawwassen. As much as he would love to be in his hometown, be near his family, you know, he assessed, he knew like, okay, well, what property could I go into? And he knew that to purchase within your budget was the most important thing. And, you know, he was okay with that because he knew he had a plan. He knew that this was going to be a stepping stone to his future, you know, purchases after that. So he bought an older townhouse out in Cloverdale. So, you know, quite far away from his family, but it was his. He bought it all on his own. And now that property is worth like, he bought it for like 320 at the time and now it's worth minimum five. And you know, those are the stories that I like to see because he, you know, everything was so clear to him at that age. And it always reminds me because like, I didn't get my first property till I was 29 and I was just so impressed with, with his diligence and just like he knew exactly what to do, you know, at that age. And I always tell him how, you know, that really is an inspiring story and, you know, one I like to share for sure.

Yeah, great story. Good for him to have that, I guess, wisdom at a young age of, you know, this makes sense financially and it's what I can afford and it's, you know, it's a long term, it's a long term thing. And I think a lot of people don't look enough at real estate as just a long term growth in a long term game, if you want to, if you want to say it. So I think it kind of brings us into our, into our last question here because I talk to clients a lot about, do you have good debt? Is it tax deductible? Can we get re advanceable mortgage to Buy rental properties. How can we create something out of what you have and turn your real estate investment, which really is an earning rate of return unless it goes up in value. How do we turn that into something that is an investment vehicle and actually pays it down quicker and builds wealth? So when I say house rich, I always use that instead of house poor, which a lot of people think about, especially in Vancouver. What do you think or what do you envision when you hear house rich? What does that mean to you?

Yeah, like, you know, when you think about those words, you know, you would sort of first come to mind that that would mean owning a property. But. And yes, that is fantastic for sure. But I think it also just entails gaining knowledge, gaining experience and sort of putting in the time to really saving up and, you know, enduring through, enduring through sacrifices to be able to reach whatever end goal that you have, which, which might be buying your first property. So I think, I think being able to take action and sort of putting in the time to do that, I would say you're already considered house rich at that point because I think that's the hardest part. I think taking action and sort of, sort of expecting the time and effort to put into it is the hardest part and the most rewarding. I think once you've done it.

And the, yeah, like anything, the harder you work at it, the more diligent you are, generally the better the result. And so I think that planning, plan, plan, plan. I always try to tell clients, let's plan out as far as we can so we can position ourselves now and in the future just as best as we can. Because no one knows exactly what unfolds. But the further we look out, the better we can make sure that we're protected. And yeah, that's wonderful, wonderful. Well, Eric, I really appreciate it. Very grateful to have you here. It's been. I've had a lot of fun. Where would be the best place for any clients looking to buy, sell, get into the real estate market? Where would it be the best place to find you and reach out?

Yes. So through our website. On the renny.com website, I believe it's renny.com My full name, Eric Zamora. You can find me on Instagram, instagram.com Ericz Z E E and or a simple phone call. 778-389-4556.

Cool. Yeah, all easy ways to get out to you. I'm getting into the Instagram game so I'll have to catch up to you, I'm sure. So I'll try to find you on there. And I really appreciate it. I appreciate you sharing your time and wisdom and. And all the best. And we'll be in touch.

Yeah, I was just gonna say to you, too, it's a great thing that you're doing. I think it's a really great platform to be sort of hearing all sides of what's going on out there. I think it's awesome that you're doing that.

I appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you. We appreciate it. We'll talk soon, okay, Eric.

Okay.