RICH PATTERSON’S PERSONAL REAL ESTATE TIPS:

Use a local realtor. “We had our Vancouver realtor sell our Vancouver home but then we used a New Westminster specialist to help us find a property here. He had the inside scoop and was able to point us to properties before they were listed. We had a local specialist in the know,” Patterson said. Use a mortgage broker. “Despite a spotless 15-year mortgage record with CIBC and two months of negotiating, the bank declined our financing on two buildings. So we used a mortgage broker who found us a deal in one week,” Patterson said. “The broker was motivated in a way the bank didn’t seem to be.”