A conversation with Anthony Therrien-Bernard of Calgary Real Estate Investor Hub
Anthony is a licensed REALTOR® specializing in investment properties and co-founder of the Calgary Real Estate Investor Hub. He grew up in Trois Rivières, Québec and moved to Calgary, Alberta when he was 19.
Anthony’s adventures into real estate began in 2012 when he purchased his first property in Calgary. It was then that he realized the power of real estate investing for creating lasting wealth, as well as the importance of providing quality rental properties to tenants. Since then, he has purchased several more properties in the Calgary region.
You can learn more about Anthony at linktr.ee/anthony.therrienbernard
1) Tell me about your history as a REALTOR® more broadly – When did you begin in the field? What inspired you to enter it? What are you passionate about in the field?
I got into Real Estate back in 2012 when I started buying rental properties in Calgary. It was then that I realized the power of real estate investing to provide financial freedom, and how rewarding it was to provide quality housing for people. As I scaled up my portfolio over the years I became really passionate about Real Estate and decided to drop my IT career and jump into it full time last year. It is extremely rewarding to work alongside our clients, mostly Real Estate Investors and help them achieve financial freedom, get them out of a job they hate, add flexibility to their lives or whatever their goals are.
2) Tell us a bit about Calgary Real Estate Investor Hub
We specialize in investment properties, and we’re familiar with the nuances and special considerations that a typical real estate agent might not be. We take a lot of the guesswork out of the process. Our team has years of experience, knowledge, and expertise in the market
We’re passionate about all the little things that make or break real estate investing – the investment plan, the location, the property, the deal, tenancy laws and local bylaws, upgrade planning, proformas and ROI calculations… the list goes on.
3) When did you first start thinking about green and/or energy efficient homes? Why does working with them appeal to you?
There is no denying the world is facing a very difficult challenge with climate change and health issues from pollution, and we need a very wide variety of solutions to tackle this problem. Additionally, energy costs are soaring and as an investor and a home owner, controlling costs is extremely important, and I am a long term investor so I always look for ways to future proof the investments. I have therefore been looking at energy efficient homes from both a financial and climate perspective.
4) How often are you involved in the process of buying/selling one of these homes?
That’s a bit of the problem, what constitutes a green home isn’t very clear. In my case working with Santhosh Nathan at Calgary Real Estate Investor Hub, most of the properties we help our clients purchase are much older and often need a lot of work, however this is a discussion we have with our clients. We look at obvious ways they can significantly improve the energy efficiency of the homes while doing their renovations
5) What reasons have buyers given for seeking out green and/or energy efficient homes?
Sometimes climate reasons, but most often than not cost saving is the main driver.
6) Since you began focusing on them, have attitudes surrounding green and/or energy efficient homes changed in your real estate market?
I wouldn’t say so, costs on some items such as solar panels have definitely come down a lot. Unfortunately some things like geothermal conversions are still extremely expensive and hard to make sense of financially.
7) Have there been any big developments or changes in your market that have caused a shift in how people see these homes? Has anything made them more appealing over the Years?
The electricity and gas(mainly from the carbon tax) rates going up significantly over the last few years have definitely put more awareness on energy efficient homes.
8) In general, how knowledgeable are buyers about energy efficiency?
I think most buyers understand fairly well things such as high efficiency furnaces, high efficiency hot water, better insulation, air tight homes etc but are not as knowledgeable about renewable or net zero options for homes.
9) When you’re speaking with clients about purchasing a home, do you discuss energy efficiency incentives or rebates from the government? If so, how do clients respond? Do they seem keen to take advantage of them and upgrade their property?
Yes, especially when our clients are already looking at replacing items such as windows, furnaces etc we look into available incentives and rebates that would help them pick the right product and keep their costs down. Unfortunately it seems that most if not all of those rebates only apply to homeowners, which I think is a huge mistake if we are trying to accelerate the transition to more energy efficient homes.
10) In general, what’s the state of green and energy efficient homes in your market? Are there many of them? Has the number changed over the years?
The numbers have definitely been increasing fast, especially with builders such as Jayman including green home features as standard, however I think we are still significantly behind a lot of other markets.
11) What are the most popular energy efficiency upgrades you have seen in your market? What kinds of upgrades are most in-demand?
High efficiency furnace, high efficiency hot water tank/tankless water heater, energy efficient windows and doors, insulation, solar panels
12) What would Lightspark mean for your practice? How could it make the process easier? How could it make the lives of your clients easier?
It is a one stop shop to look at incentives available and suggestions to improve the home energy efficiency
13) In your opinion, what’s the future of green/energy efficient homes in your housing market?
I think that we will definitely continue to see a higher importance on energy efficiency going forward.
14) What would an ideal future for green/energy efficient homes look like in your housing market, and how could/should that be achieved? (I.e. more government incentives? More outreach from REALTORS®?)
First I think that rebates and incentives should be available to landlords as well. Affordable loans and rebates on a larger variety of products would also be helpful.
