Biography

• Built eight of his own homes;

• Graduated as an Engineering Technologist, Bachelor of Science, Masters in Arts with majors in Quality and Behavioural Science;

• 20 years as a Vice President of Operations or Director of Purchasing;

• Major customers were General Dynamics, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Federal Express, Yellow Freight, Kraft Foods and many, many more where quality and excellence was the minimum standard;

• Utilizes the practical experience of building his personal homes, technical knowledge from the high tech field and management experience to Coach clients during the Real Estate journey.

Eight Homes

My real estate career started at the early age of 18 when my Dad, a carpenter and myself built a two bedroom rancher on a half-acre waterfront property in Campbell River for my grandmother.  I still have that house.  Over the years I have built new homes from the ground up and did a major renovation to convert a 950 square foot home into 3,750 square foot home.  This experience has direct impact in working with clients to identify potential issues that need to be resolved prior to the purchase or sale of a home.  Over the years I have created a team of professional contractors that I trust to do a quality job at a fair price.

Formal Education

In the 1970’s the technology field was the place to be.  I went to school in Toronto and graduated as an Engineering Technologist then returned to New Westminster to start working in the technology field.  In the 1970’s the Technology field paid peanuts but the companies I worked for paid for my formal night school education and the experience of working in the field provided practical business experience.  On the weekends and when I wasn’t in class I was working building houses.  As I worked through various management levels the real challenge was ensuring our internal teams and the customer’s teams worked effectively together.  As I continued my formal education I looked for a program that met the high expectation of the high producing customers and provided solutions to their current business requirements.  One of the universities in Seattle, with a campus in Vancouver, allowed me to complete the core courses for my Masters in Vancouver.  However the two Major programs (Quality - the technical requirements, and Behavioural Science - how teams can work together to provide the highest level of Quality) were only offered in Seattle so I commuted there for 18 months on weekends.  This was the time that Boeing was competition with Air Bus and three quarters of the class were Boeing people who were fighting for their company’s existence.  Each class focused on real life complex team issues of how to provide the best solution to compete in the market place.

Work Experience

Working for 20 years as a Vice President or Director leading teams to provide innovative solutions to high profile customer problems is a very big advantage and led to my full time passion of working in the Real Estate business.  My previous experience of building eight of my own homes, the project management experience of working in the technology field, along with the formal education allows me to work effectively with a wide range of clients.  For most of us our home is our single largest investment.  Home ownership has done me well.  I made money on each of the eight homes I lived in.  The least amount was $50,000 and the most was $500,000.  This is tax free money which I invested in the next home.  As I work with a variety of clients today some are just starting out on their Real Estate journey and want to ensure they make the right investment decisions in the beginning.  Some clients are at the end of the Real Estate journey and wish to down size and move to a smaller home with less maintenance.  I also have a large group of clients who are in the middle.  The statistics tell us that most Canadians buy and/or sell their home every 9.8 years.  There is a tremendous amount of information to know about Real Estate to ensure you make the right decision for your single largest investment so you invest wisely.  My approach to working with clients is to work as a Coach and guide you through the journey, not only for a single purchase or sale of your home, but for a much much longer period.  You will note that my marketing states “Your Residential Real Estate Coach for Life” and that is exactly what I do.  Each month I provide my clients with a series of articles to protect and maintain their single largest investment.  Clients call me and ask who I would recommend to do an addition to their home, replace a roof or a wide variety of other skilled trades people.  I work by referral.  I refer people I trust and my clients refer family and friends to me who want to buy and/or sell their home.  They trust me.  Competence, compassion and consistency have allowed me to build my client base and I am never too busy to Coach and council you in your Real Estate needs.  This is what I do, each day, every day and I have a large number of other Realtors® in Canada and the United States that I trust to look after my clients who are moving out of the Greater Vancouver area.

Life is a journey.  It is good to have competent, compassionate and consistent professionals that can Coach you to make the right decisions.  Please give me a call or e-mail and I will Coach you in your Real Estate decisions.

Cheers,
Vern Totten
Personal Real Estate Corporation
RE/MAX Crest Realty
604.842.8376.Cell; 1.855.333.8376.Toll Free
“Your Residential Coach for Life”