Rudy Nielsen, The Scrivener, Fall 2019

I first got my real estate licence in 1964 at the age of 24.

In those days, it wasn’t common be a real estate agent at a young age because most REALTORS® were a lot older and more established. Despite that, I never gave up; the situation provided me even more determination to be successful.

My father was a trapper-turned businessman in Northern BC and I always knew I wanted to be in the real estate business, too, as it were made for me. I worked very hard in the first few years, saving up some cash so I could slow down and take courses because I always felt I needed more education.

As I was selling real estate, I made sure I had enough time to take both my RI and Nominee Certificates and received both in 1972. To this day, I find myself very fortunate to be a professional RI.

I initially enrolled in the ACI program as well, but after a disagreement on allowing depreciation on apartment blocks, I chose to stay on the RI course and drop the ACI course. Once I achieved my RI certification, I was well on my way to success with experience, education, and motivation!

In my 47 years of consulting and appraising, my RI designation qualifications have always been well accepted and respected by my clients. Throughout the years, I have had the pleasure of appraising large properties including the largest ranch in BC; a number of food-chain development sites; high-rise apartment buildings; a great number of ranches, resorts, and recreational properties; and potential subdivision properties.

My first job out of high school was cruising timber for BC Forestry so I can appraise a lot of recreational propertiesfor subdivisions and for potential revenue of timber on the property

In 1971 I started Yellowhead Realty and by 1976, had 6 offices with 70 employees. In 1981, with interest rates as high at 22 per cent, the big crash hit. I lost a lot of money and had to make a deal with my creditors in Prince George that I would pay them back $1.8 million in 4 years.

Because Prince George was experiencing such desperate conditions, I had to move to Vancouver to be able to keep up my commitment because of its larger market. Here my RI certification saved me because for cash flow, I was now doing residential appraisals again. I worked hard and appraised a number of properties throughout downtown Vancouver; that enabled me to pay my rent and groceries and saved me from personal bankruptcy.

In 1982 I was asked to appraise 260 properties, cruise and determine timber values, and determine subdivision potential. After the appraisal was complete and because I was a licensed REALTOR®, they asked me to find a buyer, which I did. That earned me the largest commission I had ever made in the real estate business. The appraisal took me 3 months to complete using helicopters, float planes, and trucks. If it weren’t for my RI Designation, I can honestly say I would have declared bankruptcy. I couldn’t let down the people from whom I had borrowed money or I owed money to so my education is what gave me a way out. In fact, I was able to pay back my debts in 2 years instead of my 4-year plan.

In 1983 I started buying recreational properties myself and within 10 years, I did 700 deals and owned 450 properties. I did that by using a system I developed called F.R.E.D. (Finding Real Estate Deals) and created my cash flow by selectively harvesting timber and developing waterfront subdivisions of 5 to 10 acre lots. I also bought and subdivided four ghost towns and sold those lots.

One of my most difficult appraisals that always stands out with me is when I was asked to appraise and put a value on an entire town.I was given 60 days to appraise the town and to sell it. Not only did I have to come up with a full appraisal, but a full marketing plan, too. After the appraisal, I launched a marketing plan across Canada, targeting the media with newspaper ads, TV, and radio. The marketing plan found a buyer and I teamed up with one of my REALTORS® at LandQuest and we were successful at putting together a successful sale.

In the late ‘90s, my knowledge and skills and, most important, my RI Designation, took me on a different path of appraising properties.

In 1998, I was approached by BC Assessment and asked to develop an automated method to value and analyze properties, so I formed one of Canada’s top-tier online Automated Valuation Model (AVM) for real estate data analysis and valuation: Landcor Data Corporation!

Through licensing with BC Assessment, Landcor’s database contains detailed information on every residential property in BC. Our cutting edge technologies provide lenders and financial institutions and real estate professionals the ability to make decisions more efficiently, with increased accuracy and reduced risk.

While most Automated Valuation Models use only multiple regression or variations of regression to provide market estimates, Landcor Data Corporation’s analytical AVM tools use both multiple regression and state-of-the-art algorithms to estimate current market value.

Landcor’s AVM starts with hedonic regression that takes a broad look at comparability. It defines sales as being similar and recent if they took place in a similar region, have sold recently,and are a similar property type.

The formula then calculates statistical weights and derives a market value indexed against recent sales prices of similar properties. Considering market conditions and neighbourhood trends, Landcor’s Property Valuator™ tool provides property values that are updated to the day you order a report.

An independent review of our AVM came back with a very favourable response on its performance and that we are one of the best in North America.

Not only does Landcor provide current valuations, we offer our Historic Property Valuator ™ that provides previous residential valuations, by month and year, going back as far as 2006.

Over the years, not only have we built one of the best formulas for providing valuations, we have added all real estate documents, including title searches, tax certificates, documents, and plans, etc., to our online store
so you don’t have to visit multiple websites to find what you need.

Today, with all my education, experience, and determination, I still have that passion and desire to learn and be innovative and am still consulting on large projects.