A recent five-day trip took three Arizona Realtors beyond U.S. borders as they attended an industry event in Winnipeg, Manitoba, learning about global transaction matters and networking with neighbors to the north.

President-elect Lori Doerfler, First Vice President D. Patrick Lewis and Treasurer Mary Roberts traveled to Winnipeg for the first time to attend the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) Leadership Invitational. 

“As real estate practitioners, it’s important for us to understand how real estate is done in countries where our international buyers are from,” Roberts said in a press release. For example, she related that she was surprised to discover that Canada does not structure its mortgages like the U.S.

“One interesting fact that surprised me about Canada is that they do not have 30-year mortgages like we do in the U.S.,” she said. “They have five-year mortgages which are amortized over 25 years. So, Canadians must refinance every five years.”

The invitational is customarily located in the U.S., hosted by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in Chicago. This year, the Manitoba Real Estate Association offered to sponsor the weeklong summit to attract real estate professionals from U.S. states with which it has previously done business.

Calling the occasion a chance to develop “high quality educational and networking opportunities,” Doerfler said that they were "able to network with leaders from eight other U.S. states and leaders across many of the Canadian provinces. All in all, it was a great success.”