Life's Inside Track

You are so disappointed because your home inspection found problems. Does that mean the house is a bad choice? Not necessarily. When we were in our early twenties, one structural finding on the home we thought was “ours” changed everything. Decades later, we watched almost the opposite happen: a three-year-old fourplex inspected well beyond typical standards, yet the buyer still decided it was not...

Progress does not always require a moving truck. Sometimes the wisest real estate decision is to strengthen the home and options you already have. In LIFE’S Inside Track Episode 766, Ken and Yetta explore why staying can be an active, strategic choice when it protects peace, flexibility, relationships and future freedom. Staying is not the absence of a decision. Chosen wisely, it may be the decisi...

An investment can look successful on paper while quietly consuming time, cash flow, peace and attention. What once created opportunity can gradually become an obligation. In LIFE’S Inside Track Episode 765, Ken and Yetta explore why a wise real estate investment should be evaluated by what it requires—not only by what it may return. The conversation invites investors to ask whether the investment...

The highest offer can feel like the obvious measure of a successful sale—but does it create the best outcome? Price matters, but so do the terms, timing, certainty and the life that comes after the closing. In LIFE’S Inside Track Episode 764, Ken and Yetta explore why selling strategy should serve the whole move, not only one impressive number. The better question is not simply how to get the high...

Can someone be house rich and still feel choice poor? A valuable home may create impressive equity while leaving less flexibility for daily life, retirement, family, generosity or unexpected change. In LIFE’S Inside Track Episode 763, Ken and Yetta explore the difference between what a home is worth and what that wealth is actually making possible. The conversation invites homeowners to look beyon...

For many Canadians, the family home is no longer only an individual decision. It may also become part of a family’s caregiving, financial, relational and generational strategy. In LIFE’S Inside Track Episode 762, Ken and Yetta explore what happens when parents help adult children, families combine households, or housing decisions involve gifts, loans, co-signing or shared ownership. The wiser ques...

A renovation can make a home look better without making life work better. Before choosing finishes, layouts or financing, it helps to understand what problem the renovation is actually meant to solve. In LIFE’S Inside Track Episode 761, Ken and Yetta explore why a beautiful improvement can still miss the deeper issue—and how greater clarity can help homeowners determine whether to renovate, move,...

Qualifying for a home does not automatically mean the life that comes with it will remain affordable. A larger mortgage can affect flexibility, generosity, peace and the ability to respond when life changes. In LIFE’S Inside Track Episode 760, Ken and Yetta explore why the wiser question is not only, “Can we afford this house?” but, “Can we afford the life that comes with it?” The conversation hel...

Would you buy your home again today? A home can still be a good property while no longer being the best fit for the life you are building now. Familiarity can hide misalignment, and people often adapt to what no longer works. In LIFE’S Inside Track Episode 759, Ken and Yetta explore the question beneath “Should we move?” and invite homeowners to consider whether they would choose their current hom...

Do you ask God what to do—or make your plans first and then ask Him to bless them? Your property choices affect your finances, family, marriage, generosity, hospitality, peace and ability to live out what matters most. In Episode 758 of LIFE’S Inside Track, Ken and Yetta explore how faith can influence the homes we buy, the properties we invest in and the mortgages we accept. They share how closed...

Would you use the seller’s lawyer to protect you during one of the largest financial decisions of your life? Then why would you expect the seller’s listing agent to protect your interests when you purchase a home? In Episode 756 of LIFE’s Inside Track, Ken and Yetta explain the difference between receiving access to a property and receiving genuine buyer representation. A skilled buyer REALTOR® ca...

Join Ken and Yetta Dekker Fridays at 9:30 AM on 99.1 FM CHRI.ca for LIFE’S Inside Track, where real estate, wealth, wisdom, and life decisions come together. AI Can Give You Data. It Can’t Give You Wisdom. | LIFE’S Inside Track E755 AI can help you gather information, compare neighbourhoods, look at market data, estimate values, and ask better questions. But can AI truly understand your family, yo...

Have you ever said, “I’ll know when it’s time”? Maybe about selling your home. Maybe about buying, investing, retiring, downsizing, changing careers, or finally cleaning out that garage. In Episode 754 of LIFE’S Inside Track, Ken and Yetta Dekker unpack one of the biggest lies people tell themselves before making a major real estate decision: “I’ll just know when the time is right.” Sometimes wait...

After everything Canadians have been through, many people are no longer chasing fast growth. They are trying to protect what they have built. But what happens when protecting becomes standing still? In this episode of LIFE’S Inside Track, Ken and Yetta talk about the tension many financially responsible Canadians are feeling right now: wanting to avoid reckless decisions while still preparing wise...

Doing all the right things doesn't always eliminate uncertainty. Many financially responsible people still struggle with major decisions involving money, real estate, retirement, family, and the future. The problem isn't usually a lack of information. Often, it's a lack of clarity. In Episode 752 of LIFE'S Inside Track, Ken and Yetta Dekker unpack why uncertainty can increase when a decision truly...

Many Canadians look at today's housing prices, interest rates, and cost of living and quietly conclude that the window has closed. They wonder, “Did I miss your opportunity to build wealth through real estate?”. Maybe you've found yourself comparing your situation to your parents, your friends, or even where you thought you'd be by now. In this episode of LIFE'S Inside Track with Ken and Yetta Dek...

Every day we're exposed to more information, more opinions, more market updates, more social media advice, and now more AI-generated answers than ever before. Yet many Canadians feel more uncertain than they did ten years ago. Why? Because information alone doesn't create confidence. In Episode 750 of LIFE'S Inside Track, Ken and Yetta Dekker unpack one of the biggest challenges facing families to...

Fear often disguises itself as caution, wisdom, perfectionism, or “waiting for the right time.” In Episode 749 of LIFE’S Inside Track, Ken and Yetta Dekker unpack how noise, false beliefs, fear-based thinking, and delayed decisions quietly impact finances, relationships, housing decisions, and long-term wealth building. Inspired by the book Living Fearless by Jamie Winship, this episode explores t...

What if the greatest value your real estate team brings isn’t what they help you buy—but what they help you avoid? In Episode 748 of LIFE’S Inside Track, Ken and Yetta Dekker unpack why the right team matters more than ever when selling, buying, or investing in real estate. From emotional purchases and hidden costs to overlooked opportunities and proactive financial guidance, this conversation rev...

Sometimes the hardest financial truth isn’t what’s happening around us—it’s what we already know deep down and keep avoiding. In this episode of LIFE'S Inside Track, Ken Dekker and Yetta Dekker explore why so many buyers, sellers, and homeowners stay stuck even when they’re capable of moving forward wisely. Together, they unpack: • the hidden cost of indecision • why preparation changes everything...

Your home does not usually lose value all at once—it often leaks value through the small things no one wants to fix. In this episode of LIFE’S Inside Track with Ken and Yetta Dekker, we examine why spring home maintenance is not just about curb appeal, it is about protecting your wealth. From caulking and air leaks to roofs, attic ventilation, grading, eavestroughing, and water management, Ken and...

Is the Ottawa real estate market actually unstable… or are people simply overwhelmed by confusing headlines and memories of the frenzy years? In Episode 745 of LIFE’S Inside Track, Ken and Yetta Dekker unpack why uncertainty may be creating some of the best real estate opportunities we’ve seen in years. While fear continues dominating conversations across Canada, Ottawa’s market is showing surpris...

You’ve read the articles. Watched the videos. Followed the market. So why does it still feel unclear? In this episode of LIFE’S Inside Track with Ken and Yetta Dekker, we examine something most people never question—the assumption that more information leads to better decisions. What if the opposite is true? What if the reason you feel stuck… isn’t because you don’t know enough—but because you hav...

Feeling financially behind doesn’t always mean you are—it often means you’re measuring the wrong things. In this episode of LIFE’S Inside Track with Ken and Yetta Dekker, we take a deep look at how comparison quietly distorts your perspective and steals clarity at the exact moment you need it most. Have you ever looked around and wondered why it feels like everyone else is moving faster, doing bet...