From a trailer park in Newfoundland to buying properties and land across Canada, to even buying and selling homes in the United States, Canadian actor and comedian Shaun Majumder has lived all over North America—in many types of homes. His life journey can be mapped through real estates, with emotional memories attached to every move.

On this episode of REAL TIME, Shaun joins us from CREA PAC Days 2024 to share his first memory of home, how his different moves helped shape his journey and experiences, and how finding the right REALTOR® was more about than just who was the most knowledgeable—it was about who was the best fit.

Transcript

Erin Davis: Fill in the blank. Home is? If you thought, "Where the heart is," you're not alone, but what does that really mean? It can change as we go through life. It's your family home where your childhood memories were made. It's a college dorm room where you felt like an adult for the first time in your life. It's the home in a new city halfway across the country where you decided you wanted to start fresh.

If you think about it, many of our life stories can really be told through real estate in some form or another. We're going to have ups and downs, but there's always something to learn along the way. Hi, I'm Erin Davis, and welcome to REAL TIME, the podcast for REALTORS®, brought to you by the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Today we're joined by Shaun Majumder, an actor and comedian who's been through his fair share of moves and who's joining us to share his own life's journey through real estate. Shaun, after all of these years of welcoming you into our homes, it seems redundant to welcome you here, but it's so good to have you talking with us today on REAL TIME. Thank you for making the time for us.

Shaun Majumder: It is my pleasure. It is so good to be here, and I'm currently in Ottawa, and I believe you are where currently right now as we sit here?

Erin: Southern Vancouver Island. Isn't technology grand?

Shaun: Very exciting.

Erin: Yes.

Shaun: I know. I'm still on Los Angeles time because I flew in from LA yesterday to be here, so we are on the exact same timeframe. We're all unified.

Erin: Wonderful.

Shaun: It's beautiful.

Erin: Yes, and I know we'll be on the same wavelength today as well as we talk about home and what it's meant to you and your whole realty and real estate experience through the years, but let's go back to what is your first memory of home? You're so good with words. Paint a picture for us.

Shaun: Growing up in rural Newfoundland, I was raised in a tiny town, 350 people with no money. The thing that I was focused on, I think as a little child, was my mom who took great care of us. It was me, my mom, my sister and my wiener dog. It was about shelter. It was about survival. We were literally, we needed to live somewhere.

When I think about the stories that come from the places that you live, as adults, we focus on things like square footage, and we think about the markets and mortgage rates. I had no exposure to this ever growing up and even up until only a short while ago, my real estate education was so bad. I didn't even understand like buying a house. How do you do that? Can you afford it? What does it mean for your future? Is that an investment or is it just a place to live? All of these things have come to me as I've gotten older.

My very first place that I ever remember being inside of and calling it a home, my mom, I think, she basically moved us into this tiny little trailer. It was like a tin box. It was the safe space for me. It held off crazy Newfoundland winter storms. It was a place of love and warmth and safety and security. At least that was from my perspective growing up. Now if you look at it now, dude, it was a health hazard. There were electrical wires that were exposed. There were rats running around. When I think about now, it was like we had nothing. I remember the floors had that roll on plastic canvas. The technology has come a long way now. The smell of mold and mildew.

Oh, God, the memories are taking me back. This was my first home. It was so funny. I was actually sitting down, and I was writing some things out. I actually was like, "Well, what would that place, if we were doing an MLS® listing--" Remember, now, this is a tiny little shack, sort of near the ocean in small town, Newfoundland. Questionable running water at times. Hot? Forget about it. This is how I would try to put this listing up. "Ocean front hideaway with vintage charm."

Erin: Oh. I love it.

Shaun: "750 square foot, two beds, one bath, ocean views. Step into this exclusive aluminum clad retreat boasting an expansive 750 square foot of rustic charm from the earthy aroma of the authentic moldy vinyl floors to the exposed electrical wiring that gives a peek into the home's inner workings. Every detail is a testament to this timeless character with cozy six-foot ceilings," honestly, it was a hobbit home, "creating an intimate atmosphere. You'll love the vintage appeal of the cupboards, some delightfully loose on their hinges to provide open shelving." They were falling apart, basically.

"Enjoy the added peace of mind with walls lightly packed with asbestos. A natural fireproofing solution ensuring that no flame will threaten your trailer. Except of course, the occasional whiff of mesothelioma. For nature lovers, the kitchen comes complete with furry residents." We had rats. Yes, we did. "Under the sink connecting you with the wildlife outside."

It's pretty amazing how you can frame something. Again, when we talk about the importance of a home and how it informs you as a human being, these were my earliest memories for me. They were some of the most positive memories for me because it was about the people that were in that home and the creatures that were there, not the rats, but my wiener dog, I'll never forget. When I started this journey on this planet, that was the bar that was set for me. At a very early age, the concept going from that to anywhere where I am now, that's the frame of reference. Everything beyond that was a bonus. You know what I mean?

Erin: Yes, I totally do.

Shaun: When I think about housing and I think about where we lived, and it has its pros and cons because now my understanding of what real estate is and how much is too much and what is the value, I've never been able to really wrap my head around it, to get a really good compass, unless you sit down and you really, really educate on the academic level exactly what market means and what value means. What is value? I think that's an important thing, yes.

Erin: Right. Value is what your heart sets and not just what the market says. By the way, that listing you read me, I think it sounds charming. Do you have a price?

Shaun: I think, no. No, it is no longer there. I've been back to Burlington many times. Someone bought it, but I think they might've bought it for $500 or something like that.

Erin: Yet your memories are priceless. I'm picturing you just riding around the area with other kids on your bikes, making those childhood dreams. Okay, the rodents weren't your pets, but they could have been. In a Stephen King novel, they would have been. It's just, that's the picture of home. I have to fast forward to now with two children of your own, and I know we're jumping ahead. We'll go back to the middle, I promise you. If your children ever say, "Daddy, I need a bigger room." Do you ever go back to that trailer and go, "Okay, wait a minute." Does it sort of form your entire perspective for what your children have now? Does it give you that foundation?

Shaun: It's interesting because I'm not attached to my early days of where I lived as a way of saying, "Hey, listen, we don't need more space." Because I lived in a place that had no space. I think what it did, it gave me a perspective of being grateful and being thankful and being conscious of what really matters. I think that's what it taught me early on. Coming from not much, and I say that, graded on a curve because I had everything. That's how I looked at it. I think what it did is instilled in me, coming from that place, I think, my journey is different than someone, let's say, who was raised in a seven-bedroom house in a really nice area. Once you start your life there, then everything is about comparative, everything is comparisons and comps at that point.

For my kids now, it's interesting because my kids, one was born in Los Angeles, one was born in Petoskey, Michigan. We have a nice house in Los Angeles. She only knows the nice house in Los Angeles, the house that I now live in currently. Both of them, both girls, one is two, one is five. It's interesting because now I think, "Okay, well, wherever we go next, and what the future will be for them, that's their baseline." However, we go back to Newfoundland a lot. We spend time in one of the houses that I did buy, which is another property that blows me away.

Now I'd be curious to hear what the listeners think of this. My journey in real estate, again, it goes from small town, Newfoundland, to probably Ontario, then to Los Angeles. That's a combination of renting. That's a combin