Episode 55: Making Moves: My Life Journey Told Through Real Estate – Shaun Majumder

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 perspect