MIKE LIND

Category: Real Estate

  • Why Do Some Agents Have to Complicate Things?

    I love the thought of condo living.

    Not having to worry about cutting grass, shoveling snow, or replacing a roof, furnace, or AC. I could go on and on about some of the perks of living in a condo.

    Yes, I know there are drawbacks too. You can say that about any property.

    One of the drawbacks that really pisses me off about condos is a restriction on where lockboxes can be placed.

    Some condo boards make it impossible to hang a lockbox anywhere in the building citing security reasons.

    Could you imagine being restricted about how you can sell your own home? That is one thing I would go to war about if that happened to me.

    I can just see it, the volunteer condo corporation committee made up of people who have never managed anything in their life suddenly in charge of running a building and deciding what can and can’t be done in order for you to sell your place.

    They somehow reasoned that having a key box hung outside of the building on a bike rack or a fence is somehow safer than having a lock box in a stairwell or a dedicated lockbox room.

    Lockboxes outside are always a hassle. In the winter they freeze shut. In better weather, they rust shut as soon as it rains.

    Speaking of rain, nothing makes me happier than finding out the lockbox is right by a garden and I have to step in mud to get to it.

    My favourite though is trying to find one at night. There’s no dignified way of propping my phone against my shoulder and chin, trying to find the right angle to shine the light onto the dial pad so I can enter the code to get the precious keys.

    A dedicated lockbox room inside is the best option, even better than having the lockbox sitting in a cabinet behind the concierge desk.

    The concierge desk can sometimes be busy in the evenings with residents picking up their Amazon deliveries. The last thing a concierge wants to do is go digging for a lockbox. And even better is when you have to take the lockbox with you.

    That’s always fun when showing several units in a building.

    But even with the convenience of a lockbox room, leave it up to some agents to screw it up.

    I was relieved the other day when I got confirmation for an appointment at a condo downtown. The instructions were this:

    “Lockbox in lockbox room with red tag”

    Awesome. I’ll get in and out in a couple of seconds so my clients aren’t sitting in the lobby too long. Just find the lockbox with the red tag. In and out. Easy Peasy.

    Wishful thinking.

    This is what I was greeted with:

    Yes, almost every lockbox had a red tag.

    So instead of being in and out in a matter of seconds, it took me about 5 minutes to go through each one until the code finally worked.

    I found out later that the tags are supplied by the building and numbered in order to make locating the key box easily.

    If an agent can’t be bothered to take 5 seconds and provide the number that is on the tag to help out the agents that are, you know, trying to help them sell their client’s condo, you can imagine how they’ll be dealing with an offer.

  • Is It Worth Renovating Your House Before Listing For Sale?

    My phone rang the other day and the strangest thing happened, I answered it. I’m not sure why I did because the majority of the time it’s calls from duct cleaning services based out of country, “digital” marketers who will show me how to rank number one on Google, or, the worst, agents looking for feedback on their overpriced turkey.

    I’ve had this phone number since startac phones were cool, well before the indestructible Nokia 3310 came out. Man, I wanted that phone so bad. My Brother had it and I loved it because it didn’t have an antenna and was sleek and nicely compact.

    I can still hear the ring tone and it was the precursor for my spiraling obsession with phones over the next 20 years.

    But I’m veering off the rails of this story.

    Back on track.

    Expecting to be made a fool, I answered the phone with a dry and flat hello.

    “Is this Mike Lind?” and I knew it! A sales call.

    Which was it going to be, a pitch for a digital sales monitor in a busy downtown condo elevator where hundreds of people a day would see my ad, or how to invest in overseas money markets?

    “It is.” That was my short response.

    “OK, great. I got your number from a friend of mine because she says you’re an agent in her neighbourhood and that I should call you for help selling my uncle’s home.”

    Crap! It was a legit call and now I had to back peddle, remove the grumpy, monotone voice, and see if I could help this guy.

    I apologized for my rudeness and explained why I was speaking that way. He laughed it off and said he understood.

    What I found out is his wife’s uncle has a house close by that he and his wife were thinking about renovating to sell and would like an accurate value of the home.

    He went on to tell me that they’d already gutted the kitchen and are now having second thoughts about doing the renovation.

    I felt like saying it was a little late for that…

    This brings me to the point of this blog because it happens time and time again – is it worth renovating your house to sell?

    To answer like a lawyer, it depends.

    It depends on what condition the house is in.

    It depends on the current values of houses in the area.

    It depends on the location.

    It depends on your budget and willingness to live through a renovation or to manage one.

    Renovating is not easy. I’ve renovated 5 homes. It can be a long, drawn-out affair. It’s dirty and expensive and depending on what renovations you’re doing, may not be worth the hassle and aggravation.

    You’ve probably heard that kitchens and bathrooms are your best return on investment.

    I say bullshit to that.

    The point of renovating is to enjoy the finished project, not to pass it on to someone else to enjoy.

    The exception to that is if you’re a developer and that’s your livelihood.

    For the most part, though, I see people who get all caught up in blog posts about how much money they’ll get back from doing renovations.

    I’ll tell you a story about someone who is going through this scenario right now.

    This couple, with their 3 kids, have outgrown their home. They’ve lived in the house for about ten years and aside from painting and installing vinyl flooring in the kitchen, have done no improvements.

    We’ve had talks about knocking out walls to expand and build a new kitchen, finishing the basement, and including a 3 piece washroom down there and busting up the old tiles to have a more modern look.

    Everything they’re talking about doing is great if they’re going to stay in the house.

    They have lots of equity in the house and based on the price they paid for the home and what renovated houses sell for in the area, it would seem to make sense for them to renovate IF they were going to stay in the house.

    But all of the work they were describing wouldn’t solve their issue; lack of space. The bedrooms and living areas are too small for them.

    I explained to them that it may be better to do a simple refresh and necessary repairs and move to a bigger house.

    Of course you’d say that, Mike. You’re a real estate agent.

    I am not interested in selling their house. Well, I am, but it’s too far away from where I’d be able to properly service it and I think it’s a huge disservice for out-of-town agents to take on listings, but that’s another story for another post one day…

    Why would they go through the aggravation and stress of doing all that work just for someone else to enjoy?

    Anyway, I was trying to explain to them that with small kids and the amount of work they’re considering, it would be impossible to live through.

    HGTV makes everything look so easy but is completely unrealistic.

    That was a few months ago. Fast forward to the present and they decided to list the house and move.

    Great! They took my advice.

    But they didn’t. Instead, they have begun renovating the kitchen, and bathrooms and replacing all the floors because they want to capitalize and get the most amount of money possible from the sale.

    I bit my tongue. There was no point in telling them what I think of their plan. I nearly bit my tongue when they told me they decided to do all of this work on the advice of their agent (not the agent I referred them to).

    No doubt, doing all of these renovations will make the house easier to sell. However, it won’t give them the best return on their investment.

    And that is why a lot of agents won’t tell their clients not to renovate because a renovated house is much easier to sell, but when you factor in the 2 to 4 months of all of this work and the money, to me, it just doesn’t make sense.

    They would have been better off just doing a simple remodel of the house. New granite countertop in the kitchen, along with a modern faucet and repainting the cabinets.

    Install new, inexpensive vanities and taps in the washrooms.

    A fresh coat of paint throughout the house.

    Inexpensive but modern light fixtures throughout. And, finally, basic white window coverings on all the windows.

    Way less expensive, way less labour intensive, and much less stressful to complete.

    And you know what?

    The house will be way easier to sell too.

  • Houses That Sold in Port Union in February 2023

    ???? Hey West Rouge

    Take a look at the houses that sold in Port Union in February 2023.

    ???? This month’s musical guest is Depeche Mode featuring their amazing song Waiting For The Night.

    Enjoy.

  • Make Sure You’re Prepared To Make An Offer

    I was writing a very detailed email to one of my clients because she is the type to want to know everything and have it explained in uncertain details.

    While rereading it, I thought that this would be good to have for all of my clients. Then I thought, heck, make it available for everyone!

    So after patting myself on the back for a job well done, here is my advice to make sure you’re prepared to make an offer on a property that you’re really excited to buy.

    Since it’s been a few weeks that we’ve been out looking at condos and getting more familiar with areas, it’s only a matter of time before a condo comes up that you’re going to love.

    Let this be a guide for you to get everything in order to put in an offer on a property now, rather than have you scrambling last minute which could delay being able to offer and missing out on a great place.

    Have your deposit money ready in your account

    The definition of a deal is giving something in order to get something. You won’t get the condo as soon as your offer is accepted, so your deposit money is essentially a promissory note.

    You’re telling the seller, “I promise to buy your condo on the date we agreed upon, and to show you that I will buy it that day, keep this deposit money in trust until then so you know I won’t back out of the deal.”

    Having your money ready is good in 2 situations. Once an offer is accepted, the deposit will be due within 24 hours. If your money is tied up in investments or something else and you don’t give the deposit within 24 hours, the deal is dead (void).

    The other situation where having your deposit money ready is if you find yourself in a multiple offer situation. If you have your deposit cheque ready to go on the night of the offer, it shows the seller that you’re serious and ready to put together the deal that night.

    I’ve seen buyers get cold feet and not go through with a deal after they slept on it and decide they want out of the agreement. That can get messy legally with a breach of contract, and by having your deposit the sellers have that peace of mind.

    Oh, before I forget, your deposit cheque should be either a bank draft or a money order and must be made payable to the seller’s brokerage, ie: Re/Max Big Balloon Realty Inc.

    Closing Date

    I mentioned the closing date above because it can make or break a deal especially if you’re in a multiple-offer situation.

    I’ll be responsible to find out what the seller prefers in terms of a closing date. In multiple offers, if you can give the seller what they want, it makes your offer that much better.

    When not in multiple offers, there can be some flexibility in the closing time. Being open and working towards a mutually agreeable closing date shows that you’re negotiating in good faith.

    Obviously, if there is a closing date that you or the seller can’t work with, then you simply pull the offer off the table and move on to the next condo.

    Lawyer Up

    All offers have to be reviewed and finalized by a lawyer in order to transfer the ownership to the new owner, you.

    To that end, have a lawyer in mind before you even get to the point of an offer, especially when it’s a condo because the condominium documents, better known as a status certificate, need to be looked at by your lawyer to make sure the building is in good financial standing.

    Issues like special assessments, lawsuits against the building, and steep increases in maintenance fees can all be found in the documentation by your lawyer and that can save you from a financial pitfall.

    Oftentimes, the status certificate will be made available to you in anticipation of multiple offers on a set offer day.

    If your lawyer can review the status certificate before the offer date and give you their approval, it puts you in an advantageous position because you won’t have a condition in your offer for a lawyer to review the documents.

    I have a lawyer that will review condo documents free of charge but you will have to sign an agreement that you will work with him to put the deal together.

    Since you have a mortgage preapproval, you’re ahead there as well.

    Again, if you’re in multiple offers, you can remove the condition of financing to improve your odds of winning.

    An offer without a condition on financing, even if lower than one with a financing condition is, or should be looked at as stronger since there isn’t the chance that a mortgage won’t get approved.

    There you have it, everything I’ve learned over the years that put you in a great position to successfully offer and win on a property.

  • The Skinny On a Buyer Representation Agreement

    Here’s the Legal Blah, Blah Blah About a Buyer Representation Agreement Translated

    When you sign a buyer representation agreement, we are joining forces … legally. I’m to represent you, protect you in offers, and ensure I have your best interests in mind. You’ve afforded me this honour so I can feed my family and keep up my reputation.

    Here’s Why Representation Benefits You

    • help you properly assess a property to make an informed decision on an offer price
    • prepare an offer that positions you as strongly as possible
    • set you up to have the best possible offer in a multiple-offer situation (without overpaying)
    • inform you of any known detriments, or defects in the property that I’m aware of
    • you’ll know if a seller is desperate to sell or, what price they’ll accept
    • sellers will never know your motivation or your financial position

    Here’s What Representation Does for Me (With Some of Your Help)

    • it lets listing agents know that you’re working with me
    • you’ll let me know if an agent advises you that you can place an offer through them even after you’ve told them that I represent you
    • you won’t go behind my back and offer on properties through the listing agent
    • again, helping you to buy a home allows me to feed and clothe my family

    Here’s Why…

    We’ve established a representation agreement where you’ve hired me legally to represent you and your best interest. We can still work together if you don’t sign the attached buyer representation agreement but, those benefits above won’t apply because, by law, I’m essentially a cashier at a store just ringing through a product rather than providing professional advice and guidance.

    Are You Responsible for Commission?

    No. And, yes. Sorry to have to bring this up again but, you’ve promised to work with me. If you decide to buy directly through the listing agent (who has no responsibility to work in your best interests), you can be liable to reimburse the commission that benefits the seller and seller’s agent.

  • Would you go to Facebook to help decide on an agent to sell your home?

    While perusing my local neighbourhood Facebook group, someone posted that she had narrowed her list of real estate agents to two and wanted some advice on which to choose.

    Would you go to Facebook to help decide on an agent to sell your home?

    Some of the suggestions were on point and valid, others were simply made by clueless individuals.

    Unsurprisingly there were agents that seemed to think now would be a good idea to pitch themselves.

    First, let’s break down the valid comments because they were for the most part, good but I can still poke holes in them.

    Would you go to Facebook to help decide on an agent to sell your home?

    There are times going with your gut is the right thing, but then there are times when it’s not, like walking down a dark alley in Gotham City or helping a man with his arm in a cast load a couch into his van at night.

    Going with your gut instinct to choose between two agents might be the way to go if everything they presented and promised to do to sell your house is equal, but looking through the comments I found that one agent included staging, while the other charged for staging.

    If everything is equal with services, and since they charge the same, going with the agent that includes staging would be the way to go.

    Excellent points were made here. Staging is important and all, but to me, the more important service, especially in today’s market is what state of repair the house is in.

    Buyers a stretched to their maximum affordability these days and expect a house to be in move-in-ready condition.

    Every single glaring item that needs repair or updating costs too much money to fix in the eyes of most home buyers.

    Believe me when I say that home buyers are squirmish and will move on to a house in a better state of repair, and will even pay more money for it rather than try and negotiate on a house that needs “TLC” as some douchey agents would say.

    “Do they have a list of clients who may be already interested?”. 

    Please don’t fall for this bullshit. 

    If agents had someone interested in your house and neighbourhood, and they were a good agent,  actively trying to find a house in your neighbourhood for their buyer, you would have known. 

    They would have been posting in the local Facebook groups and even advertising around the neighbourhood already.

    Also keep this in mind, if they have a buyer for your house already, who is their client and whose best interests are they representing in this scenario?

    You can’t serve two people unbiasedly. Only one can be a client.

    Who is it, the buyer or you?

    Finding out how they negotiate is great too. Negotiating really begins at the time of setting the price. When a house is properly priced, it’s been said it’s 90% sold already. I think this is true. 

    As far as negotiations are concerned, if you think an agent can “negotiate” a buyer into paying exorbitant amounts of money for your home, you need a reality check.

    With the amount of information available to home buyers today, they are savvier than ever and may even know more than some agents.

    Good negotiations come from knowing what the numbers are in the neighbourhood and being able to convey that information so there is no room for questioning from the other side.

    So yes, look at an agent’s stats and their knowledge of the area, not necessarily how many homes they’ve sold.

    Communication is another great point they raised. Speaking from personal experience, I’ve had buyers decide against buying a place because the listing agent does not return messages.

    I can only imagine how a homeowner would feel knowing that they had an offer on their house but because the agent was unavailable, they lost that opportunity.

    Ask the agent you’re interviewing if it’s them you’ll be speaking with when you have questions or problems come up, or will you only talk to their assistant (who, by the way, will know nothing about real estate or your property).

    After you sign the listing agreement, are you passed on to a team member? Some team members are great, I’ve been one before, but a lot of them suck.

    Ask to speak with former clients.

    Beautiful.

    If an agent has the type of relationship with clients where they are trusted enough to be able to provide contacts of past clients to vouch for them, that is a huge ringing endorsement and should hold a lot of weight in your decision.

    I’m surprised that no one in the group suggested looking at the agent’s Google reviews. Those hold a lot of weight too because Google vets all feedback submissions and if any or fake, they get removed, but more importantly, the agent’s business page gets banned.

    This is excellent advice and is the way I find all most all of my tradespeople. With personal recommendations, you know the people who are recommending them can be trusted and experienced first-hand the level of service and satisfaction they received.

    I’m deducting points from this person though because they included the name of an agent.

    The poster did not ask for recommendations. 

    But that didn’t stop people from doing so:

    LIST SOME HERE

    Then, of course, there were the agents that thought now would be a good opportunity to pitch themselves. Never a good look to be publicly begging, and I’ll save them further embarrassment by not posting their pitches here.

    Rounding out this post are the clueless ones:

    Detailing the fuck-ups I’ve experienced from people selling a house themselves or listing with a company that simply lists your home on the MLS for a flat fee is poor advice, especially coming from a random Facebook group commenter.

    The troubles you can get into are too many for this post and I won’t get into them.

    I know that commissions can be high when selling but trusting the sale of your most valuable asset to chance is a shitty plan of action.

    This commenter does make a good point about spending time finding a good agent to help you find a house. Home buying is very challenging in this market and a lot of what posters have suggested in terms of choosing an agent to sell your home goes double when choosing an agent to help you buy a home.

    Summing up, don’t strictly rely on your gut to choose a real estate agent to sell your home, ask for recommendations, ask if you can speak to past clients, read their online reviews and visit their website and see if they are actively posting about real estate and their experiences.

    Dive deeper into the services they offer; staging can be defined in so many ways and the stager they work with (or do they do their own “staging”).

    Updates and repairs are very important in today’s market and communication is key.

    Also, if you are being passed on to a team member to work with after the paperwork is signed, you should interview the team member as well.

  • Using An Out-Of-Area Agent

    Don’t.

    Well, most times. There are agents that can still provide good service even if they are not based in the immediate area, but I find most houses listed with an out-of-area agent are poorly represented.

    Here are some of the issues I find, starting with this house in my neck of the woods. Listed just under 2 million, this is what a buyer is greeted with:

    Yes. At least 6 inches of snow to trek through before getting to the door.

    You know what they say about first impressions…

    Am I the only one that thinks this way; I have 2 million dollars to spend, that’s a lot of money, and I expect to find a 2 million dollar house that looks and is presented as such.

    Having snow drip into my $600 loafers is not going to leave a good impression and I’d be inclined to not even go into the house seeing that wall of snow.

    Maybe this house is part of the night’s watch and defending the Seven Kingdoms from the wildlings and white walkers?

    Those books were amazing. Too bad I’ll never be able to read how it ends, and the series was ruined by the last 3 seasons…

    Oh, by the way, I don’t wear $600 loafers, I wear decent, budget-friendly shoes because I destroy them no matter the price point.

    But I digress and am getting off-topic.

    So, my nice and practical Cole Haan boats and I were prepared to brave the elements and successfully navigated the grueling climb to get into the house.

    The appointment instructions were to remove shoes. There was no area rug at the front door and there was so much dried-up ice-melter salt, I could have scraped it up and had a perfectly preserved crime scene investigation-esque mould of the front vestibule.

    Shoes stay on.

    In case you forgot, this is a 2 million dollar home.

    It was vacant, unstaged, and I could tell by the shoddy staining of the staircase it was a flip.

    The engineered hardwood floor was covered in perfectly outlined footprints from salt and sand stuck to the bottom of visitors’ shoes.

    This would not happen under my watch. No, I’m not part of the night’s watch. I happen to take a lot of pride when present houses for sale and there is no way I would allow a house to become this filthy and uncared for.

    I have standards and one is a clean presentable house. If it’s a vacant house, I’ll check in on it and make sure it’s still clean.

    I may have to do it daily depending on the number of appointments.

    Yes, even if it’s not in my immediate area. I was hired to sell a home. I promised a certain level of representation and I would feel like a complete fraud if I didn’t hold up my end of the agreement.

    Back to the house, when I went upstairs, random lights were on and one of the washroom exhaust fans was running.

    I found MLS listing sheets from one of the previous showing agents rolled into a scroll and left on the ensuite washroom counter, along with the added bonus of someone’s unflushed pee in the toilet.

    I’ll spare you a disgusting, moldy photo.

    These are some of the poor service aspects and can be easily applied to a local agent as well. Just examples of poor preparation, marketing, and professionalism.

    But what if I were a buyer just driving around and saw the for sale sign and wanted to see the house?

    I call the number on the sign, right?

    So (hypothetically) I dial the 705 number on the sign expecting to be able to make an appointment within an hour or so.

    Is an agent from Orillia really going to be able to get down to the house in a reasonable amount of time to show it?

    Is an agent from Orillia really going to travel almost three hours there and back to check up on the house to make sure it’s still presentable, or that no one has taken a massive dump in one of the toilets and clogged it?

    How about snow removal?

    How well-versed is this Orilla-based agent with the schools, parks, heck, real estate activities, and prices of the area?

    If a home seller in Orillia asked me to list their home, I would decline and refer them to a good local agent.

    How well could I service a house in Orillia from my location in West Rouge, Toronto?

    But a lot of agents don’t think this way. They just hope like hell one of the 70,000+ other realtors on the Toronto Real Estate Board has a buyer for the house.

    That’s a marketing plan?

  • Ah yes, the Negotiator

    They say good things come to those who wait. This weekend a client of mine that has been waiting for a unit to come up in a certain building finally had his wish come true.

    It’s a new building in Cliffside with not a lot of turnover. Ciffside is an up-and-coming neighbourhood and I can actually call it an up-and-coming neighbourhood because it is.

    They are still mom and pop shops, some seedy drinking establishments and vacant store fronts. Starbucks found its way into the neighbourhood and that’s how you know it’s on the radar of big business.

    He’s been waiting for a unit to come up in there since November after he missed out on one in multiple offers.

    It was his first time going through a multiple-offer situation, and he was a little hesitant to take my advice.

    There were three offers and instead of going in at least full price, he decided to offer less than what I suggested, which was $10,000 over the asking price because he thought he would have a chance to negotiate with the seller.

    I told him that in a multiple-offer situation, the seller holds the advantage because there were three offers to choose from. I asked him to go in $10,000 more than the asking price to at least have a good shot of buying the condo.

    It was well within his budget even if he went $10,000 over the asking price and to make things better, it was listed with a sell-it-yourself brokerage.

    But he stood fast in his position and to make a long story short. He ended up losing the condo and was mad that he didn’t listen to me when he found out it sold for $8,000 more than the asking price.

    Fast forward to this weekend, and the unit that we went to look at was a little smaller but had a huge terrace that overlooked a quiet neighbourhood and the lake.

    He said he wanted to put in an offer and I told him that because it’s the first day on the market he should expect to pay at least full price for this condo.

    He had no problem paying full price for it but he wanted to try for $5,000 less than the asking price. The suggested closing date was in May.

    Since he was not in competition, the offer could be conditional on financing and status certificate review.

    He was happy with those.

    We went separate ways and I headed back to my office to prepare the offer. On my drive back to the office, he called me saying that he only has $10,000 liquid and he will get the other $15,000 within a day from his TFSA account.

    I said that was no problem and will make the deposit of $10,000 on acceptance of the offer, and then add an additional $15,000 deposit once the conditions were met.

    I typed up the offer like he wanted, put in the early May closing date, and made the deposit structure exactly as outlined above.

    I’ve done this many many times over the course of my career without any issues. Ever.

    Until this offer.

    Once my client signed the offer, I called the listing brokerage to register the offer and called the agent to talk with her about the offer.

    I explained the deposit structure and right away she said “My clients will be concerned with a $10,000 deposit.”

    “It’s a $25,000 deposit, only split into two cheques,” I explained.

    “Well, I doubt my clients would accept that.”

    Now I’m angry.

    I hate when agents hide behind their clients like this.

    “I didn’t know homeowners, especially first-time home sellers were so well-versed in real estate matters.”

    “Well generally, here in Toronto, deposits are 5%.”

    I couldn’t believe she just said that to me; here in Toronto…

    I took a deep breath and tried not to get as condescending as her, and said;

    “Since when? Just because that became the norm when the market was white hot in order to gain an edge in multiple offers, doesn’t mean it’s a hard rule. Are we in multiple offers?”

    I don’t blame her for wanting a 5% deposit, I’d ask for the same thing, but I’m not saying my clients will be concerned with this deposit.

    To me, that kills any sort of authority she may have had.

    If I was the listing agent in this scenario, it would just be a direct statement of wanting to see more money on the deposit or I will advise my clients to respectfully decline the offer. Another option would be to counter-offer with our expectations of a deposit if the other terms in the offer were good to work with.

    But the real issue was she did not understand the deposit structure because she has probably never seen it before.

    A lot of agents have only ever known a seller market.

    She didn’t understand that 5% split into two payments is still 5%.

    You may be wondering why 5% is what a deposit “generally” is with an offer.

    If you look at the percentage they’re asking for and think about what the “typical” commission is to sell a property, you may see a correlation.

    Sometimes, between the offer being accepted and the closing date, something could happen where the buyer suddenly can’t close, or gets cold feet and wants to get out of the deal.

    You know, breach of contract.

    There is a certain term in contract law called specific performance. It is the legal enforcement of a contract that has been breached, and in a scenario where a buyer decides they want out of the deal, the seller is still on the hook to pay commissions because an agreement has been reached between the seller and both real estate agents.

    The agents have fulfilled their part of the agreement. They brought a deal together. The buyer decided to pull their end of the deal and now the seller will have to sue the buyer for damages and breach of contract.

    Having that five percent deposit is a good way to ensure that the seller is able to pay the commissions without dipping into their personal funds.

    The seller doesn’t automatically get the buyer’s deposit money to use. The deposit will stay in trust until a court order either releases the funds to the sellers, or to the buyers after they get the pants sued off them and have to pay damages.

    Anyway, the entire point I’m trying to make here about the agent telling me the owners are concerned with the deposit is bullshit. Just tell me straight up if you’d like to see a bigger deposit. Plus, they didn’t even look at the offer.

    After much back and forth, I told her the offer is a valid offer and there was no reason to be negotiating before the sellers have even looked at it.

    I once again explained that the deposit was still $25,000, it just wasn’t all in one cheque at the same time.

    Sighing, she said she’ll present it and try to explain the deposit but she doubted they’d accept it.

    Whatever, do your best, I felt like saying.

    A couple of hours later, the agent called me and said that her clients would only accept the offer as-is if my client would pay full price.

    “So, if he can give you a deposit of $25,000 in one cheque they’ll accept the offer price I have now?”

    Yes.

    Wow, she must have her Certified Negotiations Expert certificate…

    I called my client and explained the deposit issue the agent was having.

    He told me he’ll just take the money from his line of credit to make up the difference and put the money back in once he gets it out of his TFSA.

    Done.

    I called the agent and told her to counter the offer with the change of deposit and keep everything else the same.

    My client was only too happy to save the money on the purchase and I guess the listing agent was happy to get the deposit done her way, but accept $5,000 less than the asking price on the first day her client’s condo was on the market.

    Shrewd negotiating…

  • Ready, Set, Sell: Checklist for Home Sellers

    You want to sell your home in the shortest possible time for the highest possible price, right? Of course that is every seller’s goal and it’s your Realtor’s goal as well. So here’s a handy 7 Additional Quick Fixes To Make A Great First Impression When Selling A Home you need to do to make that happen.

    1. Follow the 50% rule. Look at every flat surface in your house and take at least 50% of the items away. This goes for kitchen and bathroom counters, desktops, bookshelves and dressers. Maybe you do use that blender/toaster/coffeemaker/radio every day, but for now, keep it out of sight and get it out only when you need it.
    2. 50% your closets too. If stuff tumbles to the floor every time you open a closet or a cupboard, you won’t impress your buyers. An overstuffed closet tells a buyer that you don’t have enough storage space. So get out the packing boxes, pretend you’re moving next week, and streamline every space. The buyer needs to know there’s plenty of room for his (or her) stuff.
    3. Don’t get personal. When a buyer walks through your front door, you want her to imagine herself living in your home. This won’t happen if the walls are covered with family pictures and the refrigerator door is decorated with childlike Picassos. Add these items to your packing list. Let the buyer see a clean slate, ready for her to add her own personal touches.
    4. Brighten up. Walk through your home after dark and on a cloudy day. Does it look bright, cheerful, and welcoming? Start by getting some brighter light bulbs to shed some light on those dark corners. Make sure there are no burned out bulbs anywhere. Check the porch lights and outdoor lighting as well.
    5. Show me the money. Realtors and builders alike will tell you that you’ll get the most bang for your buck by investing money in your kitchen and bathrooms. So whatever you have to spend on a pre-sale facelift, that’s where your money should go. If your bathroom vanities look shabby and dated, a couple coats of semi-gloss enamel in one of today’s “in” colors is a great place to start. Add some drawer pulls to kitchen and bathroom cupboards. Replace faucets with brushed nickel or bronze. New stainless steel appliances in the kitchen will give it a real “wow” factor.
    6. Do a painting. As part of your facelift plan, painting the interior walls is a great investment. Ceilings should be white because it makes the rooms seem larger. But keep white paint off your walls and go with a warm neutral (pale yellow, rosy beige or taupe) instead. Stark white walls are cold. Even if your home is very contemporary, you still want to reflect a degree of warmth and coziness.
    7. Check for hidden problems. Often it’s the things you can’t see that will trip you up. So keep an eye out for problems that aren’t immediately obvious. For example, if the storage space under your stairs smells musty, air it out and add some room freshener. Make sure there are no signs of mold or mildew anywhere. Look around the baseboards and the outside of your home as well for signs of termites or other pests. Make sure there are no dripping faucets or leaks under the sink. And check to see that your smoke detectors are working.
    8. Add the unexpected touch. When you’re ready for that first open house, make sure you appeal to ALL the buyer’s senses. Put out some fresh flowers or plants. (Hint: orchids are not expensive and they last a long time.) Avoid candles, which could create a fire hazard. Instead, use essential oils with scents that create a mood. Lavender is relaxing, rosemary is stimulating, and jasmine elevates the mood. Citrus scents are always fresh and clean. Of course if you want to pull out all the stops, bake some chocolate chip cookies and leave them on the counter. But please, no onions or fish smells left over from last night’s dinner.

    Homes do not sell themselves. It takes planning and effort on your part, 7 Reasons Why You Need A Realtor to Sell Your Home, to turn your property into a showplace. The payoff is the look on that prospective buyer’s face that says, “I want this one!”

  • Making the Right Move: A Checklist for Homebuyers

    Whether you are a A Case of Cold Feet: How to Handle the First Time Homebuyer or an experienced homeowner, buying a new home is always stressful. Here’s a handy checklist of six things you can do up front to make the process a lot easier. Before you start packing, here’s what you need to do.

    1. Prepare a budget. You need a clear picture of your family’s finances before you even think about calling a Realtor or applying for a mortgage. List all your monthly fixed expenses, such as car payments, current rent or mortgage, utilities, school tuition, and loan payments. Add categories for other expenses such as food and entertainment.
    2. List your debts. If you have existing credit card debts, student loans or other debts that require regular monthly payments, get them down in black and white, so you know exactly how much you owe. Figure out your debt ratio. There are plenty of online calculators that will do this for you. You need to know two ratios. Your housing debt expenses (including taxes and insurance) as a percentage of your gross monthly income should be 25-28%. Your installment debt ratio (credit cards and other consumer debt) should be around 10-15%. Your total debt to income ratio should not be more than 40%.
    3. Get pre-approved. #1 and 2 above are important because you want to get pre-approved for a loan before you start shopping. This is an important safeguard, to keep you from falling in love with something you can’t afford or can’t get a mortgage for. Be sure you understand the Mortgage Pre-Approval – Don’t Overlook The Importance. Getting pre-qualified means that you give a lender your overall financial picture, including your debt, income and assets. The lender evaluates this information and gives you a ballpark figure of the mortgage amount for which you could qualify. Pre-qualification can be done over the phone or on the Internet, usually at no cost.Pre-approved, on the other hand, means that a lender evaluates your debt ratios, your credit report, and your overall ability to repay a loan and says, “Yes, I would loan this buyer X number of dollars to buy a home.”
    4. Make a list. Before you begin working with a Realtor, you need to make a two-column list of needs vs. wants. Be sure you know the difference! You need three bedrooms. You want a swimming pool. You need to be very upfront with your Realtor about exactly what constitutes a deal-breaker in your purchasing process. If more than one person is involved in making the final decision, be sure that you are more or less in agreement about needs and wants. If one spouse wants a short commute and the other has visions of a country estate, you could have a problem. Resolve these issues ahead of time.
    5. Find a Realtor. Once you’ve done your homework, it’s time to start looking. You want to find a Realtor who represents you and puts your interests first. The best way to find a Realtor is to ask friends and family for recommendations. However, if you are new to the area and don’t know anyone, you may need to visit several firms and interview several Realtors. Chemistry is important. You need to look for someone who is committed to meeting your needs and who knows the area and price range you’re looking in.
    6. Ask the right questions. When you are talking to prospective Realtors, don’t be afraid to ask probing questions. And expect to get frank, straightforward answers. Here are a few to get you started:
    • How long have you been in real estate?
    • Do you represent both buyers and sellers?
    • How many buyers are you currently working with? How many sellers?
    • How many homes did you sell last year?
    • How familiar are you with the neighborhoods we are considering?

    Buying a home could well be the single most important decision you will ever make, both financially and emotionally. However, if you do your homework and prepare thoughtfully for the process, it can also be a fun and rewarding experience. Happy hunting!