I’ve spoken about this before in Buy the Steak. Not the Sizzle. but it seems like there may be some people who don’t read my blog yet. Why do I say this? Because several sellers have recently told me that one of the main reasons they chose their Realtor was because he or she claimed […]
The area north of Lawrence and south of Loblaws on either side of Yonge is commonly referred to as North Toronto. The west side of Yonge is usually called the John Wanless area after the neighbourhood public school. The area on the east side of Yonge is known as either the Wanless Park area after […]
This is the first in a series of posts designed to give you an idea of what it’s like to live in one of central Toronto’s great neighbourhoods. Note that I said “one of”. That’s because there are so many great neighbourhoods in central Toronto. Many of the things that make living in North Toronto […]
These days, I’m more likely to hear “We’re never moving” or “We’re looking for our forever house” instead of “This is our 3-5 year house and then we’ll move up to our dream house.” It’s the answer I get when I ask my clients “How long do you plan to stay in this house?”. I […]
One of the things I like most about my job is that it’s SO interesting. You really never know what’s going to happen next. Sometimes things happen that are even beyond my imagination. For example, check out this video to find out what happened to my clients recently ….
If you’ve been following along diligently the past few weeks, you know what stale listings are and how to avoid them and you’ve seen firsthand what happens in the life of a listing. Now it’s time to find out when you should bite the bullet and reduce your list price because that’s your best move. Price […]
You’ve had your home listed for a while. You really want to sell. You receive an offer and enter into an agreement to sell your home for $1,000,000 conditional on a home inspection. After the inspection, the buyer says he wants a price reduction of $3,000 to fix some minor things. He’s entitled to do […]
One of the things I do countless times every day to make sure I’m always right up to date with the market is check to see what sold and how much it sold for. Every now and then a sale price causes me to pause because it’s so much higher than the comparable sales. When […]
Have you ever heard the expression Sell the sizzle, not the steak? It’s pretty well known in sales circles and means, more or less, that when you’re trying to sell something to someone, you should try to razzle dazzle them and not focus on the substance of what it is that you’re trying to sell […]
Have you noticed more advertising for realtor teams like The Walter White Real Estate Team? Do you know what this relatively new thing is all about? For the most part, every Realtor operates his or her own individual business. Yes, most of us work at companies with other Realtors, but that’s mostly an office sharing […]
Human nature is funny. How you feel about things depends on how you look at them. Attitude is everything. There’s a saying in real estate circles that goes something like this: “You know it’s a fair deal when the buyers think they paid too much and the sellers think they got too little.” In other […]
In a hot market like the one we’ve had here in central Toronto for the past several years, a lot of buyers have hard times finding homes to buy. Because demand is stronger than supply, there just aren’t enough homes to go around. This has resulted in some buyers (often with the help of their […]
Ask me anything. Anything at all. And I promise you an honest, straightforward answer. I’m here to help and I’m happy to do so. Don’t be shy because there’s no such thing as a stupid question. If you haven’t been selling real estate every day for the past 20+ years like I have, no one expects you […]
If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that there are countless different reasons as to why people decide to hire a specific Realtor (see 1,000,000 Reasons Why People Haven’t Hired Me). But even though we’re all very different, that doesn’t mean there aren’t things we all share in common. For example, almost everyone asks “How […]
When I was a wee young agent, I thought everyone would want to hire me because of my integrity, unique skill set and the way I always put my clients’ best interests above all else. I obviously had a healthy ego, but my understanding of human nature left room for improvement. I’ve had a GREAT career […]
Then: “We’d like a good solid home that hasn’t been recently renovated so we can add value to it by renovating it over time.” Now: “We’d like a home that’s been completely renovated so we can move right in because we don’t have time to do any work ourselves.”
You’ve decided it’s time to make that move you’ve been contemplating and need to hire an agent. Question 1: Would you a) hire your friend or relative; OR b) keep business and personal separate? Question 2: If you prefer to hire your friend or relative, which of the following best describes your reason for doing […]
My accountant is great. We’ve been together since the beginning of Advocate Realty – over 20 years now. I planned on interviewing a few accountants and then choosing the one I liked best, but sometimes you just know. It took 10 minutes with Laurie to know I had found the right guy because it was obvious that he […]
This is the third post on this subject, otherwise known as “He Who Hesitates May Get Lost”. You’ll remember that Part 1 was about the second buyer who appeared out of nowhere at 11:30 pm just as the seller was about to accept my client’s offer and Part 2 was about the negotiations that carried […]
People often ask me what I think the market will be like in the future. It’s a good question because it’s helpful to know this when you’re trying to determine the best time to buy or sell. I usually have a pretty good idea of what the residential real estate market in central Toronto will […]
